yours sincerely Mrs. Bajaj

The promise

The very next day, Hedhran found himself at the doorsteps of the Menon household, exactly at ten, just like he  told her. He rang the bell and waited  for some kind of a response. He was getting frustrated with the whole thing. He wanted to be freed from the agonizing  torture of  this entire  marriage prospect  which he had deemed upon himself. He blamed his family for putting him in  this awkward situation. He sighed. He was never good at conversations other than the one pertaining to his work, and now he had to converse with a bunch of complete strangers. Not just converse but also persuade them to accept him as their son in law. The thought itself made him uncomfortable as hell.

Shit. What did I sign up for? He grimaced. The door to the house opened up suddenly, revealing a man in his fifties, probably her father he thought. The man welcomed him with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

" I am Shekhar Menon, Niharika's father". The man introduced himself.

"Hi .....uncle.. I am Hedhran. Hedhran Bajaj. "

"I know,  we were waiting for you. Come on in. "

"Thankyou" said Hedhran awkwardly.

Shekhar led him into a spacious room, which Hedhran realised was the living area of the house. It was not as majestic as the living area of the Bajaj mansion. Rather it was quite simple and elegant.

"Here.Take a seat. "

"Oh... Thankyou". He made himself comfortable on the sofa, which upon his invasion, squeaked loudly.

" Don't mind the squeaking. It's a bit too old, " Said Shekhar.

"I am fine. " Hedhran ensured, his eyes wandering around in search of someone.

"Niharika is just tending to her brother, she will come now" Her father said probably sensing his discomfort.

Before he could respond , an elderly couple walked into the room with a brief smile on their face. Her grandparents, he thought.  Hedhran  immediately stood up startling them in the process.

"It's fine. Just keep sitting." The couple said in unison.

Hedhran cringed his actions. What the hell am I doing? And where the hell is she? He pondered.

Soon a middle aged lady entered, holding out a large plate filled with different varieties of snacks.

"Hi Mr. Bajaj. I am Niharika's  Amma as in mother" She said.

"Just call me Hedhran. "

"There is definitely more time for that "  She said eyeing him quite thoughtfully.

An awkward silence soon followed the room and Nobody spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Every one just stared at him.

"Stop staring at him" Finally, Niharika  emerged out of somewhere and said. Hedhran let out a sigh of relief at her sight. Probably the very first time, he ever felt relieved at her presence. She  had worn white again . It might be her favorite color he thought. Her brother trailed behind her, clutching on to her hand.

Seeing Nihaan, Hedhran stumbled out of his seat and moved towards him. He crounched in front of him and said

"Hi.Nihaan. I have heard a lot about you. I must say that I am a big fan of yours. I have read all your poems. I enjoyed it all, but I liked the one titled " An evening rose", the most. It was quite awesome man".

Nihaan blushed at his words.

"Here, this is for you. It's a collection of some old poems. I hope you like it".

" Thankyou" He said, a warm smile radiating out of his face.

Hedhran stole a glance at Niharika. She gave him a genuine smile. It was the first time she had given him that. He felt a sudden pang in his heart.