FROZEN BEAUTY (Mon - Fri)

Chapter 3

He saw the lamb coming there and she was cute well not more than khushi in his absent mind he thought. And he gave her cucumber from his salad which she ate hurriedly. Finishing his food he thought to take the vessel into basin but that's when khushi too forwarded her hands and their hands brushed with each other making each other shocked with the thing they felt. A current pass through with the mere touch of their hand. Khushi was seeing him with wide eyes and arnav well he too was lost in her.

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Its another night in Gulmarg. Khushi was in her quarter. All the work for the day has been done and she is here now relaxing on her mat bed. Its 11:15 pm but sleep is not coming to her. Her eyes were wide awake. Lost in her past a dreadful past. She is just 20 but in this short span of time she has undergone so much. She was watching the ceiling. She was so lost in her thoughts that she started to get flashback of that. Sound of musical instruments, dancing of girls, decorated place, his maa bauji smiling face, marriage alter, putting of vermillion, putting of neputal thread, preist announcing husband and wife, farewell and finally loud cries... Dead bodies... Fire, shouting

"Ye ladki sirf or sirf ek abshagun hai jisme mere bete ko aate hi khaa gai ( this girl is only bad omen who ate my son"

"Dur raho isse Hina pata nhi tujhe iska kya asar hoga (stay away from her hina don't know what effects she will cause you)"

"Hum iss bojh ke saath nhi jo sakte Shashi ji hume maaf ke dijiye ( I can't stay alive with this burden Shashi ji.. I am sorry)"

"Aye khushi tujhe itna nhi pata vidhwa ka kisi bhi shubh kaam me aana abshagun hota hai nikal yaha se ( hey Khushi, don't you even know that it's a bad omen if a widow comes in an auspicious occasion, get out from here and with that the lady pushed her out)"

"Isse apne pati ke saath hi jalao Sati pratha ka palan jaruri hai waise bhi jee ke kya kregi ab ( burn her with her husband, we should follow the norms of Sati pratha, and what she will do living now)"

"Baba...baba save me I don't want to die..baba... Baba please save me..babaaa..."

And she don't know when she started to scream in real. And she sat up straight forwarding her hand shouting like hell as if people of the village still dragging her to burn her with her husband body.. soon she realised that its not reality.. she was dreaming with open eyes... Sweat was coming from all her body, she was crying like hell taking hiccups. That's all past.. that's all past thinking and repeating the same lines in her mind and heart she was giving herself condolences. She brought her knees towards her chest and bending her head on it she started to cry silently. It says the past demons does not leave us easily that's also with her case. How much she try, how much she thinks to forget and move on in present she was unable to because the past never leave us. When her eyes got dry of tears that's when she stood up and and took water from pitcher and drank it in one go. She then taking shawl moved outside of balcony. She saw the beauty of snowflakes all around the town. All the houses were cover with white snow. And above twinkling stars and moonlight was adding more to its beauty creating a beautiful scenery. She took out her one hand and a snowflakes falls on it. At first  she felt light and cold. It was beautiful in sometime it became liquid on her hand. She was surprised how it changes it forms in a second. Then she grabbed more snow from railing and made a ball of it and placed it in her hand.. it doesn't melt in liquid and instead of feeling light and cold this time she felt weight and pain with sudden jolt like something Peirce her skin. She dropped it down but the pain was still there. She rubbed her hand to provide some warmness and it's worked. Soon the pain she felt soothed. And the realisation dawn upon her. Pain follows caress.

Doesn't her life too like the snow. Snow is beautiful as well as it gave pain too. So much like life.. it's beautiful and harsh. Where for some it is bright and white and for some the symbol of loneliness and pain. But at then end all will end when the bright light and warmness falls upon it and all the pain melt down like water. This is life she understood now. May be someday her pain too will end when she will get the warmness of sun of her life. She saw the moon and closed her eyes now folding her hands in front of it she prays to god to bring that light soon which bring warmness and positivity in her life. After praying she opened her eyes and instantly her eyes falls on ther person and her eyes went wide. She prayed right now and soon she saw this man, her saheb "angrezi babu" if she termed his name. The Arnav Singh Raizada. What he is doing so late here in terrace. May be not getting sleep. Let it be not her concern thinking that she moved inside to have some sleep not knowing that fate has given her answer to the question which she asked just sometime before. Which she will get to know in somedays.