5 | pehli rashoyi
Not every relationship begins with love. Some begin with kindness, patience, and coconut halwa.
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The soft sound of my bangles and anklets echoed through the entire house the moment I stepped downstairs.
Every conversation around the dining table slowly stopped.
Everyone looked toward me.
For a short while, I felt strangely self-conscious beneath their gazes.
Renuka maa smiled warmly first.
"Come, beta. Sit and have breakfast."
Then she looked at Siya.
"You too, beta."
I glanced at Siya quietly before sitting down.
But of course—Siya being Siya, silence never lasted long around her.
"Everything else is fine, aunty..." she spoke dramatically while looking around the table, "but where exactly is my jijaji? He has been missing since yesterday."
Renuka maa sighed helplessly.
"Avyukt came home earlier. He's probably in the garden. Ruhi, go call him."
Avyukt.
So that was his name.
The realization escaped my lips in the faintest whisper.
"Oh..."
Before I could think further, Ruhi suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Avantika's Avyukt is here."
My breath hitched slightly at the way she said it.
A few seconds later—he walked inside.
Without looking at me even once, he quietly took his seat.
Abhijit dad immediately gestured beside Avyukt.
"Sit here, Avantika."
I hesitated before slowly sitting beside him.
A careful distance still remained between us.
Breakfast started after that.
And strangely... every single dish on the table was my favorite.
For the entire meal, Avyukt looked at me only once.
Not at my face.
At my hands.
Or more specifically—at the loud bangles constantly clinking while I tried eating.
Maybe the sound was disturbing him.
Or maybe... I didn't want to think about the other possibility.
Siya suddenly leaned back dramatically in her chair.
"By the way... is sindoor and mangalsutra really necessary now? It's a modern era. Who even wears all this anymore?"
Renuka maa immediately frowned.
"Why wouldn't they be necessary? They're part of our culture."
"And everyone does all of this for their husband."
Siya gave a small sarcastic smile.
"Oh... culture? In marriages like this too?"
I instantly glared at her.
Ruhi quickly leaned slightly across Avyukt to look at me.
"If bhabhi doesn't want to wear them, it's completely fine. Nothing is forced here."
Renuka maa narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Since when did you start making decisions in this house?"
Before things could turn awkward, Renuka maa suddenly softened.
"No... she's right actually. If you don't want to wear them, it's your choice. You and your husband should decide."
I blinked slightly in confusion at the sudden change.
Maybe everyone was trying too hard to make me comfortable.
"There's no problem, aunty," I said softly. "Whether fake or real... the marriage still happened."
The moment the words left my mouth, silence spread briefly across the table.
Then Renuka maa smiled gently.
"And from now on, call me maa."
Abhijit dad smiled too.
"And me, dad."
Something about that made my chest feel strangely heavy.
Renuka maa suddenly looked at my saree.
"You look beautiful in this color."
"Yes, because you—"
Before I could finish, Ruhi immediately interrupted loudly.
"She means the saree looks beautiful on bhabhi, right maa?"
Renuka maa instantly nodded.
"Yes, exactly."
I frowned slightly.
That interruption felt intentional somehow.
"Your muh dikhayi can wait for now," Renuka maa continued softly. "Get comfortable first."
"But today you should do your first rasoi."
My mind immediately went blank.
Cooking?
Before I could panic properly, she smiled.
"Make coconut halwa. Avyukt loves it."
Wonderful.
The one thing I didn't know how to make.
I silently decided I would manage somehow using my phone.
But before I could say anything—
"I'm on a diet."
Avyukt finally spoke.
"I can't eat sweets."
He said it while looking at his mother instead of me.
Abhijit dad laughed immediately.
"Then we'll eat it. You just bring another gift for your wife."
Ruhi instantly raised her hand dramatically.
"We exist too, by the way."
I couldn't stop the tiny smile threatening to appear.
"When should I make it?" I asked.
"Right now," Renuka maa answered happily. "Lunch will be ready by then. Staff will handle the rest."
Just then, my phone started ringing.
Mom.
When I answered, her worried voice almost made my chest tighten painfully again.
After talking for a few minutes, Renuka maa gently took the phone from my hand.
"Go to the kitchen, beta. I need to discuss some puja details with your mother."
"I'm coming too," Siya announced immediately.
Ruhi stood up dramatically.
"And I'm going to meet my friend."
Something about her expression looked suspicious.
As soon as I entered the kitchen, panic hit me again.
I had no idea what to do.
My phone was gone too.
Siya crossed her arms instantly.
"You should've just told them you don't know cooking."
"I thought I'd learn from YouTube..."
Before I could continue, Ruhi suddenly entered holding her phone proudly.
"I'm here."
Relief instantly washed over me.
"Thank God. Just show me a recipe video."
Ruhi immediately shook her head.
"No way. You'll get confused with random YouTube videos. I'll teach you."
"You know how to cook?"
"Haan, obviously."
Siya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You don't look like someone who works in the kitchen."
Ruhi gasped dramatically.
"Rude. I said I know the recipe."
I laughed softly.
"Okay okay. Let's just make the halwa before lunchtime."
"Deal."
The three of us started cooking together.
Ruhi kept giving instructions while I followed carefully.
And surprisingly... it actually turned out good.
At the end, I handed both of them a spoonful to taste.
Ruhi's eyes widened dramatically.
"Bhabhi! This is amazing."
Siya nodded proudly.
"Told you my sister is talented."
Ruhi quickly grabbed a bowl.
"Give me some more."
I filled a small bowl with extra halwa for her.
The moment she hurried outside with it, Siya frowned suspiciously.
"How much is she planning to eat?"
"Siya..." I warned immediately.
"She's always dieting but suddenly today—"
"Stop it," I laughed softly. "Don't say things like that."
A little while later, after instructing the staff about lunch, I returned to the kitchen.
And froze.
Dry fruits had been perfectly added on top of the halwa.
The exact thing I had forgotten.
And a small portion was missing too.
I stared at it.
"Maybe maa came here..."
But somehow—it didn't feel like that.
Because she doesn't eat it directly from the whole halwa.
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A little later, I carried the halwa toward the dining table.
Everyone immediately took a bite.
Renuka maa's face lit up instantly.
"This is delicious."
Then she looked around.
"Ruhi, where's your brother? Call him."
Ruhi blinked innocently.
"I don't know."
Renuka maa frowned.
"Weren't you talking to him on call earlier?"
"Nooo. I was talking to my friend."
Siya narrowed her eyes immediately.
"I thought you were listening to songs."
Ruhi coughed awkwardly.
"First call... then songs."
Abhijit dad laughed before handing me an envelope.
"This is your first rasoi shagun, beta."
I immediately stood up and touched his feet before taking it respectfully.
Then Renuka maa gave me hers too.
A few moments later—Avyukt finally walked in.
Abhijit dad grinned instantly.
"So? What did you bring for your wife?"
Without looking at me directly, Avyukt quietly slid a velvet box across the table.
Inside rested a delicate gold maang tika and matching earrings.
The design looked beautifully northeastern.
Siya immediately frowned dramatically.
"Where's the necklace?"
I glared at her instantly.
Before things could get awkward, Renuka maa suddenly smiled knowingly.
"You were planning something bigger, weren't you?"
Ruhi jumped in quickly.
"This set was specially designed in a hurry. That's why only the earrings and maang tika were ready."
Then at long last—Avyukt spoke gently.
"I'll bring the bangles and necklace in a few days."
I spoke before anyone else could.
"It's already more than enough."
Renuka maa laughed softly.
"Tell that to your husband. Once he decides something, nobody can stop him."
Abhijit dad pushed the halwa bowl toward Avyukt.
"At least taste the halwa."
Before he could answer, Ruhi immediately interrupted.
"Bhaiya will eat later."
And somehow—it didn't take me long to understand.
He simply didn't want to eat it in front of me.
Once lunch ended, I stored the leftover halwa in the fridge and returned to my room silently.
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"Sometimes healing begins in a kitchen filled with laughter." ??????