Today, without any hesitation, Atharva took hold of her hand and they drove throughout like that, not once leaving the hand. She could feel those sensations again, and realised that he will be waiting for a chance to get close to her once they reach home.

To be continued….

The elders had all retired to their rooms, while the younger lot, including his cousins, were all high on energy. They all sat chatting, and after a while Shankar started singing to Isha, as she insisted him to do so. She learnt that out of the three, he was the only one to be able to sing decently. Atharva, in fact, was the most tuneless. They were all sitting in the hall, when Atharva suddenly said, “Shruti sings quite well.. she has been trained in music for years.” Shruti felt embarrassed and after a lot of requests agreed, but insisted going in the room so as to not disturb anyone.

Everyone proceeded to Shankar’s room and settled on the bed, while she gathered courage to sing. She consciously started singing the ever melodious song from the movie Roja, Dil hai Chhota sa..

She sang wholeheartedly and once done, looked expectantly at the ones present in the room, all the more conscious as Atharva had been listening intently. They seemed to be zapped and then applauded her skills. She sheepishly thanked them, when the youngest member came and sat on her lap and demanded, “Chachi… lakkadi ki kaathi..” She entertained her with the song and all joined in. Isha loved it and was clapping with glee.

It was almost midnight by then, and they all dispersed to go to their rooms. Shruti proceeded too, knowing well that they weren’t going to get any me-time as others were still around. They simply wished good night and retired. Shruti changed into her pajamas, and sat pondering. Sleep was not easy nowadays, which was rarity in her case… but then her life had taken a different path altogether. She decided to do some reading, hoping that it would make her feel drowsy. It had been long since she had read anything, and sat down to continue the novel, Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.

It was almost 1.30 a.m., when she suddenly had an eerie feeling. She tried to ignore, but got really scared, more so because nobody was near to her room. She tried to divert her mind, but to no avail. At last, she couldn’t tolerate it any longer and messaged Atharva.

He was in deep sleep and didn’t hear the beep of message. After a while, she messaged again, as she was feeling very restless. After the third message, Atharva’s sleep broke and he happened to check his mobile. He was still groggy from sleep, but on seeing so many messages he got worried and quickly moved towards her room. He simply barged into her room to see her sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and weeping miserably.

She had switched on all possible lights in the room. She was relieved to see him over there, and just ran and hugged him. He was taken aback and shocked to see her in this condition. He tried to console her, continuously asking her the reason… but she refused to leave him, holding on tightly, as if her life depended on it. Gradually, her sobs came down to whimpers, and she settled down, though still scared to leave him. Her eyes had swollen by then and she was perspiring in spite of the air conditioner.

Atharva was unable to handle so much anguish, though he was anxious to know why was she weeping, he couldn’t tolerate her tears and tried to console her by patting her, hugging her and whispering sweet nothings. At last, he moved her away from him and looked at her  sombrely. He filled a glass of water from the bottle on the side table and insisted her to sit and drink. She herself didn’t understand what overcame her and slumped on the edge of the bed.

Atharva kneeled down and asked in a concerned voice, “Shruti.. are you alright?” She shook her head and muttered, “Atharva.. I can’t stay like this.. was scared like anything… ek toh this room is aloof from the rest of the house.. then somehow I started having that eerie feeling.. I tried to divert my mind… but I couldn’t.. So messaged you hoping you will see my message and come.”

He could now understand her dilemma and felt helpless about the situation. He couldn’t think of a way out of this problem. As such, even Minish had mentioned generally that it must be difficult for bhabhi sleeping all alone. He told her, “will be back in a minute.. want to have water.”

He was brooding as to what can be done, when he saw Mansi coming towards the kitchen. He was grateful to see her and explained the situation. She readily agreed to accompany Shruti, and mentioned that she will be back in a minute.

Atharva said, “I hope you are okay with the arrangement.. couldn’t think of anything else.” She assured him, “Yes.. thank you so much and sorry for harassing you at this hour.” He shook his head and rebuked her, “Don’t be so formal… you scared me with the way you were crying… thankfully it’s solved for this time, though I will have to think about a solution as this is always going to be a problem.”

By then Mansi had come and they all settled down. As it was already very late, and due to sheer exhaustion, Shruti could finally sleep as she was at peace that she wasn’t alone.

The next day morning, she woke up a little late, owing to her traumatic experience. Atharva talked about it with his mom, who couldn’t think of a way out too, but understood the situation. As such, Shruti had to return on the very next day.. so it wasn’t an immediate problem as Mansi could again be with her tonight.

Shruti came out, and was feeling extremely embarrassed about last night. She had her coffee and breakfast along with Atharva, when
Mrs Shah generally informed, “Bua is going to visit home in sometime. Also, dadi wants to meet Shruti since she is here, so we all have to go for dinner at chachi’s home tonight.”

Shruti had that uncertainty again when she heard bua’s name, but didn’t let it reflect.

Around 10.30 a.m., bua came alongwith her daughter, Trisha, who was expecting and was heavily pregnant. Shruti took her bua’s blessings and got water for the guests, while Preksha arranged for tea and snacks. Shruti asked politely after Trisha’s health and when was she due. Atharva was getting late for the office and mentioned to Shruti before leaving, “Shruti… tonight post dinner we shall be meeting my friends for coffee.” She nodded and asked in Gujarati, “Tu office thi ketla vaagye aavish?” (Tum office se kitne baje aaoge?)

Bua was quick to reprimand her saying, “How come you don’t say ‘Aap’? It is not our culture to call the husband by his name… at least not ‘ tum.’” Shruti didn’t know what to say and was fidgeting with her dupatta. Before anybody else could intervene, Atharva defended, “Why not bua… What’s wrong? I am hardly six months elder to her… and nowadays the times have changed. The respect has to come from within… and that should be mutual. Saying ‘aap’ or ‘tum’ doesn’t make a difference, and I wouldn’t like her to be pushed to do something that is not needed, just in the name of custom.” He bid farewell and left soon.

His bua didn’t utter a word at first, and then chastised, “Nowadays, these kids have their own thinking. They are not ready to listen to the elders regarding anything.” Preksha had overheard all this, and called Shruti under the pretext of helping her. They went in the kitchen when Preksha said in an understanding tone, “Bua ki baat ka buraa mat lagaana… she is a bit weird.. you are fortunate that Atharva stood up for you. I have had to face her scowls in the past… so I know.”

Shruti was feeling very edgy and stayed aloof till the time bua was there. The rest of the day passed away in a jiffy… doing trivial tasks and generally keeping company with the cousins, Preksha and Isha. She spent her entire afternoon playing with her, as the toddler refused to sleep. Then, all of a sudden, while playing in the room, Isha came and sat on Shruti’s lap and indicated that she was sleepy. Shruti was aware by now, that she had the habit of listening to songs sung by either of her parents while being put to sleep and readily sang for her. It was such a beautiful feeling… she couldn’t put it into words. The little baby went into deep slumber while still in her arms, leaving her chachi with no option but to cradle her. She was in her own world, when….

To be continued...

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