Ladnun
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The weather intensified. It began to rain cats and dogs. The type of rain that hasn't heaped since forever. Shraddha and Anand got drenched with it before going into her home. He left her statement unanswered due to the unexpected heavy pour. Shraddha's mother was trying to draw the windows to prevent the rain from spilling in. But it seemed the windows were jammed.
Shraddha's eyes became a pool of tears. She couldn't contain the happiness of seeing her beloved, dearest mother just a few steps away from her.
"Mother!" she called out with joy.
Her mother stayed put in her place as her hand froze while holding the knob of the window. Shraddha began to approach her, looking very excited. Just when her hand was about to turn her around, she shifted from the spot and turned herself. She gave Shraddha a cold look. A look that lacked her motherly love for her.
"Who are you?"
That question wiped Shraddha's smile from her face.
"What do you mean? I'm Shra......"
Before she got the chance to complete her sentence, she ordered her to leave the house in a harsh voice. Her eyes moved to Anand that was standing near the entrance door.
"And take him with you. I neither have a daughter, nor a son-in-law."
"What sort of joke is this mother?" she gave a slow mirthless chuckle.
"A joke?" her mother used her hand in pushing Shraddha backward. Shraddha's eyes widened in terror.
"A joke?" she pushed her again. Shraddha missed her step and was about to fall had Anand did not hold her hand.
He gazed at her mother with anger loathed on his face because of how she was treating her in front of him. He would not tolerate seeing anyone hurting her, including her mother when he was around.
"What behaviour is this Ma'am?" he questioned in a ferocious tone yet, the respect he had for her as Shraddha's mother still darted in it.
"There's nothing wrong with my behaviour. My daughter isn't my daughter. She sold my respect and her father's respect when she agreed to be featured in a newspaper that tarnished her family's image. She doesn't deserve my love, respect, me, or her father's."
Anand latched his eyes close as he inhaled a deep sigh. He forced a low moan. His father concocted this mess. He tried to destroy another sweet family again. He unfurled his eyes. Shraddha cried silently while staring at her mother that was vetoing to acknowledge her presence.
"It is a misunderstanding. Shraddha had no fault."
"I respect you a lot. For the sake of that respect, take this disgrace away from me." she snarled.
Her tears percolated from her vision continuously without stop. It mopped her cheeks. The word, "disgrace" began to repeat in her head. Not only Poonam, even her mother was calling her that now. The woman that brought her to the world was calling her a disgrace.
"Am I a disgrace?" she whispered.
"Any woman that will agree to have her family's image tarnished for her in-laws is a disgrace."
Anand's blood simmered with rage. He held Shraddha's hand firmly and they spun to leave. As they were walking out of the house, her mother angrily clamored.
"Do me a favour and never return. You've already caused me enough pain. You destroyed your father's image. If you wanted a picture of him to confirm who he really is, you should have asked me and I would have shown you. Talking about it makes me want to curse you Shraddha."
Anand shrouded Shraddha's ears with his hands. He found it not necessary for her to listen to her mum.
"Disgrace!" the word reiterated in her head before her eyes closed and she went blank. She leaned over on Anand's chest.
He presumed she was crying. His hand patted her back as he tried to hush her.
"Don't worry about what she said. I'll call her personally when she calms down and explain you were never at fault. Okay?"
There was no response from her end.
"Okay?" he said again.
Still, all he received was silence.
He sighed and pulled her up.
"Shr...." his eyes partly enlarged with shock as he saw she had fainted.
"Shraddha!" his voice was full of worry as he called. He looked ahead and saw the taxi they came with far away from them.
One thing that was in his mind as he took her in his arms, the bridal style to approach the taxi was her endless devotion of love towards his children. He was badly drenched in the rain. He cared less about catching a cold, even though he knew his body easily beguiles it.
He puts her into the car and entered.
"Take us to the airport."
"Sir, in this rain, I can't return to the airport. There is a hotel which is just two minutes aw....".
"Take us." He had no time to listen to his explanation. He was panicking and wanted to ensure Shraddha's safety at the earliest.
The driver did just that. He pulled over at the hotel. The guard standing by the door with an umbrella moved forward to them and opened their door. He looked at Shraddha who was unconscious and at Anand.
"Did you kidnap the lady?" he enquired suspiciously scanning him.
"Call the police if you want to. Help me take her out first. She needs treatment." Anand replied.
The man sheltered them under his umbrella as Anand picked up Shraddha and they proceeded into the hotel. Reaching the receptionist's table, he took out his wallet and dropped it there.
"Take all the money you want. My card's password is 0000. I have no time to fill out any form. Give me a room quickly. We'll only be here until the rain gets lighter."
The woman took him in a stare from head to toe. His clothes were sucking wet. And the woman he held was unconscious. Using her eyes, she conversed with the guard to call the police.
"Okay Sir." she said. She turned and removed a key from the bar of them and handed it to him.
"Enjoy your stay."
Anand scurried on the stairs. Climbed it without any delay and located the room. Unlocking the door, he went in and gently put Shraddha on the bed. He went back and closed the door and then returned. He noticed her saturated clothes from the heavy fall.
Sighing, he went to check the bathroom for hot water that would warm her up. He stopped when the coldness of the cloth on him skimmed his skin. He began to shiver. However, he tried to ignore his health. There was no cold water. But, his eyes collared the water heater and its switch. He switched it on and returned to the room.
He was shivering tremendously while rubbing his hands together to provide him some warmth. He timed the heater, and when he was certain it had boiled, he took her in there. Carefully dropping her under the shower while making her back recline against the wall. He veered on the hot water. It gushed on her with extreme leverage. She jumped up with a startle and regained consciousness. The hot water made her skin believe it was on a hot pan. She tried to get up because she felt like she was being burnt, but Anand told her not to.
"Why not? Did you bring me here?" she asked him unbelievably.
He saw her in pairs. "Bath. Remove those clothes or else, you'll catch a cold. You got drenched in the rain. There's a towel in the drawer. Use it when you're done and wait until your clothes get...."
"Don't worry about me. But you're also drenched." she muttered in concern.
"I'll bathe after you." he exited the bathroom.
She took a long shower. She draped the towel around her and went out.
"Anandji!" she screamed when she saw him on the floor.
"Anand!" she sprinted to him, putting his head on her lap. His temperature had shot up. He was running a high fever and,
Her hand roamed on his wet blazer.
"You'll be fine." she whispered. She unbuttoned his blazer and took it off. She also removed his shirt that revealed his hairy chest.
"You'll be fine Anand." she repeated as she hugged him. She thought doing so would create some steam, and that would warm him up quickly because she exhausted all the water in the heater. Waiting for it to boil again would take a long time, and she had no time. All she wanted was to see him healthy soon.
"Wake up Anand. Wake up." she fondled her body against his. Her body was like a stapler moulding on his. She refused to let go.
Slowly, Anand's body warmed up due to her proximity. His eyes darted open, followed by a severe headache that gored his head, and he moaned out loud.
"Anand!" Shraddha whispered with joy while drawing back. She met his eyes, and she heaved a sigh of relief. "I was very worried about you."
An impatient knock occurs on the door continuously.