Radha - Part 2

She opened the door and went inside. He came in and kept his bag aside. He took off his shoes and kept them on the shoe rack. Her new slippers were kept there too.

He looked around to figure out what she might have been doing. She was wearing the purple suit she wears at home. That was the suit he bought for her when they had gone to the amusement park together. That was before they got married. While coming back from the park they had stopped at a shopping complex. He saw the purple suit hanging outside a store and instantly thought of buying it. He used to be so confident of what would suit her or what she would like. He was almost always right. The color of the suit has faded now. But nonetheless, she still sparkled in it.

It would have been so easy if he could just ask her.

It used to be so easy when he was young. If he didn't feel like talking to someone or felt annoyed, he would just avoid that person. He would start talking again as soon as he became his normal self. This became harder as he grew up. Disappearing from someone's life was still easy, but getting back had become difficult. He couldn't go back whenever he felt like. In college, friends would remember that he had stopped talking for a while. They would ask and his few jokes wouldn't be enough to change the topic. He tried doing that with Radha too, but she used to dwell deeper into the matter. She did not know that he needed some time and it was all about his own issues. For him, silence was the solution. For her, conversation was the solution. At the end nothing would happen and the silence would win over or they would argue for a few minutes and then go to sleep.

Radha was surprised in the starting but she got used to it. No matter how hard she tried, he would not talk if he did not feel like. The more she used to ask, the more he used to avoid. Finally she accepted it. She is intelligent and rather than troubling herself prefers to accept the situation and move on.

He took a deep breath and asked her, "What have you been upto?".
She gave a quick reply from the kitchen, "nothing much".

She gave him a cup of tea and went with hers to sit on the dining chair. The dining table was kept midway of the kitchen and the hall. It was a dark mahroon color dining set. Radha had chosen it. The apartment had modern architecture. The kitchen was an open style kitchen, integrated with the hall and the dining area. Kitchen was on the left side of the main gate. From the kitchen, one would cross the dining area to get to the hall. The bedroom was on the left hand side of the hall and the dining area. The bedroom was very spacious and had an attached bath with a big white jacuzzi. They had really liked the apartment at the first sight and had booked it without even looking at other apartments. It was costing them a bit extra but it was so comfortable that they thought it was worth a few extra bucks. Sometimes, no matter how much you look you can't find the right thing and sometimes, it is just right there and you don't need to search it.

She started typing something on the laptop. While sipping tea he switched on the tv and started watching the daily news show.

The phone rang. He picked up. It was Vatsya.

He didn't engage with her in a conversation and gave it to Radha. Smiling, she took the phone inside with her cup of tea. He lowered down the volume of tv to hear the conversation. Radha was laughing and talking. Just a few minutes back she was so quiet and now she was the one who was doing most of the talking. Radha said "Tomorrow at 10. Done. See you.". She came out with the phone. He pretended to watch the tv.

He could not resist asking her, "What did Vatsya say? ".
Radha replied after a few seconds, "She wants to go the exhibition".
Thoughtfully, he asked, "Which exhibition?"
Radha said in a low voice "It is an art exhibition. You wouldn't know".

She took the laptop and went inside. 

Radha - Part 1

He was coming back from work. He was thinking whether she would be home or not. Did she mention that she had to go somewhere? Well, she did not.

He was still confused. Maybe she had gone to meet her again. He did not like her meeting Vatsya. There was something strange about her. The first time he met her, he could tell. He did not know why he felt so, but he felt something was different and weird.

Radha did not care about his opinion. After all, does she ever listen to what he says? Not entirely true though. He asked her to come to the office dinner and she went. Wrapped in that white saree, looking like an angel from nowhere. He had looked at her when she was getting ready. He had looked at her reflection in the mirror. She exactly looked like the flying angel on her neck. He moved closer to her and stood beside her. The fragrance from her hair always mesmerizes him. She felt him breathing heavily on her neck. She moved away.

He never understands why she keeps moving away. Maybe she will explain to him once more.

It is a routine for them now. Before, it was he who kept moving away and now she has learned the same tricks from him. It has helped her to get his attention though. But he felt that was not her purpose. She just moved away without analyzing what would happen next.

They still have the morning tea together. It brings both of them to senses. He rushes off to work and then she gets on to her chores. Sometimes he tries to imagine her at home. He would paint a picture of her and wonder what she would be doing. He has seen her at home on his free days. But those days are different. She assembles herself and remains distant. Their is an emptiness around her. He can't understand what that emptiness is or how it can go away. He has also started to dissolve in that emptiness now.

He still remembers the designs on her palm that were there when they got married. The color of heena, the fine designs and his name engraved in her hands. Akshay.

She would notice him noticing her and feeling this vacuum around. She would not say anything or do anything about it though. It was much easier this way.

The first time she heard his name, she wrote Radha and Akshay on the mirror with the red lipstick. She had felt him close to her. Though she had just heard his name. She did not even know how he looked then. She would imagine his face and how he would be. She found it so much fun that she would not ask her parents for his photograph. What lies in the unknown can keep you intrigued and excited. She would be busy in her work and would imagine his face while coming back from work or while watching the tv. She would see herself as the bright lady in the red saree and him as a gentleman wearing jeans.

When she looked at the photograph she had mixed feelings. Now she knew how he looked. She found him handsome. But her colors and canvas became useless and that's what upset her. They both had the freedom to choose their life partner as per their wish. They had the choice to say no. But they both felt that they went well together. A date was fixed and marriage was arranged. Excitement creeped in their skins and life took a new road.

They put up a sign board of their names, "Radha and Akshay", at the front gate of the apartment.

She would come out of the house in the morning to put the dustbins out and get the milk packet.  She would then look at the sign and smile to herself. Seeing a name associated with hers, was an idea that always excited her. His name and personality had captivated her mind and heart.

While searching for the keys, he rang the door bell. He heard some movement.