Parivara: Story of a Family

18 : Unveiled

Divya woke up in the middle of the night and turned over to see Rakesh was gone. Her limbs were tired, and she found herself slowly falling back into sleep...

But she worried about where Rakesh would be and jerked herself awake again. She slowly climbed out of bed and stretched lazily. She grabbed a dupatta and threw it over her head and shoulders before leaving her room. She walked quietly through the night, the air cool and the halls dark, lit only by little lamps along the way. Her anklets chimed gently as Divya walked, the only sound in the still night. She walked down sets of stairs and peeked in through a window of Rakesh's room when she passed it. But she knew he wouldn't be there.

She found him in the garden, as she'd expected, sitting on a bench and staring up at the stars. His eyes were wistful but calculating, as if he were trying to find shapes among the stars and determine their meanings.

He looked down and met her eyes as she approached him, and he sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't wake you."

"You didn't," Divya told him, sitting on the bench opposite him. "The fact that you were gone woke me."

"You might have to get used to that," Rakesh told her. "Me being gone."

"What do you mean?" Divya asked, a sense of worry creeping into her stomach.

"Remember your father's speech at Holi? Vishu and I have to go take care of a neighboring province," Rakesh explained.

"But you'll come back," Divya argued.

"Maybe," Rakesh whispered hesitantly. Divya reached forward and held his hand. When his eyes met hers, she gave him a look to prompt him for further explanation. He sighed again and said, "The province we have to visit is in a warring state. Vishu and I may have to fight, take a small army with us. And who knows what could happen."

"You're scared?" Divya asked. She felt a frightened shiver run down her spine, but she also felt surprise. She never knew Rakesh to be scared.

"Not for me, for you." Rakesh's eyes were so big and sad, Divya couldn't help but reach forward and hug him. Rakesh pulled away a little, but Divya wouldn't let him out of her arms, so he settled for resting his forehead against hers. "If I don't come back, you'll be stuck with Abhay forever, and I hate to think of what he'll do to you."

"I told you, he'd never actually hurt me." Divya whispered against his cheek.

"But he already has, Divya. When you married him and went to live with him, you came back different. Quiet, and sad. There is no physical bruising, but your feelings were wounded and I don't want you to go back to that."

Divya felt slow tears leak out of the corners of her eyes, and she gave Rakesh a light peck on his cheek. He knew her so well, it hurt.

"Don't worry about me, please. Please take care of yourself." She whispered to him. "Besides, Abhay isn't focused on me these days."

***

Payal silently put her clothes back on in the dark, wrapping her sari around herself and grabbing her jhootas (shoes). She turned to leave, but then felt a hand grab her and pull her back onto the bed. Abhay pressed his cheek against hers and breathed in her scent. He whispered, "Don't go."

"I have to," she giggled quietly. "Your servants will be here soon, and mine in my room. I can't be seen here."

"It'll be fine, just stay." Payal struggled against his hold and giggled her rejections, but Abhay managed to convince her to stay for just a few more minutes. Payal sighed and lay back against him, letting him wrap his strong arms around her. He lay his face in her hair and breathed in her clean scent, feeling so at peace himself. Payal turned and kissed his forehead. She loved the feeling of being needed by someone, something she'd never experienced before. She could tell Abhay was only peaceful with her, and it made her proud.

Abhay whispered something, and Payal thought she heard incorrectly. She turned over and looked at him questioningly. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Abhay said, his face looking embarrassed. Payal smirked when she knew he wasn't looking, then insisted she had to go.

Before she left, she said, "I love you, too," and she sprinted out of his room, her face breaking into a wide grin. A happiness she'd never known, like a bubbling feeling rising in her chest, overtook her. She skipped through the halls, and danced down staircases, wanting to shout into the clear night sky about how happy she was. Payal ran and ran, stopping only to catch her breath as she leaned against a wall. She sighed joyfully, her breath creating smoke when it met the air, and she giggled to herself. Love. Someone loved her, and she loved them back. It was as if she were a child again, being told a story about a romantic prince who would take her away so she could live happily ever after.

After Payal caught her breath, she stood up straight to determine where she was. She could either go around the building she was leaning against to get to her chambers, or she could take a shortcut. She decided on the latter, and began to make her way to the gardens.

As she traipsed through, she was almost completely lost in her thoughts, unaware of her surroundings. Almost.

Payal heard murmurings ahead of her, and quietly kept going forward. She maneuvered her way behind some statues and curiously peered around. Payal had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping loudly.

Rakesh and Divya cuddled before her, holding each other closely and whispering to each other. She couldn't hear anything, but she'd seen enough to understand what was happening. She quickly backed away and out of the gardens, running now to her chambers.

Her old, familiar smirk was forming on her lips, and the wheels in her brain were turning. She knew she'd won.