Mists of Antiquity

Mists of Antiquity

4 mins
344


The truth will come to light one day. She just knew it would. Yes, there were liabilities, and problems and chaos. But there was some truth, unsaid, unheard, awaiting revelation. She could sense it every day, now - a - days.


Arundhati was married to a rich businessman 5 years back. Arranged marriage. And she knew she was not happy. She would not understand why. But she wasn’t.


There was a constant feeling of being unsatisfied, no matter what she would do.


Arundhati had a beautiful daughter, Simi, and she experienced cold feet at her very thought today. What would happen to her future? She just wanted to wail in pain and vent out as much as she could. But there was no one to hear her out.


“Can’t wait to feel you yet again … See you at 8 pm, my place.”, the message read. Whether having known this reality was good or bad, she did not know. But, destiny had brought her there. Arundhati happened to read her husband’s inbox that morning and her world had come shattering down.


Arundhati had given up on her career for Avinash Sanyal. A marital alliance that her family had decided. She was a student of architecture and was about to initiate her practice after graduation when suddenly she was expected to become a housewife and confine herself to the four walls of the house. Avinash preferred it that way.


Today, Arundhati stared at the pink satin bed sheet spread on the bed where she sat weeping at her husband’s infidelity.


A remorseful Arundhati felt what if she had an opinion of herself when the alliance was happening? What if she had expressed her need to work and have a career? What if she was independent? Things would have been so different and she would not be feeling this lump in her throat. Not that Avinash's behavior was a consequence of her being a housewife, but she did not have anything to fall back upon now and that gave her jitters. She felt a pinching need of safeguarding her individuality but had no idea how. She would have to begin somewhere she felt and so as if in a frenzy, she did whatever came to her mind.


Arundhati packed all her clothes and belongings in a suitcase and she packed Simi’s clothes too.

One question was affecting Arundhati the most. How would she explain all that had happened to Simi?

Just then the doorbell rang and as if by reflex, Arundhati went at the door.


Simi had just put her right foot inside the house and was about to keep her school bag on the sofa when Arundhati held her hand in the kindest way possible and said, “Baccha, I want to ask you something? How would you feel if one of your best friends gave away something that belonged to you, to someone else?"


Simi was very hungry and tired after a long day at school. She just stared back at Arundhati, blank, not understanding what was the conversation about. She had never seen Arundhati so weary.

Arundhati probed yet again, “How will you feel Simi?”


Simi realized something was not right. She paused for a moment and then looked into Arundhati's honey brown eyes and said, “I will feel sad mama. First sad and then angry. And then I will not want to see my best friend again.”


Arundhati sighed. Too tired to be strong, now she could not stop her tears from flowing. She somehow managed to stop crying and then fathomed some more courage to speak with Simi, “Now, just imagine that in the question that I just asked you, 'I' am Simi, 'your best friend' is dad and 'someone else' is Apurva aunty.”


Simi was confused initially. She was 17 years old. Not too small, not too young. Eventually, she understood everything when she looked at her mother, crying in pain. Simi didn't even realize why and how, but she just held Arundhati's hand without knowing what to say. And then she hugged her.


Simi was Arundhati’s stepdaughter from Avinash’s first marriage which he had not disclosed when they got married. Being raised in a conservative family where there was paternal predominance Arundhati had accepted Avinash despite a lot of torment that she had gone through five years back. She could because Avinash had lost his first wife to a brutal road accident. But nevertheless, she always found it difficult to accept that he had cheated on her and her family by not being honest when the alliance was being fixed. She was happy that she had somehow managed to get over the pain because of her beautiful bonding with Simi, when, this morning she read the conversation between Avinash and Apurva on Avinash's mobile.


Apurva was a family friend. And, now, Arundhati did not know what she would denominate her as. 


Arundhati stepped out with Simi that afternoon heading back to her best friend Kavya's house. When she packed her luggage, she did not forget to take along with her, the most important thing. Her graduation certificate. 


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