Serendipity-Epilogue-By Diyaa

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Epilogue

Aishani looked back at her own reflection and found it hard to recognize the woman staring back at her. It was the day of the opening of Om’s gallery. The event started at eleven a.m. Although it was an all day affair, a special viewing and luncheon had been organised for the media and for some valued patrons who had donated heavily to the noble cause. Aishani’s attire was a gift from Om and he had insisted that she wear it to the event. She brushed her open hair one more time and walked out of her room.

Shikhar was waiting for her in the living room.

” Let’s go bhaiya.” Aishani said walking toward the main entrance.

“Yeah…” Shikhar said getting up and then stood looking stunned at his baby sister.

“You look amazing Aashi! Om gave you that?”

Aashi blushed. “Yes, he insisted that I wear this today.”

“It’s a beautiful outfit and you look…beautiful! Very much the fiancee of Omkaara Singh Oberoi.” Shikhar smiled swiping at his eyes that were a little damp.

Aashi’s own eyes became blurry. The very thought of leaving her brother alone, made her heart ache. But this was the way of this world and this is exactly what Shikhar’s dream had been since the day he had bumped into Om at Shivaay’s reception. Aashi walked up to her brother, held his hand firmly, and together they left for the big event.

Om was pacing back and forth at his gallery. “It’s ten thirty. Hope everyone will be here soon.”

“Relax Om. The artists are all here. The rest of the family will be here by eleven. We have invited the press to be here at twelve so there will be a good crowd by the time they arrive.” Shivaay tried to calm him down.

“I know.” Om said relaxing a little as he walked over to a large pedestal in the center of the main room. It was the seat of Om’s contribution to the first art show at his gallery. The medium sized sculpture was covered with a light blue satin cloth and had been seen only by Shivaay and Rudra, both of whom had been thoroughly in awe of it.

Standing next to his prized possession, Om turned to look at the beautiful guilded railing of the half upper floor and the sweeping, curved, maroon carpeted staircase that came down from there. “Aashi did a fabulous job with this place. Right Shivaay?”

“Two hundred percent.” Shivaay said looking around. “That’s one amazing woman you’ve got yourself Om. Both of you are very lucky to have found each other. You know, each one of you is the missing piece of the puzzle of the other one’s life.”

“Whoa! Shivaay, you are going poetic and philosophical on me! My influence or Anika’s?” Om asked surprised.

” Rudra’s. You know, the wisest one!” Both turned around to find Rudra arrive with Priyanka and Soumya.

“Yeah right!!” Soumya said rolling her eyes.

Om went and hugged her. I am so thankful to Aai for ensuring that I have both my sisters with me for this important occasion.

“She was sad that she missed your super jiffy engagement.” Soumya said. “She wanted to make up for it by coming for this event. She’ll be here with Dadi and others. I cannot contain my excitement to meet Aashi di.”

“Me neither.” Om said smiling.

“Who knew!? That Our O will turn out to be the biggest Ishqbaaz of all. I mean, you cannot tease this guy. He openly admits his love and impatience!” Rudra said shaking his head.

Om laughed.” What do I do then? I love her and can’t wait to see her. And by the way, the saga isn’t over as yet. Let’s wait a few years for you to grow up. Who knows, you might land up being the biggest Ishqbaaz of the three of us!” Om winked at Rudra who looked taken aback while Soumya turned a deep shade of pink.

Having given their car for valet parking, Shikhar and Aashi walked towards the entrance of the gallery. Aashi looked up proudly at the facade. It had a simple, elegant design with shining calligraphic letters boldly stating the name of the gallery, “Expression Unfettered”. “You did an amazing job with the front design bhaiya. It is so commanding. And that name. Om did a great job with that, didn’t he?”

“Yes he did! That’s one helluva name and you got yourself one amazing man Aashi!” Shikhar said feeling incredibly happy.

Om looked frequently towards the entrance as he chatted with Shivaay and Rudra. One such glance had his eyes completely transfixed. With baited breath, he watched Aashi walk in with Shikhar. Om’s eyes swept from the top of her form to the bottom of it. She looked exactly as he had imagined she would in the soft red saari with intricate brocade work on the borders. Her emerald green, short sleeved blouse had the same brocade work on its arm. She wore a bejeweled green bangle on her right wrist while the left one was left bare. Her left hand did not need any adornment other than the diamond that shone on her ring finger and that Om had slid there in front of his entire family and a few close friends, about a week ago.

He went forward and hugged Shikhar. Then he hugged Aashi and kissed her softly on her right cheek. She looked around slightly conscious.

“Don’t worry!” Om said putting his arm around her waist as they walked towards where Shivaay, Rudra, Soumya, and Priyanka stood . “We are allowed now and in a month we will have the ultimate license.”

Priyanka beamed at the sight of Shikhar who came and met everyone. “Hi Priyanka.” Shikhar said smiling at her. “All set to start your new journey?”

“Yes. All set to explore new possibilities and adventures.”

“Me too.” Shikhar said quietly with a twinkle in his eyes. Then he saw the confused expression on Priyanka’s face and chuckled.

The entire family was there by eleven. The artists were introduced to the guests as they arrived. By twelve, the media was present in its entirety. Om walked to Aashi and took her right hand in his. Then he walked her over to the pedestal in the center of the room. “Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for coming. This gallery was my long standing dream. It has finally come true due to the support of my family especially my brothers and my sister, and the expertise and hard work of my friend and brother-in-law Shikhar and most of all my fiancee and soon to be wife, the interior designer of this gallery, Aishani. So I would like her to unveil my first contribution to “Expression Unfettered.”

Aashi looked at Om in a daze. She had no idea he had planned this. All the attention made her feel very self-conscious and completely unaware of just how stunning she looked standing there, next to Om. With shivering hands she pulled down the satin cloth revealing the sculpture underneath. The idol was a breathtaking and unconventional interpretation of Goddess Durga, her face resplendent with intense strength and ferocity. She was dressed in a soft red saari and an emerald green blouse, both with brocade borders. The bottom of the statue was a low pedestal that stated it’s title, “Aishani”.

Aashi looked at the sculpture with her mouth open and eyes fluid. The idol had an uncanny resemblance to her. “I haven’t seen any sculpture of Godess Durga here. I find her idols very empowering.” She recalled her own words that she had said to Om in his studio a few months ago. For the first time she had full realization of just how much he loved her.

There were several flashes of camera taking their picture with the idol. “Mr. Oberoi, will you put this sculpture for sale?” someone asked.

“No.” Om said.” This is personal and private. Not for sale.”

About a month later, Om stood on one side of the sprawling lawns of Oberoi Mansion. It was his and Aashi’s reception and he looked exhausted. Next to him stood his brand new wife looking good enough to eat, in her powder pink lehenga and boat neck blouse, both lightly showered with Swarovski crystals. A light pink net dupatta was draped on her right shoulder. A thin string of Swarovski crystals hung from each of her earlobe and reached the middle of her neck. A mangalsutra rested securely next to her heart and a diamond ring on her left hand shone with pride. She wore the traditional wedding bangles on her wrists. Her long smooth hair was braided loosely on the left side and hung lazily, with shining studs at regular intervals, it’s end brushing the top of her narrowly bare waist. As Om looked at his breathtaking wife, he found it a torture to not unbraided her hair and let his hands run through her open locks. Unaware of Om’s condition, Aashi talked and smiled as guests came to meet her. In between guests she was given company by Anika, Soumya, and Priyanka who stuck by her side knowing that the crowd was making her head swim.

Shivaay and Rudra, who had just finished mingling with a few guests, walked up to Om.

“God Shivaay! When will this reception party end!? These people saw us at the wedding. Why again? What a torture!” Om said in complete frustration.

Shivaay looked at Om triumphantly. ” You look exhausted Om. Go to your room and rest.”

Om looked relieved. “Thanks Shivaay. You are the best. I’ll call Aashi.”

“Why Aashi?” Shivaay said with a monstrous smile. ” She looks absolutely fine. You go on. Rudra, take Om to his room. Om, don’t worry, I will tell Aashi that you have gone to your room and will make sure she is fine.”

Om looked surprised at Shivaay for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. “Well played bro. Well played. A few more years and we will team up against this guy.” he said pointing at Rudra who looked very flustered.

“You keep your petty little games to yourself.” Rudra said loftily while the other two grinned at him.

Later that night, Anika changed and got in bed next to Shivaay. ” What a wonderful day Shivaay. Om is so happy! Aashi is finally with us forever. Things are getting better for our family. What next?”

” O James Bond ki naani! Why do you need to be on some mission constantly? Just enjoy the loving company of your husband. ”

“Yeah yeah! But seriously, now Rudra and Prinku. In a couple of years, once they have realized their professional dreams maybe…”

“Your professional dream will soon be realized. What will you do then for a couple of years? If you can’t think of anything I have something in mind.”

“Oh great! What?” Anika said happily like a child expecting an announcement about a trip to Disneyland.

Shivaay held her close and kissed her briefly. “You remember I once mentioned the deadly product your intelligence and my good looks or vice-versa, will make? How about we get set and go on that mission.”

Anika thought for a few moments. “OK. Let the Mission Deadly-Product begin.” she said as she held his face between her hands and kissed him, driving all other thoughts away from his mind.

In her room, Aashi stood in front of the mirror, removing the shiny studs from her hair while she gazed at herself, still soaking in the fact that she was standing here in this room that she called her own, and its first occupant as her own as well. That’s how Om found her when he was back after changing for the night. Finding her in a trance, he crept behind her and held her softly around her waist. “Finally!”, he said as he pulled off the band holding her hair together and let it loose. He turned her around to face him and ran his fingers through her open hair. “I love you Aashi.” he said softly. As he looked at her impassioned face and closed eyes, an intense wave of need slammed into him. He carefully removed her dupatta and lay it on the chair nearby. Then he picked her up and carried her away to lose themselves completely in the ocean of absolute bliss.

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Thanks for reading Everyone. I hope you will like this epilogue. I included as much of Rumya and Priyanka-Shikhar as possible in it. Anymore would have been odd considering the current status of their lives.

This is not a prologue to the next sequel which I have tentatively decided to call…Any guesses…OK…I have decided to call it “Expression Unfettered” , the idea being that all of our couples would be able to express their feelings openly by the end of it. I will write a separate prologue for it or start with chapter one straightaway…not sure yet. But first I have to let the ideas percolate in my head and get ready for sipping 🙂

Thanks for supporting me through and through and bringing me to this point. I have been missing some of my regular commentators. I hope you are well and good and just busy with exams and all.

Lastly, I have started posting a thought for the day on my wall. Whatever nonsense is bothering my mind or “blissing” my mind on a day. Read it if you can and let me know your thoughts if possible. Thanks for bearing with my hodge-podge brain. Please comment if you can ?