Kavya

Roughly 3 years later

It has been six years since I lost my Rishi. Over the years I have changed a lot. Unlike the days I used to turn into a puddle by the mere mention of his name, I have come a long way. Watching ten year olds play cricket in the park, sitting at the nearby bench, my mind wandered off to the scenario of what could have been.

Where would I be today if the doctors had identified the symptoms Rishi had?

What if Amit had supported me through those bad days?

What if we had never gotten divorced?

My chain of thoughts were interrupted by the ball that came and hit my leg.

"Ouch." I wince as I see the smallest kid in the group run towards me.

"Sorry aunty." He says. It was clear from his demeanour that he was afraid of what I would say.

"It wasn't you who played the ball. Why are you here instead of the batsman?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Those bhaiyyas don't let me play with them usually. But, they let me play sometimes if I help them out."

I couldn't help but smile at the little boy.

"Here, take it. But don't let them bully you for long." I say handing over the ball to him.

"Thank you aunty."

I saw the kid negotiate with the other players before handing over the ball and smile as the batsman reluctantly handed over the bat to him. He turned to smile at me and I gave him a thumbs up.

As my eyes wandered over the park, I saw Karthik and Gunjan with Rishu. They were there to support my dream today. I still remember the day I contacted him after my sudden disappearance. He was happy to be present in any way I wanted him to and that was what I loved about him.

"Kavya, I think you should go get ready." My brother distracted me from my chain of thoughts this time.

"Haan bhai, you are right." I said getting up. I was about to gather the stuff I had brought with, but Karthik stopped me.

"I'll do that." I nodded as I walked towards the building.

As I entered my room, I saw the outfit that was laid out for me on the bed. No doubt it was Gunjan's doing. It was a simple black gown. She had also laid out jewellery to go with it. I tied my hair in a high pony tail and looked at myself in the mirror. Not liking what I saw, I decided to let my hair down. I finished off my look with minimal make up and cherry red lipstick. Organizing a high profile art exhibition as a debutant was difficult. But I had Lily's support and her friend, a big shot industrialist, who had already bought many of my works after Lily's recommendation, I knew the press was going to be there. I knew I needed to make an effort as a lot of cameras would be on me.

"Ready?" Gunjan asked coming to my room.

"I guess."

"It is going to be a hit." She said giving me a reassuring smile.

"Let's leave." Karthik said as we entered the living room.

"But..." He cut me off before I could finish my question.

"I just talked to your husband, he'll meet us there." I smiled knowing how well he knew me.

As I entered the Gallery, I felt all eyes on me. Mr. Dutta, the guy who had spent a lot of money buying my works, approached and congratulated me on the success of the event. He introduced me to the crowd and passed me the microphone. I managed a few words, thanking everyone who had supported me through the course of time. I could hear the pictures being clicked and a lot of people came up to me to congratulate me. But, all the time my eyes were fixed on one man. It was like nothing had changed. Gaurav looked dapper in his signature black suit and white shirt. He gave me a smile which I returned.

"Hi" He said approaching me after the crowd around me had somewhat died.

"Hey" he kissed my cheek. His one hand held one of mine while the he used the other to caress the small bump on my belly.

"So..."

"Kavya aunty" I saw Nidhi running towards me. Not far behind her was her dad, Nikhil. Gaurav though had never met them was grateful for their existence. According to him he was a little threatened by them initially due to Rahul's timely reports. But then, his parents proposed and had me running back to him. It was funny because it was true.

"For you." Nidhi said handing over the rose she held in her hand.

"Thank you baby." I say as Nikhil catches up to us.

"Hey, sorry I am late" He says giving me a side hug.

"It is alright. You are just in time. Here, I would like you to meet..."

"Gaurav?" he asks and I nod. They had never met before. Nikhil and Nidhi couldn't make it to the wedding in Mumbai. After I moved out of the apartment, this was the first time I was back in Bangalore. Just because I wanted my first show to be in Lily's gallery.

"Hi, Nikhil Verma" He says holding his hand out for Gaurav to shake.

"Gaurav Rathore. Really nice to meet you and thank you so much." He says taking the hand. Nikhil looked questioningly at me obviously not getting the inside joke. I just shake my head.

"I'll go talk to Karthik and the others. See you later?" Nikhil said looking at me

"Sure. I'll join you guys in a while." I watched Nikhil lead Nidhi away to where Karthik and Gunjan stood speaking to the other guests.

I turned to look at Gaurav. We had come a long way. He had me scared when a random girl opened the door to his house when I showed up. Turns out they were having a family reunion and the girl was his cousin who was on leave from her job in Australia. I was expecting to patch things up with him when I showed up. But his mom was the first to apologize. I confessed to them that I felt that whatever Shivani said was true. Gaurav deserved way better than me and that I was so caught up in my sob story that I did not think about him. But he had stopped me from over thinking saying it was his decision to be with me as much as it was my decision to go back to him.

We walked towards the spot my family and friends had gathered to support me. Nidhi and Rishu were running around and Gunjan was trying her best to get them to stop. Ashna was helping Gunjan with that. Nikhil was taking to Karthik and Rahul (who could suddenly tolerate Nikhil more, now that his best friend was happy). Sneha and Rahul's two year old was with his grandparents. Rahul was against letting his in-laws take care of his son – but his opinion didn't matter. I saw my power trio of Maya, Neha and Shreya talk to each other. I mean they still work together. You'd think they'd mingle with the rest of the crowd for once. But no, oh wait, they included Meera and Sneha in their little group. I saw the trio's husbands talk to each other. They'd all become close friends while I was on my self-imposed exile. I think I saw Nikhil looking at Meera, not just once. Was I imagining things?

"You okay?" Gaurav asked as we walked towards them. I nod, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I just thought I saw something."

"You want something to eat before we join the crazy gang?" he asked me.

"Nah, maybe later." I said as I took his hand and let him lead me to my family and friends.

With him life has been so easy. I am grateful for everyone in my life. Karthik, Gunjan, Rishu, Meera, Ashna, Maya, Shreya, Neha, Rahul, Sneha, Nidhi, Nikhil, and last, but definitely not the least, Gaurav. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. All of these people had a part to play in who I was today. I am happy where I am and I hope it stays this way.

If there is anything I have learnt from my life, that would be the fact that time heals everything.