The Beautiful Past and The Haunting Present
She furiously wiped the tears flowing through her eyes that saw no end. She pressed both her palms on her face as she cried over the failure of her relationship with her very own Mr. Shergill. Not even in her wildest dream, she had seen this coming. She was glad for the fact that she didn’t have to think about someone finding her in that state because she had locked herself in one of the vacant rooms in the Shergill House.
“How could you say it, Mr. Shergill? How could you?” She sobbed as his words kept repeating themselves in her mind. His words crushed her soft emotions and the delicate feelings that she had developed for him. “I admit, it shouldn’t have come in front of you the way it did but how could you just reach the conclusion that you did?” Teardrops rolled one after the other down her cheeks. Shaken from inside, her breathing became uneven as the muscles of her entire body began trembling.
The more she tried holding herself back, the more she lost it.
It was so unlike her. Being the elder daughter and the elder sister, having lost parents at a tender age, having lived every day with anticipation, fear, and concern for her little sister who got separated from her, having smiled at every taunt her aunt thrown at her, she had become way mature for her age.
Life had taught her the hard way and she had never sat complaining and crying about the same. Perhaps, because neither she had anyone to complain to nor she had time for it. Her life wasn’t monotonous. She had a purpose and she woke up every day and worked to get closer to it.
She had never let herself break down all these years but that day, she didn’t have control over herself. She was breaking bit by bit. His accusations weren’t letting her breathe. She was still struggling to accept that he actually believed that she deceived him. Sure, she had kept certain things away from him but she had her reasons for the same.
She walked down memory lane when he had won a part of her heart.
Oh, how beautiful that night was!
“Mr. Shergill, care to tell me where exactly are you taking me?”
“Mr. Shergill. When will you start learning to reply to me in first say?”
“I am talking to you.” She nudged him and he immediately turned his head toward her.
“I am driving, Mrs. Shergill. Please.” He shifted his gaze back to the road, firming his hold on the steering wheel.
“Yeah so? Um, you mean… I am distracting you?”
The glare that he darted at her could neither stop her giggles nor her small rumble of laughter. Their sessions of taunts and teasing had just grown longer. Mr. Shergill had become much more tolerant of his wife’s teasing though. He had unknowingly become habitual to it. In fact, he had grown fond of it. Something had to be off if the day passed without them.
“Only you can come up with such conclusions,” he muttered, ignoring her for the rest of the drive until he gave a quick halt to the car on nearing their destination. “Get down,” he said while taking off his seat belt.
Had she not been curious to know what he was up to, she wouldn’t have given in but she had to wordlessly oblige because she was anticipated to find out what was going on in his mind.
She looked around the place, taking the view into sight. The magnificent scenery of the dim moonlight shining on the water in the night along the lines of the beach didn’t let her move for a moment. Rapt by the enthralling beauty of the setting, she didn’t even realize when her legs carried her forward to explore more.
She gazed at the beautiful light purple gazebo shading a table and two chairs beneath it. The white tablecloth acquired the lightest shade of orange under the light of the candle standing firm in the middle of the table that was neatly adorned with plates, spoons, and bowls.
A candlelight dinner on the beach?
He had brought her out on a dinner date?
The realization brought her back to reality and she swiftly turned around to look at him whose eyes were already beholding her in them. “Mr. Shergill?” Utterly amused, she walked toward him.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he lifted his gaze up at the sky first before traveling it to his sides. “Don’t put pressure on this tiny little brain of yours. My sole reason behind doing this is to prove to you that I am not unromantic. By the time this night will end, you will accept that I am romantic.”
She bit back her smile hearing his lame explanation. Did he really think that she was going to buy that?
“What?” he asked, upon finding her eyes still fixed on him. Not being unaware of why she was looking at him that way, he walked past her, snatching her opportunity to say anything that would hold him tongue-tied in front of her.
He waited for her near the table as she quietly strolled toward him. Her eyes grew wider, watching him pulling a chair for her.
Oh so tough it was, not to smile at that!
She sat down while he settled on the chair across from her.
For the next couple of minutes, neither of them allowed even a single word to escape their lips. She was still lost in admiring the surroundings and he, perhaps, was lost in his very own beautiful world, the world that had only her and him in it.
“So…” He cleared his throat to catch her attention. “How do you find this?”
“I can’t explain, Mr. Shergill. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to,” she said, staring at the fully illuminated moon.
The corners of his lips lifted upwards by a mere glance at his delighted wife who seemed to have been floating in some other universe. Her attention that was captured by the moon didn’t go too well with him. She had never looked at him the way she was looking at the moon. He discarded the thought as fast as it crossed his mind.
What was he even thinking?
“So you do agree on me being romantic now, don’t you?”
She let out a chuckle getting her gaze back on him and got her hands on the food as she began arranging the dinner for them. Her smile grew wider with each lid that she took off.
Matar – Pulav.
Aloo – Gobhi.
Chapati.
Gulab Jaamun.
And oh a cup of butterscotch ice cream too.
All of her favorite dishes when it came to food. She shot a surprised glance at him. How did he get to know? She was sure that she never told him about them.
He didn’t end the suspense either rather thoroughly enjoyed his wife’s curiosity and anticipation to know how he managed to get her favorite food on the table.
Allowing her time to absorb the events, he took the lead in serving food on the plates. Snapping his fingers in front of her, he brought her back to reality, asking her to proceed with the dinner.
Sitting in comfortable silence, away from the chaos of the world, the couple savored the dinner together, occasionally stealing glances at each other when they thought the other one wasn’t looking.
She raised a brow when he extended his hand toward her after they finished the dinner.
“No questions, Mrs. Shergill.” Blinking his eyes, he slightly moved his hand, gesturing for her to trust herself with him.
His eyes made her a prisoner in them and she didn’t even realize when her hand slipped into his. He pulled her ever so gently, putting her hands on his shoulders before circling his hands around her waist. He took a moment to inspect her face for any sign of discomfort before he began swaying rhythmically, having his woman in his secure hold.
Haan hum badalne lage,
Girne sambhalne lage,
Jabse hai jaana tumhe,
Teri ore chalne lage!
His eyes poured into hers as he didn’t look away from her even for a fraction of a moment. His hands, though resting on her waist, had gripped her in the most delicate hold that he could manage. The lyrics of the song that played on his mobile so aptly went for them that he himself wondered if he had really played the one that he got his hands on.
Ever since he had met her, he was changing. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to tell her in what senses her presence affected him. Things were really different with her.
He had known Lavanya for much longer than he had known his wife and yet he could never look at Lavanya the way he looked at Mrs. Drishti Rakshit Shergill.
Lavanya could never manage to make his heart feel what Mrs. Drishti Rakshit Shergill did, without even making any intentional efforts that Lavanya never missed.
The very fact that his wife did not need to even try anything was amusing to him. He didn’t know what she had in her but she sure did have something that the more he tried keeping her out of his mind, the more she messed with it.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and he couldn’t absolutely help the invisible thread that pulled him toward her a little every moment.
Pehchante hi nahi,
Ab log tanha mujhe,
Meri nigaho me bhi,
Hai dhoondte wo tujhe!
She gasped when he lifted her hands that were on his shoulders and twirled her a round before pulling her closer again. Mr. Shergill seemed to have taken her unromantic comment too seriously.
His fingers brushed against her waist as gave her another turn by bringing her back against his chest. She could feel his heartbeats that made her own heart race. She mentally noted that night, that from now on, she would have to think at least thrice before making any comments on her husband for the after-results could be dangerous to handle.
Leaning over her shoulder, he slowly whispered in her ear. “Any changes in your perception regarding me being unromantic, Mrs. Shergill?”
“Are you alright?” He immediately let her go and turned her around when she suddenly started coughing. Quickly grabbing the glass already filled with water, he forwarded it to her.
She nodded, after taking a few sips. Thank god. She passed him a small smile, relieved after managing to distract him from the stupid unromantic thing.
She had no idea what she was going to say to him otherwise.
She convinced him for a long walk along the beach. To look at it closely, she actually just had to ask him and he agreed. There was something oddly surreal about the whole situation. He could not precisely pinpoint what it was, but nonetheless, he felt something stirring deep within his chest as his unblinking gaze refused to leave her sight.
His questions were long forgotten as his mind and heart both shifted their entire focus and only concentrated on the woman walking beside him. Clad in a light purple kurti, she looked divinely beautiful under the moonlight to him. He wondered if he should tell her that she should wear her simple long kurtis more than sarees for they looked lovely on her or maybe that she looked the prettiest in them.
Averting his gaze from her these days seemed a battle extremely hard to win.
You need to practice more self-control. He mentally smacked himself, forcing his gaze to his feet.
“Have you ever been in love?”
He was surprised by the question that she chose to break the silence with.
Did he hear it right? Did she actually ask him that? Did she not know the answer?
“What?”
“You heard it, Mr. Shergill, so stop pretending that you didn’t..” Though her eyes weren’t on him, she surely knew how his expression must have become.
“Uh, when I was with Lavanya -“
“I know you didn’t love Lavanya, Mr. Shergill.” She cut him off in the middle, stating as if it was a matter of fact.
He was taken aback for a moment. “May I ask what makes you so sure about it?” He waited for her to speak, willing to know more of all that she had in her thoughts for him.
She laughed. “Come on, Mr. Shergill. It is no rocket science. It shows in your eyes. Even back then, when you were ready to marry her, it wasn’t because you wanted to but because Mahima Ma’am wanted you to get married for the sake of your safety. Had it not been for Mahima Ma’am, Lavanya would have never been in the picture.”
“Kaafi jaanane lagi ho tum mujhe. Not bad. I am impressed.” He was silently reveling in the time he was spending with her. Everything seemed at such ease.
“Tum apne parents ko miss karti ho?” His voice had softened while making a question about it. He turned his head to her, checking up on her just to know if he made her upset.
“Hmm,” she muttered, rubbing her arms as the night turned chilly with the cold breezes. “Aap apne dad ko miss karte hai?” She instantly regretted the words that slipped out of her mouth when her eyes caught his hands clenching into fists. Ever since she had met him, she had heard not a single mention of his father.
“No.” His curt reply made her regret touching the topic even more.
“I am sorry, Mr. Shergill. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She promptly apologized to see his muscles stiffening. She shouldn’t have gone so personal, she thought.
“He left us for some other woman. He doesn’t deserve to be missed.”
Stunned, she took a while to let the fact sink in that he was sharing such intimate details of his personal life with her. A pang of sadness hit her sharp knowing about his father.
Her hand involuntarily slipped into his, intertwining their fingers. It was more to provide some strength to him, she reasoned to herself. She wanted him to know that he was not alone in that. She was there for him, right beside him and she would be there, for him, always.
Her touch had him still on his place for a moment and he got into an eye lock with her before they resumed walking.
No questions, no answers, no suspicion, no explanations. Just the company of each other. Walking along the beach with their intertwined hands. Silently promising and assuring each other that no matter what, they had got each other’s back and they would always have that.
While returning home, she was all smiles and it warmed his heart to see her all cheerful. Though he hadn’t said it to her and most likely, he would never let it come in front of her that he was awake the last night when she had abruptly got up from a nightmare, that he had heard her mumbling about her parents when she was in that nightmare and it was the foremost reason behind setting up the entire dinner thing.
“Mr. Shergill,” she called while taking off her seat belt when he was about to get out. Hearing her had him stop and look at her.
“Thank you. This will be truly one of the most memorable nights of my life.” Her face glowed even more with the brightest smile that she flashed to him.
His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile but refrained from doing and rather just nodded. He had put his one foot on the ground when she grabbed his attention again and forced him to tilt his head at her, again.
“I admit, Mr. Shergill.”
He wore a perplexed face.
“I admit that you are not unromantic.” She quickly voiced out before jumping out of her seat.
He moved fast after her. “You could have said, you admit that I am romantic instead.”
She stopped at her place and glanced at him. “I said you aren’t unromantic but that doesn’t mean I meant that you are romantic.“
His face began embracing a frown at her words. Could she never directly accept the truths and facts?
“There is a lot between romantic and unromantic, Mr. Shergill and it is all beautiful.” She slowed down, mumbling in her softest voice, her lips still curled up in a joyous smile.
She cried till her tears dried, staining her cheeks with them. What caused her heart to ache more was that he didn’t question her, he did not ask her what the entire situation was but rather just accepted that she cheated on him, came into his life with a motive against him, and played with his emotions.
Really? He really accepted and believed that she could do that?
How could you, Mr. Shergill? How could you?
Drama Name – DivyaDrishti