Chapter 13
Baring the pages ofmy life.
JIMMY
My fist hovers near the hardwood door.Should I knock again?The lights are off.Aditya must be asleep.Sahil and Kiron had cornered me and given me a solid dressing down.Once they left, I spent hours going over their words and the day's events.My guilt tripled, and I rushed to make things right with Aditya.
Kiron made me realise how harsh my words were.I hurt Aditya with a low blow.Like all my other friends, he only wanted to help, excited about my prospects.Kiron is correct; the decision on the Delhi assignment is mine, but I cannot ruin my relationships.
I step down the stairs and look at the windows, but there is still no light.The night is going to be long and restless.Letting out a sigh of resignation, I turn to leave.The hinge squeaks, and the door opens.
“Hey.What are you doing here so late?Are you okay?”Aditya's voice is a whisper.
His eyes are tired and swollen.Has he been crying?
“Did I wake you up?I—I—” The words clog my throat, but my mind pushes through.“Can I come in?”
Aditya steps aside, giving me space to walk inside.We stand facing each other; the silence weighs heavy on me.I nudge his pinky finger.He clasps my hand and squeezes — a sign, a relief.He is ready to give me another chance.
“Addy, I am sorry.I let my frustration poison my words with bitterness.”
He glances at me and lowers his head.The silence of the night enables me to hear his words.“I am sorry too, for crossing the line.”
“No,” I step closer and grab his shoulder.“You only wanted the best for me.I acted like a jackass.”
This time, he looks at me; the faint light from the foyer glints on the tears in Aditya's eyes.
“Oh, Addy, please forgive me.”I hold his face in my palms and wipe the wetness from his eyes.
“Only if you tell me what riled you up today.”His arms wrap around my waist.
My shoulders drop.I guess there is no walking away from this adult talk.
“Where I come from, pride and clan trump everything else.Romantic love is a foreign language, and marriages are arranged based on stature.Sacrifice for the family is the only language they understand.”I hide my face in the nook of his neck, not wanting him to see my watering eyes.
Aditya’s grip tightens.“But you are their only son.How can they throw you out?”He rubs my back.
A warm comfort settles in my chest.I decide to open up the sordid chapters of my past.
“They did not throw me out.I ran away.The other options were to get married to whoever they chose or...”
“Or what?”
“Or die.If I had resisted, no one would even find my body.The day they locked me in the back room at the farm, I started planning my escape.At the first opportunity, I ran.On the highway to Delhi, I convinced a truck driver.He dropped me at Haridwar.I spent two days there before making my way to Almora.”
