Hellow people!! New to the forum, I thought of writing a two-part story. Read and lmk how it is! Suggestions are always welcome :D
Context: Begins after Manorama is admitted to the hospital. Rajjo is shaken due to the fear of losing the only person she loves. For her, nothing mattered more than her mother.
Standing against the walls of the hospital, she recalled how she spent a happy childhood with Manorama despite being poor, how she ended up in the cyclone, Arjun, Urvashi, Vicky, her marriage, his marriage, and what life brought her to. Though she stood by her words in front of his family, the taunts thrown at her deeply hurt her. Just when she was so close to her peace, her Maai, a car hit her. Was the world always so evil? Was this why her "maai" kept her away from her dreams? Was the road to happiness and success filled with so many thorns? All her thoughts made her sink to the floor.
Tears fell from her eyes helplessly. She heard an old man calling her "Rajjo."
She saw him, it was Vicky's grandfather, but she couldn't wake up. "Doctor, ne kya kaha?" She asked with a little fear and hope in her eyes. Before he could answer, a nurse came in search of her and asked her to meet the doctor. She got up quickly and ran to the doctor's cabin.
"Maai," she said, breathing fiercely. With great difficulty, she asked, "Maai kaisi hai?"
The doctor stared at her and then relaxed and asked her to take a seat. The fear in Rajjo built up. She felt like the world was going to crash down. Gathering her courage, she sat and asked him again. He asked her to relax and assured her that her mother was fine and out of danger. She had made it with minor injuries. Rajjo felt like resurrecting. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"Shukriya, tumne meri puri duniya bacha li, meri maai, meri sab kuch hai, agar usko kuch ho jata to mai mar jaati." She thanked him gratefully. Though she noticed that the doctor was staring at her strangely, she chose to ignore it and got up to leave. The doctor stopped her and asked, "Manorama tumhari maa hai?"
She stood confused but said "haan, abhi toh boli, meri maai hai, meri puri duniya"
He sighed and asked, "tumhare paapa kahan hai?"
She froze there, of all things, because she had never liked this question asked to her. She felt irritated and replied, "Nahi pata." Saying so, she rushed to meet her mom.
At the Thakur Mansion
Chirag went to meet Arjun in his room and found him nowhere. He heard noises from the bathroom, to see him drenched in the shower with his hands injured. He rushed to him, and all he heard from him was "Rajjo ne bohot badi galti ki hai" with anger in his voice. Chirag ignored it and got him out of the shower and asked him to sit down. He took the first aid kit to tend to his injuries. Just then, he got a call. He picked it up angrily. It was Vicky's grandfather. He explained what had happened and asked him to come. He cut the call and remained angry. "Chotte, jaa, Rajjo ko iss waqt tumhare saath ki zaroorat hai, jaa"
"Nahi jaayenge, bohot ho gaya, har baar uso hum bachane gaye aur dekhiye, hamara ghar ka halat, usko kuch bhi ho, hum nahi jaayenge"
"Jo bhi hua, woh ek galat fami hai, hum Rajjo ko samjhayenge ke woh galat thi, lekin aaj agar, Rajjo ki maa ko kuch bhi hua, kya tu chaain se jee sakgta hai?" Chirag's question hit Arjun hard, making up his mind. He left for the hospital.
Hospital
The doctor followed her, and as she reached closer to the ward, she saw someone run away from the room. She chased him but couldn't catch him. He ran faster than her, though she managed to throw a stone at him. He didn't turn around because doing so would expose him. He held his head and continued running. Rajjo stood stunned, as she couldn't believe her eyes. It was Pushkar, Chirag's father-in-law. Though he didn't turn back, his face reflected on a mirror nearby. She wondered what brought him to her mother. Reality hit her as she rushed to see what had happened to her mother. She saw the doctor treating her, and a few wires were broken and disconnected. She rushed to the bed and shook her, trying to get her to be conscious. The doctor pulled her back, ensuring she was fine, and they came in at the right time. He asked her who that man was, to which she faintly replied "Pushkar." The old doctor fell short of words. He felt pity for Manorama and slowly asked her, "Uss rakshas ne abhi tak tumhara peecha nahi choda?"
Hearing these words, Rajjo asked, "Rakshas? kaun? kaun kiska peecha nahi choda?" "Tum meri maai ko jaante ho?" She fired questions after questions. The old doctor sighed and asked her to come to his cabin, and he asked Kaaka to take care of her until Rajjo came back.
Arjun reached the room and saw kaaka sitting worriedly. The old kaaka narrated everything, including Pushkar's visit. He grew suspicious and went to see the doctor. While passing by his cabin he heard
"ab batao"
"Tumhe pata hai Rajjo, tuhare maai ne tumhe tumhare paapa ke baare mein kyun nahi bataya?" She shook her head, indicating a "no."
Arjun knew he had to listen to this. He quicky asked a nurse and called her and asked her to keep her phone inside the cabin. As soon as she did, he paid her a good amount and asked her to keep it a secret.
The doctor continued. "main bohot saalo se Manorama ko jaanta hoon, kuch 23 saal pehle iss sheher mein badi sapne leke aayi thi . Bohot talented hai woh. Bohot acche se daudthi thi, saare log uski tezi se jalte the. Lekin woh kabhi ruki nahi, aage badthi rahi, uska paapa mere bohot acche dost the. Uski iss athelete banne ka sapna poora karne ke liye, yahan ke ek sport centre mein uski admission karaye the. Sab kuch accha chal raha tha, jab Pushkar Chaudhary naam ka ek rakshas uski zindagi mein aaya. Woh aadmi ek number ka gira hua, ghatiya insaan hain. Tumhare maai ko apne pyaar ke varsh kiya or woh jab pregnant hui, usko academy se bahar phekh diya. Tumhari maai kuch kam nahi thi, usne police complaint karayi aur usko apne kiye ke saza dilane ki koshish ki. Lekin, woh toh ameer tha, asani se sab ko apne paiso se khareedkar, manno ko sadak par bhej di. Uske baad bhi, woh haar nahi maana, ek raat usne aadmiyon ko bhejkar, manno ke ghar jala di, lekin uske maa baap ne manno ko bacha ke, woh khud uss aag mein jal gaye. uss din manno is sheher se gayi, aur itne saalon baad, aaj use iss halat mein dekh raha hoon." He ended with deep sadness.
Arjun, who stood behind the cabin, was too shaken to process what he just heard. He couldn't help but cry hearing them. What shocked him the most was his uncle-like Pushkar being involved.
He paused and continued to explain how Pushkar can even kill to maintain his status, and those who knew about Manno weren't spared either. It was he who got lucky and saved himself. From then on, he vowed to never face Pushkar. He slowly noticed how shaken Rajjo was and wondered if she even heard him speak. After a few minutes, he heard Rajjo utter, "Main uss Pushkar ki najayaz aulaad hoon?" she asked as if on her deathbed. He couldn't help but cry. "toh puri duniya aaj tak sahi kehti aayi hai, main gandgi hoon?" She asked broken.
The doctor mustered up his courage and said that he really didn't mean to reveal them to her like that, but he had no choice. Pushkar knowing that Manno and Rajjo are alive might harm them now. "You had to know the truth, my dear," he said, caressing her hair. She was too broken to even talk. She left the room and ran away, away from what she just heard, away from the truth, only to hit a rock-like figure. She looked up with tears in her eyes. She could hardly see anything clearly, but she knew it was him. Her subconscious mind knew she was in a safe place. She let her weight fall on him before darkness surrounded her eyes.
"RAJJO!" he screamed, loud enough to grab attention of the hospital.
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