A box of Chocolates

Love Aaj Kal - Part 2

On the day of Diwali, Rai woke up even before the sun. Truth be told, she had barely slept the previous night. The butterflies in her tummy, the memories from a year ago, the sweet music that played in her head, the excitement to see the guy she adored more than anything else in the whole world, after one full year...how could she have slept through it all.

She opened the window next to her bed and the faint sound of 90's Bollywood songs, playing on radio at the tea stall across the street from her home, floated in, bringing along a wave of sweet nostalgia.

By 8, she was bathed and dressed up like a good girl. Dolled up in a pink sari with a golden zari border, matching golden jewellery, a tiny bindi on her forehead and dark kajal adorning her big eyes, Rai was indeed looking beautiful that morning, even to her own unappreciating eyes.

You could say, by worldly standards, Rai's parents were a little weird. Unlike her aunts or neighbours or other parents, they didn't follow conventions. They neither patronized her into learning lady like manners, nor pushed her to top every exam. They just let her be, just let nature take its course and let her grow like a wild rose. But that morning when Rai came out looking almost like a young bride, they, especially her father got a little emotional. When had his little munchkin bloomed into this fragrant red rose?

But they were afraid, for even though Rai hadn't officially told them about the boy up until now, they had known. They had known there was a boy, as only parents can know. But they weren't afraid because there was a boy. They were afraid because they had witnessed the roll coaster ride Rai had silently been on, over the past one year.

When Rai's mother asked her for breakfast, she refused. The boy would be here anytime soon, she would have her breakfast with him. Rai pulled a chair and the book she was currently reading to the balcony, to the corner from where she could clearly see the road.

Every ticking second on the clock was weighing on Rai's heart...8 am > 8.30 am > 9 am...10.30 am > 11 am. In between Rai's father came by twice to check on her. At Rai's home, neither she nor her mom ever fasted, every time they had tried they both had fallen sick. And so, her father grew more concerned with each passing minute. Probably he was more afraid of her heart breaking than of her having acidity for a day, but the human mind in its strange ways always tries to focus on the lesser of evils.

At 11.30 Rai stepped out of home on some pretext, and without wasting a second, walked up to the nearest telephone booth to call the boy at his residence. A heavy male voice, which was clearly not his, answered. The man (most probably the boy's father) told her the boy wasn't at home. He also told her he wasn't sure of his plans for the rest of the day. It was Diwali so he could be with his friends.

In that moment Rai could have decided to closed the doors of her heart and her home for the boy. But Rai chose to keep her hopes alive, she chose to trust, she chose to give him the benefit of doubt.

Rai Returned home, and eventually to the balcony. A little after 1, her mother called her for lunch, and this time she relented, forcefully stuffing a few morsels of her favourite biriyani in her mouth, as if she had been asked to chew rocks. With her left palm she continued to wipe off the stream of stubborn tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks.

That whole afternoon Rai sat glued in the chair on the balcony. By now, her kajal had been smudged in places. Despite the mild autumn weather the sun was strong, and by evening the side of her face facing the sun had completely tanned against her other rosy cheek. With the setting sun, Rai's hopes sank too. The sky grew dark and the sound and the smoke from firecrackers slowly filled the air. At one sudden moment, Rai got up, walked inside, changed, turned off the lights and climbed into bed. In an ocean of brightly lit houses theirs was the only dark one.

In the adjacent room, her father's heart was crumbling like pastry. If anyone in the world knew the true worth of Rai, it was him, and it was killing him inside to see how this boy had tossed his diamond like daughter like a stray pebble. He wanted to drag the boy by his collar and slap him red and blue.

Rai's mother, even though just as heartbroken, held strong like a rock. Being a woman and a mother, she had weathered many storms as only women can. Her mother heart wanted to hold her baby in arms and smother her with kisses, but the woman in her wanted her daughter to learn her lesson, walk through the fire and emerge as gold.

To be continued...