OK...here's another OS from me - in an effort to fulful anuandavi's khwahish!!
To brief you all up - I have taken Akshara - Abhimanyu conversation post Manish's surgery as it and forked away after that to this OS.
Happy reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Unki Akshu ka pyaar unki zindagi legaya”
“Lekin meri ek aur duniya hain. Aur woh duniya mera parivaar hain. Mere apne hain.”
“Mera pyaar jab tak meri taqleef thi tab tak ladsakti thi. Lekin mera pyaar mere parivaar ka taqleef bangaya! Aisa pyaar nahi maanga tha meine!”
Those words refused to leave Abhi long after their talk. He checked in on Manish once again before leaving for the night, reached home and forced himself to eat so as not to worry his ma, had a shower…he did everything with those words ringing in his ears, with Akshara’s tear filled eyes filling his vision. He threw his towel with almost viscous force before grabbing a fresh shirt and donning it on. For the first time after a long time, he plugged in his headset in hope of silence as he settled on his bed to catch some shut eye .
“Lekin meri ek aur duniya hain. Aur woh duniya mera parivaar hain. Mere apne hain.”
With a muttered curse, he threw the headset aside. He wasn’t stupid. He knew it was not anger riding him. It was fear. And pain. So many days of him trying to pull his Akshu out of her guilt and now she was back to square one. She was back to feeling guilty for loving him. For standing up to their love. And he knew where that would go.
“Mujhe mera akelapan manzoor tha. Lekin meri family ko meri wajah se taqleef pahunche yeh manzoor nahi tha”
She was going to walk away. He was going to lose her all over again. Was she ever completely with him, in this relationship? She loves her family. Woh uske apne hain! And who am I? Just a boyfriend? A guy who hounded her until she gave in and accepted?
No! He knew…he KNEW she loved him. Genuinely loved him. Just not as much as her family. So if push came to shove, she would choose her family. He would be left alone. Again. And frankly, after getting a taste of her love, of his own peace and happiness the last few weeks, he wasn’t sure he could survive that kind of a blow with his sanity intact.
Drenched in sweat in an effort to clench and silence his screams, he grabbed his cycle keys and strode out of his room.
No. She wouldn’t leave me. She promised. She wouldn’t leave.
“Aisa pyar nahi maanga tha maine!”
Those words wouldn't leave him either.
~~~~~~~~~
“What happened, Mimi? Unable to sleep?” Akshara asked, as she watched Mimi toss and turn on the couch in the hall. Everyone had asked mimi to go to her room and get some proper sleep but she had refused to move from the couch so Kairav had brought in some pillows and a blanket. Swarna had stayed in the hospital even though Manish was in the ICU and she couldn’t stay with him. Mahima had arranged a portable bed in one of the waiting rooms where Swarna could at least relax a little.
“How can I sleep when he’s lying there in that hospital?” Mimi bemoaned.
“Mimi, relax. Bade papa is out of danger na. You heard what Abhi said, didn’t you? He’s going to be home soon.”
“Thank God for Abhimanyu!” She held Akshu’s palm between hers. “Manish almost sent him to jail, ruined his career and his life yet he didn’t hesitate to step in and save his life today.”
“Meine hamesha tumhaare family ko apne family se aage rakha!”
Akshara blinked away her tears. Yes, he did. But she’d said all that to him, upsetting him, making him angry. She really is a fool, she reprimanded herself. She’d apologize to him once again tomorrow, she decided. He is her Abhi. He wouldn’t be truly angry at her. Not her Abhi. Deciding on her plan of action, she made sure mimi slid off to sleep before making her way to her room. She’d be rejoining Birlas from tomorrow. When she had received the appointment letter that evening, she’d hesitated. As it was, bade papa had taken such a blow that almost cost him his life…but then Kairav said it might be a good idea as bade papa was going to be in the ICU for 2-3 days and another 3-4 days in the regular room before getting discharged. This way she could keep visiting him and once he was home and rested, they would slowly tell him about her job. Besides, Aru was working there anyway. Why should you be the only one to get banned, Kairav had argued. And she had agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Kaun mera, mera kya tu laage…
Kyon tu baandhe, mann se mann ke dhaage
Bas chale na kyon mera tere aage"
Akshara ended her session with the paralytic patient, happy that she could draw out a smile and compliance to go ahead with the physiotherapy. The guy who hadn’t been willing to even look at his wife today held on to his wife’s hand as he listened to the song. The satisfaction she got at the small difference she made in other’s lives gave her so much joy! And her Abhi actually saved lives. He had been the one to quite literally hold her bade papa’s heart in his hand and repaired it. Eyes shining with pride and joy, hugging herself, she checked the time and knocked on the door of Abhi’s cabin before barging in.
“Hi!” She piped up, once assured that he was alone. Coming fully in, she placed her guitar bag to the side.
Abhi looked up from the discharge reports that were just handed over to him. His smile was stiff. “Hi. Joined Birlas, huh?”
“Yes! Just like you did,” Akshu replied with her usual happy grin. “Happy to be back?”
Abhi shrugged. “I was never gone for all that long. You tell me, you have a few more sessions lined up or are you done for the day?”
“Almost done. One more to go. Children’s ward.”
“They will love you, I’m sure.”
Akshara blinked. He was saying all the right things. But something was wrong. His eyes were not devouring her like they usually did. He was smiling but… “Abhi, are you still angry with me for all that nonsense I talked last night?”
“Angry? Why would I be angry, Akshu? You shared what was in your heart. That’s what I’ve always wanted. For you to share with me. If you don’t tell me all those things, who would you tell it to? Right? So, don’t worry, I’m not angry.”
Akshara for once didn’t believe him. It was those eyes. His eyes looked…different. Not angry. Not sad. Not bitter. Not scared. She couldn’t point out what it was. She only knew he’d never looked at her that way ever before. Not even when he’d grabbed her hand and forcefully washed her mehendi off on that horrible day.
“Abhi…?”
“Hmmm?” He didn’t lift his head this time from the reports he was studying. OK. Maybe he was busy and she was overthinking it all.
“Nothing. I’ll be off now. I’ll call you tonight, OK?”
“Sure.”
Akshara got up to go but halted. “Oh! Anand sir said bade papa will be in the ICU tonight and tomorrow night. After that he’ll be shifted to the regular room.”
He looked up at that. “Yes. If he continues to improve and there are no further complications, we can move him to the regular room and observe him for a couple of more days before discharge. Normally I’d want to keep him for about 5 days once out of ICU but Arohi is a doctor and she can oversee his recovery at home.”
“OK.” She was talking to her Abhi. But why did she feel that it was Dr Abhimanyu Birla who was answering her? She shook her head. She needs to stop being paranoid.
“Oh and since Arohi is here during the day time anyway, we’re taking turns staying with bade papa as long as he is here. Tonight Vansh bhaiya will be staying and tomorrow night I’ll be doing the nightshift.”
Abhi smiled at that. “Of course. He is your bade papa. Tumhaare apne hain. Tumhe poora haq hain unke saath rehne ki. And I know you’ll take great care of him.”
Akshara nodded and smiled, but couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was off.
~~~~~~~~
By the end of the fourth day, Akshara was completely sure that there was something wrong. But on the face of it, she couldn’t pinpoint anything. He talked to her, he checked on bade papa regularly, he personally oversaw when they’d shifted him out of the ICU and he took time to reassure and explain the post op care to both Swarna and Kairav. Hell, she’d gone to him again the next day and given him a red rose to which he’d hugged her, cupped her cheeks, kissed her forehead and thanked her. But when he’d hugged, his fingers didn’t slide into her hair like they usually did. There was no reluctance in the way he let go. She hadn’t seen the banked fires in his eyes that told her he wanted to do so much more than a hug and a kiss.
What happened? Where did it go wrong? He said he was not angry and her Abhi never lied to her. She’d have caught it in a jiffy if he’d been angry, anyway. He was not. So what happened? Tomorrow was Shivratri and her bade papa was going to be discharged the day after. She’d asked Abhi if they could meet before or after his pooja. He’d shrugged and said, he was fine with whatever worked for her. Was he really OK if they didn’t meet? Her heart pricked. Tears filled her eyes. What happened?
Restless and unable to sleep, she wandered the halls of her home before settling down near the window of her room with her mamma's diary in her hand.
“Mamma, help me na please! There’s no one else I can talk to, about this. Please mamma!”
Closing her eyes, she slid her finger into one page and opened it. Opening her eyes, she began reading.
Akshu’s papa always tells me - Naira, you may be one person to the whole world but to me, you are the whole world. Once my Akshu is old enough to understand love, I’m going to tell her how precious it is. How lucky she should feel when the man she loves gives his heart, body and soul to her. That she should make sure he knows how much she treasures him and his feelings. I’m sure my Akshu will take after me, wanting to make sure her family is happy, that everyone around her is happy. I will tell her family is important but that she should never let the man who loves her feel less important. If she is feeling secure and safe in his love, she should be sure he feels just as secure and safe. Confident of her love. Confident of THEIR love. Because fear steps in when confidence wavers.
~~~~~~~~~~
Abhi checked his phone before sitting down for his pooja. There was no message or missed call from Akshu.
“Bhai, look, look! Vansh just posted this!” Neil showed his phone screen. It was a video of Akshu dancing happily with her family. Those beautiful eyes were shining, expressions in them changing as per the words of the song, her long skirt swishing around her every time she twirled. And she had tied her hair up in some stylish knot. His glance once again fell on his phone screen. No message or missed call. She didn’t even send a selfie like she usually did whenever she dressed up. Abhi ignored the needles piercing his insides.
It didn’t matter what fears were driving him. He knew he couldn’t let go of his Akshu. She was the one around whom his world revolved. It didn’t matter that he came a far second to her after her family. His heart has sutured itself to her and that was that. Pushing away all his fear and all his hurt, he tried to put his mind on neutral and sat down for his pooja.
It was late in the evening at Birla House. Abhi was arranging for the aarti. Every year he did the aarti after sunset after which he broke his fast. From sunrise to sunset, on that one day, he did the nirjala vrat. Neil sat beside him and handed over the long garland of rose flowers that would be decorated on the Shivling.
“Bhai, are you going to break fast at home or with my Akshara bhabhi? No, I mean…since both of you are doing the nirjala vrat…”
Everything in him hit a pause. “What?”
Neil looked sheepish. “ Bhai, it’s the first time she is fasting like this, so I thought…”
Abhi grabbed Neil’s arm in a grip so tight that his brother winced. His eyes held a kind of horror. “What are you saying? How do you know she is fasting?”
Neil frowned. “Vansh told me. I thought you knew. He was worried because she’s never done it before and on top of it danced around…”
Abhi threw Neil’s arm away and got up, his face a tight mask of fury and panic. “This girl! She’s so stupid! Who asked her to fast? She can’t walk without tripping even with a full stomach,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed his kurta and pushed his hands into the sleeves. “And she was dancing around without even water since morning…”
“And now went to the temple,” Neil delivered his final titbit. Abhi, who had already grabbed his phone and bike keys, whirled around so fast that Neil who was right behind his bro stumbled back. “Woh…Akshu bhabhi is at the Shiv mandir!”
Abhi didn’t wait to hear more. Ignoring the calls from his ma and sir, he started his bike and zipped out of the house. What if she had fainted? Should he grab something on the way? Some ORS maybe? Stupid girl! And she didn’t even bother telling him! Who does that? Dammit! Why did he come on his bike? He should’ve come in the car. That way if she was too weak, he could take her to Birlas for an IV drip…
Barely taking time to park at the temple, he threw his helmet aside and ran up the steps. The crowd, as predicted, was crazy. Intending to call her on the slim chance that she could hear her phone ring in all the racket, he took out his phone and that’s when he saw her messages.
Happy Shivratri, Abhi! Hope and pray that Shivji and Parvati shower all their special blessings upon my Abhi!
They say Shivji Parvati ke bina adhure hain. Lekin Parvati bhi toh Shivji ke bina poori nahi haina! Tumhaare bina adhuri, tumhari Akshu!
The second message was tagged with a selfie of her dressed as she’d been in that video.
“Akshu!” he whispered, kissing his phone. Blinking away the sudden rush of moisture obscuring his vision, he began searching for her. He touched the region of his heart. She was here. He could feel it. He whirled around and found her sitting under the large banyan tree that was adjacent to the temple in a calm meditative posture. The crowd was thankfully less there. Was she having a panic attack? He ran towards her. As he neared her, like she sensed him, she opened her eyes. He was panting so hard that for a few moments he couldn’t get a word out of his mouth. Just kept staring at her.
“Your pooja is done?” she asked. He nodded, still dazed as he sat beside her.
She shifted until she sat cross-legged facing him and extended her palm. He looked at the single rudraksh looped in a thread. “I made this for you. I thought you could have it on your arm, always.” Abhi felt like something was lodged on his throat as he tried to swallow. All he could do was push up the sleeve of his kurta. She tied it to his upper arm and carefully adjusted his sleeve back.
“All these days, I didn’t understand what was bothering you. What was hurting you.” She cupped his cheek. “Abhi, I didn’t lie when I said meri alag duniya hain. Mera parivar hain. Mere apne hain. But Abhi, you are a part of ME. You complete me. Tumhaare bina toh mein hoon hi nahi, Abhi!”
Neither noticed one of the temple priests walking up to them. “Beta, have you two been fasting too?” he asked.
Both of them got up. Akshara nodded. The priest extended a copper glass to Akshara. “The sun has set. Have this gangajal and break your fast now. But first give it to your husband. God bless you both!”
He moved away to the next couple before either of them could say anything. Smiling with her heart full, Akshara extended the glass to his lips. He took a sip before taking the glass and bringing it to her lips.
With so many emotions swirling in him, all he could do was utter her name as a benediction. “Akshu…!”
“Ghar chale? Everyone will be waiting, right?”
Akshara waited until he started the bike before hopping behind him. Wrapping her arms tight around his waist, she rested her head on his shoulder. Abhi drove. Neither were really aware of where they were going. They were together and that’s all that mattered.
Chhod kar na tu kahin bhi dur ab jaana
Tujhako kasam hai
Saath rahana jo bhi hai tu
Jhuthh ya sach hai, ya bharam hai
Apana banaane ka jatan kar hi chuke ab to
Baiyaan pakad kar aj chal main dun, bata sabako
Kaun mera, mera kya tu laage
Kyon tu baandhe, mann se mann ke dhaage
Bas chale na kyon mera tere aage
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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