The Royal Commoner

23

Hridyanshu smiled, shaking his head. Nalani laughed, placing the wine glass on the floor. She shifted her position and stretched her legs out. She looked at him as he stretched his legs as well. Their gazes met before they laughed. They had opened the third wine bottle and were nowhere near calling it a night.

"Hridyanshu. . ."

"Hmm. . ."

"Is there any moment where you felt incredibly emotional―" Nalani thought of the right words to finish the question. "As in happy and felt grateful to be there?"

Hridyanshu watched her as he thought of it. He tapped his fingers against the glass. "Hmm. . . I was eighteen when this incident happened. I was on a school trip to Uttarakhand. We were at Kasar Devi to witness the Kumaon Dussehra. I'm not much of a trekk person."

"You could say I was lazy. . . Most of the kids went to the fair and some of us stayed back at the homestay. Late at night, my roommates decided to trek down the hill and go to the fair." Nalani leaned her head on her palm as she watched him. "I stayed back and decided to go to bed when my phone rang. One of my friends forgot his phone and wallet and they were stuck. Because it's hard to make any online transactions."

"So I had to trek down the mountain road for them. I was alone and I believe I walked about three miles when I stepped on the wrong stone and twisted my foot." Hridyanshu shook his head as he thought of the memory. "It was a bad twist and I fell hard. In the process, my elbows and knees scratched."

"Woah. . ." Hridyanshu smiled, nodding his head. "I tried to stand up and walk but I couldn't. My left ankle was hurting and I couldn't put much pressure on it. I tried to use my phone and call someone but there was no service."

"I had to wait. . . And wait. . . For someone to come. After an hour, I saw light and I had my hopes back. I thought it was a vehicle and I could hitchhike."

"What happened?" Nalani asked. "It was a middle-aged local man going home after working in his fields. He stopped before me and asked what had happened. He checked my ankle and said I had hurt it pretty badly. I was disappointed and lost hope that I would be getting any help. I concluded that the man would be leaving too."

"Did he wait with you until you got a lift?" Hridyanshu shook his head. Nalani's brows frowned in confusion. "Did he leave you alone?"

"No, he asked me to get on his back and that he would be carrying me to my homestay." Nalani's eyes widened in shock. "Wow."

"I was bewildered and kept saying no. He kept saying no vehicles would be coming and he didn't want to leave me alone. After a lot of arguing, I agreed to get on his back. He carried me three miles uphill, along with his bag. He kept me engaged with his stories so that I didn't focus much on my pain. I― At that moment, I realized how grateful I was to be found by this man. I was a complete stranger and yet he didn't back down from helping me and carrying me on his back."

"I learnt so much about life in those three miles."

"Have you ever thought of meeting him later in life?" Nalani asked.

Hridyanshu chuckled. "I meet his family every year. Last year he came to Jaipur with his family. You might have seen him."

Nalani looked surprised. "You do?" Hridyanshu gave a nod. "Later that day, he came over to check on me. He even brought his friend who was a nurse. I kept it as a tradition to meet him every year. Soon, his family became a family."

"That's nice. . ."

Silence fell as they watched the night sky. The only sound that could be heard was the vehicle noise from the balcony. "Do you have any dream― From your childhood that you haven't fulfilled?" Hridyanshu asked.

"Dream?"

"Umm. . . Like something that you were impressed by or something that made you dream of doing or fulfilling it when you grow up." Nalani brought her knees closer and leaned her chin on her knees as she looked at Hridyanshu.

"I was a teenager when I came across this song 'Yedemaina Sakha'. It has two versions. . . Female and male versions and I fell in love with both of them."

"Okay?"

"It took me a while to understand the lyrics deeply. Or should I say it took me some time to feel the lyrics in depth. The song revolves around the bond between a wife and her husband. In the male version, it shows us the promises the husband is making to his wife and vice versa."

A smile plays on Nalani's face. Hridyanshu made a mental note to check on the song when he was alone in his room. "It gives me a tingling feeling whenever I listen to the song and image. . ."

Hridyanshu chuckled. "What do you imagine listening to the song?"

"Hmm― Of how I will be keeping my relationship with my husband healthy."

"Huh― Uh. . . Go on. I'm listening," Hridyanshu teased. Nalani chuckled. "I love my parents but they weren't the type who spent much time together. Achhan always supported Amma but he wasn't able to be in the same state as her. You already know them. Achhan was in Bangalore most of the years because of his business and Amma was in different states. And I was in a hostel. . ."

"It is just that I wanted to be home, you know. . . Spend my time with them in our home and celebrate festivals without one of them missing it. I don't blame any of them, I understand, but there was this dream that I would be marrying someone with whom I would be celebrating all the festive moments without missing anything."

Nalani glanced at Hridyanshu with a glint. "I want to make memories with him. Decorate our home and just be there. . . After a tiring day, when we come home, I want us to be there in our home. . . I want him to be there to hear my day and I want me to be there to hear him out."

Nalani shook her head. "I really don't want any of us coming home just to meet with loneliness." Hridyanshu blinked his eyes as he listened to Nalani. He never thought that Nalani had felt lonely all these years.

"Hmm― I apologize, but I never thought you would feel lonely." Nalani smiled.

"I know, but it was always there. Growing up, celebrating the festivals with my friends' families or with my relatives left a better taste. I overcame it, but I do not want to go through the same thing when I get married. I'm selfish when it comes to this."

Hridyanshu's brows frowned in confusion. "Is that the reason why you have rejected the other men?"

Nalani gave a bright smile. "Yeah. . . But there were many reasons. . ." Hridyanshu hummed.

"Hridyanshu. . ."

"Hmm?"

"I genuinely like you." Nalani's voice was soft and genuine. Hridyanshu mid-stopped his glass and looked at her. Her eyes were closed, her face was peaceful and a soft smile playing on her lips. He knew she meant what she had said. He waited to make sure that she had fallen asleep.

He took his hand towards her face, gulping down the lump, he gently caressed her cheek. He held her chin in between his thumb and pointed. This was the first time he had ever touched her face. A smile came on his face when Nalani sighed in contentment as he caressed her cheek.

"I like you, too. . ."