Chapter 4A: Memories of the Past

Everyone was waiting downstairs and the heard footsteps coming. Garima came in with Payal and had her sit down, "This is my daughter Payal."

Everyone had a smile on their face, except for two people. Arnav looked up and was left surprised. Anjali, who was sitting next to him looked at him and noticed his expression, this wasn't the girl that he liked, she thought.

 

"Di this isn't her," Arnav said telling her, "Are we even at the right house?"

 

"Yeah Chotte we are, Mrs. Sharma had told me this is where the Gupta sister's live," Anjali said.

"Sisters?!" he said.

"Is there a problem?" Garima asked noticing both of them talking to each other silently.

"Yes Anjali betiya, is there something wrong that you both are muttering to yourself?" Nani also asked.

"Nani yeh woh ladki nahi hain," Anjali whispered leaning into to Nani. (Nani, this isn't the girl.)

"If this isn't her, then who is she?" Nani asked.

"When I had asked Mrs. Sharma about the girl Chotte liked, she was also standing there, so maybe it's her sister since Mrs. Sharma had said the Gupta Sisters," she replied.

"Auntyji," Anjali said talking to Garima, "When I had talked to Mrs. Sharma at the mandir this morning, she had pointed towards two girls, saying that they both were your daughters. And we have actually come for the rishta of your other daughter."

"You mean Khushi?" Payal asked them.

 

Khushi, so that was her name, Arnav thought. The name suited her perfectly, just like how he had seen her. She was always wearing smile on her face, and making those around her happy. When he had seen her outside the mandir for the past two months, she would greet everyone with a pleasant smile, making them smile them smile. She had been his Khushi for the past two months also.

 

"Sorry for the confusion Aunty, but Chotte had originally liked your other daughter," Anjali said to Garima.

 

To say that Garima and Sashi were surprised would be an understatement. In the past, they would always have to out and try to find a rishta for her, but today there was one that had come for her.

 

"You do realize that she has cerebral palsy in her legs right?" Garima asked hesitantly.

"Matlab?" Nani asked. (Meaning?)

"She walks with a limp on her right foot," Sashi added. An eerie silence filled the room as the Raizada family took time to comprehend this.

Arnav was the one who broke the silence after a few minutes, "And I would still like to marry her." Nani also nodded and agreed, if Arnav was happy with the alliance, no one else in the family had a problem with it.

Garima and Sashi looked at each other with questioning looks, they weren't sure what to think of this proposal. The Raizada's were a highly reputed family, and well known. Why would someone liked them want to have an alliance with girl like Khushi. Throughout her entire life, she had been taunted and behaved rudely with because of her handicap. Was the man in front of them even aware of what he was getting himself in?

"Before we continue with this risha, we'd like to tell you about Khushi's past," Garima said. They would have to clear everything up with the family before they agreed to anything.

"But...," Nani said and was cut off by Sashi.

"We need to make sure you guys are aware of everything," Sashi said and Garima began talking.

"Khushi isn't actually our daughter. She is my sister's daughter, who is no longer alive. But we have always treated her as our own and never given her chance to think that she is adopted. When my sister was going to have Khushi, there were many complications in the pregnancy. Khushi was born with a cerebral palsy, and her husband left her because he didn't want a handicapped daughter a few months after her birth. My sister would always hope that he would come back to live with them again, but he never did. Till today, we still don't know about his whereabouts or how he is. My sister went into depression after his absence, and died in her sleep due to overdose of the medicine she had been taking," she said and paused for a few moments remembering the old days.

"My husband and I adopted Khushi when she passed away and she fit in perfectly with our family. There were many challenges she faced growing up because of her disability. Going to school, she didn't make many friends because everyone always made fun of her. She wouldn't go out of the house because people would tease her, she didn't have many people to talk with. Khushi would busy herself in her studies as a way to go beyond it and forget it.

In the past when we've tried fixing her rishta, there would always be a no from the other side. But they were right on their own part, what kind of family would want their son to marry a crippled girl? Two years ago, her rishta did get fixed with a boy. They had at first agreed to the rishta.The boy's grandmother was suppose to come from Canada on the day of the wedding to attend it.One the day or the wedding, the grandmother saw that Khushi walked with a limp, she she stopped the wedding right there and the baraat left because they no longer wanted the alliance,"Garima said with a few tears making their way down her face as she remembered that painful day.

"Khushi has really closed herself up in a shell, and doesn't let many people get close to her because they always end up hurting her. This was her past and if you don't want to agree to the rishta after hearing it, we have no problem with that," Sashi said looking at the Raizada family.

"Sashi saab, we have absolutely no problem with the rishta, as long as Khushi bitiya agrees to it," Nani told him.

"Can I talk to her?" Arnav asked and everyone looked towards him.

"Uh...," Garima said looking at Sashi who nodded towards her, "Payal go take him up to Khushi's room."

"Ji," Payal said and got up leading him towards her room. They walked up the stairs and she stopped outside the room that was in the corner.

Payal knocked on the door, and they heard a few ragged footsteps approaching the door. Khushi opened the door and saw Payal there.

"Khushi, he wants to talk with you," Payal said stepping aside to reveal the man who had stopped her from falling at the mandir two months ago.

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