A story of a wife retuned from abroad. A Pandora of secrets hanging around her neck like a noose.
A story of a husband standing at crossroads, not knowing what brought him there in the first place. Him or his ambitions?
A story of a nasty divorce c...
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"Oorja? Is that you?"
On recognizing the familiar honey dipped voice, Oorja stilled. This couldn't be happening. Neither today nor for next few days. The consequences of this meet up would've drastic implications on Naisha's life and just the thought of it all had her breaking in cold sweat. Yet she relaxed her fidgety muscles and turned around to face her friend cum her sister's sister-in-law.
Her lips pulled up in a sober smile. "Woh, Priya? What are you doing here?" She asked unthinkingly. As she realized her error she bit the inside of her cheek but didn't provide a supplication for having sounded atrocious.
Priya padded towards Oorja and beamed. "I should be asking you that." Pointing at the paper cup she was holding she wriggled her brows. "From when did The Mighty Oorja Amrit, fancy ice-cream?"
"Well.."
Before she could get any explanation, a voice cut through the silence of the ice cream parlor.
"Di?" Naisha grumbled, her irritation tangible. "What is taking you so long? Oh Jesus, see the ice cream is melting." She went on, her eyes not straying away from a so-done looking Oorja. "I told you I hate melted chocolate but you don't care for anything I say." She was so busy cribbing that she forgot her sister was not alone.
"Naisha?" Priya literally screamed out. The high pitched call got them attention but none of the three broke out of their own bubble. Her joy had no bounds. "What a pleasant surprise?" She bounced to where her sister like stood and enveloped her into a bear hug.
For a moment Naisha forgot to breathe. The ground beneath her feet vibrated crazily. The short hair of her nape stood up from their roots. Her heart failed to function rhythmically. As the frail arms went around her shoulders, her eyes widened and wind pipe constricted painfully. She didn't return the gesture and stood there like an insensate rock.
It was too much for her to comprehend all at once. When she was leaving Prem's house she'd surely prepared herself to face anything and everything. The regular pep talks with herself had somewhat proven to escalate her confidence to stand tall through every ordeal that would follow post her separation from her husband.
However now she realized the confidence she'd thought to have built over the days was merely a castle of sand. The castle which didn't survive for even few seconds. One hard gust of wind and it crumbled back to the same debris from where it'd started to shape.
Oorja cleared her throat and that got her Naisha's attention. Her eyes softened in understanding. "Breath!" she whispered. To provide the needed assurance she blinked reassuringly. Quietly promising to stay and protect.
Naisha took a step back as the hands which were until now patting her withdrew from their place. "Didi?" Her hesitance could be heard in the squeak. "Aap yahan kya kar rahi hain?" (What are you doing here?")
Priya's eyebrows pinched in confusion but the smile didn't slip from her lips. "Aree dono ke shakal par barah kyun baje hain?" ("Why are you two so surprised?"). The tense reaction for her sudden appearance was baffling to say the least.
