Just Roommates

karva chauth

The next two three days, went past quickly, Arjun and Diya would usually spend the day hours wiht the family and the night in the office, they didn't want to come back to their room, it would only make things awkward. They barely caught any sleep.

"Arjun, we have to leave quick, it's almost 5.45 am"

"WHy?"

"I have to get home before sunrise and have my sargi, today is karva chauth!"

"Wait are you fasting?" Arjun asked his heart exploding

"Ma really wanted me to, plus this stuff means nothing to me, so i agreed"

"OH god, but they're doing this mechanical stuff right now, I can't leave"

And diya didn't know the way from there to her house. She was pretty terrible with directions.

"Okay never mind, this is important" diya said focussing on the work going on

"No arw you crazy! You'll have to eat something!" Arjun then began pestering the workers to work faster

They hurriedly got out, Arjun began praying that they reached home before the sunrise, Diya ran inside the house as soon as they reached. She gulped down three glasses of water quickly while the other ladies were done eating. As soon as she put the third glass down, the suns rays shone upon her.
Arjun was guilty for not being able to get her home quick, infact he felt terrible

-

Diya, Divya and Simi (jagat's wife) were supposed to go to the temple again. They walked through the white marble temple. Diya had grown comfortable with Divya but Simi's gaze still made her very uneasy.

"Diya, thnkgod atleast you had three glasses of water before the run rose" Divya exclaimed

"But Diya pehnji, you don't even look like you are fasting for karva chauth, no bangles, no sindoor, no mangalsutra" Simi exclaimed. Diya frowned tiredly. Divya noticed this and promptly interjected, "Arrey simi, when there is love, why do you need all the other material things!" Divya said giggling like a teenager. Simi nodded along and then spotted her other village friends and went towards them.

"Honestly Divya bhabhi, how does karva chauth even make sense, I mean why should we women fast for our husbands?"

"Diya, this karvachauth is not about the rituals or husbands and wives, it's just for love, we fast for a day so that we don't have to deal with the loss of the people we love" Divya explained to her like a mother

"And how do you know if you love someone?" Diya asked dwelling into the topic. Divya who was well aware of the turmoil in Diya's relationship put her shoulder on Diya's hand and told her, "When you close your eyes in front of the god, the first image that comes before your eyes is your love, because you find god in them, un mein tumhe rab dikhta hai"

Diya took these words a little lightly, it seemed too superstitious and in the air kinda words. But when they went in front of the next deity and she closed her eyes, she saw Arjun, and for the next one, and the one after that, everytime she closed her eyes, she saw Arjun's image smiling to her, giving her a hand to get on to the rikshaw, opening the door for her, putting food in her plate, making her paint. She was perplexed. No she couldn't fall in love, yet again, it scared her. She didn't want to. She hated the feeling. It made her feel weak.

They walked to the exit in silence, Diya reminiscing every moment of hers with Arjun, him painting with her, him cuddling with her, him snatching her book, standing up for her in front of aanchal, holding her hand under the table, singing for her, him hovering over her. She wanted to sink in somewhere, she didn't want to fall in love, she never asked for it
-
"Are you sure about your divorce?" Nikhil asked Arjun, as they ate custard apples that they had just plucked from a tree. Nikhil and Arjun spread out under the shade of the tree, while Aman and dev lay there with their headphones on.