The Caged Bird – Chapter 6

Virat was seated on the stage, lost in his own world, his eyes looking towards the main entrance every few minutes. He had sent her an invitation through post, he couldn’t face her, he couldn’t answer her questions, he knew she wouldn’t come, yet, he hoped for her to come. They never had a fight in the 10 years of their relationship, and today he broke her heart into pieces. He was sunken in guilt… guilt of a crime he didn’t even commit, but he wanted to endure the pain he gave her by considering himself her culprit.

He first met Pakhi when he was 10, he visited an orphanage with his dad to donate some books and other things, that’s where he saw her for the first time, her long hair tied in a ponytail that was swinging with her as she was running around in tiny and her laughter…..her loud laughs echoed around the room, she came to him and pulled him to the ground to play, he didn’t even try to stop her once, as if he was waiting for her to ask him to play with her. She was the reason, Virat would visit the orphanage daily, they soon became best friends and seeing their friendship, Ninad Chauvan decided to sponsor Pakhi’s education till she starts to earn. They had no idea what they meant for each other, till they were 17. It was in spring when they realized, whatever there is between them isn’t just friendship, it was then, when they came to know what love really means. They understood each other, they respected each other, they gave enough space to each other, and, most importantly, they loved each other. Pakhi had no one except for Virat and he always made sure that, she doesn’t feel lonely.

Today, Virat was feeling helpless, he knew Pakhi needed him, he knew she might be feeling alone, he knew, she needs him by her side and he knew that he couldn’t do anything except for sitting here and greeting everyone who came to meet him. He hated himself for not being able to fight for his love, he was blaming himself for hurting Pakhi, he didn’t want her to know it this way, he was going to explain everything to her yesterday, but everything was ruined already.

The bride was asked to be called down for the ceremony.

With the veil that covered her face (It was their tradition that first they will do some prayer, then the veil will be lifted and the rings will be exchanged) Sayi was accompanied by her mother and her caretaker, who helped her on the stairs. The hall, which according to her looked like a haunted house, looked a lot different, decorated in purple and white, for the first time looked lively.

They finally arrived to the temple area, where the priest chanted some mantras and after the hawan, her veil was lifted by her father. It was a ritual Joshis have been following since generations.

Virat was sitting on the couch, his eyes glued towards the door, when he finally saw her, draped in a peach saree, a simple pendant and matching earrings, to him, she was looking the most beautiful person present. He smiled widely seeing her, it was the first time in the entire evening, people saw him smile this bright, but, soon realization hit him and he turned away, lacking the courage to face her, the eyes, he would spend hours staring at were making him feel guilty, the face he couldn’t sleep without seeing was making him hate himself more with every passing second and the person, he was waiting for to catch a glimpse of, since the moment he entered, he wished for her to disappear, not because he didn’t wanted her to stay, but because he wouldn’t be able to see her breaking watching him of giving someone else the rights that belonged to her. He regretted sending her the invite, he knew he acted selfish, but he was sure she wouldn’t come. Why is she here?? Why did she have that invitation? Why didn’t she throw it away the moment she received it?? Why does she want to suffer?? He had several questions in his mind, he wanted to ask her, but he couldn’t. he had lost the right to question her, he had lost every right on her. Her eyes were moist, probably because she cried, her tears were his weakness.

Sayi was finally bought towards the stage, she looked up for a moment to. Virat’s whole family was on the stage

“Usha tai, why is the stage so crowded?” Sayi whispered to her tai who was bringing her towards the stage.

“They are his family baara”

“All of them??”

“Yes all of them”

“It looks like a whole village.”

“They will be your family soon”

Usha tai left Sayi on the stage and Virat’s family came down.

 It was the first time they saw each other. Virat was wearing a sherwani of similar color as Sayi, with a golden turban and a golden shawl. They were made to seat next to each other on the couch. Virat’s eyes were again scanning the crowd until he finally found the face he was looking for. She was sitting in a corner, surrounded by his younger sister Devyani and her sister-in-laws Prachi and Karishma. She looked happy, she always was happy around them.

It was finally the time to begin the ceremony everyone had gathered for. Two trays, kept on lilac colored cushions with the rings kept in between the rose petals were bought on stage. Virat was staring at the ring, his moments with Pakhi flashing before his eyes, his hands were shaking while he was picking up the ring. He looked towards Pakhi, who was standing down between him and Sayi, he then looked at the girl standing in front of, her head down and she had clutched her cloth with one hand, he gently took her hand in his and inserted the ring in her finger. He again looked down, he saw leaving, he wanted to stop her, to her hug her, to console her, to tell her that everything will be fine, but he knew neither will anything be fine nor he would ever be able to set things right.

They could hear loud cheers and claps, he saw her clutch on her cloth getting tighter “She might be scared of the crowd”, he thought.

Seeing her daughter get anxious, Savita went up to the stage to calm her. Sayi now looked up, their eyes met for the first time, they could see pain in each other’s eyes. Sayi took the ring from the box and he gave her his hand. Another round of loud cheers, but, this time she grabbed her mother’s arm instead.

The couple of the evening was seated on the couch, when they were asked to give media some bytes.

(The questions from reporters will be in bold and answers in normal font.)

“Mr. Virat, how does it feel to marry the only daughter of the richest family?”

“Sometimes what the world sees isn’t true, and sometimes you can’t show them the truth, before becoming my father-in-law, Kamal sir was my mentor, and he will always be the first person, I’m gonna look up to, so, it definitely feels great to be associated to him.”

“Only if you knew how he really is, you wouldn’t have been saying this” Sayi murmured under her breath.

“Mr. Virat, it is said that this marriage is a business deal and that your father Ninad Chauvan proposed this marriage due to the sudden losses you faced a few days ago”

“I’m really curious about your sources. Where do you get these nonsense news from?? I’m really sorry, if you are looking for some spice, you won’t get that here, but, we can arrange chilies for you, if you still want that. We had already proposed a merger with Joshis long ago and it happened to finalize on the same day our fathers sat together to discuss our marriage. So, it has no relation with anything, it would be better, if both the professional and personal fronts are kept aside and talked separately.”

“Miss Sayi, we never saw you during press conferences or giving any interview, how does it feel to be the princess of the Joshi Empire?”

“Miss Sayi, you have always lived in a nuclear family, are you willing to take the challenge of living in a joint family with Mr. Virat?? Will you be able to adjust?” asked another

Sayi again grabbed her cloth, Virat saw her getting anxious again, shaking her legs and tightening her grip. He signed Samrat to come and whispered something in his ears.

“Gentlemen, we will hold a press conference soon, we are getting late for the other planned events, kindly excuse us. We have already started to serve the starters so please enjoy yourselves.” Samar announced and the reporters went back to their places.

The event began with a traditional marathi dance by Savita and Usha. Sayi was smiling throughout their performance and Virat was looking at her smile.

It will take another part to finish the engagement.

I didn’t elaborate much on Pakhi-Virat’s story from their meet to break-up. I’ll need your suggestion regarding this, as I’m gonna write a descriptive chapter only if you would want it, though I haven’t planned anything regarding their past yet, but will write if you don’t find the summary enough.

I’m always open to suggestions and criticism, so feel free to write your opinions. English isn’t my first language, so pardon me for any grammatical/spelling errors.

I will reply to all the comments on Sunday, I have hell lot of assignment to complete and the exams are on head.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support you all have given me in such a short time.