Chapter One : Sunshine

"Chhoreeeeee!!" she heard her mom's excited voice as she pushed her luggage cart through arrival gate at Tribhuvan Airport. Amidst the sea of taxi drivers, policemen, gun-totting soldiers, placard-bearing hotel staff and occasional shouts of "Bahini, taxi chainchha?" , she saw her mom rush towards her with a big smile and wide-open arms.

"Mummy" was all she could muster as her throat went dry . It had been 7 years since she met her mom and she struggled to stay composed as her mom wrapped her in her arms and asked "Kasto chaa talai?"

"Mummy!" she said again and found herself at a loss for words. She had told herself when she boarded the plane in Los Angeles that she would not cry when she saw her mom but somehow a few drops had managed to trickle down her cheeks. She wanted to ask "Malai kina America jana dieko? Kina narokeko? Kina hajur haru sangai narakheko?" Nothing of the sort came out as she looked at her mother's ever so beautiful and radiant face.

"Oho choreei, ayi pugyau timi?" she sensed a faint quaver in her dad's voice. Her dad looked so much older than the last time she saw him in LA. He had grayed significantly around the temples and a receding hairline now stood prominently atop his otherwise handsome face.

"Oye! Ke chha talai? her brother slapped her on the back as she lay buried in her mom's arms "Manchhe hasi hasi niskanchan airport bata, ta chai kina ruyeko ni? America lai miss garna thali sakis ho? Ki koi American lai?" As always, he was the first to laugh at his own joke.

"Nakara, badta naho" she regained her composure "Mummy, dada ke bha esto!"

"Khoi, ke bha! Ghar ma kahile basne hoina" her mother lamented and went down her laundry list of complaints "Khali ghumnu phirnu matra chha. Sathi haru sabai bihe garna thali sake, tero dai lai ta hero bhayera restaurant chaharnu ra ghumnu matra parchha"

They all laughed as her brother pushed the trolley towards an awaiting vehicle.

"Aaan, sachi, oo chai Bibek ho" her mom pointed towards a guy standing next to her. "Geeta aunty ko nata parchha , Australia bata asti enginering sakera ayeko"

She could barely register a nod at him as he said "Hi". He smiled back and quickly took leave of her parents. The ride home from the airport was filled with excited conversation and laughter as everybody seemed to be speaking on top of their voices, often at the same time and sometimes over each other. The blue Kathmandu sky and the majestic Ganesh Himal added to the feeling of perfect bliss.

Chapter 2 : Clouds

She ate her jetlag away. Aloo ko acchar, kwati, deep fried fish, fried eggplant, sadeko badel, rayo ko saag - her mother had prepared everything she had asked for.

"Chori nahuda ta esto mitho khana kahile paidaina!" her dad declared at the dinner table that night much to the amusement of her mother.

"Ufff, timro baba lai jiskaunu payo bhane pugyo" . Her dad and mom constantly needled each other with much wit and love "The older he gets, the grumpier he becomes" she continued in Nepali "You know, last month, he stayed home one whole week because of the bandh and ate my head up completely!"

She had yearned for seven long years for this moment. She remembered those lonely nights eating alone in her Santa Monica apartment when she would wish she was sitting at the dinner table with her parents throwing their warmth, wit and humour around and her forever-hungry brother wolfing down his food, indifferent to the glares of those around him.

It all seemed too good to be true when the inevitable happened.It was on the third day of her return that her mother broached the subject. "How do you find Bibek?" .

"Who Bibek?" she had forgotten about him since.

"Well, he seemed like a nice guy" she said as she remembered. She had barely spoken those words when she realized what her mom was getting at. " Why do you ask?"

"Well, remember, how we talked about you starting to think about settling down?"

"No I don't remember any such thing " she wanted to say but her mom jumped in before she could answer.

"Bibek is a nice guy" her mom said. "He just finished his ME from Australia and he plans to go to America. He has been offered a good job in a big company in New York. He is Geeta aunty's sister-in-law's cousin from her husband's side. Very good family"

"Oh" she said.

"Well, what do you think?" her mom asked again.

"Chhyaa, mummy, I don't think anything" she felt a bit awkward having this conversation "I don't think I want to get married right now"

"Good heavens, what are you saying, choree?" she knew what her mom would say next "All your friends are married and have children now. Smriti just had her second baby - a boy - last month. You are getting old and if you don't get married now you will never find a bride later"

"I don't want to get married now!" the temperature in the room was heating up.

"Why? Do you have anyone you like? Just tell me if you do and we will get you married to him"

"No I don't" she wasn't sure of herself when she said that. There was someone she liked but they had decided to be friends and she knew they would never get married.

"You guys get engaged now and you can talk to each other when you both are in America" her mom continued "and next year, you can come back here and get married. We will make all the arrangements and you don't need to worry about a thing".

"Mummy, stop dreaming!" she was getting a little annoyed. "I will get married when I want and to whom I want. I am a grown up woman and I don't need you to tell me all this".
,
"Ammai ni!" her mum glared at her " Ke bhaneko testo? Just because you lived in America for 7 years, does that mean you have forgotten your culture and traditions? Did I bring you up just to see this day? Hare shiva, why is it my children who have to do this? What will we tell Geeta maiya!" her mom was no stranger to overstatement and melodrama at times.

"Bibek is going to call you. At least say hi and talk nicely. Maybe you will feel differently after you talk. In our times we never talked to boys. I talked to your dad only after I got married to him. We allow you to talk but you stand up on our heads!" she said as she walked out of the room.

Chapter 3 : Rain

The rain was beating hard on her window pane as she stood to look at the sky that night. The sky, like her mind, seemed blurry in the rain. The truth was she was ready to get married but she could not shake that boy off her mind.There was something about him that was so boyish and exciting. He was matured yet kiddish, thoughtful yet hot-headed, mischievous yet serious at the same time. She had known him for 6 months and in those six months he had captivated her with his charm.

Theirs was a long distance relationship that would never have worked out. He was in New York and she in LA. They met in person only twice in those six months. They talked to each other several times a day on the phone and IM and had gotten to know each other well in that process. After the first few months, they had agreed to remain friends, because as much as they enjoyed each other's virtual company, they were two very different individuals who would never have been able to get along in the long run.

"Why am I being so silly?" she asked as a brilliant flash of lightning lit up the sky and she drew the curtains on the window. "After all, he doesn't want to get married to me and I don't want to get married to him, so why on earth am I even thinking about him?"

"And what do I know, he might be busy chatting with other girls while I am here in Nepal" she wondered.

Just then the phone in her room rang. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew it was Bibek. She decided not to answer the phone. It rang several times. She tried to hold firm but then it occurred to her that her mother might come running in and answer the phone and then it would all be a big embarrassment and a total disaster. She picked up the phone.

"Hello, tya Anjana chha hola?" the voice on the other end was calm, confident and composed.

"Ahhh ....mmm .... ma Anjana boleko" she couldn't believe she was stammering.

A deafening peal of thunder roared across the sky and they both let out two soft cries of shock at the same time

"Scary, huh?" he laughed

"I know!" she replied laughing

The engagement was set for the week before she was to fly back. She and Bibek had gotten to know each other a bit by then and she saw how this made everyone else around her happy. Their happiness was her happiness after all. Plus, Bibek was a really nice guy who had a good job and career ahead of him. He was caring, mild-mannered, cultured and witty. What more could she ask for?

She laughed at herself - she had almost said no to him for the sake of that boy from NY whom she had first met on chat. How silly that would have been. Imagine getting married to a boy you meet on Sajha!

"What are you thinking" Bikek asked

"Nothing" she said " Just how happy I am that I met you"

nice.....

more more more more more more more more more!! :)

ka bicha ma rokeko heeterika
kitab padna chodera yo padeko aba kyaa!!

Kaale talai padhnu pardaina? :P Aba mero padhne palo yo story.:)

I see a lone star twinkling in the sky making it a starry night. Wonderfully written !

Questions such as whathappened after that, did Bibek and she got married arise. Would love to read more.:)

thought you were lost mr gazer....i am extremely happy that good writers are returning....had had enough of racism and politics....incredible write up...the classification of chapters had me in awe.

galt

masterminds creeping in slowly but definitely...

Amazing piece..I cud just visualize everything..simple yet powerful..wow

Sajha Gazer - it's awesome but hmm...i need to know what happens next ke!!! uffff!!!
please post the 4th chapter right away, otherwise hmm...it's not gonna be good re ke! :P

PS: ufff!!! don't freak out ke, it's not a threat! :) :)

after a long time .... finally another captivating story ..

funny at times...beautifully written ... :-)
made my day... :-D

time to make imagination fly

Nice! I was totally engrossed to the screen goin through ur lines Sajha Gazer. The first chapter was just good enough to picture ourselves as 'Anjana' returning home after a long time... I went nostalgic!!!
Would like to see more of ur writing..

Mansion, redstone, flip flop - thanks for reading and leaving behind your comments .

John - Thanks for your comments. Good to see you back as well. It is indeed sad how threads on politics and caste have taken on such a terrible tone. It's good to see some order being restored finally.

Sense,Cerine, Sunshine (nice nick btw:) ) - thanks for the kind words.

Nails - this is the end. Finito! (wink, wink). But I am indeed humbled that you wanted to read more :)

Hope you all have a great day!

Sajha Gazer - ke re? :O :O
uffff!!! no no this can't be the end ke!!! i thought this was like a whole book ni with 30+ chapters ke!!!
Sajha Gazer, you have to make something up ke!!! no no you have to ke cause you see otherwise i'll keep thinking about what happened next and it will be bad ke!!! and this is not fair ke, you can't do this to people. :( :(

you have to write more and i mean have to write the next chapter ke!

you said finitio and then wink,wink re? that's not cool ke! ufffff!!! you're supposed to say okay here's the next chapter and then wink,wink ke!! :P

please ke! you have to ke!!!

(wink,wink) :P

Nails Nails!!! you continue it ke ;-)

of course with sajha gazer's permission ke :-D

last was very interesting too...so ask ask ask :-D
am waiting :-)

AeutiKT - no ke! i can't do that ke cause the last time i wrote no one commented on it except my mama and i felt really bad ke! :( and i don't write that well ke! ufffffff!!!
but why don't you give it a shot or someone finish the story ke! ufff!!! i hate endings like these!

PS: i am not good with letters ke i am only good with numbers! (wink,wink)

Sajha Gazer - i am waiting!!!!!!!!!!!

i am your fan ke and of course sajha gazer's too :-D
so if he doesn't wanna write..u write ni ... :-)

aww hehe, its nice, you seem to be expereinced all these already eh?

~umm 4 stars to this !!*****

Aznshawty, hope you can add one more star after reading this:

CONTINUED:

During their first 'date' they went to Bakery Cafe. They had a great time. They both laughed at the stupid mistakes they made in foreign countries when they had arrived. At the end of the day when they parted, it had felt like a few friendship had taken place.

At the end of their second date few days later at Nanglo, Anjana couldn't help feel a certain restraint from Bibek, inspite of his perfectly gentlemanly behavior, and the conversations they shared over the meal.

Before they parted. "Is anything that you want to tell me?" Anjana asked.

"Nothing really." Bibek answered as they walked together in the dimly lit night.

"Nothing really means there is something really." Anjana pestered. On seeing Bibek quiet. "Hmmm so there is a girl?"

"Wellllll kind of. Sort of. But not really." He was thinking about this girl he had been chatting in sajha for a while. "Well I used to talk to a girl in chat. I think she's fallen for me. I just feel a little bad because I have been lying to her that I'm from New York..."

"You're not Abhinav. Are you?" Anjana inturrupts him hurriedly.

Bibek utters "Oh my God!" and faints.
Anjana's knees give way and she faints on top of Bibet.

Curtain falls.