CHAPTER 72
Prakram is sitting outside in front of the tent, and his eyes are going towards the tent again and again in wait for Avishka, like every time he wanted to groom Avishka with his way, but Avishka threw him out of the tent. It is nighttime. Because of this, it is a little bit cold here; the helper has decorated the dinner table, but Prakram lights the fire there as soon as he feels the chill.
Soon after opening the zip of the tent, as soon as Avishka comes out, Prakram's eyes completely stop on her. Avishka looks absolutely stunning in this light blue saree. Smilingly, he immediately extends his hand toward her. She shyly goes towards him with her eyes down and holds his hand. He holds her hand tightly, pulls her into his arms, and places her in his lap. He makes her sit, looks at her very closely, and says,.
“You make me love you more every time.”
This is a very beautiful feeling for Avishka, not separating her from herself even for a minute. For the past few days, she has been experiencing significant self-doubt, but today, his presence is not causing her any trouble. There's no one around; she just sees everything as beautiful.
Both of them smile at their dinners, and then Prakram takes Avishka in his arms, wraps the blanket around them, and sits near the fire. Avishka is sitting with her head resting on his chest, and at this time she has her eyes on the water and looks at the moonlight, which is looking ever more beautiful, which is attracting her towards herself. Prakram tells her by taking the fingers of both her hands tightly intertwined and holding her tightly in his arms.
"I just want to see you smile, and I can do anything for it. I have no idea who stole your smile, but it has begun to return gradually. Although I would like to keep it, I'm terrified for you. Because you will never allow yourself to progress in any way while maintaining this smile, you must immediately overcome this fear and forget everything."
Now she knows very well that Prakram has tried many times to know everything from her, but she did not want to trouble herself or Prakram by remembering anything. Even though she did not want to remember her bad memories at all. Her memories don't leave her behind.
She embraces Prakram's hands more tightly and wraps them tightly around herself, saying this while smilingly placing her head on his chest and looking at the water.
“I am a murderer.”
Despite listening to her, Prakram does not give her any kind of reaction. He cradles her in his arms, gently caressing her head against his chest, and he can clearly see tears welling up in her eyes. He kisses her forehead and sits beside her in silence, understanding that if he wants to learn everything today, he must exercise self-control. Avishka says so, holding his hand lightly.
“As an assistant professor, I got a job at the most reputed college in Guwahati. We were all very happy because I hoped that if I took on the job, my father would have more time to rest and I would be able to handle all the responsibilities with ease. Since childhood, my father has been everything for me. Yes, I love my mother, but my bond with my father is a little different. A father has meant a lot to his daughters; he is their hero, and they also see him in their future husbands. My father was more than a hero for me; he was my whole life for me. The world resides in him; if I needed anything, he would bring it to me; if I am sad, he doesn't even move away from my side; he always listens to me and understands me. We were very happy with our family. I, my younger brother Advait, my mother, and my father—our world was very limited, and we were beyond happy with everything. We were very happy in our world, but soon after I got the job, my father suddenly started feeling ill, and he started insisting that he wanted to see my marriage. My father always sought my opinion before making any decisions, as he believed that my daughter was capable of handling all tasks. However, this time, he was pressing for my marriage. That was completely unusual, and I also knew that if I insisted on my father, he would agree, so I was adamant that I should not get married so soon.”
Tears start flowing continuously from Avishka's eyes. Prakram is affectionately kissing her forehead, occasionally stroking her hand, and even attempting to wipe away the tears, but she is unable to control them. Avishka gently turns, gives him a hug, and explains the situation.
“Papa and I had a lot of fights, and he clearly said that he wanted to see me get married, and I was also adamant that I would not get married. I was angry with him for the first time, and I was not even talking to him completely. This was the first time in my life that I had not spoken to my father for 24 hours. The next day, as soon as I returned from college, my father began to express his desire to marry me as soon as possible, stating that he was searching for a suitable match. I was furious, unable to comprehend why my father, who loves his daughter so deeply that he never makes decisions without her consent, was in such a rush. I went to my room angrily, but I had forgotten my mobile and had to do some important work on it, and when I returned, I came to know that my father was in such a hurry only because he was suffering from last-stage cancer.”
Prakram is well aware of all these things, yet he is not stopping Avishka. Instead, he is doing his best to manage her by holding her gently in his arms. She continues.
“Knowing all this, I could not just get married. I consulted every doctor who could take care of my father. I took him there, but everyone's answer was the same: It was very difficult for us to bear all this, and my father was adamant that he wanted to see me married. We wanted to keep him happy in whatever little time he had. I accepted defeat and immediately got ready for the marriage. RAJEEV: The day I met him for the first time, after talking to him, I felt that someone was understanding, understood things, and everything was fine. I was so worried because of my father. Due to my father's illness, the marriage was arranged hastily, and I neither talked to Rajeev much nor made any special effort to understand him, because if anything was very important for him at the time, then it was my father, but he always came to our house with a smile. He took care of my father more than us; my father started calling him his third child, and I loved their closeness, laughter, and joking about much more than my father. Rajeev came from a business family, while my father worked as a clerk, which meant that he was responsible for many expenses related to illness. Rajeev said that he wanted a very simple wedding from our side, a few relatives, and a temple wedding, and if he had to show off something, he would. He'd do it on his own at the reception. I liked his words very much. The most important thing was that he took care of my father so much that he did not even ask us and would take him to see any doctor anytime and would complete his treatment. Rajeev was taking things seriously and had created a separate place for himself in our house. In the meantime, I don't know when I got married to him. When I went to his house for the first time after getting married...