MishBir - Captivated Forever

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

For ten days Mishti seemed to live in a fog of unreality. She explained everything to Naksh, much of it spilling out of her in a great rush in Shimla, more of it drawn from her by his careful questioning both then and during the journey home to Rajkot the next day. She told him all she knew about Nannu's disappearance and about the reappearance of the letter, which seemed to be proof that he had been killed. She told him about the Dewars and their determination to return home and their consequent refusal to remain with her. She told him about Mrs. Raichand's giving her a temporary home and of all the work they and the other wives whose husband beloned in the military, had performed tending the wounded.

The story Mrs Dewar had told when she called at Singhania Mansion, all righteous indignation, had been somewhat different from her own, Mishti gathered. She had made no mention of Nannu's being missing or of Mishti's tending the wounded.

In Mrs Dewar's version Mishti had been simply a headstrong, wayward, disobedient girl who had refused to be torn away from the pleasures of the city and the ineligible men who flirted with her there, most notably the new interesting Mr Abir Rajvansh.

Mishti (glaring at Naksh who sat next to her in the plane) : You believed her? You think I stayed because I enjoyed the frivolities? Do you know me only so little?

Naksh (unruffled by his sister's temper) : It seems so. I did not expect that you would be so disrespectful as to dismiss your chaperone. However, neither did I expect that she would discard you. I had a word with Mrs Dewar on the subject.

Mishti would have loved to see the altercation between them. Naksh, no doubt, would have squashed Mrs Dewar's ego and self-importance.

She had tried several times to tell Naksh how wonderful Abir Rajvansh had been in her stay in Srinagar, but each time he listened without comment and then spoke about something quite unrelated to what she had just told him. Naksh would not be able to understand, of course, that there had been nothing ordinary about the past couple of weeks.

Mishti had asked him at one point of their journey if he had known Mr Rajvansh before. He had replied saying he knew him enough that he didn't want Mishti to have any acquaintance with him.

Five years ago Naksh would have been thirty. Doubtless he had known the man. He obviously knew of the scandal that had sent the younger man into long exile. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him for an account of those events, but she held her peace. Abir Rajvansh had never volunteered the information himself. She would not now try to worm it out of Naksh, who was clearly hostile to him.

She missed him. Their parting had been far too sudden and abrupt. He had left a certain void in her life. She wondered if he would come, as he had said he would. But when he did not come at all, when he did not even call to see how she did or to pay his official condolences, she was undeniably disappointed, even hurt.

She tried not to think about him. He owed her nothing, after all—despite what his sense of honor might say to the contrary. Indeed, matters were quite the other way around. It was she who was in his debt.

Naira and Kartik were in Rajkot for the year. They predominantly lived in London where they both had their jobs, but since the company had a branch in Rajkot, they alternatively lived here and in London.

Anyways, Naira was in the beginning stages of her pregnancy and couldn't travel a long way. Kunal and Kuhu came from Udaipur with their young son, where they were staying as Kuhu's mother was ill.

It should have been enormously comforting to Mishti to be surrounded by her family. And in many ways it was. But Naksh, apart from providing the bare facts, was more than usually silent and spent most of his time alone. So it was up to Mishti to answer their questions.