Sense and Sensibilities (my first short story

A strange discomfort enveloped Niyati this morning..The day seemed to be long and unending..cooking, cleaning, reading didnt interest her. Neeraj had left for work, and Sanju was playing with his friends.. Last night's fight with Neeraj was the first thought on waking. Was I being unfair to him, thought Niyati.. Unending phone calls, waking hours, sleeping hours and what not.. What was the need for someone to be on the phone for so long..who was the caller?, all these thoughts crossed her mind every time the phone rang. Last night was the first time she gathered enough courage to confront him with the questions ringing in her mind for so many days.. The reaction from Neeraj was very shocking. Instead of giving a possible explanation, he was furious and snapped at her.


Niyati spent the day deep in thoughts, thinking of the possible reason for the phone calls and also Neeraj's unfair reaction..Lost in thoughts, she first didnt hear the phone ringing..Breaking into her thoughts, at last the sound pierced her ears..when suddenly she ran and picked up the phone.. Relief spread through her when she heard her best friend Sonya's voice on the other end.Her's was the one voice, that could make a difference to her otherwise bad mood. After exchanging pleasantries Niyati, straight came to the topic of her current worry..Sonya listened carefully to her friend's woes and instantly knew what was to be done..Secretly exchanged her idea to her best friend Niyati... Encouraged by her friend and her mood uplifted by the secret exchanged,Niyati felt quite happy and light and started crooning her favourite Lata song.

Neeraj entered the house at the usual time, with a frown on his face, caused by hours of stressful work. Niyati was waiting for him, all dressed up and smiling..There was no reaction from neeraj to her attire or demeanour. He went to the study without even acknowledging her presence.Today even this did not alter her pleasant mood.. Tea and snacks later, when Neeraj was alternating between watching tv and talking over his mobile and niyati was in the kitchen, did the landline started ringing..Niyati ran from the kitchen to take the call..She took the handset and went back to the kitchen whispering into the phone. She looked at Neeraj from the sideways, and saw him looking at her slightly distracted from his phonecall. She continued talking on the phone for another 15 mins before hanging up. She went back to the kitchen smiling to herself and singing her favourite tune. Neeraj finished his call and started watching news on TV. 30 mins went by when the shrill voice of the landline broke the silence of the people living in the house. Niyati came running to take the call. This time Neeraj stopped watching TV and was observing her. She was quite excited talking into the phone. She ran into the kitchen with the phone quite heady talking. Neeraj was quite intrigued by the unexpected turn of events. Instead of him, today Niyati was busy. Dinner was a quiet affair, with both neeraj and niyati eating lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly the landline started ringing and Niyati ran once again to take the call. She never came back to the table, but went to the balcony with the phone talking quietly. Now this was too much for Neeraj to take.. He finished his dinner and retired into the bedroom.

It was half an hour later that Niyati entered the bedroom, happy and chirpy after the phone call. Neeraj couldnt help but wonder, about her happiness and chirpiness. He felt a bit jealous, and possessive about his wife. For the first time that day, he actually looked at Niyati, her face. He felt she looked beautiful, inspite of the slight tiredness caused by the day's work. She was young and had a good figure to match her beautiful face. Suddenly he felt afraid. He thought about the phone calls that came from the time he entered the house in the evening. He was lost in thoughts, wondering who would be calling her so many times. After tossing and turning in the bed all night, he decided to take up the matter with her in the morning.

Neeraj got up with a heavy head, not having properly rested. He saw that Niyati was as usual dressed and busy in the kitchen. He slowly went to the kitchen and stood behind her. She was quite startled to see him, so close to her in the kitchen, which was her domain, and which he never inhabited. Neeraj held his wife tenderly from behind and kissed her ears. She was stunned at first, but sank slowly to the feeling he was generating in her. She reciprocated his actions and hugged him back. When slowly he asked her, who was it that you were talking to from yesterday, so many times.. She at first didnt hear the question, lost in the love that she was feeling for him. He repeated the question before she heard it. She stiffened suddenly, looked at him in the eye and asked him, Who is it that you are talking day in and day out while at home. This time he too stiffened, and looked strangely at her. He then said, I get calls from my workplace, and I cant avoid them. He was surprised that she didnt know about it. Niyati heard him quietly, and asked him, What about me? I wait for you all day, and when you come back home, you stick to your office work. I am bored. Neeraj suddenly felt guilty, looking at his loving wife, whom he has ignored all these days. But suddenly he was reminded about the phonecalls that Niyati was getting. He felt afraid. He thought to himself, would she have found a boyfriend or something? what am I going to do? With all the doubts in his mind, he asked the same question again to Niyati. This time Niyati looked at him tenderly and started laughing uncontrollably. Neeraj was shocked to see her reaction. He was confused and insisted she tell him who the caller was. Niyati waited till her laughter subsided, and then kissed him softly, and whispered in his ears the name of the caller. This time Neeraj was the one rolling in laughter.