There is a light hearted vibe as the family settles around the dining table piled with the dishes of their daughter-in-law's pehli rasoi. Fresh dosas with coconut chutney and steaming hot payasa is served and the family relishes it, praising Malini for it who credits Imlie for her significant help as well.
There is a contentment on Malini's face as she sees her family enjoy her cooking and she wishes Aditya had been there here. If not for the requirement of his job, she sighs.
_
After breakfast, the family settles in the living room, wanting to relax after the festivities of the wedding. The working members especially make it their intent to relax and enjoy with the entire family as much as possible before they have to go back to work, especially seeing the peace and happiness that has come into their house after a long long time.
And hence began a game marathon as the kids pulled out snakes and ladders and ludo boards they had accumulated from various gifts for the young generation to play. The elders pulled out their cherished set of chowkabarah, an older version of the modern day ludo to indulge in.
Imlie brought in a round of piping hot tea and was soon pulled into a game.
Laughter and playful banter followed, making it a beautiful time spent.
_
After a heavy breakfast, lunch was a simple affair with khichdi, achar (pickle) and curds, something mild for the stomach after all the rich food from the wedding. All of them relished the food, moving after to their own rooms to take a much needed nap.
As she wound up the kitchen, a sheen of a sweat built on her forehead, her breathing slightly heavy. She could feel a wave of tiredness slowly build, threatening to envelope her. The cramps today were mild but persistent and consistent with the heaviness of a heart that still aches with what she seems to try to decipher, everything and nothing all at once.
Gulping down some cold water, she makes her way back to her corner. Setting aside her clothes which were in a haywire, she collapses on her mattress, fatigued. It takes but a few seconds before sleep envelopes her completely.
_
It is evening when she opens her eyes, still tired despite the sleep, not on her own accord but Aparna's voice calling her.
"What happened beta? Are you not well?" a concerned Aparna asks as Imlie looks at her, blinking away sleep.
"No no Choti Kaki. I'm alright. I was just sleepy" the lie she says is convincing, a practiced one from all the times she didn't want her Amma to worry and had hid her own problems.
"I was just going to get up. It's quite late isn't it" she continues before Aparna can question anything.
"It's alright Imlie. All of us are waking up now only. Turns out all of us were equally tired!" Aparna says, making Imlie smile. She pats her head affectionately and makes her way down, asking her to freshen up and come.
Imlie washes her face with cold water, the feel of it soothing against her skin. She then makes her way to the kitchen to help make the tea and finds Aparna boiling the water while looking lost in thought.
"What is it Choti Kaki? Where are you lost?" she asks mildly, a smile on her face.
"I was thinking now that the wedding is over, we can shift you into a room that will be for you completely!" she says seriously.
It makes Imlie halt, a warmth unfurling in her chest and sentimental tears clouding her eyes.
Who are these people? How are they so good? In a world where her own people condemned her for mistakes that were not her own or never made, there were these people whom she had known and who knew her for a lesser time and yet they bestowed her with such love and kindness, it was impossible to put in words! She was but a mere servant, at least that was what she was hired for but the way they not just called her family but treated her like one as well, it makes her heart quiver with gratitude and love and respect. The tears slip down her eyes, flowing in abundance.
All these days they had been tears of pain but for once there is a reprieve as the tears that flow down her eyes now are of inexplicable affection!
"Arey beta what happened? Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?" Aparna asks worriedly as she hurries towards her to wipe her tears and pull her into a hug.
Imlie shakes her head wordlessly even as she hugs Aparna back fiercely, wanting to convey in actions what she cannot in words.
When Aparna had first given her the corner, she had mentioned she'd give her a proper space to live after the wedding. She hadn't thought she would actually follow through with it because no matter how much they called her a family, the truth remained that she was but a maid.
She did not doubt their affections or their declarations of her being their family because they showed it in their actions but the society they lived in imposed certain barriers across each of their roles, ones that lay imbibed deeply in the subconscious.
"Kya hua beta? Bata mujhe. Tu nahi batayegi toh kaise samajh aayega?" Aparna asks worriedly, caressing her hair with motherly affection.
("What happened beta? Tell me. If you don't tell me, how will I know?")
"Nahi kuch nahi Choti Kaki!"
(Nothing Choti Kaki)
"I just...I got sentimental hearing what you said. I know you consider me family, you love me like one and show it to me as well but the truth also is that I'm the house maid and nobody does this much for their maids so I'm so incredibly greatful! I can't express all of it in words!" she says, clinging on tighter.
Her words make Aparna's heart ache with melancholy. That this child, so young but so mature, already tainted by this world's barriers, setting them apart like they weren't the same flesh and bones like any other human, it has something twisting in her chest. It evokes a resolve she can feel slowly building even as she holds her daughter of heart close to her chest - she needs to eradicate this thought and these barriers between them!
Note:
Helloo!!
Am back!!
I seriously wanted to pen a long note but I realized that has been a pattern with this book so I stopped. Coz yes the reasons remain the same for the delay and whoever still remains, know that I'm so so sorry!!!
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...
