章節 5: Cat on a hot tin roof...
Aman's heart was as turbulent as hers. Nothing could calm it down. Tired of battling with it alone, he decided to give it a distraction. He remembered Anmol had said something about the party in the evening. Given the hopeless situation of his heart, he thought it wiser to lose himself in the panorama of the family reunion.
Therefore at seven, even though 'dressing up' was an ordeal, he subjected himself to this painful task and met Anmol and his wife Sunanda in the drawing room.
"What's wrong with you?" was zapped.
"What do you mean?" Aman replied
"You are here." Anmol said with consternation. "You never attend parties. I wasn't expecting you to come, yet you are here. There must be something wrong."
Aman did not reply; instead, he went to the open window and sighed. His heart, otherwise an ocean of tranquility, was turbulent today. The humongous waves of desperation were lashing out at him.
"What is it? Out with it this minute." Aman demanded
Aman gave in and said, "I don't know what it is but my heart is heavy today."
"Why?"
"Its just beating so fast, I can barely breathe."- he said.
Anmol could see the pain in his friend's eyes and distress etched on his face. Terror struck into his heart. He had never seen him so tormented before. "It could be palpitation; I'll call our family doctor?"
Aman shook his head; "No it's not that. It's just..." he sighed; "her image keeps emerging from the shadows of the past."
"Whose face? What shadows? What is it?" - Anmol could hardly make sense; fear gripped him ever-so-more. But they were interrupted by the arrival of the first batch of guests – the enthusiastic group of immediate aunts, uncles and cousins. Obliged by the duties of the host, Anmol left Aman's side unwillingly.
Now that he was left all to himself, Aman escaped out of the room - unnoticed; and stepped into the lawn from the rear door of the house. Away from the bustle of arriving guests, chitchatting ladies and the prattling babies; away into the arms of solitude... in nature's lap, where he could calm himself before returning to the drawing room.
In the garden, he stood far away in a corner. Shrouded in darkness, he felt safe again. He saw happy faces, heard cheerful greetings and high-spirited chattering. He saw young children running to meet their cousins and babies clinging more than ever to their mums.
Drawing strength from the gaiety all around him, he came out of the shadows of gloom into the lights. And as he was making his way through the lawn to the house, he saw a car stop near the entrance and a lady and an elderly man step out of it. He might have strolled into the house without noticing the arrivals, had the gentleman not spoken out a name audible enough to stun him.
"Myra, come from here!" - the old man said loudly;
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The phantom of his past was upon Aman, and he froze in shock. His fiercely thumping heart, ashen face and hopeful tears brimming in his eyes – all wondered, "Is it possible? Is she really Myra – my Myra? or is my longing playing tricks on me?"
A gamut of emotions rose in his heart again, until he writhed in pain under their sting. His repressed desires and his longing for Myra stupefied his senses and left him numb. He must see her again, he must be with her; he needed to hear her voice, feel her presence or else his veins would burst. Thus obsessed, he made his way through the door.
His eyes frenetically searched Myra in the crowd of jumping-screaming-running children, "Where is she?" – he looked around in desperation.
His steps were checked by the steely grip of a well-meaning hand which grabbed his shoulder from behind. He swung around to find Anmol standing behind him. "Come with me" – Anmol mumbled almost inaudibly and steered him into the adjoining room. Shutting the door behind him he swung around in anger -"What do you think you were doing?"
"What does it look like? I want to meet her, to feel her, talk to her." Aman exclaimed as he walked towards the door. Anmol had anticipated the move and planted himself between the door and his obsessed friend.
"Stop. Listen! Be rational!" he reasoned "You cannot march in suddenly, not with this madness in your eyes. Calm yourself down. People know who you are. They will talk."
Aman shook his head – "I don't care."
"Your sudden presence might shock or even frighten her. Give her time to recover."
"I need to see her." Aman glared at him in desperation
"Ok...ok" – Anmol surrendered; "I will bring her to you. Let me talk to Sunanda – we'll figure something out."
"What do you propose I should do?" Aman threw himself on the sofa helplessly.
"We'll tell her you are here and give her time to absorb the emotions and calm herself. I am sure she will be as much shocked as you are. You don't want her making a fool of herself in front of all those people."
Aman nodded and they agreed to the plan. "Meanwhile, you stay here, I will bring her to you." Anmol went out and took it upon himself to break the news to her. He found Myra talking to his mother. They were surrounded by other members of the family.
'Kaki maa' as Myra fondly called Anmol's mother, was ecstatic to have her favorite niece with her once again. She was telling everyone stories of Myra's visit to Rome and how she had charmed everyone even as a child. "She was such a sprightly and self–willed girl back then..." She was holding Myra's hand and patting it fondly; "Alas! there is nothing left of that haughty young girl anymore."
"The shrew has been tamed after all." said the boisterous father-in-law and everyone laughed. "What a small world it is" her father-in-law said again, "Who could have ever imagined that you two shared such close bond. Tell me, were you aware that Myra is a part of our family now?"
"No" – the old lady shook her head and chuckled, "I am only thankful to God for reuniting us." Then turning to Myra, she whispered- "Wait till you meet the rest." Then scanning through the crowd, she pointed towards Anmol, "There is one of them."
Anmol advanced with a broad smile. Myra was already expecting to see him, she met him with as much joy as she did his wife Sunanda. "So you and Sunanda, huh?" - she teased, "who could have thought it back then!"
"Who could have, indeed!" – he exclaimed, despairingly throwing his hands up in the air. "I was tricked."- indicating towards his beaming mother.
There was a general feeling of merriment all around. The friends happily recalled their childhood revelries and the conversation invariably drifted towards Aman, and why would it not? He was such an integral part of their lives – the author of all their pranks!
Anmol noticed how her eyes lowered at Aman's name. He knew this was the right moment to introduce him. He was about to inform her of Aman's presence, when he heard impatient steps stop right behind him. Words were irrelevant now, the culprit was already here!
Myra blushed crimson one moment and turned ashen white the next. Apparently, the shock of Aman's presence was too intense for her to endure. Fearing people will notice, Sunanda made up an excuse and steered her out of the room.
But nobody noticed her; Aman's presence had suddenly brightened up the room and charged up everyone. The bees had seen the prized nectar and swarmed around him.
"How naughty of Anmol not to tell them before of this illustrious man's presence." they complained.
"May I present Aryaman Vardhan," - Anmol said, "our friend since childhood and the Vice-Presidential candidate." The bees were thrilled and buzzed in excitement. They wanted to hear him talk of the world and its difficulties; how U.S. saw the political developments in India; what he thought of the world economy and the fear of double recession...
Aman felt like a cat on a hot tin roof.
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