by Varsha Dixit
Ojas stepped next to Doyal. ““I have come to apologize! I have wronged—”
Satinder Bansal lunged and socked Ojas in the face.
Ojas fell back and landed on the floor.
Doyal gasped.
Puru reached down to help Ojas. “Bhai?” He caught his older brother’s shoulder.
“Don’t!” Ojas waved off Puru.
Doyal turned to Gina’s father, her voice urgent. “Please hear him out. He has something to say. It is very important.”
Gina’s mother put a restraining hand on her husband’s arm. Satinder was shaking because of rage. “Please think of your blood pressure. It will go up.”
Satinder shrugged off his wife’s hand. “I will listen to him. Let him get up first.”
It took Ojas some time, but he got back on his feet slowly. The left side of his face and eye stung but he ignored it. “I deserved that—”
Satinder landed another blow on Ojas’s face. Ojas again toppled to the floor. His stick slipped and fell from his hand and went skittering on the floor. The side of his shoulder hit the floor hard.
“Enough!” Puru stepped around Doyal and stood in front of Ojas, shielding him. He stepped close to Satinder and glared at the older man.
Doyal stepped back, her face anxious. The room was suddenly grim.
Puru’s face was hard. “If you hit my brother one more time—”
“Puru, stop!” Ojas called out still on the floor. This time it took longer, but he got back up on his feet.
Doyal handed him his stick. “Are you okay?” She was looking at his mouth. “There’s…” She pointed with her finger, her eyes pained.
“I’m fine,” Ojas reassured her. He could taste his own blood. His mouth was bleeding from the last hit.
Ojas hobbled past Puru. He stopped in front of Satinder, who was breathing noisily as he glared at Ojas. “You can hit me as much as you want. I deserve that and worse. But please, first hear what I have to say.”
“Please, Uncle, for Gina’s sake.” Doyal pleaded.
Looking at Doyal, some of Satinder’s anger faded. Doyal probably reminded him of Gina.
“Please, Satinder.” Malti pleaded. “It’s been five years without our daughter. Please hear them out.” She clutched her husband’s arm. “You are not the only one who yearns for Gina.” Her voice broke. “Please!”
Satinder’s eyes grew moist. He simply turned around and walked inside the house.
Gina’s mother turned to Doyal, Ojas, and Puru. “Come inside. Satinder will hear you.”
Chapter 13
Next evening
Meher’s apartment
After a shower, Gina dried her hair the best she could with a hand still not healed. Few minutes later when she came out, she was surprised to find Meher and Kyra in the living room.
Gina ran her fingers through her damp hair. “What are you two doing here? Meher, you said you might be late today and Ky, I thought you were busy?” She leaned over and hugged each of them.
“Uh…got a break,” Meher said.
“And I have a relatively less busy day tomorrow, so decided to come over. Pune is not that far from Mumbai. How’s your hand?” Kyra asked.
“It’s better. Getting there,” Gina said, sitting next to her friends. Next week I must leave! The thought of going back to Singapore filled Gina with dread. Last time when I had left, I had been in a different frame of mind. But things have changed. Will I be able to slip back into that life again? This question had been plaguing Gina since the last few days. “I need some advice, you two?”
“What’s up?” Kyra asked, tucking her long shapely legs under her.
Meher too looked at Gina, waiting.
“I was thinking of going to Amritsar,” Gina blurted.
“To meet your family?” Meher asked.
“Yes. Do you think it’s a good idea? I know, probably the only person who will meet me there is mom. But still, it would be nice to go back to visit my hometown. Maybe, if they hear about my engagement and find that the divorce is almost final, they might forgive me.” Gina was chewing her lower lip.
Kyra and Meher exchanged a glance.
“Why not? It’s a fabulous idea,” Kyra said, giving Gina a thumbs-up sign.
Gina felt some of her tension leave her. She turned to Meher. “What do you think?”
Meher nodded. “Definitely visit them.”
Gina got up hurriedly. “Let me book the tickets. I’ll leave tomorrow.”
Meher jumped up. “Why the rush? Wait for some time. Think it over.”
Kyra too spoke up. “I mean, you did wait for five years.”
Gina scratched her chin. “I don’t understand. Just now you were both saying I should go!”
Whatever Meher or Kyra were about to say was interrupted by the peal of the doorbell.
Gina was closest to the front door. “I’ll get it!” She unlocked the dark wooden door and swung it open.
Gina sucked in a quick breath. Covering her mouth with her hand, she took a step backwards. She could only stare.
Doyal came in, squeezed Gina’s arm reassuringly, and moved away.
Gina stayed glued where she was. So did her parents.
Satinder and Malti both had tears crowding their eyes. Gina too was blinking her tears away rapidly.
“Gina!” Satinder reached out to her.
“Papa!” Gina stepped forward and took his hand. She knew the hand and her father’s scent. Gina led her father and gestured at her mother to come inside.
Meher and Kyra came forward and greeted Gina’s parents.
Satinder nodded back.
But Malti had eyes only for her daughter. “Gina!” She caressed Gina’s face. Gina let go of her Dad’s hand tearing up at her mother’s warm touch. Gina clung to her mother’s hand. “Maa!” Her voice was hoarse.
“Ssshh!” Malti gathered Gina in her arms. Gina tucked her face in her mother’s shoulder as hot tears trickled down her face on to her mother’s blouse. No touch was as loving and as kind as a mother’s touch. It transported one straight to their childhood.
After a few seconds, she felt a hand caress the top of her head. Gina raised her face. “Papa!” Gina and her father fell in each other’s arms. They said no words to each other for no words were needed.
Gina remembered his arms being stronger and his shoulders being straighter, but the comfort she felt in them was the same. Malti continued to stroke Gina’s back, her touch loving.
Few minutes later, Gina stepped back and smiled at her parents. It was radiant like a strong sun after a bout of rain.
“Please come inside and have a seat.” Meher’s voice distracted them.
Gina wiped her eyes and introduced her friends to her parents.
A part of her still wondered if she was hallucinating. Gina took her mother’s hand. Malti smiled and hugged Gina again.
“We’ll be in the other room.” Kyra said, her voice thick with emotion. Meher and Doyal too murmured in agreement.
“Thank you!” Gina said to the Wallflowers, her eyes shining with gratitude.
Meher, Kyra, and Doyal walked out of the room, leaving Gina alone with her parents.
Chapter 14
“Wow, that was emotional!” Meher said, coming into the room as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her cotton top.
“I need a hug!” Doyal’s word stopped both Kyra and Meher. Amongst the four Wallflowers, Doyal was the least likely to show any emotions.
“Oh Doy!” Meher hugged Doyal. “You did such an awesome thing for Gina.”
Kyra flopped on Meher’s bed. She ran her fingers through her short hair and then rubbed the back of her neck.
Doyal and Meher stepped back and glanced at Kyra and then looked at each other.
The only time Kyra got glum was when she was forced to remember what she had lost—her family.
“So, you two want to know what happened?” Doyal said, walking over to Kyra.
“Yes, please! We w
ant all the details. Right, Ky?” Meher sat next to Kyra and pulled a cushion Kyra was resting her hand on.
Growling, Kyra pulled it right back and then hit Meher on the head with a pillow. Kyra and Meher wrestled for the cushion until Doyal picked up another cushion and tossed it at them. “Resident idiots, behave.”
“This time fatty started it,” Kyra said.
Meher kicked Kyra in her foot. “Did not!”
Kyra shoved Meher.
“Fine, I’m going back to my hotel.” Doyal started walking to the door in slow motion, watching them over her shoulder.
Grinning, Meher and Kyra sat straight. “Sorry! Sorry! Don’t go, Doy!”
Doyal turned around. “I wasn’t going anywhere, dingbats!” She smiled, settling in a chair that faced the bed her two friends were sprawled on. “So, starting from the beginning. As you know, Ojas was a complete mess when I found him and even though he agreed, I had my doubts if he would be able to pull it off or be lucid enough or willing to talk to Gina’s parents.” She paused.
“So, he didn’t drink again?” Kyra said.
“He didn’t. I barely slept the night I was in his house. I was so worried he would not be able to resist the bottle. But Ojas did. Considering how deep in cups he was when I went to his house, it was a miracle,” Doyal said.
“Deep down he’s not bad guy. He’s still the Ojas Gina knew once,” Meher said, her expression thoughtful.
“How can you say that, Meher? He’s a bastard and we all know that, right Doy?” Kyra demanded, looking as indignant as she felt.
Doyal scratched the side of her cheek and looked around her, as if seeking answers. “Not sure, Ky! You should have seen Ojas with Gina’s parents. He simply took the blame for everything. It wasn’t easy! Gina’s dad socked him a few times but Ojas did not flinch. He took everything. His concern for Gina was very visible. She’s all that he cared for, it seemed.”
Kyra smacked her palm against her thigh. “Oh c’mon, you two! Ojas is a cad. How can you both be so ready to forgive him? Have you forgotten what he did to Gina?”
“PTSD?” Meher said, leaning forward.
Both Kyra and Doyal stared at her, confused.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a real thing, girls. It happens a lot to soldiers and goes untreated in so many of them. Think about it. Ojas had the most horrible, violent experiences that night. We are thinking of Gina but that night, Ojas experienced a lot of trauma. The violence of the fight, his friend’s death. He was mentally and physically traumatized. Going by the way he fought them, it wasn’t his first battle. So, not the first trauma either! Ojas woke up to a horrible reality. He couldn’t save his friend, would never be able to walk the same, his career was over. And Ojas was completely an army man. He loved what he did.” Meher licked her lips as she paused for a breath.
Doyal and Kyra were listening to her, their faces pensive. “Heightened reactions, violent outbursts, and severe anxiety and depression are some symptoms of PTSD. Plus, the survivor’s guilt! Do you know some survivors of horrible violence get depressed to the point of committing suicide? Ojas could have been suffering from PTSD. He could still be.”
Kyra tapped her chin, a distant look in her eyes. “I did a story once on a police man. A regular nice bloke who killed his entire family with his service revolver one day. He was known to be a family man. While he was incarcerated, a group of physiatrists who were studying effects of PTSD interviewed him. The last memory he had before killing his family was that his son had dropped a steel plate and bowl and they had fallen and rolled down the stairs, making an awful racket. During more sessions, it was discovered that this police officer was a survivor of the 1993 blasts. He had been trapped in the Air India Building for hours, waiting to be rescued. They had to drill for hours to rescue him. And we know drilling machines can be loud. Loud sounds freaked him out after that. He was diagnosed with acute PTSD. His sentence was reduced to the time done and he was released.”
“That’s so sad.” Meher exhaled. “Where is he now?”
Kyra raised her chin and looked up at the ceiling and then looked down. “Two days after his release, he shot himself.” Doyal gasped. “The guilt of hurting his family was too much to bear.”
The three friends fell silent.
“So, are those suffering from PTSD suicidal?” Doyal asked.
“Some can be,” Meher nodded.
Doyal stared at the floor and went on staring.
“Doy?” Meher snapped her fingers. “What happened?”
Doyal shook her head. “Nothing.”
Kyra shook her head impatiently. “So, what happened after you reached Amritsar?”
Doyal focused on them. “So, the three of us reached Amritsar—”
“Three?” Kyra asked.
“Who was the third one? Ritesh also went?” Meher added.
“Please!” Doyal rolled her eyes. “Ojas’s brother came along.”
“Puru came with you guys?” Meher said.
“You know him?” Doyal asked.
“I have met him. He is nice.”
“Nice, my foot! He is a condescending jerk.” Doyal retorted.
“Did he fucking try something with you?” Kyra demanded.
Doyal waved her hand dismissively. “He tried to act as if he was smarter than me. I’m used to handling men like him. I shot him down.”
Doyal had parted ways with Puru at Gina’s parent’s house. After coming clean to Gina’s parents, Ojas and Puru had left and Doyal had stayed back to bring Gina’s parents to Pune. Ojas had thanked Doyal before leaving but Puru had kept his distance. However, Doyal felt his eyes on her several times and found that unsettling. She would have preferred that Puru would have said something instead of staring. She gave an inward shudder remembering the sensation that grazed her every time Puru’s eyes had been on her.
“Doy?” Kyra clicked her tongue impatiently. “What are you thinking?”
Doyal winced. “Sorry! Where was I? Yeah, on seeing Ojas, Gina’s dad came swinging at him. Not once but twice. Hard knocks. You should’ve seen Ojas’s face.”
Kyra and Doyal nodded.
“Gina’s mom pleaded and Ojas did not back down. So finally, Gina’s dad let Ojas talk. Ojas took all the blame for his and Gina’s marriage. He said that he had emotionally blackmailed Gina to marry him, which she did with a lot of doubts. They had thought that Gina’s family would have no problems with their marriage given Mr. Bansal’s desire to wed Gina to someone in the army. Gina had panicked when her parents said no to Ojas and she found out that she was pregnant.”
“Whoa! So now her Dad knows that Gina was pregnant?” Meher asked.
Doyal nodded. “Then came the kicker. Gina’s mom confessed to her husband how she knew Gina was pregnant and that she had miscarried. She told him how she had sent Gina away.”
“Damn! How did her dad take it?” Kyra wondered aloud.
“Badly. That broke him. It seems, with Gina gone, her father hasn’t been doing very well. Her parents really miss her. Bansal uncle started crying when Ojas asked how they could leave Gina in a such a state.”
Meher tilted her head to the side. “Ojas blamed them?”
Doyal’s smile was wry. “I know! But only after calling himself the most abhorrent things like loathsome, vile, degenerate, beastly, and a few other cuss words. Ojas was so hard on himself that he left no room for any of us to say anything to him.”
The three friends fell quiet, each lost in their own thoughts.
“I will still not consider Ojas decent!” Kyra said without any real anger in her voice.
“He is definitely remorseful,” Doyal said. “I spent nearly twenty hours with him. Ojas isn’t as bad as I thought him to be.” Doyal sighed. “Anyhow, moving on, Ojas begged her parents to forgive Gina. He shared how Gina had changed over the years. Ojas talked about her anxiety, her loneliness, and even Ritesh. That got Gina’s dad a little upset that she was again remarrying without telling them. That is
when Ojas’s brother spoke up.”
“What did he say?” Meher asked.
“He said that Gina has been a living all by herself and loneliness can be hard. If her parents had missed her while their other children were close to them, they should understand how much Gina must have missed having someone in her life. That man can talk the ears off a cow.”
“Wow, you really don’t like Puru,” Meher observed.
“He is insignificant. Anyhow, I think Ojas had softened Gina’s parents quite a bit by then so whatever his brother said simply added to it.”
“Hmmm!” Kyra and Meher exchanged a mischievous look.
Doyal ignored them and continued, “Gina’s mother was sobbing by that time. Even Gina’s brother, who had joined us by then, asked his parents to reconcile with Gina and bring her home. Finally, her dad relented. In fact, it was so sweet. Gina’s parents could barely wait to come here. We took the first flight we could get, which was today. Ojas and his brother left yesterday itself.”
Meher hugged herself. “I’m so happy for Ginny. She has her family back.”
“You did it, Doy. This was all your idea,” Kyra said.
Doyal cleared her throat and shook her head. “All I did was book tickets and get Ojas there. Ojas did everything.”
“And his brother?” Meher said, a sly grin on her face.
Kyra chuckled. “But this was your idea. If you hadn’t thought of this—”
Doyal waved her hand and stood up. “Also listen to the one thing Ojas has requested. Whatever Gina decides for Ritesh and herself must be her decision. We should not badger her, and I agree. Let’s just support Gina, however she needs it.”
Kyra was quick to nod. “Agreed! Okay, one very important thing I forgot to ask you Doy.”
Doyal turned to Kyra. “What?”
“How does Puru look? Is he handsome?” Kyra wiggled her eyebrows. Meher covered her mouth and started laughing.
“You both are so stupid!” Doyal gave them her trademark haughty look.
Meher started singing softly and Kyra joined in. “Doyal and Puru, sitting on a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”
Doyal grabbed a cushion and started hitting them with it even as Meher and Doyal bumped into each other, trying to avoid the cushion.