Sneak Peek: The Legal Bond by Nithya Sashi

Here are a few sample chapters of the novella: the Legal Bond.

The Legal Bond

Chapter 1

Today

Maya sat by the window, a book on her lap, long neglected because her heart was full and her mind too elated to be able to take in the printed word. She leaned happily against Ravi who sleepily put an arm around her shoulder. The trees flying past the speeding bus reminded her of the recent past when she had met Ravi, fallen in love, and almost lost him because of her own folly.

The bus carried in its belly a motley group headed to the temple town of Tiruvannamalai. Maya sat in the air-conditioned coach, her mind going over various incidents that had taken place in the past. In just a few more hours, they would reach their destination.

Maya sighed as she heard Ravi’s gentle breathing, which told her he was fast asleep now. She sank back against the soft cushions and focused on completing her book. The trip would be hectic, she knew. This was the first time she was visiting the town. It was her first trip with her dear, loving husband soon after their wedding.

She turned to look at his face, so calm in sleep. It had been marred by frowns, by anger, by pain… She traced the outline of his face with her finger, regretting her haste in falsely accusing him in the past.

Maya reached out, switched off the reading light, and snuggled closer to his warm body, pulling the blanket over them. It was the month of Margazhi and winter was rearing its head slowly, making the nights colder.  

Her eyes closed and then came the dreams; the dreams of days gone by, the days she would never forget. Had it really been just two months? It seemed like two years.

Chapter 2

Two Months Ago

“If I get this job, it would be great,” thought Maya, folding the newspaper, after circling an interesting ad with a red pen. She did that every Sunday and Wednesday, when the newspaper carried the ‘Opportunities’ feature. She had been brought up by her father, Anand Krishnan, to believe that women should be financially independent and courageous. She had not yet found anything that interested her, though.

A website based out of Chennai was looking for a web content writer. Maya had the perfect credentials; she had a degree in Literature, she loved writing and had always wanted to pursue a career in writing.

She decided to apply for the job.

Maya Anand, 23, was single, and, unlike girls of her age, did not find the prospect of sitting at home waiting for the perfect groom, exciting. She was very pretty and had a naiveté about her that men found irresistible. Maya was not fair like her mother Raji but had sharper features, which made her, look very sexy.

“Akka, Lakshmi akka, akka, where are you? Get me coffee please,” shouted Maya, sticking her head outside her room, after jumping down from the windowsill on which she had been perched for an hour. Lakshmi akka was the cook, house cleaner and a family member, almost. Hearing Maya’s call, Lakshmi replied, “I am coming.”

Lakshmi had come to help Raji, Anand’s wife, when Maya was born. Apart from Lakshmi, there was Ramu the driver, Malini and Shalini the maids, and Gora, the gardener.

Anand Krishnan’s real estate business was flourishing and he could afford a beautiful house on Elliots Beach in Chennai. The best part of the house was the view of the Bay of Bengal from every window.

They could see the sunrise every day from their house. The house had an indoor swimming pool, a customised gym, and a state-of-the-art home theatre room. The house was a mini fortress sitting amidst dense foliage surrounded by a high wall, secured by CCTVs and barbed wires. A set of cleverly concealed garages housed a fleet of imported cars. The security had been upped after an attempted burglary several years ago.     

Lakshmi akka came into Maya’s room with a cup of steaming coffee and placed it on the low-slung ornate table. “Pappa, coffee, drink fast,” she said and left. Maya smiled and nodded. She had put her hair up in a bun and was sitting on the windowsill enjoying the scenery, and trying to draw a pencil sketch of a bug that had found its way onto the windowsill. Two levels of hardened glass separated the bedroom window from the garden.

As she sipped the strong sweet brew, she absorbed the greenery all around. She loved this view and woke up early every day to catch the sunrise. Combined with the lush greenery surrounding the house, the view was simply astounding.

Her father had invested a lot in the house but he thought it was worth every rupee. Like his daughter, he too basked in this view every morning. The scenic beauty energised him and he practiced his music at this time. Though not a professional singer, he had trained under his father, a great exponent of Carnatic music. She could hear him singing a keertanai this morning. She closed her eyes for a few moments to soak in his mellifluous voice.

Unlike her father, Maya was least interested in music and found Carnatic music boring. Although she was blessed with a melodious voice, she seldom sang. As a child, she had refused to train under a guru. Instead, she had shown her prowess in arts and loved to sketch and paint. She had received many awards as well. However, like Anand, she too had not had any desire to develop her talent in art into a career and had insisted on studying Literature. Anand supported his daughter in everything she did. After graduating in Literature, Maya wanted to become a writer. Now, she was looking for a writing job. The web content writer opening seemed perfect. 

The father and daughter were not the only nature lovers in the household. The ‘Amma’ of the house, Raji, too enjoyed the view from the kitchen. Raji was a quintessential homemaker, having never stepped out of the house even to visit the local bank. She would step out for shopping or to meet her friends a few times a week. She completely relied on her husband for everything. Having borne him two children, Maya and Bharat, Raji was satisfied to have fulfilled her ‘womanly’ tasks. However, as a mother, she worried about her daughter who simply refused to learn to cook, or do any other chores in the house that, according to her, every girl of marriageable age should be well versed with.

“How is the girl going to manage after her wedding!” she would wonder. “Maybe she’ll get a prince who won’t let her do any work. Only that will work, else Maya is not going to be able to manage,” Raji would console herself.

Despite having many servants in the house, Raji preferred to do the cooking herself, with Lakshmi assisting, and let the servants do the other tasks.

Maya, on the other hand, had very rebellious ideas and did not subscribe to her mother’s views. She did not want to get married so early in life. For god’s sake, she was only 23! Regarding her ‘womanly duties’, she simply scoffed at them and rolled her eyes heavenwards.

She had more important things to fill her mind with than learn how to prepare creamy chutney or feather light idlis! God!

Maya was a voracious reader. Her room had a huge bookshelf filled with books of all kinds – fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, management, and so on. She kept adding to the list every now and then. She would happily shop for books from hip bookstores as well as the roadside vendors.

Maya gulped the remnants of her coffee and got up; she strolled into the bathroom to apply a facemask. In the huge mirror, she inspected herself. She loved her arrow straight black hair, inherited from her mother; her eyes were alright, maybe they could have been a bit lighter. After inspecting herself completely in the mirror, she nodded, and gave herself pass marks and finished applying her mask.

A little while later, after finishing her bath, Maya changed into a comfortable dress, and having made up her mind, decided to apply for the web content writer’s job.

After mailing the application, Maya thought about what to do next. It was a warm Thursday and she did not want to sit at home and watch TV. She had graduated from a popular college on Cathedral Road two months earlier, and already the idleness was getting to her.

Maya’s mother, on the other hand, had made her own plans to brainwash Maya into meeting some eligible boys. She wanted to get Maya married off as soon as possible. As a mother, wasn’t that one her most important duties? It was only proper that girls get married before they became too rigid in their thinking or, worse, completely footloose. Later they may not find the right groom.

She shivered slightly when she thought about stories she had heard of girls who had eloped with their boyfriends and had later suffered in life. Her precious baby, her Maya, would be married to a nice, decent boy so that she too could lead a happy and contended life, the way Raji had.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the house, Maya was wondering what to wear for the walk-in interview for the position of a sub-editor with a website called ‘The Webpeople’. It’s better, she thought, to evaluate as many opportunities as she could, since she had the time.

After rushing through her lunch, she took her car out from the automated garage and honked near the entrance. The security guard pressed a button on his desk to let the huge iron gates glide open softly and allowed Maya out. Behind her, the gates closed. The automatic gates were her idea. Maya had a keen interest in gizmos and cars. Her father had presented her a red Beetle when she graduated and Maya loved it. 

Maya reached the venue on time, without having to stop at any signals. The office of the website was located in a small by-lane off the main road and was opposite a popular politician’s sprawling bungalow. She was not allowed to park her car anywhere near the building, so she had to drive till the end of the road to find suitable parking. She locked her car and walked back to the building and up to the reception desk. She was asked to sign in a register before the receptionist gave her a visitor’s badge and asked her to wait for her turn. The office was plush and Maya loved it.

The interview was a breeze. But as she drove back home, she hoped she would not be eliminated because she was young and inexperienced.

Chapter 3

Maya Meets Ravi

When she drove in and was parking her car, her mother came out and asked, “How was the interview?”

“Okay…” said Maya and shrugged.

Raji rolled her eyes and prayed, softly, “I hope you don’t get it.” Maya heard this part and glared at her. Raji giggled and put her arms around the slim waist of her daughter. Maya snuggled in her mother’s bosom and planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek. Though they had completely different ideas about life, Raji and Maya were like friends and Maya could share everything with her mother.

Maya went to her room and plonked down on her bed. She was feeling a bit tired; driving in the city was no joke. In no time, she was fast asleep. She woke up sometime after seven thirty when her brother came banging on her door loudly. “Hey sis, get up! You sleepyhead! Amma is calling you!” he shouted. Maya realised she had overslept. Stretching like a Cheshire cat, she got up from the bed and changed out of the formal outfit that she had worn for the interview.

Maya splashed her face with cold water and felt refreshed. She loved the feeling of the cool water on her warm face. 

After running a comb through her dishevelled hair, Maya walked into the living room. Not finding her mother in her usual seat, next to the telephone chatting with some friend or the other, she went into the kitchen and found her there preparing dinner. Lakshmi akka was chopping onions. Onion was a rarity in their house, so Maya asked her mother, “Are we having guests for dinner?” She opened a pan and smelled the fine aroma of Basmati rice.

“Yes dear, your father’s friend Suresh uncle is coming with his son, Ravi.”

 “Oh, I presume this is the friend who settled in the UK after his family died in an accident?” recalled Maya.

Raji nodded and continued, “Suresh went away to the UK many years ago. Now he has returned and wants to settle down in Chennai. It was so sad that his wife and infant son died in an accident soon after he married. He never re-married, but he adopted a boy, Ravi. That boy is now thirty, and manages his business in the UK. But as Suresh wants to return to Chennai, Ravi has also decided to shift. Suresh is planning to buy a house in this area. They have already shortlisted a couple of bungalows in Adyar. Suresh wants Appa to check out the properties and okay one of them. I particularly like the one in Indra Nagar. I think Suresh should buy it. While Suresh decides on a property, Ravi will fly back to London after a few days. He has decided to manage their businesses from Chennai, but he needs to work from the London office for at least six months. He would probably keep hopping between Chennai and London for some time. After he is confident that things will run smoothly, he will manage his business from his office in Chennai. Ravi arrived today. They will stay with us for a week. After that they will shift to a house of their own once everything is settled.”

Maya laughed and teased her mother. “Amma, is there going to be some test with Ravi as the subject? You have mugged up so many details about him!”

Raji did not answer immediately. After a brief smile, she continued casually, “By the way, I saw Ravi’s photo. He is very good looking and Suresh is looking for a suitable bride for him.”

Maya stopped rummaging through the jar in which she was looking for something to munch on. She went on red alert. She looked at her mother’s face searchingly for any naughty glint, and asked, “Amma, what do you mean, good looking? Are you trying to pull him into our family photo?”

Raji smiled mysteriously and said, “Maybe…”

“Oh no, not again!” Maya cried; she struck a melodramatic pose with her hand across her forehead and the other on her hip, and then rushed out of the kitchen.

“Maya, Maya, come back! Okay, okay, help me carry these dishes at least!” Raji called out, laughing.

Hearing her mother’s plea, Maya walked back in with a threatening look, glaring at her mother as if daring her.

Raji giggled seeing her daughter’s adamant stare, and indicated with a nod that she carry the dishes to the dining area.

Maya followed her mother with a huge serving dish, a sulky expression plastered to her face.

The sound of car tires on the gravelled pathway made both women look out. The dining room had huge French windows at one end, facing the garden. The curvature of the wall was designed such that one could see the entrance without being seen.

“Raji, come out please! Look who is here!” Maya’s father called out as soon as he entered the house. Behind Anand walked in a tall, handsome man with salt and pepper hair. Raji hurried out after smoothing her sari and taking a quick peek in the mirror hanging in the kitchen for that specific purpose. Maya was carefully placing the serving dish she had been holding, on the table when Bharat came rushing from his room, accidentally tripped on the carpet, ran straight into Maya, and upset the dish she had just placed on the table. Hot payasam spilled onto Maya’s emerald green kurta. She shrieked and smacked her younger brother on his back before running into the kitchen to wash the sticky liquid off her clothes.

Hearing her mother calling out for her, she rushed out. She was about to part the curtains separating the living room and the foyer to step out, when she walked into a hard wall that had a pleasant musky fragrance. Instinctively she reached out for something to hold onto to stop herself from falling in a heap. She had run straight into Ravi!

Ravi caught her by her shoulders, breaking her fall to some extent. But as a result, she was perched awkwardly in his arms, half falling. His handsome face was inches away from hers and Maya felt her brain was jammed. Now, was there a STOP switch somewhere? What is this? How did I end up in his arms?

Brain jam was new to her, so was instant love.

Three pairs of arms helped her rise as her mother tut-tutted saying, “Maya, can’t you see where you are going!” Raji then turned to the source of the musk fragrance and asked, “Are you alright, Ravi?”

A soft clearing of throat and a heavenly voice said, “Yes aunty, I am. I hope she is okay.”

Maya turned and looked up into the deepest pair of chocolate brown eyes she had ever seen and felt herself going weak in the knees, oh so weak. The heavenly eyes crinkled at the edges, just a bit, hinting that their owner had smiled. She allowed her gaze to travel down the strong cheekbone and stop at a perfect pair of lips and she tried hard to quash the picture that was forming in her head. The lips then parted and said, “Are you okay...Maya?”

Aah! Her name sounded so delectable from that mouth!

Till now Maya had been staring unashamedly at Ravi, who looked very amused. How can a man have such luscious lips? Maya… Aah! Was this heaven? Was he an angel?

A discreet pinch from her mother made her return to earth abruptly. She quickly adjusted her facial expression and said the right things. Her mother had a naughty gleam in her eyes, which Maya caught, despite her moony state of mind.

Harbouring rebellious thoughts towards her mother, Maya straightened and felt a rush of blood to her face as she said a polite, embarrassed hello to Suresh and Ravi.

Although Ravi had never met, nor seen, the Krishnans before, he knew everyone by name. After saying hello and shaking hands with Anand, he bent down and touched Anand’s and Raji’s feet. Anand blessed and then embraced the young man. It was a warm welcome all round for their old friend Suresh and his son Ravi.

Maya escaped to the kitchen and busied herself in getting the napkins and cutlery. Her thoughts were going around in circles and she was unable to think straight. She had met many attractive men but no one had had such a profound effect on her.

She felt as if Ravi had taken her heart out of her body and stamped his name on it. Was he a sorcerer, she wondered. She ran her fingers over her flushed face. The skin felt hot to her touch. She caught herself thinking how it would feel to be held in those arms and kissed by those lips.

Her mother came bustling into the kitchen and Bharat tagged behind. “Ma, this girl is of no use! You saw how she fell? She can’t even walk properly! You wait and see, she will fall on her wedding day also.” He giggled some more before being shooed out of the kitchen.

Raji turned to Maya, who was acting busy, ran her hands lovingly over Maya’s head and said, “You bring the cutlery, okay? I am taking the bowls out.” Maya nodded.

Not that Maya had a dearth of handsome men in her life, but she instinctively knew that this one was special.

Maya took the cutlery to the dining room, where Raji was hovering over the dining table, overseeing the maid serving food to the guests and her family. Bharat, Anand and Suresh were intently watching something on the TV screen. Ravi was looking lost and playing with the food on his plate when Maya walked in. She slid silently into her usual seat and started eating the sumptuous pulao with the urgency of a person wishing to flee an uncomfortable situation. She didn’t want the hunk to see that she was totally mesmerised by him. God, how could she not control herself?

After dinner was over, Raji suggested that the group move out into the garden to get some fresh air and that she would serve coffee there. Maya finished gulping the last morsel of food and got up to help her mother in the kitchen. Raji turned and said softly, “You sit with them.”

“What! Why me, what will I do there?” Maya whispered fiercely, her stomach already in tiny knots. She had gathered enough evidence to be sure that this innocent dinner was increasingly turning into a ‘bride-viewing’ ceremony.

When she started following the men at a distance, her father turned and called out, “Maya, why are you standing there? Come here, talk to Ravi. He is getting bored. Bharat, off you go to your room. I know you have a test to study for.”

“Appa, some more time, please!” Bharat pleaded. He would even climb Mount Everest to escape his studies! His only passion in life was playing snooker. He could play in the club, on his computer, read about it, and breathe it. His life seemed to revolve around the game. But the only consolation for Anand was that Bharat was very good at it and had won many prizes. All of sixteen, Bharat wanted a shot at the junior championships soon.

Maya trudged along and kept a safe distance between herself and the silently brooding Ravi. He had not said a single word during dinner. He had kept his eyes averted and had said the right things to her dad and his. He had shaken hands with Bharat and had high-fived him later during a conversation. But to her, he had neither spoken a word nor looked at her since that delectable mishap. It was as if the incident at the door were a dream. The feelings that were coursing through her were very private. He had no inkling of what was going through her head. She wanted to run up to him and ask, “Are you feeling the same way as I am? I think I will go crazy if you don’t say yes.”

She obviously did not say anything of that sort! Instead, she decided to play along. She went and sat down next to Suresh and started listening intently to the discussion. Suresh lovingly put an arm across her shoulders and asked, “So, Maya, what are your plans? Anand was telling me that you have completed your degree. Last time I visited, you were a small little girl, I think, five years.”

“Yes, uncle, I am looking for a job now. I want to work for some time. After a few years I will think about my next step,” Maya replied.

“Good thought. Girls nowadays are very independent. They should be, I believe. What do you say, Anand?”

“Yes, Suresh, my Maya is a sensible girl and I have given her the freedom to choose her life and… her life partner.” The pause in Anand’s sentence made Maya blush. She covertly looked around and caught Ravi looking at her probingly. Maya found the gaze very confusing. She broke the eye contact in a hurry and looked away.

Meanwhile, Ravi’s thoughts were completely occupied by the dusky maiden who had managed to capture his fantasy and was luring him with her beauty. He was having a very tough time trying to look normal, and keep a straight face, and hoping to look interested in the conversation between Suresh and Anand.

He, meanwhile, was conjuring up images…of what it would be like to be this lovely woman’s life partner.  . How he would have loved to   embrace her and kiss her passionately, then and there! He was in love, he knew that. This was not lust, nah, this was love. He had never experienced anything like this before, ever. Oh god, why is she having such an effect on me?   

When she saw Raji coming towards them, Maya got up and went to help her mother with the tray. It was loaded with payasam, chocolate cake and little cups of Irish coffee. Raji signalled to her husband, who immediately said something to Suresh, who in turn loudly proclaimed to the two youngsters there, “We want to discuss something important. You youngsters chit chat; we will be back soon.” The elders took their coffee cups, cake and payasam and left the young couple alone.

Suddenly, the air seemed still, and a bit cooler. There was no sound, except for that of the evening insects chirping away in the garden. Maya took a sip from her cup and swallowed the dark liquid, trying hard to look composed and to gather some amount of courage to speak to the man sitting across her. She looked up, cleared her throat, and asked, “Would you like some cake?”

“Umm…no, thanks,” Ravi replied. Cake! I want you! Couldn’t she see? Ravi thought.

“It is very nice,” Maya urged. She cut a small piece, placed it on a plate and handed it to Ravi. He looked at her, smiled mischievously and said, “I am sure...if you say so...”

“I beg your pardon,” said Maya, blushing.

“You were right, it IS nice,” Ravi clarified, munching on the cake.

Maya suddenly felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

“Have you started applying anywhere?” asked Ravi, trying to break the ice. He looked Maya in the face, awaiting her response. He wanted to hear her talk; he was taken in by her voice, which sounded like music. He wanted to keep listening to her.

Instead, he saw many unvoiced expressions on her face.

He repeated his question, thinking that she had not heard it the first time. Or maybe she was finding this equally awkward.

Maya’s mind had gone numb. And suddenly, like a fool, she caught herself blabbering. “Work, yes, no, I mean, uhh, no I mean, I am looking for one. You are right, I am applying, here…and there.”

Oh my god, Maya! What are you doing? What’s wrong with you? Control yourself, thought Maya, trying to pull herself together and managing to appear normal.

Ravi smiled and looked at her. This was not new to him. Girls found him irresistible and almost always made fools of themselves. He had seen pretty girls before, but this one was very special; not only because she was beautiful, but there was a naïveté on her face that  appealed to him deeply. Silently, he took in the beautiful face, and absorbed the detail of the smooth skin and the rich texture of the girl’s hair, the cheekbones, the neck, the curvaceous body. She is devastatingly pretty, he thought to himself.

Maya tried to force herself to sound cool, calm and collected while she told him about the interview.

When she finished, she found him staring at her with a mesmerised look on his face. Why was he looking at her in that manner? Was he feeling the same way as her? What if he had also fallen in love with her? The thought made her cheeks go red. “Love! What am I thinking? I must be crazy,” Maya thought, aghast. She averted her gaze to control her wildly beating heart and calm herself down. Ravi also looked away. He stood up to keep the empty cup on the table. At the same time, Maya too leaned forward in an attempt to be the good hostess and take the cup from him. In the process, their hands touched slightly. The slight touch sent Maya into a tizzy. The skin where he had touched her felt hot. Her head was swimming with emotion and confusion. No man had ever had such an effect on her, ever.

Ravi sat down and continued the conversation covering mundane topics. The incident had not gone unnoticed by him, but he was trying his best to pretend otherwise and and get the conversation back on an even keel. Maya relaxed a bit when the discussion turned to safer topics like books and movies.

While they were talking, Anand, Suresh and Raji strolled back and sat down. Suresh was looking at his son’s face searchingly.

Maya excused herself, got up from the chair, and literally ran inside the house.

Meanwhile, Anand and Suresh exchanged glances and smiled. Raji also nodded as she could sense the question on the men’s minds. Suresh turned and suddenly asked, “Ravi, do you like Maya?”

“Pa!” Ravi protested, embarrassed.

“Tell me, do you like her or not?” Suresh urged.

“Anand and I want to become sambandis, and need your help. So what do you say?” asked Suresh. Ravi looked at his foster father, cleared his throat, which suddenly threatened to suffocate him, and said, “Yes, I do. But, you should also ask Maya,” he added.

“I will do that,” Raji offered and went off to find her daughter. She found the girl in the kitchen, trying to twist a napkin out of shape, staring at a blank wall. She touched Maya’s shoulder lightly, making her jump. Maya turned, looked into her mother’s kind eyes and hugged her tightly.

“Do you like him?” Raji asked softly.

The black head bobbed up and down. Raji was overjoyed. She kissed her daughter’s head and pulled her out towards the garden. Maya was feeling wobbly. She had never thought a normal day would end like this. This morning she had decided to wait for a few years before getting married and now here she was, falling for the first guy her parents chose.

She loved him. Yes, she knew that this was the guy she would love to have as a life partner. She shyly looked up at Ravi to see him looking at her with a smile on his lips. He had the same endearing smile he had when he had broken her fall. Oh, that smile! He should be used as a killing device on the border she thought, and giggled mentally at her silly joke.

Things were finalised there and then. The parents decided that the couple would wed on a suitable date sometime in November, two months later. Before that, there would be a formal engagement ceremony, which would be held in a few days. Suresh and Anand decided to call a renowned astrologer to decide upon an auspicious  date. Neither Anand nor Suresh believed in matching horoscopes so they didn’t even broach the topic.

The dramatic evening came to an end when the family and the latest extended family members enjoyed a sumptuous dinner topped up with payasam to celebrate the latest development.

As the rest exchanged boisterous goodnights, Ravi stepped up to Maya and whispered softly, “Goodnight, Maya.”

Maya felt terribly self-conscious in the presence of so many people, and unable to meet his eyes or voice a greeting, she simply nodded and slipped into her room.