Crepuscular Shadow《 ON HOLD 》

5 | Stark In Disguise

Rickety noise of ligneous casement woke Dahini from her deep slumber. As she sat up on the bed, happenings from afternoon flashed in her head. She kept food for Lemon. She unboxed her paintings. And, then what? She didn't remember. The pain at her head greeted her slightly but left soon. 

"You woke up!" Dhruv was standing near the window adjacent to the cupboard. He was wrapped in a apron and that lit up Dahini's face a little. He was smiling at her and she did the same. But the difference was, scarlet crept her cheeks unlike him. Why did she always blush at his presence? She didn't know. But a slight smile from him would flame her cheeks. 

"Wait a minute." He stepped out to kitchen, grinning. She couldn't decipher the meaning behind his grin. But that made her lips to curl more. She gazed outside the window. 

A pearl was attached to the dingy sky and it gleamed bright. But masses of grey cotton balls hid it partially behind them, not letting the organisms on earth to relish its beauty. Air molecules hit each other slowly and strode over her face. She closed her lids, inhaling the smell of earth's soil blended with the fragrance of flowers.

A black hand with slender fingers, lustre bordering them grazed her left cheek. Hairs on her body stood up. Muscles of her face slackened and she felt serene. She felt secured. She felt loved. She felt peace. But the hand left her cheek soon and merged with the wind.

She slowly shrunk her eyelids. There was no one. But there was a pacific smile on her face.

"Dahini." She twisted her neck to see Dhurv with a cordless phone on his ear. "Your mother wants to speak to you." He informed soft and extended the phone. Dahini's pupils twinkled with the word 'mother'. She immediately paced to him and got the phone in her hand.

"Is she on line?" Her tone was chirpy and there was no trace on her face that she just got up from sleep. Seeing him nodding, she pressed the phone to her ear with elation etched to her face.

"Hello maa . . . ?" She voiced dim with love fixed to it. Her voice cracked slightly at the end, as her eyes became wet. She never missed her mother when she was away from her for three years for her college. But this one week, made her emotional. Because, she was married now. It meant, she belonged to a new family now. It caused her feel strange. And, in the year 1995, there was not many technologies rather than from hearing voices.

"Maa!" She called out again, not hearing any response from the other side. "Are you there?" Her face fell more pale and she handed the phone to Dhruv and returned to the bed. 

"What happened? Didn't she speak?" Dahini shook her head to his question and hung her head low, gazing at nothing. 

"Hello?" He spoke into the speaker. "The line is dead, Dahini. There was storm yesterday, right? It might be the reason for low network." He clarified and gawked at her. His eyes widened in shock and he neared her in worry.

"Hey, are you crying?" He sat beside her, his heart hurting at the sight of his beloved girl in pain. Her face was buried into the darkness of her lap and she left muffled noises. The concerned smile from Dhruv's face dropped and he hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder. He felt goosebumps the moment. Her body felt cold. Usually, he always felt heat exerting her skin. But today, it was opposite.

"Why should always girls leave their home in the case of marriage? Boys are always with their family. This is unfair!" She spoke her thoughts out, not facing him. She never missed her mother like the day she did. She had never! That day, she felt some queer feeling, that made her feel she was away from her mother for years. She could not take that.