Link to my new short story: Taking Care of You
“I thought I was dreaming when I first saw you," he said.
“How did you know it was me?” she asked. “I could have been anybody. A thief even.”
He smiled wearily. “I don’t know many thieves who would look at me with anxious eyes and then cry because I was sick,” he mumbled.
Is it possible for love to bloom, sight unseen? Juhi and Abhay are strangers who know each other better than they know themselves. One night changes the equation and the even tenor of their lives and puts all their doubts and fears to rest.
“I thought I was dreaming when I first saw you," he said.
“How did you know it was me?” she asked. “I could have been anybody. A thief even.”
He smiled wearily. “I don’t know many thieves who would look at me with anxious eyes and then cry because I was sick,” he mumbled.
Is it possible for love to bloom, sight unseen? Juhi and Abhay are strangers who know each other better than they know themselves. One night changes the equation and the even tenor of their lives and puts all their doubts and fears to rest.
http://pothi.com/pothi/book/ebook-smita-ramachandran-taking-care-you
Link to my first e-novel; A Home for Meenakshi
http://pothi.com/pothi/book/ebook-smita-ramachandran-home-meenakshi
"I love the way you love, Meenu," he whispered, his eyes on hers. "Such loyalty, such passion..."
Meenakshi Sharma, an orphan, lives in Varanasi with her uncle, a chronic bachelor who wants her to become a professional musician. She unwillingly relocates to Delhi to study under a renowned musician for eight months. Staying for rent in the outhouse of the Agrawals, she meets Aditya Agrawal, an attractive young man brooding over the memories of his horrendous past. Pulled between her uncle's expectations of her and Aditya's love for her, Meenakshi struggles with her feelings. How can she disappoint her uncle who had devoted his entire life to her upbringing? How can she pretend to be blind to Aditya's feelings for her? A romance that moves between the alleys of the holy city of Varanasi and the modern city of Delhi.
A blog for my VMs:
http://smitarsvms.blogspot.in/
Part 26
Khushi was
very happy on her haldi day. So happy that she did not complain about Arnav
having his haldi at his house while she had hers in Laxmi Nagar.
Because haldi was the
last rasam. The next day was her wedding day.
She smiled
and laughed as the people of her neighbourhood slathered the yellow paste all
over her body.
“My
Titliya,” Buaji sighed. “She will go away to her husband’s house tomorrow,
Nandkisore!”
“You should
be happy, Buaji,” Khushi teased. “You won’t have to call Nandkisore so much
once I am out of your life and He will finally get some rest.”
Buaji hit
her own forehead. “Look at this girl! How dare you make fun of my Nandkisore?”
she asked. “No laaj, no sharam,” Buaji lamented.
“But you
still love me, Buaji,” Khushi laughed. She marched up to her aunt and hugged
her tight, rubbing her haldi-covered cheek against Buaji’s.
“Chodo,”
Buaji yelled. “What are you doing, Nandkisore?” She tried to squirm out of Khushi’s
hold.
“Making you
more beautiful for your Nandkisore,” Khushi laughed.
“My poor
Arnav bitwaa,” Buaji sighed. “He is sitting in his house unaware of the bomb
that is going to fall on his head tomorrow.”
Khushi
burst out laughing. “He knows, Buaji. But he still loves me.”
“Ussi ka
rona he,” Buaji teased. “You are going to lead him a pretty dance.”
Khushi
nodded unrepentant. She then ran around, trying to share her haldi with as many
of her neighbours as she could. The girls ran screaming and Khushi chased them,
laughing loudly.
Arnav sat
through the torture of having his family rub the yellow mixture on his head,
face, arms and legs. His kurta was covered with the paste and he thought
longingly of a bath. His only comfort was that Khushi too was sharing the rasam
with him and that this was the last step to marriage. If only tomorrow came
fast, he wished.
Once he
cleaned up, he called Khushi. Her phone rang but she did not respond. Must be
washing off the haldi, Arnav thought with a smile.
She called
later. “Arnavji, I saw the missed call just now,” she said as she clambered up
her bed.
“Were you
washing off the haldi?” he asked smiling.
“Yes. But
before that I took revenge on my neighbours,” she said with relish.
“Took
revenge?” he asked. “How?”
“I chased
them and rubbed my face against theirs,” she laughed. “You should have heard
them screaming, Arnavji.”
Arnav
chuckled.
When their
laughter died down, she said wistfully, “I wish you had been here, Arnavji. It
is no fun without you.”
He
swallowed. “Tomorrow this time, we will be married, Khushi,” he said softly.
“Then we
will be together forever and ever,” she breathed, her words dreamy, filled with
anticipation.
“Hamesha,
you and me, Khushi. Whatever happens. Hamesha,” he promised.
“And I can
watch my serial with Laxmiji and you,” she reminded herself of the treats in
store for her.
Arnav
smiled. “Yes,” he agreed.
“Arnavji,
how many children do you want?” she asked suddenly.
Arnav
frowned. Children? What for? Was it mandatory to have children attend their
wedding the next day? He had no idea of the rasams involved, never having attempted marriage before.
“How many
babies do you want us to have?” she asked.
His jaw
dropped to somewhere near the floor.
“Arnavji,”
she called again impatiently.
“Two...I
guess,” he said weakly.
“Sirf two?”
she asked, disappointed.
He cleared
his throat to find his voice. “How many do you want?” he asked.
“A dozen,”
she said cheerfully.
“A dozen?”
he stared at the dull drapes in shock.
“It will be
fun, Arnavji,” she smiled away. “They will play football in your big house and
keep Naniji, Mamiji and Anjaliji entertained.”
Arnav had
to laugh at the picture she drew.
“Imagine
going out with the children. People will think we have our own nursery,” she
was lost in her imagination.
“You will
be the death of me, Khushi,” he laughed, delighted at the thought of his death at her fair hands.
“Buaji too
was pitying you today morning,” she admitted.
The wedding
passed in a daze. Shantivan was crowded with guests. The Raizadas and Buaji
wore huge smiles. All were dressed in gorgeous clothes and the house was
decorated with flowers.
Arnav was
in a cream sherwani and Khushi was in a green and pink joda.
The priest
gave them instructions on the rituals and they, lost in a pleasurable haze,
obeyed him. The guests laughed and teased them, but they heard nothing.
“Take the
blessings of your elders,” the priest said at the conclusion of the ceremony.
They did so and were hugged enthusiastically by Buaji and the Raizadas.
As they
stood together, accepting the good wishes of the guests, he whispered, “Khushi
Arnav Singh Raizada. Finally.”
Khushi
chuckled.
“We have a
gift for you, Khushiji,” Anjali approached her and gave her a packet.
Khushi took
it.
“Kholke
dekho, hamri bahuriya,” Mami exhorted.
Khushi
unwrapped it to see a framed photo of Arnav kneeling down to arrange red rose
petals for Khushi to walk on.
Her eyes
filled with tears.
“Who took
this?” Arnav asked, confused.
“Me, bhai,”
Akash smiled sheepishly.
Tears ran
down Khushi’s cheeks.
Arnav’s
eyes flew open in alarm. “Khushi, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
She threw
herself into his arms. “You are such a good man, Arnavji. I hope I will be half
as good a wife to you,” she sobbed.
“Khussi
bitiya, marriage is no test that you have to pass,” Nani smiled, patting
Khushi’s shoulder.
“Tum jaisen
bhi ho, we will takes you,” Mami promised.
Arnav dried
Khushi’s tears. He said, “Whatever you are, however you are, you are my wife,
Khushi. For seven births. Didn’t you hear what the priest said?”
“For saath
janam?” she asked in confirmation.
“Yes, saath
janam,” he said, smiling into her eyes.
She
clutched the photo to her heart. “Anjaliji, I will hang it in our room so that
I never forget how much Arnavji loves me,” she said seriously. “Thank you.”
Anjali
dropped a kiss on her cheek. “We are blessed to have you, Khushiji. You are our
own miracle.”
Akash held
out his hand. “I will hang it now, bhabhi.”
Khushi
happily handed over the photo.
As the
Raizadas moved away, Khushi asked Arnav, “I am a miracle?”
He nodded,
his eyes dancing.
“Are you
sure she didn’t say specimen or unique piece?” she asked.
“I am
sure,” he laughed.
Arnav
carried Khushi up the stairs and into the bedroom he had ordered to be decorated
to his specifications.
Khushi
tightened her arms around his shoulders and gasped, “Arnavji, you remembered?”
“How can I
forget?” he asked huskily.
Both of
them looked at the double bed covered with red rose petals.
He laid her
down on the soft, fragrant silk.
She looked
up into his molten chocolate eyes and smiled.
“I love
you, Khushi,” he said, the words wrenched from him. “More than my life, more
than my breath.”
“I love you
too, Arnavji. A moment without you is like a year, dull and colourless, boring,
like a life without ber and channa and my serial,” she confessed.
"You are the unexpected visitor who dropped into my life one moment and then changed it forever," he murmured.
He dropped
a kiss on her forehead and lay down beside her on his side, threading her
fingers with his.
“I can
spend hours just looking at you, Khushi,” he whispered.
“I can’t,”
she replied. “Arnavji, don’t waste time. We have only seven lives together.”
Arnav burst
out laughing.
Darlings, we have come to the end of this tale. I am taking a break till June 15 to work on my next novel, Waiting for you. It is set in Kollath village in Kerala and is an amusing story of Gauri's all-consuming love for Shivan. See you in June with the new novel and the next ArHi story.
Darlings, we have come to the end of this tale. I am taking a break till June 15 to work on my next novel, Waiting for you. It is set in Kollath village in Kerala and is an amusing story of Gauri's all-consuming love for Shivan. See you in June with the new novel and the next ArHi story.