Smriti

Chapter-2

The very first house in the fifth lane of the Pushpabagha locality belonged to Smriti's aunt and her family. It was the first hour of the Purvanha prahar. The older members of the house were going to wake up within a few moments, but the girls - Smriti, Saadhvi, her older sister and Tvisha, their cousin sister did not even sleep a wink.

Tvisha and Saadhvi were the same age, and Smriti was four years younger than them. However, this four-year age difference did not affect the bond between the three sisters. Tvisha and Saadhvi had been close to each other since childhood, and after Smriti was born, Tvisha would pamper her a lot. On reaching her teenage, Smriti too gained access to the inner circle between her older sisters where they openly talked about various topics ranging from relationships to academics.

Saadhvi had decided to continue her study of the Vedas at Kashi after passing out from Gyanpith. Meanwhile, Tvisha studied literature at a university in Avanti and looked forward to writing her own plays after graduating. She was greatly inspired by Kalidasa's works.

"Is he really going to meet us? Did he agree to it, or did you force him?" asked Saadhvi, combing her hair with her fingers.

Tvisha giggled and nodded at her. "Yes, he agreed! Look, you are my closest sister and partly my best friend, so he has to meet you." She then turned towards Smriti and ruffled her hair. "As for you, my younger sister, you are tagging along to witness some of these colourful experiences."

Smriti huffed. "As long as you are not taking me in the afternoon, I am fine to tag along." I have my own plans too.

"But in the afternoon, everyone will be at the fair, so we can sneak out to meet him. I promise you, it won't take long," argued Tvisha. "If we go in the morning, there is a high chance that we might get caught. And we certainly can't go to meet him in the evening or at night."

Smriti sat up and adjusted her hair. Passing a naughty smile towards Saadhvi, she said, "And that's why I have a plan."

Saadhvi hovered about in the courtyard, her eyes carefully observing all the elders. Her mother and her aunt were busy in the puja room after taking their bath. They were cleaning the small temple her uncle had installed inside the house and were chatting to each other, oblivious to Saadhvi's presence.

She then returned to the room and told Smriti about her observation. In the meantime, Tvisha had gone outside to check where her father was as her uncle, Smriti and Saadhvi's father was in his room doing his regular morning japa.

Hearing Saadhvi, Smriti declared, "Maa and Pitrishvasa won't go out of the house now. After cleaning the temple and the room, they will do the puja and then go to the kitchen to prepare for today's lunch. I will go and inform Maa we are going to the Devi mandir. If Tvisha didi comes up with good news, then we can execute the plan successfully."

The girls were planning to meet Tvisha's secret lover. Her parents knew nothing about them. Hence he was the secret lover. The boy lived in Avanti and studied with Tvisha at her university. They had been together for two years. Not many knew about their relationship except their friends and now Smriti and Saadhvi. The two sisters were at her home, so she wanted them to meet him. There was still some time to introduce him to her parents. Both of them had planned to do that after the completion of their studies.

Smriti and Saadhvi kept glancing at the doorway for any sign of Tvisha when they heard their mother's voice.

"Is there something you need? Whom are you looking at?"

The girls jumped in alarm. "Umm... no. We are waiting for..." Tvisha looked at Smriti and silently asked her to speak up. Smriti frowned at her, causing Saadhvi to nudge her elbow against Smriti.