Daastan [#MissionDesi]

Chapter 12

Her red rimmed eyes looked at me, vacant as if all the life had been sucked out of them. This wasn't going to be easy, I knew that and I doubted now, how far before I myself fell into the pits of nothingness.

"You okay?" I said, sitting in a chair beside her bed. That was an understatement. I couldn't have been more dumb!

She nodded.

"You know you used to talk a lot. It would be a real challenge to get you to stop," I chuckled.

She shook her head. 

Nod and shake head, was all she did now while I looked into the deep recesses of my mind, searching for funny memories, picking them up by the tail and dragging them out of their hiding place.

Finally when silence became too much to bear and we sat awkwardly while I tried to come up with silly jokes, she asked, "Were we happy...you know...as a couple?"

"Yeah... yeah, we were. I mean we had our moments but we were happy as happy can be. It was just one year in our marriage so no fireworks!" I laughed under my breath.

The corners of her mouth turned up, hesitating and careful, a smile you offer a stranger. And I was a stranger in that moment.

Her parents and my mother came to visit her. She and my mom exchanged formalities, enquiring about the weather. It was weird seeing them like this but then again nothing was normal.

Doctor Nayar came with the news that Sujatha would be discharged next day after running a few more tests, seeing that she was stable and ready to be on her feet now. She offered me some tips about how to handle this situation well and the next day we took off for our home. 

Her parents decided to stay for a few days till she got settled in a new environment. She walked into our house and seemed to take in her surroundings. Her steps seemed uncertain as if questioning, Where do I go? What do I do?

I took her to our bedroom. When I turned back, she stood there looking at the ceiling. Seeing me looking at her, she raised her eyebrows. I blushed slightly.

**********************************           "Why aren't there any stars in the sky?" she had asked me one night.

"Well there are. You just can't see them now because of light pollution, the lights from the huge buildings, factories, houses. So if you are lucky only a few will be visible every now and then."

"I miss seeing a night sky adorned with stars," she had said. I agreed with her, it did look empty, just a taut sheet of grey paper spread out on a table.

Next day, I gave instructions to my secretary and the manager and came back early from work, stopping on my way at a stationery shop.

It wasn't too much of a work though the end result would be satisfaction on my part and happiness on her face, I hoped.

She came home in the evening from her classes. All the time I made sure our bedroom was off limits for her. Of course she got suspicious but kept away so as not to lose the excitement brewing inside her.

At night I took her to our bedroom. She directly went to check all the drawers for the surprise waiting there for her. Eyes darting to every corner, finding nothing, she had given up. I switched off the lights and she looked up in wonder. I'm sure she was excited, like a child, she started jumping up and down and fell on the bed. 

Both of us lying on our backs on the bed, we looked up in amazement as the fluorescent stars and planets came alive in our bedroom that night. She looked beautiful and radiant, a warm glow on her face. And we made love under the stars.

************************************

She was staring at me while I stood there, blushing at the memory. 

"Its a long story," I told her, saving this memory for some other time when she was ready.