Kajal’s eyes fluttered open. The world around her felt hazy, distant, like a dream she couldn’t quite wake up from. Her head throbbed, a dull ache echoing with voices she couldn’t place. There was a weight in her chest, heavy and suffocating, like she was struggling to surface from deep, dark waters.
Beside her, Mamoni sat silently, a bowl of food in her hands. Her face was calm, but her eyes held something unreadable, sternness, pain… and somewhere beneath it all, a love she had tried too hard to bury.
Kajal’s fingers trembled as she reached out, clutching Mamoni’s hand, her grip tight, desperate. Fear flickered in her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper. “That night… what really happened?”
Mamoni inhaled sharply, her gaze clouded with a thousand untold stories. When she finally spoke, her voice carried the weight of years, of regret, of choices made in the name of love and protection.
“No one died that night.”
Kajal’s breath caught in her throat.
“It was all a lie, a story we created… to keep you and Lata apart.”
The room felt like it was closing in. Kajal couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
Mamoni’s voice softened, but the words cut just as deep. “I wanted you to stay away from her. I wanted Lata to be free of the past. And when she lost her memories, I thought… maybe it was for the best. Maybe this was the clean break she needed.”
Kajal’s hands went limp.
“Was it so easy to let go of love?” Mamoni’s voice wavered now, something breaking within her. “Did you really think you could forget that you loved Ankur too?”
A shiver ran through Kajal’s body. All this time, she had carried a weight so unbearable, a guilt so consuming—only to find out it had all been a lie. The nightmares, the sleepless nights, the crippling fear of having blood on her hands… none of it was real.
And yet, something inside her still cracked, something raw and aching.
Mamoni hadn’t hated her. She had feared for her. She hadn’t punished her. She had tried to protect Lata. And in doing so, she had pushed Kajal away, convincing herself that she was doing the right thing.
Kajal felt the truth settle into her bones. They had both made mistakes. They had both lost something.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Mamoni looked away, blinking back her own. The steel walls she had built over the years—the ones that had kept her from breaking, were beginning to crumble.
They sat there, frozen in the moment—one, a daughter who had lost her way, and the other, a mother drowning in the weight of her choices.
But they weren’t alone.
A shadow lurked beyond the doorway. Someone who had heard it all. Someone whose world had just come crashing down.
The golden saree, the red dupatta, bathed in moonlight, there was no mistaking her.
Lata.…
She stepped forward, her face pale, her hands trembling. Her lips parted, but for a moment, no words came out. Then, in a voice so quiet, yet so sharp, she asked—
“What… Did I just hear?”
Kajal felt her whole body go cold.
Lata’s eyes darkened, her breath uneven. “You… you loved Ankur?”
Kajal opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Lata took another step closer, her voice breaking. “You never told me? Why?”
Kajal barely managed to whisper, “I was scared…”
Lata let out a hollow laugh, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “Scared? Of what? That I would hate you? That I’d throw you out of my life?”
Kajal’s voice cracked, “I was scared of losing you… scared you’d never forgive me.”
Lata’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, but her face hardened. “And yet, you thought it was okay to love him behind my back? To sit beside me every day, smile, laugh, share everything… while hiding this?”
Kajal dropped her gaze. “I never acted on it… I never told him… I buried it. I let it go.”
Lata shook her head, her voice laced with hurt. “That’s not the point, Kajal! You should have told me! I was your best friend! You were supposed to trust me, the way I trusted you!”
Kajal’s heart pounded. “I wanted you both to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted…”
Lata’s laugh was bitter now. “And yet, look where we are.”
She took another step back, her voice barely above a whisper. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve lost? My memories… my past… the person I used to be. And now I find out that the one person I trusted the most… was hiding the biggest truth of all?”
Kajal reached for her, but Lata recoiled.
“You ruined everything, Kajal. You won’t be at my wedding! If you’re there, everything will be ruined!“
Her voice trembled, thick with heartbreak, before she turned on her heels and walked away.
Kajal stared at the door as it slammed shut behind her. The silence that followed was deafening.
She turned to Mamoni, her voice barely a breath.
“I lost her, didn’t I?”
To be continued…
Leave a Reply