Play In Darkness (Eng/END)

44. Festival of Lights

Anjali Mukherjee's death had a long tailpiece. Her husband, Rahul Mukherjee, became a murder suspect. The incident surprised the public because the Mukherjee Family was a prominent family in the city. Some of the Mukherjee's elders fell ill, some even died. This incident marked the beginning of the destruction of their family. Rahul Mukherjee is strongly suspected of hiring an assassin to finish off his wife, then the assassins are killed by him. Their bodies were found in the hut in the middle of the forest where Rahul Mukherjee used to stay for fishing along with their evidence and communication messages.

Delisha didn't know anymore who's act it was. Either Devdas or Imdad, what is clear that both of them can act like angels who are kind and friendly, as well as being a cruel devil without boundaries. Delisha became lackluster. Her efforts to reduce the problem were insignificant.

In the next few days, the town was busy with Diwali celebrations or the Festival of Lights. At Imdad's residence, the atmosphere of the Hindu festival was also lively. The servants are busy preparing for the event. The residence is decorated with various types of decorative lamps, diya, and garlands, colorful rangoli floor decorations. Various types of sweets are provided. Rani was the most enthusiastic about the celebration. Since early morning she has been flaming various kinds of fireworks with the children of the servants. The women, including Delisha and Rani, adorn their hands with mehndi, wear their best sari suits, and a variety of jewelry from head to toe.

Delisha and Rani wore maroon saris embroidered with gold threads, the saris are Rani's choice. Actually, Imdad prefers the pink color. If he could, he wants all the women to always wear pink, but seeing Delisha looking beautiful and graceful like a bride with beautiful hair hanging down splendidly adorned with jhumar earrings and bindi ornaments, a red dot between her forehead, Imdad could not protest. Delisha was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Welcoming the Diwali event, men also wear their best clothes. It can be a kurtaobe, or a sherwani suit. Sherwani is a robe below the knee-length for men. Sherwani has luxurious designs and details in the form of gold thread embroidery on the chest, so they are suitable on formal occasions. Sherwani is also considered to be a symbol of masculinity and elegance. So it's no wonder that Indian men are so proud of wearing sherwani.

Imdad's sherwani is dark red, so he and his two women look so good together like a pair arranged from heaven.

Due to the busyness of the celebration, Delisha did not know that a message from Devdas was submitted on her cellphone.

[I want to see you tonight. Please, see me, My Moon]

Rani wants to float the diya lamp in the river. Towards sunset, they went to the edge of the Ganges. Residents have gathered along the river with their diya and pans filled with various flowers and bindi paints. The fire from the diya made the view of the dark evening glow with flickering lights, plus the reflection of that light on the surface of the river making the land had even more starry than the sky. The position of the moon is off so that the diya fire becomes the center of attention as the only source of light at night.

"Hooray !!" exclaimed cheerfully Rani. The girl had been bouncing around in the car during the trip. Delisha, who sat with her in the passenger seat, had to keep her diya and tray from getting messy by Rani's action. As soon as the car stopped at the parking lot and Imdad opened the door, Rani immediately ran towards the riverbank.

"Hey, mere jaan, don't be in such a hurry! You could get lost!" warned Imdad while chasing the little girl. The crowd of people makes Imdad and Rani's shadow disappear quickly.

Delisha just got out of the car, in the doorway of the car she stood up to tidy up her coli and sari which always fell off her shoulders if she moved. Delisha draped her sari over her shoulder, then bent into the car to get the diya and the tray. As soon as she turned her body, she froze as if facing death. Devdas was standing tall in front of her. The darkness of the night made his gray eyes glow like a silver moon. A handsome face with a hardened jaw, a slender body with black wings spread across his shoulders, making the man an angel of darkness descending from the night sky. A black sherwani with gold embroidery on the neck and chest he wears, enhancing the dark aura around him. Five of Devdas' men turned their backs around them, creating a hedge against the passersby.

"De-Devdas!" said Delisha nervously.

"You didn't reply to my message, so I decided to come directly to you," he said with a grin on his face.

"Y-you sent me a message?" Delisha repeated, "I don't know, sorry!" She might know but decided to ignore it.

"No problem!" Said Devdas. His hand grabbed the car door and closed it behind Delisha then leaned over her. Delisha leaned against the car door. "I see you now, my wish has been fulfilled," he said coldly.

"What do you want? You're not planning to kidnap me, are you?" Delisha said nervously. The diya in her hand was shaking too.

"Wow, you gave me a good idea," said Devdas. Delisha immediately cursed herself in silence. "No, I will not kidnap you," Devdas continued, and heard that Delisha could breathe a sigh of relief. "I'll take you in an honorable way. Either you asked me to pick you up or you came volunteering to my side."

"Oh, so, what do you want from me? Hurry up, I'm a little busy right now!" Ah, s**t, my mouth again. Hopefully, Devdas doesn't take offense, Delisha really hopes.

With one hand wrapped around Delisha that lean on the car, those gray eyes staring fixedly into the brown eyes, Devdas raised the other hand and moved his index finger. One of his men approached took out a lighter and lit the diya in Delisha's hand. The woman stared questioningly.

Devdas gripped Delisha's wrists without taking his eyes off her. Under his control, Delisha was powerless to fight back. The diya in Delisha's hand was brought to Devdas' face and Delisha's right palm was directed to the surface of the fire. The heat from the flames was rubbed into Devdas' black hair through Delisha's hands. The ritual is a symbol of affection for a loved one and when Devdas put Delisha's thumb on the red paint, then dripped the bindhi on Devdas forehead, Delisha realized that the man only wanted her attention.

"Devdas, I ...."

"Sshh ...!" Devdas stopped her with a soft huss, cupped her jaw with both hands then kissed her forehead while taking a deep breath. For a moment, Devdas looked into her eyes with a dim gaze and grimaced. The man pulled his hand from Delisha's face then hurriedly turned around, walked away accompanied by his men. Delisha froze in position.

After a few seconds Devdas disappeared, Imdad approached with Rani in his arms. Delisha immediately put on her sweet smile. "Ah, thank goodness you guys came back, otherwise I'm confused where to go," Delisha muttered.

Imdad scolds Rani for putting on a sullen face. "You, little girl, don't run around like that. What if someone kidnaps you? Where should I find you?"

"I want to go to the river! To the river!" whines Rani. Imdad ignored her and chose to look at his lover who was holding the diya. "Oh, you turned it on," he said with a smile. "Let's go to the riverbank!"

Carrying Rani and taking her lover's arm, Imdad led them to the bank of the Ganges River.

The scattered diya light became the true light of the night. Imdad gave Delisha a meaningful look. Delisha saw women spinning diya in front of their male faces and she imitated it. She spins the diya in front of Imdad's face. That golden glowing face grew brighter by the diya light that fell on him. She brought her palm closer to the steam and brushed the steam through Imdad's hair. The man was eagerly waiting for her to do that. Next, she did the exact same thing she did to Devdas, putting bindi on Imdad's forehead. Imdad responded by making a red dot on her forehead and giving her a smile full of love.

"I want it too!" whines Rani. Imdad turned his gaze to his little girl. "You want one too? All right!" Imdad said. He dripped red paint on Rani's forehead and then kissed her cheek.

Delisha put the diya to the surface of the water and let it go away with thousands of other diya, then returned to stand beside Imdad, staring at the man in awe. Suddenly, worry rose in her heart. She felt she had committed a crime against Imdad. The hundreds of fireworks that exploded and scattered colorful sparks couldn't distract her.

While Rani was delighted by the charm of the fireworks in the night sky, Imdad looked back at Delisha and put his arm around her waist, and kissed her red lips for quite some time. The rest of Delisha's lipstick sticks to his lip is wiped with his thumb and then he rubbed the color into the woman's hairline. "May our love continue to flow and never dry up like this Ganges. Distance and future will not separate us, mere Chandni. You will always be a light in my life. Always and forever."