Tales of SaiRat (Completed)

A Chilly Tale_A SaiRat OS

It was half past 8 in the evening of a particularly windy day when a khaki blur could be seen gliding past the magnificent stairs of Chavan Niwas. Zoom in, and you could see the bubbling excitement on the face of the khaki blur.

Rushing past the hurdles between him and his wife, the khaki blur defeated the last hurdle - the door to their room, that is - and was greeted to a sight to behold.

She was in midst of a deep slumber, it seemed. Covered by walls of books on two sides, he could only see a glimpse of her calm face. He closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, tip-toed to her, taking off his cap, bent down, clutching the edge of the table, and drew level with her face.

He did not know when his face crept up in a smile and when he began reaching out to her hand. He would surely have woken the sleeping Sai if his mother hadn't interrupted at the precise moment.

Abashed, he stood up, running his hand through his hair, looking anywhere but her, and stammered, "Kya-
Kya hua Aai?"

"Chavan saheb muh toh aise chhupa rahein hai jaise unki koi chori pakdi gayi ho," said an amused Ashwini.

He looked up at her. She was carrying something in her hands, but he was too embarrassed to ponder about it.

"Aai..."

"Kay hai, godu? Patni hai teri, aise kya sharma raha hai? Par abhi usse uthana mat. Pehle college, phir yeh ghar ke kaam, sabke taane-"

Suddenly alert, he began, "Aaj-?"

"-kuchh nahi hua. Main toh sab din ka bata rahi thi. Ha, toh, sab ke taane, aur fir iski padhayi; thak jaati hai bechari. Usse sone de. Tu jaake haath-muh dhoke khale," she said, and then walked in, putting the plate of food securely on a table.

Ah, he thought, it was food.

She reached out to him and ran her palm down his hair.

"Aai..." he said, holding her hand, "thank you."

"Mere liye mere bachcho ki khushi sabse upar hai," she said, squeezing his hand, and smiled at him.

And with that she walked out.

A few moments later, as he was feeding himself, Virat looked at Sai's sleeping figure, lost in thoughts.

When he returned from having put the plate in its place, brushing off his hands, Sai was still fast asleep.

He sighed, walked to her and pulled the chair back. He slid his arm past her back, the other across the back of her knees, and lifted her.

For a moment, it seemed time had ceased to exist. Everything froze, along with his brain, as he saw her up close. His feet dragged him to the bed. If not for them, they would still be beside the pool of Sai's books, he breathing onto her face, lost in something an observer of the scene couldn't fathom.

He put her down gently, fighting against feelings well-known to him by now, hardly breathing, and climbed on his side. He turned the lamp off and darkness prevailed. He could partially see her face, illuminated by the moonlight, that crossed the threshold of the windows that creaked as they constantly hit each other along with the winds that blew against them.

He moved towards her and was halfway through wrapping his arms around her when he shook himself out of his daze.

This was not right, not fair, not to her.

He lay onto his side, thinking, when his eyes met the AC. His eyes lit up as a brilliant idea struck him.

Tonight, she will sleep in his embrace.