Mirror Never Lies

Part IV

Shweta froze as she entered her room and she kept staring at the bed. Seeing Raghu still asleep, she pulled the comforter and shouted at the top of her voice, “You are still sleeping. I told you to get ready. Everyone is awake and getting ready for the halt at the Island. There are so many fun activities.”

Raghu turns around and sits up in the bed. He then clears his eyes with his hands and opens his mouth to let out a big yawn. He looks at Shweta. She was still staring at him with eyes wide open. Seeing Shweta mad, he rose from the bed and turned the conversation, “What activities they have on the Island?”

“They have Scuba, Snorkeling, Glass bottom excursions, kayaking, etc.” Saying Shweta started preparing the backpack for the excursion.

“I have heard they have a beautiful waterfront and beaches. Also, the local market is wonderful with exclusive art stores. It will be fun.” Raghu said walking into the bathroom.

Shweta was ready when Raghu came out of the bathroom. Fearing more shouting from Shweta, he kept his clothes in the hamper.

“Raghu, I want to do Scuba.” Shweta’s anger had subsided by then and she said in a soft voice, anxiously waiting for Raghu’s reaction.

“But I think it requires pre certification. It is scary. The body needs to be conditioned for the pressure the depth exerts.” The doctor in Raghu cautioned her.

“I will be doing explore Scuba. They will have instructors and also there will be many people from our ship. I think I will be safe. Let me do it”, pleaded Shweta.

“Ok. Go ahead. I will spend my time on the waterfront and at the market.”

“Thanks Raghu.” With an ecstatic smile, Shweta hugged Raghu.

Both left the room for breakfast. After the breakfast, Shweta went to collect information about the Scuba activity and join the group planning for Scuba. Since the Scuba center was far off, they were to alight from the cruise liner first.

Raghu moved with other passengers to get in line for debarking. Kavitha beamed as she saw Raghu and she called out, “Raghu!”

Raghu stopped and turned around. He smiled as he saw Kavitha.

“Hi Kavitha. Glad to see you.”

“Raghu, you guys plan to do some activity?” Kavitha said as she walked up to him.

“No. I just plan to just walk around the waterfront and near the beach. I may visit the local market. Shweta, my wife, is going for Scuba. What about you guys?”

“I plan to stay on the cruise liner. They have some activities here, some magic shows, movies and Casino. My husband is also going for Scuba.”

“Then, why don’t you join me. We can just walk around the waterfront. I have heard that the waterfront is beautiful. There is also an art shop in the market that sells exclusive art work.”

Kavitha looked in Raghu’s eyes and then looked at the crowd. Most of the people were planning to go on the island. Instead of spending time with senior citizens on the ship, she hesitantly agreed to join him, “Ok. Raghu. Let’s go.” Hearing about the art shop also piqued her interest.

The group of Scuba divers reached the Scuba shop. Shweta was feeling anxious and happy as she wore the wetsuit. This was the first time she was wearing it. She always wanted to do Scuba but never got courage to do so. She moved towards Ajay, “Can you help zip this wetsuit?” She said as she fumbled zipping the suit by moving her hands on her back.

“Don’t worry, you will enjoy it. I promise. I have done this before and I just love it.” Ajay said as he zipped Shweta’s wetsuit. His eyes didn’t miss the glimpse of her bare smooth back.

They then joined the instructor, who gave the instructions about diving and how to operate the diving gear. Shweta was rubbing her clammy palms and biting her lips as she was hearing the instructions. Ajay put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her as he noticed her nervousness. The group was then taken into a pickup truck at the shore.

Soon the other employees at the diving shop helped each of the divers with the diving gear – a heavy tank, regulator and eye glasses. Shweta tied her hair in a ponytail and put on the diving gear. The weather was sunny and the air was balmy with a sea tang to it. Shweta held Ajay’s hand as she walked on the rocks near the beach and just as she entered some depth in the ocean, she put on her fins. Ajay went forward and held Shweta’s hands and pulled her into the ocean. Shweta was breathing heavily as she was scared. Ajay was signing her to calm down and relax. The instructor came by Shweta and Shweta signed “ok” to him with thumbs up and the instructor moved towards other divers. Shweta was mesmerized by the beautiful coral reefs and small schools of fishes floating around. She spotted a long golden fish and that encouraged her. It was tempting for her to move towards the reefs and feel them, but the instructor had informed not to touch anything so that the sea life doesn’t get disturbed and also avoid the gears getting ruptured.

As they moved deeper in the ocean, the instructor instructed to fill the air in their buoyancy control equipment to go to deeper in the ocean. Ajay pressed the button on Shweta’s gear to help her go down. As they went deeper, Shweta was able to see more fishes, big and small of various colors. A small turtle swam by her and she touched it. Shweta was feeling comfortable now and was enjoying the sea life. The instructor was clicking on pictures of the group.

Thirty feet above on the waterfront, Raghu and Kavitha were walking. Kavitha stopped to have a roasted corn. She bought two corn ears and handed one to Raghu. Raghu loved roasted corns so he accepted without hesitation. Kavitha moved forward and paid before Raghu could insist on paying.

As they ambled along the ocean bank, Raghu asked, “How did you land up in US?”

“After I finished my MBBS, my parents got a match from a mutual relative. My husband, Ajay completed his masters in US and was working in US. He had come to India for bride selection. Our horoscopes matched and we got married and I came to US. Then I studied for equivalency exams and got my residency in a local hospital.”

Biting on the corn, Kavitha remembered that day when the local priest said, “The horoscopes match perfectly. Just like Rama and Sita.” Little did she know then that her Rama would be busy in his own world and like Sita her life will be filled with loneliness.

“Oh. So you are a doctor? What do you practice?” Raghu was surprised to hear that.

“I practice Internal Medicine.”

Both continued their walk and talked about novels, plays, and their work. Raghu also shared his poems. Engrossed in their talks, they didn’t realize how far they went. Suddenly, Kavitha remembered Raghu mentioning about the local market.

“You were talking about the art shop here. Can we go there?” She asked.

They walked towards the market. The art shop was beautiful with a lot of exclusive pictures.

“You paint very beautifully. You have a very artistic hand and you are very creative.” Kavitha remembered what Ajay told her when she showed her paintings to him when he had come to see her. She wondered where those compliments went. Her patience, her dexterity, her attention to details – once valued and appreciated suddenly had been labeled as laziness and waste of time. With moist eyes, she selected a painting of a couple kissing each other with a nice sunset over the ocean. She tried hard to remember the last time she got a simple hug from Ajay.

 

Thanks Lata. I have been on a cruise a while back but enjoyed it very much. Again thanks for your appreciation and motivation.

 

Thanks Aarthi. Yep this story is different. It will be interesting.

 

Thanks Leena. Hope you like the story.