Silent Love Part: 4

Silent Love Part : 4

Parking her scooter near a vegetable store, Radhika rolled the carry bag in her hand and walked towards the veggie market.  She checked for the best, and then bargaining  with the shop keeper, she started filling the carry bag. Holding it safe, she secured it to the front space , she was about to turn the engine on, her cell rang

“ha mom, tell me”

“where are you Radhika? Why taking so long, see  Gopal bhayya and Dev is here,  come fast na”

“mom, I stopped at the market, got some veggies, do you want me to get anything else?’

“Radhika, I am telling you to come soon, and you are talking about veggies”

“mom, I know, then later you only will  send me  to purchase , right?’

‘ha, that’s right, but now you come na”

“ok baba, I am coming”

“um”



Keeping the phone back in her bag, Radhika looked around, and then finding the space she moved onto get onto the road. As she took the turn towards her road, she thought of her mom’ s impatience. For the past one month she is like that,  her feet are not touching the floor, acting so different, she is trying to believe she is not alone, a struggle to show her daughter that she has people who loves her still.

Radhika drive through the open gate of her house, and then parked the scooter in their garage,  she looked at the other side of the fence to see anyone at Mahi auntie’s house.  As not seeing anyone out, she hang her bag over shoulder and then picked the veggie bag on her hand and took few steps. But then suddenly she remembered something she walk back to the scooter and tried to take key which is still sticking in the key hole. As she took that off, her eyes fell on the rear view mirror, she saw a new face looking at her,  she paused  for few seconds, and then moving her hand back, she looked at those curios eyes one more time inside that mirror reflection. Without turning , she took steps to walk in

“Radhikaaa”

Radhika paused hearing her mom’s voice, and she turned

Padma waving her hand up: Radhika, come here.

Radhika flashed her eyes on that new face which is still looking at her, and then lifted up the bag in her hand and said : let me keep this inside mom

“ha beta, come quick , ok’

Radhika nodded her head and went in quick, but before disappearing, she paused and turned once to see that new face, but found him getting luggage from the top carrier.  She went in quick, arranged the veggies on the counter. She poured a glass full of water, and leaning her back towards the counter top, she took few gulp, the eyes on the mirror was flashing in her mind,
       so is that Dev? But auntie said he is going to village to meet his dadaji, then!  
 Why should I bother whoever it is. she took the last gulp and turned to put the empty glass in the sink

“Radhika, you are standing here drinking water, see mom and auntie is waiting for you impatiently and send me out here too, to check on you” Pari walked in

“I am coming Pari,  felt so thirsty, so”

“um, now come”

Radhika walked out with Pari, somehow her eyes unknowingly cornered over the fence to see the new face, but the space looked empty.  She felt some relief and walked faster with Pari.

“here they are, Radhika you made us to wait  so long , not fair” saying that Maheswari came near

Radhika tried to give a forceful smile

Holding her shoulder Maheswari guided her to Gopal: see this is our Padma’s daughter, RAdhika, whom I was talking about all this time.

Gopal Das with a smile , extended his arm to give a shake hand, and radhika slowly extended hers.

“Radhika, I brought something for you, special, hopefully you will like it”

RAdhika looked at her mom’s face

Padma stood with that big smile on her face

Dev was coming down the steps, he saw his dad talking with Radhika, he slowed down, and rubbing on the railing , he slowly climbed down watching the scene clearly.

Gopal brought a small gift box and extended towards Radhika. Radhika still in confusion looked at her mom’s face.

Padma nodded her head in agreement

Radhika hesitantly took the gift from Gopal

“for accepting this gift you need your mom’s permission! OMG! I can’t believe this” Maheswari leaving her shoulder moved to the front to face Radhika.

 Radhika stood silently holding the gift in her hand.

“how did you brought up your daughter Padma, tell me, if it was Pari, then she will be already disappearerd into her room to open and see what is inside, she don’t even mind who is giving her, look at your daughter, still standing with no excitement”

Suddenly Radhika looking at Gopal Das: thanks Uncle

Gopal touched her shoulder: its my pleasure beta, hope you will like it

Maheswari: open and see Radhika

Radhika looked at Padma

“for that too you need moms permission!”

Maheswari looked at Padma

Padma smiled and came in front and said : this is the first time she is getting a gift from someone other than me, na,  so “

“What are you saying Padma?” Maheswari asked unbelievably

Padma coming and holding her shoulder : ha kind of, you can see many trophies in our cupboard, but gift,  this is the first time

Maheswari: at least birthday gifts

Padma with a smile: not really, we have a deal, we celebrate our birthday spending time together, we just go out and have fun and masti,  just Radhika and me, and at the end we cut a small cake in our home, and celebrate it that way.

Maheswari: not fair at all. When is her birthday, tell me, this time I will arrange a big party, and you see

“see, Maheswari took over, now everything gone out of your hand Padma, she was waiting to get something to get hold off, you know” Gopal said to Padma with a smile on his face

Padma: ha , but for that now she has to wait another 8 months.

Maheswari: that’s ok. But we have Pari’s birthday coming next month, so let’s celebrate that.

Gopal: see one or the other, Maheswari is ever ready

“um”  but then suddenly she saw Dev standing near the stairs “arre Dev, come, meet Radhika”

Radhika turned and Dev slowly walked near, and he extended his  hand to give a shake hand

Radhika just looked into his eyes once, but then gazed down at the forwarded hand, she extended hers to give that shake.

“I am Dev”

Her fingers touched his , and as it slide down his palm he closed his liog fingers covering her palm in his.

“Radhika” her throat mumbled

She felt the softness of his palm and the warmth,  while he felt the slightly tight surface with a cold feeling.  He looked into her eyes,  but she tried to release her hand out, and as a reflex he let it go, and Radhika curled up her hand back in.

“Radhika, now come, I need to show you something”

Radhika looked at Pari and went along with her quickly

As the girls disappeared upstairs, Maheswari, is she ok Padma?

Padma holding onto her pallu: ha she is, first time she is meeting someone closer to me na, I know she met you already, but the whole family,  she never met anyone so closer to me. There was always a gap that we keep with others, we go for parties, we go to my colleagues’ places, and that is it. You can imagine that Mahi,
as her wet throat did not let her continue further

Maheswari just tapped on her shoulder, and then stood silent as she was not knowing what to say

To change the mood, Gopal: so what about a hot tea? Do I need to get into kitchen, ya..

“aap bhi na,” maheswari said looking at him

“then let’s have some tea yaar’

Ok baba, just 5 minutes,  Padma come with me”

“oh so now for making tea also you need company!”

Maheswari looked at Gopal, and he just tried to move his face away looking at Dev

Maheswari holding onto Padma’s hand: ha, come padma.

As they disappeared, Gopal smiled at Dev, and Dev went out to get more stuff

Beta, where we will arrange all these, your mom said to bring this all, and now!”

Dev: I told you dad, but you are the one didn’t listen to me, now you two only decide where to put everything. Anyway day after tomorrow I am leaving to village, I told you we should have settled with dadaji only, its so cool na

Gopal: but beta, it is easy to say, see now whenever you feel like,  you can go and visit them right. Also they are not alone, chacha and all is there na, then

Dev: at least we should have stayed for few days dad

Gopal: then what about Pari’s college

Dev: Oh dad

Gopal: um,

But then they saw Radhika coming down

“are you going beta’

Padma and Maheswari was coming in with tea tray and snack

“have tea and go Radhika”

“its ok mom,  Nalini teacher may be coming soon, she may wonder not seeing anyone”

“then take the tea cup with you” saying that maheswari handed one tea cup in Radhika’s hand

Looking at Gopal: its her dance teacher

Gopal nodded his chin , saying: oh

Maheswari: I am also thinking of sending Pari  to continue her dance with Nalini teacher, she sounds like a good master

“then what the wait for, Pari is interested, right? then” Gopal said as she sipped onto the tea cup

“thought to ask you first”

Gopal cornered his eyes at Dev, Dev controlled his smile

The family time went on.

Padma came later, as Nalini teacher was about to leave. She talked about Pari.

Later that evening, Padma was rolling the chappathi

“Mahi actually called us also to join for dinner”

“mom, why ? now you don’t want to make chappathi “

“no Radhika, actually”

Interfering Padma’s talk: mom, you better roll those ok, see after seeing your friend, you changed a lot,

Padma: what change, I am same

Radhika: um,  I can see it

Padma: tell me Radhika, what is it

Radhika turning the roti on the pan “now you are acting like a kid”

Padma smiled: heina, after how many years, see, now you know I have so many good friends at that time

Radhika: um um, only one friend na, now roll it quick

Padma: but still one is there na

But then after a pause she said: I wish I could take you to my place, show you my room, show you....

"MOM, please, roll that roti quick, see the thava is getting hot"

Padma: but radhika

“you are happy na, having Mahi auntie here, so close to you,

"Um"

"Then I am too happy for you, and I am sure one day you will take me to show all those  whatever you wanted to show me ok. Now, roll the chappathi, we have so many works pending."

Padma mumbled: then also she won’t let me go

“no , I won’t”

"you hear that too?’

“ha, I did.”

The mom daughter little fight continued and soon the darkness covered the atmosphere.

Radhika turned the table lamp on, and took her dairy out, and turning the page, the pen in her hand moved slowly: mom is very happy, seeing Mahi auntie so close to her, as if she was starving for long, to find someone to identify her from  the past, and mom  is more eager to show me everyone , trying to tell me that we two are not alone, .. but for how many days mom, then again it will be you and me, they are here for few days only, when the lease get over they will find their new place, will you feel sad at that time. No, right. Because I am there with you, holding your hand.

A drop of tear trailed down, wiping it off, she closed the diary. And then slowly rested her head over the table. The breeze from the rotating table fan, shaken her open hair.

Dev just watched her actions standing near his room window on the 2nd floor, and unknowingly kept his gaze on her, unable to move his feet back or front, he held those flying curtains that tried to block his vision, in his hand, and stood there looking at the little angel who was unaware of those eyes and was totally in her own world.