Chapter 5
It was a brightly beautiful morning when Kushi finally woke up to the early morning chirp of birds. Shielding her eyes from a dancing ray of sun shine adamantly streaking across her face, she inhaled a deep breath of fresh dewy air wafting in through the open French windows when her attention was instantly caught by the empty left side of the bed.
Arnav was already up.
So he must have carried her in after their star gazing session. Kushi smiled slightly as she fondly recalled the many times her husband made it his pivotal business to carry her all over the place. From mandirs to kitchen counters to broken down buildings she had lost count of the times he had carried her in his arms. Maybe it's her husband's free and easy way of keeping himself trim.
The sound of the running shower stopped and she knew her husband would be out any minute, drying his hair in a white towel, wearing his classic early morning hand-dog look. Arnav ji was never a morning person.
Right on cue the bath room door pulled open and Arnav appeared rubbing his hair vigorously, his customary scowl well in place.
"Kushi! you're up. How are you feeling?" his expressions instantly relaxed into a smile as he walked towards the bed and dropped a kiss on her head.
"I'm feeling fine Arnav ji" Kushi said a bit tipsily, feeling slightly intoxicated as she inhaling his after shave. She loved the smell of his aftershave.
"Ok that's good. I'm running a bit late today'"
"Was it because you didn't get much sleep yesterday? I'm sorry I made you sit outside and look at the sta.."
"Shut up Kushi"
"Kya!?"
"I said Shut up. Seriously what should I do with you? It was my idea in the first place if you hadn't forgotten"
Arnav sighed in frustration. Trust her to take the blame on herself for him running late. Wasn't there a moment when she let anyone else deal with their own problems?
"Now promise me you won't roam around the house and tire yourself. I wanted to stay home with you but I have urgent work stacked with the new take-over of the company."
"Koi baath nahi hai Arnav ji. I'll be fine. You really don't have to worry so much"
She made to get up from the bed when Arnav stopped her with his customary bark. "Where are you going?"
Kushi sighed patiently as she replied "To the bathroom Arnav ji. I need to get ready and go downstairs remember? I'm really hungry"
"No need. I already asked HP to bring up your breakfast"
Now it was time for Kushi to let out an irritable sigh. "Arnav ji I'm not going to stay in this room all day and every day. I want to go downstairs. If you're not going to take me down, rest assured I'm going by my own"
Arnav grimaced in exasperatedly. "Fine" he said shortly.
When Kushi had finally gotten ready to go downstairs Arnav advanced on her and without any further explanations lifted her up in one easy sweep and walked out of the room. Kushi sighed softly as she rested her head against his chest; the familiar sense of his protective aura engulfing her.
When he had finally rested her on the sofa in the living room she noticed that naani, and Payla were both smiling behind their hands while Akaash and Anjali ginned without even trying to hide it.
"You know chotte it won't really hurt Kushi ji to walk down stairs once in a while"
"di, don't put ideas into her head" Arnav began hotly.
"Chotte Kushi bitiya can't stay inside a room whole day long. It's alright to get on about, walk around a little. She's not invalid or anything. She just needs a bit of rest."
"naani! it would strain her to much and.." Arnav started a long winding argument when he was fortunately interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
"Ah that must be Jeevika and her daughter-in-law. She told me she would come to pay a visit today"
Sure enough a few minutes later a very familiar looking woman accompanied by another younger woman by her side bid them Namaste as they sat down. Arnav got up hastily, not keen on joining the conversation. Akash too excused himself and went to join his bhai at the dining table to finish his breakfast.
Kushi felt a prickly sensation at the back of her neck. This was the same lady who made a spectacle at her ill-fated Muh dikhai rasam ceremony. A feeling of foreboding was quickly overtaking her and she was unable to shake it off.
The conversation flowed feely and companionably until,
"So Divyani, I hear that one of your daughters-in-law is expecting. Which one is that?"
Instantly the atmosphere became tense and cold. As everyone avoided each other's stares and waited until someone answered the question, Kushi felt sudden tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
There was no point keeping mum.
Kushi's voice was trembling s she answered the question, her insides quaking as the words escaped her mouth "I, I was expecting"
"was? What do you mean 'was'?"
There was a single pause when everyone gathered around took a deep collective breath.
"I'm no longer pregnant" Kushi's voice cracked.
Arnav got up off the dining table, his chair flying away from him as he strode across the room, his gumption telling him that the conversation was going to intrude the forbidden lines. He had made strict directions on never to discuss the topic and now the old hag had successfully brought it up in front of the whole family and even worse, when Kushi's present.
"You had a miscarriage? Oh my god!" the woman gave a lamenting shriek as she regarded Kushi with an unsympathetic stare.
Kushi gulped, doing her level best to keep her face neutral as she tried hard to hide the fact her heart had been pierced open by the words. It had started to heal a fraction but the wound seemed to have freshly reopened with the reestablishment of her own words bounding upon her. She was no longer pregnant. Her own words seemed to make it final and clear; unmercifully truthful and cruelly accurate.
Pain clenched her insides wringing out the little bit of relief she acquired after her traumatic loss.
The lady looked at her with a sardonic smile.
"Well don't be disheartened my child. You'll have plenty more chances' although I'm not surprised you had to go through something like this"
Kushi's head shot up to look at her. "wh..what? I don't understand what you mean?"
"What I mean is I know another girl who had to go though the same on her very first pregnancy and she had also run away and gotten married. All I'm saying is girls who disobey their elders' wishes have to suffer for their follies one way or another. What goes around comes around."
Kushi sat there as an icy chill penetrated her body. So the can of worms has been reopened yet again. She had always known that particular piece of information regarding her marriage would follow her till she breathed her last breath. But she never expected it to be linked to a trauma she suffered in an enormity only a woman who lost a child would understand.
The elderly woman's words hit her like a tone of bricks. Her already bruised heart seemed to have opened up another much deeper wound which the time had healed but not in its true entirety. The freshly reopened cut oozed pain in magnitudes she never expected to reach.
After everything she went through, never in her wildest dreams did she expect to hear her painful experiences being interwoven together as if in a cleverly fitting jigsaw puzzle.
Kushi didn't even bother to wipe the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks'
And that was the undoing of Arnav. He had heard and he had watched dumfounded beyond belief as the woman brought up another forbidden subject within the household; their marriage.
What was the vile woman implying? That his wife deserved what happened to her? That it was expected for her to suffer a miscarriage?
And just as suddenly something else kicked inside him and he froze in mid action.
His wife, this innocent gentle woman had to go through this woman's venomous words due to him. Entirely due to him! He was the one at fault for dragging her to a temple and conducting an unfledged marriage. He was the one responsible for making it look as if they had eloped and gotten married. He was the one responsible for the numerous vile tongues his wife had to endure behind her back. He was the one responsible for demeaning her good-name, respectability and status in front of the society.
And yet his wife takes the full brunt of all his follies and that too without a single complaint or a single ounce of fault committed by her in actuality.
Before anyone could utter another word Kushi got up from her chair and bidding a polite Namaste, rushed up the stairs, not caring Arnav's earlier persuasions about forbidding her to take the stairs alone.
"Chotte'" naani began worriedly. Arnav shot a single stare of contempt at the woman who's words reeked inside him before running up the stairs three steps at a time to catch up with Kushi.
Kushi had already entered their room and closed the door. By the time he entered the room she was nowhere to be seen.
He walked around the bed and saw her sitting on the ground, her back resting on the poles of the bed and her face turned resolutely away from him. He slowly approached her. This was a time when he wished he was more a profound speaker. But duelling with words had never been his strong point.
"Kushi.." he gently touched her shoulder. He raked his mind desperately thinking of something comforting and appropriate to say to her.
"Please don't take to heart what that woman said'"
But before he could go any further Kushi had jumped up and was facing him; her eyes blazing, a thin line welted across her bottom lip from efforts to keep herself from crying.
"Arnav ji can I be on my own for a while?" her voice was cold and metallic as she looked at him with over brilliant eyes. With that she turned around and marched out to the poolside without a backward glance.
Arnav stood looking after her, bewildered, hurt beyond words and saw with a jolt that his worst fears were coming true. She still hasn't forgiven him for his past crimes.
---
Arnav was already up.
So he must have carried her in after their star gazing session. Kushi smiled slightly as she fondly recalled the many times her husband made it his pivotal business to carry her all over the place. From mandirs to kitchen counters to broken down buildings she had lost count of the times he had carried her in his arms. Maybe it's her husband's free and easy way of keeping himself trim.
The sound of the running shower stopped and she knew her husband would be out any minute, drying his hair in a white towel, wearing his classic early morning hand-dog look. Arnav ji was never a morning person.
Right on cue the bath room door pulled open and Arnav appeared rubbing his hair vigorously, his customary scowl well in place.
"Kushi! you're up. How are you feeling?" his expressions instantly relaxed into a smile as he walked towards the bed and dropped a kiss on her head.
"I'm feeling fine Arnav ji" Kushi said a bit tipsily, feeling slightly intoxicated as she inhaling his after shave. She loved the smell of his aftershave.
"Ok that's good. I'm running a bit late today'"
"Was it because you didn't get much sleep yesterday? I'm sorry I made you sit outside and look at the sta.."
"Shut up Kushi"
"Kya!?"
"I said Shut up. Seriously what should I do with you? It was my idea in the first place if you hadn't forgotten"
Arnav sighed in frustration. Trust her to take the blame on herself for him running late. Wasn't there a moment when she let anyone else deal with their own problems?
"Now promise me you won't roam around the house and tire yourself. I wanted to stay home with you but I have urgent work stacked with the new take-over of the company."
"Koi baath nahi hai Arnav ji. I'll be fine. You really don't have to worry so much"
She made to get up from the bed when Arnav stopped her with his customary bark. "Where are you going?"
Kushi sighed patiently as she replied "To the bathroom Arnav ji. I need to get ready and go downstairs remember? I'm really hungry"
"No need. I already asked HP to bring up your breakfast"
Now it was time for Kushi to let out an irritable sigh. "Arnav ji I'm not going to stay in this room all day and every day. I want to go downstairs. If you're not going to take me down, rest assured I'm going by my own"
Arnav grimaced in exasperatedly. "Fine" he said shortly.
When Kushi had finally gotten ready to go downstairs Arnav advanced on her and without any further explanations lifted her up in one easy sweep and walked out of the room. Kushi sighed softly as she rested her head against his chest; the familiar sense of his protective aura engulfing her.
When he had finally rested her on the sofa in the living room she noticed that naani, and Payla were both smiling behind their hands while Akaash and Anjali ginned without even trying to hide it.
"You know chotte it won't really hurt Kushi ji to walk down stairs once in a while"
"di, don't put ideas into her head" Arnav began hotly.
"Chotte Kushi bitiya can't stay inside a room whole day long. It's alright to get on about, walk around a little. She's not invalid or anything. She just needs a bit of rest."
"naani! it would strain her to much and.." Arnav started a long winding argument when he was fortunately interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
"Ah that must be Jeevika and her daughter-in-law. She told me she would come to pay a visit today"
Sure enough a few minutes later a very familiar looking woman accompanied by another younger woman by her side bid them Namaste as they sat down. Arnav got up hastily, not keen on joining the conversation. Akash too excused himself and went to join his bhai at the dining table to finish his breakfast.
Kushi felt a prickly sensation at the back of her neck. This was the same lady who made a spectacle at her ill-fated Muh dikhai rasam ceremony. A feeling of foreboding was quickly overtaking her and she was unable to shake it off.
The conversation flowed feely and companionably until,
"So Divyani, I hear that one of your daughters-in-law is expecting. Which one is that?"
Instantly the atmosphere became tense and cold. As everyone avoided each other's stares and waited until someone answered the question, Kushi felt sudden tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
There was no point keeping mum.
Kushi's voice was trembling s she answered the question, her insides quaking as the words escaped her mouth "I, I was expecting"
"was? What do you mean 'was'?"
There was a single pause when everyone gathered around took a deep collective breath.
"I'm no longer pregnant" Kushi's voice cracked.
Arnav got up off the dining table, his chair flying away from him as he strode across the room, his gumption telling him that the conversation was going to intrude the forbidden lines. He had made strict directions on never to discuss the topic and now the old hag had successfully brought it up in front of the whole family and even worse, when Kushi's present.
"You had a miscarriage? Oh my god!" the woman gave a lamenting shriek as she regarded Kushi with an unsympathetic stare.
Kushi gulped, doing her level best to keep her face neutral as she tried hard to hide the fact her heart had been pierced open by the words. It had started to heal a fraction but the wound seemed to have freshly reopened with the reestablishment of her own words bounding upon her. She was no longer pregnant. Her own words seemed to make it final and clear; unmercifully truthful and cruelly accurate.
Pain clenched her insides wringing out the little bit of relief she acquired after her traumatic loss.
The lady looked at her with a sardonic smile.
"Well don't be disheartened my child. You'll have plenty more chances' although I'm not surprised you had to go through something like this"
Kushi's head shot up to look at her. "wh..what? I don't understand what you mean?"
"What I mean is I know another girl who had to go though the same on her very first pregnancy and she had also run away and gotten married. All I'm saying is girls who disobey their elders' wishes have to suffer for their follies one way or another. What goes around comes around."
Kushi sat there as an icy chill penetrated her body. So the can of worms has been reopened yet again. She had always known that particular piece of information regarding her marriage would follow her till she breathed her last breath. But she never expected it to be linked to a trauma she suffered in an enormity only a woman who lost a child would understand.
The elderly woman's words hit her like a tone of bricks. Her already bruised heart seemed to have opened up another much deeper wound which the time had healed but not in its true entirety. The freshly reopened cut oozed pain in magnitudes she never expected to reach.
After everything she went through, never in her wildest dreams did she expect to hear her painful experiences being interwoven together as if in a cleverly fitting jigsaw puzzle.
Kushi didn't even bother to wipe the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks'
And that was the undoing of Arnav. He had heard and he had watched dumfounded beyond belief as the woman brought up another forbidden subject within the household; their marriage.
What was the vile woman implying? That his wife deserved what happened to her? That it was expected for her to suffer a miscarriage?
And just as suddenly something else kicked inside him and he froze in mid action.
His wife, this innocent gentle woman had to go through this woman's venomous words due to him. Entirely due to him! He was the one at fault for dragging her to a temple and conducting an unfledged marriage. He was the one responsible for making it look as if they had eloped and gotten married. He was the one responsible for the numerous vile tongues his wife had to endure behind her back. He was the one responsible for demeaning her good-name, respectability and status in front of the society.
And yet his wife takes the full brunt of all his follies and that too without a single complaint or a single ounce of fault committed by her in actuality.
Before anyone could utter another word Kushi got up from her chair and bidding a polite Namaste, rushed up the stairs, not caring Arnav's earlier persuasions about forbidding her to take the stairs alone.
"Chotte'" naani began worriedly. Arnav shot a single stare of contempt at the woman who's words reeked inside him before running up the stairs three steps at a time to catch up with Kushi.
Kushi had already entered their room and closed the door. By the time he entered the room she was nowhere to be seen.
He walked around the bed and saw her sitting on the ground, her back resting on the poles of the bed and her face turned resolutely away from him. He slowly approached her. This was a time when he wished he was more a profound speaker. But duelling with words had never been his strong point.
"Kushi.." he gently touched her shoulder. He raked his mind desperately thinking of something comforting and appropriate to say to her.
"Please don't take to heart what that woman said'"
But before he could go any further Kushi had jumped up and was facing him; her eyes blazing, a thin line welted across her bottom lip from efforts to keep herself from crying.
"Arnav ji can I be on my own for a while?" her voice was cold and metallic as she looked at him with over brilliant eyes. With that she turned around and marched out to the poolside without a backward glance.
Arnav stood looking after her, bewildered, hurt beyond words and saw with a jolt that his worst fears were coming true. She still hasn't forgiven him for his past crimes.
---
by Hiruni
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2 comments:
too good Hiruni!!
Loved it! Can't wait for the next chapter! :)
Keep up the good work and post the next chapter soon!
I hate reading books whether its a story or my lessons...for the first time,i have become mad for reading ur stories....really really good....i can visualise everything...............great work.....
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