Tidings of the Heart

I tried to calm my nerves while he fumed. I hadn’t seen him so angry, ever. And this murderous rage scared me to death. This wasn’t the Rehaan I knew, I reminded myself. God knows what filled him with so much angst, and temper. Was it me? I feared so; I dare not admit it to myself. ‘Do you have any idea..,’ he started but didn’t say any further.

I leaned on the table, shaken by his sudden outburst. His hold on my right wrist left the skin red.  I was thinking of ways to leave the room. The palace was filled with guests from several states, what would they talk of me if they saw this by chance? Rehaan stood there with his back towards me blocking the doorway. ‘Rehaan ..,’ I started but was silenced immediately. ‘That’s not my name. ‘ I could almost hear my heartbeat.

All these years had he channeled all his anger towards me? Well, I deserved some of it, yes, but not all. I mustered all my courage and said,’ I need to go downstairs,’ and started to move towards the door. ‘So you are the one to be married to Shaan?’  he said looking at me in the eye, purposely blocking my way. I could feel insult in his voice, indignation and hate. Something snapped within me, I felt a strong overwhelming urge to cry. ‘Yes,’ I replied and ran towards my room before he could see my welled up eyes, or I could see his facial expressions.

 

 

The party time went by in a daze. I was very preoccupied. When Nandini asked me something, I replied in monosyllables. My days were going well and good, why had the past to reappear before me.

I went to the terrace wishing the evening breeze to ease my discomfort.  Wearing a salwar suit was a big respite from the saree. The terrace was beautiful with red pillars on one end, and swings on the other. I sat on a red slab looking at the horizon lost in thoughts. If I had kept mum that day, Rehaan would have been there in my life today. I chastised myself mentally- it’s Shivam, Prince Shivam not Rehaan. It would take me some time to remember that.

‘You’re here and I’ve been searching for you east and west,’ Shaan entered the terrace holding some card. It was the marriage invitation card. He showed it to me beaming. He was of course proud of the workmanship. It was beautiful indeed �" the scroll, the message in hindi and in English, the art itself- everything was very impressive. ‘Would you like to visit the marriage venue? Let’s go,’ he said excitedly, pulling my hand. ‘Now? I mean won’t it be late,’ I was skeptical about this sudden plan. ‘I’ll make sure we’re back in time for dinner. Moreover, the place looks best in the evening. You’ll love it,’ he was so eager to take me to visit the venue. I couldn’t deny further. Even I was curious about this place.

The ride took us half an hour to reach. It was a fort at the middle of a lake. I can’t forget the view. The setting sun, the sky in its orange hue and the old architecture (reminder of the glorious past) in the middle of the lake that reflected its grandeur- too mesmerizing a scene to forget. We took the boat from there and reached the fort within minutes. It was beautiful, no words- strong pillars, long corridors, intricate carvings and colorful stone adornments on the walls. ‘The marriage rituals will be held here,’ Shaan showed an open space almost in the middle of the fort, surrounded by corridors on each side. It was sure to be a very grand event. I could imagine guests having conversations in the corridors, the banquet, the drums and traditional music, and the elephants in the procession.  ‘You like it?’ he asked the obvious seeing me smiling. ‘Of course, it’s the best wedding venue I’ve ever been to.‘

‘Then you should plan your wedding here too,’ another voice replied. ‘Bhai sa, you’re here. I didn’t see your car,’ Shaan was always happy to see his brother, while a nervous tension started through me. ‘I had parked it far,’ he replied and looked at me.  ‘You didn’t reply, Rano,’ his statements made me more nervous and I couldn’t utter a word. Even Shaan looked at me expecting a reply. I just fidgeted my hand gearing up to say something. ‘We have not decided anything about it, ..yet..,’ Shaan finally filled in the silence.

There was a certain urgency and awkward tension in the air, I could almost touch it. His eyes demanded attention, and I couldn’t think of where to look at. We walked into a hall to view old paintings of the kings and their families. I was so very conscious of myself, that I felt all my energy draining away.

“Don’t venture into that room,” Shaan said pointing to a dark room, whose doors seemed broken and about to fall anytime soon. ‘It’s a trap door. Leads to a labyrinth. It was sealed till today morning, now opened just for maintenance. It should be resealed by tomorrow. The workers are cautious enough to neglect such things,’ Shaan added. It suddenly piqued my curiosity. ‘Really? Where does the labyrinth lead to? Are there stairs?’ I asked. I was planning to have just a peep into it.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure if it leads anywhere at all. It was built to trap intruders,” Shaan couldn’t give the details. I walked towards the room. ‘What are you doing? Rano?’ he asked with caution. ‘Nothing. Just a peep,’I assured. The interior was not at all visible, pitch dark, no hint of light. I looked down. Perhaps there was a well, I could hear water rushing through some channel. ‘Come on now, your curiosity is freaking me out here,’ Shaan joked and I could see Shivam viewing me cautiously as if calculating my steps. I just laughed in reply to his fears.

We went to the other halls and back to the boat after about a fifteen minute tour. The whole time Shivam did little to join in the conversation, giving few curt replies to me now and then. I tried my best to be civil and carry a conversation even though his temper mortified me. We then went back to the palace, reached just by dinner. After dinner Nandini had too much to talk about. I complied to her excitements as a good listener. I wished to tell her about my heart, my agitations, but couldn’t. How could I, under any circumstance? She loved and adored them both. And I was so confused myself. I needed to talk; I needed someone to just listen to me. I retired to my room after a long conversation and planning for the next day. I was to stay with Nandini the next entire day, Rani sa had wished it to be so- perhaps for me to witness certain rituals first hand.

A moment to quiet contemplation reminded me of Myra. I missed her. It had been so long since I had been in contact. I whatsapped her a hello, with questions about her life and the need to talk to her. Her profile looked pleasing, she was happy. I missed those days, so very much.

I had just switched off the light getting ready to go to bed when my phone vibrated. It must be Myra, so quick to reply. I smiled. I couldn’t be any more wrong or surprised.

‘Meet me tomorrow near the lake, at 9 am.  I’ll wait. -Shiv ’

Before I could process the information another message popped up from the same number.

‘Please.’

Author's Note

Hi all, I'm resuming my writing from where I left off about five months ago. :) I'm glad to be back. Hope you'll like the story.

Reviews

[Jennie Baron]

I was happy to revisit the story. The plot itself is engaging and I got lost in the descriptions; they really work for me. Well done! I want to read more.