"Kai hua, meri Kagli?” Kusum asked, coming to a standstill in front of Preeti, who had her eyes fixed on her diary.
“Preeti?” As Kusum tapped her shoulder, Preeti blinked her eyes as if coming out of a stupor and looked at Kusum who raised her eyebrows in question.
And Preeti groaned, slamming her diary shut. “It’s all because of you!”
Eyebrows joining in confusion, Kusum passed her a bewildered look, “What did I do?!”
“Aap hi thi, jinhone mere dimaag main ye daala ki mujhe KT ji se— Preeti let out an exasperated sigh, as she got off the bed, while Kusum flomped down, her curious eyes trained on her fretting friend.
Preeti started pacing around the room, “And today KT ji’s wife suddenly showed up at the office and—
“What??!” Kusum sputtered shocked, interrupting Preeti as she glared at her and nodded, “Ji haan! KT ji was so worried, his face lost its color and somehow I managed to step in and took KT ji away from there, but then….
Preeti stopped, reminder of KT’s inquisitive gaze making her stomach turn.
“Then what?” Kusum prodded, suspicious of the pause Preeti had delivered.
“Then what?! I tried to console him, to calm him down and I held his hand, and he held it back and looked into my eyes and the world just faded away—
Kusum pressed her lips, trying to rein in the snort threatening to escape. Changing expressions on Preeti’s face, from anger to sad to worried to blushing, amused her to no ends.
“Phirr?” Kusum asked with the most sincere face she could pull, biting her cheeks. It was not everyday that Preeti prattled like a lovelorn fool.
“Then at the worst possible timing my tears showed up, and he wiped them off! Can you imagine?” Preeti turned to face Kusum, her brows furrowed in disbelief. “What must he think? He was the one troubled by his wife, and I was the one bawling in his stead! And rather than comforting him, I was the one getting comforted?! Whyyy?Why am I like this?”
Kusum stood up, her poker face starting to fail her, “So KT sa wiped your tears, what did you do then?”
“I ran away, of course!” Preeti answered in matter-of-fact voice. “It was so embarrassing Kusum! To top it off, he looked into my eyes as if he was trying to decipher an archaic language or something, it was soo embarrassi—
And a snort interrupted Preeti’s whining as she turned to see Kusum, fingers clamped on her mouth, her shoulders shaking.
“What is so funny?” Preeti screeched, as another snort later, Kusum burst into a fit of laughter.
“Everything about the way you behaved is so hilarious! One look at the way you talk about him and anyone can tell you are sooo in love with him! I certainly didn’t put any ideas in your head, none at all! I just showed you the mirror that day”.
That day
It was an ordinary night, like any other but Preeti perched on the window sill kept staring at the moon. Following the fiasco in the village, which somehow had been controlled by Kusum and Juhi’s presence of mind, they were back in Udaipur. But KT ji was distraught- no laughter, no endless chatter, no narcissistic flattery of himself- it worried her, unnaturally so. And so, she invited him to an outing and apologized. She apologized for the spectacle that was made of his private life by her DIL’s games. She apologized for how his character was questioned and how it was linked to a marriage certificate. And he had broken down. As he had narrated the tale of betrayal, his tears had followed incessantly- how the wife he had loved so much had disappeared without a trace, barely leaving behind a note; how everything he had believed in had come out as a lie, and how to this day, he was waiting for the closure.
His tears had felt like daggers that pierced her heart. Preeti clutched her chest, a strange ache gripping her every time she remembered his sullen face.
“Ho gaya na?” Kusum asked, coming to stand beside Preeti as she handed her over a mug of steaming tea.
“Kyaa?” Preeti asked confused.
“Pyaar. Tujhe KT sa se pyaar ho gaya hai”, Kusum remarked as she looked Preeti in the eyes.
Preeti jumped off her seat, appalled. “What are you even saying Kusum? That again!!Why would you even think that?”
Kusum just shook her head, “Denial won’t make this feeling disappear. You are upset, because he is”.
“Yes, I am upset because he has been through so much!” Preeti defended.
“Even I became upset when I came to know the truth. And I was the first one to know. But I didn’t cry, like you are shedding tears, right now!” Kusum replied.
And a surprised Preeti reached for her cheeks, getting even more surprised to feel the wetness staining them. She had cried, without realizing.
“This doesn’t prove a thing”, Preeti retorted, her lips pressed tightly, while her mind swam with images of KT.
“Pratyaksh ko praman ki kya aavashyakta!” And remarking this, Kusum retreated to her bedchambers, leaving Preeti alone with KT and his thoughts.
Back to present
“In the end, it was you who came to the realization that you have been falling for him bit by bit, every day since the time he stood up for you, against Goplani!”
“And I’m content with these feelings! As long as KT ji and I can stay like this, that’s all I need!”
“What is the issue then-his wife?” Kusum smirked as Preeti averted her gaze at the remark.
“Jealous, Preeti sa?” Kusum teased. “Worried that KT sa will fall for her, yet again?”
“NO!” Preeti shouted a firm denial. “KT ji can’t possibly fall for someone who left him all those years back”.
Kusum chuckled, “So you accept being jealous. Anyway, I agree with you but Preeti sa, 17 saal baad bhi KT sa apni biwi ki tasveer batue main lekar ghume hai- tune bataya tha na? Upar se na, pehla pyaar cheez hi alag howe hai, itni aasani se na bhuli jaave. Jaise KT sa thara pehla pyaar hai, vo KT sa ka pehla pyaar hai”.
At this Preeti shook her head, “No Kusum, more than pain,there was anger in his eyes today”.
“We only get angry at those who we love, don’t we? You’d better do something, or who knows when this hatred will transform into love?”Kusum posed the question, leaving Preeti deep in thought.
Grinning, Kusum stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
“Vese, did I tell you Preeti that we are honest only with people who are close to our heart”, Kusum smiled taking a seat on her swing, “KT sa told me the truth but it was you he wanted to share it with. And in the end, you are the only person outside of his family who he opened his heart to. Did I tell you that your smiles make his day, and as long as it is for you, he will do anything? Did I tell you, that this is love?”
And closing her eyes, Kusum leaned her head back, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, “I’m sure you’ll realize it soon, that love is not grand, it lies there in the small things”.
YOU ARE READING
KeeRti OS/TS/SS Compilations
Fanfiction"Your lips quiver when you lie", he pointed smiling. Appalled on being read like a book, she instantly closed her eyes as laughter bubbled out of his throat. "Too late! I read it all". And her muscles twisted. Her breath hitched as he leaned close...
