Ajabdeh stepped out of the car in the newly bought Kurta and jeans, her eyes teared up. Nothing about the place had changed yet things were very different. At the portico of the mansion stood the old vintage car her grandfather loved, broken and in a coat of dust. The fountain was a piece of unrecognisable rubble. Her grandmother’s favourite garden was now just a lawn with a few hedges unevenly cut, and the mansion looked nothing short of a ghost bungalow. Trees and shrubs grew from cracks in the walls and parts of the old iron railings were absent. The trees looked ill-maintained and the symbolic lion atop the main door had fallen. The Bijoliya she had left behind was long gone. She kind of felt conscious and embarrassed about the fact that the estate she proudly described to Pratap was not what it looked like. Pratap seemed unaffected though.
Three steps up the door stood the man who resembled her father. Or what he would have looked like at fifty. Beside him stood his wife, neatly dressed, in probably her best sari and a daughter. The cousin Ajabdeh last met when she was a baby. Ratnawati was beautiful, her eyes and nose reminded Ajabdeh instantly of the sharp features of her grandmother and there was a vibe of smartness around her. She followed her father down the stairs to welcome them as Pratap shook hands with the man.
“I apologize for the short notice of my arrival.”
“Oh not at all Sir, it is a pleasure to have you here. Meet my daughter, Ratnawati. She is studying in Delhi. She is here for the holiday break in between the university terms.”
“Hello. You look more handsome than the pictures.” Pratap stopped from taking her hand for a shake at those words as her mother let out a sophisticated giggle much to Ajabdeh’s amusement.
“Oh Ratnawati, he has just arrived. Let him look around. You can have a conversation later. Am I right?” Pratap followed with an awkward nod. Mrs Punwar’s eyes fell on Ajabdeh as she spoke and she scrutinized her face. Ajabdeh’s heart skipped a beat. She thanked her stars that she somehow didn’t resemble either of her parents. Both she and Heer had taken after their maternal grandmother whom these people haven’t seen enough to remember.
“And who are these?”
“Oh, Mrs Punwar. This is my PA... A.. A...” Pratap stopped carefully.
“Alisha.” Ajabdeh extended her hand but her aunt didn’t take it. “And this is our team. We will inspect the property and ascertain the price. It will take umm...a day or two?” She wondered at the ladies who nodded in agreement. Laura had briefed them that it will take one of their friends about two days to arrange tickets for them. They will take a train to Mumbai and a flight back to Australia where they could legally get married. Pratap and Ajabdeh would see them off at the railway station.
“Very well.” Mrs Punwar turned to Pratap. “Two days of hosting the most eligible bachelor of the country will be our honour.” Nandini, Laura and Ajabdeh shared amused glances at each other.
“Shall I set them up in the left wing?” A servant interrupted.
“That’s too far from our wing.” Ratnawati frowned.
“Sounds perfect.” Pratap took over, “We will have three rooms please.”
The Bijoliya night was unusually quiet for the city dwellers. Around 7PM the crickets were buzzing and darkness fell upon the land. The moon shone on the rustling leaves of the orchard that overlooked the window of Ajabdeh’s room. She sighed at the quiet that surrounded her. She had never had this much time alone, in a room, to reflect on her life. More than a decade had passed. She had changed. Everything from her belief system to the person she was now has changed. But there was a part of her which still yearned to go back home; a part of her that found her grandparents and father’s smell and feel in these old walls. She sat down on the four-poster bed and sighed. Nandini and Laura would fly off to Australia. Pratap would be unaffected. But once this news was out she had a high chance of losing a few clients. She hadn’t thought of it until now. She checked her bank balance. Still, a few good digits to go and her mother would be temporarily cured. But for how long? Heer should get a chance for higher studies. She had to think of the future of her business. Would the mess ever be sorted? Her hand reached for the metal jug, and she poured a glass of water and drank it. A knock on her door made her look up as a servant came to inform her that dinner was served. She looked up at the wall clock. It was 8PM.
Pratap had taken a shower and was brushing his hair in the mirror when his eyes fell on a picture on the wall behind him. He walked up to it and used his hand to rub a coat of dust off it. It was a black and white framed picture of the estate in probably its glorious years. The fountain is functioning. It was indeed like Ajabdeh described it. She was right. This would cost a fortune. What would he do with it? His father wouldn’t approve unless it was of some use. What use could the old property away from the city
probably be to them? Pratap sat down wondering. The servant knocked on his door and informed him that dinner was served.
The grand chandelier of the dining hall appeared to have been recently cleaned and was sparkling in all its glory. The white marble table was laid with silverware, and a big bouquet of fresh flowers made the centrepiece of the table. Chairs were put around it, and as soon as Pratap walked into the room he saw that everyone else was already there. Laura and Nandini looked fresh and Ajabdeh... well her face was unreadable but she was unusually absent-minded. Everyone looked up as he arrived, except for her. It was only when he pulled the chair that she looked up and across the table at him.
“We made traditional dinner for you.” Mrs Punwar spoke as she indicated to the servants to serve them. “I hope you like it.”
Pratap nodded. Ratnawati spoke next, “So why do you want to buy the estate?” He looked up at the girl at her words and Laura and Nandini exchanged glances.
“Well we are thinking of expanding our business areas and the estate could be a good asset,” Pratap said before sipping on the wine.
“Well if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of business?” Ratnawati asked.
“Weddings.” Ajabdeh looked up at his words, still looking a little lost. “Our company wants to invest in wedding planning and I think the estate would make a perfect choice for those who seek royal destination weddings, don’t you think?” Pratap said with a hint of a smile first at Ratnawati then at Ajabdeh who looked away to her plate of food, her brows narrowing, lost in her own thoughts.
“That market is a boom now!” Mr Punwar agreed. “Even Ratnawati wants a wedding like that don’t you?”
“Oh yes like RanDeep!” She gushed.
“Who?” Pratap frowned cluelessly.
“Ranveer and Deepika of course, they are my favourites.” Ratnawati gushed as he nodded “I will show you around the estate tomorrow. Can you ride a horse?” She asked.
“I am no expert but I did learn once upon a time.” Pratap smiled.
“Well, we still have a few at the stable.” She smiled “You can try one.”
“You should actually take my team around the estate.” Pratap indicated at a taken aback Nandini and Laura smiled with a nod. “They will do the needful.” Ratnawati seemed disappointed but was quick enough not to show it.
“Well let me warn you, Mr Singh, you will be disappointed.” Mrs Punwar spoke. “As much as we want to sell it, my in-laws have left it in a rather dire state. They didn’t think ahead about what would become of the family after them and spent all their money on charities. If you want to make it into something you have to demolish everything and start afresh. The estate is...”
“Excuse me.” Ajabdeh got up prompting Mrs Punwar to stop her rant. Pratap looked at her face and turned a little pale. “I am not feeling well. I apologize.” She walked away as Pratap and Nandini shared a glance.
“As I was saying....” Mrs Punwar continued.
“I can’t believe Dadabhai helped someone run away.” Shakti let out a chuckle as soon as he was alone in the room with his parents. On one hand, he was glad that his role model of a brother was being scrutinized and on the other, he was proud that Pratap did what he would probably not have been brave enough to do. He wouldn’t have jeopardised his relationships over right and wrong. But then Dadabhai Pratap didn’t care much about relationships that were built on facades. He always believed real ones, like his and Shakti’s didn’t need to be kept and guarded with words and gestures.
The guests had dispersed but it took a lot of time to apologize to the groom’s side and let them cool down. They were finally retired for the night when he came to his parents’ suite seeing the lights turned on at this hour of the night.
A stern glance from his father made him stop.
“Do you realise the kind of humiliation we will face in society?” His mother said scornfully. “Nobody will ever give their daughters to your brother.”
“Tomorrow the tabloids will be exploding with the news.” Udai agreed. “Worse, god knows what they will write!”
“Frankly, it’s not Nandini’s fault.” Shakti saw his parents look up at him as though he had murdered someone. “Her parents should have tried to understand her.”
“Did she understand her parents?” Jaivanta asked. “What are they facing now?”
“Ranima!” Shakti knelt down before the chair where his mother sat and sighed. “Her sexuality is not her choice. None of this would have happened if they talked it out with her.”
“I don’t even want to talk of such things with you. We are your parents.” Udai disapproved.
“Exactly! Hence she turned to Dadabhai... and Ajabdeh.” Shakti had a clear amusement on his face “Because you won’t even try to understand.”
“I told you that girl was not suitable,” Udai said as Jaivanta gave him a disapproving look.
“It is also your son who...”
“Our son...”
Shakti stared at his parents confused.
“What do you mean ‘Suitable’? Who are we talking about?”
Before his parents could answer his phone rang and he excused himself to receive it.
Ajabdeh hid her face in the pillow and let her tears flow. She had lost everything. Her parents, her childhood, her innocence, her dreams and now she was losing the only place she called home. Coming here was a bad idea. Sooner or later they would get someone who was genuinely interested and take up their suggestion to demolish the entire mansion and start over. She couldn’t tell why it pained her so much. She had barely lived in this place. It was where she came for her holidays for a decade of her childhood. Yet there was something that made her feel at home. Something she was losing. A soft knock on her door made her sit up and wipe away her tears. It was almost ten. The place was unusually quiet. The knock repeated.
When Pratap saw the door open he could just tell that she was crying. There was a part of him that wanted to comfort her, and a larger part of him that didn’t know how to. So he did what he knew best. Avoid it and talk of business.
“I just came to check on you.” He smiled faintly “You said you weren’t feeling well.” “Oh.” Ajabdeh recollected and shook her head “I am fine.”
“Great then, mind accompanying me for a walk?”
“Now?” Ajabdeh looked at the clock. Pratap nodded. “My body clock works till 3AM. There is no way I will sleep this early.” Ajabdeh nodded. She also needed to talk about damage control. She draped her shawl over the kurta and walked out, shutting the door behind her. She followed him down the staircases carefully and into the portico area.
“I was thinking...” Pratap spoke rubbing his hands together as the sudden chill outside hit his bones through the shirt “Maybe someone who knows the place could give me a tour of the estate?” Ajabdeh smiled faintly at his words. “A lot has changed in a decade.”
“I want to see the places that haven’t changed. Shall we?” He asked leading the way through the lawn as she followed. All the lights of the mansion were put out, except the one in Pratap’s room. The pathway had footlights all the way but some functioned properly while the others appeared broken. Pratap fell back on his pace trying to find visibility in the darkness as Ajabdeh walked past him ahead. He followed her to the back side of the mansion.
“Papa used to make swings for us here. During our summer visits...”
Ajabdeh stopped noticing a large royal Poinciana tree in the middle of the lawn and walked up to it. “My grandmother planted this.” She said caressing the trunk softly.
“Can we sit down here?” Pratap asked as she nodded. He sat down on the marble bench below the tree while Ajabdeh circled it with a lingering smile.
“How do you feel coming back?” Pratap asked once she sat down beside him. Her face was dimly visible in the moonlight, and her eyes shone.
“I came back to what I expected was home and felt abandoned.” Ajabdeh sighed. “Coming here was a bad idea. But ...” She took a deep breath, “a good hideout.” He agreed.
“I have never felt what you feel, honestly speaking, but I did feel abandoned once. It was a horrible feeling.” He shrugged. She turned to stare at him with questioning eyes.
“What?” Pratap frowned” Don’t tell me you never read the tabloids!” Ajabdeh shrugged “I never...”
“I was engaged to someone I chose for myself. She broke off the engagement. And went off somewhere. Probably with someone.” He cut in silencing Ajabdeh’s words.
“That was...” Ajabdeh searched for the right word in vain “Vague...?”
“Very. The tabloids cooked up their own stories and the relatives their own. I honestly didn’t know the answers.” Pratap shrugged. “Our wedding was due with Manwati’s”
Memories dawned on Ajabdeh as he spoke “Oh that’s why you were...” She stopped. “That’s why I was ...” Pratap copied her tone “Grumpy.” He smiled. “I am sorry about what you had to go through.” She said sincerely.
“Oh no, that’s okay. Ever since then, Ranima seems to find a bride in every nuke and corner of this world.” He shrugged. Ajabdeh nodded with a smile. “I somehow can’t wrap my head around going that way again.”
“Betrayals are that bad.” Ajabdeh nodded “I understand.”
“But my parents have always been about traditions. Their parents married them off early. They had to produce heirs for the family name to sustain. They expect the same from me. Produce heirs. For the sake of the family name.” He sighed.
“Well, in that case, you can think of Ratnawati as an option too.” Ajabdeh chuckled to lighten up the mood. Honestly, she was uncomfortable at the sudden exchange of too much information between strangers who were just business associates.
Pratap smiled. “Your cousin?”
“Yes, why not?” Ajabdeh had a lingering smile on her face and a teasing tone “She is beautiful, smart, well educated...”
“And sees my family name more than me.” Pratap agreed. “That is not what I want.”
“What do you want?” Ajabdeh took him by surprise. The last time Pratap reflected on what he wanted was probably when he was ten and making a list for Christmas. His life had mostly been about what his parents expected of him.
“What do I want?” Pratap thought to himself briefly “I want to help others. I want a trip to the mountains. I want a hearty laugh with friends.”
“Those are... simple things.” Ajabdeh narrowed her eyes.
“Was that unexpected?” He asked. She shook her head.
“I always assumed if you have the money and luxury you can do that stuff easily. Not ‘want’ them.” She shrugged. Pratap shook his head.
“A lot of people have it easy. But sometimes even privilege comes with a price.”
“I wouldn’t complain if I were you. Honestly, I think you are lucky to be where you are. You can influence a lot of things I can’t.”
“Like what?” Pratap asked, cupping his chin with his fingers and resting his elbow on his thigh.
“Like making a difference where it matters?” Pratap nodded at her words. “You want to see the rest of the estate?” Ajabdeh got up. Pratap followed.
“Can I ask you something?” Ajabdeh hesitated. Pratap nodded as they walked past the stables. They smelled of horses.
“This news... of me helping the bride escape will do some damage to the business?” She asked, a little scared.
“I won’t lie to you, it can.” He agreed. Ajabdeh’s heart beat faster with the tension that mounted on her.
“We have to do damage control then...” She wondered aloud “But how?” Pratap nodded in silence. He was thinking of a solution.
Soon they were at the temple area. It had an idol of Krishna playing his flute. Pratap sat down on the marble stairs that appeared wet in the cold. Ajabdeh walked in and offered a prayer. As she was putting on her shoes Pratap spoke.
“Do you think the mansion and estate will make a good wedding destination?” His question made her look up at him with raised eyebrows.
“Play the part. You aren’t actually buying it.” She reminded him amused. “Answer me. Will it?”
“Strategically yes. But you aren’t buying it!” Ajabdeh straightened her hair that had fallen over her face and spoke in a tone as though to remind him why they were there.
“Why not?” He frowned. “I can use it as an investment and you people can arrange destination weddings here.” He suggested. “That can be your damage control.”
“Pardon?” Ajabdeh narrowed her brows questioningly.
“Look.” Pratap seemed excited about his venture “This mansion and estate will exclusively be available to your clients. We will revamp the interiors, reinstall the fountain and gardens, renovate the mansion a little, and...That way the estate stays as it was, you have your perfect damage control solution and you can even come home...”
“Mr Singh.” Ajabdeh stood firmly in front of him. “I appreciate the fact that you are kind enough to think of others but...”
“I am not helping you. It is you who helped Nandini and this is not compensation for that.” Pratap cut her short.
“It better not be, Mrs. Singh visits my mother even to this day. I can’t repay the debts even if I wanted to.”
“I am investing in your business and expanding mine.” Pratap reassured, “That is it.”
“You want to be a part of the scamming industry?” Ajabdeh taunted “You don’t even believe in...”
“Business is not about what I believe in. It is about profit.” Pratap reminded her. “I am sure you are capable enough to make me some.”
“What about your father?” Ajabdeh shrugged “Why will he agree to this?”
“He doesn’t need to. This is my money.” Pratap stared at her. Ajabdeh looked a little shaken. “It is high time I started doing something on my own too.”
“You are only doing this because you know they will not give us a penny and somewhere you don’t want us to be in losses because of your cousin.” Ajabdeh narrowed her eyes at him “This is your way of being a Messiah of Justice.”
“What if I am? What is your problem?” Pratap asked. “And keep Nandini out. She and I are not even that close to each other. I am doing what I believe to be right, just like you are.”
“All my life I have lived in people’s debts. I don’t want any more sympathies.” Ajabdeh’s eyes shone with a hint of hurt. She looked away.
“I am giving you what is rightfully yours.” Pratap crossed his arms at his chest. “And I will give you your share of the money too. Don’t be stubborn and deny it Ajabdeh, it is for your mother. She needs it.” Ajabdeh knew as much as she hated the idea she did need the money. But this place was more than just a mansion of bargains.
"Fine. I am nobody to tell you what to do. But I will not take your money.” “We will see about that.” His tone of confidence irked her. She decided to ignore it.
“But if you buy the property I suggest you get a real team up here and get it inspected. Don’t trust them.” Pratap nodded as she walked away with a very brief “Goodnight.”
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