Charade (IPKKND AU)

Chapter 19: Candour

Khushi

"I'm taking you to our storeroom," Anjali-ji led the way upstairs after the breakfast things were cleared away, "As Raizada bahus, there are certain things you need to know."

She stopped at a door Khushi had only been through once when she'd come to deliver sweets for Anjali-ji's anniversary party.

"We keep everything here," Anjali-ji explained.

Khushi smiled at her sister in reassurance as they stepped inside. Light streamed in through a large window, falling on the shelves that lined the walls. The floor was a maze of boxes and crates. A table and some chairs were set up in the far corner, under a bright light that came to life as Anjali-ji flicked a switch.

"The family jewellery isn't here, of course," her sister-in-law picked a path to the corner, "Payal-ji, you received everything before you were married, and Khushi-ji has Mamma's bangles."

Khushi ran her fingers over the bangles Arnav-ji had gifted her with reverence. She hadn't taken them off, not even to sleep, and suspected that she never would.

Thank you, Saasu-maa. It feels like you've blessed me.

"This box holds all of Nana-ji's Holi things," Anjali pointed to a wooden box, "HP will be cleaning it all tomorrow so it's ready. Nani likes to use his things to play."

Jiji giggled, "That's wonderful, Di. What was Nana-ji like?"

Di. She calls her Di.

Sadness pulsed within Khushi as she realised that this was yet another privilege she hadn't yet been afforded.

"He was stern and kind-hearted, strong-willed and at times mischievous. Mama-ji has his kindness, Aakash has his understanding, and Chhote ... Chhote has his mischief."

"Arnav-ji?!"

"Yes, your Arnav-ji," Anjali-ji threw her a smile, "When he was seven he glued the cucumber shut on Janmashtami. Oh, Mamma gave him such a smack! And when he was fourteen he glued Aakash to the bed, though to this day he believes no one knows about it."

Khushi chuckled, trying to imagine it and failing miserably.

"He liked glue," Jiji observed with a smile.

Nodding, Anjali-ji reached for a heavy album from the shelf behind her, "Come, it's time you met our family."

They settled on the table and chairs with the album in front of them. Anjali-ji opened it to the first page.

"This is Nana's family. He had a brother and a sister."

"Oh," Khushi giggled, "That moustache!"

"Nana was a landowner. He went all the way to Lucknow to marry Nani! This is the house they lived in."

There was a faded photo of a large house and sprawling gardens.

"Nana and Nani had two children. Our mother and Mama-ji."

They studied a series of photos showing the two children growing up.

"Look at Papa-ji's hair!" Jiji incited a round of giggles as she gasped at a photo of her father-in-law in a school uniform.

Soon, Anjali-ji paused at a photo of a wedding, "Mamma and Papa married first. This is Sheesh Mahal in Lucknow."

Khushi's attention sharpened as she recognised the mansion she'd first met her husband in, but Anjali-ji skipped several pages of the album to land on photos of another wedding.