When the fire of change was moulded by seeing the woman he loved shatter, it had unlocked something powerful within him - a sense of purpose driven by justice. Ever since, Satyakam has remained soft only for two people in his life - Meethi and her daughter, the girl he sees as a daughter himself, Imlie. The day when Imlie insulted them and asked them to leave, her harsh words had wounded that softness he never guarded because it was with them, the two women who meant family to him. He understands, of course he understands, her anger, her hurt and the reason she has banished them so far from herself but it wounds him irrationally, the words she had hurled cutting in deep. So he does what he does to muffle it all within himself. He works and work for Satyakam, a rebel meant the next set of protests for justice. The rising rebellion had already garnered some movement but the people in power are not happy. He knows it, the conceeding they have been forced to cater to because of the stirrings he caused, has bruised their egos. He knows they will not stay quiet because it is an entire hierarchy that oppresses the poor to feed its greedy belly and any collapse or compromise on any front is a slippery slope that will only incite fear of discovery and rage from bruised egos in them. And that combination only meant glaring danger for him. All this time, they have spent trying to unearth his network to uproot him completely like he is a weed in their fields when it is them who are the parasites but he knows, their patience has run out and intent has changed now.
What it will bring for him, he resolves, he will find out!
_
It is the lunch hour and seeing she has no classes for the next hour, she decides it is time to update her mother. She dials her number and Anu picks up on the second ring.
"How is she now?" Anu asks after making sure Malini is doing good and is feeling better.
"She is much better now Mom! I had called home just a few moments back and Papa told me she is much better. She is exuberant even because they broke the news to her!" Malini's voice gets excited as it completes the sentence.
"News? What news?" Anu asks curiously, wondering what has her daughter excited like a schoolgirl.
"We want to help her continue her education Mom!" she exclaims and then goes on to explain the entire conversation the family had.
"That is actually a great idea beta! Have you thought of which counselor you wish to take her to?"
"Not yet, Mom. I do have a few contacts but right now, our focus is to understand what she already knows and what she will need to know!" Malini says and also mentions about the diction classes with Rupali and how the family will help her adapt to city life.
"Hmmm, that is great! And if you need any help with any of it, I am here to help!" It slips out of her mouth almost carelessly, like it is nothing out of the normal. It makes Malini surprised. She knows her mother, knows that while her mother is not bad in any way, she does have certain ideas about class. For her to not even question, why the Tripathis are doing so much for a domestic help whom she has accepted as a sister and to even offer help, it almost contadicts her understanding of her mother. Malini knows Anu accepted Imlie as her sister because of the bond she saw between them and her own insistence but for that acceptance to have been so genuine, it catches her unawares.
"Malini? Malini? Are you there?" her mother's voice snaps her out of her thoughts.
"Yes, yes Mom, I'm here! I'm sorry, I got lost thinking something for a second. But yes, that's great Mom, I appreciate it. If I need any help, we need any help, will let you know."
"Great beta!" Anu says and Malini remembers she hasn't told her about Imlie's room. The rest of their conversation is about that and Malini is happy she shared it with her mother. Whatever Imlie told her about Nakli Nani though, she omits all of it, not wanting to divulge it in fear of intruding her privacy. Telling Aditya was important but somehow mentioning it to her mother now makes her feel uneasy. It's better, she thinks, her mother only knows if their individual bond forms and Imlie confides in her directly.
"Malu ka phone tha?" Dev asks as he steps into the living room where Anu is seated.
("Was it Malu on the phone?")
"Haan! She was telling about Imlie" Anu says and begins recounting the entire conversation to Dev who listens in with complete attention, feeling a warm affection for the girl and a sense of respect for his daughter's in-laws for all they have done and are doing to make a girl feel welcome and more so, accepted!
Janki watches with teary eyes at what seems like the first normal, intimate conversation in a long time, between her son and daughter-in-law whose relationship has frayed amidst betrayal, loss and secrets.
_
Imlie walks into the kitchen with the assurance that she has not been replaced. With her fears assauged, the genuine curiosity of getting to know people comes right to the fore in her. Sensing he is being scrutinized, he looks up to find a young girl in a simple salwar-kameez staring at him with curiosity. It is the same girl who had looked at him as if he were a ghost when she entered the kitchen the first time and had run out crying like he attacked her or something.
"Hi..?" he says, feeling like an idiot, his guards being up. He had heard the elders calling her the daughter of the house and he really prayed this daughter of the house was different from the previous one, especially as she looked nothing like them. He also thinks since the family is so welcoming and nice, there is lesser chance the 'daughter of the house' is anything like the previous one. Maybe she is adopted is a stray thought that comes to his mind, making him feel even more stupid even though the thought does not essentially warrant it.
"Hii" she says, face brightening up. It makes him relax a little.
"Tumhara naam kya hain?" she asks.
("What is your name?")
"Sundar" he replies.
"Bandar?" she asks, pretending to mishear, eyes twinkling with mischief.
Strangely, it does not make him feel insulted or offended. Instead, it makes him feel carefree.
"Bandar nahi, Sundar!" he mock glares and she giggles at it.
"Aur tum?" he asks
("And you?")
"Hum Imlie hain!" she says
("I am Imlie")
"Chipkali?" he pretends like her, just as mischievous. She glares at him, huffing.
"Imlie" he acknowldges after a moment of laughing at her.
She smiles extending her hand
"Friend?" she asks
"Friend!" he accepts
Note:
I really like Sundar and Imlie's dynamics but since the way they are introduced is different, the nok-jhok will come later and unlike the show it won't be frenemies!
Have typed this in a flow, forgive the typos.
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...
