Life had never felt as warm as it did now for Shefali.
The change in everyone concerned Shefali more than the joy of having a soul grow inside her womb. Nevertheless, she got ready to go out in the town for a ritual Ekta was most excited about.
Shefali knew this was Ekta's exceptional chance to meet the only man her heart craved for so she somehow managed to persuade Bindiya to let her accompany them.
"You don't know how overwhelmingly good I feel to see you helping me out at times when even I have no say in"
Ekta said with a toothless smile, softly holding Shefali's hands.
"Just wear the best ghagra you have"
Shefali pinched her nose in a loving way like she used to do to Rekha.
Sometimes, Shefali sits back and tries to relive her days with Barkha and how close she thought they were. Was their friendship so fragile that Barkha turned against her so easily? Must it be... She would confront herself forcibly.
Truth shouldn't be overthrown by clouds of hope. Never. All it brings with it is ruin at its finest. Then she would smile and look at the stars thinking how her Dadu would have reacted after hearing her perspective of life. Would he think she turned wise or would he just smile at her ignorance?
"Everything is ready"
Tara walked into the room in a hurry.
Shefali turned to the mirror and looked at her imprint.
"You look beautiful"
Ekta exaggerated, hugging her from behind, looking at their shadows ahead.
Shefali took a deep breath and walked out, Tara and Ekta following her.
Today felt extremely joyous to her.
Every face that crossed her path in the palace smiled so much more preciously than they ever did or maybe it was Shefali who had a mindset now that refused to accept anything but happiness.
For some reason, Shefali felt extremely troubled to match her husband's unwavering gaze that yearned for her.
Wordlessly Eshant took her hands and gently pushed a fat gold bangle into each of her hands.
"And now they bound both of you to me and only myself"
He whispered in the process.
As much as happy Shefali was, she could not ignore the other members of the family who stood around watching them.
Couples are not supposed to showcase their love openly, is what every mother teaches her children from a young age but is it truly a crime if one so selflessly does it anyway? Even when Shefali had the answer to it, she knew, she wouldn't say that out loud in a room full of people.
Strange things and beliefs often bind us to something that is not shame but responsibility. Why is it that what a good human does is sometimes not what a good family man does? Why is it that what a good deed looks like is at times not what a woman's ideal desires are supposed to look like? Shefali did not know the answer to that but she did know how to manage both.
"And when will you stop binding yourself to the stable all day when tensed?"
Shefali asked dusting off the two hay strands from his head.
Rajveer smiled from behind knowing why his friend had not intentionally thrown it off earlier when he mentioned it.
Next, they went inside the sick Rana's room who had a hard time sitting up after a sudden fall in the courtyard.
YOU ARE READING
𝟏𝟓𝟐𝟗: 𝐀 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚| Indian Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 Ⅰ 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐀𝐉𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐈-𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 Shefali Roy had lost her parents in a pandemic when she was just one year old. That was the first time she was orphaned. The next time she was orphaned was when she was seventeen. The army of...
