35 ~ Longing Kiss #2
(I'll check again.)
"Nahi. Chahat aa gayi hai. Hum khud jaakar dekh lenge."
(No. Chahat is here. We'll go look for it myself.)
I stopped.
"Dadi kya dhoondh rahe ho?"
(Grandma, what are you looking for?)
She told me she misplaced a silver box. It was so close to her heart. She feels she forgot it in the storeroom.
I followed her upstairs, mildly curious because Dadi herself was going searching for it.
The storeroom was exactly what I expected.
Old furniture, Covered tables and boxes stacked one over another.
Old decorations, photographs, discarded household things and pieces of furniture that had probably not been touched in years.
Dust floated through the thin beam of sunlight entering through the small window.
Dadi began searching through one of the shelves.
"Arey, maine use kahan rakha tha?"
(Oh, where did I kept it?)
I moved towards another stack of boxes.
"Main idhar dekhu?"
(Should I look here?)
"Haan beta. Dekho, ek chhota sa chaandi ka dabba hona chahiye."
(Yes, beta. Look for a small silver container.)
I nodded and started looking.
I shifted one box aside then another and that's when I noticed it.
A large wooden box tucked behind an old table.
Something about it caught my attention.
I crouched down and pulled it forward. The lid wasn't completely closed. I opened it and froze.
There were photographs inside. Old and family photographs.
I picked up the first frame carefully. It was broken.
For a moment, I didn't understand what I was looking at.
Then my eyes travelled across the picture.
A younger version of Kartik's father stood beside his wife and she was pregnant.
I stared at her face.
I had seen photographs of Kartik's mother before, but this one felt different.
She looked young.
Her hands rested protectively over her stomach while Kartik's father stood beside her.
I looked towards Dadi. "Dadi?"
She came over and glanced at the frame.
"Oh." Her expression softened immediately. "Arey, yeh toh Dhanraj aur Siya hai."
(Hey, it's Dhanraj and Siya.)
I held the frame out to her.
Dadi took it from my hands.
I looked at the photograph again then began moving the things inside the box.
There were Old clothes, Some documents and a few books.
Then my hand touched something that felt different. I pulled it out carefully.
It was wrapped securely in an old protective cloth.
I looked at Dadi. "Yeh kya hai?"
(What is this?)
Dadi shrugged slightly. "Pata nahi. Kholkar dekho."
(I don't know. Open it.)
I slowly unfolded the cloth and my breath caught.
A uniform. It was Dark, neatly preserved, folded with almost obsessive care.
For a few seconds, I simply stared at it.
Military.
I touched the fabric cautiously. "Yeh kiska hai Dadi?"
(Whose is this grandmother?)
Dadi didn't answer immediately.
She smiled faintly. "Kartik ka."
(Kartik's.)
My heart skipped. "Kartik?"
She nodded. "Uski purani uniform hai."
(It's his old uniform.)
I stared at it again.
Kartik. In a military uniform. The image felt almost impossible.
The Kartik I knew belonged behind a massive office desk, in expensive suits, surrounded by business reports and people who seemed terrified of disappointing him.
I had never once imagined him wearing this.
"When did he..." I couldn't even finish the question.
Dadi sat down on an old wooden chair.
"Kartik hamesha army mein jaana chahta tha."
(Kartik always wanted to join the army.)
I looked at her.
"Kya?"
(What?)
"Uske Dadaji ka sapna tha ki Kartik army join kare."
(His grandfather's dream was for Kartik to join the army.)
She paused, her eyes moving towards the uniform.
"Aur Kartik bhi unka sapna poora karna chahta tha."
(And Kartik wanted to fulfill his dream too.)
Dadi continued. "Usne exams diye the. Training ke liye select bhi ho gaya tha. Woh itna khush tha, Chahat. Aaj bhi mujhe uska chehra yaad hai."
(He took the exams. He was selected for training too. He was so happy, Chahat. I still remember his face.)
Something shifted inside me.
I looked down at the uniform again.
There was a strange softness in her voice now.
I ran my fingers lightly over the folded fabric. "Phir unhone chhoda kyun?"
(Then why did he leave it?)
Dadi's expression changed. Not dramatically. Just enough for me to notice.
"Family business ki wajah se use wapas aana pada."
(He had to come back because of the family business.)
I frowned.
"Lekin agar woh army mein rehna chahte the..."
(But if he wanted to stay in the army...)
Dadi gave a quiet sigh. "Har baar zindagi waise nahi chalti jaise hum chahte hain."
(Life doesn't always go the way we want it to.)
Her answer was too simple.
"Wapas aane ke baad kya hua?"
(What happened after he came back?)
Dadi hesitated.
"Uski training ka kaafi hissa miss ho gaya tha. Kuch rules the, procedures the... bas, phir baat bigadti chali gayi. Uski tabiyat bhi kharab hone lagi."