As they continued their conversation, they emptied the bottle of alcohol, their inhibitions unravelling.
He noticed Ragini falling asleep and decided it was time to move. He huffed and pulled her up, warning her,
"Get up. You can't sleep here; you might fall down and drown in sleep forever."
"No," Ragini protested. "I am sleepy."
"You can't sleep here. You might fall down and drown in sleep forever," he reiterated, his words slightly slurred.
"No!" she continued her protest. "I am sleepy."
He sighed and, with a mix of amusement and frustration, pulled her along with her hand on his shoulder.
In a drunken and nasal voice, she began singing, "Ohh sathi re, tere bina bhi kya jeena."
He felt irritated but let her continue. He led her to a cottage where he had been staying for a few days. After entering, he deposited her on the sofa, but she pulled him along, and they both ended up on the sofa.
"You look good," she whispered.
"And you look bad right now," he replied, a smirk playing on his lips.
She huffed and argued back, pulling his hair. "I am beautiful."
The guy screamed in pain. "Yes, you are. Now leave my hair," he groaned.
Ragini let go, and he tried to stand but was tipsy, causing him to fall down again.
"You are heavy," she complained.
"Oh, sorry," he apologized and pulled himself away, sitting next to her. As the alcohol took its toll, he began feeling drowsy.
"I don't want to marry him," Ragini confessed.
"Then don't," He responded, his words trailing off.
"I don't want them to be together," she added.
"Then don't let them be," he suggested.
She giggled, revealing a lighter side of herself. "I wanna travel."
He didn't respond, lost in her own thoughts. Ragini persisted, "I wanna leave this place, but I am worried about my Dada Ji and Dadi. Will they be okay?"
"Sometimes I wonder if anyone has ever loved me. Dadi has always been strict with me—Ragini, do this; Ragini, don't do that. Wear these clothes, learn this, walk like this, talk like this," she mused, her thoughts spilling out.
"Your Dadi is kadoos," he remarked.
"No, she is not! She loves—"
"But she sounded kadoos,"
She started yelling in anger "She is not, how dare" he interrupted, covering her mouth with his hand. "Chup."
"Kitna bolti ho," she bit his palm, and he pulled away.
"Now I can't even speak. No one loves me," she started screeching, her emotions erupting.
He joined in, mimicking her cryful tone, "Oh, my fate, where I am stuck with you."
She stopped, looked at him, and quieted down. "Why is life so hard?"
"Because it isn't supposed to be easy," He replied, sharing a piece of his own wisdom.
"Why me?" Ragini questioned, recounting all the hardships she had faced—from her mother's death to Dadi's strict behavior, Shekhar's ignorance during her childhood, envying Swara for having a loving mother and Dida, Dida taunting her, and Laksh's recent confession.
YOU ARE READING
Twist of fate
Romance"I love you, Swara," Laksh declared, Swara, torn between emotions, resisted his advances. Ragini stood in the shadows, an unwitting witness to this emotional revelation. As the weight of Laksh's words settled, she felt as if her soul had left her bo...
