Page 9 of That Same Old Love

She felt the old bitterness trying to bubble over. She controlled it, remembering her promise to not dwell on past feelings of resentment again.

“No, he must have forgotten to mention it. My grandmother left that land to me. Maybe I can sell it and re-invest the money somewhere else. Anyway, what are you planning to build there?” she asked.

“A gated community for seniors,” he replied.

She was surprised at the answer, but soon had a twinkle in her eyes, “Aren’t you a little too young to live in a senior community? Although… it’s been said that overworking the brain from a very young age, over a long period of time, can make people very senile quickly.”

Samrat sighed. “Very funny. Anyway, it’s something I had in mind and we have started the acquisitions and permissions for that project. Your land would be a part of it, if the sale goes through.”

She was genuinely curious to know his motivation. “No. Seriously, why a senior community? It’s kind of weird, especially for a technology entrepreneur.”

He shrugged. “I’m not usually into construction business. But my parents and the neighbors have been asking me for a planned community with helpful services. And one that would be in close proximity to the city.”

“Hmm… okay. Sounds good. I’ll find my documents and we can go through the paperwork. Maybe I’ll take your help to re-invest that money in something interesting—”

She broke off when she heard the main door open and shut, and footsteps approaching them.

“Samrat, where are you? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company—” a female voice said before stopping abruptly.

Mahi looked at the tall and elegant woman gaping at them. Seeing the large and expressive eyes, now widened with shock, she immediately recognized the woman.

It was Samrat’s sister Ananya.

* * *

Mahi had teased Ananya insistently during their college. Mahi and her friends called it ragging, but more often than not, it was downright bullying.

All the jeering and humiliating things Mahi had directed towards Ananya during their college sat heavily between them.

“Hello Mahi. How have you been?” Ananya asked politely.

Mahi felt too stunned to answer right away because the person enquiring politely was someone who had every right to hate her. She almost expected Ananya to drag her out of the chair by her hair and then throw her out of the house.

Somehow, she managed to find her voice. “Hello Ananya. I’m doing… fine. How are you?”

“Pretty good.”

There was an unspoken‘without you around’lingering in the air between them.

An awkward silence ensued and Samrat broke it by asking, “Do you need anything, Anu? Or is this a casual visit?”

The affection in his voice made Mahi remember exactly why she had made Ananya’s life a living hell during the college days. The reasoning was unfair. But she had always felt that Ananya was handed everything, without any effort.

Unlike her own indifferent dad, hypercritical mother and a brother who wanted nothing to do with her or her problems, Ananya had a perfect family. She had parents who doted on her. And also a brother who loved her and protected her.

Mahi often saw and heard their interactions from across the street. Ananya’s mother was very openly affectionate and often spoke proudly of her daughter to everyone in the neighborhood. Ananya’s father was a quiet, unassuming man who spent a lot of time with his daughter, often playing chess on their rooftop terrace, or simply reading his newspaper next to her while she studied.

Ananya’s relationship with her brother was the most fascinating. She had often seen both Ananya and Samrat in his room, talking for long hours, or Samrat tutoring his sister during the exams. The love and affection the siblings had for each other was quite apparent even from a distance.

Mahi had often felt like a poor starving kid whose nose was stuck to a glass window of a sweet shop, staring longingly at something that was way beyond the reach. And her mother hadn’t helped the matters by constantly comparing how‘fair complexioned’,‘decently dressed’,‘good’and‘accomplished’Ananya was than her in everything.

Even after all these years, Mahi still felt jealous, but she didn’t feel the necessity to inflict harm or lash out on anyone because of it. And she could see that Ananya was no longer the painfully awkward and shy teenager anymore. Ananya had a quiet dignity and poise about her that made Mahi ashamed of how she had caused so much heartache and humiliation to Ananya during college.

Ananya pulled out a small box from a bag. “Just a casual visit. I made carrot halwa and thought I’d get some since it’s one of your favorites,” she said, opening the lid.

Something shiny caught Mahi’s attention. It was a large pink diamond ring on Ananya’s finger.

The very same one that had been Sidhu’s family for generations. The Shah’s rare pink diamond ring!

---