Darkhaast

~ 23 ~

Abhimanyu stormed into the Birla house and locked himself in his washroom.

Manjari interrogated Aarohi. 'Is he okay? What happened? Aarohi!' Aarohi was too stunned to speak. From bringing Mahi that first coffee to worrying himself sick over her health, the signs were all there; Aarohi was too blind to see them or acknowledge it as a possibility.

"Akshu." Her name was his prayer; he chanted it along with Mahadev's every morning. How could he utter someone else's name? He must possessed or inebriated. There was no other explanation. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to stir himself awake or at least recognize himself in the mirror.

Abhimanyu nor Aarohi could sleep that night. Both are tormented by Abhimanyu's fixation with Mahi.

----- 

Meanwhile, at a dhaba close to their old school, Mahi and Jai ate like pigs. Typical Punjabi foodies, there was thalis full of saag and makki di roti, another with channa-butare, and an Amristari kulcha that they split. Large glasses of mango lassi that competed to slurp down first.

"Ab bol bhi do, jo baat tumhare gale mein atki hai." Mahi finished her lassi first, granted her victory was due to his unease. Otherwise they'd be arguing who won the tie.

"I'm getting married, Mahi."

"What? Oh my God!" Mahi jumped onto Jai's bench, squishing him with the greatest hug. "Finally! Tumne propose kiya ja woh bechari haar maan ke khudi sare kaam kiya."

"I did." His voice was low and damped as if he were breaking the news of someone's passing.

"Itni khushi ki baat hai, toh phir kis baat ka sog manna re ho."

"Hamza ki mom, Ridhi Aunty ne phone kiya tha." There it was, the warning that dampened her spirits. "Tumse milna chahti hai.

Her body felt heavy and stiff.

"Kya soch rahi ho?" Mahi bruised her lower lip by biting it the second something came up. She traded one bad habit, digging her nails into her skin, for another.

"Yehi ki mera past mere aaj se takhra ra hai."

"Is that a problem?" He leaned forward, taking her hand in his.

"Nahin. Ye rishte itne aziz hai ke rab ki shukarana karti hoon."

"Toh phir?"

She retracted her hand and drank her lassi, trying to configure the best way to say it. "Rishton ko saath mein leke chalna kabhi mera strong suit nahin tha. Woh toh uska kaam tha."

"Toh sekh lo."

"Muskhil se Mahi se Maasi ban rahi hoon, ab bahu se beti banu?"

"Bahu bane ka mauka toh nahi mila, beti se kaam chala lo." She braced herself for the influx of rishte coming under her roof.

-------

Again, Akshara's barsi shook the foundation of Abhimanyu's world. Abhimanyu distanced himself from Aarohi and Mahi, unable to see the former's face without feeling ashamed and terrified to see the latter's; who knew what emotions Mahi would invoke.

Aarohi, too, grew distant from Mahi. She wanted to blame Abhimanyu - he made it so easy. Yet she knew she'd started the mess. She brought Mahi into their lives and unknowingly let Mahi become her confidant, a role her sister, Akshara, would've played if she were her. She thought Abhimanyu wasn't the only one cheating on Akshu's memory.

The wind changed directions. Mahi felt it, too. Mahi would sneak a peak at the daily soaps her Mumma watched and despised the TV bahu's for balancing everything and being holier than thou. She arranged for movers to shift her small family into a new apartment with enough room for Anurag's Mom, once they arrived in the city. They'd sell their Aashayein in Bangalore and build a new home for their families; that was their plan. She never thought she'd do it alone. Since Anurag's passing, she avoided their families like the plague, because she couldn't see them without that promise haunting her. When Mahi saw Naaz's texts or Ridhi Ma's missed calls, she'd shut her phone. Some hours later, she'd Facetime both, making empty promises to return or visit and then sending money for their daily living. It wasn't until Aarohi's party that Mahi realized her dishonesty hadn't escaped anyone, especially not Naaz. Everyone knew that if it weren't for Gurpreet's heart attack, she wouldn't have returned for another few years. She'd live in Bangalore, deluding herself that Anurag would return and they'd fulfill those dreams together.

When he should've been preparing for his wedding, Jai spent hours assisting Mahi in her move. He'd Facetime her from the new apartment, showing her the movers' progress. Sometimes, he'd bring her lunch and they'd sit together in the park outside the hospital. 

That was how Abhimanyu found them. After two weeks of silence, Mahi called out to him, making space for him at her side on the bench. 

"Abhimanyu, kahan ho tum? Chalo, Jai sandwiches like aaya hai, tum bhi khao humare saath." Abhimanyu strutted past them with tashan, putting on his black shades and earbuds. 

"Shayad usne suna nahi hoga," Mahi excused his berukhi to Jai. In her heart, she knew something was off.  After she settled the storms in her life, she'd ask him what was up and reconcile whatever mistake she'd made.