He drove like the wind , she laughed like the brook , and they were so well matched that the Sun longed for his love , his Chaya , his shade , and pined for her , hiding behind floating clouds . But he shone again , the normal sun for al the world to see . ...once the refuge of the clouds was gone .

She looked frail , with the dark circles under her eyes . Jaya could not look at her without worrying about her pallor that threw the focus on the under eye circles . “Ammu , are you feeling alright ?”, he asked her as they halted at his favourite stop to have some tea . She inhaled the fragrance wafting form the tea and laughed like a little child . “You bring me on one of those many honeymoons you have promised and act like you are my father . Which you are not !” , she said as she looked away to hide the tears in her eyes .

“What is happening Witch ?”, he asked her sufficiently irritated , as he turned her around to face him . The people around were now gaping at them both . “Nothing !”, she answered . He drove in stony silence after that . But she did not give in to his sulking , she played music and sang along , while she enjoyed the greenery and the cool mist , the dabbled sunshine and the mysterious mountains all around them . She refused to shut up , he refused to smile and give in and they continued on the journey up the hill .

As they were checking in , she felt dizzy again and clutched his sleeve as she swayed . Jaya looked at her with irritation, but he held her as he saw the sweat on her brow and the half closed eyes . “Ammu ..”, he caught her before she fell and held her close to himself , trying to make his strength seep into her . Even to her semi –conscious mind , she could hear the boom boom of his heart as it began to beat faster . “I am okay beast , just need some sleep .”, she said , but he walked her with his hand supporting her, all the way to the room .

He walked her to the fluffy and soft bed , but she would not lie down ,”Uh-huh . want to sit by the window , on the seat . “ and crossed over to the window . She stretched out her legs and leaned against him as he held her .”How peaceful!” she said as she leaned against him and he held her close , very close , afraid to let go . “What is happening to you my beautiful bride ? Huh ?”, he asked as he brushed hesitant lips onto her cheek . “Nothing , I am just very tired .”, she said and smiled into his eyes , trying to reassure him , trying to gauge the cause for his fear . “No , something is wrong , the face is pale , the cheeks are no longer blooming , and you are having these fainting spells way too often .”, he looked into her eyes with concern . “If you are going to fret over me like a mother hen , we could have stayed back home . Cheer up , I feel like having some hot tomato soup .”, she licked her lips and he smiled at the child like gesture . The kiss he shared with her was a gentle song of love .

“What do you want to do, these two days? “, he asked her as he watched her slurp the soup . She slurped noisily , knowing that it would glean a smile from him . “Stop that , right now !”, he said sternly and chuckled in laughter as she slurped again . Her eyes gleamed above the spoon and she choked over her soup when he broke into laughter . “How predictable you are Witch . “ , he said as he held the water glass for her , and she slurped the water , egging him on and he realised how much he had missed her . He let himself fall onto the bed as he reached out and tickled the little girl he loved , until she shrieked in laughter . He laughed in relief just to see her laughing and rolled closer to her as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes .It was a long time before they realized that they had forgotten to order dinner .

It was a carefree time they had in Ooty and as they prepared to pack their bags , he moved closer to her , “This time was special to me , when things get too hectic for us to share a laugh , let us hold on to these times and move on ,till that time when we are back here again . I love you Witch !”, he said and she threw her arms around him as she stood on her toes and nuzzled his nose with hers . “I thought you had forgotten all about this nuzzling of yours , God this feels good !”, he smiled as she smiled and nuzzled his nose again . It was the silence that sang a love song after that .

Sunday night, it was just an hour or so since they had come home , when the phone rang ……it was Margu’s husband. “Margu’s gynec has advised bed rest for the next two months . My mother cannot help out much . Appa , can Margu stay with all of you for the next two months ? She needs to be looked after . “…

Ishwar of course had agreed and told them all about the phone call as he paced on the lawns waiting for Margu to come home ..

“What happened all of a sudden ?” , Meenakshi wondered aloud and all of them looked at her , with blank faces .

“Ammu , go make the bed in the groundfloor room next to ours. “ , she looked at Ammu with anxious eyes . Ammu nodded her head and went in .

Meenakshi walked in after a few minutes . “Ammu , what must have happened ? All that cooking for the family three times a day , they can hire a cook, is it not ? And her sister-in-law is staying there for another two months with her new born baby , the house streaming with guests to visit the baby . No one ever thought of my daughter being in the family way ? How can they be like that ? You think something went wrong because of physical exertion ? “ , Meenakshi spoke non stop as she helped Ammu make the bed and clean the room . As Ammu opened the windows to air the room , the fragrance of night jasmine floated into the room and cleared her head . She breathed in the strong scent of romance and smiled as she heard the soft steady footsteps behind her .

She turned and looked at the man who was standing on the threshold of the room and smiled at him as she bit on her lower lip . He smiled with his eyes and came closer , but looked at his mother as he said “Relax , everything is okay is it not ?”.

Meenakshi looked at him and sighed , “Jaya , is not each family’s daughter –in-law , some one’s daughter ?’, she asked as she wiped her tears with her pallu .