Ishq ki Kahaani

Illiterate: Unconscious

By the time they got home, Siya had fallen asleep and it was quite late too. Not having the heart to wake her up, Rudra picked her up in his arms, picking up their shopping bags as well. He walked through the front door, past his mother who was sitting on the sofa. He rolled his eyes at the smirk she sent his way. 

Gently placing the bags on the floor, he took Siya over to the bed. She was clutching onto his shirt, making it difficult for him to lean back after placing her on the bed. She would scrunch her forehead and whine like a child when Rudra would move away. 

He chuckled and managed to take his shoes off before slipping her jutti off her feet. Feeling a loss of the warm contact, Siya reached out for it again and not even a second later the warmth had returned. Seeing as Siya was not going to let him stay away, and seeing as he didn't want to stay away, he lay next to Siya, holding her in his arms and letting himself drift off into a peaceful slumber. 

The next morning, Siya was woken by the light snoring of her husband, in the daze of her sleep she snuggled closer with a smile on her face. Her husband was so close to her, he was holding her, and they were sharing their bed. She was busy snuggling closer taking in every moment she got close to her husband when she felt a slight cramp in her stomach which woke her up. 

When she paid attention she also felt a slight discomfort when she realised what was happening. Rudra was slightly awake too, he smiled and was about to bring Siya closer to him when she shot up and hurried to the bathroom.

"Aare, Siya!"

At first, he thought it was because she was shy at their proximity but when he sat up straight he noticed a small red dot on the bedsheet. He realised it was blood and went into panic mode. He ran to the bathroom and knocked. 

"Siya, kahin lagi hai kya? Siya, shona! Please door kholo!"

(Siya, are you hurt somewhere? Siya, sweetie! Please open the door.)

He was frantically knocking on the door and was about to forcefully open it when Siya stepped out. She looked down and brushed past him to change the bedsheet. Rudra was watching her move around and completely avoid him. He called for her, but she just turned away but he was not having any of it. He needed to make sure she was okay.

He held her arm and turned her around to face him. "Siya, kab se bula raha hun. Kuch hua hai kya? Maine kuch kaha hai? Have I done something wrong? And that blood! Tumhe kahin lagi hai kya?"

(Siya, I've been calling you. Has something happened? Have I done something? And that blood! Are you hurt somewhere?)

Siya looked up at him turning red with shame as she stuttered out a response. 

"Na-nahi, aapne k-k-kuch nahi ki-kiya. W-woh me-mein. . . ."

(N-no, y-you didn-t do an-an-anything. I-I u-ummmm. . . . )

Rudra waited patiently for a response, Siya shrunk into herself before whispering, "Mere periods aaye hain." 

(I got my period.)

Hearing this Rudra could sense her discomfort so he brought her closer to his chest and held her there. He was also feeling slightly uncomfortable as he never really openly spoke about periods with his sister or mother and the fact that this was the first time his wife was mentioning it to him after being married for half a year.