CHAPTER 3 - Blurred Hues"Di, this is your room. Go and
rest, I'll see you later."
Sagar turned to leave while
Khushi opened the door to her room but then, she stopped, remembering something.
"Sagar, come here for moment,
please."
"Di! Ab kya? Bauji maardaalenge!" (What, Di? Dad will kill us!)
"Hum to yeh poochhna chahte the
ki hamari boh behen..." (I forgot to ask you, about our sister...)
"Kaun, Radhika? Voh Raizaada
Mansion gayi hai. Apparently help karne ke liye. Vaise achha hi hai ki yahan
nahin hai, sab kharab kar deti varna." (Who, Radhika? She's at the RM. To help, apparently. By the way, it's good she's not here, she'd have ruined everything.)
"Sagar! Aisi baatein kyun kar rahe ho? Voh behen hai aapki." (Why are you speaking like this? She's you sister.)
"You've never met her, Di, else
you would know. She's such a... Amma-Bauji ke saamne badi samajhdaar banne ka
natak karti hai, but in fact, voh itni self-centered hai ki... I hate her, Di! Meri
behen sirf aur sirf aap ho." (It's only you who are my sister, only you.)
"Aisa mat kahiye, hume zaroor
lagta hai ki aapne koshish nahin ki theek se." (Don't you speak like that, I really think you haven't tried to like her.)
"Whatever!" Sagar rolled his eyes
and jogged off.
***
Khushi helped Payal the the washing
up after lunch. Maasiji's house was somewhat old-fashioned but she had quickly
adjusted.
It was the first time ever her
parents had allowed her to visit her birthplace. They never came here, never
spoke of the place and so, Khushi had only faint memories of it. She would not
even have known Maasiji, Maasaji and Payal jiji if they had not visited at
least once a year. It had been a few years, now, since Maasaji's death. Khushi missed
him. He had been a very nice and supportive uncle to her.
After having dried the dishes,
the girls joined Maasiji on the terrace so that she could massage their heads
with oil. Meanwhile, they talked about Akash, Payal's future husband. They had,
in fact, met at college where he had been Payal's senior by two years. They often
saw each other in the library and Akash had eventually developed a crush on
her. He had gone to his study abroad and once, when he had returned for his
holidays, he had run into her at the annual mela. Soon, he had spoken to his
parents about her and they were engaged as soon as both families had approved
of the relationship. Now that Akash was back, they had set the marriage date
for in the coming days.
The phone rang suddenly and
Payal, with whom Maasi had finished, ran to answer.
"To Titaliya, yahan kaisa laga?" (So, Titaliya, how do you like it here?)
"Bohot achha... Maasiji, hume
aapse kuch poochhna tha..." (It's very nice...Aunty, I needed to ask you...)
"Kya?" (What?)
"Yaad hai taange mein, jab hum aa
rahe the? Humne aapko ek haveli dikhaayi thi? Uske baare mein aap kya keh rahi
thi?" (Remember in the horsecart, when we were coming? I had shown you that mansion? What were you saying about it?)
"Kuchh nahin, ou sab bhool jaao.." (Nothing, forget about that..)
"Nahin, Maasiji! Aap kuchh keh
rah thi. Bataaiye naa! Yeh Anant Singh Raizada kaun hai? Humse unka kya rishta
hai?" (No, Aunty! You were saying something. Tell me! Who's this Anant Singh Raizada? How is he related to us?)
"Sanka Devi! Achha... vaise to ek
na ek din pata chalna hi tha... Voh haveli tere Amma-Bauji ki thi." (Fine... You had to know about this some day... That mansion belonged to your parents.)
"Kya? Par unhon ne to..." (What? But they...)
"Tere Amma-Bauji vahin rehte the,
shaadi ke dinon se. Bohot khush the. Ek do saal baad, unh ek beti huyi,
Radhika." (They lived there since they were married. they were very happy. A couple of years later, they had a daughter, Radhikha.)
What? Her parents had had another
child before her? Khushi's stomach gave a lurch. Shock rippled through her.
"Tab hi, Singh Raizada parivaar
yahan rehne aaya, do bhaayi the, aur voh dono tere Bauji ke dost ban gaye. Bade
bhaayi ki ek beti thi aur chhote ka ek beta, jo Radhikha se yahi kuch ek-do
saal bada tha. Thode hi mahinon baad yeh tay kiya gaya, ki Raizada khandaan ka
beta Gupta parivaar ki beti se shaadi karega. Phir tu aayi, aur ek saal baad,
bade bhaayi ko dusri beti huyi. Dosti aur bhi gehri huyi.." (Then, the Singh Raizada family came to stay here, they were two brothers and they became friends with your dad very quickly. The older brother had a daughter too, and the younger had a son, who was only one or two years older than Radhika. After a few months it had been decided that the Raizada son would marry a Gupta girl. Then you came, and a year after you the older brother had another girl. The friendship grew even more...)
"Phir?" (Then?)
"Phir ek din, achaanak se, haveli
mein aag lag gayi..." (Then one day, suddenly, fire broke out in the mansion...)
***
"Khushi! Khushi! Darvaaza to
kholo, beta." (Khushi! Khushi! Open the door, child.)
Khushi jumped up in bed. She had
no idea how and when she had fallen asleep. Quickly, she opened the door. It was
her mother.
"Itni der kyun lagaa di? So rahi
thi kya? Achha yeh lo aur phata-phat taiyyaar ho jao, hum thodi hi der main
nikalte hain." (Why did you take so much time? You were sleeping? Okay, take this and get ready fast, we'll be leaving in some time.)
"Ji, Amma." (Yes, mom.)
Khushi headed for the bathroom as
soon as Padmini had left. She left the bag her mother had handed her on the
bed. Truthfully, she felt no need to hurry. In fact, if only she could have
delayed this impending storm... Heart was breaking with each seconds ticking
away. Her mind kept wondering about him.
Would he be there?
Would she ever be able to face him?
She closed her eyes, shut her
mind, pushed him in the dark corner he had been locked up for the
past five years.
She could not think about him.
She had no right to.
Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 11 years ago
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