Sarayu

Chapter 5

A few weeks pass by like this, and then came Diwali came. My favorite holiday. Sadly, this time, Akshara didn't want anyone to fire some crackers as she was doing a project about air pollution, so we settled with lighting diyas in front of our house, decorating the house in and out, and just chilling for the rest of the day. Diwali came on a Saturday.

My first Diwali with Sarayu.

I know, you're going to kill me now and say, "Umm this is said to married couples!" Well, you can think like that this once...

Anyways, we headed there for an extra long class, because Ms. Malini was holding a pooja at her house. I arrive, wearing an ivory colored kurta. Akanksha, Subbu, and dad came along in their respective lehenga, sari, and kurta. I went in, with my right foot. The house was decorated with many flowers all around. It had Goddess Lakshmi's big figure, and from the side, I saw Sarayu. So pretty. With a red bindi. With bangles. In a red half saree.

She was helping out with bringing the prasadam to the Goddess. Her smile. Her concentration. Her devotion towards the Goddess. They described who she was. She was an angel. My angel.

She kept her Bluetooth portable speaker where she was and played "Sri Makalakshmi Mantram" from her Samsung phone. Her mother came and checked in with her, and Sarayu went in again. Ms. Malini said, "Thank you for coming, the pooja will start shortly." She waved at a few people, and as soon as she waved to Subbu, Subbu went inside to help her out. Akshara sat next to Amulya and started talking to her. My dad found Sarayu's dad, Bhaskar, and randomly started to talking to him. To be honest, he looked like a temple priest.

I was bored of the conversation, so I go sit next to Ram and said, "Hey."

"Oh hi! Wanted to talk to you in class, but you were busy with class."

You idiot, I wasn't busy with the music, it was with Sarayu.

Still, I replied, "Yeah, same."

He kept talking, and I interrupted him and said, "Hold up, let me get some water for myself, I'm getting real thirsty. He chuckled and said, "Yes of course."

I didn't need water. My eyes needed Sarayu.

I started getting my acting skills out and called "Ma, amma! Where you at?" I went searching for her from the back, and I accidentally dashed her. Sarayu.

"Oh shoot, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine Abhi, calm down."

I helped her with the flowers which fell down from her plate of flowers. She picks it up and smiles.

"Thanks!"

"It's fine." I started to leave, and her voice stopped me. "Abhi?"

I turned back, and her face showed innocence and a sense of fear. "Um, can I...ask you something?"

I was scared. "Uh, yeah?"

"I...I..."

"Yeah?" I was getting scared and excited at the same time. Is she going to say what I am supposed to say?

"I love you."

Hold up, something is wrong.

Of course something's wrong. If nothing's wrong with my brain, why would I still be sitting with Ram? Why would my dad still talk to her dad? Why would my mom still be with Ms. Malini? Dang, my imagination is just too much.

Ms. Malini and Subbu came out. Then, Sarayu came out and sat in between her mom and dad. I was sitting towards the back of the crowd, looking at Sarayu. She was gorgeous. Like really gorgeous.

Now you might be thinking that I'm just a jerk like all those dudes in those movies where the dude keeps staring out the window creepily and stalks her so much. Nah, not really.

Not just her, but everything was pretty lately. Nature, school, my friends, and even the devil of the house, Akshara. Every emotion was pretty, like the love I had for Sarayu like the love Krishna had for Vaishali, the fear that she might get to know it and might reject me, the anxiousness of wanting to tell her, everything. Although some of them are disturbing, I didn't want to let go of those emotions. It was my first time getting so many emotions at once. So, she was that pretty.

Ms. Malini called, "Sarayu, give the harati to everyone," and she comes with it, towards dad, Subbu, Akshu, and finally, me. After taking the harati, I looked down, so that she wouldn't think I was a bad guy, but I gave an involuntary small smile.

We went back home and lit the diyas and saw how pretty our home actually was. We decorated the house with flowers and lights on the outside and inside. Then, we were casually watching TV, and I got an idea.

"Dad, let's go out."

"Huh? It's cold out."

"We have a heater in the car and a jacket for ourselves."

"Fine. Call Akshara and Subhadra."

I go on shouting to the kitchen. "Ma! Aksharamma!"

Akshara and Subbu come out. "What the hell do you want?"

"Let's go out Akshu."

"You're supposed to be saying that to your future girlfriend, not me!" Since mom was pretty chill, she didn't say anything.

I couldn't even do that for my future wife. "Fine, let's go!"

My idea was working.

We go, and I was indirectly directing my dad towards her house, and I saw the well lit house, and as I expected, Sarayu was outside, in that half saree.

"Isn't she so pretty, kanna?" My mom.

"Yeah Subhadra, she is!" My dad..

"She is super pretty!"

Sarayu's smile was so bright, brighter than the fire of the diva she had in her hands. That was when I thought, that I made the right choice.