The Enchantress | COMPLETE | AbhiGya Fiction

6. In Pensiveness

Pragya:

"Suddenly she realized what she was regretting was not the lost past, but the lost future, not what had not been, but what would never be." ~ Voice of the Ocean, Pragya.

I have often found my first novel more relatable with life than all the others that were bestsellers. "Voice of Ocean" my first novel, had tanked, unlike my other books, no movie was ever made on it, not many people even read it either. Not many people like looking into a mirror, that reflects truth.

I was getting Aadi ready for home from Alia's next morning, when there was a knock on the door. I turned around and froze; he was standing at the door, looking at me directly in the eye. The Abhi I have known earlier, always had a grin on him, the smouldering eyes with choler in them belonged to the man I had made love to – and ever since I have come to Calcutta, I am only meeting this man.

Last evening when we came face to face for the first time, I was chasing Aadi as he ran up the Mehra Mansion to meet 'ma', but suddenly he came in between. I had seen him freeze for a moment, before he gently caressed my arm with the tip of his finger and spoke almost in reverence – Pragya..

For a brief few moments I felt like I was in a time warp, back in the comfort of my bedroom in Delhi on a rainy afternoon with Abhi holding me. I shuddered at his mere touch. I could feel my skin melt in heat at the places where his fingertips touched. I had never craved for a man this much in my life. In my years of marriage I have often let my husband Suresh warm my bed and body without warming my soul, but what was it about this man that could shake my core with a mere touch? Standing there, in a daze I felt for the first time that maybe coming to attend Mish's wedding wasn't a good idea. Maybe I could never see Mish claiming another of my loved ones. As I stood there looking into his eyes, as my morals crumpled fast, I heard Alia greet Adi in 'ma's' room and I snapped back to my mundane reality that had no place for hope or peace.

He seemed to come out of a trance himself as he quickly let go of my arms and said, "Actually..I was...err..going down" and nodded at me awkwardly.

"Yes Abhi, I was just trying to stop Aadi from..."I stammered as I couldn't help but shamelessly stare at his rather dry lips. Cigarettes..I thought wishfully, that's what his lips tasted like.

"So..umm..you arrived today? Di was saying you'd be coming later"

"No Aadi was really looking forward to the wedding..so.." again I was out of words, but at the same time I felt more indignant in proving myself casual than ever and a certain part of me wanted to instil this in him, that things between us would exactly be, how we had planned it to be. So I suddenly found myself saying, "Suresh would come soon too".

It burned my heart to see that his polite smile stiffened a little at my husbands' mention, why did the slight discomfort in him hearing about my husband please me thus? I realized I was treading dangerous water now; hence I quickly nodded at him and escaped from there.

Yesterday was easy, I had an escape, but now? As I looked at him, I gulped. It felt like familiar times, only we were in Calcutta and we were at his home where my half-sister would soon join him as wife. As he slowly advanced towards me, I cautiously took a few steps back, and he stopped.

"So this is how it is going to be Pragya? We'll pretend forever that everything is normal?" he asked quietly.

"That's what we had decided Abhi" I replied quietly.

"We had decided to stop it there, never to not acknowledge what we share Pragya"

"What do you want Abhi? If you think we will discuss that phase every time we meet, then you are wrong" I replied hastily.