G is for... Goodbye

Set before the show begins (and before I knew what happened with Arnav and Anjali's parents)

G is for... Goodbye

Arnav tapped his foot impatiently on the marble tiles, noticing how worn his leather shoes looked after a week of constant wear. His clothes were in a similar state but he had at least managed to buy Di a new outfit for today from his savings.  Di had begged Arnav to go inside with her but he refused, finally using his week-old clothes as an excuse.

Mamaji would be arriving to collect them in a few hours and Anjali had wanted to pray in the temple one last time. Arnav had refused to call Naniji as well, unwilling to trust anyone ever again and believing himself more than capable of supporting his sister but in this Anjali had put her foot down.

Even standing at the entrance of the Mandir was painful. He could see his Mamma everywhere he looked. She was at the foot of the temple, removing his lace-up shoes for him when he was just four years old. She was at the little toy stall buying him a ball because he was upset he couldn't have an ice-cream like Di was having.

Anjali began to descend the steps and Arnav raced up automatically to help her down. He could see she had been crying again.

'Chotte, are you sure you won't pray? Who knows, we might never come to this temple again, never come to Lucknow again. Mamma would have wanted you to.'

'Mamma isn't here anymore,' Arnav replied sharply 'and what is there to say? We came to this temple every week Di and what did Devi Maiyya give us? Two dead parents and no home to call our own.'

'Chotte, don't speak like that. Devi Maiyya has a plan for all of us. Maybe there are better things in store for us? We need to have faith, forget what happened and look to the future.'

Arnav didn't reply but led Anjali slowly back towards Shaila's house. Di's friend from College and her mother had been the only one's willing to give them shelter when their lives had fallen apart. Getting there involved passing the large opulent gates of Sheesh Mahal and apart from the first day when Arnav had hurled rocks, stones and bricks at the gates he had refused to even look up at his former home but today he stopped.

Anjali walked forwards to the gate, her hands lingering over the black painted steel. 'Goodbye Mamma, Goodbye Papa. We love you.'

Arnav didn't speak out loud but he made a promise to himself. This wasn't goodbye; he refused to be a puppet to Devi Maiyya. He would come back. And when he did, he would once again be the owner of this Mansion.