SILENCE

Now his declaration of love had thrown her off. She knew nothing about

Aby, his family or his background. She stood looking at him, taking in

every feature of his face, every fleeting expression. She thought about

the times she had caught him looking at her with admiration and passion.

Suddenly she had a feeling of déjà vu and the realization knocked the

wind out of her lungs. The man standing in front of her, professing his

love for her bore a striking resemblance to the man in her dreams! That

is why she had been drawn to Aby in the first place. He was the man she

used to think about. When did she fall in love with Aby? Why hadn’t she

realized that she was in love with him till this very minute? She was

grappling with her own feelings and trying to come to terms with how

she felt.

Meanwhile, for Aby, Sehmat’s silence was deafening. He could not

understand what Sehmat was thinking. What if she rejected him? The

feeling would haunt him forever. Fearing a refusal, his heart nearly

stopped beating.

Sehmat decided to let her emotions take the lead. She had waited so

long to feel this way and was now ready to take a chance. She shook her

head in an attempt to clear her feelings. Tears began streaming down her

face as she barely whispered, ‘Yes.’

‘Yes, what, Sehmat?’ he asked desperately.

Sehmat looked at Aby. Her eyes held the emotive response that he was

hoping for, but Sehmat went a step further. ‘I love you too. It just took a

very long time for it to sink in.’

Relief flooded Aby’s face. As if guided by an invisible force, his

hands met hers, her fingers clasping his palms with passion and

excitement. The warmth flowed easily between them but the two

lovebirds preferred to stay quiet, letting their expressions do the talking.

After a few moments, Aby broke the silence, ‘When you shook your

head, I thought you were going to deny us a chance.’

Sehmat smiled shyly and rested her head on his shoulders. If it were a

dream, she did not wish to be woken up. Her feet were bandaged but her

heart had healed, completely.

Their moment was interrupted by a sudden noise around the table.

Onlookers, relieved that the suspense was over, were thumping the desksand cheering the new couple, who had just exchanged vows of

commitment in their presence. Aby helped Sehmat wipe away her tears.

Her face had turned pink. She was blushing, smiling and crying all at the

same time, leaving telltale marks on Aby’s shirt for all to see.

‘We’d better leave this place or we will be fined for creating a ruckus!’

Aby said taking her hand firmly in his and escorting her out. They made

a remarkable pair—the beautiful, delicate Sehmat, hand in hand with the

handsome and protective Aby. Together they walked towards Aby’s car.

Once in the car, Aby turned to her and said, ‘I hope this is not a dream.

I promise you, Sehmat, that I will always love you. You may think it is

too soon for me to say this, but I have felt like this since the time I first

saw you.’

Sehmat was touched by his words. She wanted to savour every

moment of it and not worry about the uncertainties. She remembered

what her mother had once said: ‘Love can only happen once and when it

does, your heart will tell you that it is the one true love. Allow that to

happen when it does.’

She voiced her thoughts to Aby, who smiled back at her with a

lopsided grin, enjoying the warmth of her head resting on his left

shoulder. After hours of aimless driving, Aby turned the car towards her

hostel. ‘Let’s get you to your hostel before the warden decides to throw

you out,’ he joked good-naturedly.

‘These two days have been truly the best days of my life, and I owe

them to you, Aby. First, my chance to perform and now, your love . . .’

Sehmat sighed.

‘Now that the lady has had enough excitement for one day, her chariot

drops her at her palace so she can rest and wake up fresh in the morning,’

Aby said with a smile as he applied the brakes. He opened her door

gallantly, and Sehmat got out and walked towards the hostel gate. As she

turned around to wave at him, she saw a sad look cross Aby’s face. She

rushed back to him. Touching his cheek, she tried to lighten his mood.

‘We will be meeting each other every day, Aby. Who knows, you might

get tired of seeing me so often.’

‘Ah, the lady has a sense of humour,’ Aby said, brightening up. ‘See, I

picked the most amazing woman on earth. But for now, return to yourpalace or the stepmother will banish you from her kingdom.’

Still smiling widely, Sehmat ran to her room.

Mitali, with her head propped on two pillows, was reading a book. As

soon as she saw Sehmat, she lowered her book and gave a mischievous

wink. ‘That was quite a long thank you, don’t you think, Sehmat?’ she

teased. The word about Sehmat’s meeting with Aby in the library had

spread like wildfire. But Mitali knew she would hear the entire story in

detail, first-hand.

Sehmat went up to Mitali and hugged her. ‘You’ll never guess what

happened, Mitali. I had gone to convey my thanks and . . .’

‘I know, I know, your love story is quite the hot topic at the moment.

But I won’t let you off with an incomplete version. I want the entire story

right from the moment I left you till the time you came waltzing into this

room. We still have half an hour before dinner. So why don’t you shower

and change first?’ Mitali looked at Sehmat’s foot, which appeared to be

fine except for a slight swelling.

Sehmat dutifully obeyed. Clutching a fresh change of clothes, she

disappeared into the bathroom, to emerge from it ten minutes later,

scrubbed and refreshed. Her foot was beginning to throb but her heart

was far too joyous to worry about the pain. While Mitali took her

shower, an exhausted Sehmat lay on the bed, her eyes closed, thinking of

the day’s incidents. By the time Mitali stepped out of the bathroom,

Sehmat was fast asleep.

Mitali looked at her. She had witnessed Sehmat’s reaction on a few

occasions when issues pertaining to women’s rights had been discussed.

That was when the shy, reserved maiden from the Valley had donned the

mantle of an activist and spoken passionately on issues relating to the

freedom of women. But here she was, vulnerable and delicate, lost in her

dreams. Her innocent face radiated with an amazing glow. There was a

sense of deep satisfaction in her body language as she slept in complete

peace, perhaps dreaming of Aby.

The Meerabai in her had found her Krishna at last.

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