Chapter 41: chapter 41

Mowri  take her coffee as she looked at the beautiful Himalayan range far away. The tall green pine and fir filled the valley between thehills. The long grey winding road in between that greenery looked like a serpent moving lazilyin the deep woods. But it was the low floating clouds barely touching the tips of the hils and casting various patterned shadows across thevalley that had her mesmerized. Shimla was so close she could practically see the city fromwhere she stood. Though a tiny dot but still. The air was crisp this high up and it had gotten littlecooler now that it was evening. She felt more than saw Arnab  come and stand behind her.He was a great guide and she had told him so. It was as if he had stayed in the city all his life.All the hidden treasures Kasauli had to offer he knew about it including this nice coffee house at the top of the hill from where one could see theentire city. He had taken her to his favorite spot too which was a small trail through the woodsthat opened to a small pond like structure a little away from where they were staying. It had beenso peaceful she had fallen in love with the place.They had walked mostly. To the mall road which was a couple of kilometers from where they were staying, then to his favorite place for thecoffee house of course they had had to drive.And though she was sure her legs would kill her later she had loved it. He was so easygoing which was a contrast to his strict discipline that he followed. The contrasts were intriguing. He never seemed to lose his temper. Max he would show his displeasure over something only by frowning or not snmiling but otherwise he stayed calm."A penny for your thoughts?" Arnab  said in his deep rumbling rolling voice and Mowri  shivered a little but she turned to face him. "You cold?" he asked as he watched her carefully."No," Mowri  said. She had her warm wrap with her.She wasn't cold but sometimes he had that kind of effect on her. And she wondered why? But she couldn't tell him that so she quickly answered him, "I was just thinking that probably you are in the wrong profession," she said and smiled a little. "Wrong profession?" he asked with mith."Yes," Mowri  said as she leaned on the railings where they stood on the terrace of the coffee shop, "you should seriously consider changing to becoming a guide' she said and smiled mischievously."Really" Arnab  said going along her tease. This was a first and he was enjoying it. "But then it would get boring because we will be only at one place with the same things around us. I don't think it would be lucrative," he told her with a thoughtful expression on his face.Mowri  smiled broadly, "Then we should shift often so you can be a great guide later you can write your own books too" she suggested."Yes well but I still prefer what I do right now" Arnab  said with a smile, "unless we open our own travelling company and make new schedules for tourists with newer places. What do you think?" he asked with a smile, "Just likeVarun," he said and then immediately regretted mentioning his name as he watched Mowri 's smile fade and her face turn all serious."You would still be more successful than him any day" Mowri  said seriously."Tell me something" Arnab  said carefully, "why do you hate him so? I mean he is stupid andweird but the way you react to him...did he eversay anything to you that he shouldn't have?" he asked wondering if that was the case. Or maybe because he was Simrit's husband. That could be a reason too given that she was not on good terms with her sister either.Mowri  looked at Arnab . Here she had been thinking of how to talk to him and here he had given hera perfect opportunity all on his own.Should she take this and tell him a few things?She had been meaning to anyway. She should start trusting him a little at least. But she did trust hinm she realized. She didn't have to start anywhere. How, when, why? That was irrelevant at this point. She took in a deep breath."It is not so much as what he said than what he did" Mowri  said. It was painful to go down the memory lane. But she had to try. A similar opportunity might not come by again soon."Since the time he married Simrit, it has all been about him," she said.Arnab  frowned as he heard pain in her voice and as he struggled to understand what she was saying. He understood she was trying to open up to him. Tell him a few things about her. And he had to be careful here. This was dangerous territory. One slip and she will shut up again. Sohe kept quiet giving her space to talk about it at her own pace."You know in my family son in laws have a special place,' Mowri  said, " don't know about you but Varun has always got that special treatment. Why? I have no clue, she said tartly,"he and Simrit are perfect for each other the way they are. Vain, full of themselves, selfish not to mention manipulative. The problem is most members in my family don't see them in the same light as me and hence the clash. Varun has always been the kind to exaggerate things, throw his weight around God knows what anybody saw in him but," she said a bit angrily, "anyway so he and I have never seen eye to eye over anything. I refuse to acknowledge him and he cannot standit" she said and smiled sarcastically."So why did Simrit get married to him?" Arnab  asked curiously."Because they are similar. Pretending to be someone who they are not is something theyare best at," she said derisively, "and mostly she married him and brought him to meet everyone so it is not as if anybody could do much about it except kick them both out" Mowri  said, "but they didn't do that so' she said and shrugged.Arnab  heard anger. She had wanted her family to throw them out because they had married without her family's permission but that didn't make any sense. Mowri  wasa logical rational girl and knowing whatever he knew about her she might have supported her sister so what was it that he was missing? Maybe her relationship withher sister had been sour since the beginning and that is why she believed they should not have been accepted by her family. Was that the cause of rift between her and her mother?"But it has been a while Mowri , you should let itgo besides your family has forgive them" he suggested."Yes, they could forgive Simrit anything" she said angrily. And Arnab  realized he had hit a raw nerve there."That girl can get away with anything. She can say what she likes, do what she wants, manipulate who she wants and she is forgiven for everything." she said bitterly, "but the same courtesy is not extended to the others in the family why?" she said. Then as if she realized she was getting out of control she took in a deep breath. "Arnab  I am sorry, I should not have lost my temper but Simrit isn't who you think she is," Mowri  said slowly, "her biggest strength is  the support she gets from my mother, " Mowri  said.and looked away, "l want to tell you, talk to you but" she said and sighed, 'something stops me every single time." she said truthfully and Arnab  heard how vulnerable she was."Is it because of your broken engagement?" heasked.And saw her eyes widen. So it was because of that. He was sad for her. She was a beautiful person. Strong and passionate but the hurt she had endured with that one event. But then lots of girls had broken engagements did they all react the same way? Why couldnt Mowri  get over it?It wasn't as if she had married the man? Had she been in love? Could be. Yes, that was the only logical answer."Yes," he heard her say, "that one event shook me to my core," she told him slowly, "it broke my trust in people Arnab . I know a lot of girls go through something like that and they probably recover faster than I have. I believe | have moved on, I like to see myself as a more mature, stronger person but sometimes I am unable to rationalize with what happened. I can't forgive that person ever" Mowri  said and looked away as if ashamed of her weakness, "I have tried it no matter what everyone thinks but I am unable to," she said and hung her head."Was Simrit responsible in any way for it?" he asked quietly."Yes," she replied but kept her head hanging there.Arnab  wasn't sure what would be the right words to ease her pain or shame or discomfort or whatever else she was feeling. But he couldn't just stand there and do nothing either. He had to comfort her somehow. Besides she was trying. She was trying to tell him things about her. He didn't like her this way. Why? He would think about it later. For now he walked up to her then putting his hands on her shoulders very gently pulled her towards him and locked his arms behind her. He hugged her tightly and felt her tense for a few seconds before she relaxed. He didn't know how long he just stood there with her like that."I am sorry Arnab ," Mowri  said quietly, "I am trying to open up to you. I know it is important but..." she paused."Shhh," Arnab  said keeping his chin on her head as he held her, "it is okay. It will come when you are ready. Don't push it. There is a lot of time," he told her gently. He heard her pain when she had said those words. It was not easy for her and he understood it. It wasn't easy for him either. He wondered how he would fare when he would have to tell her about himself. Would he choke the same way? Maybe. He needed to talk about the details of his life as well but maybe not today. He will have to help her first. When you keep your feelings bottled inside for long then it became all the more difficult to take it all out at one go. It had to come slowly. And he will have to be patient. At least he got to see and hear a bit more about her today. But something bothered him and he had to get it out of the way before anything else. He just had to ask."Did you love him?" he asked keeping his tone light as if it didn't matter."No," Mowri  replied, "I never did. It was an arranged match we did meet a couple of times but that was about it," she said quietly.And Arnab  felt relieved. If she had loved him that would have been a problem because then it would mean she still harbored some feelings for him. Was that the only reason why he was relieved? He decided not to dig any deeper in his own mind for answers about his actions and reactions to her. He still held her and he liked it. It felt right. And for the first time he realized that he wasn't comparing holding her like this with his times spent with Nisha  when all this time he had been unconsciously doing that. And that gave him pause. He felt her shiver a little and realized her warm wrap was not all that warm maybe. He eased her out of his embrace and took off his jacket. It wasn't very warm either but with her warm wrap it would provide adequate heat to keep her from shivering.Mowri  took the jacket gratefully though she had to smile. One because he thought she had shivered because she felt cold when it was the exact opposite. She had shivered because his nearness and musky smell was making her imagine things she had no business imagining right now. And two because he was being so chivalrous."What if you catch a cold?" Mowri  asked."You think I am some guy who would give his jacket to his wife because she is cold and then keep shivering himself," he asked."Isn't that who you are?" she asked curiously."Yes, well, maybe but I gave you my jacket because I know I have another one in my car," he said with a twinkle to his eyes, "I always keep one just for such situations," he said and winked.Mowri  laughed and Arnab  smiled. She looked much better. And he felt better too. Mowri  punched him lightly on his left arm and he pretended as if he had been wounded."Ouch," Arnab  said, "that was hard," he told her."I told you I had made guys cry," she said and with her head high in the air and a proud smile on her face she walked past him.Arnab  shook his head and followed behind. It felt good to see her back to her normal self. One thing was certain people were wrong about her. They thought they knew her but that was not the case. She was a sweetheart and he hoped he could keep her that way and help her become who she really was without the cloak of being a shrew.This was just a start. They both needed to mend each other. And with time and care they will do just that.******************