The Refused Proposal- Ongoing

The real MVP

Chapter 17

The message was so unexpected.

Shrimayi had waited for Anvay to hear her side of the story for months and finally he was giving her a chance to do so.

She felt like she was on the top of the world.

Everything after that moment felt better.

As if nothing could dampen her mood.

Her husband who aggravated her to no end suddenly seemed tolerable. Even the scorching weather that week didn't bother her while the rest of the Karmarkars wondered if the sun had suddenly started rising from right behind their backyard.

The slow pace of the people around her didn't bother her like it did usually. The stupid articles about Anvay in tabloid were unable to penetrate through her skin now.

That's a power of love.

A love that is so strong that it would always find it's way back.

His next message informed her how
he had used some warden's mobile phone to text her.

She still couldn't believe the messages were from him. It was all too good to be true.

So she had called up the number and he answered indeed.

The tears automatically rolled down her cheeks when she heard his voice after so many days. Couldn't someone just invent a new technology already where people would just teleport to the person they were talking on phone,she reckoned.

Hearing him call her name felt like a rain after a dreadful drought of years. Sometimes you don't need songs that would pull your heartstrings, your mere name from your loved one's mouth could feel like a beautiful melody in itself and that's what Shrimayi felt in those initial seconds of his phone call.

Everything was surreal in that moment.

The newfound hope of seeing him again kept her going all week. She found herself being lost from most of the conversations the rest of the family members had. She bumped into things while daydreaming about the moment she would finally see Anvay.

Her mother-in-law asked her a couple of times if she was okay. Her answer was always a bright smile in response. She sometimes felt guilty too but her love for Anvay was something she couldn't help but treasure like a secret close to her heart. Also it was the only thing that mattered in the long run.

She was lost in her train of thoughts one afternoon, when Vasanti's voice brought her back to the present.

"Beta will you pass me that extra dough?"

They were both making rice papad in their front garden under a soothing shadow of the mango tree on a scorching day of March.

"Mai shall i roll the papad?"She offered feeling guilty that her mother-in-law always discounted her when it came to the household chores.

"It's fine. There isn't much dough left anyway."She replied with a smile.

"You think i will ruin the papad, don't you?"She asked pulling her mother-in-law's leg. She knew how the latter always encouraged her to try new things but troubling her was so much fun just like it was with her own mother. The only difference was her mother was savage when it came to getting back at her teasing while the innocent Mai always fell for them.

"No beta. I don't think so. On contrary i think you made excellent balls of the dough. They were so accurate. I hardly had to tamper the size."She replied genuinely.

"You are just saying that to make me feel good."She fake pouted.

"No. I mean it. You did take some time but you put your heart and soul in it. That's what i like about you. Some people just do things quickly but it doesn't mean they are efficient. At the end quality matters."She said while rolling another papad.