Hello ArHians. This is my first official piece of writing for IPKKND.
I think Khushi not eating to punish herself had so much potential, so here is my take on it.

Punishment

"Adhrak ki chai," He heard her murmur softly.

His fists balled in anger. What was she trying to prove? First with her extra-loving wife act yesterday and tirade of 'Swami', and now with this caring and concerned wife act of staying up all night just to look after him.

What was the need to tell Di that she had stayed up all night to look after him? Was this another attempt to make herself look good in front of the family? Just like she had done after the fancy dress competition. She had nobly refused to take the award and refused to divulge the reason to make herself look mahaan, look like the perfect bahu in front of the family.

But he wouldn't let her fool him.

"Rakh do, aur jaao."

Khushi silently placed a tray laden with a steaming cup of tea and a plate full of his special sugar-free tea biscuits on the table in front of him. She turned to look at him. "Aapki tabiyat ab kaisi hai? Aapko aur kuch chahiye?"

He clenched his jaw in irritation. "Go, Khushi!"

Hurt flashed in those eyes.

She turned, head lowered, and made her way into their bedroom, where he could hear her babbling to Laxmi.

*~+~*

Arnav was glad she hadn't shown up to the AR offices today and attempt to feed him lunch again.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't recall seeing her at the breakfast table either. When he had arrived, everyone was present, save for his wife. He had refused to ask about her, and no one chose to divulge any information otherwise.

At least she had dropped her extra-loving devoted wife act. If he heard her call him 'Swami' one more time, he would blow a fuse. And that usually doesn't end well for people in his direct vicinity.

Arnav was just in the process of ordering in some Chinese take-out, when Shukla himself knocked on the door. He placed two of Khushi's signature tiffin boxes on his desk. "Sir, this is your lunch, and some sugar-free sooji halwa, especially for you."

The man was almost at the stairs when Arnav called out to him. "Where's Khushi?"

Shukla smiled pleasantly. "Bhabhiji has already left. She said she had some work at home and left right after she finished cooking. But she told me to deliver the halwa to you myself." His smile turned into a frown as the man left his cabin muttering to himself; something about 'Her' looking off today.

Arnav rolled his eyes. Khushi was crazy and she made people around her as crazy as herself. Shukla worked with her for all off 2 weeks and he had already started to mutter to himself.

*~+~*

Sometime after lunch, an unexplained restlessness grew within him. He didn't know what to do with himself.

He twirled his phone around, contemplating this emotion, and decided that he was probably worried about Di. He certainly wasn't worried about her. He speed dialled his sister, who answered after a few rings.

"Di, how are you?"

"Chote?" Her voice was puzzled. "I'm fine. Why?"

He sighed. The restlessness remained. "Just because Di. Tell me, did you take your vitamin pills?"

Before his sister could reply he heard her voice on the other side. "I'm heading upstairs."

"Khushiji..." His sister's voice held a warning.

"Di, please." Her voice was quiet, pleading.

Di must have relented because he heard no more of the conversation. Instead Di answered his question. "Yes, Chote, I had all my medication and I'm also taking plenty of rest. Did you eat lunch?"

Arnav soon hung up the phone. His restlessness had grown tenfold.

*~+~*

Arnav entered Santivan, on time for once, just as his family was settling down for dinner. Everyone looked surprised to see him home at a decent time. His sister's smile was the brightest.

"Arnav Bitwa, go freshen up and join us for dinner."

He looked around and saw everyone at the table, even Jijaji, but not her. "Di, Khushi kahan hai?"

Di exchanged glances with Nani and Payal and avoided meeting his gaze. "Di?"

She sighed. "Chote, Khushiji has refused to eat anything today.

"What the...?" This girl was ridiculous. "Why?"

"We don't know Chote. She begged us to not ask the reason but has absolutely refused to say anything. She'll become sick like this. She didn't even sleep last night. And she never tells me anything. She fell asleep in the kitchen while she was standing! But she refused to take a nap saying she had things to do. She hasn't eaten and she said she won't have dinner either. But she still did all the housework, and she..."

Nani put a hand on top of Di's to stop her rant. "Chote, Khushi bitiya is feeling guilty about yesterday. Only you can talk her out of this."

Arnav nodded. "Hari Prakash, send up our dinner." He didn't wait for a reply, just headed up the stairs to sort out his wife.

*~+~*

The first thing he noticed was that the wind chime hanging outside his bedroom door was gone.

He entered the room and noticed that the life-size half-naked Salman Khan poster was gone. The bed was restored to its previous glory, with crisp monochromatic sheets. Gone was the stark white sheet on his side and the flowery pink sheet on hers. The walls had been rid of the fairy lights she had put up around the photo frame of her family.

There was a box open at the base of the bed that held the wind chime as well as a tangled string of fairy lights, along with other miscellaneous items.

The closet door was open and instead of taking up hanging space, her suits and saris were folded neatly and stacked on an unused shelf in the closet. Some of her clothes that didn't fit on the tiny shelf were packed into a cloth bag sitting in front of the closet.

Khushi herself was standing on the bed, one-by-one, pulling down the stars suspended from the ceiling.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Khushi jumped and turned around in fright. She looked distressed to see him. "Aap aa gaye?" She peeked up at the clock. "Itni jaldi?"

Arnav raised a single questioning eyebrow in response. Khushi's cheeks coloured slightly. "I didn't mean... what I mean was... aap itni jaldi kaise aa gaye?"

"Would you like me to leave and come back later?" He asked rhetorically.

"Nahi..." she trailed off and started to mutter to herself, "Khushi, yeh tu kya bole jaa rahi hai? Aur iss Laad Governor to bhi abi tapakna tha? Humara kaam bhi abi kaham nahi hua."

"Khushi, what are you doing?" His voice was more demanding, he confusing behaviour irritating him.

"I'm making your room just the way it was before." She turned around and continued to pull down the stars.

He stormed over to her, his anger rising. Was this another fake show of concern? Another show of care? Or another version of her extra-loving 'Swami' behaviour. He yanked her arm and made her face him. "Never turn away from me if I'm not finished talking. How many times must I tell you?"

Khushi lowered her head and fiddled nervously with the star in her hand. He snatched it from her hand and tossed it into the box holding the other items. She looked at him, surprised.

"Get off the bed." She complied, now standing in front of him. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I put up all these things as I knew they would bother you."

"So why are you removing them now?"

"Because..." she looked around the room, anywhere but him. She peeked at and met his eyes for a brief moment before looking away again. "Because I went too far in bothering you yesterday and I'm sorry. I know being dutiful would annoy you, but Arnavji I didn't mean for you to get sick. But I won't annoy you anymore. I'm removing everything that irritates you. You can go for showers before me, and you can have your bed back, and for the next 4 months, it will be like I'm not even here."

She was smiling at him sadly, waiting for his reaction. But he, for the first time noticed that she looked fatigued. The dark circles under her eyes troubling him. The glow of her iridescent face, diminished.

"Khushi, why haven't you eaten today?"

The surprise that flashed in her eyes clearly told him that she hadn't intended for him to find out. "This is my punishment."

He sighed, exasperated. "Punishment for what?"

"You didn't eat all day yesterday because of me, and it made you sick. So I'm not eating anything today."

She really was judge, jury, and executioner. She made judgements as she saw fit, acted on them, and then later, in regret, punished herself. He had seen this previously when she had mixed that mysterious powder into his juice for allegedly doing black magic on her. She had also drunk that terrible cough inducing juice to punish herself. Punishment fits the crime.

"I got sick because I forgot to take my medication. I was distracted all day and I forgot my pills." It was true. It wasn't entirely her fault, though it had been the 'Swami' act that had troubled him all day long.

"Hey Devi Maiyya!" She wailed. "You were distracted because of me. It is all my fault." She started pacing, muttering to herself. He rolled his eyes. Drama queen.

Hari Prakash knocked on the door, silently placed a tray of food on the bed, and left.

Arnav held his wife by the shoulders, made her sit on the bed, sat in front of her, and pulled the tray of food closer. "Khushi, have some dinner."

She shook her head vigorously. "No Arnavji."

She made to get up, but He gripped her arms, holding her in place, warning her with his eyes. He broke off a small bit of the roti and held it to her lips "Khushi, eat."

She looked at him for a moment, surprised, but turned her head away "Nahi Arnavji."

He was getting annoyed, and fast. He hated insubordination. He loved obedience. "Eat!" He demanded.

"No!" Her reply was just as forceful.

"Khushi, both you and I are going to sit here until you have eaten."

His wife crossed her arms like a petulant 5-year-old and turned her head away once again. Arnav knew she could be stubborn, as stubborn as him and she wouldn't relent so easily. He decided to change tactics.

"Fine. I won't eat until you eat."

Khushi's face immediately clouded over with worry. She slid a little closer to him. "Arnavji, you haven't eaten dinner yet? You know you shouldn't skip meals. It's not good for you. Especially since you were so unwell last night." She felt his forehead to check his temperature, and then held a spoon full of dal to his lips, insisting that he open his mouth.

He gripped her wrist and pulled the spoon away from his lips. "I will have dinner only if you will, or else I will go to sleep hungry."

Khushi didn't give it a second thought. She raised his hand that still held the bit of roti and fed it to herself before moving the spoon of dal towards his mouth once again, imploring him with her eyes to open up.

One thing Arnav had noticed that worry for him seemed to take precedence over everything else for Khushi. She may be a gold-digging home-wrecker, but her worry for him was far from fake. She would do everything, drop anything to do something as simple as soothe an ache.

It made him question his judgement of her time-and-time again.

He allowed her to feed him the dal. Then himself fed her some rice.

This way both fed each other dinner, bite by bite until all the food was gone.

*~+~*

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Well, what did you think?

Yuks




-Yuks-2012-08-17 18:35:37