River & Desert

Part 3

Two Days Ago

"You just threw me under the bus, didn't you? Why, Di?" asked Adhrit, looking up and demanding Purvi to stop massaging his throbbing head.

Purvi felt a tug in her contrite heart at the sight of suffering and curved eyebrows. She let her arms drop flail beside her torso and avoided her younger brother's piercing gaze by averting her eyes.

"The taunts aimed at pushing me towards another marriage were too much for me to bear, Kaddu! I'm just... just done with it," she said, scrunching the rich satin bed covers under her trembling fingers.

Through the glass window that spanned the entire wall, Adhrit gazed at the setting sun. The full sky was brought to life by warm shades of crimson, tangerine, and golden yellow, and the sound of birds returning home nearly made him smile.

The setting sun and the looming obscurity bore an uncanny resemblance to their precarious situation. The birds rushed to their nests to escape the day's struggles, finding solace and equipping themselves for what's to come. Alas, it was their refuge that had seized their peace and left them scurrying for some reprieve.

His index and middle fingers moved in circular motions as he rubbed his forehead and temples. "You could have turned her down, Di. That's a right you cannot acknowledge in full with Dadi."

Purvi's lips curved into a mordant smile, followed by a wry chuckle. "Given your extensive knowledge of your rights, Kaddu, I'm confident that you'll make a well-informed choice after scrutinizing all the options!"

Adhrit's eyes rolled as he detected the sarcasm in his sister's voice. "Di, yaar. I'm serious."

The smile on her face twisted into puckered lips and tense eyes. "So am I, Kaddu. I reassure myself that I will refuse her next request every time she places a new demand. However, every time, she brings to my attention how much we are in debt to her. If Dadu and Dadi hadn't filed for our custody, he would have had our custody with Maa in rehabilitation."

Purvi prevented her tears from falling by sniffing and staring at the false ceiling. "We fled from his drunken rage and the women he brought home who treated us like dirt because of them. Somewhere whilst drowning in that ocean of gratitude, I lost my voice to refuse her."

Adhrit held his sister's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. He hurried to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they drooped and trembled.

"Di, we need to put an end to this. We're stuck until she gets what she wants; she won't let us off the hook. I need your support, Di. Will you be there for me?"

"Don't tell me you were hiding a love child somewhere all this time!" said Purvi, smiling despite the haze of tears blurring her vision.

A small smile appeared on Adhrit's lips as he shook his head in disbelief. "Di!!"

"Alright, alright! You have my full support. Kaddu, this isn't necessary! My commitment was to aid her in convincing you, and I could feign an attempt to convince you."

"No, Di! You abandoned your aspiration of becoming a pilot to oversee the business and allow me to chase my dream. The constant pushing, demands, and jibes are impacting you. Di, it's my turn to settle the debt."

Purvi's heart oscillated between choosing her peace and her love for her brother, who despised the institution of marriage, and the battered heart chose the easier option of silence. Who would say no to respite after years of anguish?

****

"Everything is my fault. We should have never agreed for that surgery," said Pushpa, clutching her head between her palms and letting the tears roll down her cheeks with reckless abandon.

"Amma!! Thanks to the surgery, we got an additional eight months with Bauji. It was more than worth it!" said Mitali, holding her foster mother against her bosom to console her when her own cheeks were wet with tears.

With a forceful shake of her head, Pushpa pulled away from the embrace. Nausea tickled her gut as hiccups replaced the incessant lament. "Eight months, Mitali! Eight months of more suffering, and it plunged us into destitution. We would have had none of this every day humiliation. Your father would have rather died."

"Amma! Please!"

"Anurag and you would have bagged, uh, jobs worthy of your caliber, uh, instead of working in that call center, if we had some more... money in our hands. It's all my fault!" said Pushpa, panting for air and hiccoughing as she struggled to complete her words.

Without uttering a word, her son handed her a glass of water. "It is all in the past. It's fruitless to talk about that."

Mitali helped Pushpa in drinking water amidst her hiccups. "Why did you commit to returning the interest within a week? How can we arrange that much money in such a brief span of time?" asked Anurag.

Mitali looked at her brother with wide eyes and struggled to find the right words. "He appeared unwilling to give us any more time, bhaiyya! I had to give a close date to..."

Anurag expressed defeat by sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Mitali, he'll use this against us. You gave your word in front of many witnesses and left no room for excuses. We have already taken out a mortgage on our home. Our job positions make it challenging to obtain loans. How can we acquire the money in such a short period? Principal due in a month? That comes out to be twenty-five lakhs!"

"Anurag! She was only trying to get us out of the situation! Let's not fight amongst ourselves and ruin whatever little peace we have left!" said Pushpa, caressing Mitali's pale cheeks.

Guilt consumed Mitali from within. The brother's statement was correct. Although she had the chance to negotiate for a better timeline, her fear caused her to lose rationality in that moment. The sight of her foster father's picture on the wall made the void in her heart widen with his palpable absence.

She was unaware of what needed to be done to fulfill the vow. She would do everything in her power to help her family maintain their dignity.

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Unfortunately, the regret expressed by Pushpa is not uncommon in general wards of government hospitals. The worst and the best traits of humans come out during the times of adversities, and there's nothing quite like losing your dear one to a slow killer like cancer. The choice of availing treatment or not is particularly tough in situations where finances don't run hand-in-hand with the wishes of the heart. I have personally seen people praying for an early death to avoid unimaginable suffering to themselves and avoid being a burden to their families, and it's that kind of helplessness and hopelessness that haunts you forever.

I hope you liked the update, and a further insight into their past and their characters. Please VOTE and COMMENT!