Namaskaram 🙏
Date of Update: 24.10.2022
Happy Deepawali 🪔
***
"Mr. Gadodia!" Ragini whispered as she recovered from the shock of seeing the person who opened the door.
"Come in!" Said Shekhar giving way for RagLak.
Laksh was confused about the people present in the house as he entered the house along with Ragini. Both of them placed the groceries inside the kitchen and came out when Ragini is pounded suddenly by a tight hug by a girl.
"I missed you so much di!" The girl who hugged her said hugging Ragini tight while Ragini didn't respond either to her hug or to her words.
The girl broke the hug sadly while Ragini clenched her fist tight.
"Who is he?" Asked one of the two women present there.
"My..." Ragini stopped for a moment and then spoke.
"Boyfriend!" She continued.
Laksh chocked immediately and Ragini looked at him concerned. She didn't want to shock him but the circumstances made. She helped him with water while he drank looking into her eyes. As if she is communicating him something he nodded. Ragini thanked him in mind as she understood that he is ready to help her.
"Jijuuu! I am Swara! Di's one and only younger sister!" Swara chirped happily introducing herself to Laksh.
Laksh just smiled lightly nodding his head.
"How can you Ragini?" Shekhar asked in anger.
"Means?" Ragini asked confused.
"How can you stay with a boy alone before marriage?" Sharmishta her step mother completed her father's sentence to be precise.
"You are no one to question me Mrs. Gadodia! I have told you earlier too to not to interfere in my matters!" Ragini spoke calm.
"Then answer me Laddoo! I am your dadi right!" Her dadi spoke.
Ragini chuckled sarcastically.
"I am an orphan. I had just a mother who left me few years ago. Now I have no one." Ragini spoke while her eyes turned moist.
Laksh looking at her condition just held her hand not bothering about anything in the world. Ragini felt his hand gripping hers but didn't react. Swara got sad and moved towards the couch and sat there not involving in the conversation.
"Enough Ragini! Just because you call yourself as orphan doesn't mean we all will leave you and doesn't get worried for you. I am your father in case you forgot. I have every right to get worried about you. You are living with someone here alone before marriage. How can you do that? And why are you not taking our calls? You are doing whatever you want to. Very careless, very rude and all you do is whatever you want. You don't respect any of us. We are fed up of you." Her father screams loud.
"THEN LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ragini shouts.
Her eyes flowing with tears. Laksh moved close to her and side hugged her not letting her fall weak. He knows nothing about what's going on but he just wants to stay as her support. Ragini wiped off her tears.
"Then please leave me alone. I beg you! I don't want any contact with you people. I want to be what I am now. I am happy the way I am living. Please leave me alone!" Ragini pleads lifelessly.
"Laddoo!" her dadi moves close to her and cups her face with teary eyes.
"Please Laddoo! Atleast listen to your dadi. You want to marry this boy. Okay! I will get you married to him but atleast don't call yourself orphan. I am there for you. Your dadi!" Her dadi speaks.
Ragini smiled sarcastically.
"My Dadi! My mother's mother in law. But also mother in law to the one who is responsible for my mother's death! Aren't you!" Ragini asked with teary eyes.
Sharmishta looked down with teary eyes. Shekhar clenched his fist tight controlling his emotions.
"Laddoo... it's not that..." Ragini shows her hand asking her to stop.
"You guys are my guests. So please take your seat. I will serve you then you may take leave. But yeah this time please return my keys to me. I totally forgot that you guys can get a duplicate keys without my knowledge. You guys stooped so low!" Ragini speaks with disgust evident in her voice.
"RAGINI!" her father raised his voice.
"I also can raise my voice Mr. Gadodia! But my values which my mother gave me are stopping me. So please lower your voice." Ragini spoke.
"So your mother taught you to stay with a boy alone before marriage!" Shekhar spoke smiling winningly.
Ragini looked at him with disgust.
"Atleast she didn't teach me to cheat my boyfriend with his own best friend!" Ragini taunted giving a look to Sharmishta and Shekhar.
"RAGINI!" Shekhar shouted again.
"Yes that's my name. Unfortunately you only gave that name. Yet I love it because my mother always used to love that name. And please don't shout. My ears hurt!" Ragini spoke irritated.
"Laddoo!" Dadi called her.
"Please. I have no energy. Already there was mess created by your informers in the morning and again you guys came to create another mess. It was my holiday. I had planned to rest but you guys spoiled it. Atleast now stop this, have your food and then leave!" Ragini spoke.
Ragini moved still holding Laksh's hand inside kitchen. She stopped after entering into the kitchen looking down and controlling herself to not to burst into tears. Laksh pressed her hand trying to convey that he is beside her. She didn't know when she turned towards him, hugged him and bursted out into cry. She never ever had vent her emotions in front of anybody. She worked so hard to gain the strength of controlling her emotions but today she fell weak in front of her flatmate. She has been skipping the topic of family since the day he entered into this house as her flatmate but today the same family made her weak in front of the same guy. Yet she didn't feel any discomfort to be in that vulnerable state in front of him. Instead she felt warmth in his embrace. She didn't understand why she wanted to trigger her family by saying that he is her boyfriend yet she did it. She bothered nothing and just said it loud. But he isn't right? Then why did she do that? She has no answer. She has decided to figure out the answer for it soon.
Laksh caressed her hair letting her cry. All he wished was to just pull off all the pain she had in her and inject all the happiness in the world into her. He understood that he wouldn't be able to see her that way. He could feel some kind of pain in his heart. He took deep breathes still hugging her. He controlled his emotions by clenching his fist for few seconds. Then he released his fists sighing and caressing her hair lovingly tightening the hug.
On the other hand Shekhar is fuming in anger. He didn't like the way she spoke.
"Did you see ma how she spoke to us? She never respects any of us!" Shekhar spoke in anger.
"After what all we did to her and her mother you expect her to love you beyond limits Shekhar?" Sharmishta asked sarcastically.
"Di did no wrong!" Swara spoke in between.
"See because of her Swara is also learning to speak with disrespect to us." Shekhar spoke.
"Right is right who ever speaks papa!" Swara said and left from there towards kitchen.
She stopped at the entrance seeing Ragini crying in Laksh's embrace. Her eyes turned teary seeing her di like that. Finding Ragini calm Laksh slowly broke the hug. He cupped her face and wiped off her tears. Ragini is just looking down.
"Look at me Ragini!" he whispered.
She raised her eyelashes slowly looking at him. He could feel something twisting inside his heart as he looked into her eyes.
"It's okay!" he whispered caressing her cheek with his thumb.
She took deep breathe and nodded yes.
"Wash your face! We will make something for lunch. Then they will go away!" He spoke.
Ragini nodded.
"Thank You!" she whispered.
He just nodded assuring her through his eyes. She moved towards the wash basin in the kitchen and washed her face. Once she washed her face she turned to see Swara at the kitchen door. She looked away not meeting her eyes with Swara. Swara sighed and entered the kitchen.
"Di I will also help you along with jiju!" Swara spoke excited like every time she spoke to Ragini.
"It's okay! I can do my work!" Ragini spoke a bit rude like every other time.
Swara got sad and moved away from there but stopped by Laksh.
"Swara will help me Ragini. You do alone only. Is it okay Swara?" Laksh asked looking at Swara.
Swara nodded yes immediately. Ragini just did her work. Three of them did their work silently. Sharmishta looked at three of them from outside the kitchen silently. She moved from there silently letting them do their work peacefully.
Ragini twitched her lips as she heard noise of sudden rain from outside as they were cooking.
"Even the nature is working against me today!" She murmured.
Laksh heard her.
"It's okay!" he whispered to her.
She looked at him while he nodded his head assuring her. She sighed and got back to her work. After sometime when Lunch is ready Ragini, Laksh and Swara arranged everything at the dining.
"Laksh you have food along with them. I will have later." Saying Ragini went from there without letting anybody speak.
Laksh looked at everyone. He smiled fake and spoke.
"Umm... uncle, aunty, dadi, Swara come. I will serve you guys." Laksh spoke.
"We can do it!" Shekhar spoke rude.
Laksh sighed. He just took a plate and served himself and moved towards the direction Ragini moved i.e. balcony.
"You don't need to be rude like that papa. Even after hurting his girlfriend he was polite to you. You can't even be polite for the man who has been your daughter's support when she needs someone, which has to be you actually." Swara spoke and went inside Ragini's room without having food.
"You have your food peacefully Shekhar. Once you are done I will have it along with my grand daughters." Parvathi Gadodia, Ragini's dadi spoke and left from there behind Swara.
Laksh sat beside Ragini who is just staring the rain drops that are falling straight on the earth from sky.
"Ragini!" Laksh called her.
She looked blankly at him. Laksh felt something squeezing in his heart.
"Have your food. It's really very late." Laksh spoke.
"I am not hungry Laksh. You carry on."
"Why aren't you hungry? You didn't had your breakfast too. Come one have it." He tried forcing her.
"Please Laksh!" she pleaded.
He sighed.
"I will put this inside and come." He said.
"You have it Laksh!" Ragini spoke immediately.
"I am not hungry!" he said same like her.
"Why? You didn't had your breakfast too." Ragini asked same like him.
"Please Ragini!" he pleaded just like her.
She understood what he wants to say. She smiled lightly shaking her head. He smiled bright and sat beside her immediately. He forwarded plate to her. She took it smiling a bit more.
"Where is yours?" She asked again.
"I will have later. You have it first." Laksh said.
"No get yours." She said.
"Umm... please. Not now. I promise will have later." Laksh said.
She understood he is uncomfortable in front of her father. She sighed.
"Boyfriend and girlfriend share things, share feelings and also share food. It's okay I can share my food." She said smiling.
He chuckled and nodded. Both of them started having their food in the same plate staring the water drops that are not stopping and are in hurry to reach earth from sky.
"Let me get some more." Laksh said.
"I am done Laksh." She said.
"Pakka?" He asked.
"Pakka!" She said and he nodded smiling.
"Enough of staying here. You will catch cold. Come inside!" Laksh spoke concerned.
"I... I don't want to come inside." She spoke sighing.
Laksh sighed and went inside to put the plate back. When he is back he found everybody already had lunch and are absent from the hall. He heard voices from Ragini's room and he understood that they are in Ragini's room.
The whole day passed silent as the family stayed in Ragini's room while RagLak stayed in either hall or kitchen or in the balcony. There is no sign of reduction of rainfall. Ragini is upset all the time. She made dinner for them just to be a good host to her guests with help of Laksh and Swara. Everybody had their dinner. Laksh has asked them to use his room as well. He decided to adjust somewhere in the hall. He moved towards balcony to ask Ragini to go to his room and call off the day along with her dadi and Swara only to see her eyes flowing with tears. He sighed. He moved towards kitchen and came back with two mugs.
Ragini immediately wiped her tears as she saw him.
"Your hot water!" He passed a coffee mug filled with hot water.
She doesn't drink coffee or tea. So he got himself some coffee and hot water for her. She just took the mug muttering thank you to him. He sat beside her and took a sip of coffee form his mug.
"Ragini!" he called her looking at the rain.
She looked at him and he also looked at her.
"You can share!" he spoke assuring her through eyes.
Ragini kept looking into his eyes.
Swara who came outside the room saw both of them together and moved back to the room.
"What happened? Why didn't you get Ragini with you?" her dadi asked.
"Jiju and di are together. They are talking." Swara spoke.
"He is really good isn't it?" Dadi asked.
"Yes dadi! Afternoon also I saw him convincing di to have food." Swara says smiling happily.
"He will keep our Laddoo happy! That's what I want. I will go against your father and support my Laddoo to unite both Ragini and Laksh." Dadi spoke wiping off her tears.
"I will be with you dadi. All I want to see is di's happiness." Swara says holding Dadi's hand.
"If you aren't comfortable you may not!" Laksh spoke seeing Ragini silent.
"Five years Ago...." Ragini started speaking.
****
Thank You for reading.
With Love
Dharani (Dhaరणि)