Devi Maiyya Madad. Devi Maiyya Madad'
As the plane descended into JFKs International Airport, Khushi's nervous chanting grew louder... the color draining from her face and her nails ripping through the material of her armrest. The woman sitting next to her pat her shoulder reassuringly, comforting her that the aircraft was safe and the expanding bubbles in her ears were completely normal. Arnav had asked to exchange her first class seat for a ticket in economy class, conveniently sparing himself from the embarrassment of being seen with an uneducated woman dressed in a middle class cotton salwar. Khushi had not argued with him, though she was desperately afraid, anxious that he would take out his anger by abandoning her on the streets of a foreign country.
He had done it before. He could easily do it again.
As the plane came to a stop, and passengers began moving about to remove their luggage, Khushi froze, nervous about what to do and where to go. She hurridely tried to undo the seat buckle, but could not understand how to open the clasp, the kind woman who had been sitting next to her already moving down the aisle to exit the aircraft. As the plane began to empty, the elderly and pregnant stragglers exiting, Khushi began to tear up... nervous the plane would depart and take her to another country where she would go missing forever.
'May I help you, miss?' The deep voice interrupted her thoughts, and Khushi desperately nodded her head, lifting the seat buckle and indicating that it wouldn't open. The steward observed her intently and chuckled eerily, instantly sending Khushi warning signals that something was wrong. As he reached for the clasp, she felt his hand linger on the exposed skin at the cut of her kurta, moving downwards with calculated persistence. He looked into her eyes with a crude smirk, and as soon as Khushi heard the clasp of the belt being undone, she staggered out of her seat and fell into the aisle, tumbling backwards as the steward stepped forward to hold her. Gaining an unsteady balance on her feet, she sprawled her hands across his chest and pushed him back with all the force she could muster, trembling when his sneer refused to diminish.
'KHUSHI!'
She nearly collapsed in relief as she heard the familiar voice behind her, spitting venom in disgust. Khushi had never known that voice could bring such comfort and alleviation... could actually stop the stubborn tremors of angst and fear. She turned to see Arnav standing at the exit of the plane, his stance rigid and his expression unforgiving. She didn't care. Scurrying to hide behind him, Khushi thanked devi maiyya profusely, oblivious to her husband's embarrassed apology for the uneducated maid's misbehavior. Arnav pushed a few notes into the steward's hand, unaware of the man's ludicrous stares and Khushi's respective agitation, grabbing her hand to fiercely drag her out of the aircraft.
Ar--Arnav Ji. Woh---woh aadmi hum---humare saath"
"SHUT UP KHUSHI. JUST SHUT UP. Stop dreaming that every man is out there to get you. You're not a catch, all right? So kindly shut the f**k up"
She could not say she was surprised by his reaction. She had grown accustomed to not being trusted. So Khushi followed him like a silent shadow, wrapping the sweater tighter around her body as she studied the delicate pattern of stars on her jootis -- not once observing the myriad of lights and sounds that sped outside her taxi window.
Life was temporary. So was happiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Khushi lifted the heavy comforter over her head , she tried to silent the noises that refused to cease outside her window -- the horns and the laughter, music and dance, melodies of life. Arnav had booked her a separate room immediately upon reaching their hotel, claiming that she was a maid and his wife was waiting for him in the lobby. She didn't complain. But as the foreign sounds blared from the lively streets, she could not help but bite her lips in anxiety, wishing she was secured back at her poolside. She missed the sound of the gentle waves lulling her to a deep slumber.
At the thoughts of the calm water and chocolate eyes, she succumbed to her exhaustion and fell asleep at last.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arnav had been mortified the minute he walked through the honeymoon suite door. Rose petals were strewn on the bed alongside the 'Do Not Disturb' place card. A glass of milk perched on the dresser. Champagne and strawberries lay aside a hot tub peculiarly large enough for two. The room smelt strongly of lavender and jasmine and was lit only by scattered candles. He nearly cursed when he opened the bed stand to a collection of condoms and a list of charges for the po*nographic films available through the hotel.
His sister was out of her mind. He could only imagine the confusion of the American staff at her filmy Bollywood demands. Rose petals and milk? He buried his head into his palms, thanking god for deciding against sharing the room with Khushi. Arnav had been uncertain, with her strange behavior at the airport, but had convinced himself he was being unnecessarily dramatic. He had done the right thing.
Having never shared the intimate relationship between a husband and wife, Arnav could not even think to imagine the tension of sharing the suggestive environment that was this hotel room. Everything screamed passion and sex--- nights of love and togetherness.
His eyes skimmed the movie list in his drawer. Chuckling softly, he imagined Khushi's supposed reactions to those titles. She would surely think 'Big Black B****' was about rotting chicken bones. And as he tossed the condoms into the waste basket, he couldn't help but think she would assume them to be strawberry flavored balloons.
The smirk spread coyly across his face. His wife surely was something else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
comment:
p_commentcount