Chapter 3
R achanna entered the park and looked around. Asmee was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, she rushed around the park, looking behind the slides, bushes and the few trees at the end of the park. No luck. Asmee was nowhere to be found.
It had been a couple of weeks since Rachanna had met Anirudh on the terrace. She had successfully avoided him after that. Once, when she’d thought she saw someone like him in the park, she had ducked and ran in the opposite direction. She was scared of the man. Frightfully scared. And it affected her mood the entire time she was at home. She was always watchful and fearful. She got up every day wondering what horror might await her. It was not pleasant. But as she did not run into Anirudh, the days became more and more bearable. And for that, she gave silent prayers every night.
Rachanna glanced around the park once again. Asmee was not there. Worried, she began to pace when she ran into Asmee’s playmates.
“Rahul! Where is Asmee?”
Rahul ignored her and continued to chase the other kids.
She called him again a few more times. Rahul continued to ignore her.
“Rahul!” Rachanna said sternly.
The boy finally stopped running and looked at her, as if registering her presence only now. “Aunty?”
“Asmee! Where is she?”
“She was playing with us. Then, she left.”
“Left? But she has not come home.”
“She went with some uncle…”
Rachanna’s heart started to race. “Which uncle?”
“I don’t know,” replied Rahul before resuming his game.
Rachanna looked around. She ran out of the park and to the security guard standing at the main gate. “Bhaiya! Seen Asmee?”
“Haan Madam. I just saw her on the way here. She was sitting with the sir from C912.”
Rachanna started to shiver. She asked urgently, “Where?”
“Near the B Block lift.”
“Thank you,” murmured Rachanna before she started to run again. Sure enough, Asmee was sitting with Anirudh on a bench near the B Block. They both were laughing.
“Asmee!” Rachanna called as she approached them.
Rachanna, who had been scared to meet Anirudh and had taken extraordinary measures to avoid him, suddenly realised that all her fears had evaporated. All she felt now was anger. Extreme anger. Something visceral seemed to rise in her heart when she saw that her daughter was involved. Call it mother’s instinct or a protective power that mothers come naturally endowed with, Rachanna was furious. Anything concerning her daughter, she was ready to abandon everything and pick up weapons. She need not even have to consider the enemy. She showed up, ready to fight.
“Mom!” Asmee grinned. “Look, Uncle can make this coin disappear. Isn’t it cool?”
Rachanna glared at her. “I’ve told you not to talk to strangers!”
“But…he is not a stranger. He is Anirudh Uncle.”
Anirudh was looking at Rachanna with undisguised hate.
Rachanna returned the expression. “Please don’t talk to my daughter,” she snapped.
“I didn’t know she was your daughter,” he snapped back immediately.
“Well, now you do. Don’t talk to her.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. I won’t. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Anything even remotely concerning you…I will stay clear.”
“Good,” said Rachanna, as she took Asmee’s arm.
“Ouch!” Asmee said, as she struggled to free her arm. “You are hurting me, Mom.”
“Oh sorry,” said Rachanna, freeing Asmee’s arm.
Asmee replied, “It’s okay.” She rubbed her arm for a few moments before saying, “I am going back to play. See you, Mom.”
“Asmee, wait!”
But it was too late. Asmee was too fast.
“Is she my daughter?” Anirudh asked.
Rachanna looked at him in shock. Then she scoffed, “God! Just because I spent one night with you does not mean any offspring I have is yours.”
“Just asking.”
“It has been 10 years since I met you. Asmee is only eight. Is the math simple enough for you or shall I get you a calculator?” Rachanna asked, not bothering to hide the acid in her voice.
“It’s not such a far-fetched theory.”
“Please! Spare me the plot of the usual novels and movies, okay?”
“Why not? If this was a movie, I think it’d be called lies and deception. You will, of course, be the heroine. But you know that already…”
Rachanna snarled at him, “It was one night. One night! Get over it!”
“You lied to me!”
“It was a one-night stand. Not exactly everyone tells the truth in such a situation!”
“God! You are not even remorseful. You don’t feel the guilt at all?”
“Why should I? It was not as if I married you and cheated on you. It was not as if I strung you along for months and then told you I was married. It was one night, for heaven’s sake!”
“All women are the same. You all are vultures…”
“Don’t be such a sentimental fool. You did not fall in love with me in those few hours. Stop victimising yourself. What we shared was just physical. That’s it!”
“Oh, I am sorry. I did not know how to separate an emotional relationship from a purely physical one. I thought we were getting along. But all along, you were just getting some.”
“You know what? You are just upset I left you hanging. I understand that. Completely. But now, you know the truth… So, let it go. Let me go. And don’t ever talk to my daughter again.”
“Oh, I won’t; don’t worry about that! I won’t come near a woman like you or anything concerned with you with a ten-foot pole.”
“Good. I am glad we agree on something.” With that last retort, Rachanna turned and left.
***
Asmee had barely got inside her house that night when Rachanna started her tirade. “Asmee! You cannot talk to strangers. I have told you multiple times—”
“Which stranger?”
“The man you were talking to near the B Block.”
Asmee sulked as she made her way to the washbasin to wash her hands. “But Anirudh Uncle is really nice, Amma. He showed me a magic trick. He promised to teach me…”
“No! You are not listening to me. You cannot talk to him.”
Asmee’s frown deepened. “Why not?” She asked innocently.
Rachanna felt a wave of irritation passing through her body. Why not?
“Because he is not a nice person.”
“But you don’t know him. He is—”
“Asmee! You have to listen to your elders. I know people much better than you do. Do not talk to him. Do you understand?”
Asmee stared at her mom as if she did not understand at all.
Rachanna took a deep breath to control her anger. She sat down on a dining table chair and settled Asmee on her lap. “Asmee, will you please promise mom? Will you promise never to talk to him again?”
“Is he really a bad person?” Asmee asked in a small voice.
Rachanna hardened her heart before she said, “Yes. He is a very bad person. He might look like a nice person but he is not. Will you please promise me never to talk to him?”
Asmee nodded. “Okay, Amma.”
“Good girl,” said Rachanna, kissing her on the forehead.
However naughty the child was, she generally listened to what she said, and Rachanna was very grateful for that.
***
Anirudh was sitting with his grandmother on the terrace balcony, sipping coffee. The sun was setting and a golden glow spread over the city beneath them. They looked at the city skyline as they helped themselves to the snacks kept on the small table between them.
Anirudh liked to spend time with his grandmother. He especially liked her spacious balcony. It was comfortable and cosy. His grandmother had put up a vertical garden along one wall. There were a few flowering plants placed evenly near the railing. A few sandalwood-scented candles in partially covered candlestick holders were placed on top of small, ornate stools. Cushions in varying sizes lay on the wicker sofa, on which his grandmother sat, her feet resting on a footstool. Anirudh sat in an easy chair next to her.
“Ani…” started his grandmother, pausing to sip her coffee.
“Hmmm…”
“Why don’t you shave?”
Anirudh ran his hands over his beard as if to smooth it down. “Let me be, please.”
“You would look so much more presentable if you shaved. You look like a hippie.”
Anirudh smiled. “Why shouldn’t I look like a hippie?”
“You can. But you look so depressed too. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Are you happy?” She asked earnestly.
Anirudh was taken aback by the sudden question. He took a sip of his coffee, buying time before reluctantly replying, “Yes.”
The answer did not seem to convince his grandmother. “There was no need for you to move here to take care of me. You are young. You should not be hanging out with old people like me. You should have friends your own age.”
“I have friends,” murmured Anirudh.
“No one has visited you here.”
Anirudh felt a mild irritation at the observation. “Well, I don’t want them to, Patti. I just want to be alone for some time. I don’t want to see any of my friends…”
“Hmm…”
They were silent for a few moments before his grandmother asked, “Forget about your old friends. Why can’t you make new ones?”
Anirudh rolled his eyes, exasperated. “I will.”
“How? You never step out of the complex at all.”
“I will,” said Anirudh.
“There are a lot of nice people here too.”
“Yeah, right,” replied Anirudh, his voice dipping with sarcasm.
“No. There are. You just have to know where to look. I can help you there. I know the lay of the land here.”
“Okay,” replied Anirudh, not interested at all.
“A young man lives two floors below. His name is Bharath. He plays badminton every weekend. You can join him in you are interested.”
“Hmm…”
“Then there is Murali. He is a cricket enthusiast. Like you. You can play cricket at the very least.”
“Hmm…”
“Or the flat opposite yours. There is a young couple there. They go on vacations frequently, group tours or something like that. I think they go on treks too. You can talk to them and join them once in a while. They both are working, and they are pretty interesting to talk to. You should talk to them.”
“Okay,” replied Anirudh gruffly.
“There is this girl called Rachanna…”
Anirudh’s jaw tightened but he continued to look at the skyline. He had been betrayed by the ones closest to him. By the ones he had trusted so much. The betrayal stung his heart all the more when he met Rachanna. Another person who had let him down… And he hated her as much as he hated the others.
“She is a really nice girl. She has helped me so many times. She helps me get my groceries and sometimes, even helps me pay my electricity bills. Once, I had come down with wheezing and needed medicine early in the morning. She was the one I called. She came right away and got me the medicine. I don’t know how I would have managed without that. Once, she also helped me get my specs repaired. She visits me regularly, bringing me cakes or some dish that she has prepared. Lovely girl.”
“I am sure,” replied Anirudh through gritted teeth.
“Poor girl though,” continued Swarna, sighing.
There was silence for a few moments.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Anirudh finally asked, “Why poor?”
“She lost her husband six years ago. She is bringing up her child all alone. It must be extremely tough. But I have not heard her complain ever. Always smiling and doing what needs to be done. But I know…I know how difficult it must be to be alone…”
Anirudh looked at his grandmother for a long time before he said, “Oh!”
“Her child’s name is Asmee. Very sweet girl, just like her mother. But she talks a dime a dozen,” replied his grandmother, laughing.
“Yeah, I think I have met that girl. Asmee. Showed her a magic trick.”
“You did, did you? How nice,” remarked Swarna, slight disbelief in her voice.
Anirudh recognised the disbelief. He explained, “Kids are easy to get along with. They don’t lie. They don’t cheat. I don’t mind spending sometime in the park, talking to kids and watching them play. I even coach a few kids in football. It’s nice. No drama that usually accompanies conversations with adults. No forced small talk. You can be yourself.”
“Well…” replied Swarna, clearly not agreeing with him. But she let it be. “You should talk to Rachanna too. She is a nice girl. Maybe help her out if needed. God knows she could use some help. But she is proud. Too proud to ask for help… too proud for her own good.”
“Hmmm… How did her husband die?”
If Swarna was surprised at Anirudh’s interest, she hid it well. “Some disease. Cancer, I think. He struggled with that disease for very many years. I think he got it around the time they got married.”
“So, he’d been sick throughout their married life?”
“Yeah. Pretty much. But a thorough gentleman. They made a lovely pair. A made-for-each-other couple.” His grandmother sighed. “Sad how God tests good people.”
“Must have been tough on her.”
“Very tough. But I have not heard a word of complaint from her ever. Not one single word. She bore it all incredibly well. Smiling, even. As if there was nothing better she would do rather than take care of her husband. But his health worsened day by day. In his final days, she had to push him around in a wheelchair.”
“She did not remarry…” said Anirudh in a low impersonal tone. It was more of a statement than a question.
“No. I don’t think she intends to. She has a girl child. All the more difficult to trust someone and marry when you have a daughter. Asmee is her world as of now. She lives for that child!”
Involuntarily, Anirudh’s mind went back to the time he’d first met Rachanna. It was Valentine’s Day. He had met her amid heart-shaped decorations, flashing lights and romantic songs.
Anirudh sipped his coffee thoughtfully. He did not notice his grandmother looking at him shrewdly.