THE CLOUD'S CHARM

CHAPTER 9 - part 1 - HELPING

HELPING

During the second Saturdays, Guru always visited his family: that was when Mohan went for his solitary wanderings in the city. He loitered around; observing the people inconspicuously and striking conversations and bargains with the local vendors. He was on such a wandering that day. The rain seemed to have subsided for a while. The streets were crowded with tourists who kept staring at each shop with amazement as well as local people who milled about doing their weekly shopping.

As he saw the beautifully hand-crafted clay dolls lined up outside one shop, he was reminded of Nanhi. She was such an adorable kid that he couldn't stop himself from going to her that day when she had been crying, worried about the recital. The sight of her tears had constricted his heart with an unknown emotion and he had gone near her, despite his earlier promise to Guru to stay away from Megha and her family.

The surprise he received on the revelation of little Nanhi's talent was nothing compared to the one Megha gave him: He was totally dumbstruck at finally realizing how different Megha was from his judgment. He never expected her to be someone who laughed freely: the image of a hot-tempered girl which he had created in his mind about her, shattered into a million pieces as her real character began to unravel slowly in front of his eyes.

As he reached in front of the famous shop selling hand-woven silk saris, his legs stopped by themselves. His mother had been pestering him to buy a traditional sari for her from there for very long. Thinking that a sari would be the ideal gift to shut up his Mom for a bit about marriage, he entered the shop.

As he walked along the rows of meticulously woven saris, drowning himself in a plethora of colors, he heard an all too familiar voice:

"Your Didi love saris. How disappointed she would be if I chose some outdated colour, design or something? I've no idea about all this, Rajeev. Even my Ma says I don't have the taste for saris."

A male voice replied: "I assure you Megha, you'll be far better than me. Please help me out, won't you?"

Mohan found the owners of the voices on his left side. There was no chance of not recognizing the lady with her long black hair tied in a low ponytail. Megha had her back to him and hence, he used the opportunity to study Rajeev.

Mahi had told about him: Rajeev and Megha were soon to be engaged and it was his family that entered Nanhi's name on that competition. The guy was of average height, had a handsome face and sounded highly sophisticated. Mohan felt that his request sounded more like a careless statement: Mohan couldn't see Megha's face and hence, couldn't anticipate her reply.

"Okay, I'll try my best if you won't tell her." She relented.

"Thank you! That's all I ask." He said and a relaxed smile finally came on his face.

Realizing that Megha would soon be turning around and coming in his direction, Mohan grabbed the nearest sari and hurried away. But he was a bit late:

"Is that you, Mohan?" she asked from behind.

Having no other choice, Mohan turned around slowly. Megha's face split into a pleasant smile on seeing him.

"Hello, Ma'am." Mohan said, trying his best to look surprised.

"Your selection seems great." Megha commented, glancing at the sari in his hands.

Mohan followed her gaze and looked at the sari he had taken randomly. It was a royal blue silk sari with traditional golden thread work and looked a bit costly.

"Mind if I ask who the lucky girl is?" Megha asked.

Mohan looked up quickly and shook his head furiously: "There's no one like that – this is for my mother. She had been pestering me to buy a traditional sari for her from here right from the day I joined here. If I don't obey at least now, there will be serious consequences." He concluded with an eye-roll.

Megha laughed at this and extended her hand: "Can I-"

Mohan placed the sari in her hand, having understood her unspoken request to have a look at it. Megha rewarded him with a smile and began perusing the sari.

"So, you finally decided the sari? Let's go then." Rajeev came up behind Megha and suggested.

"No, no, this is Mohan's selection – I was just admiring it." Megha returned the sari to Mohan.

"Rajeev, this is Mohan - the one who prepared Nanhi for today's competition." Megha introduced.

 "And Mohan, this is Rajeev, my... our family friend." She said awkwardly.

"- and your fiancé." Rajeev added and moved closer to her.

"would-be fiancé." Megha amended, looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hello Sir!" Mohan broke the ice with a polite smile and extended his hand towards Rajeev.

"So, you are the one who destroyed her garden." Rajeev said after a brief handshake. Mohan didn't know what reply he should give to such a comment.

"And he's the one who gave new life to it also: you should see the new plants we have." Megha said, with an apologetic gaze in Mohan's direction.

Mohan felt a rush of gratitude towards her and tried to convey it with his eyes.

"Shall I make the bill, Sir?" a salesgirl approached him.

"Sure." He replied.

Megha looked troubled as he handed over the sari to the sales girl. She moved closer to him and said in a low tone: "Did you check the price, Mohan? It's of 7500 rupees."

"7500!" Mohan exclaimed. He didn't expect that much.

"You should look at the price tag first if you can't afford much." Rajeev said snottily. Megha glared at Rajeev openly this time before assuring Mohan:

"You return me the money when you get salary, okay? I'll pay for you now."

"Thanks for the offer Ma'am, but there's no need. I've got my card with me and there's enough money to pay for this sari." Mohan assured.

"Your bill, Sir. Collect your sari after paying it at the counter." the salesgirl handed him over the bill, pointed out the cash counter and left.

"You please carry on, Ma'am. Today is Nanhi's contest, right? Wish her all the best on my behalf." He told Megha.

"Sure, I will. See you at the campus." Megha replied.

"See you, Sir." He said with a polite nod in Rajeev's direction. With that, Mohan left. 

He could see Megha looking at him anxiously as he stood on the queue behind the counter to pay the bill.

"She's probably thinking that my pride didn't allow me to borrow money from her and I'll go without buying the sari." Mohan thought amusedly. The relief on Megha's face, as his card was swiped and package was given to him, was immense. He turned to her, gave a farewell nod and left the shop with a smile.

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