“Mom, please tell me why are you doing this?”

“Munna, I do not do it deliberately, I love them so much and since they didn’t love me as much they did two days back. I’m still showing my affection towards them.”

“But ma do you remember what did they do to you? The left you in oldage home and they took all your property. They took the land which you possessed to be given to your son after his marriage. They forcefully transferred the land to their name. But you still love them”

“Beta, I understand all that, but after all they are my blood. He is my brother whom I had taken care of from his childhood. How can I ignore him?”

“That is fine but what about my aunt? Why are you doing very small things to her, when she hasn’t even cared for you two days back? She hasn’t even turned a single stone straight up. But yesterday you have shut the curtain in her room, adjusted the picture which was hanging on the wall straight so that it looks in neat. Why? Why all this?”

“Beta, you do not understand. You are still tender and immature by heart. You do not see things clearly. You need to wait and understand yourself”

“But ma, this is your house. They have usurped it from you. And you still stay here as a maidservant. I hate this to the core”

“Give me one more chance, I’ll show it to you and you will understand everything”

“Ok. Do whatever you want. But let me tell you something. You are not doing the right things, they do not deserve such fondness from you”

The mother gave a wry smile and saw her brother coming into the drawing hall. He was very tired after his day’s work. He sat on the sofa and switched on the TV.

●●●

Radhika entered the house late at night, went to her room and quickly changed to her night dress. She saw Suman sitting in the sofa and staring at the TV very thoughtfully. She went near him and gently stroked his forehead and asked.

“It seems you are in a deep thinking about me”, she enquired

“Yes. I’m thinking about you only”, replied Suman

“So sweet…..” saying this she neared him and was about to give a tight hug, just then he blocked her hug with his hand and looked at her.

“You shouldn’t have been so rude to my sister. You know how much she loved both of us?”

“Arrey, what’s wrong with you now? Why are you taking up her topic. I’ve been already hurt by heart for the past 2 days. Today you are again bringing up this topic.”

“Please Radhika understand. I know the incidents which are happening for the past two days. But I can’t just accept the way you behave with my sister”

Radhika frowned at her husband’s expression and fired back, “You never know what mental agony I’m into. You have witnessed what happened yesterday in my bedroom. Don’t you understand that? I need some comfort not scorching words towards me”

She understood that he is not in a mood to listen to her. She quickly hurried way to her bedroom leaving him in the drawing hall with the TV

Suman thought, she was not the one, with whom he fell in love, a year back. I was in love with her, but she was not in love with me but with my money. I was mad on her beauty, but she was mad on my richness. I never felt this before, I was blind in love or my love was blind. I could see that she was not in good terms with my sister from the day one we came into this house. For past two days she has been into great trauma. But why did she do this to my sister?

●●●

“But mom, this isn’t fair and please don’t involve me in such things. Im not ready to do anythingfor her. I can’t….”

“Beta, look Radhika is coming”

“Ok do whatever you want!”

Radhika entered her bedroom. It was dark and the night lamp was the only source of light illuminating the room. She sat in the bed and did not want to see things which happened last night. Just then she was about to adjust the pillow, the chair in front of the dressing table moved without any support. It appeared as if someone was pulling it near the bed. But no one was seen around.

Radhika was petrified.

Suman could hear someone screaming from the bedroom above the stairs. He very well knew that it belonged to her wife. He picked up the telephone which was placed in the centre of the tea table and dialed to his family lawyer, without any second thoughts.

“Mr. Arora, we are planning to sell the house, please meet me tomorrow morning with the documents. I’ll sign right away” said Suman calmly.

“Suman, but why now? You wanted to stay…”

“Please do not ask anything now. I’ve decided to sell it. We are moving to our flat in our native. Please get ready with the documents. We would like to get away with this damn house.” Suman completed the sentence in a single breath and placed the receiver in the phone.

He reached the bedroom to find his wife horror struck and sitting in the corner of the room. He went near her and said, “Rahika, we are leaving tomorrow as your wish. We are not staying anymore here in this house. And you will not be subjected to such incidents happening around you. I love you so much and my sister too. ”

Radhika was still, unable to come out of the shock which she had countered and it’s been like this for the past two days, after her sister-in-law died day before yesterday due to the cardiac arrest with stress due to the extreme mental torture which she has been subjected to by Radhika, which killed not only her sister-in-law but also her only son who hung himself not withstanding her mom’s death.

●●●

“Mom now I understand why are you doing this to her. At last they are leaving now. I never knew you can do this. I was wondering how people simply deceive others and stay happily. I was afraid that they will live happily in our house forever. But with this, they are moving, movng away from our very own house.”

“Yes munna, our work ends here. I’ve done my part. Come on let us too leave. We have our own places to stay, not here from now on.”

A barely visible wisp of air ascended the sky from the room towards the window pane. The bright white curtains swayed in air as the gush of air escaped out of the window

~The End~