A box of Chocolates

A circle and a Square - Part 5

Kriti was still standing motionless at the door of her father's office when her mother returned. She called for Kriti a few times, but there came no response. There was pin drop silence in the home, interrupted only by the occasional tapping on the keyboard. Kriti's father, having spewed venom, had returned to his computer like nothing had happened. It was only when her mother saw Kriti standing outside her father's room with a bloodless face and trembling limbs, that she sensed something grave must have transpired between the two in her absence. Having lived with this man for 30 years, she was terrified of his irrational and erratic temper. Hence, without as much as a whisper, she quietly pulled Kriti away with all the strength she could muster. With great struggle she was able to drag Kriti's stiff body to her room, and locked the door from inside.

She made Kriti sit on the bed , and gave her a glass of water to drink. She sat across from her, and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. "What did your father say?" Kriti's mother was nervous, and worried. She had a gut feeling that something very bad had happen, and something worse was to follow.

A long silence ensued. "Did you know about the letter too?" Kriti finally asked, her voice angry and distant. She was still shivering.

"Which letter?" Her mother asked

"The letter I wrote to Dishan, about us being incompatible."

She nodded her head, as her heart skipped a beat; the skeleton was out of the drawer. "Yes, we all do, us and his parents. He called one Sunday, when his parents were here for lunch, and told us you were unwell. When his mother asked him exactly what had happened to you, he said you were in depression, and hallucinating. On further probing, he read out the letter. We didn't know what to make out of it. Your father was furious. He didn't believe you had depression or any mental illness for that matter, he thought you were being arrogant and were bringing us a bad name with your actions. Dishan's father was upset too, and they left without finishing lunch. I don't know what his mother might have thought."

Kriti shook her head in disbelief. The morning after she had left the letter at Dishan's desk, there had been no firecrackers like she had feared, instead he had come to her all puppy faced, apologising profusely for not understanding her heart. What had he said " I promise I will try to be a better partner, and participate in things you like so that we can build a life together." Whatever little improvements she had thought there had been in their relationship was all staged. All that sweet talk had been anything but a farce. And to think that he had done all that drama, only to paint her as a defunct and delusion person infront of their families, behind her back. Such a creep!

Damn, she should have listened to her gut feeling. She should have paid heed to the uneasiness she had felt at his overtly conceding reaction. In all honesty, her letter didn't warrant an unconditional apology like Dishan had offered. At best it had been an attempt to open the doors of communication between them so that they both could bring their grudges to the table and resolve their differences. In any case

"To be honest, I never liked that boy. He gossips like a girl, can't keep any secrets. All these years your father used him to keep tab on your whereabouts."

Kriti kept staring at her mother, unable to swallow what she had just heard. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Tell you what? All this hoopla about soulmates is nonsense, men are men. They will hurt you any which way, one has to pick the lesser of the evils. He had good grades, he came from a good family that we knew them so well, he had a masters from US, and got a high paying job. It would have been one thing if you didn't like him, but you and your father were both in love with that guy. Who would have listened to me? Who listens to me anyway?" Her mother kept on speaking rambling without noticing how the colour and contour of her daughter's face was gradually transforming – from anger to disgust to utter shock.

"What all did he tell dad before we got married?"

"Why are you asking me? you weren't particularly a Sati Savitri growing up, and you know that. What do you think, we didn't know about your flings, we don't know what kind of feelings you had for your father? He might be short tempered, and irrational, but he is your father and without him you'd never have the kind of upbringing you got. We know you wanted to drop out of college to get into creative writing. I didn't like that he would tell us everything, but then in a way, if he hadn't, God knows what course your life would have taken."

Just like thunder, that follows lightning, Kriti could already feel the physical pain of her heart crumbling inside even though her mind was yet to process any of what her mother had just revealed.

"Take my advice, I am your mom. Stop being a rebel, you are a married woman now. I know your marriage is not perfect, your husband is not perfect, but no one is perfect. Learn to adjust, and you'd see life will become much easier. If you continue like this, you will make all of us unhappy."

"Mom, I am feeling a little unwell....if you don't mind, I would like to sleep?"