Epilogue

Six months later …

Khushi stood on the sea shore looking at the horizon as the waves lapped gently onto her feet. The sea that had cause so much havoc six months ago, seemed absolutely calm and soothing. Just like the sea, everything had settled down in their lives. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe Payal had retuned safe and sound, after having been gone from their lives for eight long years. She still wished her sister had returned home on that fateful night, even though Payal had recounted her predicament as to why she had decided against it.

After she had fainted at the hospital, Payal happened to be in the section of the hospital where they were running an illegal abortion clinic. When she had told them she wasn’t pregnant, the nurse had told her that they had tested her and that she was positive. That's when she knew she had to escape at any cost.

    After witnessing the murder, when she got into the taxi, she was still planning to come home and then she began to recall what the murderers had talked. They had made a phone call and told the person on the other end that they had killed "Payal" and " brother-in-law Akash" was on his death bed. That’s when she knew that it was Akash's wife's brother that had planned it. She thought that if the man found out that she was alive, he would come after her and her family. She couldn’t reach out to Arnav since he was running helter-skelter to save Akash.

She wasn’t sure if she had a life growing inside her, but she couldn’t risk it. So, she made a quick decision to get away as far as possible from there and thankfully the taxi driver had helped her.

In the train, a kind lady called Sarah Fernandes had befriended Payal and sensing that she needed help had told her she worked for a Christian trust that helped women in distress. She had involuntarily assumed Nandita's identity. The nuns who worked at the trust had taken her in and given her shelter and since she was educated, they had given her a teaching job in the convent. After she had given birth to Akshat, they had continued to help her raise him. Just the previous year, she had moved him to a residential school so that she could take up some more work.

But all that was in the past for the last six months had been a period of healing for all of them. After her return, Payal had preferred to stay in Bangalore and thanks to Arnav, they had managed to retrieve the house from the errant tenant. Their mother had also moved from Chennai so that she could spend time with her grandson.

Khushi raised her face to the sunlight, inhaling the fresh sea air.

"Khushi!" Arnav called out from behind her.

She turned around, ran up to him and into his arms, to reach up as he leaned in to capture her lips. Her heart raced as she pressed herself to his hard frame.

After a while they broke apart to watch the sun shining brightly just above the horizon. Khushi held on to Arnav's arm as they walked along the shoreline.

 "Why couldn’t you come last night?" he demanded.

"You know I had exams Arnav," Khushi said, "and mom didn’t want me to take the night flight."

Arnav pursed his lips. "It's been six months Khushi!"

"Well, you were away the first three months," Khushi pointed out. Arnav had also gone to the US with Manav, for a series of meetings and they had both returned three months ago.

"So, you took revenge in the next three. Every time I came to Bangalore we are either socializing at your mom's house or with Akash and Payal at my apartment."

Khushi knew he was miffed with her a little as they hadn’t been able to spend time alone in the last three months. As Arnav had work in Delhi, he had been traveling back and forth.

"Studying for my Masters has been hard for me," Khushi pointed out, "as it has been a while since I finished college. Now I have the hang of it so it should be easier going forward."

"Akash tells me that Payal's friends had come over for a visit," Arnav said, "was Rishabh there too?"

"Yes, he apologized to me for his behavior," she said, "they all did."

"I don’t trust him!"

"Don’t worry, he has found happiness with his new secretary," Khushi informed him.

"He doesn’t waste any time does, he? " Arnav drawled.

"Let's go in," Khushi said, "I have to start cooking for our guests."

A little later, Khushi stood in the kitchen cutting vegetables for the dinner later that night. Payal, Akash, Anjali, Manav, Rashmi and Aarav were arriving in the evening for the small get together she and Arnav were hosting.

 "How do you like this beach house?" Arnav asked her.

As the beach house was being renovated due to all the water damage, Arnav had rented another one which was a short distance away.

"I love this house!" Khushi gushed, "the kitchen is bigger, it has an extra bedroom which is nice. It has a lovely garden in the front too."

"Good," Arnav said, "I am going to buy it. The owner has put this up for sale."

"What?" Khushi was taken aback, "Why? The other one will be ready soon. Why do you need to buy this one?"

"That beach house belongs to my father."

"Arnav –" Khushi began, "don’t you think you should get over that fact?"

"I have Khushi," he said, "but we do need our own space sometimes, don’t you think? Suppose my dad and step mom want to come there and stay with Akash then there is going to be a space crunch as there are only three bedrooms. Moreover, I think there is enough land on this plot to construct a pool."

"Alright you sold me on the pool idea." Khushi said in resignation.

Arnav came into the kitchen, "give me something to do."

She brought out some cucumbers from the fridge. "Here peel these -- and can you cut them into tiny pieces for the raita?"

"Sure, leave that to me." He said as he looked for the peeler. "When are they all arriving?"

"Rashmi Aarav and Sanvi will be coming early in the evening," Khushi said, "Rashmi is bringing the vegetarian items on the menu."

"Ah the oldest married couple in our gang," Arnav said, "their wedding was the last time we came here to Mangalore, isn’t it?"

Three months ago, after Arnav's return from the US, Aarav and Rashmi had married in a simple ceremony in the same place they had their engagement in Udupi.

"Yes, we had so much fun at their wedding," Khushi reminisced, "but we also had the arduous task of convincing another couple then."

"There was absolutely no progress in Akash and Payal's relationship while I was away from for three months."

"Well, didi went through so much," Khushi defended her sister.

"She was just twenty-two, pregnant and scared," Arnav said, "I wonder how she managed all alone."

"She told us that it was because of Akshat," Khushi said, "she said, it made her strong like she never had been before."

"But she thought Akash didn’t love her anymore," Arnav said, "even though he moved to Bangalore from Delhi."

"That's because your brother didn’t tell her anything whenever he came to pick up Akshat," Khushi said, "Payal thought he only wanted to get close to his son."

Akash didn’t have problems knowing about Payal's love for him thanks to Akshat to whom Payal had told stories about how wonderful his dad was. From a magazine interview that Arnav had given, she had discovered that Akash was alive and well. She had told her son that he was an artist who lived in another country and that he could visit him when he was old enough to travel. She hadn’t been happy about this white lie but she had wanted him to have good memories of his father until he was old enough to handle the truth.

"I agree," Arnav said, "my brother's guilt made him hesitate. He thought he didn’t deserve her for putting her through so much pain."

"But you solved it for him by showing Payal all the paintings he had done over the last five years."

After Aarav and Rashmi's wedding, Arnav had displayed Akash's paintings. After seeing them Payal had been so overwhelmed that she had been reduced to tears. Even though each painting was different, the face of the woman in each painting was hers.

"After that, Akash had no trouble convincing her," Arnav said, looking smug.

"But it wasn’t that simple with your step-mom," Khushi pointed out.

"Luckily Akshat sorted that one out." Arnav recalled with a smile.

Even though Indrani Raizada had been unhappy about Siya, she was equally angry with Akash since the day she'd found out about his affair. She had retreated into a shell and she had been shocked to know he had a child.

But when Akash had taken Payal and Akshat to visit his parents three months ago, the little boy had stolen the heart of his grandparents with his utter sweetness. The fact that Akshat looked a lot like his father had probably made it even more harder for Indrani to stay away from him.

"Didi thinks she doesn’t like her though," Khushi said in a low voice.

"One step at a time," Arnav said, "My dad will convince her eventually. Moreover, my step mom knows that Akash will return to Sikkim if she continues being adamant."

"Anyway, she's Akash's problem," Arnav continued, "I still can't forgive her for the way she spoke to you."

"It's alright Arnav," Khushi said, "I hope she finds some peace now."

"Manav also had a tough time convincing your sister." Khushi said.

"Di also had the same problem as Akash," Arnav said, "she thought she didn’t deserve Manav."

That night Shyam hadn’t been able to get too far and had been apprehended by the police a short distance from the beach house. Owing to him being a criminal, Anjali's divorce had gone through without any hassles. But she had rejected Manav's proposal initially. Anjali had thought that she was older than Manav, had gone through a traumatic marriage and had a child. She didn’t want to burden him with all her baggage.

"But this time around, Manav didn’t take no for an answer, did he?" Khushi chuckled.

"If he hadn't done that do you think we would have been witness to their registered marriage last month?" Arnav said, "Akash wasn’t happy about sharing his wedding date with Di again." He laughed.

"You look so handsome when you laugh," Khushi said looking at Arnav.

"Really?" He looked at her, his brown eyes boring into hers.

"Oh no, you don’t! I have to cook," She said with a smile.

"Ok," he stepped back, "I have to shower anyway." As he ran up the stairs, Khushi wondered if she had upset him.

After dinner, the four couples set out to the temple in the Innova.

"Do you still get those nightmares Khushi?" Anjali enquired looking back from the passenger seat as Manav sat in the driver's seat. The women sat in the rear seat while the men sat in the middle.

"Not anymore," Khushi said feeling a little down about Arnav's cold behavior all through dinner, "didi, why don’t you tell them?"

"About a year ago," Payal began, "Akshat and I were watching a program on TV called Soul Talk. The lady in the program mentioned how to contact a person who was far away, through dreams. I had told him that I had a little sister who was lost. He loved hearing about Khushi. After seeing that program he made me do that ritual to contact her from time to time. I did that just to humour him."

"Yeah, my nightmare stopped the moment Payal came back," Khushi said.

"Don’t tell me you actually believe that Khushi," Anjali stared at Khushi with disbelief on her face.

"In Udupi anything is possible," Aarav said to which Rashmi agreed.

"It's alright Di, don’t worry about it too much," Arnav consoled his sister, "it's sort of a tradition here."

"That's true." Manav agreed.

"You are all trying to scare me, aren’t you?" Anjali asked, "And to top that we are going to watch some dancing ghosts tonight. Do we really have to?"

"Anjali, they are not ghosts – they are spirits. Bhoota Kola means Spirit worship," Rashmi explained, "Since my uncle's family is organizing it, I thought it will be a good opportunity for you all to see it once."

"It sounds more like superstition," Anjali said skeptically.

"Not to the people here," Aarav said, "It's a ritual to appease Spirits. It is a belief that these Spirits protect the village from calamities and make them prosperous when appeased.

"What happens if they aren’t appeased?"

"The spirits get angry and disaster will befall them." Arnav supplied to Anjali's horror.

"You are a scientist my dear," Manav said, "I know it's hard to accept these things."

"It's about people's belief or faith," Khushi said remembering what Arnav had told her long ago, "it's probably akin to people's belief in God I suppose."

"I too used to get nightmares about Nandita," Payal said, "for two years I felt guilty about it and then I wrote a letter to her mother to inform her about her death. But it looks like she never received it as she had moved to her hometown.

"When I met her, I told her what happened and apologized to her. She told me she knew in her heart that her daughter was no more. She knew that her daughter was moving in the wrong circles but she hadn’t stopped her. She blamed herself for not being able to protect her daughter."

"Still she didn’t deserve what happened to her," Anjali said feeling sad for the young girl who had lost of her life in collateral damage.

"Nor any of you," Manav said, "It's over now Anju."

A little later, they watched as the spirit impersonator, decked in heavy makeup and jewelry, began the rituals of the dance. For a brief moment, it seemed that the performer was actually possessed by the spirit. The "spirit" was presented with offerings from the devotees after which there was a court of justice took place where the villagers could seek blessings as well as ask for relief from problems.

Suddenly, Arnav noticed that Khushi was missing and his heart skipped a beat. He began to search for her amongst the throng of women all decked up in sarees just like Khushi had for this occasion. As he stood raking a hand through his hair, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Khushi standing there looking curious. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Where were you?" he demanded angrily.

"I saw Ankita and Kushal, so I went up to her to talk to them," Khushi said, "Arnav, I was just bringing them back to meet you."

"Why didn’t you let me know before you left?" he asked her, "it's dark and there are hundreds of people here."

"I am sorry but I was gone for just five minutes."

"We have all decided to go for ice cream!" Manav came up to them.

A little later the group sat in Sheetal ice cream parlour.

"So, when is the big day for you two love birds?" Anjali asked Arnav and Khushi.

"Just because you are all married that doesn’t mean that we should follow your path," Arnav said, "We are still dating Di."

"That right," Khushi agreed, "Honestly, I think marriage is overrated. No offense."

"True!" Anjali and Rashmi said in unison laughing at their spouses' shocked faces.

"Tell that to mom," Payal looked at Khushi and smiled, "she is worried."

"No, she isn’t!" Khushi exclaimed, "I had told her long ago that I wasn’t interested in marriage. She didn’t exactly disagree with me."

"That's when mom thought she would be alone with dad if you got married and left. She was insecure I guess --" Payal said, "now after she has joined that self-help group, she thinks differently."

"Moreover, you didn’t have a boyfriend then," Manav pointed out.

"Totally!" Aarav said and everybody laughed much to Khushi's consternation. Why did she become the butt of their jokes every time they came to this ice cream parlour?

"Oh, my God!" Khushi squealed, "look -- there is something shiny in my ice cream." She was looking at her spoon.

Arnav stood up and walked over to her side.

Khushi picked up the shiny object only to realize it was a gold ring with a solitaire diamond shining on it. She looked at Arnav whose brown eyes were trained on hers.

"Khushi Gupta – how many ever times you walk off into the darkness -- I will come running after you – because I love you." Arnav held out his hand. "Will you marry me?"

Khushi's heart began to pound as she looked at him with her mouth wide open, and then Anjali elbowed her.

"Yes!" she blurted out.

Arnav took the ring from her hand and slipped it into her ring finger.

"I thought someone said marriage was overrated," Manav said tongue in cheek.

"I had no idea!" Khushi's face went red with embarrassment, "he has been so cold to me since morning."

"Well, we can't worry my future mother-in-law, can we?" Arnav looked at Khushi with a mischievous smile.

She stood up and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I love you too!" she whispered in his ear.

As everyone clapped their hands and congratulated them, Khushi thought her heart would burst with the overload of happiness she was feeling right now.

Later that night, Arnav came down the stairs to see Khushi cleaning up the kitchen. She had changed into the wrap-around skirt and plain navy blue crop top.

     "I thought I should clean up before Payal, Akash and everyone come–" she began.

     "I told them not to come tonight," he said, "I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh," Khushi was surprised, "I am almost done -- I just have to wash couple of utensils."

"Khushi, I wanted to tell you that I couldn’t help over hearing your conversation with Rashmi on her engagement," Arnav said, "I wanted to make one thing clear. It is true that I wasn’t into Rashmi after I came back to Udupi that year."

"I know Arnav," Khushi said, "you told me that already." She finished rinsing the utensils.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "Did I tell you that the reason for that, was you?" he rasped in her ear.

"Says the person who did not recognize me!" she hit him playfully as she wiped her hands on a towel.

"After that night -- I willed myself to forget everything that had happened before that. You have to believe me."

She turned around and looked up at him. "I do."

"After I found out who you were – I started remembering things," He paused, "Ten years ago, when I saw you in the discotheque, dancing with abandon -- it made me want to break free of all the negativity I had around me. I had always felt so messed up in my life but when you hugged me so innocently, I felt something good had touched me. I may not have remembered you but in my subconscious, I hadn’t forgotten that feeling."

Khushi touched his cheek with soft palms. "That night --I had the same feeling as you did -- when you helped me dance –"

"Really?" Arnav said, "just because of that?"

She looked up at him with her doe like eyes. "And also, the way you looked at me with your chocolate eyes as you let my hair loose -- and the way you called my name – I kept hoping you would come to Bangalore to visit or that I might visit Udupi --- I was too scared to ask didi about you – and after that terrible news, like you, even I pushed my memories away."

"We got a second chance, didn’t we?" Arnav whispered.

Khushi nodded her head. "I think it was our destiny," Khushi said, "that I found a job in your college."

Arnav stared at her with his simmering brown eyes. "That feeling was why I was so drawn to you from the moment I saw you in Udupi."

"You hid that so well Mr. Raizada." Khushi teased him.

"If I hadn’t I would have grabbed you in that UPS room and kissed you senseless when you wiped that sweat on my forehead."

"And I would have just let you," she breathed.

"Khushi –I can't stay away from you anymore. I don’t want to hear your excuses about spending more time with your sister or studying for your Masters –"

She moved close to him and went on her tip toes and placed her soft lips on his. "I will make it up to you."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" He murmured.

"I am just getting started." She whispered.

All his thoughts flew out of the window as she pulled his head down and captured his lips.

The End