" Maya wanted us to be together? "

Jai stared at Sonara. While Sonara stared at the baby who was now making piles of sands and shouting with joy in the middle of the beach.

" No. She wanted two people who catch feelings to be together. Something she herself could never do. "

Humaira suddenly grabbed a handful of sand and started to reach her mouth. Sonara instinctively dropped her hand down and she made a momentary cry face that vanished off soon.

" Did she tell you about... Farhan? " , Jai asked.

" Yes. She did. "

" The whole story? "

" The whole story. "

Jai stayed silent for a long time after this.

The watch showed six thirty in the morning, and they sat on the beach with few people gathered near the sea, clicking pictures, touching their feet to the waves, or even diving for an early morning bath.

Sonara kept watching a young couple, both dressed in white, but a handful of red bangles in the woman's hands marked their recent wedding. The joyful duo kept dancing in the waves, giggling and clapping, running after each other, the man picking her up in his arms and twirling in the air.....

Sonara looked away. Their joy could not infect her much, though it should have, specially after confessing love to her man an hour ago, and getting to know he felt the same. Somehow, a cloud kept basking over her, a cloud of differences, a cloud of uncertainty...

" Sonara.. "

" Hmm...  " , she replied unmindfully.

" Why are you thinking so much? "

" Thinking? I'm not exactly. But.. "

" There's no ifs and buts when we both know it and are doing it right.
Also if Maya Raichand is with us, you should close your eyes and believe things to work out. "

" When Maya could not do things right in her own life, where the difference was only of a meagre religion, can you really expect her to be able to do it good for us, when differences lie in every layer? " , Sonara's eyes unknowingly sparkled.

Jai immediately wrapped her hands in his.
" If you break before the beginning, so will I. Forget everything, and cherish the moment. For my sake. For our sake. "

She nodded. She knew she was hurting him. But what could she possibly do? She could never believe she deserved such happiness in life. Good things happening to her were a distant dream.

" Do you know why I love you? "

" I probably do. " , she said.

" Tell me. You will be rewarded with a hug if you say it right. "

Sonara smiled like a child. Jai's childish antics were going to make her life blissful, she could guess. Life had grown her up sooner than she wished to. She now wished to get back to the roots.

" Because....you could take several decisions on my behalf, and I let you. I knew your worth, I trusted your abilities to do things right. Something you never almost got.

I think I'm not wrong, but I wanna clear it up together, that I'm not in any spree to disregard your family. They have their own ways. And none's wrong on earth. I just gave you the reason. "

Jai stared at her intently, then took her into a bear hug. She giggled within.

Staying in such a position for a long moment, Sonara finally broke the hug, only to discover Humaira staring at them with inquisitive eyes, and slowly throwing her hands out to Jai.

" Awwww, my baby! " , Jai picked her up, placed her on his knees and hugged her. She screamed in joy and uttered illegible words.

Another drop of tear escaped Sonara's eyes, as she stared at them. The baby longed for him, no one could disregard their beautiful bond, and no one had taught the baby to love.
It was a heart to heart connection, again, with no explanation to the cause.

Jai looked at Sonara.
" No one, except my father believed in my abilities.

Bhoomi said she did. But I knew, if time came to test, she would have trusted her own abilities, or her father's, more than me.

My mom wished me to join business. But she too somewhere believed that I'm incapable of responsibile decisions.

And Maya?
You know her better than me now, I believe.

Dangling between such relations, I got in touch with a girl, who trusted me blindly with her life.

Be it letting me into her tiny home in the middle of a rainy night, or allowing me to thrash off scoundrels from her life, or take her to places I wished to, do things I felt would work out for her, she did not disbelieve me upon anything. She kept on tangling me in threads of dependability. And then a time came that I couldn't let her go. "

Sonara only managed to smile. Because the feeling of utter satisfaction choked her from within.
With each stare, each word, she knew she had longed for him more than she had ever realised.

Humaira was listening to everything widening her button shaped eyes. And now she let out a chirp and a smile, as if she understood every word being spoken.
Jai pecked on her chubby cheeks.

Sonara now made lines on the sand beneath her feet. Jai cuddled and talked to the baby while she reciprocated.

" Won't you ask when I fell for you? " , Sonara suddenly said.

He stared at her anticipatingly.

" The night of Eid.
When you took to flying lights in the sky with me and my child, forgetting it wasn't your festival, precisely, it was the festival of a community you claimed to hate.

I realised, I had fallen for the man who lead a life of dilemmas, but who, for me, could jovially break boundaries without a second thought."

Jai stared unblinkingly..

Until, Humaira climbed up to his shoulder, and began eating his ear.

____

Maya speeded down the stairs looking at her watch.

Jai wasn't home yet. And hadn't been answering calls throughout the night. She was disturbed.

Had she tested him a bit too much?
Where was he?
Her heart skipped beats.

She walked straight outside the house towards the gate. The single security guard was watching something intently on his phone. He shot up from his seat with Maya approaching.

" Did you see Jai returning? " , Maya scrowched her brows.

" Yess madam zi! He came home at around 3:30, and went out again....with...Sonara madam zi and baby. " , he began scratching his head.

Maya's lips gaped a bit, in amazement. Then a smile crept on her face.

She searched the pockets of her shredded jeans and pulled out a two hundred rupee note.

" Take this. As a reward of being a good guard and staying awake at 3:30 am. When does your shift end? "

The old guard smiled wide. " In an hour madam zi. "

Maya nodded and returned back.

So, Jai finally did the much needed job of talking to Sonara.
She heaved a sigh of relief.

Which meant, they were together now as well, sorting things out, maybe newly realising things as well.

But something worried Maya to the core. And that was....

Her chain of thoughts broke to pieces when her eyes caught a huge bouquet.... of lavender...placed neatly on the center table, in the living area.

She halted with a jerk.
Her heart paced.
Her breath fastened.

" Nandini..... " , she shouted.

From nowhere, Nandini appeared.

" What's this? " , Maya asked, frowning.

" I don't know ma'am. Arrived in the morning, before you woke up. I placed it here.

By the way, Happy Birthday ma'am! "

Maya tried hard to brush aside the frown, and smiled.

She herself had almost forgotten her birthday. She woke up to a message from Dad, a voice message from Mom (which had brought her to worry),  and several messages from her colleagues, and the fewest possible friends she had. She wondered, when she remembered no one's birthday, how come they remembered hers and even cared to wish.

Maya slowly walked towards the bouquet.

" Thank you Nandini. You may leave. "

Nandini walked away. Maya picked up the bunch of flowers. And inhaled deeply. Her brains weren't coordinating.

Who on earth knew that she loved only lavenders amongst flowers?

No one alive, did.

Because she herself didn't know her choice till she was in college. In contact of a particular man.

Maya's fingers began shaking.
She frantically searched for a card, but didn't find any tagged with the flowers.

No one on earth knew her choice of flowers. Except for one person.

A terrible force shook her from within, because the phone began ringing vehemently, and the bouquet left her grip, crashing on the ground.

She picked the bouquet immediately, and let the call go unanswered.
She was not in a state of mind to.

She let her weight pull her down on the sofa, as she stared at the bouquet.
Designed perfectly, according to her choice. With three leaves of bougainvillea within the lavenders. She couldn't breathe anymore.

Who on earth decided to play this pathetic joke with her, after all these while? 

As much as she tried to hate the fake sender, her heart grew heavier. And heavier.

She choked. She suffocated.

No one should have played with her emotions, this badly. No one.

She walked upto the kitchen. And returned with a matchbox.

Within seconds, the anonymous bouquet was burning into ashes.

Maya murmured,
He was gone.
She couldn't hold him back.
And whoever tried to revive the guilt in her, had no right to do that.
Because it was not her fault, that she was The Raichand's Daughter.
It was not her fault that she had loved him like hell.

It was not her fault that she was locked up in her own room, when he was taking his last breath.

Maya pressed her ears. Shut her eyes.

And screamed.

" Take this shit of ash away from my eyes, now. I said, NOWWW!!!! "

____

Sonara ducked her head out of the window. Jai was on phone, and Humaira was growingly impatient.
The digital clock on the dashboard showed 8:45. The baby normally ate at nine after waking up.

But today since she was up early, she was now hungry.
She could not eat in restaurants, hence Jai decided to head back home.
Also, it was Maya's birthday, he informed.

Jai had finished the call. He got up the car, his jawline stiffened.

Sonara watched him carefully.

" Anything wrong? "

Jai looked at her. And said,

" I hope not.

Mom is returning tonight. Alone.
She called before boarding the flight. "

Sonara smiled.

But deep inside she curled up.

Siddhi Raichand was not going to be any good news, specially her intervention this early in their relationship.
She could have been, if she trusted Jai's abilities a bit more, and if....she was a bit less pious a wife.

Sonara looked outside the window.

Whatever will be, will be.

She never held high hopes with life, she didn't, this time as well.

She clutched Humaira tightly in her arms, her only permanent belonging.

____

Happy Holi!