Dark Secrets

10

What happened, uncle?" Shreshtha asked, following Mahendra into the dining room.

Mahendra sat down at the dining table, looking thoughtful. Mrs Thakur sat down at down beside him while Shreshtha, on tenterhooks , stood facing them both.

"Telephone your father. I want to talk to him," Mahendra said.

"But-" Shreshtha started, when Mrs Thakur interrupted her.

"Beta, do as he says. Please. "

Shreshtha dialled her father from her mobile phone and gave the phone to Mahendra. She heard him assure her father that she, Shreshtha, was safe and sound and with his family and that he would like to come to Punjab personally to drop her off. He said he was taking the train that very night. As soon as the call ended, Mahendra returned the phone to Shreshtha.

"Can you please tell me what has happened , uncle?" she pleaded , her voice was brittle, and her eyes had welled up with tears.

Mahendra looked at his wife, Kanchan , prompting her to speak. Yuvansh held his breath as he continued to eavesdrop on the discussion at dining table.

"Beta," Kanchan began, "when we attended that family function, Yuvansh's father approached Darsh's father about the two of you because Darsh has dawdled long enough about this issue."

"But......but Darsh told me that he has had a talk with his mother! And that she would talk to his father soon."

"His mother didn't know a thing about you two. In fact, nobody there knew that you've been living with us all this while. That was when Yuvansh's father decided to talk to Darsh's father. And he did. It came as a shock  to him. He confronted Darsh and......" Kanchan fell silent.

"And....? Shreshtha asked. Tears were streaming down her face now.

Kanchan braced herself before saying,"....... and said that a girl who is brazen enough to elope with a boy couldn't become his daughter-in -law."

"What did Darsh say?" Shreshtha was finding it difficult to speak.

"He didn't say anything," Mahendra said.

A moment of silence later Shreshtha marched up the stairs and dialled Darsh.

Yuvansh stepped out of his room. "Can I go with you to Punjab?" he asked.

Mahendra nodded and asked Kanchan to see to it that Shreshtha got ready on time.

Upstairs, Shreshtha tried calling Darsh several times but his phone was switched off. It infuriated her. Knowing fully well that the message may not be delivered, she still wrote one:

WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME ASK DARSH? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING ME HERE IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE BALLS TO STAND UP TO YOUR FAMILY? OR IS IT THAT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME YOU HAD THE BALLS, BUT YOU COULDN'T ACCEPT ME NOW THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS SPURNED ME? THE MOMENTS WE SPENT TOGETHER,THOSE KISSES WE SHARED, THE LOVE WE MADE; WAS EVERYTHING A LIE? I'LL HAVE TO LIVE A LIFE KNOWING THAT THE FIRST MAN I EVER LOVED WAS A SPINELESS SWINE WHO SWITCHED OFF HIS PHONE KNOWING FULLY WELL THAT I'LL GET THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE UPON LEARNING THE TRUTH. WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU THAT YOU HAD TO DESTROY MY RELATIOSHIP WITH MY ENTIRE FAMILY? YOU HAVE BELITTLED ME SO MUCH IN THEIR EYES . I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL EVER SWITCH YOUR PHONE ON AGAIN, BUT IF YOU DO AND IF YOU EVER READ THIS, THEN JUST GET THIS STRAIGHT: NEVER SHOW ME YOUR FACE AGAIN!

Mahendra, Shreshtha and Yuvansh boarded the Ajmer-Punjab junction express in the evening. Kanchan had packed dinner for all of them, but both Shreshtha and Yuvansh were in no mood to eat. He had never seen her quiet. It seemed as if she didn't know how to talk anymore. As the train started speeding along on the track, Shreshtha went up to the upper berth to lie down. Mahendra was on the side upper berth while Yuvansh was on the side lower. At around 3 a.m., sleep evading his eyes, he went to the toilet and when he came out, he opened the door of the bogie and stood there, the strong wind buffeting his face. A few minutes later, he felt a hand grasp his wrist. It was Shreshtha. He turned to look at her. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot with weeping.

"How do I face my father, Thakur sahab? I don't care what others may think, but my father....I've been a bad daughter, haven't I?"

Seeing Shreshtha cry, he felt like someone had immolated him. This was the first time that she had grabbed his hand, and it was because she wanted to cry-and she did. Shreshtha leaned against his shoulder and sobbed inconsolably for a long time. Yuvansh stood still, until her tears had dried on his shirt. Shreshtha left quietly.

Yuvansh glanced at his arm where she had gripped him tight. Her nails had dug into his skin leaving marks. He caressed the skin there and looked up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. The cosmos and the gods themselves seemed to be taunting him, "we made the love of your life cry and you couldn't do a damn thing about it- not a damn thing at all!"