She runs to her corner, feeling wretched and wrenched. The kumkum water that has now dried on her feet feels as momentous as the blood of somebody else staining her feet, the burden tearing at an already sore wound. The need to clean it off her feet is as frantic as her reaction to the mehendi stain on her hand and the sindoor in her parting back in Pagdandiya, Fate's signs which she can no longer bear to adhere to. Hastily stripping her saree and the ornaments she had to return, she wraps a towel around her shoulders and grabbing a faded green churidar, runs to the washroom.
The water from the shower is cold but she pays no heed to it, engrossed more in her endeavour of erasing the kumkum lining the soles of her feet. Exhaustion, both emotional and physical begins to cloud her and it is the sudden bout of dizziness that slows down her attempts and has her sliding onto the floor. She takes in a few deep breaths, trying to relax herself so she does not fall unconscious, oblivious to the water drenching her still tied hair and all of her.
_
Cleaning the dripping kumkum water from her legs, Radha applies the pain relief ointment to her foot even as she scolds her lovingly for not being more careful. It makes Malini feel overwhelmed by the care and love. Despite knowing how good they all are, it still makes her sentimental - this family she now gets to call her own.
Taking a bandage, Radha wraps it around Malini's foot to give it the support it needs and then sets it down gently.
"Thank you Badi Maa" Malini says with a smile. Radha caresses her hair gently with an answering smile.
"Aaj ke liye bas! Baaki ki rasmein kal karenge. Sab aaram karo abhi" Aparna says.
("It's enough for tonight. Let's do the rest of the rituals tomorrow. Take some rest everybody")
Everybody agree, the exhaustion of the day catching up with everyone. Aditya picks up Malini and takes her to his room, knowing she cannot cover the distance with her injured foot. He sets her gently on the couch and at her behest, he sets out to call his mother or anybody so they can help Malini change into something comfortable
The first person he comes across is Rupi Didi who acquiesces. Seeing he has nowhere to go till Malini is changed and settled, he decides to check on Imlie, flashes of her tired face not letting him stay without doing so. There is anyway no harm in checking up on a person in this house right.
_
With no way to knock on a saree door, he calls out her name. When it is not met with any verbal response or the familiar tinkle of her bangles despite calling two more times, he pushes the saree curtain aside, a frown on his face. Her worn saree on her unoccupied mattress, her ornaments scattered over it, her potli open and few dresses falling out like something was pulled from it - all of it a paint a picture of haste that he does not know how to comprehend. Why was she in such a hurry and where is she exactly?
Where has she gone off to at such an hour?
And most importantly why didn't she come behind Malini to check on her like she should have? Why wasn't she with everybody in the hall? Is she alright?
Before he can bombard himself with any more such questions, a whisper puts all of it to rest.
_
What felt like hours spent under the shower turn out to be a mere 15 minutes. She dresses in her pale green churidar, her wet hair loose and a dry towel on her shoulder, intending to spread it on her pillow so her wet hair wouldn't stain it. With slow steps, she makes her way towards her corner, ready to call it a day in every sense. She is a little away from her corner when she spots him, still in his red groom's kurta, standing outside, her saree door pushed aside.
"Babusaheb" his name escapes her mouth in a tired whisper. She is too exhausted to deal with anything right now. All she wants is to be left in peace and she prays to her Sita Maiyya internally that he isn't here to berate her or anything. But one look at his face when he turns leaves her surprised at the concern writ over his face. He rushes towards her, eyes inspecting her up and down like she is hurt when she hasn't done anything to warrant it and it makes her heart skip a beat.
"What happened Jhalli? Are you alright?" he says, his tone and voice soft, the same kind of soft he was with her back in Pagdandiya before their forced alliance changed everything. It brings tears to her eyes, vulnerable and aching as she already is under all the duress. She gulps down the lump in her throat before saying
"I was just feeling too exhausted Babusaheb. I am fine, just need to sleep"
He nods his head, understanding she is speaking the truth though he still fails to recognise it is just a part of the entire one!
"Sleep well" he says and starts moving away when it occurs to her that she hasn't asked about Malini Didi.
"Babusaheb!" she calls out and he turns at her call.
"How is Didi?"
"She will be fine don't worry. It's just a minor sprain. Tonight's rest and she'll feel much better tomorrow"
"Oh that's great! Why were you here though Babusaheb? Did you need something from me?" she asks
"No nothing. Just came to check on you!" he says.
"Oh!" she says, her heart skipping a beat again.
"Good night then"
"Good night Babusaheb" she says before stepping into her corner and pulling the saree door close.
He walks back towards his room, feeling much better despite the exhaustion now taking him in its grip.
Love,
Pratyusha
YOU ARE READING
Lakeerein - Ties That Bind Us
Fanfiction------ Can Be Read As General Fiction ------ One night. One event. Lives of two people altered completely. When Aditya Kumar Tripathi, Chief Executive Reporter at Bhaskar times stepped into Pagdandiya and met Imlie, he did not know how his life woul...
