Dark Secrets

3

"All okay?" Mr Srivastava asked.

"I'm standing right outside our house," said Shreshtha , flummoxed.

"What?" Mr Srivastava sounded startled. "Why didn't you tell us that you were coming?"

"It was supposed to be a surprised. But where are you guys?"

"We're in your mother's hometown."

"Where?"

"Kasol."

This was the first that she had heard about Kasol being her mother's hometown. Or had she forgotten that fact as well after the infamous 'accident'?

"What do I do now?" she moaned. "Where's Dude?"

"Dude's in the cafe. Just go down to the cafe and wait for us. We'll be there soon. I've just asked your mother to pack."

"All right."

Dejected, Shreshtha wandered into the cafe. Kishorilal was delighted to see her and Bubbles, needless to say, was over the moon. As it wasn't the tourist season, the cafe was fairly empty. She sat on a chair and Dude spread- eagled on the floor beside her. She telephoned Yuvansh. There was a faint tinge of shock in his voice when he heard that she was in Tosh.

"Why suddenly?" he asked.

"Just wanted to give mummy and papa a surprise, but they blindsided me. They're in Kasol, at mummy's place."

"Oh, all right."

"Sometimes I feel so useless! I don't remember a thing about my mother's hometown."

"Just give me a minute," Yuvansh said. He called Mr Srivastava. 

"Why did you leave Tosh without informing me?" Yuvansh asked sternly.

"We're really sorry, sir. We thought Shreshtha was in Udaipur and wouldn't return until..."

"I don't pay you to think; I pay you to follow orders. Now get to Tosh as quickly as possible- and never repeat this", Yuvansh said.

"We're already at the bus stop. We'll be there by this evening for sure. But I didn't tell her about our place."

"Okay. Call me if anything untoward happens. Does Kishorilal have the house key?"

"No. We kept it with us."

"Hmm. Get back as fast as you can!"

The moment he cut the line, Shreshtha called.

"I just checked the distance between Kasol and here", she said brightly. "As it turns out, it's just about an hour's drive away. I was wondering whether I should go to Kasol myself and return with mummy and papa. I have a long weekend off and I can probably use this trip to refresh my stupid memory about mummy's hometown."

"I think it would be better if you waited there. You must be tired from all the travelling."

"That I am. Tired and somewhat restless."

"So, take a nap. Isn't there a camp cot in the inner office at the cafe?"

"Why can't you come over? Don't army doctors have long weekends?"

"You've just gone and ruined my surprise," Yuvansh groaned. Shreshtha understood that he was on his way.

"Yessss!" she punched the air. "I love you!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely!" She screamed out with joy.

It was evening by the time her parents arrived. They bustled in to fetch her from the cafe and the three of them went home together with Bubbles. Her mother hurried into the kitchen, clucking and chiding as mothers always did, and set about fixing her favorite dishes. She updated her parents about her studies and about Sanam's macabre death. They told her about their plans to refurbish the cafe with a lick of fresh paint. She made them promise to take her to Kasol the next time she was on holiday.