Tujhse Hain Raabta

Kritika

"Forget about me. You say, what's new with you? Kritika asked Saanvi. They were currently sitting in a cafe for their weekly catch up session.

"Well, Tara is doing great. My work is going well and Vihaan is good too!" Saanvi wrapped up her side of talking in less than thirty seconds. "Let's talk about you."

"Why are you so adamant, today?"

"It is because I can see you're not doing good. So spill."

"It is the same. My parents are worried that I'll end up single. Do din pehle kuch rishtedaar aaye te na, unhone meri shaadi ki baat uthayi. Kehne lage meri age nikli jaa rahi hai and they were talking about my condition." She admitted, feeling embarrassed.

(A few relatives came over 2 days ago and they talked about my marriage. They were saying that I'm getting old.)

"Kriti, tu unn sab ki baat ka bura mat maan please. I know it is easy to say but they're not worth it."

(Kriti, don't feel bad about what they said.)

"I know that, Saanvi but mom and dad are affected. Aaj kal toh ghar jaana accha hi nahi lagta." She was on the verge of tears now, begging herself not to cry.

( Nowadays, I don't even like going home.)

Saanvi gently rubbed arms, "you'll find someone, babe. Have faith."

Kriti badly wanted to believe her words but this was no movie. She lived in a harsh society where women were judged for everything they did. She was by no means old yet her relatives taunted her that she was unmarried at 27.

"And, don't worry about people barking. You'll find such nuisance everywhere you go." Saanvi spoke, breaking Kritika's chain of thoughts.

"Yeah."

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Kriti was greeted by her parents as she stepped into her house.

"How was Saanvi, beta?" Her mother, Namratha, asked.

"She's good. I'm tired,guys. I'll rest for a while."

She was stopped by her father, Praveen.

"Kriti, we've got something we want to say." Her father's voiced sounded strained. Upon looking at him, she understood what her parents wanted to talk about.

"Who's proposal is it this time?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

Her parents gave each other a look and sighed. Her father removed his glasses that were sitting on face, rubbing his forehead.

"I've talked to the boy, baccha." He started, "he is a nice person."

"Nice? Just like the ones you've seen before?" Kriti's voice had started to show hints of annoyance. Why couldn't her parents understand that she probably would never get married? Being single isn't the end of the world.

"Kritika, I-" She cut her mother off, "I'm done with proposals, men and the whole idea of marriage. I've started to accept my fate of being a spinster my whole life, and it would be better if you guys came to terms with it too."

With that, she stormed off upstairs, into her room. Her heavy footsteps indicated that she was beyond pissed.

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At night, Kriti lay in bed, extremely saddened and brought down by her situation. She wanted a person for herself too. She wanted someone to stand by her no matter what. She wanted a love life like the ones her friends had but the universe just wasn't on her side. Tears were threatening to fall when she he heard a knock on her bedroom door. She sat up and blinked a couple of times before muttering a come in.

It was her mother, with her favourite milkshake in her hand and small smile on her face.

"Here, I thought you'd like this." She handed the glass over and took a seat at the edge of the bed.

"Kriti,-" she put her palm forward to stop her from talking, "you really want to be single forever?"

Kriti slowly shook her head, "there's no choice though."

"Yeh kisne kahan? Beta, you'll find someone who's going to accept you for you. He'll accept your strengths and flaws too."

(Who says that?)

"What flaws?" she asked, making her mother chuckle.

"Maa, this is not a movie. Not everyone gets a prince charming."

"Prince charming? I thought you liked villains more."

"Abh jab prince charming nahi hai toh villain kahan se hoga?"

(How will I get a villain when there's no prince charming?)

Her mother sighed once again, "dekho beta, we're not doing this because people are taunting. They're always going to talk and your father and I've learned to ignore them. I just want my daughter to find someone who'll love her forever."

Upon receiving no answer from her, her mother got up and wished her a good night. 

"Oh and, we rejected that proposal from afternoon. Your father found out that he got a girlfriend and was looking to continue their affair even after the marriage."

Her mother assured her not to think too much about it and left the room.

"Not a nice guy after all." Kriti mumbled before drifting to sleep.

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