A Heart of Stone with a Coat of Gold

Distorted Loyalty

The strangest entourage, comprising of three people from three different walks of life - an old driver, a middle-aged man in a suit and a young pretty lady  – made their way back to a car parked on a countryside highway.

The colours of nature were splashed fervently on nature's canvas as the green of the paddy and the yellow of the mustard swayed in the rain-fragrant winds, imbuing a certain mirth to the otherwise stillness around them. The sounds surrounding them were few but they were soft too: the rustling of the leaves, the light whistling air, and the light footfalls on the concrete, at least that of the old driver and Anu.

On the other hand, Neel's fancy Oxford shoes, now painted with mud and heavy with the water piled inside, clomped and squeaked each time they hit the ground, almost drowning the rest of the music. Dressed in his drenched clothes, now sticking to his bare skin, he almost seemed to be an anomaly in the effervescence surrounding them. 

Rivers trickled down from his torso below the waist, and he was a mess. The once immaculately dressed man was now soaking and dripping; only vestiges remained of his prideful image, a fact that pleased his wife a lot. Still, for the moment he was unperturbed by the fact how he looked. 

"Here." He held her the salvaged marksheet, the sole reward of his escapade. She nodded and took it silently, without a word of thanks and they proceeded to the rear of the car. She opened the back door, took out her folder, carefully tucking the document inside it, before finally zipping the chain tightly shut. Neel meanwhile leaned against the trunk of the car.

"I am sorry that I yelled." He said without sparing her a look.

Anu's eyes grew slightly wide at his unexpected apology. She would never have expected it from him even in his usual mood. Considering how sullen he had been behaving moments ago, it was almost unthinkable. Something sure had changed.

"Look's like you are not the only one who had been careless." He added as he pointed to his smartphone, which he had just retrieved from his pocket. Beaded drops of water casually slithered on the black screen, which blinked a few times before going completely blank.

"You went into the water with it? Why didn't you hand it to me with the wallet?" She gasped.

"I forgot." He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I would be unplugged for the rest of the day."

The turn of events was getting weirder minute by minute. First, he had apologised and now he was unperturbed by the fact that he wouldn't be able to call or email for the whole day. Did the dancing peacocks cast some spell on him?

She eyed him curiously. "You sure seemed happy seeing those 'stupid birds'? Never thought you were a nature kind of guy.'' She asked him coyly, emulating his earlier words.

"It's not that."

Slowly uneasiness crept back on her husband's face; she almost anticipated it even before its arrival and she realised – she was enjoying rattling him. Reema's voice echoed in her mind, 'Di, I like to test his limits.'

"Well, I witnessed the VP sitting on the muddy ground, mumbling? Or my ears failing me in my youth?" She asked with a chuckle.

For a moment, Neel eyed her silently. "It reminded me of something." He answered softly. He glanced back at the birds, which were almost a speck from the distance.

Like the snow thawing from a thatched roof, the little mirth in his eyes slowly melted down into words of longing. Anu regretted her humour a bit; had she hit some unknown nerve? But Neel still answered calmly. "It's alright. I will tell you later. For now, you only worry about the admission process."