" chandu where are you? " a 15 year old boy calls out as he tries looking for her everywhere near him.
"Dev!..dev" a sweet chirpy voice responds with a gigle as she tries to hide herself from him.
"Catch me dev if you can?" She says loudly keeping a hand over mouth to stop herself fron giggling but fails miserably.
"Chand?? Chand!" The boy giggle and runs to the spot where she replied.
His eyebrow arched in confusion when he didn't see her behind the pillar.
"I am here dev...see look at me" she raised her hand almost getting it visible to his eyes but as soon as the boy turns to catch she escapes.she giggles even harder. This is her favourite game which she plays almost everyday with her best friend dev.
The boy stops in middle and thinks. She tries to gauge his action he is in calculating mode. Too bad! She knows he will come with a plan once he is finish with his thoughts.
"Aaah" she hears his voice. He is in pain. Her heart accelerates at a speed and adrenaline push her to come out of hiding spot and run towards him. She wants to know is he okay. "Dev??? Are you okay?" She runs at a faster speed crossing all pillar coming across her she could see him .His one hand is over his knee and the other at his arm. He is injured, her mind started to show dreadful image the poor little girl felt worried for her dev. She clutched her ghagra(skirt) and runs with more energy. Soon she dropped her grip over skirt and stood behind dev. She pats a hand over his back.
"Dev? Are you alright. You are hurt dev? Show me" she forced him to remove his hand and show the wound.
Dev with the painful look turns around , his hands are still at the wounded places. She roams her eyes to the spot to check the wound. She pills of his hand and checks again. "Is it paining here?" Her voice full of concern.
Dev felt his heart drowning with guilt. The worry look on her face and the teary eyes instantly made dev regret for his prank. He just wanted her to comeout of her hidden spot. His intentions were never to hurt her but now thats exactly have happened he have hurt her.
"Dev yaha to kuch nahi laga hai." She said after pressing the arm where he have clutched few minutes before.
"I am sorry chand." His head bend low in guilt , his shoulder dropped with regret.
"It was a prank. I am not hurt." He said it with his shut eyes not wanting to see her reaction at this.
For two minutes , everything turned silent. Dev waited for her to lash out her anger at him. But she didnt say a word, neither of them did. Curiousity to know the reason behind silence kicked in and he opened his eyes to look at her. His heart dropped to stomach. He felr short of breath. His princess is shredding tears! God this was not what he wished when playing the prank. It was suppose to be taken as joke , laugh and forget it. But no she is crying. Dev cursed thousand of words to himself. He cant stand to see tears in her eyes.
She brought a finger below her eyes and caught the tear which slipped from them. She used her palm to wipe her wet cheeks and turns around to leave the place. No!!!! She cant leave him. Atleast not when she is so upset and crying. He needs to stop her! His heart scolded him.
She have hardly taken few steps when a hand stopped her from moving ahead. She darted her eyes from the hand to the face. Its dev raizada, her best friend.
She turns behind to look at him. Advay saw her looking at him and pulled his both hands to his ears.
"Sorry chand. I didnt want to hurt you. I am sorry you felt bad. It was just a prank." He tried to make her understand. She nods her head in no and pulls his both hands back to his side.
" you dont care about my feelings. How could you pull up such a prank. Dont you know what effect it got on me. You are bad. Very bad! Dont talk to me." She is all set to March out of door but he stops her again.
"I am sorry chand. I know i am bad. But you know this bad person is your best friend . will you not forgive me" he cups her face in his hand. She steps out of his touch and shouts.
"Tum mujhse door raho. Dont touch me."
Instantly his eyes turns black and he takes a step almost standing on her face." Badho ko aap kehte hai." He warns her.
She shivers at the tone he used which made his eye soften.
"Sorry . sorry..sorry...sorry" he keeps on saying it with an intention she will accept his sorry at some point of time. Till then , he wont stop. He wont sit or go anywhere and even he wont let her go. She has to accept his apology , he was determined to this.
Knowing his friend the poor girl have to give up on her anger after a couple of minutes. She tried hard to break from smiling abut her lips twitched upward . "sorry..sorry..sorr-" dev got cut off in between when she kept a hand over his mouth.
"Stop. I forgive you." She said it with a smile.
A cool breeze circled upon duo and he sighed in relief. "I am sorry chandni." He said with pure honesty. "Its okay dont pull such prank again on me " she warns him with seriousness.
His smile grew bigger on realization that how much this friend of his care for him. She is truly a gem in his life. With a promise to never hurt her again he brings his hand over her shoulder. He leans himself a little and drops a kiss on her forehead. "I promise. I will never hurt you. Intentionally or unintentionally." He promised to himself more than her.
He smile drops as few images started to play before his eyes "DAYAN" he heard chand say to her mother. He say a gold bracelet who is provoking the crowd against his family. The image followed back to chand who points out her finger at him. Dev is standing with bis little brother in arms. The crowd now have started chasing him to kill him. He hears her mother crying with pain, begging for help. People are pouring kerosene on her and the one with peacock feather keychain throws burning matchstick at her and she is burnt alive. He hears few other voices one which belongs to his father he is trying to explain the crowd something but people are lashing out their anger and not paying attention to him. One of them have punched him on face and the other man opposite to him who is also ready with knife stabs his father in guts. He lost everything , he is still running for life. ...he is running...running...
"MIKU!!!" He screams out his name and sits on bed like an instant reflection. His hand is in air as if trying to hold something and his body is sweating hard. His face hold terro expression. He is shivering like a leaf. After few seconds he gets back from flashback and looks here and there. He is in his room on his bed. He brings his both hands on face and groans in it. Its been 16 years. 16 years this nightmare is following him. He have never rested since after that. Why?? Why it happened with him. Why the girl who couldnt stand to see him hurt and practically broken everything in him. Why? Why so much pain is in his life? Why he lost every reason to be happy. Why days and nights the allahbad fiasco never leaves him? Why ...why???
He brings his hand off his face and rests it on his lap. His eyes flow a stream of river and his lips quiver for the flashback he just experienced . its like he is living all those thing again and again in dream. He is nothing but empty after the betrayal. If only chand, his chand have not called her mother 'dayan' things would have been different.
He gets up from bed and walks to the wall right beside the window. There is a huge frame of a woman and she is smiling at him. He walks close to it and keeps his hand on her face.
"16 saal ki zindagi me 16 pal ke liye bhi nahi bhula main. Na tumhe ..na tumhare dhoke ko" his eyes which were full of love turned in to passionate hatred.
"16 tarah ka jharnum(hell) 16 tarah ki saza socha hai maine tumhare liye" he caressed her lips with the point of his finger.
"Itni aasani se na tumhe saza milegi , na sukun" he brings his hand on her hand and imaginary hold it.
"Mujhe intezaar hai humare milne ka, 16 janam kam pad jayenge chandni tumhe ye wada raha. Main aa raha hu tumhari zindagi me phir tumhari sari khushiyo ka rasta badalne." He turns his back at photo frame and walks few step away from it. And then just with a spontaneous reaction pulls a vase sitting next to the table beside him and hits on the frame breaking it in to pieces.
His old servant came running to his room with the glass breaking noise. He opens the door and is shock to see the scenario inside the room. Advay is panting with anger and the frame glass is broken in to pieces and now is spreaded everywhere in the room.
"Tumse itni nafrat hai, ke jee karta hai tumhe inhi hatho se maar du. Per nahi... Ek waqt tha jaha tumhare pyar ne mujhe pyar ki inteha sikhai..ab waqt mera hai..main tumhe bataunga...nafrat kise kehte hai." Old servant hears him laugh in tears and recites his hatred towards the broken frame. Its been years he is servicing for him and from years he have seen this same scene repeating before his eyes. Advay have chandni pitchers everwhere in his house from childhood to now when she has turned in to fully flourish young woman. He has seen many times advay breaking the frame, cursing the woman in it. And then he also have seen nights where his master sit with the drink in hand before her frame and admires her. He doesnt like any servant touching her photo. Its only his loyal servant this old man is permitted to clean the glass. He has seen plenty of times dev in him repairing the frame and advay breaking it again. What is he upto? He never understood this side of emotion. Its almost like two personality resides in this one man. One who wont stand a single finger of other male touching the mere frame and the other part oathing himself to destroy her life and burns in rage.
"Itni nafrat hoke bhi itna ishq...is nafrat ko kya naaam du?" He whipered to himself while sighing at the small pieces of glasses on floor. Quickly he gets back to work and starts picking up , cleaning the room.
*******
Please forgive my english errors.
I hope you liked it.
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