Indian Wedding Tales

D A K S H : part II

A hand on my shoulder snapped me back to reality and I jerked my head to the side. Mehraji's old wrinkled face smiled down at me.

"It's just a fracture, Daksh" He tried to sound assuring by patting my back. His daughter-in-law, Aria, walked up to us and sat beside me while exhaling through her mouth.

"You know Daksh bhaisaab, Papaji tends to get hyper. I knew the way he demanded you to come home, you must be worried sick" She shook her head and urged Mehraji to sit beside her on the bench.

The staff was reminding us to be aware of our surroundings and not crowd too much.

"Thank you so much, Aria. If you hadn't brought Tara here I don't know how-"

"Rubbish! Tara is like a sister to me" Aria said dismissing my thoughts. "You really need to calm down by the way. You look like you've seen a ghost"

I gave her a dry chuckle in response but I didn't know what to say. I rubbed my hands on my pants and noticed the fabric turn a shade darker. My hands were clammy, throat dry and stomach feeling it would throw up any moment.

"How is she?" I asked feeling my legs shake. "Is there any need for a surgery?"

"She got two hairline fractures so the doctor says no need for surgery. She's getting a cast right now and will be discharged in an hour"

"How did she even..."

What happened?

"You know what a hummingbird your wife is., always running from here to there and refusing to take things slow. She slipped on the stairs. Do you know how lucky she is? She missed the concrete pillar by mere three inches! Thank god for it or else we would have had another fracture in the skill. I'm telling you she sh-"

Oh no. My morning breakfast felt like it was fighting its way up the food pipe. My head felt dizzy and I felt sick.

"Aria, thank you for bring her here on time, I think you and Mehraji should return home. I'm here now"

Aria nodded in understanding and I saw her helping Mehraji get up.

"Let us know if you need anything else" Aria said before taking her leave and waving me goodbye.

When they left, I released a heavy breath and fell back on the bench. The past hour of rummaging through tight streets of this city with my heart in my throat was unexplainable. For a split moment, I felt my life was gone.

The word 'accident' was playing on loop in my mind.

Tara. Tara. Tara. My world and my lifeline.

Was I even capable of functioning without her?

Just thinking about that made all the air in my lungs disappear. Suddenly, a red bottle was swinging in front of me.

My twin sister, Disha, stood in front of me with lips pursed. She softened her face when I gulped and took the bottle from her hands.

"You're sweating like a pig" She commented before she sat beside me.

"When you receive news that your wife has had an accident, I think this is the most basic reaction" I rolled my eyes at her. I unscrewed the cap and took a big swig of the water. The restlessness in my body cooled a bit but my insides were still rattling from the situation.

"How is she?" Disha asked tilting her head to the door in front of us.

"Hairline fractures in the ankle"

"No surgery?"

"No surgery" I shook my head.

"Daksh, you've had your fair share of injuries while playing football. You've had four of them yourself"

"Three" I corrected her.

She waved her hand while rolling her eyes at me.

"My point is, why do you look so scared right now?"

"Tara..."

I felt her hands tightening on my biceps as she brought me closer to her.

"Nothing's happened to her, brother. She's alright" Her hands ran up and down my back and although this did wonders when I was upset but right now it didn't lessen the turmoil in my heart.

"I don't know what I would do without her" I confessed. The walls of my securities were crumbling fast and tragically. "Tara is my everything."

"You're right. She is your everything." Disha pulled back. "She's your wife, your cook, your maid, your .. everything"

My eyes snapped at my twin, taken aback.

"Disha..."

"Do you remember when you used to come back from football practices with muddy shoes and stinking jersey?" She smiled with her eyes downcast. "Do you remember who had to wipe the floors clean after that? Do you remember who used to clean your bed because the guests were coming over?"

She turned to me. Guilt piled in my stomach when I realized where she was going wit this.

"Do you remember who had to pick up your plates from the dining table to the sink? Do you remember who had to fold your clothes and arrange them?"

"It was always me and now it's Tara. That girl might not say anything but she works like a machine."

A heaviness fell on my shoulders when I heard those words.

"She looks after your daughter, she cooks, she cleans and looks after each and every of your need. Do you know why she fell from the stairs? Because she was hurrying!"

"Do you ever see her doing things slow? That's because she has help from no one. Not even from her own husband."

My silence was enough of an answer to all her questions and I had a heartbreaking realization.

"Remember brother, she is looking after the house and the family" A doctor emerged from the hallway approaching us. My sister and I both got up.

My sister leaned closer to me as if telling me a secret.

"And that house and family also belongs to you"

Someone just slap me already.

The doctor gestured for us to follow him inside the room.

"The cast is all set and now you can take her home"

We walked into the room and there huddled on the bed with eyebrows up and a frown on her face sat my wife. My sister walked to her with a smile on her face and engulfed her in a hug but my legs seemed to have frozen. My eyes were fixed on the white plaster on Tara's feet and my entire body fell rigid at the sight.

Was I treating my wife so bad?

Was I responsible for her this condition?

There was a prick in my chest at the thought but my conscience knew the answer to that. My twin sister who was always told to follow me for getting A's in report cards had shown me how miserably I was failing at the test of treating my family.

***

Sorry for the late update, my laptop was gone for repair.
Plus I was wondering how well I could deliver this story.

What do you think of this story?