Chapter 29

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 29 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

Riya: news mein kya?

The men look at each other…………………………

Rathore: are kuch nahi Riya woh bas, kya haina, ek businessman ka beta kidnap ho gaya hai aur woh case hum dekh rahe hai lekin tumhe toh pata haina ye journalists har baat ka rayi ka paahad banate hai, hume thodi bhi leads mile toh pahunch jaate hai irritate karne ke liye, baat karo toh kaam nahi hota, baat na karo toh khud ki thriller stories likhna shuru kar dete hai

Riya: ha woh toh hai

Shree: anyway, tu aaram kar, sir aap log jayiye, main yahi hu

Rathore: bilcul nahi, raat main rukunga

Shree: nahi sir main..

Arjun wanted to scream at them and throw them out but that wasn’t exactly what the stoic ACP stood for, did he?

Riya glances at him. Their eyes meet as Rathore and Shree argue in the background. Their trance is broken by the chief’s voice.

Rathore: Shree! Main tumhara Chief hu! Aur yaha mere orders chalenge! Raat main ruk raha hun and that’s final!!!

Riya: are aap log please jhagadna band kijiye, kisi ko bhi rukne ki zaroorat nahi hai

Shree/Rathore: no way…

Shree: tu akeli kaise manage karegi?

Rathore: Riya kuch bhi mat bolo

Riya: sir mujhe sona hi toh hai, aap log jayiye, waise bhi mujhe akele sone ki aadat hai, kuch hoga toh yaha nurses wagera haina? Aap bhi kaafi thake hue lag rahe hai, waise bhi agar raat meri aankh khuli aur mujhe koi room mein dikha toh main dar jaungi, aap log please ghar jayiye

Shree: lekin Ri…

Riya: lekin wekin kuch nahi!

Rathore: nahi Riya…

Riya: sir I will be fine, please aap jayiye

Rathore: Riya…

Riya pleaded, changing her face to match a baby’s: pleasseeee!!!

How could he not listen to her with that face? Grumbling, he agreed.

Rathore: fine! But kuch bhi hoga toh tum hume call karogi and that’s an order!!

She nods obediently. Only Arjun saw the flicker of relief in her eyes when Rathore stopped pestering. They bid her good night and left after telling her to take care of herself and call them if she needed or wanted anything.

The next day-

Rathore glared at the technical expert when he came in half an hour late.

Rathore: ye kya time hai office aane ka?

Shree: woh sorry sir, mandir gaya tha toh isliye

Remembering his mannat, Rathore mellows down. He turns to the others.

Rathore: we have a case lekin ek aur kaam karna hai hume, Shree, Rajat ke ghar jaakar un chemicals ko seize karo aur Chotu tum government lab jaakar uska samaan check kar lo ek baar, koi aur admi agar gadbad lage toh do the needful, Rawte! Mere saath chalo

Arjun turns his face: jahanum?

Rathore glares at him.

Arjun: meri appointment nahi waha abhi

Rathore: crime scene par!!!

Arjun casually sipped the rest of his tea, taking his own sweet time. He placed the glass on the table and picked up his gun. He removed the magazine to check his bullets and then latched it back to the gun.

Rathore muttered curses at him. Arjun finally stands up and moves outside leaving Rathore to follow him. Shree and Chotu start laughing behind them.

Chotu: yaar ye dono kabhi ek saath nahi ho sakte?

Shree: ho sakte haina, jung ke maidaan mein… reporters ko maarne ke liye

Chotu laughed as they high-fived.

Crime scene-

The elder daughter-in-law of a family had been found murdered early in the morning. They went looking for her after she did not return from her early morning jog and did not answer their calls. Rathore and Arjun were interrogating the family. The husband was shedding tears. No one seemed to know anything. At the same time, Arjun notices no one apart from the husband seemed very sad about the death.

Rathore: unki family mein aur kaun hai?

Husband: uske parents hi hai, woh Nagpur mein rehte hai, maine unhe inform kar diya hai, woh travel kar rahe hai

Rathore: unki kisi ke saath koi…

Their conversation is interrupted by a 4-year-old running into the room, followed by the younger daughter-in-law. The boy crashes into a table and falls down crying.

Boy: mumma!!!

She picks him up immediately and consoles him, whispering into his ear. She walks out while passing an apologetic look to the officers.

A bulb lights in Arjun’s brain. Forgetting everything, he hurries outside confusing Rathore.

Rathore: Rawte kaha jaa rahe ho?

But he didn’t answer. Rathore follows frantically.

Rathore: Rawte ruko!! Rawte!

He sat in the SUV and sped off.

Rathore: What The Hell!!! Gaadi bhi le gaya…. ugh!!! (he stamps the ground) I hate you Arjun Suryakant Rawte!!!

Hospital-

Riya was feeling better now. After a long peaceful sleep in the night, some of her strength had managed to return. Getting bored, she was flipping channels of the TV when the door of her room burst open.

She was surprised to see the second-in-command run in like that. It was mid-morning, they should have been working on a case. What happened to the kidnapped boy?

Arjun on the other hand was just gazing back at her. His heart felt light after seeing her more specifically, after seeing the glow on her face. She no longer looked pale or close to death.

The sound of the hero’s car crashing into the villain’s broke their trance. Stunned momentarily, he asks.

Arjun: tumne news dekhi?!

Riya raises the remote to change the channel: nahi, kya hai new…

Arjun runs forward and grabs the remote: kuch bhi nahi!

He shuts off the TV and places the remote on a side. His actions were only confusing her further.

Riya: sir aap is waqt yaha?

Arjun sits on a chair beside her bed: ha

She waited for him to explain himself but he didn’t.

Riya: office?

Arjun: wahi hai

She furrows her brow in bewilderment: matlab? Main toh…

Arjun: ab kaisi ho?

She sighs: kal jab tak doctor ne 4 mahine kaha tab tak theek thi

Arjun: kisi ko bulana hai?

Riya: nahi

Arjun: tum apne papa ka name le rahi thi

Riya: nah! Woh bhi force mein the but ATS mein, I was 19 jab woh shaheed hue. Dard mein mujh se nikal gaya

Arjun: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry

Riya smiled: Jaanti hu, it’s fine

Arjun: But koi toh hoga? tum is haalat mein apna khayal kaise rakhogi?

Riya: Nahi, papa anaath the and mom… that’s a long story (he nods) Actually sach kahu toh rishtedaar honge but main kabhi mili nahi unse and I doubt unhe bhi interest hoga us ladki se milna ka jiski wajah se unke ek apne ka khoon ho gaya

Arjun (bewildered): kya matlab?

Riya giggles: papa ne papa ka khoon jo kiya

Arjun stares at her quizzically. She laughs.

Riya: are itna mat sochiye, main paagal nahi hun. Batati hu lekin story thodi lambi hai, aap free hai?

Arjun lies confidently: free hun isliye yaha hun

Riya: ok, ok. So, mere papa, mumma aur unke ek dost college friends the, papa aur uncle dono police force ki training par lage the, mumma aur woh uncle ek dusre se pyaar karte the, papa mumma se pyaar karte the lekin unhone kabhi kaha nahi kyunki ye dono ek dusre ke saath khush the, fir woh saal bhar ke liye ATS ki training ke liye chale gaye. Jab woh waapis aaye, toh naturally doston se milne aaye, woh uncle ke ghar par gaye. Waha unki shaadi ki taiyaariyaan chal rahi thi, next day shaadi thi aur baahar ek corner mein main mumma ke haath mein main thi, woh dono jhagad rahe the. papa confuse ho gaye ki bacha kaha se aaya aur woh dono shaadi kyun nahi kar rahe? Uncle ne kaha ki woh apne gharwaalon ko nahi bol sakte ki unhe love marriage karni hai, dusri taraf jab mumma ko pata chala ki woh pregnant hai toh uncle dar gaye, rishta tod diya, nana-nani ne kaha ki ya toh abortion kar ya fir bhul jao, mumma ne ghar chod diya mujhe janam dene ke liye, woh uncle ko manane ki koshish karti rahi thi lekin woh maane hi nahi, papa ko bhi gussa aaya woh mujhe aur mumma ko lekar waha se nikal gaye

Arjun: ghar waalon ko bolna chahiye tha na, apne aap line par aa jaata

Riya: papa ne bhi wahi kaha, shaadi ke mandap mein pahunch jao lekin maa ne mana kar diya, ye kehkar ki unhe zabardasti ka rishta nahi chahiye, unhone tay kiya ki woh khud hi apni aur meri dekhbhal karegi jo us waqt practically possible nahi tha, main sirf ek mahine ki thi, mujhe zyaada der tak chod kar woh job nahi kar paati aur jo part time jobs kar paati usmein guzara nahi hota. Upar se us zamaane mein auraton ko kaha zyaada work opportunities milti thi? Papa ne unhe ghar waapis jaane ke liye bhi kaha par woh nahi maani is dar se ki unhe mujhe chodna padega. Woh irritate ho gaye lekin mumma usi baat ko lekar baithi thi, woh soch rahe thi kya kare aur distract hone ke liye mere saath khelne lage, and (giggling) maine unki ungli pakad li, aur fir chodne ka naam hi nahi le rahi thi, pata nahi us pal unhe kya hua? Kaha se mujh par pyaar baras gaya? toh unhone decide kiya woh mere papa banenge. Mumma ne obviously firse na bola, papa ne kaha ki jab tak financially stable nahi ban jaati tab tak, uske baad divorce de dena toh woh chup ho gayi

Arjun: us admi ka kya hua fir?

Riya: unhone apne parents ki chuni hui ladki se shaadi kar li, yaha papa ne mujhe apni beti ki tarah hi paala, woh bahot pyaar karte the mujhse, divorce lene ka time toh aaya but fir maa ne nahi diya, woh bhi hume family ki tarah dekhne lag gayi thi, woh us uncle ko bhula chuki thi, fir jab main 5 saal ki thi tab mumma ka miscarriage ho gaya, doctor ne kaha ki unki previous pregnancy ki wajah se complications hai aur woh firse maa nahi ban sakti. is baat ki wajah se woh depression mein chali gayi, mujhe nafrat karne lagi. Mujhe toh kuch samaj mein hi nahi raha tha ki achanak mumma mujhe itna gussa kyun kar rahi hai? daantne lagi, haath uthane lagi, choti-choti baat par saza dene lagi, jab papa ko is baat ka ehsaas hua toh woh mujhe bachane lage, meri zyaada care karne lage ki main unke haath na aau aur mumma ko bhi handle karke unhe us, hadse se baahar nikala, 1- 1 ½ saal mein firse sab theek ho gaya, hum teeno bahot khush the aur fir

She stops. Her eyes moisten. Arjun was surprised at the sudden turn of emotions. He holds her hand.

Riya: main 9 saal ki thi, ek raat…

Flashback

Riya was doing her homework when the doorbell rang. She ran out of the room knowing it would be her father. Sanjana opened the door for her husband. He had barely entered the house when Riya ran into his arms.

Riya: papa!

Rajiv picked her up happily: kaisi hai meri bachi? School kaisa tha?

Riya: mujhe science test mein 25/25 mila

He kisses her cheek: are waah! Bahot ache

Sanjana looked at them fondly, imprinting the image in her heart.

Sanjana: acha chalo ab, Riya homework khatam karo, main khaana laga deti hu

Rajiv places her down and she runs back to the room: are mujhe nahana hai, dhool-mitti mein tha pure din

She smiled: toh naha lo, main kapde nikal kar rakhti hu

Rajiv nods and goes into the bathroom. He took a quick shower and was getting ready.

Here, Riya got stuck on her maths problem mv “mumma se puchti hu.”

She goes out to call her.

Sanjana was in the living room. Her back was facing her. Riya was about to call out when she realised something was weird. Why was she holding the shiny gun that Rajiv used and Riya was not allowed to touch?

The next second, a loud noise resonated through the house. Something red in color spurted from her temple and she fell to the ground.

Rajiv runs out hearing the gunshot, fearing for the safety of his wife and child.

Rajiv: Sanjana! Riya!! tum…

He freezes. She was lying in a pool of blood with his gun in one hand. Rajiv collapses on his knees. He still hadn’t noticed the child who was staring at the body in disbelief.

A whisper stumbled out his mouth: Sanjana

Flashback Ends……………………...