Chapter 15: chapter 15

Sandhya woke up anxiously and looked at the bed with eyes full of hope but she couldn’t find Surya. She felt unbearable pain for a while and out of no other choice, she got up to bathe. She didn’t even notice the letter that Surya put beside her. Sandhya was shivering due to the coldness but it was Meenakshi’s order. She somehow finished her bath and there were four heavy sarees on the table. It was placed by Meenakshi the previous night. Sandhya couldn’t bear the pain and tears started rolling in her eyes. She draped a saree around her even though she didn’t want to. She decorated herself with the ornaments. The heavy bangles on her hand were scratching her skin and it was slightly bleeding on her hand. The necklaces were paining her immensely and the other ornaments were troubling her. Despite everything, Sandhya remained silent and sat for the pooja. There was no one left except for Sombabu and he said, “Madam had gone to the village because she has to take care of some urgent work and she told you not to halt the pooja at any cost.”Sandhya was irritated but gained strength and finished the pooja. Sombabu was observing her. Sandhya was shivering and then it was almost 10 by the time she finished the pooja and came out. She sat on the lawn by the garden and she felt relieved as the Sun's rays caressed her skin. She felt alive because of the warmth.Surya was driving the car but his heart was in chaos. Meenakshi woke up,  it was almost five. Surya doubted, “Mother, what’s the need to go to the village suddenly?”. She fumbled for a while and said, “There is a property dispute and a panchayat is going on. And we are the only ones who can support Venkatesh. He isn’t aware of the dispute completely and I want to solve the problem. That’s the reason it might take four or five days for the issue to be solved. That’s the reason I troubled you late at night.” Surya remained silent and didn’t want to question his mother.They reached the village and people over there arranged a guest house for them. The villagers welcomed them and Surya was frustrated because of the night journey. He straight away showered, had breakfast, and went to rest for a while. Meenakshi was relieved and got to know about the problem in the village. She was happy that Surya could not meet Sandhya till she finished the five day ritual.Surya called Ravi when it was almost 12 and he said, “Hey Ravi, I forgot to inform you. I, along with my mother, came to Venkatesh's uncle’s village to solve a property dispute. I will be back in four days and take care of the office work. Okay?”“Surya? What was this sudden move? Did you even talk to Sandhya? Did you even meet her? What happened, Surya?”“I wanted to talk to Sandhya the previous night but my hopes were burnt to ashes. She was sleeping and I wanted to talk to her in the morning. In the meantime, Mom forced me to take her to the village. I had no other choice so I joined her. Anyway, everything is going to be fine because I wrote a letter explaining all my feelings to Sandhya. She might be calling me anytime. You don’t worry, okay?” he said and disconnected the call.Ravi was lost in thoughts, “Why would she take Surya to the village all of a sudden?” Sombabu was cleaning Sandhya’s room and put the letter on the table and weighed it with a flower vase on it. He exited the room. After a while, Sandhya did meditation by chanting the name of the Goddess Chowdeshwari. She was all alone in the room till evening. Shashikala had gone shopping for her friend’s daughter's engagement. Venkatesh had also gone to Chennai because of office work. No one was aware of Sandhya’s situation.Surya was frustrated on the other hand, “Sandhya, do you know how long I have been waiting for you? Are you still angry with me even after you read the letter? It’s been almost 3 days since we talked. Call me Sandhya, please! I am waiting for you”. He wanted to call her but he didn’t dare to do it, “I wrote a letter to her and she didn’t reply to me yet. I’m not sure of her reaction if I call her. Let me be patient for another two days, talk to her directly, and promise her that I won’t repeat this mistake.”It was the fourth day and Sandhya turned very weak. She couldn’t even walk steadily. Sombabu was warning her from time to time, “My dear, Please don’t do this anymore. You are draining yourself. Madam is also not here and I will not spill the beans. Please, dear, end this tragedy for yourself. Please listen to me.”“No, uncle. Tomorrow is the last day and if I finish it successfully, Surya’s life will be out of danger. I will do whatever it takes to save Surya’s life.”Surya was taking care of the village dispute even though he wasn’t merely interested in it. The problem was sorted by the people in the panchayat and the papers were signed accordingly.Meenakshi said, “Surya, we can start home the next afternoon.” Surya was relieved. Ravi called him and he picked up the call in joy and said, “Ravi, we are starting home by tomorrow afternoon.”“Thank god! By the way, did you talk to Sandhya?”“No dude, she seems to be furious with me. I will go home and talk to her by myself. Why don’t you try and talk to her? No, no, that’s not a good idea.”“But I can’t believe that Sandhya isn’t calling you all these days. Why don’t you call her for once?”“No dude, she is not even going to the garden because it is freezing over there. She must be fine. Don’t worry! I will be there by tomorrow evening. Bye!”Ravi disconnected the call with further ado but his thoughts were going all over the place, “I hope everything is fine,” he thought and exhaled a heavy breath.Surya disconnected the call and was about to put the phone in his pocket but it slipped from his hands, fell on the ground, and broke into pieces. He tried to repair it but his efforts went in vain, “Oh god! What is this? Anyway, I don’t have work with the phone. I talked to Ravi too. I will be home by tomorrow evening” strengthened himself and went to sleep. At almost 11 at night, Sandhya felt uneasy and puked in the bathroom. He freshened herself, relaxed on the floor. A heavy breeze struck the room through the window and the flower vase on the table fell to the ground. She cleaned the glass pieces and noticed a letter among the other papers. Her eyes found Surya's letter.She hurriedly opened the letter and it read,“Sandhya, it’s me, Surya!You look at me with so much admiration.But I made a mistake, you have been waiting for me all these days and I respect you. Please forgive my mistake. I feel guilty. I wanted to apologize to you but I couldn't because of that idiot Ravi. I had hectic work at an important meeting which was composed of a heavy budget. The project was a success at last but I wasn’t happy because I couldn’t share the joy with you.By the time I reached home, you were in deep sleep. You looked so tired. Have you not eaten because of me? Why did you sleep on the floor? Please don’t be angry with me. I’m sorry that I misbehaved with you and I promise it won’t happen again.I wanted to talk to you early in the morning but mother forced me to accompany her to our village as there was a property dispute going on. It might take me another four or five days to come home and that’s the reason I’m writing this letter. I hope you will call me as soon as you see this letter. I will be waiting for your call. I miss you, Sandhya!I’m extremely sorry!Your Surya!” Million rays of hope sprouted in her heart, “Surya didn’t leave me all alone. He wanted to talk to me vehemently but the situation didn’t quite allow him.”She wanted to talk to him and dialed his phone but it ended in disappointment, “Oh no! What’s happening? Why is his phone not reachable? Ugh! Do I have to wait for another day? Anyway, he will be coming tomorrow and we can be normal again,” she thought and fell asleep on the floor