Shivi OS: Yun Hi

Yun Hi

Holding onto the hand of a coughing mother, Shiva Pandya sat on the hospital bench, awaiting their turn to see the doctor. The outlandish silence present in the waiting room, accompanied by the occasional sound of the nurse fervently typing into the computer, concocted the perfect atmosphere for him to once again dive into the land of his chaotic thoughts. His brain skipped past the present; away from the hospital; away from his so-called married life; far away from his family. His brain jumped right back to the beginning. Going to the start meant going back to his Chipkali. Shiva's straight lips curved up into a smile as his brain played reels filled with memories of Raavi in a movie-like manner, instantly giving him a serotonin rush. His Chipkali. He frowned for a second at the thought of Raavi being his. How could he call her his after what happened between them all those years ago?

Suddenly the pleasant memories filled with Raavi came to a halt, instead, the dreadful recollection of his deeds flashed in front of his eyes. His brain conjured up the image of a helpless Raavi sitting on the hard ground, her suitcase wide open for the world to see, as she held onto his leg, asking him to trust her and accept her love. Clouded by pain and anger of being accused of domestic violence, as the divorce papers claimed, and his lingering doubt of Raavi being involved with Anita's cruel plan, Shiva refused to believe her vows of love. Throwing her off his foot, he humiliated her in front of the whole town, begging her to get out of his life and never return to this house. The present-day Shiva still remembered the look she gave him. Back then his angry self couldn't recognise the emotions passing through Raavi's face but today, at the generous age of thirty-five, he knew something broke inside her. Maybe it was her will to fight for their relationship but something broke.

"Suman Pandya, app das minute ke baad andar jaa sakti hai. Doctor Mihir aapka intezaar kar rahe hai." The nurse spoke, boredom evident from her clinical tone.

Shiva finally hit reality after being nudged by his mother multiple times. When he looked at her, he saw her give him a knowing look, almost as if she knew everything. This was true. She knew the reason behind Shiva's grim expressions. How could she not know? She was a part of the reason why his forehead carried extra creases, his smiles that no longer felt genuine, rather burdensome, and his eyes that dripped of nothingness, the brightness wiped away forever. But she could say the same about herself, could she not? Suman Pandya, the woman who was once cheered for her fiery personality had also hit a slump. The sass was no longer present in her demeanour, instead, she had become rather ordinary, the charm rubbed away from her face.

Suman too fell into a whirlpool of thoughts, trying to keep afloat but her brain kept pushing her further into the depths of her sinful past. She remembered the shock that Shiva had gone through after the divorce papers arrived at their house. A part of her always hated Raavi since the day she hit her precious son, so her being involved with Anita and the divorce papers being sent to their house felt like a miracle for her. A good miracle that would help her son get rid of the nuisance that Markundi Gayi was forever and finally settle with her darling Disha. Of course, her hate for Raavi multiplied by ten-folds after the Anita incident and her accusing Shiva of domestic violence, but all in all, she was happy that Raavi was no longer a Pandya Bahu. Thus, she tried her best to maintain Shiva's hate for Raavi by adding comments that further infuriated him and fueled the fire that brunt his love for her. However, what Suman failed to recognise was that she wasn't burning his love for her, in actuality, she was setting her son on fire. She, later on, got Shiva married to Disha, making her heart filled with happiness. Although the joy of Disha becoming a Pandya Bahu was short-lived as Suman found out how toxic Disha was. She turned out to be a selfish narcissist who wanted everything for herself. She soon realised the value of Raavi. The girl who she had tossed over like garbage.

Gone were the days when the Pandya's would sit together and bask in each other's presence, the bahu's of their house ended up demanding a batwara. At the age of eighty-two, when she should be enjoying her life with her grandchildren, visiting the Somnath mandir to ask for his blessings, she was in Delhi, being passed around her three son's houses like an unwanted parcel. Of course, Shiva never made her feel like this but her bahu's and other son's left no stones unturned to make her feel unwanted. Suman sighed, knowing that she was being punished by the all mighty for treating Raavi as a literal animal, insulting her day and night, making her work like a slave, and separating two people who were on the brink of finding love. She wondered if God could ever forgive her.