CHAMKILI
by, Srija Singh
by, Srija Singh
Ch.II: Glows and Rust
"Khushi!" Arnav remembered his wife after almost half an hour, finally noticing her absence. Khushi had been slightly hurt during the match and though Arnav and others had offered to stop the match, Khushi wasn't someone who disrupted others fun for her own selfish little reasons and so she had convinced everyone that she was fine and had sat in the corner to watch others play.
"Di have you seen Khushi?" Arnav asked Anjali finally remembering that his wife was physically hurt.
"No Chote. But I think she must have gone inside, maybe the injury is more serious than we thought, we should probably go and check."
But Arnav was already walking towards the house, even before Anjali had finished speaking. She smiled slightly. Khushiji was one lucky woman, thought Anjali Singh Raizada, x-Mrs. Jha.
"Khushi! Khushi!" She heard her Arnavji's voice calling her. So finally she was missed. She didn't know how to feel about her husband finally noticing her absence after almost half an hour. Should she feel relieved or maybe worried. She didn't know. Yet she hurried out of the kitchen limping slightly as her left ankle was a little hurt and as Arnav Saw her come out he rushed towards his wife and carried her to the living room sofa.
"Why are you so careless damnit! Your ankle is injured and still you had to come inside all by yourself. What if you had fallen, haan?" he shouted at her at once, ironically today Arnav's worries calmed Khushi a little. So he did care, she thought to herself while her Laad Governor was busy scolding her.
"I'll call the doctor." Slight pangs of guilt hit Arnav as he saw his wife's swollen ankle. How could he have forgotten that Khushi was hurt. How could he have enjoyed those jokes with Sheetal when Khushi was not there. How did he not feel that she was missing. Didn't they share that connection that they could sense each-other's presence, they had never needed eyes to see before, were they losing it somewhere? Oh he could think about all this later, right now Khushi needed physical aid, emotional issues could be dealt with later.
"Arnavji I am fine. Believe me. I am used to getting hurt.This is nothing, seriously. I've handled worse." She had said all this in a passing, but it hurt him to hear that his wife was 'used to hurt and pain'.
Well he of all people knew very well just how much pain Khushi could take in, without even saying 'ufff'. Now wasn't he the one responsible for the biggest chunk in her basket of pain. He was brought back to the present as just then the family entered the living room, all but Aarav and Sheetal and Arnav instantly asked,
"Where are Aarav and Sheetal?"
And Khushi felt a slight pinch somewhere inside, once again. But her husband didn't seem to notice the hurt this time. After all it wasn't as obvious as the red blot on her ankle. But Khushi could feel the hurt getting stale, the wound changing color from red to blue to green, the pain, almost toxic, becoming a part of her system. But it was at moments like these, when her husband would unintentionally scratch the surface that it would become raw again, raw yet rotten, stale blood gushing out of that wound somewhere beneath her skin, probably even beneath the bones. But finding no escape through the solid muscle wall, the blood remained trapped inside, staling, getting cold every moment. Khushi shivered slightly, feeling that inner chill spreading through her system, the cold, the pain, unbearable and yet inevitable. Arnav's head turned towards her as she shivered, maybe the connection was still there somewhere. Who knows!
So Khushi did what she did the best. She hid behind her 1000 watt bright smiles.
"Oh yes Di. Where did they go? I have made banana-shake for Aarav, Sheetalji told me it was his favourite, so I thought I'd surprise him after the match. Where is he?" She beamed at Anjali, she was a brilliant actress. She knew it and used her talent well. Secretly, she had often thought that were she in the film industry, she might have had the honor of being casted opposite Salmaanji, big dreams, hmm! But these dreams were her own little reservoir and no one, absolutely no one had access to them, her secret little treasure. Though she had often wondered if one needed to be a good actress to be casted in Salmaanji's movies, his actresses hardly ever actually acted,and a genuine, real smile made an appearance on her face, fading only second later as she heard Di's reply that Sheetalji had gone to the market for Aarav wanted some ice-cream, which was followed by Arnav's concern as to why didn't Sheetal take the car along with her, both Aarav and her must be tired after the match.
Khushi was well experienced in handling pain, but right now she needed a moment all by herself. So quietly she left the room, without anyone noticing her departure. But it was only minutes later that Arnav noticed her absence, he remembered about the call he was about to make and once again reprimanded himself for forgetting Khushi's needs. He had to be beside her right this moment. He took quick strides towards his room and opened the door but his wife was nowhere to be seen. But a moment later he heard the washroom tap shut and realized she must be inside.
"Khushi, are you okay? Do you need something? Is your ankle still hurting? I'll just call the doctor."
but before he could make the call, the door opened and Khushi came outside. Her face a little pale, devoid of that natural blush that adored her face at all times, and her husband noticed this. He also noticed her slightly red eyes and Khushi saw him see her and so she reacted almost instantly,
"Wo Arnavji I think I might be a little tired after this action filled day. I think I should rest for a while." A hardly there smile on her face, " Oh yes and before I forget again, Lavanyaji had called a while ago. She is in India and she wanted to meet the family, so I invited her over dinner tonight, hope thats okay with you? And you please don't worry about the sprain, I'll just apply some balm and it will be fine by tomorrow morning. But where did I keep the balm, it must be in the first-aid box..." her need to talk getting the better of her, as the real worry still remained burried inside somewhere, bubbling to come out and she pushed, pushed hard so that it remained inside, trying and being successful in diverting Arnav's attention from where it was actually required. And yet she wasn't very happy with her success. For she first time she wanted, desperately wanted to lose.And Khushi started limping towards the cupboard only to have her husband swoop her in his arms and lay her down on their bed.
There was a moment then, as their breaths mingled, their breathing rate increased and so did their heartbeat. Her eyes shut involuntarily as he came closer to her. His warm breath fanning her cheeks as they burned crimson red. her heaving breasts were met by his solid chest, a collision, but soundless, his body weight falling on her delicate figure, but she loved the feel of his weight on her body, it made her feel secure, warm. His hands moved from the back of her head, and she burned. She burned as his rough hand made their way through her soft skin, her neck, her shoulders,the outline of her breast, finally intertwining his fingers with hers. And she arched her neck involuntarily, taking in his smell, feeling his sweat on her skin, as his lips caressed her neck, her long, beautiful neck. He could spend days feeling her neck against his lips, sometimes leaving a moist kiss here and there. His eyes fell on her lips, her impossibly soft and trembling lips. Oh those peaches, he felt an urgent need to devour those peaches and in the next moment his lips touched hers. A collision again, but this time she heard a sound and this brought them back from their roadway to ecstasy.
She opened her eyes to find a flustered Sheetal picking up the flower-vase at the door. She pushed away her husband and fidgeted with her slightly out of place clothes. Her face a perfect shade of vermilion, no less red than the sindoor on her forehead. Khushi tried getting up from the bed, but Arnav said a frustrated "Relax" and stood beside the bed, a tinge of red, no maybe pink on his face and Khushi couldn't help but smile at her Laad Governor and well nothing escaped his notice, but right now wasn't the time to punish his wife, he could do it later at a more leisurely hour.
"Sheetal you wanted something?" impatience and frustration evident in his voice. He felt like a boy who was just about to have a huge piece of chocolate cake and right when it had touched his mouth sending signals of apprehensions and fulfillment down his body, that object of his desire was snatched. Only here the desire was more like desperation, and the object of his desperation were peaches, soft, juicy, irresistible peaches.
"Umm I am really sorry guys, I didn't mean to..." an awkward silence, after which Sheetal informed that she had just met Pooja and her husband in the ice-cream shop.
"Arnav I am really sorry but they kind of invited themselves here and I couldn't say a no. Hope you don't mind. And now they really want to meet you. And guess who is Pooja's husband? Vikram Singhal. Shocked? right?"
"What ? Vikram from our batch? And Pooja?" He raked and raked his brains but couldn't figure out.
"Are Pooja that snub of a girl. Don't you remember? Ok come downstairs, when you'll see her, you'll remember."
And saying that Sheetal left, arnav followed, deep in thought about his college days, forgetting his Khushi once again.
PS: So this is my take on the situation. I still believe there is love, simply because you don't find your true love every day. But though it might be easy to fall in love, its not easy to make a marriage successful. But then again while the feeling of falling in love is an almost helpless experience, much can be done to make a marriage successful. The following vm highlights this idea that both 'Glows' and 'Rusts' coexist in a marriage, and its upto you as to what shall dominate your relationship.
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