𝐀𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐀

s e v e n

 ❦

  "THESE TWO ARE friends. They come here every day. "

    "No, this one usually visits alone. I don't know where she found the other one." replied Aaina, pointing at a pair of peacocks taking over her balcony in the late noon. Their teal bodies and beguiling feathers danced around, outside her room. They were local peacocks that visited often and quite liked the open space outside Aaina's room.

    "And they only move together. How sweet is that?"

    Jaswanti, Shashibala, and Aaina rounded around the balcony, spending their leisure under the setting sun and a thali with only kachoris and rabdi. It was not too often that these three could be seen together now. As little girls, they never left each other's side. However, as they grew up, life created boundaries and got them busy. Yet, they never miss having at least one gathering in a month.

    Jaswanti was the roseate apple of their eyes and the wealthiest in terms of money and family. She hailed from a large home of a lawyer who worked with the town's top pradhaan. Her glimmering honey skin and thick, long hair proved how well she was able to care for herself. Milk baths and kesar-filled mithais were usual at her abode. Though younger than the other two, she knew every trick to maneuver her way into people's memory with her brilliance.

    "These are so much better than what the maharaj at my house cooks,"

    "He is sure to leave the job if he hears that." Shashi chuckled at her jocularity.

    "I'm going to miss Puran Dada's kachoris,"
said, Aaina, humming at the delicious fried kachoris.

    "We've been calling him dada since we were children. I wonder how he is not dead yet. "

    "He is wise. He avoids his own cooked food. It's all oil and fried for us to grow unhealthy and die quicker. Trust me, your maharaj might be making it a bit healthier for you. "

    Jaswanti deadpanned, a half-bitten kachori between her fingers. "But we don't eat this every day. Kaisi saheli hai? Why are you ruining my joy?"

    The other two glanced at each other in

    "You are younger than us, Jaswanti, so maybe you have hope to give it up and lead a long life without any ailments." Shashi grinned at her, who did not bother to reply

    "My dear Shashibala, you've been fed lies by your husband. You should never hold back in savoring life. Leave him. "

    She smiled, averting her gaze to the flaming sky. Ranmal was not exactly the kind of person she had expected to get married to, but nobody was perfect. She had adapted to him and knew all there was to know along with the fact that both were tied forever. Just like she always wanted. But where did she go wrong in her wishes and prayers? That pushed her deeper into her thoughts.

    As for Aaina, reveling in cozy evenings like these, lying down on the balcony floor and chatting with her only two favorite people in the world would only seem like a distant dream from now on. She wished for the power to just stay, to do as she willed. All her life, she was told to act and do, and even when the most precious things in life were slipping out of hand, there was very little she could do.

    "I'm afraid when we'd meet again like this," said Aaina, in a slow, dragged baritone.

    Jaswanti's eyes widened a bit too dramatically, and Shashi's face dulled down.

    "Why?"

    "Don't tell me you are getting married and going away with your husband too. Who is he? Is he rich? Is kaki forcing you? Wha—"