It Happened On One Monsoon

16: A Mad Night

[ Kavya's POV ]

When I was in school, I had an English teacher who absolutely loved teaching. She took her classes so seriously that no matter how sick you were, you'd have to sit down through it and take notes. One of her most said dialogues were - if you have a headache, keep telling yourself that you're getting better; keep repeating it and eventually, you won't even remember you had a headache in the first place. I don't think anyone from my class would remember that dialogue, but for some reason it stayed with me.

When I really thought about what she said, it sort of made sense. I began diverting my thoughts and focused on other things in life. I completely neglected my pain and when it stopped hurting, I thought I was over it. It was such an easy mechanism to deal with a painful past - completely avoid its existence. But walking away from my thoughts never gave me the space to heal, nor did I have the opportunity to talk about it with anyone. Maybe, that was one of the things that weighed down on me - an untouched past.

I feel a lot better. I feel my soul has crashed into a new body. It's easier to breathe. Even though words don't change one bit of the past, when someone tells you that it's not your fault, it changes you.

From the other end of the table, I gaze at him in silence, wondering if he knows what he has done. Completely oblivious about how grateful I am towards him, he continues to run his finger down the menu card, hunting for the perfect thali combo.

"We'll settle for the same one Chinmay and I had", after ten minutes of earnest menu-reading, he looks at me. "Anything", I shrug, tossing my hair into a bun.

"All okay?", he whispers at me with a concerned look across his face. "All good", I smile at him. I feel I have nothing worry about for a while.

Just when I thought that everything was going my way and that the Universe was being kind towards me, a lady hops out of her car, making my heart skip a thousand beats in panic.

"Fuck!", I exclaim and cover my face with my hands, hanging my head low. Utterly perplexed, Darshan looks around. "Darshan. Behind you", I gasp and run away from where we're seated. I sprint to the extreme end of the Dhaba and hide behind a door.

"Who was behind me?", he trails behind me and struggles to fit behind the door. "The Aunty who lives next door. She's the biggest CCTV camera in our society. I swear if she spots me, she'll tell Ma right now", I can hear the evident tremor in my voice.

Oh God, my heart is beating so fast and I'm starting to feel a little dizzy.

"We can stay here for a while", Darshan tells me. "No way. Ma will be awake in a while", I purse my lips together. "God. This was such a bad idea. I should've just stayed home", i bang my forehead against the door.

"If you quit whining, we can figure something out", Darshan sighs while I take a close look at her, noticing something odd. "D!", I call out, almost surprised. "What? Your mom's entire company is here now?", he's certainly annoyed.

"That's not her husband", I point out and squint my eyes to take a harder look. "Are you sure?", I can hear a tinge of joy in Darshan's voice, while I watch my neighbour hold hands with the other man. "I'm damn sure! Her husband is so fat and looks nothing like him", I recall and Darshan simply fishes his phone out of his pocket, taking pictures of them.

"D, what are you doing?", I nudge him. "Go blackmail her!", he orders and it takes me a while to process his words. "Blackmail? Her? Are you out of your mind? You want me to get grounded for life, or something?", I throw a bizarre stare at him.

"Are you just medically-smart and dumb when it comes to other things?", he judges. "You're saying that's not her husband. She's out at 2 am with another man. Holding hands and doing all sorts of lovey-dovey things. What does this mean?", he pauses. "She's---cheat---cheating?", it's hard to even get the words out of my mouth because my neighbour always boasts about the kind of perfect wife she has been throughout the years.