Tanhaiyan | neirohi

1. partner in crime

Munching on the sorry excuse of a sandwich, her rumbling stomach sighed with relief. Truly, when in hunger taste never matters. The canteen food had never suited her. It was too rich for her. Too much cheese. Staying away from home had gotten her used to it a bit though. For someone like her who was accustomed to eating her Badi Ma's food, the change was a bit tough. Those four years away from home made her realize that she and acidity problems shared a great chemistry.

Birlas had better canteen services for sure, she couldn't help but note.

Dusting off the bread crumps, she sat there doing nothing. Something she had always enjoyed doing. She did deserve a five minute break. Scrolling through her Whatsapp, her eyes widened at the thirty new messages notification from the Birla family group. Thank God she had muted that group long back.

It was mostly people spamming the group with those 90's song lyrics out of nowhere at three in the morning. The constant pinging was almost as irritating as the mosquito near her ear. Had the elder Birla trio been a part of the group, perhaps some discipline would've been there as well. She drowned herself in deleting all their spam messages without bothering to read those. That too, after a twelve-hour stretch of duty.

And people asked her why she looked pissed all the time.

Wasn't it self-explanatory already?

"Dr. Aarohi! Patients are lining up again!"

Bunching up her hair into a makeshift bun, she headed out. And Aarohi was once again a busy senior resident at Founders Hospital.

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Four hours later she lay on her sofa, unperturbed. One leg dangling and the other one placed high on the backrest, she sighed along with the groaning ceiling fan of hers after every turn. Her eyes followed its movements carefully.

Should she get up and cook something?

Or just drink some juice for dinner?

But lying down doing nothing, absolutely nothing, was fun. Intriguing even. After some mental math, she settled on the latter. Breakfast has to be made tomorrow morning anyway, so why waste all that energy tonight? On a Sunday night she had much better things to do than performing lab experiments with vegetables. Dragging herself to the fridge, she poured out a glass of orange juice. And that's when her phone rang.

A call at nine at night? She had a hunch of who it could be.

A look at the caller ID and as always, her prediction was spot on. The glass in one hand, she swiped the accept option and kept the phone a good distance away from her ear.

"Aaaaru!"

Only the deities could know the secret behind her sister being on a high always. Was it tequila or was it sugar? Most probably Methi Dana. Who could be this happy at nine at night? The phone on speaker mode had gotten the gleeful voice to echo throughout the four walls. Akshu's voice all the way from Udaipur gave more life to her dead house than those abstract wall-hangings did. Aarohi had her lips pursed, a feeble effort to not let a smile etch her face.

"Hmm?"

She asked, sipping the juice.

"What hmm hmm? Your sister is calling you all the way from Udaipur, and all you are doing is hmm? Not done Aaru, not done. During your MS, I understand that you were too busy to attend calls. Par abh? Arrey, abh toh teri job lagi hai! Loosen up a bit behna! Also, video call right now! That's an order!"

Aarohi compiled to the request and started drawing animated designs on the chilled glass surface, smiling.

"Accha chal. Leave all that. Did you have your dinner? Kya khaaya? Wait, don't tell me. You are skipping your meal again, haina? Aaru this is not healthy. You have to eat som—"

"Goodnight. You also go sleep or something?"

"Topic divert naa kar. Abhi is also not here. He has surgery tonight. No one can save you from me today. There's no kabab mei haddi to save your ass today Aaru. Basic co—"

The voice ceased suddenly. Aarohi could see Manjari aunty in the background, asking her sister something. The voices were faint and the talk was uninteresting. Her eyes searched the background. Parth and Shefali's silhouette was seen near the kitchen. Nishta appeared to be completing her assignments. And if the schedule was being followed, then the elders should've retired to their rooms calling it a day.

She squinted her eyes, nothing seemed amiss.

"Aarohi beta?"

Her attention was back on her mother-in-law. Manjari's dimpled smile and slightly raised eyebrow caused her ears to go red.

"Ji auntie ji?"

"Everything alright?"

The tone was unmissable. That is, if you are not Akshu. Speaking of which, why was her sister nowhere in sight? It was awkward to be left alone with Manjari auntie. The woman was kind. Too kind. And she was not used to kindness. The heaviness of some unsaid words floated between them always.

"Ji auntie ji."

Manjari's eyes swept over the grand staircase. And it was back again on the girl at the other side who looked exhausted. Yet, trying her best to be upbeat. Or something similar. Aarohi of course remembered, the person in front of her was not just her sister's mother-in-law now. Manjari's heart felt heavy on the other hand, but she knew that this time she had taken the right decision.

She had to be selfless this once. Just once more. Even if it hurt to be away from her child. Blinking back her tears, she explained.

"Beta, he is upstairs. Bit busy packing."

Aarohi glanced at the woman in front, shocked. Packing? Packing what? She was certain that she had misheard it. Hours of being stuck in the hospital was messing up her mind, seriously. Her confusion evident, Manjari continued.

"He'll be there day after tomorrow. That's why I asked Akshu to call you. I'll ask her to text you the flight details tomorrow. I sh-should probably help him with the packing. Goodnight beta."

The sniffles and tear paths did not go unnoticed by her, yet she could say nothing. The call was cut with a beep. Her thought process? The absolute opposite. She registered the information, repeating it inside her head. It was unbelievable. A Birla leaving his house was totally unacceptable. Almost as unacceptable as a family member quiting Birla hospital, again, another rule she overrode. Plus, she would never believe that it was his decision, never. He had valid reasons to stay back in Udaipur and not follow her here, she had accepted it long back. Also, those mama's boys don't pull out such stunts.

Then why?

Uneasiness blended with curiosity got her wanting some fresh air.

She watched the drops traveling down the glass end up on her finger, slow and steady. Leaning against her balcony's rail, she watched the rushing city. No time to stop, no time to wait for anyone. Contrary to the tiny lizard seeking shade under her Aloe Vera plant who was waiting for her to go away, so that he could come out of his hiding.

A snort made its way.

Don't worry little buddy, your partner in crime will be here soon.

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