179

“Haaff… Huff… Huff..!” She panted clutching a stitch in her sides…! He sat huffing and she tried to push him to make room for herself. 

“What? All Exhausted?” he teased her blowing on her face.  She flared her nose angrily. 

“One year… Or more…! I don’t remember when I did this last time..!” she said trying to steady her breath.  He laughed.  She turned her face angrily.  He still had the energy to tease her and she had lost all her strength even to breathe.  He took out a chocolate, she grabbed it.

“Thank you..!” she made a big favour, thanking him. 

“Humm.!” He wrapped his hand around her shoulder.  She leaned on his shoulder, grinning, wiping the sweat from her forehead.  He again blew on her face giving her cool shivers.

“Aahaa…!” she closed her eyes, shedding her inhibitions…!

“This was great!” she huffed, he grinned.  He could feel her opening up to him a bit.

“Dhaa…!” She looked at him still panting and leaning on him, clutching his arm. 

“I want to tell you something…!” he said and she just nodded looking down at her feet.

“I mean… I was in relationship before…!” he said and waited for some reaction from her.  He got none.  She kept gazing into nothingness.  He sighed.

“I mean.. twice…!” he said and she looked at him.  “Why is he telling me this, when we decided not to discuss our pasts…?” she looked up questioningly. 

“I mean, Samantha…!” he looked at her and she looked away.  “Does he mean that girl at the party?” she just sighed. 

“I was in serious relationship with her for two years when we were together at University…!” he said gazing somewhere else.  She refrained from reacting. 

“And then there was Jakie, who worked with our company…For a very short time…!” he confessed tightening his grip on her shoulder, as if not letting her run away from him. 

“Samantha… I mean, everyone expected us to get married…!” he said emphasizing the seriousness of their relationship. She stared at her feet. 

“Then we broke up..!” he said.  “Why?” she asked not looking at him.

“May be… I didn’t like her enough to commit..!” he said,  There was a total silence but then he broke the silence again. 

“Jakie… I mean.. we both were not serious at all… It was … like…” he didn’t know how to tell her that it was only for her Bs and Bs…! No involvement…! Parting was easier…! Parting was easier in case of Samantha also.  He just had walked away.  They had continued to work together, but there was nothing left between them. 

Dhatri refrained from looking at him.  He waited for a while and then asked…!

“Were you in relationship before?” he asked her casually.  The question triggered her rage..! She looked straight into his eyes…!

“I come from a country called India, from a small District place called Vidisha..!” Getting up she started walking away.

“Dhatri…” He caught up with her.

“Do you even know, what is a relationship?” he asked her and she stopped.

“What does he think? I am that naïve?” her rage saw no boundary.  He held her hand.

“Dhaa… That was my past…!” he said apologetically and she spat back..!

“You promised not to discuss our past..!” she accused.  He hung his head.

“I.. I thought I should share this with you…!”

“Let us go..!” she said blankly.   She walked with him silently.  The long shadows followed them as they walked facing the setting son.  He had booked a day long trail in the wilderness park giving her a pleasant surprise, reminding her of the treks into the deep jungles, racing with her to reach at the top of hillocks and slipping, sliding deep into the valleys…!  

“Are you upset?” he asked her when she was unusually silent on the dinner table.  She shook her head a bit.  “No!” she said and he took a sigh of relief smiling broadly, squeezing her hand.  She focused on her food. 

“He didn’t like her enough to commit… but he married me, without liking me?” she thought.. for the first time, on her own, without her didi prompting her…!

“Why did he marry me?” she suddenly asked looking up into his eyes, thinking to herself.  He was gazing at her.  As if sensing her unasked question he spoke..

“Dhaa.. I married…” she just had enough of it, raising her hand she stopped him…!

“I am done with my dinner.  I think I should hit the bed..!” she got up and walked away leaving him behind, stunned.    

.”Don’t you want to know, why I married you, Dhaa?” he asked her when she was about to disappear under her blanket.

“No!” She said…! “You married me.  And nothing can be done about it now…!” she said pulling the duvet over her head…! He sat beside her on the bed for a long time, puzzled about her reaction to his revelation…! “Does she even know, what is marital relationship?”

*********  *********  *********

“Rini…!” he tried holding her hand she moved away.  “No!” she said raising her hand as if she was untouchable. 

“I still want to marry you…!” he directly came to the point.  She was rendered speechless.

“Marry me? Why? You were the one having cold feet..! Now what happened, Maj. Vinit Sir? Pity? Sympathy?” she asked furiously.  He held her hand and she went cold.  He looked into her eyes thoroughly hurt.  She turned her reddening face. 

“I am going …!” she said getting up but he pulled her back. 

“Why?” she was pained.  He sighed.

“Don’t you know? Or is it another round of this so called Exit Interview? Stabbing me to death..?” she asked bitterly.  He just held her hand not letting her move away from him.

“I don’t care, what it is…!” he said firmly.  She gulped some air feeling suffocated.

“And I know…! You are diagnosed HIV positive.. And I don’t give it a damn!” he spat.  She was taken aback.

“Have you lost your good senses?” she aske furiously.  He gripped her shoulder.

“Yes…! You made me lose my senses, Rini..! I won’t let you go…!” She looked away dejected.

“Are you crazy? Don’t you understand? I am of no use…!” she said with resentment.  She was no good as a human being, being contaminated with deathly virus and she was no good as a soldier, as she would be rendered unfit for her duties…!

“Just let me go…!” she tried freeing herself from his grip.  His clasp tightened.

“You can’t walk away like that…!” His anger appeared in his eyes.  She stood looking at his furious face unable to understand the cause of his rage.

“Sit here..!” he ordered. 

“What you would have done, if it were me?” he asked the dreaded question.  She fell silent..!

“What she would have done? She would have gone ahead as if nothing had happened and would have married him…”

He was glaring at her piercingly.  She hung her head.  She can’t put his life in danger… she can’t ruin anyone’s life…She must go away…!

“Rini… That time, on the hospital bed, I said No, because I didn’t want to ruin your life.  Doctors feared that I won’t be the same again physically.. might lose my .. umm.. powers… I mean reproductive powers… I might not have a healthy sex with anyone…” he said it in plain terms..! She gaped shocked.

“Now the tables have turned… Maj. Sir..! But ironically, I am at the receiving end in both the cases..! She said bitterly. 

“Look… I am going to marry you anyway…!” he said decisively and she shook her head.

“Not this time..! I am prepared now…!” she said and with one swift movement pulled out his gun and held it to her temple…!

“Go away… else I am going to shoot myself…!” she yelled taking a few steps backwards..! He just raised his hands in surrendering…!