Raat Akeli Hai

XXXIII. letting him

FINALLY CONTINUING.

:)

vanraj :

The evening had settled down to being beautiful.

I strode across the large renovated hallway of the Shah House.
Although I personally loved the aesthetics, I missed my old house.

Oh by the way, the whole tower plan was thrown in some corner of the storeroom for now.
I was lowkey grateful that the rest of the family was away in America with just Anupamaa and me here.

Anupamaa.
That was the cause of my incessant walking at ten in the night.

I had made an effort to come home early in hopes of finding her but she was already late.
Apparently she had also cooked for dinner before she left for work, after our emotional breakdown.

I had called her up but she had simply not picked up - causing me serious emotional damage.

After what seemed like ages I heard a cab drive into our narrow lane.
I jogged down to the door.
Anupamaa got out of the car, finally.
Looking fatigued.

She noticed me stand at the door.
She got off the car and stood frozen for moments.
"Kya hua? Andar aao.", I said.

I noticed her pale.
As if she was going to be punished.
I did not find the context, at all.

She dragged herself down to the door, looking down.
The body language was different.
Almost familiar, yet aloof.

"Sab theek hai na? Aaj itni der—"

"Aapko kya?! Mujhe der ho.. mai jaldi aau? Aap apne kaam se kaam rakhiye na Mister Shah!", She snapped at me and stormed past me inside.

I stood awkwardly, turning to see her go in and sit on the sofa.

"Hum dono ke beech toh sab normal ho gaya tha na.. toh phir?", I asked softly.
She stood up, almost frustrated.

"Normal? Abhi aap mujhe sawaal kar rahe the ki mujhe aane mein der kyu hui.. kyu? Khaana banake gayi thi na mai? Toh? Aapke Baa Bapuji yahan hai nehi.. kisiko dawai khilane ka koi scene nehi hai.. toh mai der se aau.. jaldi aau.. aapko kya?", She snapped at me.

Although she spoke strongly, I heard the tremor in her voice.
As if she was speaking from some trauma.
In any other case, I would have immediately shouted back but tonight I did not feel like doing it.

Probably she had a bad day at work.

I walked into the kitchen in silence and picked up the glass of lemonade that I had prepared when I returned from work.

I walked down to her and handed it to her.

"Shaant ho jao.. yeh piyo.. behtar lagega.", I said softly.
She stared at me.
Standing close, I could see the numbness in her eyes.
She gulped.
"Mujhe nehi chahiye..", She whispered, looking down, blinking off her tears in desperation.

"Anu.. kuch hua hai kya? Tumhe meri koi baat buri lag gayi? Dekho.. tum bataogi nehi toh mujhe pata nehi chalega. Tum jaanti ho.. mai koi bhagwan ya dev manus toh hu nehi jo sab sahi karu.. ya samajh lu..", I said, as gently as possible.