The Curse of That Night (6 page)

She was enveloped, buried in his unnatural heat, searing impossibly hot against him. Abhijeet opened his eyes and saw that she was watching him, her mouth open and her eyes half closed in bliss and love. Her body in the candle light seemed beautiful beyond perfection. He let his gaze explore her writhing white skin, watching her impale herself on him, how deep he was buried within her.

Now Malvika thrashed on top of him, her breath rasping, and he leaned back as waves of shockingly bright pleasure rocked his body with every movement.
He felt his own orgasm cresting through him. It blocked his senses in a sizzling white noise. A purity of pleasure and nothingness. She moaned against his neck. Her hips came clamping down on him. She bent back, away from him, her legs shuddering as she came. She moaned again and threw herself forward onto him.

Malvika sat curled against the bed, looking towards the ceiling. Her mouth was open in a beatific smile. She stretched and slowly lowered her head towards Abhijeet who was still looking at her and closed her eyes, the smile lingering on her lovely lips.

Abhijeet looked at her beautiful face.

Her hair was the colour of raven’s wings and cascaded like a waterfall down her back, reaching her neck, but this was no more striking than her eyes which were like sapphires, set symmetrically into her face, brimming on to the point of overflowing, with peace, wisdom and compassion. Her figure, slender and pale like a porcelain ornament and seemingly as fragile, also looked to be as light as a feather. Her eyes held a distant, dreamy look, yet seemed to scan the surroundings with purpose. Whenever her eyes met his, they held within him an eerily knowing look as though she could see right into his mind and know exactly what he was thinking…

She had an ethereal grace that was breathtaking. Her flawless skin seemed to almost glow in the dim light, and those eyes were pool of darkness. To look into those eyes was to teeter on the brink of an abyss. Her magnetism was irresistible, and he was weapon less in the face of it.

“Abhijeet why do you love me?” she asked. Abhijeet had no answer…

Chapter 9

Darsh

The word servant especially in the past was definitely associated with subservience but not necessarily naivety. In biblical days and even as late as the 19th century, servants were actually equated with slaves. A servant was a possession of another person known as his or her master and it was mandatory to do whatever the master demanded. Cruel masters misused their authority and abused the bad as well as the good servant while the kind masters were merciful to the disobedient servant who repented and rewarded the good servant.

Today the rich hire the workers and expect them to do everything. They enjoy the right to insult, abuse and even accuse them of stealing. Domestic worker is always the first suspect.

Basically, the sole aim of the workers is to appease their masters as they cope with a constant sense of insecurity and live with the fear of being fired for the smallest mistake.

But, Abhijeet Raichand proved it wrong. On that day in the hospital, when Darsh saved his and Malvika’s life he offered him some money as a token of gratitude which Darsh politely refused.

“Sahib,
I don’t want money like this. If you really want to pay me, then give me a job. I will do your household work and everything you want,” he had said.

And Abhijeet took him as domestic help. Many Indian servants mostly youth from poverty-stricken states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, are paid as little as 1,200 rupees a month along with accommodation in the house. But, Abhijeet paid Darsh an exorbitant, 15,000 rupees.

The job was exhausting. Other morning duties included washing the car, buying groceries, setting the table, answering the phone and the door, and driving Abhijeet or Malvika to work. Abhijeet, who held him in great affection, also covered his health-care costs and his sister’s engineering fee; many in his position wouldn’t.

According to a study, 76 percent men believe that they should go down on one knee to propose. Many women find that appealing. The message behind the gesture can be that the man is offering himself wholeheartedly to the woman, without reservations, elevating her to an exalted position in their relationship, and offering her the choice to determine the course of their relationship.

There is no clear historical origin of the idea of proposing on a bent knee, but the gesture bears striking resemblance to many other ceremonial situations.

Kneeling is appropriate
during prayers
and other religious ceremonies, including wedding vows in some faiths. Kneeling is also done to genuflect when entering a church or temple. When proposing, kneeling can have the same spiritual connotation and can be seen as a sign of respect.

Knights
kneel while being awarded honours from kings and queens. This can hold true for a proposal of marriage and can be seen as an honour.

Bowing is typically seen as a gesture of surrender. When proposing, a couple commits to one another and surrenders oneself to being part of a couple.

Regardless of the origin, the idea of asking for a loved one’s hand in marriage while partially kneeling is a highly symbolic gesture embodying the very essence of committing one’s life to another. The ideas of goodwill, honour and trust in that one person open themselves completely to another without shame or any physical defences.

But what a few people think is, ‘The practical reason behind a bent-knee-proposal is that it puts the engagement ring in an elevated position between the couple, letting the light hit it clearly without getting blocked by both individuals. This highlights the glitter of the ring as well as emphasizing the strength of the commitment.’

But, for Darsh all these proposals and bending down was fiction, part of those romantic movies and fairy tales, until today. Today, Abhijeet had instructed him to clean the place and call everyone including Aarti, home.

“What’s the occasion
sahib
?” he asked.

“Am going to propose Malvika, dude!” exclaimed Abhijeet.

“Wow! Congrats
sahib!”

Darsh had seen numerous romantic movies on Doordarshan where the hero used to hold the heroine in his arms, look into her eyes and say, “I love you,” but witnessing it in reality, he had never expected!

Well, he had seen Malvika come to the house many times with Abhijeet, and he loved her as a person.

According to him she was a singularly amazing person. She was the most giving, tender, witty, engaging, outgoing, and thoughtful person he had ever known. She would always treat Abhijeet like a king. He could observe that she and Abhijeet were locked in some kind of epic ‘Love War’, by which he meant that they were always treating each other with love, respect, and mutual devotion almost as though they were trying to ‘out-love’ the other. Darsh admired their love.

Abhijeet had found a true friend in Darsh. True, he was his servant but nevertheless he was the one who had saved his life and so he trusted him fully. Abhijeet used to share a part of his love life with Darsh asking for some suggestions from the poor guy who had no experience in that department, none at all!

“I saw Malvika for the first time in my office. She looked so beautiful (and still does), that I thought there was no way someone like her would be single. How could she be? A woman as radiant as she is, ought to have a line of men around the block, waiting for the chance to cross path with her,” said Abhijeet one day.

“Then how did you approach her
sahib?”
Darsh asked curiously.

“One day, despite my concerns, I saw my opportunity and I took it. She said yes,” Abhijeet said with a smile on his face.

“Who would say no to you
sahib
,” said Darsh.

Abhijeet went to pick up Malvika from the office. He had asked Darsh to handle the matters at home.

“Hey, Darsh! All set? Everyone home?” asked Abhijeet over the phone.

“Yes,
sahib
,” he answered.

Then Abhijeet asked Malvika to put up a blind fold and turn around. Malvika waited for about a minute and Abhijeet turned her back around and she took the blind fold off.

Malvika looked around and all her friends and clients were around them, looking at her. Around twenty people in the room, and better than half of them knew what was coming, but the look on Malvika’s face was one of complete shock. Let’s describe it as ‘happily mortified’. And she looked down and Abhijeet was on one knee with an open box that had a diamond ring. Abhijeet started to tear up.

“My life is going so smoothly from the time you came in my life. You made it so beautiful that I myself am so amazed. You hug me so tightly that nobody ever can. Your passion for me makes me feel that nobody would ever love me like you do. Your care makes me realize that there is nothing better than being in love with you. It’s you whom I love; it’s you whom I look forward to. It’s you for whom my heart beats; it’s you whom I always need. It’s you whom I think always about; it’s your text for which I always wait for. It’s your kiss that makes me go crazy; it’s your touch which is so soothing. It’s you Malvika, only you, who completes me. Will you marry me?” proposed Abhijeet.

Darsh could make out that Malvika’s heart skipped a few beats when Abhijeet asked her to be his wife. She had tears in her eyes.

“Yes, I will,” she said.

Abhijeet slipped the ring onto her finger and he gave her a bear hug.

He hugged Darsh and Aarti too, who were more than happy for the beautiful couple.

Malvika wasn’t sure what was going around them as she was still in a state of shock. Everyone was clapping, it felt like everything around her faded, and for about fifteen minutes people were coming over to say congratulations and to see the ring.

The party got over late at night. Darsh bid goodnight to the couple and started cleaning the house.

It was the best evening in Malvika’s entire life. An evening she could never ever forget throughout her life.

That night they both made love… well again…

Chapter 10

Rohan

We can describe hatred as the force that can make even the greatest person turn into the worst being. It’s the negative energy that can alter anyone’s perception about someone. It’s the feeling of destruction and chaos that most of the time, one can’t control. It’s what causes most of the evil in this world, be it Mahabharata or any other battle. It’s what opens the bad in us. Hate is something abstract. You can either be the hater or be hated. This is often lead by mistakes we’ve done or people just hate us because we are better than them in some ways. Hatred makes us feel like we are the only one who is right. It could certainly happen that, when we hate someone, we feel like the person we hate is totally weird that he or she wants to mess around with us, which sometimes may even lead to depression.

Rohan Raichand hated his brother… extremely.

The news came as a shock, yes, but it didn’t provoke tears, or even any sense of happiness. Rohan just heard from Darsh that his brother Abhijeet proposed to Malvika for marriage. And all he felt was a surge of anger rushing through his veins.

“What the hell!” he screamed.

That day, a few years ago, a long, dark shadow that had blighted his existence, his father, was lifted. From that day onwards, Abhijeet always restricted Rohan from doing what he desired to. Rohan hated Abhijeet to the extent Abhijeet loved him.

“Now, even if somehow I kill him, then too it’s my loss. All the property will be transferred to Malvika,” he thought.

It’s difficult to imagine how this sentiment could jar with many because it goes against everything we are supposed to feel for our siblings. After all, it is meant to be the strongest and longest bond we experience in life.

To admit such animosity is to break one of our strongest social taboos but the feeling is far from rare, with psychologists estimating that in as many as a third of all families there is bitter hatred and rivalry between siblings.

The animosity between Rohan and Abhijeet stemmed from childhood.
Apparently their mother had only wanted one child, so when she got pregnant with Rohan while she was still taking care of Abhijeet, she was distraught.

He was born a few years after Abhijeet, following a very difficult birth which nearly killed their mother. Right from the start, Abhijeet was the firm favourite of both parents and the question: ‘Why can’t you be more like him?’ was often asked from Rohan.

Their mother must have got fed up of this and ran with some other person, leaving them behind. At least, that’s what Abhijeet believed. Sometimes, he even blamed Rohan for their miseries. But, in the end Abhijeet was the one who loved him a lot and always had this belief that one day Rohan would understand and come back.

For Rohan what was most important, most cherished was his independence, the desire to live his life his own way. Freedom to make his own choices, big or small, right or wrong. From the clothes he wore to the way he earned money.

That was the reason Rohan fled from Abhijeet’s home and shifted to a nearby flat. He was growing up and Abhijeet tried to bulldoze him with his wishes.

According to Rohan, his mother was the reason for the crap his family went through. She was the worst of all. A selfish person, who used his father as cash coffers. She was a tramp who abandoned her children and her husband to traipse off to wherever and with whoever she pleased. Rohan hated her.

“May be she had her own reasons,” Abhijeet used to calm him a bit.

“Reasons? What reasons could she have to marry a man so completely in love with her and destroy him bit-by-bit? For what reason did she have children only to discard them like piece of trash? What reason did she have to wish for her own child’s death, the one she carried for nine months? Why the hell did she give me birth if she hated me so much?” Rohan thought.

He did almost everything a normal human being could do or even think of, to kill his brother or to get the money from him, but in vain.

“I have to think of something. Soon, very soon…,” he said to himself.