Chapter 17
PART - 17
~ PRESENT ----- Armaan's P.O.V ~
Mom ko bacha to liya hum sab ne par kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahi raha.. na mom ki hansi wapas ayee na bhai ki yaad aana kam hua.. dusri taraf neha bhi bilkul chupchap ho gayee thi kyunki shashank papa ne baat karna jo bandh kar diya tha.. waisey unka bhi kasoor nahi tha.. halaat hi aisey ho gayee the ke...
he paused but again started...
sirf tum thi aapney di ke sath.. unkey har zarooorat ka khayal rakhna.. waqt pe dawai dena.. proper meal dena.. taki neha ya gudiya mein se kisi ko bhi koi nukshaan na ho... pata nahi riddhima.. kaisey kar leti thi tum... khud chupchup ke aapni di ko aisey dekh ke roti thi par jab neha aur baki ke sab ke sath hoti thi toh humesha apni shararto se sab kuch normal karne ki koshish karti thi... shayad tum aapna dard mujh se bhi kabhi nahi bant ti agar uss din...
~ PAST ~
Armaan came to riddhima's house as always.. now it was daily routine.. he every day came to meet shashank uncle nd neha to see if they were well or not.. he did so because ashima ji told him to do so nd also he had his own interest.. he wanted to see if SHE was okk or not...
"arrey beta armaan.. aap aa gayee??" bui said smiling lightly opening the door... "sahi waqt pe aye ho beta.. chalo tumharey pasand ki aaloo ke paranthe bane hain.. aao.. nashta kar lo.."
"nahi bua ji.. main nashta karke aya hoon.."
"arrey beta ... aisey kaise.. haan?? ek toh kha lo... mujhe pata hain aapko kitney pasand hain paranthe..."
Armaan agreed finally nd came to dining area..
"gud morning uncle.. how r u now??"
Dr. shashank was busy reading newspaper.. its more than one month now from that horrible day but still nothing was back to normal.. Dr. shashank put the paper aside nd replied..
"gud morning armaan.. main thik hoon as usual.. by the way, wen is ur duty today??"
"from 10 AM uncle.. aaj ek bahot critical surgery hain.."
"don't worry beta.. i'm sure u'll succeed.."
Armaan smiled but soon bua ji came with break fast nd said..
"offo bhaiya.. aap logo ko yeh surgery aur patients ke alawa bhi kuch soojh ta hain kya..??? aur yeh kya hain.. neha aur riddhi aab tak kyun nahi ayee??"
Bua ji asked normally but the mention of neha's name made dr. shashank uncomfortable.. so, trying to change the topic he said..
"haan princess kyun nahi ayee aab tak.. ?? uski fav break fast hain, na!!"
Armaan sensed that nothing changed yet... Still dr. shashank was angry with neha .. how could she be pregnant before marriage was the reason behind his indifference... On the other hand, riddhima requested them to allow her di to stay with them nd ashima ji agreed knowing the situation... from that very moment riddhima was trying to make patch up between her di nd papa but all was in vain nd moreover neha was still in that trauma...
"mm.. uncle, if u don't mind.. main jake riddhima ko bula lata hoon.."
Armaan said nd bua ji nodded in agreement.
Armaan went upstairs nd found one open door 1st.. peeping inside he found Neha was sitting on the bed like a lifeless doll.. he sighed nd moved forward nd found another room but its door was closed.. thinking it would be riddhima's room he tried to knock but it opened on the very 1st knock.. he hesitated but entered finally.. he looked here n there but found none nd wen he was about to leave he heard someone's sob.. He slowly turned nd realized the sound coming from the balcony.. he walked that way nd siding the curtain he found HER crying miserably, trying to check her sob her best, holding the railing tight in her feast..
"ridh..hima??"
he whispered nd she turned hearing the voice.. she blinked few times to clear her vision as tear was restricting her view nd wen she found HIM standing in front of her concerned, she couldn't help but threw herself on him hugging him tight, crying over his shoulder... After that day, both became very good friends.. their journey started with "aap" but now there was only "tum" between them... he hugged her tight securing her in his strong arms nd in return she kept on clinging onto him more n more... He felt immense pain seeing her in this way... the gal who gave him strength, was completely broken then.. wanting a support desperately nd fortunately he came to that point..
"kyun hua yeh sab armaan??? akhir kya zaroraat thi iss sab ki?? sab kuch.. sab kuch ulaajh kar rakh diya.. kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahi raha.. kuch bhi nahi.."
she said with lots of difficulty being out of breathe due to constant crying..
"pata hain armaan.. papa di se baat nahi kar rahe hain.. nahi di kuch bol rahi hain.. i know di ko bahot problem face karni padegi par..."
then breaking the hug she continued...
"mainey bahoot koshish ki armaan.. har paal baas yeh koshish karti hoon ke sab kuch thik ho jayee.. par mujhsey nahi hua armaan.. main har gayyee.."
nd she trembled in his arms as he was holding her by her shoulder, he saved her from falling.. seeing her like this hurt him greatly.. he couldn't see her like this.. it was juz paining him more n more.
"riddhimaaa??"
"nahi dekh paa rahi hoon sabko aisey.. main pagal ho jayungi soch soch ke... main kya karoon armaan?? tum batao na.. kya karoon ke sab tension free ho jayee.. kya karoo ke sabki khoyee hui hansi wapas aa jayee... kuch to rashta hoga, na armaan.. bolo na.. kya karoon main..??"
she kept on asking him repeatedly in frustration.. suddenly all her pain started to explode.. nd she was soo exhausted with this tensed atmosphere nd this sudden out burst that soon she collapsed in his arms..
"rid.. ridhima???"
he panicked nd took her in his armaans.. placing her softly on bed, he checked her pulse...threw some sprinlkes of water on her face nd he relaxed seeing her gaining senses .. due to extreme mental pressure, her b.p fell so much dat she lost conscious for some time.. He hugged her softly seeing her getting around but this time she didn't say any thing..
he got up nd tried to go downstairs wen he heard her feeble voice..
"don't tell anyone.."
He looked at once at her then left.. soon he came back with food for her nd medicine.. she looked at him questioningly..
"mainey kisi se kuch nahi kahan.. bass kahan ke mujhe kuch zaroori baat kari hain.. aur is liye main upar nashta le aya kyunki mujhe sanjeevani bhi jana hain.. aur yeh dawai main car se laya hoon file lane ke bahane ... so, don't worry.."
she nodded.. he sat beside her after making her sit resting her head on d bed post nd started feeding her gently.. she, too didn't protest nd started eating bt shiftd her head from bed rest to his left shoulder... they shared this unsaid bond now.. though they didn't accept their feelings but they felt strongly connected with each other... after making her eat both food nd medicine, he made her lie on the bed nd whispered while stroking her hair softly..
"thodi der so lo riddhima... trust me.. aab jab tum neend se uthogi toh sab kuch thik ho jayega.."
she looked at him blankly..
"u trust me, na??"
she nodded her head positively...
"then.. don't worry... main sab thik kar dunga... bass tum aisey tootna matth.."
she closed her eyes feeling extremely satisfied nd on d other hand, he made his mind nd called his mother..
"mom.. mujhe aapsey kuch zaroori baat karni thi.."
...
"haan mom.. uss barey mein..."
...
"u were ri8 mom.. yehi sahi hain sab ke liye.. mujhe koi problem nahi hain..."
he cut the call nd held the phone on his erratic heart nd closing his eyes he sighed... "shayad humari kahani ka yehi future tha riddhima.."
Riddhima, who was still sleeping on her bed, started coming around from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes nd felt her head very heavy. She put her right hand on her forehead nd started messaging her forehead slowly. It was then she felt lill noise coming from downstairs. She got up nd sat on her bed keeping her head on the bed post nd slowly took her cell from the side table to check the time.
"11:40 AM??? main itni der tak so rahi thi?? par kisiney uthaya kyun nhi mujhe?? (then remembering the morning incident, she sighed) lagta hain armaan mana kar ke gaya tha bui ko!! (then smiling lill) yeh armaan bhi na.. sach mein, i'm very lucky to have a friend like him.. (she heard bui's joyful voice from a distance nd became lill confused).. arrey achanak aisa kya ho gaya jo bui itni khush hain?? mujhe neeche jana chahiye .. (then coming down from her bed).. but before that i should go for shower.. bahot late ho gaya hain.. warna di lunch nahi karengi jab tak main nahi jayungi.. " (she sighed nd went inside the bath room)
Riddhima got ready nd went downstairs to see the matter nd she became happily surprised to see her papa nd bui talking happily with ashima aunty. Automatically a smile crept over her lips nd she asked with lill astonishment..
"Aunty.. aap?? Iss waqt??"
Ashima ji smiled seeing her laadli beti nd expanded her right hand in front of her. Riddhima caught her hand getting her clue nd coming near her, she sat beside her on the sofa.
"aab tabiyaat kaisi hain aapki, beta??"
Her concerned motherly tone make riddhima smile heartily nd she replied softly..
"i'm feeling much better now aunty.."
"par bachcha hua kya tha?? armaan ne kaha ke aapko bahot headache ho raha hai..is liye he gave u medicine nd suggested to sleep lill more.."
Asked a concerned dr. shashank..
Riddhima smiled at her concerned father nd gently answered..
"kuch nahi papa.. bas aisey hi.. kal raat bahot late soyi thi na... i think it was due to lack of sleep only"
Dr. shashank was satisfied as all knew how busy riddhima stays now-a-days... she was managing both her studies nd her di very efficiently..
Soon bui came nd gave her a glass of juice.. Riddhima sipped some nd asked to them..
"waisey baat kya hain? i mean u all are looking really happy.. wat happened??"
Riddhima asked nd sipped some more juice..
Bui became excited nd sitting on the couch, she said...
"Aashima ji ne toh hum sabki problem hi solve kar di.. tujhe pata hain riddhi... (riddhima looked at her bui nd indicated through her eyes to continue).. armaan ne neha se shaadi karne ke liye 'haan' kar di hain.."
nd as soon as she heard it, the juice chocked in her throat very badly.. nd she started coughing seriously. All panicked seeing their princess.. her eyes welled up due to coughing like this.. Dr. shashank patted her back, ashima ji gave her some water, nd bui patted her head softly to calm her down nd soon her coughing stopped nd all relaxed.
"bachcha.. dhyaan se.."
Riddhima juz nodded her head in 'yes' forcing a small smile on her lips but her eyes were still teary.. but all thought dat it was due to that bad coughing but in reality her eyes became watery due to some other reason.
"ar..maan.. aur.. di ki shadi??" she asked slowly with great difficulty but thanx to that juice effect, she was saved from acting more in front of all. She didn't need to wipe off her tears, neither she needed to check her voice.. that juice helped her truly, otherwise she would have to face more difficulties to pretend being unaffected by armaan nd neha di's marriage.
"haan beta.. (ashima ji started).. agar uss din woh accident na hota toh neha ko yeh sab.. (she paused remembering her son nd then changed the line to control her tears)... par iss bachche ki toh koi fault nahi hain, na!! agar neha ki dubara shadi ho jati hain toh.. (then smiling a lill).. toh koi problem hi nahi rahegi.. na shashank bhai sahab ko sharminda hona padega aur nahi neha ko future mein koi problems face karni padegi.. aur sach kahoon toh main nahi chahti meri grand child mujhse door jaye aur waisey bhi yeh merey akash ki aakhri.. (she again paused but started) .. is liye mainey socha agar neha humarey ghar mein hi phir se dulhan ban ke aye toh?? mainey armaan se baat ki toh ussney pehle mana kar diya tha.. mainey bahot koshish ki samjhane ki par fir socha shayad woh kisi se pyaar karta hain toh... toh i shouldn't force him for this marriage, aisey forced marriage se neha ki problem kam hone ke badle aur baddh jati but thanks to god, pata nahi aaj subah aisa kya ho gaya ke Armaan ne khud mujhe call kar ke kaha ke he is ready for this marriage.."
Ashima ji paused smiling happily nd dr. shashank started..
"sach mein behen ji.. main kaisey aap ka sukhriya ada karoon.. i mean jo aapney aur armaan ne kiya.. truly i've no words.. i'm so grateful to both of you.. aap soch bhi nahi sakti ke kitni badi bojh (burden) hata di hain aapney merey dill se.. thank u soo much.."
"haan .. aur nahi toh kya.. humari beti ki zindegi sawar jayegi.. sach mein, armaan bahot achcha ladka hain.. uski jitni tarif karoon woh kam hain.. aur aap ne toh bilkul neha ki maa ka farz nibhaya hain.. kash har saas aisey sochti toh betiyon ko vida karney mein uskey gharwalo ko kabhi koi chinta hi nahi hoti.."
Bui said thankfully.
"arrey nahi.. aap log plz fir se mujhe sharminda mat kijiye.. (then being very serious suddenly) par kya neha manegi?? I mean wohh abhi tak uss sadmey se bahar nahi aye hain.."
Ashima ji paused and all stopped being extremely tensed nd wen all were emerged in deep thought they heard their savior's soft voice nd all looked at that person hopefully.
"di ko main manayungi.."
Riddhima said softly more to herself than to others nd wen she felt all intent gazes on her, she looked up nd found all were staring at her hopefully. She gulped the lump formed in her throat quickly nd forcing a wide smile she announced..
"don't worry every one.. wen princess is here, not to fear.. main hoon na!! main mana lungi di ko.. chillax folk.."
She said cheekily controlling hard both her voice nd her eyes. nd thanx to her stars, bui agreed at once being very happy.
"arrey haan.. riddhi kahegi aur neha nahi manegi .. yeh toh possible hi nahi hain.. par shadi hogi kab aur kaisey??"
Riddhi felt a hard bang on her heart hearing this but still she has to smile nd she did.
"haan.. woh actually armaan wants court marriage only.. jo bhi hua uske baad ..."
ashima ji said hesitantly but dr. shashank handled the situation..
"of course, main bhi yahi chahta hoon.. this is the best idea.. i've a lawyer friend of mine..main ussey baat kar lunga.. dnt worry, all can be done easily at home also.."
Bui too smiled in acceptance..
"cuse me aunty.. main abhi ayee.." riddhima excused herself smiling lill nd escaped from there. She ran as fast as possible to her room nd locking the door, she collapsed in tears at the gate... She knelt down on the very spot nd started crying hysterically.. She didn't know why but she wasn't happy. she was feeling like losing the most precious thing of her life. She was feeling like someone driving her happiness away from her. She was feeling like being extremely suffocated. But why??
She ran her hands through her hair in frustration nd asked herself..
"why? Why m I feeling like this?? Why m I feeling so sad?? Mujhe toh khush hona chahiye tha naa?? After all main yehi toh chahti thi.. ke kissi bhi tarah sab thik ho jaye.. papa aur di ke beech ki dooriyaan khatam ho jayee, dono families fir se happy ho jayee aur meri neha di ki zindegi me khushiyaan wapas aa jaye.. par aab jab yeh sab kuch ho raha hain toh main khush kyun nahi hoon.. kyun main chahte hue bhi has nahi paa rahi hoon.. kyun meri aankhe nam toh hain par yeh aansoon khushi ke nahi hain.. kyun yeh baat mujhse itni takleef de rahi hain ke armaan ne di se'''.. akhir kyun??"
Her head was paining hard due to all these questions but she couldn't able to find answers of all her queries.. She became highly tired nd putting her head on the door , she closed her eyes.. nd as soon as she closed her eyes, all moments with armaan started coming in her mind. She jerked in fear nd opened her eyes at once'
"oh god!! Kya main Armaan se pyaar kar baithi hoon??!!"
she was shocked with her own thoughts nd to confirm she again closed her eyes.. every word, every smile, every tear in short every moment shared with him is still crystal clear in her mind.. still in such tensed moment she felt her lips curving in soft smile remembering their 1st meeting at di's wedding.. how he saved her from boys team, allowed her to go with akash jeeju's joote, then their dance performance nd every sweet talks during the function.. That evening was the best evening of her life.. after all it was the starting day of their friendship.. FRIENSHIP?? Only friendship?? Is that so or something else??
Then next moment she felt herself so dependent on him thinking how he handled both the families.. how he saved her di.. how he was there every time she tried to make both families happy.. her heart wrenched remembering his break down over akash jeeju's death nd then ashima aunty's critical condition.. she still didn't understand what gave her that much of strength to support armaan at that point.. it was all about him, then she only wanted him to prevent from breaking down, she only wanted him to protect from extreme loneliness, she only wanted him to stay hopeful.. it was all him that she cared then.. her own sorrow seemed less important to her. BUT WHY?? IS THAT ONLY FRIENDSHIP or more dan that??
And finally after remembering what armaan said in the morning while trying to make her sleep, she got all her answers.. She opened her eyes slowly nd said..
"tumne achanak 'haan' meri wajah se ki hain na armaan.. par kyun?? Sirf dosti ke liye ya tum bhi merey liye kuch aur feel karte ho'(then controlling her emotions) I've no right to have these feelings for you now.. mujhe pata hain mujhe kya karna hain.. nd main yehi karungi.. thank u soo much armaan.. thank u soo much.."
She smiled with tears.. "sab love stories complete ho yeh zaroori toh nahi hain, na!! but I promise hum best frnz the, hain aur humesha rahenge.. tumhe jab bhi ek dost ki zarorat hogi, tum humesha mujhe aapney pass paoge armaan.. i promise u dat.. mujhe yakeen hain armaan.. na tum mujhe kabhi aapni feelings mujhe bataoge aur nahi main tumhe kabhi yeh samajh ne ka muka dungi ke main tumhare bare main kya sochti thi.. bass.. tum dono humesha khush rehna.. I know bahot mushkil hain but I'll help u both to live a normal wedded life.."
She prepared her mind nd went inside the wash room to wipe her face.. Then wiping the cold water from her face with the towel, she made her hair proper nd went to talk to her di'
~ PRESENT ~
Riddhima was still staring at the sky standing with the support of the window.. She raised her hand nd slowly wiped her eyes nd smiled vaguely..
"yeh yaadein.. pata nahi kab peecha chodegi humari.. jab bhi yaad aati hain sirf dard hi deti hain aur yeh dil.. pata nhi kyun nahi sunti yeh humari.. jitna bhi samjhao par deemag humesha dil se har hi jata hain.. kyun life itni complicated hain.. akhir kyun??"
Her eyes again welled up but this time she didn't try to wipe it off.. It was almost the end of the night as the sky was getting red.. She sighed thinking how she spent the whole night with the memories of that horrible incident.. She closed her eyes nd prayed in heart..
"I hope yeh subah di aur armaan ki zindegi mein nayee ummeed le aye..I hope unn dono ke beech filhaal ek dosti ka rishta ban jaye taki unhe ek dusre ke sath itni uncomfortable feel na ho..i juz hope.."
On the other hand, Armaan, too, sighed thinking how those memories gifted him another sleepless night.. he came back to his study table nd before he became engrossed in work, he looked at the sky one more time..
"ek aur subah!!"
Nd nodding his head unwillingly, he started his work.. here, in the very next room of his study, another person was lying awake on the bed.. Although armaan mde neha lie on the bed but again that accident scene haunted her as the nightmare like alwaz nd her sleep broke… She was lying facing in the direction of the window nd the start of another morning also made her sigh thinking..
"ek aur subah.. ek aur naya din.. pata nahi kabh sab kuch thik hoga.. pata nahi kab tak hum yuun aapno se hi khush rehne ki acting karte rahenge.. pata nahi humarey kismat mein ek normal life hain bhi ya nahi.."
Nd she closed her eyes trying to sleep one more time.
Mom ko bacha to liya hum sab ne par kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahi raha.. na mom ki hansi wapas ayee na bhai ki yaad aana kam hua.. dusri taraf neha bhi bilkul chupchap ho gayee thi kyunki shashank papa ne baat karna jo bandh kar diya tha.. waisey unka bhi kasoor nahi tha.. halaat hi aisey ho gayee the ke...
he paused but again started...
sirf tum thi aapney di ke sath.. unkey har zarooorat ka khayal rakhna.. waqt pe dawai dena.. proper meal dena.. taki neha ya gudiya mein se kisi ko bhi koi nukshaan na ho... pata nahi riddhima.. kaisey kar leti thi tum... khud chupchup ke aapni di ko aisey dekh ke roti thi par jab neha aur baki ke sab ke sath hoti thi toh humesha apni shararto se sab kuch normal karne ki koshish karti thi... shayad tum aapna dard mujh se bhi kabhi nahi bant ti agar uss din...
~ PAST ~
Armaan came to riddhima's house as always.. now it was daily routine.. he every day came to meet shashank uncle nd neha to see if they were well or not.. he did so because ashima ji told him to do so nd also he had his own interest.. he wanted to see if SHE was okk or not...
"arrey beta armaan.. aap aa gayee??" bui said smiling lightly opening the door... "sahi waqt pe aye ho beta.. chalo tumharey pasand ki aaloo ke paranthe bane hain.. aao.. nashta kar lo.."
"nahi bua ji.. main nashta karke aya hoon.."
"arrey beta ... aisey kaise.. haan?? ek toh kha lo... mujhe pata hain aapko kitney pasand hain paranthe..."
Armaan agreed finally nd came to dining area..
"gud morning uncle.. how r u now??"
Dr. shashank was busy reading newspaper.. its more than one month now from that horrible day but still nothing was back to normal.. Dr. shashank put the paper aside nd replied..
"gud morning armaan.. main thik hoon as usual.. by the way, wen is ur duty today??"
"from 10 AM uncle.. aaj ek bahot critical surgery hain.."
"don't worry beta.. i'm sure u'll succeed.."
Armaan smiled but soon bua ji came with break fast nd said..
"offo bhaiya.. aap logo ko yeh surgery aur patients ke alawa bhi kuch soojh ta hain kya..??? aur yeh kya hain.. neha aur riddhi aab tak kyun nahi ayee??"
Bua ji asked normally but the mention of neha's name made dr. shashank uncomfortable.. so, trying to change the topic he said..
"haan princess kyun nahi ayee aab tak.. ?? uski fav break fast hain, na!!"
Armaan sensed that nothing changed yet... Still dr. shashank was angry with neha .. how could she be pregnant before marriage was the reason behind his indifference... On the other hand, riddhima requested them to allow her di to stay with them nd ashima ji agreed knowing the situation... from that very moment riddhima was trying to make patch up between her di nd papa but all was in vain nd moreover neha was still in that trauma...
"mm.. uncle, if u don't mind.. main jake riddhima ko bula lata hoon.."
Armaan said nd bua ji nodded in agreement.
Armaan went upstairs nd found one open door 1st.. peeping inside he found Neha was sitting on the bed like a lifeless doll.. he sighed nd moved forward nd found another room but its door was closed.. thinking it would be riddhima's room he tried to knock but it opened on the very 1st knock.. he hesitated but entered finally.. he looked here n there but found none nd wen he was about to leave he heard someone's sob.. He slowly turned nd realized the sound coming from the balcony.. he walked that way nd siding the curtain he found HER crying miserably, trying to check her sob her best, holding the railing tight in her feast..
"ridh..hima??"
he whispered nd she turned hearing the voice.. she blinked few times to clear her vision as tear was restricting her view nd wen she found HIM standing in front of her concerned, she couldn't help but threw herself on him hugging him tight, crying over his shoulder... After that day, both became very good friends.. their journey started with "aap" but now there was only "tum" between them... he hugged her tight securing her in his strong arms nd in return she kept on clinging onto him more n more... He felt immense pain seeing her in this way... the gal who gave him strength, was completely broken then.. wanting a support desperately nd fortunately he came to that point..
"kyun hua yeh sab armaan??? akhir kya zaroraat thi iss sab ki?? sab kuch.. sab kuch ulaajh kar rakh diya.. kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahi raha.. kuch bhi nahi.."
she said with lots of difficulty being out of breathe due to constant crying..
"pata hain armaan.. papa di se baat nahi kar rahe hain.. nahi di kuch bol rahi hain.. i know di ko bahot problem face karni padegi par..."
then breaking the hug she continued...
"mainey bahoot koshish ki armaan.. har paal baas yeh koshish karti hoon ke sab kuch thik ho jayee.. par mujhsey nahi hua armaan.. main har gayyee.."
nd she trembled in his arms as he was holding her by her shoulder, he saved her from falling.. seeing her like this hurt him greatly.. he couldn't see her like this.. it was juz paining him more n more.
"riddhimaaa??"
"nahi dekh paa rahi hoon sabko aisey.. main pagal ho jayungi soch soch ke... main kya karoon armaan?? tum batao na.. kya karoon ke sab tension free ho jayee.. kya karoo ke sabki khoyee hui hansi wapas aa jayee... kuch to rashta hoga, na armaan.. bolo na.. kya karoon main..??"
she kept on asking him repeatedly in frustration.. suddenly all her pain started to explode.. nd she was soo exhausted with this tensed atmosphere nd this sudden out burst that soon she collapsed in his arms..
"rid.. ridhima???"
he panicked nd took her in his armaans.. placing her softly on bed, he checked her pulse...threw some sprinlkes of water on her face nd he relaxed seeing her gaining senses .. due to extreme mental pressure, her b.p fell so much dat she lost conscious for some time.. He hugged her softly seeing her getting around but this time she didn't say any thing..
he got up nd tried to go downstairs wen he heard her feeble voice..
"don't tell anyone.."
He looked at once at her then left.. soon he came back with food for her nd medicine.. she looked at him questioningly..
"mainey kisi se kuch nahi kahan.. bass kahan ke mujhe kuch zaroori baat kari hain.. aur is liye main upar nashta le aya kyunki mujhe sanjeevani bhi jana hain.. aur yeh dawai main car se laya hoon file lane ke bahane ... so, don't worry.."
she nodded.. he sat beside her after making her sit resting her head on d bed post nd started feeding her gently.. she, too didn't protest nd started eating bt shiftd her head from bed rest to his left shoulder... they shared this unsaid bond now.. though they didn't accept their feelings but they felt strongly connected with each other... after making her eat both food nd medicine, he made her lie on the bed nd whispered while stroking her hair softly..
"thodi der so lo riddhima... trust me.. aab jab tum neend se uthogi toh sab kuch thik ho jayega.."
she looked at him blankly..
"u trust me, na??"
she nodded her head positively...
"then.. don't worry... main sab thik kar dunga... bass tum aisey tootna matth.."
she closed her eyes feeling extremely satisfied nd on d other hand, he made his mind nd called his mother..
"mom.. mujhe aapsey kuch zaroori baat karni thi.."
...
"haan mom.. uss barey mein..."
...
"u were ri8 mom.. yehi sahi hain sab ke liye.. mujhe koi problem nahi hain..."
he cut the call nd held the phone on his erratic heart nd closing his eyes he sighed... "shayad humari kahani ka yehi future tha riddhima.."
Riddhima, who was still sleeping on her bed, started coming around from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes nd felt her head very heavy. She put her right hand on her forehead nd started messaging her forehead slowly. It was then she felt lill noise coming from downstairs. She got up nd sat on her bed keeping her head on the bed post nd slowly took her cell from the side table to check the time.
"11:40 AM??? main itni der tak so rahi thi?? par kisiney uthaya kyun nhi mujhe?? (then remembering the morning incident, she sighed) lagta hain armaan mana kar ke gaya tha bui ko!! (then smiling lill) yeh armaan bhi na.. sach mein, i'm very lucky to have a friend like him.. (she heard bui's joyful voice from a distance nd became lill confused).. arrey achanak aisa kya ho gaya jo bui itni khush hain?? mujhe neeche jana chahiye .. (then coming down from her bed).. but before that i should go for shower.. bahot late ho gaya hain.. warna di lunch nahi karengi jab tak main nahi jayungi.. " (she sighed nd went inside the bath room)
Riddhima got ready nd went downstairs to see the matter nd she became happily surprised to see her papa nd bui talking happily with ashima aunty. Automatically a smile crept over her lips nd she asked with lill astonishment..
"Aunty.. aap?? Iss waqt??"
Ashima ji smiled seeing her laadli beti nd expanded her right hand in front of her. Riddhima caught her hand getting her clue nd coming near her, she sat beside her on the sofa.
"aab tabiyaat kaisi hain aapki, beta??"
Her concerned motherly tone make riddhima smile heartily nd she replied softly..
"i'm feeling much better now aunty.."
"par bachcha hua kya tha?? armaan ne kaha ke aapko bahot headache ho raha hai..is liye he gave u medicine nd suggested to sleep lill more.."
Asked a concerned dr. shashank..
Riddhima smiled at her concerned father nd gently answered..
"kuch nahi papa.. bas aisey hi.. kal raat bahot late soyi thi na... i think it was due to lack of sleep only"
Dr. shashank was satisfied as all knew how busy riddhima stays now-a-days... she was managing both her studies nd her di very efficiently..
Soon bui came nd gave her a glass of juice.. Riddhima sipped some nd asked to them..
"waisey baat kya hain? i mean u all are looking really happy.. wat happened??"
Riddhima asked nd sipped some more juice..
Bui became excited nd sitting on the couch, she said...
"Aashima ji ne toh hum sabki problem hi solve kar di.. tujhe pata hain riddhi... (riddhima looked at her bui nd indicated through her eyes to continue).. armaan ne neha se shaadi karne ke liye 'haan' kar di hain.."
nd as soon as she heard it, the juice chocked in her throat very badly.. nd she started coughing seriously. All panicked seeing their princess.. her eyes welled up due to coughing like this.. Dr. shashank patted her back, ashima ji gave her some water, nd bui patted her head softly to calm her down nd soon her coughing stopped nd all relaxed.
"bachcha.. dhyaan se.."
Riddhima juz nodded her head in 'yes' forcing a small smile on her lips but her eyes were still teary.. but all thought dat it was due to that bad coughing but in reality her eyes became watery due to some other reason.
"ar..maan.. aur.. di ki shadi??" she asked slowly with great difficulty but thanx to that juice effect, she was saved from acting more in front of all. She didn't need to wipe off her tears, neither she needed to check her voice.. that juice helped her truly, otherwise she would have to face more difficulties to pretend being unaffected by armaan nd neha di's marriage.
"haan beta.. (ashima ji started).. agar uss din woh accident na hota toh neha ko yeh sab.. (she paused remembering her son nd then changed the line to control her tears)... par iss bachche ki toh koi fault nahi hain, na!! agar neha ki dubara shadi ho jati hain toh.. (then smiling a lill).. toh koi problem hi nahi rahegi.. na shashank bhai sahab ko sharminda hona padega aur nahi neha ko future mein koi problems face karni padegi.. aur sach kahoon toh main nahi chahti meri grand child mujhse door jaye aur waisey bhi yeh merey akash ki aakhri.. (she again paused but started) .. is liye mainey socha agar neha humarey ghar mein hi phir se dulhan ban ke aye toh?? mainey armaan se baat ki toh ussney pehle mana kar diya tha.. mainey bahot koshish ki samjhane ki par fir socha shayad woh kisi se pyaar karta hain toh... toh i shouldn't force him for this marriage, aisey forced marriage se neha ki problem kam hone ke badle aur baddh jati but thanks to god, pata nahi aaj subah aisa kya ho gaya ke Armaan ne khud mujhe call kar ke kaha ke he is ready for this marriage.."
Ashima ji paused smiling happily nd dr. shashank started..
"sach mein behen ji.. main kaisey aap ka sukhriya ada karoon.. i mean jo aapney aur armaan ne kiya.. truly i've no words.. i'm so grateful to both of you.. aap soch bhi nahi sakti ke kitni badi bojh (burden) hata di hain aapney merey dill se.. thank u soo much.."
"haan .. aur nahi toh kya.. humari beti ki zindegi sawar jayegi.. sach mein, armaan bahot achcha ladka hain.. uski jitni tarif karoon woh kam hain.. aur aap ne toh bilkul neha ki maa ka farz nibhaya hain.. kash har saas aisey sochti toh betiyon ko vida karney mein uskey gharwalo ko kabhi koi chinta hi nahi hoti.."
Bui said thankfully.
"arrey nahi.. aap log plz fir se mujhe sharminda mat kijiye.. (then being very serious suddenly) par kya neha manegi?? I mean wohh abhi tak uss sadmey se bahar nahi aye hain.."
Ashima ji paused and all stopped being extremely tensed nd wen all were emerged in deep thought they heard their savior's soft voice nd all looked at that person hopefully.
"di ko main manayungi.."
Riddhima said softly more to herself than to others nd wen she felt all intent gazes on her, she looked up nd found all were staring at her hopefully. She gulped the lump formed in her throat quickly nd forcing a wide smile she announced..
"don't worry every one.. wen princess is here, not to fear.. main hoon na!! main mana lungi di ko.. chillax folk.."
She said cheekily controlling hard both her voice nd her eyes. nd thanx to her stars, bui agreed at once being very happy.
"arrey haan.. riddhi kahegi aur neha nahi manegi .. yeh toh possible hi nahi hain.. par shadi hogi kab aur kaisey??"
Riddhi felt a hard bang on her heart hearing this but still she has to smile nd she did.
"haan.. woh actually armaan wants court marriage only.. jo bhi hua uske baad ..."
ashima ji said hesitantly but dr. shashank handled the situation..
"of course, main bhi yahi chahta hoon.. this is the best idea.. i've a lawyer friend of mine..main ussey baat kar lunga.. dnt worry, all can be done easily at home also.."
Bui too smiled in acceptance..
"cuse me aunty.. main abhi ayee.." riddhima excused herself smiling lill nd escaped from there. She ran as fast as possible to her room nd locking the door, she collapsed in tears at the gate... She knelt down on the very spot nd started crying hysterically.. She didn't know why but she wasn't happy. she was feeling like losing the most precious thing of her life. She was feeling like someone driving her happiness away from her. She was feeling like being extremely suffocated. But why??
She ran her hands through her hair in frustration nd asked herself..
"why? Why m I feeling like this?? Why m I feeling so sad?? Mujhe toh khush hona chahiye tha naa?? After all main yehi toh chahti thi.. ke kissi bhi tarah sab thik ho jaye.. papa aur di ke beech ki dooriyaan khatam ho jayee, dono families fir se happy ho jayee aur meri neha di ki zindegi me khushiyaan wapas aa jaye.. par aab jab yeh sab kuch ho raha hain toh main khush kyun nahi hoon.. kyun main chahte hue bhi has nahi paa rahi hoon.. kyun meri aankhe nam toh hain par yeh aansoon khushi ke nahi hain.. kyun yeh baat mujhse itni takleef de rahi hain ke armaan ne di se'''.. akhir kyun??"
Her head was paining hard due to all these questions but she couldn't able to find answers of all her queries.. She became highly tired nd putting her head on the door , she closed her eyes.. nd as soon as she closed her eyes, all moments with armaan started coming in her mind. She jerked in fear nd opened her eyes at once'
"oh god!! Kya main Armaan se pyaar kar baithi hoon??!!"
she was shocked with her own thoughts nd to confirm she again closed her eyes.. every word, every smile, every tear in short every moment shared with him is still crystal clear in her mind.. still in such tensed moment she felt her lips curving in soft smile remembering their 1st meeting at di's wedding.. how he saved her from boys team, allowed her to go with akash jeeju's joote, then their dance performance nd every sweet talks during the function.. That evening was the best evening of her life.. after all it was the starting day of their friendship.. FRIENSHIP?? Only friendship?? Is that so or something else??
Then next moment she felt herself so dependent on him thinking how he handled both the families.. how he saved her di.. how he was there every time she tried to make both families happy.. her heart wrenched remembering his break down over akash jeeju's death nd then ashima aunty's critical condition.. she still didn't understand what gave her that much of strength to support armaan at that point.. it was all about him, then she only wanted him to prevent from breaking down, she only wanted him to protect from extreme loneliness, she only wanted him to stay hopeful.. it was all him that she cared then.. her own sorrow seemed less important to her. BUT WHY?? IS THAT ONLY FRIENDSHIP or more dan that??
And finally after remembering what armaan said in the morning while trying to make her sleep, she got all her answers.. She opened her eyes slowly nd said..
"tumne achanak 'haan' meri wajah se ki hain na armaan.. par kyun?? Sirf dosti ke liye ya tum bhi merey liye kuch aur feel karte ho'(then controlling her emotions) I've no right to have these feelings for you now.. mujhe pata hain mujhe kya karna hain.. nd main yehi karungi.. thank u soo much armaan.. thank u soo much.."
She smiled with tears.. "sab love stories complete ho yeh zaroori toh nahi hain, na!! but I promise hum best frnz the, hain aur humesha rahenge.. tumhe jab bhi ek dost ki zarorat hogi, tum humesha mujhe aapney pass paoge armaan.. i promise u dat.. mujhe yakeen hain armaan.. na tum mujhe kabhi aapni feelings mujhe bataoge aur nahi main tumhe kabhi yeh samajh ne ka muka dungi ke main tumhare bare main kya sochti thi.. bass.. tum dono humesha khush rehna.. I know bahot mushkil hain but I'll help u both to live a normal wedded life.."
She prepared her mind nd went inside the wash room to wipe her face.. Then wiping the cold water from her face with the towel, she made her hair proper nd went to talk to her di'
~ PRESENT ~
Riddhima was still staring at the sky standing with the support of the window.. She raised her hand nd slowly wiped her eyes nd smiled vaguely..
"yeh yaadein.. pata nahi kab peecha chodegi humari.. jab bhi yaad aati hain sirf dard hi deti hain aur yeh dil.. pata nhi kyun nahi sunti yeh humari.. jitna bhi samjhao par deemag humesha dil se har hi jata hain.. kyun life itni complicated hain.. akhir kyun??"
Her eyes again welled up but this time she didn't try to wipe it off.. It was almost the end of the night as the sky was getting red.. She sighed thinking how she spent the whole night with the memories of that horrible incident.. She closed her eyes nd prayed in heart..
"I hope yeh subah di aur armaan ki zindegi mein nayee ummeed le aye..I hope unn dono ke beech filhaal ek dosti ka rishta ban jaye taki unhe ek dusre ke sath itni uncomfortable feel na ho..i juz hope.."
On the other hand, Armaan, too, sighed thinking how those memories gifted him another sleepless night.. he came back to his study table nd before he became engrossed in work, he looked at the sky one more time..
"ek aur subah!!"
Nd nodding his head unwillingly, he started his work.. here, in the very next room of his study, another person was lying awake on the bed.. Although armaan mde neha lie on the bed but again that accident scene haunted her as the nightmare like alwaz nd her sleep broke… She was lying facing in the direction of the window nd the start of another morning also made her sigh thinking..
"ek aur subah.. ek aur naya din.. pata nahi kabh sab kuch thik hoga.. pata nahi kab tak hum yuun aapno se hi khush rehne ki acting karte rahenge.. pata nahi humarey kismat mein ek normal life hain bhi ya nahi.."
Nd she closed her eyes trying to sleep one more time.
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