Footprints on Sand

Two: Tumbling Again

He had woken up and not found her next to him, but something inside him urged him to look for her. To find her. His mind was apprehensive of her, of her existence in his life, of her acceptance in this family, of her being the mother of his child. He got up and without washing off his face, nor trying to make himself at least a bit presentable, he decided to look for her. He was about to step out of the room before he noticed the jewelry tray on the vanity table. Had he missed it, what he was seeing now?

A box of sindoor was placed next to the tray but it was the contents of the tray which frazzled him. Her bangles, the one she was wearing yesterday were placed in a small line but next to it were his Maa's kangans. It dawned upon him that every time his mind raced back to Lucknow since yesterday, it had been her who clouded his thoughts. There were other memories he was able to recall, where her falling into his arms made its way back but it frustrated him that he couldn't pinpoint the days and moments where he had been provoked to remember her, specifically that instance.

"Khushi." he took her name, letting himself revel in the softness of the syllables in her name. He wondered what was her full name, whether she's adjoined his name next to hers or not. Frustration bubbled up inside him again and he left the room, without touching the kangans.

He paced the hallways, the foyers, the pools adjoining the remaining parts of the house, before walking into the kitchen. The woman, the girl from yesterday she was the only person present. Payal looked up distractedly thinking it had been Akash who had come down for breakfast but it was someone else.

"ji?"

"woh—"

"Are you looking for somone?" she asked. A part of her was sure he was looking for Khushi but she didn't want to reach any conclusions. This wasn't the man who had helped Khushi in faking his brother's suicide. It was the person who had kept her locked in a room at a venue for accidentally trespassing. This man had aired the footage of Khushi falling onto his arms to every local channel in Lucknow.

"Yeah, woh larki–" he stopped in between seeing the girl smile ever so slightly at the few words he had gathered the energy for, which infuriated him. As much as she could've known him, he barely knew her and the casual nature of her response was annoying. He was thankful for Akash to join him in that precise moment. Pushing away the cloud of hesitancy, he continued, "Where is everyone? I haven't seen Di or Nani here."

Akash looked at him curiously before turning towards his wife and then turning towards Arnav again. "Bhai, if you need anything I can help you with it. I am sure everyone is just getting ready for the day."

"No, woh—"

"Di just left to go to mandir. She has arranged pooja for you for this evening, so I think she's just preparing for that. Dadi ji, Papa, and Maa ji must be getting ready before breakfast." she cleared up while taking the toasted bread out from the toaster and placing it on an empty plate. She looked up again at him. He appeared at loss for the words he wanted to use. "And Khushi is on her way back probably now. She went to drop Aarav at school. I told her to let him take a day off but she refused to listen."

"It's hard to make Khushi ji listen to anyone usually," Akash spoke with a light chuckle, walking over around the counter and leaned against it while trying to eat the fruits Payal had started cutting up. He observed the comfort amongst the two as she slapped his hand and indicated for him to stop eating the food she was preparing.

"Why isn't Jai Prakash or Hari Prakash preparing the breakfast?" he questioned breaking up the world that his brother seemed to slip into despite his presence. Akash looked up at him again before vehemently agreeing. "I say the same thing Bhai! What's the use of all this money if we have to do everything ourselves!"