Parivara: Story of a Family

28 : Plans

After she'd said her piece to Abhay, Divya went to her room and had a good cry. She lay curled up on her bed, soft tears slowly gliding down her face. Her hair and clothes were a mess, but she could care less. It seemed to her as if her life were officially over now. She would go back with Abhay and raise a proper heir for him, and all the happiness and love she'd gotten a taste of in the last couple months would not matter. It had all been a tease, and now reality had come back to remind Divya that happiness is just an illusion.

Suddenly, Divya's bedchamber doors were thrust open and Rakesh entered, breathless. Divya quickly stood up, her own heart hammering away in her chest. They stood silently across from each other, not saying a word but both panting heavily. Finally, Rakesh spoke.

"I asked your father to let me go live in the new province. As soon as possible. I could be gone from here within the next two days, for good." Divya looked down, sighing. But Rakesh continued and made her look up again. "Or, you could run away with me."

They made eye contact, and said nothing again. Divya couldn't believe what he was saying. She was stunned into silence, so Rakesh decided to keep talking.

"Divya, I love you more than anyone has ever loved another. And the child you are carrying is a part of me, too. I need to raise it, with you. I never want to miss another moment again. We made a mistake three years ago when we let each other go. Shouldn't we have learned from it? There is only one solution: we have to give everything up and run away together. I will work, I will build us a house, and I will take care of you and our child till my last breath. Divya, do not deny us love for another three... ten... hundred years, again. Come with me, be with me."

Rakesh extended a hand, asking her to take it and accept his offer. Divya stared at it, still speechless. If she did this, the comforts she'd grown up with would all be gone, they would have to start over with nothing. Was that the best way to bring a child into the world? Could they do it?

Divya stared at his hand, then looked up at Rakesh again. And she knew her answer.

***

After Divya left, Abhay cancelled meetings for the rest of the day, and decided to retire to his room. He was exhausted, and Divya's apology had only made him feel low.

As he was walking to his chambers, some of his men ran up to speak with him. They were the two men he'd assigned to watch Payal.

"Sir, we just came back from following her to the marketplace," one of them began saying. "We'd been following her to this one building everyday, almost from the time we were first assigned to her. We never knew what that building was, but we found out today."

Abhay stopped walking and waited to hear them out. The second man said, "Sir, we do not know if this is significant news or not to you, but we found out the owner of the building is a man who is part of some underground business in the village."

"What does that mean?" Abhay asked, his back stiffening.

"Well, we found out he does some... secret deeds. He's a doctor of some sort, provides villagers with illegal drugs and... treatments. Sir, we found out that young women go to him... if they have a problem they want to be rid of."

Abhay stood up straight and looked the man who'd just spoken straight in the eye. "Problem?"

"He ends pregnancies, Sir." The man said, seeming frightened.

Abhay immediately turned and ran, not stopping as he ran out of the palace gates. He had to find Payal, and stop her before it was too late.

***

Payal was covered from head to foot in black dress, as she'd recently begun dressing when she left the palace. She couldn't have anyone recognizing her and seeing her visit the doctor.

She'd been visiting him in the last couple days, asking questions about his procedures. She wanted to research all of it as much as possible, to make sure it would not having lasting damage on her. She was already in a mess, and she didn't want to get even messier while trying to get out of her predicament.

"Payal!" Payal jumped at the sound of her name, and turned to see someone as covered as her running up to her. Despite the covered face, she knew right away it was Abhay. Payal stopped walking and waited as he ran up to her. He uncovered his face when he stopped in front of her, and said, "Do not do this. Do not get rid of our child."

Payal was surprised at his words, but she recovered and said, "Why not? You have a pregnant wife at home. I have nothing. I cannot have this child, it will only ruin me. No one will marry me, and then I'll be stuck at home, a shamed mother raising a bastard child on her own, while the child's father is away and happy. This is my only choice."

"Do not do this, please! Payal, I love you." It was the second time he'd said it, but this time it was the actual words out loud and spoken clearly instead of mumbled, and it took her breath away. She knew she loved him, with all her heart, but to hear him say it out loud was different. "I love you, and I cannot live with myself if you do this, and you know you feel the same. I don't care what hardships we'll face, I don't care what we'll have to say or do, but you will keep this child and we will raise it together. Please, Payal. Please, come back with me."

Abhay extended his hand, and Payal finally uncovered her face. And then, she did something she hadn't done in years. Payal cried.

Tears were flowing down her face as she realized how much love there was in her for the man before her. She took his hand and pulled herself into his arms, and Abhay held her as she let all her tears out. Never had her life had so many complications and questions, but never had it been so clear either.

***

Rakesh and Divya were seated in a wagon, holding each other as they rumbled away from the palace. Their future was unclear, but she knew she'd made the right choice taking his hand.

"This wagon will take us to the marketplace, and from there we'll find someone to take us to a far province, on the edge of the kingdom." Rakesh whispered in Divya's ear as she sat wrapped in his arms. The carriage began rattling heavily as it crossed a long bridge over the river, but it didn't bother them one bit as they were lost in their own world. "I'll find work, I'm hoping easily, with some business. First, we'll live in a rented house, until I can get us one of our own. And you just rest and take care of you and my little one."

Divya smiled and kissed him, a slow and happy kiss. It all sounded so perfect, and everything seemed as if it would finally be alright.

Suddenly, the rumbling of the carriage became too heavy. Divya held onto Rakesh, who grabbed the side of the carriage with one hand and Divya's waist with the other, trying to hold them steady. It was to no avail. The carriage shook and quivered, and they didn't realize until too late that they were plunging into the river below.