The night ended and
the time to retire arrived. They kissed everyone goodnight and returned to
their room. They smiled at each other. Kripa went to the bathroom to change and
Angad changed in the room. She came back to the room and decided that they
could at least make small talk.
'It was beautiful
tonight, wasn't it?' she asked. He smiled and her heart started pounding. This
was the Angad she knew and had always loved. His smiles always made her go weak
and her insides turn to jelly. He looked devastating in his white vest and
pajamas. His hair was all messed up and his grin was lopsided.
'It was great.
Everybody seemed to have a great time. I enjoyed a lot.' She looked great. Her face
was clear of any makeup and her hair was springing loose. Her eyes looked
sleepy and her pajamas and shirt made her look very appealing. He did not step
towards her. We should take things lightly, he thought.
They just smiled at
each other. Kripa walked towards the bed and said goodnight. Both of them felt
very light hearted. It was as if all worries had disappeared. Nothing could
possibly go wrong that night. She turned towards him and instantly fell asleep
with a soft smile on her lips. He just lay awake watching her. She looked very
innocent and carefree tonight. He moved towards her, kissed her hair and said
good night and instantly fell asleep.
*****
They were in the
fair. There were so many people around. It was one of the days when the
five-year-old Kunal insisted that she take a day off from work so that they
could spend it together. His favorite was the Ferris wheel. He loved being on
top of the world.
'Mama, I want
ice-cream!' he said.
'OK, let's go
there.' They walked to the ice-cream stall. She turned to get ice-cream from
the stall. She held two cones in her hand and turned. There was no Kunal!
Where did he
disappear? Where was Kunal?! He was there a second ago! He was just a little
kid! What if somebody had kidnapped him? What if there was a maniac on the
loose? She could not lose her son! She started running with both the cones
melting in her hand. She was screaming for him. She had not even realized it
but she was sobbing and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She paid no
attention to them. She continued running, screaming and sobbing. She kept
repeating his name as though if she repeated it a number of times, he would
materialize out of the blue.
She started shaking
and she heard somebody say her name. She was still sobbing when she came back
to reality. Angad was shaking her and trying to wake her from her nightmare. As
soon as she realized it was a nightmare, she sat and hugged him hard tears
still falling down from her face. 'He got lost. I couldn't find him Angad, I
couldn't find him. I almost lost him. I almost lost him,' she repeated.
'Everything's fine
Kripa. He's here. It was just a bad dream. He's here. He's just in the next
room. Nothing's happened to him.' He said trying to console her. He held her
close and let her sob her heart out. When her sobs finally subsided, he asked,
'what happened, Kripa?'
'It's nothing. It's
just stupid. Come on Angad, it wasn't a big deal. Fine, I'll tell you. Then
don't tell me that I didn't warn you. Kunal was five when we went to a fair
once. We went to get ice-cream. I had just turned for a few seconds when I
turned and discovered that he wasn't there. I went in a state of panic as we
were alone. I tried to look for him but to no avail. It turns out that he had
wandered to the Ferris wheel because he was very fond of it. When I finally got
hold of him, I just hugged him tight and cried my heart out. He frowned at me
and asked me why I was crying. I didn't let him out of my sight for at least a
week. I told you it was stupid,' Kripa mumbled.
Angad smiled. 'It
wasn't stupid. So I guess you just have a nightmare about it sometimes. Don't
worry Kripa, he's with us and he's fine. Nothing's ever going to happen to
him.' They smiled at each other and went back to sleep. She curled
instinctively against him.
The time finally
arrived when Angad was to leave for Mumbai with Kunal. Kripa felt tearful but
said nothing. She knew they were going to leave for just some time but she was
miserable.
Naina came to
Kripa's room and saw her sitting at the edge of the bed staring in space.
Naina's heart went out to her daughter-in-law. Her son and his wife were so
perfect together; they just needed to get out of the bitterness. She hoped that
this time apart would help them out.
Kripa saw her sit
beside her and put her head in Naina's lap. 'I don't want them to go, Mama. I
don't want them to go. Things are still awkward between us. I still love him so
much; I don't know what to do.' Kripa started sobbing.
Naina stroked her
hair. She had something cooking in her head. 'Don't worry Kripa, things will
get better. Why don't you go on a vacation as well? Stay away for some time
until everything clears up. Nobody needs to know where you are. Have some 'you'
time. I don't think you've had any time for yourself ever since Kunal was born!'
Kripa sniffled,
'Yeah Mama, that's what I'll do. Let them both go and that's exactly what I'll
do.'
Kripa saw them both
leave and went to the hospital. She went straight to the administrative office
and asked for a two-week leave. She had a lot of time pending so was granted
the leave.
'Josh, can I have
the key to the farmhouse?' she called him some time later. 'I need to get away
from here for some time.'
'Is everything
alright, Kripa? Of course you can have the key. Did Angad say anything to you?'
'Everything's fine.
I just need a break from everything. You know how much I used to love going
there just to think or spend some time alone. Even Angad used to go there to
think sometimes. How's Aali?'
They chatted for a
while and she hung up. She took her leave from her mother-in-law and told her
to tell everyone goodbye from her.
She drove to the
farmhouse and thought of all her memories with Angad. This would be a good time
for her to decide what she wanted from Angad, she thought. She went to the
front door, smiled at all the flowers and stepped inside. She walked through
all the rooms, one-by-one and chuckled over small things she had shared with
her husband.
She stripped, drew
her bath and rested in the bathtub. She would do absolutely nothing for the upcoming
fortnight.
Meanwhile, Angad
called Naina. 'Hey Mom, how are you doing? It's great in Mumbai!'
'Everything's not
fine here, Angad. Kripa left without saying a word!' she exclaimed trying not
to giggle on the other end.
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