SURBHI RAGHUVANSHI

DECEMBER 2023

"Theek lag Rahi hoon kya?" (Am I looking okay?) I asked Arana and she looked towards me while she was wearing silver oxidised jhumkas. 

"Pataka lag rahi hai aaj , meri mirchi." (You're looking like a firecracker today, my red chilly. ) She said and joined her thumb with her index finger and made an 'O' with it, while the rest of her fingers were spread out wide. 

"Makhan lagana band kar." (Stop buttering me.) I said and let out a chuckle. "Where's the lie though, you look pretty enough to be someone's dinner, if you know what I mean." Arana said and wore her choker. 

This month was the best for me because I had enjoyed it the most. I and Reyansh spent a lot of time together. I got to know a lot about him but I couldn't open up completely. I couldn't tell him half of my secrets and I don't know if I'll ever be able to. 

We were at Didi's place to attend her Haldi ceremony followed by all the functions till the wedding. "I'm ready, I'll be leaving, hm?" Arana said and I nodded giving her the permission to leave. 

I heard a ringtone. Great, this person has forgotten her phone here. I went towards the dressing table and saw the caller ID. It was her boyfriend. I told him that she had forgotten her phone in the room and I'll give her the phone once I leave. 

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It was almost afternoon and I went towards Niharika Di who was wearing a beautiful yellow lehenga and she was covered with the paste of sandalwood and turmeric. People were applying haldi on her arms, hands, face and feet. 

"Glow kar Rahi hai aapki skin." I said and she laughed. There were two mango leaves in the bowl which had turmeric paste. All the people were applying the paste with the leaves but I thought of doing something different. 

I dipped my hands in the bowl and moved forward to apply it on her face. "No Surbhi, no ahhhh." She said followed by a scream but I saw her standing up. 

"Ruk tu." (You wait.) She said and dipped her hands into the bowl and I ran towards Maasi. I hid behind her. 

"Mummy haat jao aap, aaj toh mein isse chorungi nhi." (Mummy please step aside, I'll not spare her this time.) Didi said and tried to catch me, but I held onto Maasi's sleeves and started protecting myself. 

"Arey jaane de isse." (Arey let her go.) Maasi said as I could hear all the relatives present in the hall laughing. 

"Nahi Maa." She said and I left Maasi's sleeves and ran towards the fountain. 

"Nahi didi, sorry, sorry." I said as I saw her walking towards me. "Bhagna band kar, mera lehenga bahut bhari hai." (Sto running, my lehenga is very heavy.) She said and I chuckled. 

She walked towards me and before I could run away, I felt somebody holding my wrist. My eyes went to the person's hand and my gaze started moving towards the person's face. "Arana chor de mujhe." (Arana leave me.) I said as I saw Arana holding my wrist tightly. 

Didi came towards me and rubbed the paste on my face. 

"Happy pre haldi." Arana whispered and blood rushed through my cheeks. 

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"Dekho ji khana toh Surbhi bahut lajawaab banati hai." (Surbhi cooks very delicious food.) Naani said and everybody nodded. "Aur meri bachi sanskari bhi hai." (And my child is also well-mannered.) She continued and Arana laughed. 

She knew it all. Everybody looked up at her and she picked up her glass to have water. 

"Rishta dhund dun beta tere liye? Ki hai koi aur zindagi mein?"(Should I find someone for you, child? Or do you have someone in your life? ) 

Naani asked and I shook my head. "Naani, I am in a relationship ." I said and everybody stopped having food and looked at Maa. 

"Rekha, you could've told us." Maasi said and Maa looked at Maasi. "Arey didi, they just, like Surbhi and abhi roka toh hone ko he."( Arey didi, they just like Surbhi and the engagement is not yet done.) Maa said and looked at Naani. 

"Bahut accha parivaar hai Maa ji, aur ladka bhi bahut accha hai, aapki natin ko khush rakhega." ( Maa ji it is a very good family, and the boy is also good, he'll keep your granddaughter very happy.) Maa said and blood rushed through my body and made its way up to my cheeks. 

"Blush karna band kar."(Stop blushing.) Niharika di said and I couldn't help but show my shy smile. 

"Kaunsa parivar hai?" (Which family is this?) Naani said as if she knew all the families in this world. 

"Raigarh ke Kapoor Maji. " (Raigarh's Kapoor Mother.) Maa said and Naani's eyes widened. "Rana Sa and Rani Sa?" (King and the queen? ) Naani asked and Maa nodded. 

"Haaye meri bachi, idhar aa." ( Oh my child, come here.) Naani said and I went towards her table. She collected some kajal in her finger from her lower waterline and pressed that finger behind my ear. 

"Nazar na Lage khushiyon par." (Evil eyes should not spoil your happiness.) Naani said and I bent down to touch her feet out of respect. "Sada sukhi raho." (Always stay happy.) She said and placed her hand on my head giving me her blessings. 

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"I am really tired." Arana said and I chuckled. "I hate you though." I said and she looked at me with her puppy eyes. 

"Didi will go away the day after tomorrow, so I thought I should make this haldi ceremony memorable for her." She said and I hugged her. "It's okay ." I said and she hugged me back. 

We were having our sister moment when her phone rang. "Oh shit, I forgot to call Abhishek today. He must be worried about me, I'll take this one, hm di?" She said and I hummed. She picked up her phone and walked towards the balcony. 

I opened my phone and I saw so many notifications. I saw 7 missed calls from an unknown number. Who could it be? I called back and I heard a familiar feminine voice. 

"Bhabhi, I'm sorry for disturbing you but bhaiya is not home yet and he isn't picking up our calls please could you try calling him?" Ruhi said in one go without taking a pause. 

"Did he tell you where he was going?" I asked and she replied with a no. 

"Maybe he's in office." I said as that could be a possibility. "I thought the same but his assistant told me that he left the office at 8." She said and I looked up at the clock which was hanging on the wall. The time is 10:30, where is he?  urgh. 

"Accha I'll try calling." (Okay I'll try calling.) I said and I hung up the call. 

I immediately dialled his number. After a few rings he picked up. "Reyansh, kahan hai aap? sabko aapki fikar ho Rahi hai." (Reyansh where are you? Everyone is worried about you.) I said but I heard music bursting in the background. 

"Arey jaan saans toh le lo, itna kyun dar Rahi ho?" (Arey jaan, at least take a breath, why are you so scared?) He said and his voice wasn't sober. His voice didn't sound normal like always. 

I could sense a lot of things. He was drunk. His voice indicated that he was drunk. "Reyansh, aap nashe mein hai?" I asked hesitantly. My chest is rising up and down from the anxiety. I couldn't bear this. He never told me that he drinks and smokes. 

"Nahi jaan, hum nashe mein nahi, nasha hum mein hai." He said and I heard a chuckle. My breath started getting heavier. I was feeling uneasy. 

"Aapko maloom hai, jis din meine aap ko  dekha, humein aur koi dikhai hi nhi diya.Everything around looked like a movie of the 50s, black and white you know? Bas aap hi colourful thi." 

(You know, the day I saw you , I couldn't see anyone else. Everything around looked like a movie of the 50s, black and white you know? Only you were looking colourful. ) He said and my heart sank. I couldn't believe what he just said. 

"Itna dhunda humne aapko uff,akhir mein aap mil hi gayi, meri ho hi gayi." ( I searched so much for you uff, and at the end, I found you, and now you're mine.) He continued and my hands felt numb. It felt like I couldn't move at all anymore. My eyes were filled with a liquid medium, I knew this feeling, I was weak again. 

I didn't want to believe what he said and I managed to ask him the question that could prove he was lying. "Reyansh, you're lying right? It's an arranged marriage." I asked him and my voice cracked while asking him this simple question. 

"Nahi jaan, I'm not lying. IN FACT IT'S A PRANK." He said and I heard a familiar voice behind him. It was Ruhi. The music eventually stopped and Reyansh started laughing. 

"Oh my god Surbhi, you were so scared." He said and I chuckled lightly and rubbed off my tears. "Never do that again." I said and they both chuckled again. 

"Reyansh, I want to talk." I said and he told Ruhi to leave. "Ji." He said and I got up to have water. 

"Reyansh, do you- uh do you drink?" I asked hesitantly because I didn't know if he'll be comfortable answering my question. 

"Surbhi, I won't lie, yes I do drink and I have a high tolerance but I don't drink frequently, it's once in a while." He said and I took a deep breath. "You don't like it?" He asked and I chuckled. 

"I don't because it destroyed my life." I said and there was complete silence. I decided to break the long pause and continued. 

"Reyansh, don't break my trust." I said. 

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Enjoy!