Of hearts and love

Love will fall in place

Love will fall in place

CHAPTER 1

Shraddha smoothed her crispy blue anarkali and adjusted her pearl necklace. She looked at herself in the mirror. To her eyes, Shraddha looked fairly decent enough to attend her cousin's engagement party. She packed small foundation box and lip gloss tube, which her cousin Natasha forcefully dropped in her hand, into her clutch. Shraddha paid attention to the arrangement as she took small steps from the room to the main hall. The pathway was arranged with red carpet theme and the hall was filled with curtains of bright yellow and red. She mentally imagined his look of disapproval when her cousin would have suggested the theme. Knowing him, one would think he would have preferred beige or even white. Shraddha took a moment to read the menu and grinned at the thought that at least he has won in this department. It was continental, his all time favourite.

As Shraddha entered the hall, she was greeted by curt nods and graceful smiles of her relatives. That is where their interaction ended. Shraddha has always been an enigma who others never want to decipher, but Shraddha knew how it all started. She was 10 when her father died. It was the time when everyone looked at her with pity. "Ohh poor Shraddha" they would say. For Shraddha the low mummers and pitiful looks proved heart wrenching than her father's dismissal.

Shraddha remembers the day vividly. Her uncle has bought jalebi for Natasha when Shraddha was 10 and Natasha was 7. Shraddha saw how Natasha relished the jalebi sitting in her father's lap, how he dotingly fed her jalebi, while wiping off the nectar of the sweet from her chin with his shirt with a smile. Shraddha, hid behind the pillar, looked at them smiling, perhaps, with a bit of longing. Then there was the same words with same tone," Oh poor Shraddha" she heard her aunt say,"Why don't you give her one piece." she said sympathetically. Shraddha's smile vanished as she began to take slow steps away from the living room. She loved her maternal uncle and his wife. They were extremely kind to her and her mother providing them support and all, but she didn't want to be "Oh Poor Shraddha....". That day for the first time Shraddha said that she doesn't like sweets to avoid the sympathy. A couple of days later she excused herself from attending a family gathering on the pretext of studying. A week after she refused to go to the movies reasoning that she had science project competition in her school. She avoided all places where she was "Oh poor Shraddha...". Fortunately or unfortunately everyone stopped offering Shraddha sweets or inviting her for casual gatherings. Shraddha ended up being the infamous family introvert. Shraddha had no complains. Now she is living her life in her own will without being thrown constant judgements by nosy relatives.

Shraddha managed to find her mom in the crazy crowd and went to stand beside her. "Oh Dr.Shraddha" she heard one of her aunties say, "You have grown so much". Shraddha gave a very measured subtle smile. "Oh Dr.Shraddha..." that is what she has become from "Oh poor Shraddha..." and Shraddha has no complains about the isolated path she chose.

"Deepa aunty was saying that nowadays her breathing rate is abnormal. Can you talk to her?" Priya asked her daughter.

Shraddha looked at her mother with an almost mocking smile. Now her relatives also were scared to talk to her.

"Give her my card. Outpatient time is 13.00 to 15.00. I don't work for free." Shraddha said as she gave her mom a mischievous smile.

Priya looked like she was about to chastise her daughter for her snide remark when Ashok, her brother, intervened.

"No professional talks in family gathering." he warned. Then, looking at his sister, he added, "Let Shraddha meet Natasha. She is waiting for her and you come with me to check the return gifts." he whisked away his sister and Shraddha made her way towards Natasha.