A Fortunate Accident

Her Agony

Sanyukta was busy preparing lunch that afternoon. She
had taken a few days leave from her home to spend
some more time with Randhir. She knew that, to allow
him to open up in front of her, she needed to become a
bit friendlier with him. She wanted him to start trusting
her. She didn't want to pressurize him to let out all his
problems in front of her. She wanted him to tell her
everything. She knew that he had assumed, she didn't know
who he was. He was still not aware of the fact of her
knowing his actual identity. But here, knowing only his
identity won't help. She decided to get more comfortable
with him with the passing dates in order to help him
blurt out all his problems so that she could help him out.

She was kneading flour. Randhir walked down the stairs
carefully not to trip down due to weakness. Sanyukta
saw him coming down with the support of the railings.

She kept her kneading aside and went to help him climb
down.

"Wow... U r recovering!" She walked up to him and
supported him by his shoulders.

"Nah... my condition is worsening!" Randhir mocked her
and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Come..." She held one of his hands and helped him
come down.

"Sit here and let me bring you a glass of water..." After
settling him on the couch, she went to the kitchen to
bring him a glass of water.

Randhir gazed upon her apartment for the first time. So
neat! So tidy! Perfectionist she is! He thought as he saw
each and everything in the apartment was so neatly
placed. He looked upon the dining table and it had a
single chair. He was quite amused at this. The room had
no pictures, no expensive items. Just a big rack of books
to his fascination! He loved books! They were his best
friends! The room was in a shade of light colors! His
favorite!

"What's that?" he asked her once she came up with a
glass of water, indicating towards the dining table.

"Huh? That's my dining table Randhir.... That's where I
eat!" Sanyukta chuckled while answering. Randhir gazed at her with a poker face.

"Oh really? Thanks I really never knew..."he mocked her
and she chuckled yet again.

"I asked why there is a single
chair?" he took a sip from the water and questioned her.

"That's obvious cause I live alone..." she took the glass
and walked towards the kitchen.

"Huh? And your family?" Randhir questioned yet again.

Sanyukta paused in her pace when she got reminded of
her family.

"They died when I was 4... In a road crash... My parents
and my brother... only I survived..." "You know like 'Harry
Potter'? THE GIRL WHO LIVED!" she led out a weary
laugh at her own words as her dry eyelids got drenched
with a tear or two. She wiped the tears with her hands.

Randhir was intently listening to her story. He felt bad for
her. This girl never missed to amaze him. Who knew that
the girl who was always cheerful will have such a
sorrowful past? He has always seen her smiling and
happy as long as he has been with her.

"I am sorry...." He led out a heavy sigh.

"Don't be.... I have adapted being alone..." she smiled a
little at his apology and he too smiled looking at her and
she went back to making 'Paranthas'.

"My parents left me alone in this world when the whole
system was purely alien to me... but they left a huge
fortune for me behind..." she plated the plates in the
dining table and continued her story.

"I was adopted by a businessman who tried to use me for
his unnatural sexual needs and my property..." two tear
drops trickled down her cheeks as her brain reminded
her dark past that has shattered her to such an extent
that now, nothing is left for her to see in this cruel world.

Randhir was clearly dumbstruck. He was sitting still in the
couch gazing towards her, right to left, wherever she
went, doing her work and narrating her story. Her
condition indicated him that she'd break down any
moment. He couldn't believe his ears. This girl has gone
through so much? He felt a strong ache in his heart with
each spoken word of hers.

"A maid helped me out of the house of that monster....
She placed me in an orphanage and there I grew up
under the affection of Mother Lisa..." her eyes twinkled
as she took the name of her loving Lisa Mom.

"From then
on, she was everything for me... She admitted me in a
school and after that took all the efforts to send me to
Cambridge for MBA... she used to say that I am her lucky
charm..." "As I returned to India from Cambridge after
taking my degree, Mom was gone... she too left me
alone..." she closed her eyes and allowed the bottled up
tears to flow today.

"Here, I opened a nursing home for the needy as my
Mom had a dream to do so..." She completed wiping the
tears from her cheeks and placing the lunch on the table.

Till then Randhir was glued to his place. He was totally
agonized hearing her story. He couldn't make out what
he should utter next.

"And you never broke down...?" he held her hand as they
both settled in the dining table. His eyes held a tinge of
moisture.

"Nah... Breaking down never helps... It only adds to your
grief..." she looked into his eyes as they shared a deep
eye lock.

"Ab khana khaye?" she smiled at him as he left her hand
smiling.

"How's it?" she asked him, with excitement, eager to
know how he liked the first oily-food made by her for
him after the strict diet.

"Ek bite me kya pata chalta hai?" he looked up to her
with an expressionless face and she poked out her lips in
annoyance.

"Accha bana hai..." his lips broke into a smile seeing her
all eager to know his opinion and she pulled up her
imaginary collar in pride.

Rest of the lunch went in silence as neither she, nor he
wanted to enquire anything else about each other which
could push them into awkward situations. They
completed the food in silence.

"Sanyukta...." Randhir called her out while scrolling
through the random TV channels, when she was washing
their dishes.

"Haan aa rahi hu..." she answered from the kitchen.

"Kya hua?" she entered the living room to see him gazing
towards her with a smile.

"Idhar aao..." he called her towards him and she pulled
her brows up.

She walked up to him and sat beside him on the couch as
he asked her to do so.

"What?" she was confused.
He pulled his hands up to her cheeks and slightly pushed
a few hair strands from the right cheek. Sanyukta
shivered a little at this but didn't let him know. He pulled
something out from her cheek as she gazed upon it and
he burst out laughing.

"Go and See urself in the mirror... go..." he pushed her to
see her reflection and as she gazed upon it, she was
shocked. Her face had a layer of flour on almost all the
corners not even leaving her eyes. She closed her eyes
and burst out laughing at herself.
As their laughter echoed in the room, she closed her eyes
and prayed to the Almighty to grace him with this
laughter forever in his life.

He was recovering! Yes he was purely recovering now!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
TBC