Restricted Love

Chapter 2

Abhinav comes out of the restroom and sees Meera slowly walking upstairs; he calls, “Meera.” She doesn't respond. He calls again, “Meera! Where are you going?” Still no response.

He is confused and sceptical of her slow-paced walking, so he follows her closely while also continuously calling her. A part of him assumes she is playing a possessed maiden trick to scare him. While she continues her walk and enters her room, leaving the door open behind her. Abhinav follows, discovering her gown lying at the entrance of her room. He walks past it and finds Meera, expressionless, seated on the bed. He passes a grin as he says, “Enough, Meera,” but instead of getting an answer, she pulls out a knife and runs it on her bare thigh. It was fortunate it was a kitchen knife which didn't hurt her, but Abhinav leaps to her in astonishment. He grabs her wrist, slides his fingers to open her hand with force, and makes the knife fall down. Meanwhile also shouting, “What are you doing, Meera? ARE YOU CRAZY?” The latter part is louder than the former. 

Even at this moment, Meera is silent, her eyes emotionless. Now Abhinav is sure something is utterly wrong. He begins to tap her cheeks, repeatedly calling for her, “Meera. Gudia (Doll). Wake up! See its Abhinav Mamu. Can you hear me? Meera.” Still she is mute.


Now Abhinav is scared, very scared. He grasps both her shoulders, shakes her as hard as he can, uninterruptedly calling her, “Meera, Meera, are you listening? You have to wake up!”

Still no response from her; now he is panicking tremendously. He lays her on the bed and rubs her hands and feet one by one in frantic and rapid motion. The rubbing seemed to work as she began to breathe, long heavy breaths. Abhinav springs on the bed, sits beside her, pats her cheeks with both his hands and asks impatiently, “Meera can you hear me? Am I audible?”

She blinks for about thirty seconds, trying to understand her surroundings and happenings. When she does, she sits. Abhinav passes her a glass of water from the side table. She takes it and sips some, then asks, “What are you doing here?”


A realisation hits Abhinav as he replies, “So this has happened before.”

Meera averts her gaze as she replies, “What has?”

"Meera, don't try to avoid the question. You were with a knife; you could've hurt yourself.”

Meera takes a deep breath and says, “Can I rest?”

“So you're going to pretend nothing happened!” he says with worry, but Meera keeps shut. He adds, “Meera I can help you if you want, but if you don't, I guess I can't do anything.” After speaking his mind, he gazes at her for a response, but when he gets none, he glances down in despair. But as he shifts his body to get down the bed, his hand is stopped by Meera's hand. She breaks her silence, saying, “I can tell you, but on one condition. You can't tell anybody about this, not even ma (mother).”

“Why? She is quite understanding.”

“I know she's understanding, but she already has her hands full, and I don't want to burden her.”

“Trust me Meera, she won't be burdened.”

She increases her volume: “I said I only speak if this stays hidden from my family.”

"Okay, I understand, so calm down,” he says, gesturing his hands in an up-and-down movement for her to calm down. Then he adds, “I won't tell Seema di (elder sister); the only condition is that no family member knows right.”

“Yes.”

“So tell me what you know.”

She hesitates; Abhinav supports her; he side-hugs her while keeping her head on his shoulder; and he pats her gently like a mother. She calms down and says, “Not my first time; honestly, I have even lost count. My eyes get hazy, and I can't remember what had happened, only that I time-travelled. I don't know when it began, but I believe it is due to fatigue, or maybe due to my absent-mindedness. The knife thing was a first, and I will be extra careful from now on. It's just that I don't want to burden ma. I hope mamu, you won't tell her; she will worry too much.”

“I won't, but I will be taking regular updates from you. Okay!” says Abhinav.

“Anytime. You are only trying to help me.”

He nods and says, “There's time for dinner, so you should rest. I will rejoin the party.”

Abhinav leaves after he sees Meera tucked in her bed, eyes closed; he even draws the curtains before leaving. While her eyes were closed, she was wide awake, thinking to herself, 'Sorry mamu, I couldn't tell you the whole thing. I don't think you would be able to keep it a secret, and I don't want ma to know.’

Abhinav was relieved by Meera's response; he hoped that resting would clear her mind. He joins the party, only to find it calmer but noisier than before. Everyone was chatting unstoppingly. Abhinav, being a smart fellow, decides to sit near the tattler, Mrs. Sanwal. And it doesn't take long before he hears, “I tell you Seema has married the wrong guy. How could a lowly lawyer ever afford a mansion like this, if not for her? He enjoys our company only on account of her; otherwise, who would've bothered to step into this humble abode? I tell you, he should not have slapped Seema on her daughter's birthday, and that too in front of so many people. Poor Meera and Vidyut!”

“How they must have felt witnessing it themselves...” adds another unnamed tattler.

Mrs. Sanwal interrupts, “It was fortunate they didn't witness it. I checked myself. Vidyut was playing with the kids in his room, while Meera and Abhinav were both missing too. I tell you that Pankaj doesn't deserve his well-mannered wife and kids. God knows how he seduced poor Seema.”

Abhinav slides away after hearing the main part. He was very angry at what Mr. Joshi had done at the party and, at the same time, relieved that his niece and nephew didn't witness it. He knew he was a good-for-nothing sort of man, but a wife-beater was more infuriating than the former.


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