Looking through You(Two Shots) ✔

part 1

"All men are alike, saare ek hi jaise hote hai, shaadi se pehele sab piche piche ghumte hai, shaadi ho jaye ek bar to bass..." Mrs Singh and her complains!

"Aap kuch zyada hi badha chadha k bol rahe ho...sab aise nahin hote." Mrs Chopra opposed. She was a typical pativrata nari, who could never listen anything against her husband. For her, husband's synonym was god.

"Why are you smiling? Tumhe bhi aisa hi lagta hai kya?" Suddenly everyone looked at me. And there I sat, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

"Come on Suman, bolo bhi..." This time Mrs Rai urged, "you have never told us your story, jab bhi baat aati hai, tum chup rehti ho."

"Actually I have no idea what to say!"

"Ohh, come on, we all are friends...Chalo bolo..."

Friends!! As if I had no idea, how they were. But still, they were Shravan's clients' wives. I had to bear their bakwas.

"What do you want to know?"

"Shuru se...yes we want to know from the beginning." Mrs Singh smiled.

I looked at Shravan, who was busy entertaining his guests. He was a perfect host. Precision was his forté. He was a perfect son, a perfect friend and yes a perfect husband.

Somehow sensing my gaze, he looked directly at me, arching his perfect eyebrows, I shook my head, and he mouthed pagal. Again he got back to his conversation he was engaged with.

"C'mon Suman, we are waiting."

I sighed. "How to start, I don't know, it's not an usual love story."

"Then we are more and more eager to hear."

"Okay...I was ten years old when my Maa and Papa died in a car accident. Then nanu came to my rescue, and he took me with him. Unka bhi koi nahin tha, mera bhi. We were happy, at least akele to nahin the tab.

But I didn't realise, my happiness was slowly fading. I was twenty, it was my birthday, nanu used to wish me first, but that night he didn't come to my room, so I went to his.

He was sweating profusely, clutching his left arm. I called Dr Arora, he was our family physician. Aur unhone sunte hi bola ki lagta hai heart attack.

After 72 hours of fighting, he died. Tab tak mama ji ko phone kar diya tha, woh log apne bete k paas rehte hai. Woh log aye. And..."

"Phir???" Mrs Chopra asked. "U must have been shattered."

"You have no idea."

It seemed so easy for me to tell to them. But I only knew, how it felt, to talk about nanu. I was never a girl, who, cried in front of others, that was my biggest strength and weakness too.

Again I looked at Shravan, n he looked back, he mouthed "Nanu?"

I smiled, how he had become my everything, he could even tell what was I thinking, that too, looking at my face.

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"Suman...we are waiting..."

I sighed again, "Mamaji mamiji aye US se. And I have become a burden. Kya kiya ja sakta hai mujhe leke, Maa Papa nahin, nanu bhi nahin.

Mamaji mujhe le jana chahte the, lekin mamiji ko yeh baat pasand nahin aayi, she suggested, I was already 20, so meri shaadi karwa do.

Mamaji ko yeh baat achchi lagi, after all kaun responsibility lena chahega!"

"Shaadi..." Their unison reaction.

"Hmmm...shaadi."

"Aur tumne maan liya?" Mrs Singh asked.

"I had to. I was twenty years old Mrs Singh, not thirty. I had no option, actually I was relieved, chalo, ab bojh to nahin hongi.

"Mamaji ne apne ek purane dost se baat ki. Unka ek beta tha,  woh London mein rehta tha, to his parents wanted him to get married. Mamaji thought, if they agree, then, it'll be good for me."

"Then?"

"Then they agreed. And came to see me. Unka beta India mein aya hua tha, so he came to see me as well."

"Beta, tum agar kuch puchna chahte ho to..." Mamiji asked.

"I want to talk to her, alone." If I wasn't in this state, I would have complimented him for his booming voice.

I got up, and went to my room's balcony.

"You didn't even see my face." He said softly.

"Doesn't matter."

"Doesn't?" He sounded hurt.

We were silent, I didn't know, for how long, but it felt like hours.

"You don't want to get married?" He asked again.

"No, but I have to."

"Why?"

"I don't want to be a bojh on anyone."

"Only for that?"

"Yes, what do you expect, at the age of 20, leaving my studies n stuff, I will be happy that I am getting married!" I still didn't see his face. But I could feel his intense gaze on me.

"You want to study further?"

"Of course I do."

"And you don't want to get married." It sounded more like a statement rather a question. So I didn't bother to answer.

"At least you could have seen my face Suman." This time he walked out of the balcony, and I looked at his retreating back.

Suddenly, I grasped the situation, what if he rejected me, what if he was angry. Mamaji, mamiji, what would they think?

"Suman...bahar aa to..." Mamiji called. 

I went there and sat on my previous place.

"So, beta, kya socha? " His father asked him.

I sat there, waiting for the worst to happen.

"I liked her. I am ready for this marriage."  I closed my eyes. Thanking Almighty, at least this time, he was with me.

"May I have her number?" He asked in a low voice.

"Haan Haan beta, lona.." mamiji told me to say my number.

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"Hello, this is my number. You didn't bother to take mine. But still save it."

A message came halting my thought process, that too when it was half past midnight.

"Thank you ." I didn't know, why I  messaged him back.

"You don't want to know the reason Suman? Why did I say yes?"

The question which was torturing me for quite a few hours.

"Why?"

"I want you to be happy."

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Another cliché story from me. 😂 How's it? Please let me know. I'll be waiting.