Bound By Circumstances I: Who is the Other Woman?

18. The Day After

At this point, I doubt that apologies even count :P. So, a thank you to all those who are still here reading this. As usual, no promises for the future. 

Anaya went back and fell asleep as soon as her touched the pillow. She was exhausted. It had been an exciting day and she had had fun.

The next day, she woke up well rested. She stretched and saw the time. It was just 8:00 in the morning. She didn't think that she would actually wake up at a decent time on a Sunday. But then again, she was at a new place so maybe her subconscious mind was more alert than she realized. She was far too restless to keep laying in bed so she decided to get up.

Once the bathroom routine was done, she headed out to the balcony. The pitch black night had not shown her any views but in the morning, she was met with lush greenery. Anaya remembered the general map of Vansh's home. The outer perimeter was covered with trees. She seemed to be facing one of those perimeters. There had been a central courtyard with a passageway in all four directions. The front yard had a garden and chairs to entertain guests. They also had a small gazebo on one side and a small shade on the other side. All in all, the house had a mix feel. The side that Anaya faced had the car parking. She just needed to look down and right below the tin shade, cars too glamorous for a simple village could be seen. On the opposite side were the staff quarters. It also led to a side gate to access the farm equipment and the cow shed. And finally, there was the backyard. The backyard was a large open space, where dadi would put her pickles, dry her chillies and was a place for so much more. The back yard also had a seating arrangement, a swing and was the place where the family would sit to enjoy a lazy time.

Anaya after having had her fill of the trees, she walked in. Wonder what everyone might be up to, she poked her head out of the door. She had not realized it at night but once she opened her door, she could actually see the backyard. She walked out to the railings to admire the new scenery only to notice a figure in the backyard. The movements and the dull sounds she heard made her eyes widen in surprise.

Basketball.

She had played in school but it had been a while. The figure which could be no one else other than Vansh seemed to be playing a solo game. He deftly moved around and threw the ball in the hoop that was installed at one side of the backyard. She watched him for a while and before she realized, she was finding her way down the corridors towards the stairs. She reached down without meeting a soul and reached the backyard. It was interesting how she found her way through the house. Step by step she approached the guy who was busy shooting hoops. Once again, he made a beautiful shot and the ball landed in the basket. He went to collect the ball only for the ball to evade him, hit the pole and roll in Anaya's direction.

She picked it up and spun it on her finger like an expert. She had a happy surprise at that. Looking at the guy coming towards her, she slightly dogged him, dribbled moving forward and made a perfect shot. Silently, a game begun between the two. They would tease each other at every hoop and poke fun. She was very out of shape and it seems like he was in no proper situation as well but both had an invigorating game for some 30 minutes. Then, both sat on the floor, panting and laughing.

"Did you play?" Vansh asked.

"Yes. I was a part of the school team. You?"

"Yes, told you last evening, remember,"

"Oh yeah, you did. And, Yes, I did. But we never managed to win at the national levels. We were state champions though," she replied. "Not like you gold medalists," she poked at him.

"Yeah, that was match. Sadly, I could not be a part of it," he said nostalgically.

They were exchanging stories on it when Dadi appeared on the doorway. "It's nice to see you young ones so energetic in the morning," she said in an amused tone. Her eyes lingered for a second on Anaya's T-shirt.