MishBir - Captivated Forever

Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Mishti had known for days.

There had been no real hope almost from the start.

For days she had thought she was preparing herself. But there was no preparing for the moment when it came.

Nannu was . . .

She was panting when she eventually stopped walking, as if she had been running for miles. She did not even know where she was. But when she looked about her in the growing dusk, she realized that she was outside the house that Mr Rajvansh had pointed out to her three days ago. There was light behind an upstairs window.

Had she intended to come here? she wondered, dazed. Or was it pure coincidence?

It did not matter.

She stepped up to the door, kept her hand on the switch, hesitated for only a moment, and then pressed it firmly.

The door opened soon after, and when Mishti saw who it was, The tears came and she said the words that had haunted her since the beginning but which only now was true.

Mishti : Nannu is dead.

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When Abir heard the doorbell, He wondered with surprise who it was. His housemaid and cook had both departed for their homes and were not expected back until tomorrow. He thought if he had some appointment he had forgotten.

Unable to clear his memory, He looked outside his bedroom window to see the front porch. Her head was covered with a shawl, but he recognized her instantly. Good Lord! Whatever was Mishti Raj Singhania doing on his doorstep at this time of the day? It was well into the evening and darkness was settling. His first thought as he dropped the book he had been reading onto the nearest chair and shot from the room and down the stairs was of her safety. If anyone were to see her . . . But even before he reached the bottom of the stairs he remembered telling her to come here to him if she was ever in need. This, obviously, was no social call.

Abir opened the door, took one look at Mishti's face, shadowed by darkness though it was, and dismissed any thought he might have had of stepping outside with her and marching her away from the house. Instead he grasped her by the upper arm and drew her inside before closing the door.

He heard her say that Nannu was dead but he didn't reply. He led her to the couch and sat her down. She was pale and obviously distraught.

Mishti (stammering) : The letter. The reply that he was supposed to bring back. They found it. Her mouth tried to curve into a smile, but failed.

Mishti : He is dead, is he not?

Was she still trying, then, to cling to some shred of hope? But it was time to face the grim reality. It was why she had come to him, he realized. Someone from the embassy must have brought her the information, but he was the one to whom she had instinctively turned for the final interpretation of the facts. He wondered when exactly they had become such precious friends.Abir moved forward.

Abir : Yes, My Mish! He is dead.

She stared at him though her eyes were focused on something a million miles beyond him. Her shawl slipped slowly and forgotten from her shoulders and settled in a soft heap on the carpet at her feet. He set his arms around her, one about her waist, the other about her shoulders. He drew her against him, and she turned her head to rest one cheek against his chest.

Mishti (shivering slightly) : Nannu is dead.

Abir (whispering) : I'm so sorry. Yes! Nannu is dead.