Tere Bin - Retro

Meerab's Revenge

Meerab woke up seething in anger.

Murtasim and his ridiculous bet had triggered an irrational rebellion inside her.

She felt an insane urge to win by any means and at any cost. For the many times that Murtasim had violated her privacy, teased her, played with her heart and ignored her, winning this bet and Murtasim losing would be the retribution she had always wanted. That would prove once and for all that it was he who had always been the problem, the inappropriate one, the evil twin, the yang to her yin. She was not sure who she was trying to prove anything to, but that did not concern her. The fury within was making her feel more energized than she had in months.

She flung the covers and got up with a jump. it was time to put her plan to action. She scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth furiously, like she was being timed.

As she bathed, she thought about all her plans tactically.  She knew that the ultimate weapon she had at her disposal was jealousy. Murtasim was a very possessive man and jealousy was his Achilles heel. A plan popped into her head, just as she had finished getting ready. It was game time!!

Meerab picked up her iPad and went into the main sitting area of the home. The spacious room was the central part of the house. With ample seating, high ceilings and tall indoor plants, it was a well-designed space, visible to everyone. She turned on FaceTime and put her Airpods on. Then, with the skill of the actress she could be, in an alternate reality, she turned her charm on to absolutely no one on the screen. She played with her hair, fluttered her eyelashes, wound the dupatta around her fingers and smiled, shyly at the ground. To a casual observer, she was playing the part of a smitten girl, chatting with her man to perfection. She continued the pretense for every curious soul who passed by the room. And, she did not end her call, till she saw Murtasim walk by and the maid had called her a few times for breakfast.

Sitting opposite Murtasim, Meerab smiled smugly at him and Maa Begum. She chatted excitedly, passing food along, remarking on the freshness of the fruits and planning the appointments for her father. Maa Begum wondered what had put her in such a good mood and Meerab demurred, responding with captivating shyness and allure.

But Murtasim remained strangely unaffected. He took no interest in Meerab's chatter. Clad in starched, white kurta and salwar, with a dapper light grey jacket, he looked like a cross between a preppy rich boy and a serious businessman. For anyone else, these colors would have looked boring and monochromatic, but not for Murtasim. With his shiny, gelled back hair, the freshly shaven beard, Murtasim was a sight to behold and someone Meerab was trying very hard to ignore. But as much as Meerab was trying and failing, Murtasim remained aloof and disinterested. He seemed preoccupied, checking his phone multiple times with the urgency of an operator in a call center.

The he stopped, calmly poured tea for himself and sipped it. He stole a few suspicious glances at Meerab but otherwise pretended not to notice her.

"Bhaktu ko bulaye", he asked the maid.

"Ji Khan", the trusted manager appeared.

"Bhaktu, woh Cable walon se baat hui?"

"Ji Khan, woh keh rahe hain ke Internet off hai par unka kaam chal raha hai, ek do roz mein chal jaayega". He calmly remarked in a deep voice "Really, ohh acha". 

Then he looked pointedly at Meerab and exclaimed loudly "Toh Bhaktu, internet down hai.. Kuch chal nahi raha hai.."

"Ji Khan, aap log ke local phone toh chal rahe hain, but Meerab bibi ka local SIM nahi hai, unka phone nahi chal raha hoga".

Meerab froze. She had been caught like a hapless fish in a net. Her confidence, courage and seemingly superior intelligence deflated like a balloon that had just been pricked with a pin. She sat frozen, unable to look up. Not only had Murtasim let her blabber on for the entire breakfast, making an utter and complete fool of herself, he had Bhaktu deliver the final punchline to the grand drama. Bhaktu??? Oh god, what was everyone thinking of her. She had been talking to herself like she was catching internet with her head.  Could the earth please open up this instant and swallow her whole? She was silently dying internally with shame.