Petrichor to his Heart

2.20

Lahariya print - Fuschia and mustard yellow...

Madhubani print - Artist's work on the slide - 26...

"Do highlight your suggestions in the comment line"

The slides were being changed on her screen, she was reading the details, trying to understand the slides Keerti 's design manager had forwarded to her but she was not there. She was vaguely aware of the size tag around her waist pinching her constantly, then the way her baby hairs were fluttering around her temples and adding to the list of irritants for the time being.

she can cut the tag and she can definitely do something about her hair but she didn't feel the energy to do so... more than the physical exhaustion at times it was the mental chaos that drained all of your energy and today she was dug deep in one big chaos.

"11:57 pm." the digital clock on her table peeped at her from behind the notebooks open in front of her, the half drawing of the idea that she had pitched a few nights ago was taunting her from the clipboard and all her focus was on someone's car's faint screech she wished to hear.

"Do you think there is anything that we can add..." a message popped on the upper left corner of her laptop screen. Keerti wanted to talk, perhaps Amma told her something.

Pressing her head to the back rest of the chair Pallavi opened the application on her phone and typed.

"could not open it, might see in morning..." she lied because it was the partial truth as well, the slides were open but her mind was closed.

"oh...how are you feeling, did you visit the doctor?"

"Shit... she didn't tell Keerti about the news... should she tell on the phone or perhaps she could tell her in face ..yeah, that would be the right thing... She was the Bua and the moment needed some celebration or maybe Raghav would like to tell his sister about it.

The moments she took to type back prompted Keerti to call her and Pallavi smiled having someone to talk with.

"Yeah, nothing to worry... well, we visited Amma today." the words left her lips in the same state of the strange inebriation she was for the last few hours and suddenly she felt she should put back the part which mentioned Amma's home.

"Okay then...so are you coming tomorrow or need some more rest?" Keerti didn't pay heed to the visit to Amma's and it gave Pallavi a breather.

"Told you I am fine so yeah... I'll come." she desperately needed someone else and something else for this guilt of hurting Raghav unknowingly to loosen out from her soul.

"How is Bhai?, he called me in the evening but my phone was silent and now his is switched off," Keerti asked and Pallavi heard her typing and then the feedback of her pencil, perhaps Keerti was busy with the work and the thought earned her another guilt.

Perhaps Raghav called his sister to share his happiness but now...because of her it was all so messed up. She shuddered with the thought.

"he said there was something important," Pallavi scratched the blank page with the back of her pen, somehow it gave her relief.

"he is not home? already another trip? " Keerti 's voice was filled with the same shades of anxiousness she had often warned Pallavi about. She was concerned her brother was going too fast and living too less but only if she knew.

"No, I was waiting for him..." and only after she heard Keerti exhaling audibly she counted her mistake and added hastily. " some meeting and by the way, it gives me more time to work on the winter collection and how did it go today, what about the loans we applied for...they had to reply today, right" Pallavi thanked her Gods for recalling the tasks related to work and steering their talks to that direction and away from her personal life.