Shruti woke up feeling energised on that day. It was the 9th of April. She prepared her daughter Shivika's tiffin and got into the routine of sending her to school. Once done, she thought of preparing Atharva's favourite savoury muthiya (a gujju dish prepared from bottle gourd n wheat flour) for breakfast, along with spicy green chutney. She very well knew that he must have forgotten the date, as usual. But it was still very special to her, even after 12 years of marriage. After all, it was the day when destiny had brought them together.
After everything was ready, she went in her room, and gave a sweet hug to her hubby.
He rubbed his eyes, woke up and quipped, “Kya baat hai? Aaj subah subah pyaar aa raha hai?"
Shruti bit her tongue. There was no point in trying to make him recall. She said cheekily, “ Ya.. what to do? You don’t remember anything that relates to me. So I am only supposed to jog your memory.”
He immediately hid his face in the pillow and said, “Gosh! Must be some date that I am supposed to etch in my heart, but I haven't.. please forgive me!” he said in a mocking tone.
Shruti said in an exasperated tone, “What Atharva! You never remember... and my problem is I NEVER forget," she sulked.
Atharva beseeched, “Meri maa! Morning se start mat hoja. Maaf karde mujhe! Tell me without any riddles please. What is it today?”
Shruti giggled looking at his helplessness and said, “13 years back I did black magic on you and you fell for me.”
Realisation finally hit Atharva and he was about to hug Shruti when their younger one, Aashna woke up. “Papa, what are you doing with mama?” to which he replied, “Nothing sweetheart, when you are around, what can I do?”
Shruti laughed at this as it was a frequent situation for them, as if the kid wakes up on cue.
Shruti took the naughty lil girl in her arms, sat on the swing and cuddled her. It was way too early for Aashna to wake up. Hence, she wanted to put her back to sleep. Her thoughts drifted towards her journey of life... her childhood and her family... thinking about her first meet with Atharva on this very day... 13 years back...
To be continued...