Forlorn Hearts

nau

The wedding felt like it didn't even happen. Just signing the names, wearing a mangulsutra and exchanging garlands. Falak had blinked and the next second, she knew she was married.

To Ishir Naicker.

Falak didn't have to carry the burden of her last name anymore.

Revan had stormed off after dropping her, not even telling a hello to his own parents who had been waiting for him since morning. They were so happy, and all smiles as they married her off. They repeatedly kept thanking her in-laws. But Falak didn't even hug her mother as they parted ways.

It all felt like a blur, getting into the car with her new husband, holding small Darsh in her arms as he slept peacefully. When she entered her new home, her mother-in-law did a few rituals but nothing big and now she was all alone in her room, unpacking her luggage.

Ishir's house was beautiful, both inside and out. To live in an independent house in Jubilee Hills clearly showed they were wealthy. Falak was not sure about their financial status much except that they weren't in any major debt (from Amrit's research).

His room smelled like baby powder. There were toys on the table and a big bag of diapers on the side. The bedsheet was neatly pulled and a small cradle was just beside it. It had a hanging toy of bees and flowers inside, Falak had excitedly tried touching it and playing with it too when she came in.

The furniture was minimal, the closet was a part of the wall and she still hadn't seen the bathroom yet. But stacks of baby oil and lotions were set neatly under the TV and she could see a whole another box was stuffed with toys but not visible due to the opaque yellow colour of the basket.

She folded her clothes as she put them in the closet, just beside the space where Darsh's baby clothes were piled up. She smiled, holding one close to her chest. He was with his grandmother now, she didn't think she could intrude on the first day and ask if she could spend time with him.

"Vadina!" Yashika knocked the door.

Falak uncrossed her legs, frowning at her attire now. Maybe she shouldn't have worn ripped jeans. . .

"Mom is calling!" she continued.

She didn't have much time to change, she got up from the floor with her left over clothes still half piled in the open suitcase. She opened the door, seeing Yashika's bright face. There was something so cheerful about her. . . and it wasn't just her smile which looked so beautiful but it was her eyes. The same bronze as Ishir's but with so much more colour.

"Just call me Falak," she said the first thing, feeling flushed. She didn't need such honorifics, they were the same age after all.

"I can't," she whispered, her eyes comically enlarging. "Mom would kill me."

Falak supressed her smile as she went back downstairs, seeing her mother and father-in-law playing with Darsh. Looking at them coming, her mother stood up and smiled.

"I hope everything is fine?"

Falak nodded, trying not to flinch when she held her hand. But everything seemed so kind about her, yet she couldn't let her guard down.

"Ishir is just watering the plants, he totally forgot today."

"Plants?" she sounded confused.

"We have a terrace garden!" she beamed, looking so much like Yashika. "Why don't you go and see?"

Yashika then was tasked to take her upstairs and Falak went reluctantly, her eyes lingering on Darsh. She frowned, feeling frustrated that she hadn't gotten her chance to hold him yet. But when they reached the terrace Ishir wasn't there, just his lingering presence in the sense of wet mud that had been recently watered.