Part
1:
She was the ideal bahu – she woke up
before everyone in the morning, made sure everyone made it to the breakfast
table by 7:55 a.m. (including her devar, so he wouldn't have to miss the most important
meal of the day), never opposed anyone's order, and loved everyone
unconditionally. But there was a small, actually a major part of her heart that
cried every day, every moment – for her sister, her soul mate, her best friend,
her everything … till she had gotten married and moved to a whole new city. She
tried to keep herself occupied all day so she wouldn't have to miss her but it
was hard to stay occupied amongst her in-laws. They were too rich for their own
good – they had uncountable butlers, housekeepers, chefs, gardeners, laundresses,
chauffeurs, and security guards. If she would be at home with her beeji, chacha,
chachi, badi beeji, Dabbu and most of all, her Mannu, she would cook for all of
them – out of will, not because she was forced. She liked caring for others –
for those who meant so much to her. But in her new home, she couldn't even
prepare a meal for her husband. It had been a week and every day the new family
members took her by surprise with their rules and way of living. She could tell
her sasuma (who had insisted she call her maa), chachiji, chachaji and devar
tried to keep her entertained but nobody could replace Mannu. Mannu's memories
haunted her day in and night out but who could she tell?
"Jeevika… JEEVIKA!" she heard Viren
yell. Startled, she got up from the bed and faced him. "Jeevika, are you okay? I've
been calling out for the past five minutes. And you look pale. Is your blood
pressure low again?" She knew he loved her a lot but she just couldn't snap out
of Mannu's thoughts. Her eyes started tearing, although she tried to control.
She knew he would understand if she said she wanted to pay a quick visit to her
family but she wondered if it would be right to demand to visit her family just
a week after her marriage. Her mind didn't register when she leaned forward to
hug Viren; Viren quietly let her cry her worries out. A few minutes later, he
slowly whispered in her ear "Would you like to go see Maanvi, beeji, and
everyone else in Hrishikesh?" She looked up with a jerk, not knowing whether it
was a dream or reality. Viren assured her it wasn't her fantasy and carefully
wiped away her tears.
"Ramlal, our most trustworthy driver,
will take you there first thing tomorrow morning. I have to talk to some of my
witnesses for the ongoing Jaiswal case so Virat & I will join you in the
evening. We will spend the night there and return the evening after. How does
that sound?" Jeevika couldn't believe her ears; she was delighted beyond words
explanation. Viren let him out of her hold and got a suitcase for her. Without
even waiting for her response, he packed 2 suits for her, a pair of jeans and
t-shirt for himself and their nightdresses. Suddenly, her smile disappeared as
she questioned him "but buaji and dadaji … they might not be happy with your
decision, Virenji." Viren comforted her and reassured her that he will handle
the situation here. Viren urged her to sleep as she looked exhausted and
carefully tucked her in. Although he turned the lights off, Jeevika could see
him working on his case from the corner of her eye. Even in the dim light of
the laptop, she could see his face clearly. She wondered if everyone was so
lucky to have a life partner like Viren.
Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. Maanvi grudged as
someone had dared to call her so early in the morning. Nobody had the right to
disturb her beauty sleep, well maybe she had given the right to her di but she
knew her di would be too busy following her in-laws' rules to call her. Maanvi
ignored the phone as she dozed off to sleep again. Ding dong. She got angrier as she realized someone was at their
doorstep. Ding dong. Ding dong. She assumed
someone else in the house would open the door. Little did she know that beeji
had gone to temple with chacha, chachi was off to to the vegetable market with
Dabbu and badi beeji was too weak to get up?
Jeevika worried as her Mannu didn't pick
up her calls and nobody responded to her knocks on the door. She tried knocking
on the door again. Finally, Maanvi got irritated and ran to the door, cursing
along the whole way. All of a sudden, she started coughing uncontrollably and
running out of breath. She fell on the floor when she heard the knock on the
door again. Maanvi realized it must be important since the person had been
knocking continuously. She gathered enough courage to walk to the door and open
the lock.
Edited by angelofillusion - 12 years ago
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