His apology feels hollow to his own self even if it manages to alleviate a little of his restlessness. He retreats to his room for a nap, knowing he would be accomplishing in a sleep-deprived state. As he settles on the bed though, Malini comes and sits by him, her hand on his forehead, worriedly checking for fever.
"I'm just tired Malini. Didn't get much sleep yesterday. I'm not unwell." he reassures her.
"Hmmmm" she sighs, her face still etched with concern.
"Hey, what is it?" he asks her. She stays still for a second before deciding to share few things.
"I'm just worried about Imlie, Aditya. She is so young and she has already borne so much. To grow up in a family where her own grandmother is so vile, it is horrible. It is horrible to think one's own family member can do that" she says, eyes holding a disturbed look. When Imlie had first revealed it, she had experienced shock and her immediate response had been to remove that thought process from her sister's belief system. After that, it had transformed to protective rage. Now though, all she can feel is the horror that had been pushed behind. Because if this was the way her grandmother behaved when she was in excruciating pain, what's to say she hasn't done or said worse? What's to say it is not an isolated incident but a set pattern. What's to say Imlie is not carrying the trauma of more such incidents.
"What do you mean Mun?" he asks, sitting up now. He didn't need anybody else's words to know how vile Imlie's Nakli Nani truly is. But how does Malini know? What has that lady done to Imlie?
She narrates the conversation she and Aparna had with Imlie to him. Even though a part of her feels like she had violated Imlie's privacy, another part of her cannot not tell him, cannot not stay without seeing the same outrage in him that she herself is experiencing.
With each word he hears, his hatred for that vile woman increases even more. His fists clench and eyes burn with the very anger he is always associated with.
"How dare she?" he fumes, an echo of the same words that had once been misdirected at Imlie, now coming out of his mouth on behalf of the outrage for her. Malini nods, strengthened by seeing the anger echoed in him and shares all her worries. As she speaks, the fog of his anger clears the muck of entangled thoughts sedimented in his head. Her words ring in his ears again.
Her dream. Her one dream.
They mingle with Satyakam's words from the day he revealed his past.
Her dream of studying. Her dream of becoming a police officer.
"To think she has made it this far despite, she is a strong, brave girl, our Imlie. She is educated right Aditya?"
He nods and says
"She has studied till what would be considered 12th. She has even received a scholarship."
"She does wish to study further right? Maybe that is why she came to the city seeking a job - so she could earn and save up to fund her own education and daily needs, especially after the scholarship money runs out" Malini guesses.
Her dream of studying. Her one goal of becoming something so the disgrace her mother has faced can be countered with the light of her achievements.
He nods again because Malini may not be aware it was their marriage that brought Imlie here, but her guess wasn't too far off. It makes sense to him that she'd aim to seek a job just like Malini has said even if it probably won't be domestic help even though he knows Imlie sees no job as small or big. Maybe she'd become a typist or help out at a shop. As he thinks along these lines though, he realizes he can still make it right for her. If education is what she wants, he can help her with it. They all can.
"Mun, I think I have an idea about how we can make things better for her instead of focusing on the past" he says it gently, honesty shining in his eyes even as his idea picks his resolve.
"What is it Aditya?" Malini asks, now curious.
Aditya shakes his head.
"Get the family together. We need to discuss it before she wakes up"
_
Sundar has known for a long time that life is something to endure. Ever since almost giving up on it after his mother's demise only to realize his mother would have wanted him to live, he has vowed to endure through everything life puts him through, as long as it means, he emerges out making some growth and progress. So when life gave him a job at the Mishras, he took it despite the pay being less. Only with each day, enduring is becoming more and more difficult.
His job roles comprises of kitchen work. He is meant to cook all three meals, make coffee or tea as per demand, keep something ready for evening snacks, wash the dishes, wipe the platform and always be ready to cook for any number of guests that turn up. Now Sundar is a hard working guy and is also not the type of guy to crib about his less salary. He is grateful for every penny he gets and always does his job as per his best. The problem isn't the demanding job for a meagre pay. It is not even exploitation of his labour.
No, the problem is the exploitation of his dignity. While Dinesh Mishra is a successful jeweler and seldom at home and his wife is always busy in her kitty parties, it is his daughter who is the problem. Growing up with absent parents and more wealth than deserved has made a spoilt brat out of a girl while also making her a massive bully.
He does not know what about him has pricked her when he is always in the kitchen doing his work till he retires for the day in his room at the staff's quarters. But ever since the second month, she has been a nuisance. Ruining his dishes, dirtying the sink just after he has finished cleaning, tripping him over and showing it to her friends on video call. It would still have been okay if the actions hadn't been followed by harsh mockery and insults. She would push him, pull at his uniform and if he as much as looked up, she'd threaten of accusing him of trying to assault her.
He has endured through all of it but the last straw comes when his quarters are a mess and his mother's only photo lies in tatters. The anger he feels pales in front of sheer grief that fills him, as if he has lost her all over again. He picks up his stuff, what remains manageable in the mess and walks away from his post, heading over to the house, a rare time when he is home much to his luck, to let his employer know he has left the job. Not that him leaving would make so much of difference to the man. But his own morals wouldn't let him walk away. As predicted, the man does not even bother to acknowledge his words.
Just before he walks away though, he lifts his head high and glares at the girl, whose eyes widen and she automatically takes a step back. He keeps the glare on for a second more before walking away!
PS: not proofread
Love.
Pratyusha
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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...
