River & Desert

Part 29

"You started writing again?" asked Adhrit, eying Mitali as she typed away at the keyboard with furious determination.

She rested her fingers on the keys and glanced at the man leaning against the doorframe. A gentle curve appeared on her lips as she set her laptop beside her. "Yeah. Boredom was starting to wear on me. I intended to complete what I had started."

Adhrit walked into the room while humming, picking up a plate from the nearby table. "That's great! I brought juice for you."

Adhrit presented Mitali with a glass containing a reddish, purplish viscous fluid. She went from a neutral expression to one of disgust and distaste.

"Chi! Pomegranate juice? I feel sick because of that smell! Get it away from me!" cried Mitali as she pushed his arm away.

With creases etched into his forehead, Adhrit returned the plate to the table after placing the glass on it. "Yesterday, you expressed your love for pomegranate juice and desire to have it every day. What happened?"

"So? Tastes cannot change? Will you hold my choice against me forever? I refuse to drink the juice." Mitali's arms were crossed against her chest, nostrils flaring as she said, "Adhrit Sinha, do what you want."

Adhrit controlled his laughter when he saw the painting of a child, but his concern took over, and he frowned. He attributed her changed preferences to her pregnancy hormones.

"Relax. You don't have to drink if you don't want to. It's necessary to drink a minimum of one juice every day! Which one shall I get for you?" asked Adhrit, speaking in a low tone to prevent rousing her anger further.

He didn't want to waste the pomegranate juice on the table and had come to enjoy the fruit during the past three months of her pregnancy.

"A combination, please. Orange juice and chocolate syrup," exclaimed Mitali, her eyes lighting up and a wide grin replacing her twisted lips. Adhrit had to control himself from preventing the juice in his mouth from spurting out as he imagined the combination.

"Orange juice and chocolate syrup? Are you sure? I mean, did you get inspired by those chocolates having orange flavor or something?" asked Adhrit, curious to learn her inspiration for the combination.

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped mocking my choice. It wasn't chocolate that inspired my desire for it. You can either get the juice or let me work on my story. You are annoying me," said Mitali, and her face flushed with equal proportions of anger and embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, as you say. I will get Sudhaji to get the combination right away!" said Adhrit, moving towards the intercom to request the same.

Adhrit gave the instructions and sat next to Mitali, noticing her exhausted appearance. Stress lines marred her features, and her lips were set into a thin line. She kept her eyes glued to the laptop screen, even though she had moved it away from her.

"It looks like your story is making you feel stressed, correct?"

"Yes," she said, sighing in frustration. "I created the characters and the basic plotline with underlying conflicts. The leads have opposing desires and personalities. Who needs to bend before the other? Is there forgiveness for selfishness? Can someone relinquish their most valuable possession for love?"

He anticipated a fairy tale from her, where the protagonists fall in love and Destiny helps them overcome the villains to achieve their happy ending. A story in which the greatest demons were outsiders, but he realized she had proven him wrong. Again.

The fairy-tale genre is something she moved away from a long time ago. How could a person with shattered dreams create a story centered on hope and dreams?

"Here, you're talking about self-respect, I presume. Regarding your question, should self-respect be given up for love? Is it love if it necessitates giving up what distinguishes you and is most important to you? I don't see it that way," he said, shaking his head and shrugging.

Her abdomen warmed with an unknown feeling as she looked up at him. Not only did he resolve the conflict in her story, but he also resolved the one plaguing her heart. "And selfishness?" she prompted, for the answer to her other question.

"Who isn't selfish in the world?" asked Adhrit, scratching his temple. "A mother is selfish, as she wishes to see only her child rising high. Demanding complete love from a significant other is a selfish demand. The brother's desire to protect his sister conflicts with his selfish behavior of toying with other girls' emotions. A patriot's selfish desire is to see their country at the top."

Adhrit heaved a sigh and a slight smile dawned on his visage. "Selfishness is just human. It cannot be an adjective with associations, only with evil. Ambition can also mean selfishness. But if you cannot think about yourself, who else will? Selfishness is a necessary evil, and it just depends on the extent a person will go to achieve his selfish needs and the purview of 'self'. That's all."

"So, it is worth forgiving them, you say?" She scrutinized him and cocked her eyebrow while questioning him.

He knew it was another inner conflict in Mitali's mind. She often pondered whether to forgive her brother and his family for everything she endured. Each of them had selfishness, but, like others, they couldn't notice it until someone else pointed it out.

"If they apologize for the harm they've done, perhaps. Admitting one's mistakes takes courage, Mitali, and not everyone possesses that quality. Of all punishments, repentance is the worst to bear. The guilty see punishment in every action and word, whereas the indifferent wouldn't comprehend even if shot point-blank."

If it weren't for those who wronged them, Adhrit was sure that forgiveness would bring them the peace they desired. Every time Mitali saw her culprits, her resentment would burn within her. The decision could be the salvation of her regretful brother and a harbinger of her peace.

Sudha had brought the juice Mitali had asked for before Mitali could respond.

"The small glass? You are trying this?" asked Mitali, as she eyed the small sampling glass, filled with the same juice, brought along with the bigger one.

"You had gotten me curious! I couldn't resist," he said with a shrug, taking the glass from the table as Mitali followed suit.

"Cheers then!" said Mitali, clinking her glass with his, surprising him with her sudden mood change.

Mitali closed her eyes in excitement after the first gulp, relishing every drop of the burst of flavors. For Adhrit, it was nothing short of a nightmare. He stopped himself from throwing up in time. The teasing and enchanting look on her face as she watched his reaction made the experience worth it.

He had fallen irrevocably in love with Mitali Pathak and wanted nothing more than to keep falling for her.