PurviArjun
Onir
Ovi
Part 9
I had fallen asleep pretty late - around 1 AM or so. Letting my mind and wild thoughts run free with the harsh, crisp wind had relieved me for a bit. However, my clear mind began to clog up with thoughts of Arjun again as the ringtone I had set for him went off in the morning and woke me up. I smiled to myself while clutching onto my blanket, since the memories it brought back was just amazing. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and crept onto the balcony where I could talk to him more freely.
I stared at the name 'Arjun' which continued to flash on my screen. After taking a deep breath, I finally pressed answer and held the phone up to my ear. "Hello?" I didn't realize how croaky my voice sounded until Arjun began to sound concerned.
"Hey. . .are you okay? Why do you sound so upset?" The worry in Arjun's voice made my stomach do somersaults. I nodded my head, even though he wouldn't be able to see it and encouraged him to go on with whatever he called for. "Listen, I talked to Ovi. . ."
"A-about. . .?" I asked hesitantly. I put a hand on my stomach while such bad thoughts began to creep up into my mind. He could have talked about us, the meetings and short conversations we had, or he could have talked about our baby. I took a deep breath, knowing that negativity and stress wouldn't be good for the baby, so I tried my best to relax. It was easy to relax when I was listening to Arjun's voice, but when he said things I didn't want to hear, I went crazy.
"Her baby. . . the father called her and apparently they've been trying to tell the whole family for months," Arjun began, instantly perking Purvi up. "I feel like we should tell everyone too."
"That's what I've been wanting to do Arjun," I paused once I realized how vulnerable and upset I sounded. I took a moment to recollect myself before talking again. "We need to tell Ovi first. . . do you think she'll be ready to even listen, though?"
I could hear Arjun sighing on the other line. "She's going to have to accept the fact either way, so we might as well tell her. It's better than keeping her in the dark about all this. You know, like you did to me."
"Sorry," My voice got squeaky once I felt my eyes beginning to sting. I shut them tight before opening them again. My vision was blurry, so I blinked a few times to get rid of the bothersome tears. "Arjun, I'm really sorry," I started up with my apologies again, knowing that it would be of no use anyway.
The other line was silent for a moment, until Arjun finally spoke up. "How do you want to tell her?"he asked, completely changing the subject. "Do you want to tell her yourself, do you want me to be there?"
"Will she have second thoughts about deciding to murder me if you're there?" I asked; shuddering at the imaginations of Ovi's reaction. She could feel the atmosphere lightening up a bit and she even forced up a small smile. "I guess I'll just tell her myself. . ."
--
I had never been so nervous just to step inside my parents house. After a few days, I told Onir about the plan I had brewing up in my mind, after getting Arjun's approval. I was just going to straight up tell Ovi - no beating around the bush and no sugar coating things. I took a deep breath and stepped inside the chawl after forcing myself to show off a wide grin. Onir followed behind me; greeting everyone with nods and smiles. My eyes scanned the living room, but I saw no sign of Arjun or Ovi.
After saying my hellos to everyone, I decided to go around where Ovi's room was. Right at the moment, Arjun came out of it and was caught by surprise. "Purvi. . . you're already here?"
"And more nervous than ever. . ." I fidgeted with my fingers until Arjun put one of his hands on top of mine. His hand was warm and had gotten rough after working at the garage. I started remembering how much I used to love holding his hand and how happy it would make me. It was a simple gesture that meant the world to me. It assured me that he was right there with me whenever I was taking on any battle.
"Come on Purvi, you can do it. Do it for your sister, so she could finally realize her share of mistakes. Do it for Onir's sake, so he can finally find someone of his own. Do it for our baby andour future," he stroked her hand with his thumb before letting go. I looked up at him and saw an encouraging smile play on his lips before he walked away, which only jumbled up my feelings and emotions.
I stood up against a wall and closed my eyes as an attempt to get the last sentence he said out of my head. I couldn't believe Arjun STILL had the ability to make me go weak in the knees and completely lose my train of thought - especially at the wrong times. I calmed myself down and pushed all my overwhelming feelings to the side before knocking on Ovi's door. With each knock, I could feel my heart racing faster and faster due to the idea of being one step closer with Arjun.
Ovi opened the door; looking as if she was ready to yell at whoever was disturbing her. However, her expression changed when her eyes landed on me. "Purvi? I thought you were at--"
"Listen, Ovi. I need to talk to you, it's really important," I cut her off and took a step closer towards the door frame. "Please, just give me 5 minutes. . .this affects the both of us."
I heard Ovi tapping her foot on the floor, making it loud and clear that she contemplating between shutting the door on my face or letting me talk. She decided to go with the latter, which I had never felt so relieved to hear. She opened the door more so it was easier for me to come inside before shutting it behind her. "What is this about?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
I bit my bottom lip while looking at the floor. My eyes met her annoyed ones and I finally opened my mouth up to talk. "Arjun. . . our relationship. . . our baby. . ." I trailed off, but my eyes went wide the moment I realized that I had basically revealed everything in 5 words.
It took Ovi a while to register my words in her head, however, I knew she understood once her eyes grew just as wide as mine. "What do you mean OUR baby? That's Onir's baby, right?" she asked, pointing to my stomach. I didn't answer, since Ovi was lost in her own world. "That means aai was wrong. . . women don't just develop at different paces," she muttered to herself, but I heard it loud and clear.
"No, they do. It's just. . . this isn't one of those cases. Look, Ovi, before you freak out, just know that neither I or Arjun ever meant to hurt you. In fact, I'm telling you this because I care about you and it's better than you keeping you in the dark about this. . . like I did with Arjun," I sighed after revealing that last part. I used Arjun's words which only made my heart hurt.
I became a bit worried after she didn't say anything for a while. After a short time, though, she went over to her cabinet and pulled out an orange file. She handed it to me while saying two simple words, "read it."
I opened up the file, knowing exactly what it would be before I even opened it. I wasn't surprised to see her pregnancy reports. The name Ovi Kirloskar made her heart tinge a bit, but she kept on reading. The father slot had a name that she didn't expect - Romil. "Romil? Ovi, Romil is the father? Does he know this, does Arjun know this?" I asked a series of questions, though I already knew the answer to them.
Ovi simply nodded her head after taking the orange file from my hands. There was guilt written all over her face, which resembled the same guilt she saw a few days ago after the puja. "I'm really sorry for messing up your and Arjun's relationship," she apologized in a bitter tone before asking me to leave the room. I stood there, stunned before slowly leaving the bedroom.
--
"Can you believe that?"
"Yeah, I kinda can. Ovi's just a person who acts on impulse and regrets things in the long run."
"Onir, you've only known her for a couple of days."
"And in those couple of days, I REALLY got to know her."
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
"Honesty is always the best policy, Mishti."
"I still feel so surprised. . .I don't know how to even digest all of this. Everything that's happened in the past few days is really getting to me."
"Mmm. . ."
"Hey Onir? Do you think. . . do you think Ovi would be okay with Arjun and I getting back together again?"
"Do you think Arjun would be okay with it, first of all?"
"There's so much that we need to get out of the way first. . .the subject never came up."
"There's a lot that Ovi has to get out of the way too. Give her some time."
--
Dear Arjun,
I love you and that's all I really know. I hope you're not suffering everyday like I am without you. I've been dying just to experience what your hugs and kisses still felt like. I could have really used your comfort at times from these past 6 months, but I really don't deserve it. I finally got to see you again and hear your voice. It really hurts knowing how bad your relationship with Ovi is. I don't know if you know this, but I really miss you. . .I miss us. I'm going to try my best to make things right again, don't worry! It's getting really hard to tell you everything I want to say, but I'm trying my best. Why can't we just go back to those innocent days where we together and in love - just us against the world? You finally know about our little one, but I knew it wouldn't a fine and dandy encounter. The hurt in betrayal in your eyes killed me, Arjun. I'm not the same old Purvi anymore, though. I'm going to fight and stand up for our love and for our baby. I just wish I could hear you say you love me one more time. . . it's been 6 months since the last and that's what's been keeping me going. I can't stand to see you hurt. I really am not deserving or worthy of your love, I realized that today. However, our love will over come all and I'm positive of it. We're meant to be. . . I know it. If we weren't, I wouldn't be in this situation I am right now and Ovi would be pregnant with your child. That didn't happen, right? You've always taken care of me and acted like my protector. You've always been there to make things right and go above and beyond to prove your love. Now? It's my turn. Sometimes, I really feel like giving up on us, especially since things seem so hard and impossible. However, whenever all our old memories come flooding back or you do the slightest thing to help take care of our little one, I feel so driven to get our relationship back to how it was. I just hope you're as willing as I always will be.
comment:
p_commentcount