Aryan sat in the airport coffee shop with his head down. He fidgeted with his phone which he looked at every five minutes nervously. He lifted his head and looked around, hoping to find the person he had been waiting for. When he couldn't find it he sighed, switched to his phone, and sent another message to the person.
"Hey, buddy! Sorry for making you wait so long."
Aryan hastily glanced at his watch as soon as he heard the voice. "What made you late this time, uncle?"
"Oh please, don't call me uncle." Ayan took a seat in front of Aryan while catching his breath. "My alarm didn't go off. Luckily you called me until I woke up."
Aryan shook his head with a small smile. He offered his drink to Ayan but the man politely refused. "Are you alone?"
"As usual."
"With Ranbir?"
Ayan laughs hearing that. "Not always. I have a life of my own too."
"Yeah, I mean you guys are already like soul mates." Aryan laughed too. "So what are you doing here?"
"Travelling, looking for new ideas to write..." Ayan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "And you? What's it like to study film? Is it fun?"
Aryan smirked, making his dimples clearly defined. "No college is fun. I'm just getting started, don't know if I'll ever like it."
Ayan pulled himself to sit back on the chair. His hands were folded in front of his chest. "You're not like what the media has been telling all along. You know, you have cold-man image over there in India. They think you don't like to talk."
"Dad says not everything about me has to be shown to everyone." Aryan looked down again. His heart kept forcing him to ask the question that stuck in his heart. However he was still hesitating, so he could only play with his fingers nervously.
"What's wrong? You're suddenly so gloomy." Ayan asked.
Aryan sighed. "I haven't spoken to Kajol in the past few days."
Ayan frowned. "Kajol? Why don't you just call her?"
Aryan shook his head. "I couldn't reach her. Her phone was off."
Ayan took out his phone from his bag and tries to call Kajol. "You're right. Her phone is off."
"Even Mausi wasn't even picking up my calls. Do you know what's up with them?"
Ayan put his phone back while shaking his head. "Have you asked your father?"
Aryan chuckled. "Papa is just as weird. He changes the subject every time I ask about mom."
"They've never been like this. I'll try to call them later."
"It makes me feel déja vú. Like when my mother left the house that day." Aryan took a deep breath. "I miss her."
Ayan smiled slightly then patted his nephew's shoulder gently, trying to encourage him. "Don't worry. We'll get the answer when we get there."
Aryan just nodded. Calls for their flight to India started ringing over the loudspeakers. They immediately brought up their belongings and rushed to the gate for boarding.
**
Shahrukh stepped into his house in an uncertain mood. He held a bouquet of fragrant roses in his hands. He wanted to apologize. The memory of his fight with Kajol that night kept repeating in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to forget it, the shadow still wouldn't go away. He felt very guilty. He realized he shouldn't have said that. He had promised himself to start giving their marriage a new chance. But he destroyed it just like that because he was consumed by ego.
He stopped in front of Kajol's door. He stood there for a long time, staring at the dark brown door. No, he didn't hesitate. He is just shy. It was as if he no longer had a face in front of her. Don't know how he will apologized. He hoped the roses could help him convey his feelings.
"Shahrukh? What are you doing there?"
Shehnaz comes from the opposite direction. The woman looked at him in surprise.
"Ah no." Shahrukh smiled awkwardly. "I want to talk to Kajol."
Shehnaz frowned. "Kajol? Are you insane?"
Still with a smile Shahrukh asked his sister again. "What do you mean?"
"Oh my! You can't be ignorant about your own wife." Shehnaz patted her forehead. "She's gone. She said goodbye to me. I thought you knew."
The roses in Shahrukh's hand fell on the floor. His face turned pale. "Go? Go where? Did you know?"
Shehnaz just shook her head. "She had a very large suitcase. She didn't tell me where she was going."
Shahrukh felt his chest tighten. He immediately opened the door to make sure of it. Sure enough. The room was dark, empty. Nothing was there. The bed was still neatly arranged like no one had slept on it since yesterday.
He looked for his phone and hurriedly called Kajol. Of course there is no answer. He tried again but it's nothing.
"She's been gone for three days. You don't know because you always come home so late." Shehnaz said from the door.
Shahrukh cursed angrily. "Why didn't anyone tell me she was gone?!" he asked in a high pitched voice.
Shehnaz frowned. "Why ask me? Ask yourself, why did she leave." she answered then left Shahrukh alone.
Shahrukh took his steps to the dressing room. He opened the wardrobe casually. It is empty. Not a single one of Kajol's clothes was left. Everything was completely disappeared. Kajol left only one thing for him. It was tucked away in a carved wooden box that she placed in the corner of the closet.
He grabbed the box and opened it. Mangalsutra, wedding ring, and sindoor are neatly arranged inside there. He could only take a deep breath. Kajol had put the fate of their marriage in that box along with the signs of their marriage. He was late. Too late to realize, too late to know, too late to stop her from leaving.
He punched the wall hardly. The tightness in his chest grew stronger. He lost her.
**
"Thanks for the ride, uncle." Aryan said to Ayan.
Ayan smiled and nodded. "Get some rest. And just pray that your mother is inside."
Aryan nodded slowly. He watched Ayan's car leave him until it disappeared at the end of the road.
He turned and looked at his house. His heart was beating fast. He couldn't wait to find the answer to his astonishment.
"Arre, Aryan ji? You come back today?" some of his house staffs greeted him. They seemed surprised by Aryan's sudden arrival.
Aryan nodded. "Is my mother at home?"
All the staffs just stared at each other. No one knew how to answer the young master's question.
Aryan knows the answer just by looking at their behavior. He sighed and then chuckled. "Then my father? Is he not home either?"
"Mr Khan is upstairs, sir. Just got home few hours ago."
Aryan drags his suitcase inside the house. The staff offered to take them but he refused.
He looked around the house. It felt so different from the last time he'd been there.
"Papa?" he called. No one answered.
He left his things in the living room. He continued to walk into another room to look for his father.
"Papa … ?" he called again. Still no answer.
"Aryan?"
Aryan turned around. Her aunt greeted him with a sparkling smile. He approached the middle-aged woman and hugged her.
"Bua… I miss you."
Shehnaz hugged him back just as tightly. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming home today? We could send someone to pick you up."
Aryan let go of his hug and smiled faintly. "No need, Bua. I'm a grown up man, na? I can take care of it myself."
Shehnaz just nodded.
"Oh, have you seen papa?" Aryan asked.
"Your papa is in his office. Go see him."
Aryan said goodbye to his aunt to meet his father. He had to find out what was wrong with his parents. He knew this was no ordinary problem. His mother never left the house because of a fight. They would solve it in one night and be back to normal again. He knew this one would be different.
The door to his father's office was slightly opened. He could see his father standing in front of the window and his back to him. A puff of white smoke flew around his head. A sight he was used to seeing.
He knocked on the door three times. The knock caught his father's attention. The man looked at him in disbelief.
"Aryan? Is that really you, son?" Shahrukh said as he stubbed out his cigarette butt.
Aryan immediately approached his father and hugged him tightly. Shahrukh hugged his son back. Now the burden on his mind increased by one, explaining all this mess to Aryan.
"What's the matter, papa? You look different."
Shahrukh shook his head. "Don't mind your old man."
Aryan let go of his hug and looked at his father. The fifty-year-old man was definitely different from the last time he remembered.
"Are you sure it's nothing?"
Shahrukh smiled slightly then nodded. "What's all this? Surprise, huh?"
Aryan just smiled to answer that. "Where's Maa? I haven't seen her since."
Shahrukh's face immediately changed. He averted his eyes and walked away leaving Aryan.
Aryan followed his father who was now sitting in his chair. "Papa, I asked where Maa is. She hasn't answered my calls in days. Where is she?"
Shahrukh lit another cigarette. He inhaled and then exhaled deeply. Where's Kajol? How could he answer that question? He didn't even have the answer himself.
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~