Nurture And Love (BOOK #3) ✔

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The moisture in the dews sparkled all silvery as the dull streak of sunlight glistened it. The lone figure of Prachi stood all the while watching the leaves among the greens and how some of them swayed in the chilly wind to displace some dews and form a strand of mist on her cheeks.

Prachi had arrived at Omkareshwar the previous night and was staying at their own farmhouse with Shalini, Rohini, Dhairya, Shaurya and Rehaan. They were assisted by old Jitendra and his wife Vaidehi as hosts. Their farmhouse was still far better than the Bundela mansion at Indore, yet the ruins of the families were prominently visible in the walls, ceilings and people's lives.

She had met Shalini on the train after so many years but the disapproving look on the latter's face had upsetted her. Though Shalini had spoken a word or two with her, but there was no warmth or comfort in those words as before.

She also regretted meeting Aarohi on the train but avoiding her just because of some silly swear her brother Rehaan had bound her with, in their childhood. Whatever the reason was, she knew Aarohi had been extremely hurt over the years and the issue had never been resolved. She also missed sharing time with Aarohi as the latter had quietly left for her own grandfather's house from the station of Omkareshwar itself.

It was not until the dawn of the new day that Prachi's sleep got interrupted and she walked out into the cold with a shawl wrapped around her clothes and wearing a parir of slippers. The curls of her raven-like hair were a definite mess, running left to right of her shoulders alongside.

Slipping her freezing palms into the warmth of her pyjama pockets, she reached the extended farmland of her ancestral property, located at a walking distance of about five minutes. She knew nothing about the place or its people, only the vastness and greenery of the town had captivated her. For a musician, an open space always meant to be a boon in disguise.

The deeper she walked into the density of the landscape, the more her nerves gave her goosebumps and she instantly felt connected to her ancestral roots. In the blur of imaginations, she thought of her parents' stay at Omkareshwar while solving a certain case and might have come under the influence of something very tragic.

She was searching for the answers to all her questions that had jumbled up over the years. All she wanted was to get back each of the members of her family and bind them so strongly together that they wouldn't detach anymore. With eyes and heart full of hope, she had accompanied the half of her family to Omkareshwar to find and join the other half of her family puzzle.

Her phone beeped once and she caught a glimpse of Rehaan's phone call. Refusing to receive it, she chose to drop him a message, informing him of her morning walk around the house with a disclaimer not to follow her or intrude into her freedom at least here at Omkareshwar.

She choked back a tear after replacing her cellphone in the pocket. Hadn't Rehaan been so harsh upon her, she wouldn't have had to be so unkind to him. She used to be under the strict supervision of Shaurya in London and were not allowed to mix with strangers easily. Both Rehaan and Shaurya used to behave as if someone had been watching her moves or trying to kidnap her that she wasn't allowed to socialize.

Prachi had made up her mind not to let them repeatedly monitor her anymore, now when she was in India at her birthplace and her parental home. She wanted to go deeper into every secret that hung incomplete, a part of her doubts also covered Rehaan and his behaviour towards her.

Rehaan used to be her once-upon-a-time closest companion before he committed the gravest mistake of dragging her out of the awards ceremony and eagerly assisting Shaurya to fetch them abroad, a thousands of miles away from India. Back at London also, she made no close friends except for some chosen classmates in exchanging notes and projects.