It is all about us: Sangam Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: What is our fate? 

"Baba, I don't want to get married to Rudra," Khushi said, looking down at the floor, scared; after gathering a courage to stand in front of her father and say her words.

Her father and her brothers looked at her in shock. Her three sister-in-laws and bhua ji wondered what was wrong with her that she all of sudden saying no to Rudra.

"What are you saying, Khushi?" her bhua ji asked in an anger tone.

"Khushi, why a sudden no?" her elder brother asked. "Do you even know what you are saying?"

Her father raised his hand to stop everyone from asking further questions. Everyone fell silent in a matter of second.

Her heart beat was going wild every second her father chose not to say a word.

"Khushi, do you have a reason?" he asked. "Before you say anything, think twice, be it a perfect reason to convince me. Keep this in mind too, this is going to be only your first and a very last chance to speak out on this particular matter."

"Babu ji, I..." she stammered. Her tongue fidgeted, none a word was ready to come out clear, loud, and her mind paused for no good reason at all. She was struck by a fear as if her death was no closer than an inch away from her.

Everyone around her waited for her reply.

She played with her hands in nervousness. She got it, today was her chance. If not today than never.

"Babu ji, I don't want to get married because..."

Anjali looked at her, hoping her to finally tell her whole family a reason. "Khushi, say something..." she prayed. "Say it..."

Khushi looked at Anjali worriedly. [

  "Do or die!" she overplayed this mantra in her head, loosing count of it.

"Khushi, we are waiting!" Mr. Gupta said.

Dead silence prevailed around as if not even a single life existed.

Khushi closed her eyes; by letting the darkness cool her mind, her overexcited nerves.

She needed Arnav. She loved him. He needed her. He loved her. She had promised him that no matter what she shall wait for him. Even it is for a whole life. She reminded herself of everything before opening her eyes, to see her audience who was still waiting for her to speak.

She still kept her eyes on the floor though. Floor that was blurring in front of her eyes.

"Babu ji, I..."

"Would you say beyond that?" Khushi's elder brother spoke, maintaining his cool.

Khushi didn't get to lift her eyes up at her father. Knowing that her courage will fall flat if in case she did look him in his eyes.

"Baba, I don't like him," words left her mouth, dull.

Mr. Gupta looked at her not pleased at all by her reasoning, his chest popped out he let his hands intertwined behind his back.

"What are you saying, Titliya? Have you gone insane?" Bhua ji broke her silence.

"Jiji..." Mr. Gupta said to let him speak. "And why is that so?" he asked.
Khushi was surprised that he was still calm.

She had her reasons but she couldn't get herself to say it.

"What should I take your silence as, child?"

Khushi for the first time raised her eyes up the floor to her father. "Babu ji, that..."

Her father understood she was scared. She needed time to put her words out of her body. So he let his mind go calm first.

"Okay, tell me, why did you say yes at first place?" he asked.

Khushi took her sweet time to answer him.

"Khushi, speak whenever you are ready!" Still Khushi had no idea she was only making her audience impatient.

Anjali was expecting Khushi to tell the truth and not to waste her time on stupid reasons. No wonder she was getting irritated a little more than everyone else because of her pregnancy.

"Didn't I ask you what you wanted?" he asked. "...before fixing your alliance with Rudra, even when you had said yes?"

"Babu ji, I love someone else!" she said, her words left her mouth at a speed of a light, all at once. Her confession shocked everyone, even more than when she said she didn't want to get married to Rudra.

"Babu ji, why you even care to ask these questions? She is insane. After saying yes to the marriage she is decided on something else. It can't happen."

"Calm down, Soham," his father said, before getting back to Khushi. "Hmm...who is the person that you love?"

Khushi's fear had taken a back seat but not her surprise. And she knew he was definitely going to get mad when she will take Arnav's name.

"Who is it, Khushi?"

"Arnav...Ji," she said in a merely inaudible tone.

"Speak louder!" he shouted.

Khushi trembled, in every possible way she had tested his patience by now.

"Arnav ji!" she said, but still she ate his name in her mouth.

"It's Arnav ji, babu ji!" she said.

Her father took a long deep sigh. Khushi couldn't understand if it was to swallow his anger or something worse than that.

"How long it has been going on? Before you said yes or after...?"

"Before..."

Her brothers and bhua ji, and sister-in-laws, were all dumbstruck. They had so many questions to ask but since Mr. Gupta was doing the talk nobody tried to raise a voice.

"And he loves you too?"

"Yes, babu ji!" she didn't wait to answer him this.

"Khushi, as you know this, that you mean to all of us, everything. And we do love you. For your happiness we will do anything. If you don't want to get married to Rudra, it's alright. I will talk to Mr. Sarpanch (Head of a village)."

Mr. Gupta didn't know how relieved he had made Khushi.  Khushi immediately went to her father and touched his feet. But Mr. Gupta stopped her. Instead he hugged her. "I believe, my daughter will go to that house where she would be happy and would like to go."

Khushi burst into tears, she for the first time came to know what really she meant for her father. He wasn't wrong when every time he said she was the apple of his eyes.

"Don't cry, my child," he said and pulled her away from a hug. "So, tell me when Arnav babu is coming?"

Khushi looked at his face through her teary eyes. She had no answers to question of his. She wiped her tears. "Babu ji, he has gone back to Mumbai for some work. But he will be back soon."

"Hmm..." he said. "We will wait for him to come back. Even I want to meet him, we had long been trying to have a chat with each other since he was deciding to stay at our place," he said.

Khushi looked at Anjali, who was smiling looking back at her. Both were finally feeling that breathing was coming normal to them. Now Khushi had to try to know that where Arnav was.

***
"Oh, man, did you send someone after that Arnav?" Rudra asked his friend Ashok, as he sat in front of a bonfire. Drinking.

"Bhaiya, I did and he will give us the information very soon."

"Did you give him the money?"

"Yes, bhaiya ji, 1 lakh."

"Good, and I hope you would have made sure to explain what we expect."

"Bhaiya ji, you don't worry this time there will not be any problem."

"There shouldn't be," he said. "Otherwise, the condition I have made of other six men will be nothing of what I will make of him."

"Bhaiya ji, he will keep us updated," he reassured him.

"Hmm...Hopefully I can sleep peacefully, and wake up with a good news," he said and laid on a cot, throwing an empty glass of an alcohol on a sand.

***
Rudra's assistant saw Arnav entering in a guest house. He followed him inside, by hiding himself behind bushes and trees. Before he was finally standing at the door, where he could see and hear the conversation without any obstacle.

"Good evening, Nani!" he said.

"What took you to come home this late?" she asked. Arnav hugged her as he meeting her after a long time.

"I apologise, Nani!" he said. "Meeting with an investors on a cruise took a lot of time!"

"It's alright. It's good you are back. Back for a good. You have someone waiting for you."

Rudra's assistant looked through a glass window and had his ear open in a hope to get some of a good news that can excite his boss. He didn't know it would be a fortune for him this soon.

"Someone waiting for me? Who?"

"Lavanya," Nani called. Lavanya came out of the room.

Arnav saw her. "Lavanya, hey," he said.

But he still didn't get what was so surprising about her. She was his friend and he gets to meet her on a regular basis.

"Is there anything that you want to tell each other?"

Arnav was slightly confused but seeing Lavnaya blushing a fear born in his chest. "What is it, Nani?"

"Well, what I believe is you both should get married! You both are friends, you enjoy each other's company. I know I should have waited for this but you know I couldn't I was so excited."

Arnav was so blown out with this news that for a moment of a second he wasn't even sure he heard what Nani said.

Lavanya was blushing looking at Arnav, she was unable to stop her smile. On the other hand, Arnav showed no sign of excitement, not even close to it. Colour drained from his face. Lavanya's smile disappeared seeing his face.

"Look at you, Chote. La, didn't I tell you that he will be dumbstruck."

"Yeah!" she said.

***
"Bhaiya ji, wake up?"

Rudra growled upon disturbed in his sleep. He slapped him and kicked him away.

"Bhaiya ji, I was going to give you a good news!" he said, sadly.

"What in the middle of the night?"

"That Arnav babu, has gone to Goa..."

"So what the F*ck is exciting about it?"

"Bhaiya ji, the guy we sent has found out that his Nani is trying to hook him up with this girl..." he said, getting up from the floor. In a scared manner showing him his phone to him. A picture of him and Lavanya.

"Boy," he screamed in a joy. He got up the cot and hugged him. "I am sorry man, you were to give me such a good news and I was just...I am so sorry..." He kissed his forehead in an excitement. "You are the best, bro. You are the best...I promise if this news is true you will get whatever you want. Now this is what I say an icing on the cake. Call that pandit, I really want him to tell me the best day for me and Khushi to get married to..."

He squealed.

***
Khushi laid on the floor of the terrace of her haveli, watching a sheet of stars as they were there to celebrate with her. She felt her heart flying with breeze. Tonight for her was special. Even though it was already 2:00 AM in the morning she couldn't get herself to sleep, she didn't mind it either. But she had her fears she hadn't talked to Arnav yet not he had called her. May be soon right in the morning, she thought. She had her hopes high because she believed Arnav wanted her as well. She couldn't help stop herself from smiling.

***