Indian Wedding Tales

J A N K I : part I

"Of course, even the gods can't take you from me now," I said rising and clutching the sheets to my naked body. Vansh laughed while shaking his head at me.

He looped his arm around my body, pulling me close so that our foreheads joined.

"You're crazy," He said in between laughs making my belly grow warmer.

"Only for you," I answered. I willed myself to let go of the sheets and grab his face in my hands. I pressed a warm kiss on his mouth while he laughed to his heart's content. For a moment I realized that this sound was all I needed to stay sane.

He moved his fingers yet again through my hair and breathed into my mouth, "My angel"

But suddenly his soft endearments kept repeating through my mind as if I was stuck in time.

My angel...

Flashes of two headlightswas all it took for my heart to beat at a pace that wasn't normal. My breath hitched.

My angel...

I turned to the right only to find Vansh beside me strapped to his seat, covered in his blood.

"Vansh, Vansh, wake up!!" I yelled while trying to shake him. Red eyes suddenly opened and looked at me, the hair on the back of my neck rose.

"My angel..."

I gasped loudly as I rose from the bed, my breath high and labored at the same time. The darkness around me scared me to the extent that my limbs started shaking and my heart thundered in my chest.

Fumbling around the bed, I felt my throat dry up and my forehead was slick with sweat. I jumped from the bed and tore through the curtains. When sunlight finally poured into the room, the darkness vanished in an instant. And with it the fears that had gripped my mind began loosening.

I finally breathed a sigh of release as I slipped onto the floor trying to regain my breath. My clammy hands wiped the sweat from my face as I focused on my surroundings as I had been taught.

The chirpings of bird outside, the neighbors kids playing another round of badminton in the garden and the occasional whistle of a pressure cooker from the kitchen.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I followed the pattern and the chill in my heart subsided. My body was returning to functioning normal but yet my eyes burned from unshed tears.

I should've gone out and purchased the sleeping pills. A dreamless slumber was better than the haunted dreams of my dead lover.

The sleeping pills made me sleep like a log and I often didn't get up on time but now that I was up early, I could finally meet Sana before she went to school.

Sana, only she could help me take my mind off certain things.

Quickly brushing through my unruly hair and gargling, I went downstairs. My eyes were scanning the living room looking for the little doll. I found her on the dining table, a stuffed toy in her arms.

"Sana?" I asked as I made to her. My lips automatically smiled when I watched her pigtails swinging as she turned to me. Her mouth full of bread broke into a giggle and she jumped from the chair racing to me.

"Maa, you woke up early today!" She exclaimed while wrapping her tiny arms around my waist. The toy was forgotten and lying on the floor

"How's my favorite girl?" I picked her up in my arms as I walked back to the table. The house maid smiled politely at me and I nodded. She quickly got up and left as I fed Sana her breakfast.

"You know, maa, today we're making a Santa Claus in the school!" Sana's wide excited eyes twinkled. I matched her expressions as I gave her an impressed look.

"Did you pack everything you need?"

"Yes! Rohini didi helped me pack all things. We needed cardboard, colors, glue, scissors and cotton" Sana held up five fingers as she counted the list. I smiled at her.

"When you come back home, I'll teach you how to make reindeers," I said as I fixed her school uniform.

"Really?" She said bouncing in her seat and reaching up to move her hands through my hair.

"Uhuh," I nodded at her with an excited smile.

"Maa," Sana sang as she played with my hair and I fed her uneaten sandwich. "When will I get hair like you?"

"When you grow up like me" I answered as I dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

"I loveeee your hair," she giggled and scooted closer to me "It makes you look like an angel"

A twinge of pain shot through my chest at her innocent words. I froze for a moment.

"Sana, beta your bus-" the voice halted there and I looked up. My eyes met that of Karan Singh's, Sana's father and my legal husband.

A look of surprise crossed his face as he watched me seated at the dining table with Sana in my lap. At her fathers entry, Sana climbed down my lap and ran to her father, gushing about the activity in her school again.

Sana's father wore a shirt that was cuffed at his wrists. His spectacles weren't in their place and his face had eye bags as if he hadn't been getting enough sleep. His tired face tried to smile as Sana kept talking.

"Your bus is here, go grab your bag," He interrupted her causing her to come running back to her bag. I helped her put the straps on her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss and I watched her run out the house.

I got up and walked over to the window. I watched her give the conductor a friendly high five before she climbed up. I sighed.

When I turned around, Mr. Singh was in the same spot he had been earlier. Suddenly, the air felt too thick. I could detect tiredness in the way his body was slumped and his shoulders drooped.

It all felt familiar.

I wondered if I looked the same as him. Worn down, dark circles and a face that didn't have any shine.

The only thing that connected me with him was Sana. Sana was the common tangent we both cared about. But he and I were still strangers living under the same roof.

The maid walked out the kitchen with a casserole in her hands, "Ma'am, should I set your breakfast?"

I briefly glanced at Mr. Singh whose eyes were waiting for my reply. I gulped before answering.

"Send it upstairs, I'll have it my room" And with that I walked away.

********

This is a bit different from the rest of the stories and hence I decided to keep it at the end. 

Let me know your thoughts on it  :)