IshRa FF Strangers Chapter 22-27 Page 94-95 *Completed* (3/3/15) - Page 31

Its fab story I must say I hav always been a silent reader bt today aftr this chapter by hook or crook I got time n I m commenting. its one of the best stories of fforum.theirslow progress in relation nok jhok finally becoming one evrythng was so superbly described. evry feeling of theira was verbalised by u.grt work yaar thr r some parts which I read many times .now waiting for nxt update hope tthey realise soon

Awesome update! Lovely! Eargely waiting for the nxt!

wonderful part dear👏
the silence and awkwardness were well-described👍🏼
loved reading their inner thoughts too...😳
hopefully they will become closer after this temple trip..⭐️
eager for the next part😃
do continue soon

Neet! New reader here. I really like your writing style! Please update soon, this is story is just lovely!

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for your lovely responses so far and special thanks to the new/silent readers who took the time to drop a line. All your comments inspire me to update regularly and write better too.

As always, pls add Neet006 to your buddy list for PMs, enjoy the chapter and do let me know how you like it/hate it.

Cheers,

Neet

Chapter 13

"I'm here."

"Okay. You know what to do. No mistakes this time."

"No mistakes."

***

Raman couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. She was lighting diyas around the temple with Mrs. Singh. She was clad in a deep red salwar suit, her face glowing in the soft light of the diyas. She looked divine. Tomorrow, he was going to go down to the market and buy some of those antique lanterns for the house. The ones that you could light candles in. He loved seeing her in the candle glow. Without thought, he walked up to her and started lighting diyas with her.

"I didn't know you believed in God," she commented.

"I don't."

"So you don't believe in destiny? Or fate?"

"No. Destiny and fate are excuses that weak people make when they can't get where they want to in life."

"And love?" she asked hesitantly.

He stopped lighting the diyas and looked at her. There was something in her eyes, something he couldn't discern - guilt? Regret? Something much deeper?

"I don't believe in anything that makes you weak, makes you a fool," he said. His words sounded hollow to his own ears. Something changed in her expression but he didn't notice as he looked over to Mrs. Singh standing a few feet away, busy lighting diyas. "You believe in love and then you believe in stories like those of Raja Sudhardev and Rani Padmini and then you think the whole world is beautiful and life and everyone in it is perfect. But.."

"But reality is different.. And when you realize that, all that remains is heartache," Ishita finished for him.

They had finished lighting the diyas. The sun had just set and the full, golden moon was beginning to rise in the sky, right behind the spire of the temple. Ishita and Raman stood watching the magical scene unfold. Despite all his cynicism, even Raman was caught in the spellbinding beauty of the moment. The lit diyas, the full golden moon, hundreds of hands and hearts joined in prayer, the reverberation of sacred hymns vibrating in the air - it was an alleviating experience, the kind that soothed your soul. Raman almost did not hear Ishita when she spoke up.

"If I ask something of you, will you agree?" she asked ever so softly.

Raman simply looked at her but said nothing.

"If and when we get out of here, promise me you will not try to find me," she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Raman felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He stared at her for a long moment before speaking up, "Why?"

She said nothing but kept staring into the distance. Raman waited for her to say something, anything at all but she remained silent.

"And what if.. What if.. Something remains that'll bind us?" he asked.

Ishita looked up at him. She understood what he meant.

"No. There will be no ties to bind us together. You don't believe in fate, but I do and I already know my fate. Its incomplete, its alone."

Raman stared at her not comprehending what she was saying. There was every possibility that she could get pregnant after last night. Then how was she so sure?

"Promise?" she asked, extending her hand. "Only on one condition, you will let me know if.. you.." Raman started to say but Ishita cut him with a sad laugh, "You have no idea Raman, what I wouldn't give.." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I promise," she told him. Very hesitantly, he placed his hand on her outstretched hand and gave his word, "I promise. Once we are out of here, I promise I won't try to get in touch with you."

The heartache he was feeling was so intense, like his heart was physically being ripped in two. Even his past hadn't given him this kind of pain. Anger, yes. Frustration, yes. Hatred, yes. But not this soul-ripping pain that this one promise, to a woman he did not even know all that well, was giving him. Ishita gave a teary smile as she took her hand away from his and whispered, "Thank you." Raman nodded his head and looked away.

"Oh the two of you are here. Come on! Quick! I've asked the priest to perform a special puja for the two of you," Mrs. Singh said ushering Raman and Ishita towards the temple. "Panditji, they are newly weds. I've booked a special puja for them," Mrs. Singh informed the priest. The priest signaled them to take their seats in front of the holy fire. He performed the puja and asked Raman and Ishita to offer the venerations together into the fire. He chanted hymns and explained to Ishita and Raman the significance of a husband-wife relationship, its parallels to the story of Shiv and Shakti. Ishita was growing increasingly uncomfortable with each word that the Panditji uttered. It was one thing to lie to the world that they were husband and wife but another to lie in front of God. She wasn't Raman's wife. She had no right to be sitting beside him in this puja. This entire puja was a farce and they were playing with Mrs. Singh's emotions. Ishita folded her hands in prayer and prayed fervently to be forgiven for this sin they were committing. "Beta, fill her parting with sindoor," she heard the Panditji instruct Raman. "It doesn't look good for a married woman to keep her parting empty and not wear her mangalsutra," he added. Raman and Ishita looked at each other worried. "Are you worried about the mangalsutra? I have an option for that," Mrs. Singh chipped in excitedly. She brought out a gold chain with a pendant of Devi Maa and handed it to Raman, "There. You can wear this as your mangalsutra till you get an actual one."

Ishita and Raman looked at each other. Ishita gently shook her head while she pleaded with her eyes not to do this. Raman tried to think of a way to get out of this situation but found none. Not letting himself think too much about it, Raman leaned forward and tied the chain around Ishita's neck. He took the sindoor from the Panditji and filled her parting too. It didn't mean anything, he kept reminding himself. This was all a charade. And yet when she lifted her teary eyes to look at him, he felt a surge of possessiveness like never before. But she wasn't his.. And like he'd promised her a little while ago, would never be.

"The puja is complete now. Here beti, keep this sindoor with you. This is divine sindoor, right from Devi Maa's Holy feet. This will always keep you together, for all your seven births," Panditji said, handing over the small box of sindoor to Ishita. She took it from him hesitantly. "Ishita, Raman, come on, make a wish. Maa Jhula Devi will definitely fulfill all your wishes. I say, why don't you ask Maa Jhula Devi to bless you with a little one soon? Trust me, once your families know you are expecting a little one, they'll forget all their animosity and accept you back into their fold," Mrs. Singh said placing a hand on Ishita's shoulder. "And don't forget, once your wish is fulfilled, you have to come back and tie a bell on the temple wall."

When Ishita turned towards the idol of the Goddess, her mind was blank. What could she ask for? Every time she'd been to a temple, all her prayers had been for her family - for their health, happiness and prosperity. But if she had this one chance to ask for a miracle, what was the one miracle she desperately wanted in her life? She stole a glance at Raman. She wasn't ready yet to admit to even herself what she felt for this man. But whatever she felt, she felt strongly and deeply. But just as surely, she knew they weren't meant to be. She wasn't right for him. And yet, here she was, standing next to him, his mangalsutra around her neck and his sindoor in her parting and still she wasn't right for him. If only.. Yes.. That was the miracle she'd ask for. She folded her hands, closed her eyes and made an earnest prayer for the miracle that would change her life.

He didn't believe in God. He didn't believe in destiny or fate either. So this was basically a pointless exercise, Raman thought as he made a show of praying. Then he glanced at the woman beside him. What was it about her, he wondered, that he couldn't seem to get her out of his thoughts? Maybe because he had no other distractions here. Maybe, once he returned to his life in Delhi, he wouldn't even think about her. He had promised her he wouldn't go looking for her and he never broke his promises. Maybe, he would never see her in his life again. That thought, for some unknown reason, made his heart ache. On an impulse, he closed his eyes and made a prayer.

She knew what she'd asked for, she could never get. Her prayers had remained unanswered for so very long. But she kept hoping. For a miracle. Even when everything she knew told her it was pointless. The thought broke her heart. She couldn't go on with this anymore. She turned to Raman and when she spoke, her voice was hoarse from all the pain she was holding back, "Can.. Can we go home please? I'm not feeling too good." She barely met his gaze while speaking. Raman nodded his head and turned to ask Mrs. Singh if she was ready to leave.

"But beta, the night time aarti is not over yet. And I have volunteered to help distribute the Prasad after the aarti," Mrs. Singh said. "Well, then, I guess Ishita and I will head home. She isn't feeling all that well," he explained. "Oh! What happened? Is she alright? Does she need a doctor? I am sure Dr. Khanna must be somewhere here," Mrs. Singh replied scanning the crowd. Now that it was almost time for the night aarti, the crowd had grown in number. The temple grounds were filled with people. "No. No. Its nothing. Once she goes home and rests, she'll be fine," Raman said, "Oh okay. Do one thing, you can go in the jeep. I will ask Mrs. Khanna to drop me home," she said. "Are you sure? We can take an auto," Raman replied. "No! No! Its alright. If Mrs. Khanna can't drop me, I'll just call Ram and have him come pick me up. He should be here in a while too. You two take care," she said as she hurried off to find Mrs. Khanna.

Raman cast a glance around and found the constables in charge of their security and signaled to them that they were leaving. They nodded their heads and signaled okay. Raman and Ishita made their way towards the jeep parked at the far end of the temple ground.

The drive home was exceptionally quiet. Raman was intrigued by the fact that Ishita hadn't tried to vigorously rub away her sindoor like she had the first day. Did that mean anything at all? He wondered. He had barely finished that thought when there was a sound of something bursting and their jeep began to veer out of control. "Seems like the tyre has burst Sir," the driver said as he struggled to bring the jeep under control. A few minutes of struggling and finally the driver brought the vehicle to a screeching halt. "I'll change the tyre quickly Sir," he said as he jumped out of the vehicle. For some reason, Ishita felt an odd panic rising in her. So when Raman made a move to get out of the vehicle and help the driver, she grabbed onto his hand and stopped him. Sure enough, a few seconds later, in the eerie stillness of the night, they heard a muffled noise and a scream. Raman immediately freed himself of Ishita's hold and jumped out of the jeep to find their driver lying face down on the ground. In the light of the full moon, he saw a hole in the man's back.

"My oh my! Aren't I lucky tonight? I came here thinking I'll get rid of one but I've got both my targets right here. So, Raman Kumar Bhalla.. Last time, Mr. Shah got in the way and then this girl screamed so you got saved. But how do you plan to save yourself now, eh?"

Amazing update neet..m generally a silent reader..but love ur story. But this update...wow..best one tiol now..one request. U must continue soon. What a cliffhanger girl..plz plz plz...can we get an early update. 😊

That was amazing! Great cliffhanger!

That was really great!

So lovely update completely well described both of their perspectives could understand their feelings n the promise so emotional yaar. n I think both wished the same their togetherness .n u stopped at peak moment can't wait update soon or we wil die of anxiety

exciting turn of events!!! can't wait for the next update already :)