Ratneshwari

Chapter 33

Dhruvan had asked Ratneshwari to come to his house the next day. He wanted her to meet his mother. Ratneshwari was sitting in her bedroom. She dialled Dhruvan's number. Dhruvan received her call.

"Hello beautiful girl"

"Hello"

"I was about to call you. Come here at 3 pm."

"Did you tell your mother about me?"

"I will tell her after reaching home from college. She is hell bent on getting me married. I want to surprise her."

"Will she like me?"

"Ratneshwari, do not worry. You are a wonderful person who has a beautiful heart and soul. My mother will surely see your beauty. She will love you like our Viji."

"Okay, bye"

"Bye, take care "

Ratneshwari wore a purple coloured silk saree and braided her hair. She lined her eyes with kohl and wore a bindi. She wore a pair of gold earrings and a gold chain. She looked herself in the mirror and sighed. She remembered the day when Shivan went to her house to see her. She said to herself,"Let bygones be bygones. Shiv, perhaps you were right. I should move on."

She decorated her hair with Jasmine flowers. She was wearing Jasmine flowers on her hair for the first time in 8 years.

She took an auto and went to Dhruvan's house. She was nervous and as a result, she was shivering. She sighed and entered through the gate. She saw a young girl watering flowers in the garden. The girl noticed Ratneshwari. She ran to her.

The girl said,"You are looking very beautiful. Is your name Ratneshwari?" Ratneshwari nodded her head in affirmation. The girl hugged her tightly. Then, she said,"My name is Vaijayanti. My family members call me Viji." Ratneshwari smiled at her and said,"You are Dhruvan's sister, right? He told me about you." Vaijayanti's eyes beamed with happiness. She said,"So Anna told you about me. That's good. Anna arrived just a few minutes ago. He bought a lot of sweets today. Amma will be shocked. My Anna likes to surprise people. I really want to see her reaction when he will tell her about you. He must have done that already. Let's go inside."

Vaijayanti and Ratneshwari entered the house. Ratneshwari looked around. It was a big house. Vaijayanti whispered into her ears,"Anna and Amma will be in Amma's room. Let's go there unannounced and surprise them." They walked upstairs towards the room. The door was ajar. They were about to open the door when they heard someone shouting.

"Whattttt? You want to marry a divorcee?"

"Amma, what is the problem?"

"You are asking me what the problem is?"

"Yes, Amma. What is the problem? She is a good person and I don't think that there is something wrong with marrying a divorcee."

"That woman could not stay with her first husband. How can you expect her to stay with you?"

"Amma...."

"What is wrong with you? Is there a scarcity of young unmarried girls in the city?"

"I love her."

"So what? Should I let you marry her just because you love her?"

"Why not, Amma? Moreover, it was not her fault. Her husband left her."

"And you believed her story? How can you be so sure that it wasn't her fault? She does not have a family. Who knows what her origins are? She might be the daughter of a prostitute who is staying here alone to lure rich men into marriages."