Kavita's Submission [COMPLETED]

Chapter 15

Kavita's POV

"Argh!" I exclaim in pain when I accidentally cut my finger while chopping the vegetables in the kitchen.

"Kya huwa, bhabhi? Aap thik hain?" Smritiji looks at me with concern etched across her face.

"Haan. Thik hoon, Smritiji. Bas ungli jara si kat gayi," I say, walking to the sink to wash the blood off my finger.

"Aap ghav pe haldi laga lijiye, bhabhi. Main sabji kaat deti hoon."

"Nahi, Smritiji. Bas jara si hi kati hai. Main kar lungi. Aap jaa ke aaram kijiye," I tell her, not wanting to trouble her.

Anyway, the sting from the cut is no more than the sting that has been pricking every fiber of my being since the last five days.

It has been five days since the night I apologized to Sameerji and pleaded with him to forget and forgive everything. Five days since he yet again crushed me and my hope from him about ever understanding me. Five days since I have been burning in angst on not knowing how my mother must be doing.

It's not that I have not tried talking with Sameerji. Two days after that night, I tried again. I tried to request him to at least contact babuji and ask him about how maa is doing, but he walked away without even listening to me.

He has been doing the same since the last three days. Whenever I try to talk with him, he either turns off the light and sleeps, shouting at me not to disturb him or he walks out of the room, not letting me say anything to him.

"Bhabhi, kahaan khoyi huwi hain?" Smritiji's slightly loud voice makes me turn to her.

"Ji, Smritiji. Kahiye."

"Yeh lijiye, bhabhi," she says, smiling at me while forwarding an envelope towards me.

"Yeh kya hai, Smritiji?"

"Yeh meri aur Anirudhji ki taraf se aapke liye," she answers.

"Asha karta hoon ki iss khat ke padhe ke baad aapki takleef thodi kam ho jaaye," Anirudhji says, making me startled, because I did not notice when he entered the kitchen.

"Maaf kijiye. Maine aapko rasoi mein aate huye dekha nahi," I tell him, quickly averting my gaze from his smiling face.

I don't know why he always smiles at me. Even when I ignore him when he tries to talk with me. He never seems to get offended by me. Perhaps that's why I do feel bad when I walk away from him everytime he tries to initiate a conversation with me.

"Dekh kya rahi hain, bhabhi. Lijiye na," Smritiji insists.

I take the envelope from her hand. "Par yeh hai kya?"

"Aapki maa ka khat," Anirudhji replies, shocking me.

"Maa ka khat? Par unhe toh-"

"Likhna nahi aata," Anirudhji completes my sentence. "Woh khat likha jarur maine hai, par bol aapki maa ke hain. Smriti bhabhi ne bataya mujhe ki aap apni maa se milna chahti hain par jaa nahi paa rahin. Aur iski wajah se dukhi rehne lagi hain. Isliye main kal shaam ko hi aapki gaon ke liye nikal gaya. Thodi der aapki maa se baat ki aur unhone hi yeh khat aapke liye bhijwaya hai."

His words bring tears to my eyes as I clutch the envelope close to my heart.

"Maa kaisi hain, Anirudhji? Unki tabiyat jyaada toh kharab nahi hai na? Aur aap ne unse kya baat ki? Yahaan jo kuch din pehle huwa woh toh kuch nahi bataya na?"

"Fikar mat kijiye, Kavitaji. Maine unse kuch nahi kaha. Bas itna kaha ki aap yahaan khush hain aur unko yaad karti hain," he says.

Frowning, I ask, "Aap ne bataya nahi, Anirudhji. Unki tabiyat kaisi hai?"