a feel good book about two people arranged together, falling in love.
the entire phase of courtship between two strangers after their marriage is arranged, it's incredibly underrated.
it's like falling in love with an intention to remain in love, t...
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Atharva laid in bed hopelessly. He was tired after a long day of work. And Valli was not at home for him to call her and speak to her. She was attending some kid's in the village. And meant that his father was there too. So he couldn't call him either. He huffed, rolling over and sleeping on his side.
Atharva mama Are you home yet? Call me when you're home
He sighed, throwing his phone on the bed next to him and looking at the window. Was Ram home? He got up, walked into the kitchen, picked up a bottle of scotch, his cigarettes and some food and walked out of his apartment. He was in his sweatpants, despite it being winter, it was quite hot and so he had ditched the shirt as well. He walked across the hall shirtless and barefoot in only his sweatpants, pushed Ram's door - it opened up. That meant that he was home. He walked past the entry way to find him on the floor in front of his couch with the TV on. And a Hindi serial played on it.
"Hi baby!" Ram cooed at his best friend. Atharva rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor next to him.
"Learn to lock your door." Atharva muttered, opening up the bottle.
"I need to stop all this before I get married." He sighed, taking a swig of it straight from the bottle.
"Why? You're scared your Valli will see how you really are?" Ram snickered.
"I'm not scared. Shut up. I just don't want to expose her to all of this. Atthaya and mamaya really protected her and kept her very... You know? Aloof. Like a glass doll. My doll." He sighed, pulling out a cigarette from the box.
"You don't need it. Stop." Ram huffed, pulling the box and the stick out of his hand. He rolled his eyes and leaned back onto the couch.
"What happened to her that day? On your birthday?" Ram asked, focusing his attention on him.
"Mother-in-law problems. I was so furious but shut myself up for Valli's sake. What fuck will we do? And even if we do, how does it even matter? It's not like I was going to pounce on her and fuck her the moment I found her alone. Who did she think I was? And moreover who did she think Valli was? I was livid. If it was anyone else, I would've just trashed them." Atharva scoffed.
"Mmh! Mother-in-law problems. It's better than my serial." Ram grinned.
"Valli doesn't have mother-in-law problems." Atharva chuckled, taking another swig and looking at his phone again. She had not replied.
"Would she have if your mum was alive?" Ram asked.
"Heck yes. Worse than I do. She would've tortured the fuck out of my Valli. Amma was... Possessive? I can't get the right word. But she was very keen on not letting me settle in the village, and doing something extraordinary. She loved me way too much, was a very active part of my life and tried to influence all my decisions way too much. And she even liked Valli. Valli wouldn't have been the problem. It was just the fact that she was marrying me. She would try to establish her authority and place in my life. Which would've put Valli in a strange spot. And I would've been rolled out like a chapati in between them both." Atharva sighed, thinking about how life would've been if his mother was alive.
