Bairi Sanam: The hate of a lover

Chapter XLI: Pyaar

Ketaki

The night turned darker, and he still hadn't come back. I had started to become agitated now.
I kept pacing around the room fidgeting with my fingers getting all anxious. I ran downstairs to check but he wasn't there either. The lights were all turned off and everyone else had already fallen asleep. I decided to check the outdoors and checked both front garden and the backyard but found no one. I came rushing inside the house and taking a lantern from the kitchen, I lit it up.

I walked out on the streets looking here and there in search of him. My heart was thumping inside my chest as I kept pacing on the empty streets of the village with a lantern in my hand. I had covered a long of distance on my feet away from the house already and eventually stopped on my tracks feeling upset.

"Where did you go?" I said under my breath as a lone tear left my eye looking into the darkness of the empty street. Suddenly, my mind thought of where he could be at this time and cleaning off my tear, I ran towards it.

Reaching the riverside, I found him sitting against the tree trunk with his eyes closed. He had his brown shawl wrapped around him. I closed my eyes in relief seeing him in front of me. I began taking steps towards him and he opened his eyes and looked in my direction when he heard my footsteps. Placing the lantern on the ground, I kneeled in front him and gripped his kurta at the front between my fists.

"Where did you go huh? I was so worried," I began to yell at him while he kept looking at me and I didn't realise when I began crying. "Why did you not come back home?" I said crying more and he smiled in return. "Why are you smiling? Are you happy to see me in this state?" I said pulling on his shirt as tears kept leaking out of my eyes. He swiftly pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me tightly.

"You said you didn't want me in front of your eyes. How could I have denied you hmm?" He said as I cried more in his embrace holding him tightly. "Itne aansoo the bhi tumhare andar jitne aaj baha diye?" He said and I hit his chest with my fist while sniffling.

(Did you even have that many tears in you that you have shed today already?)

"Stop crying now please," he said and pecked my crown. My cries slowly died down and I came out of his embrace when he said, "I think you have a question for me."

I nodded and asked, "why did you marry me like this?" He took my hand in his and began speaking.

"On the day of your wedding, I had overheard Chetan saying disrespectful things about you. Remember I had slapped him one time when he had said something about you in the panchayat after you left from there?" He asked and I nodded listening closely to him. "The only reason he wanted to marry you was to avenge that incident. He felt so dishonoured he thought that he could recover that by marrying you and treating you badly every day," he explained, and my eyes had collected tears in them now. "His intent was malicious behind marrying you and I don't know why that was unbearable to me which is why I told him not to come to the mandap. Chacha ji saw this happening too that's why he didn't stop this marriage from happening." He kissed my hand deeply that he was holding and placing his forehead against it he said, "I'm sorry Ketaki. I know you did not dream of such marriage for yourself."

I felt so moved after learning the truth. I did not think Chetan would stoop so low just to avenge a slap. And him. He tolerated all my hate, all my anger with a smile. He did not think twice to marry me and endure his father's hatred just for me. He did not think about what everyone else would make of his actions. And he did all of this just to save my honour.

I felt his warm tears falling on my hand and I instantly lifted his face up. I cleaned off his tears and wrapped my arms around his neck taking him in tight hug.