When destiny smiles...

BETWEEN THEM
Part 47

She was dressed in a simple pink saree.... The white glassy crystals added more to a dressed down effect.... They were nothing flashy.... After all, all her dresses were anything but flashy...

Shriya waited at her apartment... Gauri would be there any moment.... She wished that this was something she didn't have to be doing.... She was still apprehensive about the invite..... I

It was sometime before she and Gauri could reach the temple.... Shriya even hoped on the way that the woman would have forgotten all about them and would not be there....

Bad.... She was waiting in the temple.... And she smiled when she saw them there...

"Sorry, we are late"

"Doesn't matter... I just arrived here myself. Shall we go?"

"Yes," Gauri interjected.... Shriya was quiet.

The drive to wherever they were going was filled with animated chatter from Gauri... The old lady was all smiles and talk... and Shriya was quiet throughout, looking out through the car windows, her thoughts far away enough to not catch onto whatever was happening...

She realized they were in Jayanagar, just as the car took a turn into a side avenue....


They were soon inside the gates of what Gauri would later describe as a "simply stunning house".

There must have been a lot of people invited, for the driveway was right then accommodating a half dozen cars....

They followed the woman in....

"Hey, I want to walk right away from here.... Gauri, please am feeling real nervous"

"Nervous? You are supposed to be a lawyer... and nervousness shouldn't be defined in you"

"Stop it.... Whatever... Make the whole thing short.... Let's get out of here as soon as we can"

Gauri's reply was lost on Shriya.... She was staring fixed at the enormous family portrait that adorned half the wall in the living room....


Mrs. Shanker was smiling benignly out of it.... With the old woman seated in the middle... flanked by Parvathi and her husband....

Shriya did not rise her eyes to look at the two men standing behind them... She was beyond shivering now.... beyond normality..... If anything, this was the extreme end....

"Shriya?"

The old woman was looking at her strangely..... Shriya was staring at her in a new light.... In a daze....

"That's my family.... We took that photo around three years back when Aakash wasn't married... He is my older grandson.... Krish is the younger one"

Shriya did not know whether to tell her that she knew them... Knew one of them more than she cared to reveal...

She just nodded....


She was led into the inner hall, and stopped near the door, the lights in there blinding her.... The whole place was lit up brilliantly, with yellow lights... and colored lights reserved for the corners....
There were more people in there than Shriya had imagined would be...

She thought she saw Gauri somewhere... And headed there....

"Shriya! Where did you go?"

"I should ask you that ..... Why did you leave me alone out there?"

"Sorry... But you see, I was introduced to Aarthi, she is the daughter in law of this family, and was talking with her.... "

"Great, now come on... Lets finish up with this and go.... Gauri, am really feeling....."

Someone touched her shoulder... Shriya turned around.... It was Parvathi....

"Shriya? .... Isn't it? What a surprise.... How are you?"

"Fine... I was invited over here by..."

"I know, child.... she told me... Nice of you to come over... Wonder where Krish is...."

No... tell me he is not home.....

"He has gone over to a friend's place... I guess he won't be returning for now"

The Gods are real happy with me... Thanks!


"Come over... Sit here....," She showed Shriya a couch by the wall.... Shriya pulled Gauri over next to her....

They were hardly seated before Parvathi left the place to attend to someone else....

"You know her?"

"Yes.... She was once a teacher of mine... Long back...."

"Great... Now I guess you feel comfortable..."

"Very".... So comfortable that I want to race out of here... Maybe perform magic and disappear... Wonder what spell I can use.....

She did not have more than a minute to think up anything... Someone offered juice.... Shriya smiled at the girl....

"Hi... you must be the lawyer...."

"Yes... How do you know?"

"I was told.... I am Preetha... Aarthi's sister.... Did you meet Aarthi?"

"No..."

"Oh.... I will be back... I wanted to talk to you"

It was her.... Krish's future fiancee....

Maybe this is where I make an escape.... Or maybe I can stay back and ask her what she wanted to talk to me.... About legal issues concerning the Hindu Marriage Act?

She set the glass down.. Gauri was talking about how the couch would look perfect in some politicians public relations office..... "Made of that formality right?"

"Hmm"

"They are calling us..."

Shriya got up with Gauri... They sat down with the other ladies near the doll stand... It was a massive arrangement with more than a hundred dolls spread over 15 steps...

It painfully reminded Shriya about the celebrations back home.... She had always been there to decorate... and this year she couldn't....
She remembered telling her mother about this invite in the morning.... Her mother had said she could go.... but her asked her to be extra careful with strangers....

And she realized that they were all, after all more like strangers.....
Except the one who wasn't there...

Many of them were singing and she noticed Gauri making an attempt to sing... Shriya couldn't help laughing...

Gauri had this base tone and sounded odd among the high pitched others....

Gauri caught her eyes and blushed... Shriya smiled broader and shifted her eyes......

The door from the living room opened and someone walked in.....

Shriya stiffened.... The smile died on her lips... She bent down and crouched behind a girl dressed in golden chiffon.....
And hoped that he would walk away.....

Krish hardly looked at the group of females.... He walked down the wide hall... Shriya realized that he had entered just to cross over to the set of rooms at the other end....


The song ended.... Krish was almost gone....

"Shriya why don't you sing?"

Krish froze.... So did Shriya....

He turned around and looked at the group.... And their stares caught across the space between them....

It was like the wide gap was closed shut in it... And time and space held out muted cries of defeat.....

Everyone was staring at the two... And they were oblivious to it all....

The Gods and Goddesses were standing testimony to something that had been long pending.... It was like they were smiling from the stands.....