Shade in the Sun

Chapter 3

Finally, Diwali was here. Sreeja was so excited about the day. Her house was beautifully decorated with Lights, Diyas, and Paintings. She prepared exotic was eagerly waiting for guests. They concluded the Diwali puja at 7 pm. With all the preparations complete, they could just wait for guests.

"Sreeja, it's 9:30 pm and we should have dinner now," Gaurav said.

"No, our neighbours might come to wish, you can have it if you are hungry."

"I can wait, aren't you hungry?"

"No I am not," she replied angrily.

He knew she realized that no one was coming, but wasn't ready to accept it...yet.

It was 11 pm and no one turned up. She had put in so much effort and enthusiasm to prepare the dishes. She threw those in the trash and went to bed. Gaurav could feel her disappointment but decided not to talk about it at the moment.

The next day, she got back to her routine tasks. She appeared fine, but was sad, deep inside.

"Let's go out somewhere today," Gaurav suggested.

"I feel tired."

"We'll step out in the evening, you'll have the entire day to rest," he convinced her.

They went out for a movie in the evening followed by dinner at a fine dining restaurant. It was 11 pm and there wasn't much traffic on the roads. The ride back home was quiet and smooth. She pulled down the window of the car and peeked out. The wind caressed her face and played with her hair. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the game.

When they came back home she was tired but delighted. She slept peacefully and he spent the night looking at her serene face.

–x–

"Why don't you take up something?" Gaurav suggested during breakfast.

"Like what?" she questioned.

" Anything... Maybe social work, some creative workshops, or learning something new."

"I think I should do that. But it's been a while since I did something creative. I am not sure if I can do that now."

"Why not? You are young and passionate. I remember you used to paint before marriage. You can do whatever you want to, just give it a try."

"Yeah, I guess I can try painting again."