Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the comforts of the VIP suite of the famous Nagpur Hotel, stood a beautiful young lady lost in her thoughts staring outside the window at the raging storm. The sound of the relentless raindrops hitting on the glass windows had always sounded melodious and had usually brought her inner peace. But, for some reason, today, it brought her anxiety. Today, her mind and heart, both, were restless as if they both have been made to stand in a warzone against each other. What had disrupted their peace? The question had barely been registered in her brain that her conscience almost instantly answered, "as if you do not know the reason, Sai". Just as she was about to respond to her conscience, there was a knock at her room's door. She left her cup of now cold coffee, that she had been holding on the table, and went to attend the door.

As she opened the door, a small yet genuine smile crept up her face. "Ajinkya, Aniket!!! You’re here! Am I dreaming? Or did India's renowned neurosurgeon, "the Dr Ajinkya," and the singing sensation," the Aniket," just appear at my doorstep?" Sai quipped.

Both Ajinkya and Aniket smiled at their friend's melodramatic ways.

“Abhi yeh nautanki bandh kar, aur andar aane de. Badi mushkil se Aniket ko ladkiyo se chupaate huwe hotel ke andar laya hu. India ka most wanted munda bann chuka hai yeh. Ise dekhne ke liye toh ladkiyan ye toofaani baarishke thamne tak ka bhi intezaar nahi karti,” replied Ajinkya sighing.

Sai smirked at Aniket and gave way to both of them to enter the room.

“Waise, Sandhya nahi aayi? Woh bhi toh saath aane wali thi na? Anyway, kuch khaoge ya piyoge? Room service mangwau?” asked Sai.

Ajinkya and Aniket looked at each other smilingly, and without another word, engulfed Sai into a big bear hug. Sai, at first, was startled but gradually dissolved into their hug. These two monkeys of hers had been a pillar of strength to her over the years, along with Milind and Sandhya, who ended up falling in love and getting married. The five of them were beyond any level of friendship. They were a family now.

As they broke the hug, Sai continued with her usual teasing to lighten up the mood.

“Ufff ho.... lagta hai kuch zyada yaad aayi meri tum logo ko! Par itna bhi kya rona? You know na, I hate tears Pushpa,” mocked Sai.

“Tu nahi sudhregi kabhi bhi. Poore 10 saalo baad mil rahe hum India mein. Wow, Sai!! 10 long wretched years! Waise ek baat toh manani padegi, tu kaafi hot ho gayi hai,” laughingly, came back Aniket’s flirty reply.

“Oye majnu! teri girlfriends ko phone karu? Aur waise bhi tu chahe kitna bhi flirt kar le, yeh tere jhaase mein nahi aane waali. Yeh ab woh Sai nahi rahi jo impulsive ya emotional thi. Yeh who Sai toh hargiz nahi hai jo har kisi mein achaiyaan hi dekhti raheti thi aur unki buraayio ko nazarandaaz kar deti thi.Toh tu sochna bhi matt ki yeh teri meethi baaton mein yeh pighal jayegi. Yeh Sai toh "the Dr Sai Joshi" hai, the world-renowned cardiologist,” remarked Ajinkya.

Pride dripped from Ajinkya’s words and Aniket’s eyes lit up like the fireworks light up the sky on the darkest night, as they dwelled on how far Sai had come in life.

Aniket plopped himself on the bed while Sai and Ajinkya took the comforts of the sofa.

“Sai, main tumse yeh kabse puchna chahta tha. Tu toh hamesha se neurology specialist banna chahati thi, na? Toh phir yeh achanak se track change kyun?” questioned Aniket

“Areh ha Sai, yeh toh mujhe bhi nahi pata. I thought ki hum dono ke interest was logo ka dimaag, par tu toh dil ke taraf bhaag gayi. Kyun?”Ajinkya further probed.

“Itne saalo mein khud ke dil ke tukde samet kar jod nahi payi, toh socha kam se kam dusro ke dil toh fix kar hi sakti hu na?” Sai replied melancholically.

Hearing Sai's answer stunned both, Ajinkya and Aniket and momentarily, an eerie silence settled in the room, followed by a hysterical laughter.

Sai struggling to control her laughter, replied, “Shakalein toh dekho tum dono apni. Mazak kar rahi thi yaar. Woh actually maine socha ki neurology kar ke AJ ki competition kyun badhau toh main dil ke taraf chali gayi. Isse zyada kuch bhi nahi hai. Itna load matt do apne dimaag par tum dono.”

Ajinkya and Aniket gave a small knowing smile, understanding very well the depth of their best friend's words.

Aniket, slowly coming out of his daze asks, “Sai, tu sure hai na? Kya sach mein tum yeh karna chahti ho? Matlab pichle das saalo se tum London mein thi, and everything was perfect for you there. Naam, kaam, financial security….. kisi bhi cheez ki kami nahi thi, toh phir achanak se yun India ajana woh bhi Nagpur… Are you really sure about this?”

“Ha Sai, sahi toh kahe raha hai Aniket. India tak toh phir bhi theek tha par Nagpur hi kyun? Tum samjh rahi ho na, kui tumhare yaha Nagpur mein rahene se kya ho sakta hai? Agar tum unlogo se yaha takra gayi to phir kya karogi? Woh pariwar aaj bhi yahi Nagpur mein hi hai.  Phir itna bada risk kyun lena hai tumhe?” questioned Ajinkya, while nodding to show his agreement with Aniket.

“AJ, Ani... main tum dono ka darr samajhti hu. Par AJ, abhi kuch der pahele tumhi ne toh kaha tha na, ki main who emotional fool waali Sai nahi rahi. Waqt badal chuka hai aur waqt ke saath main bhi badal chuki hu. Aur phir kabhi na kabhi, mujhe wapas aana hi tha na toh abhi hi kyun nahi? Aur rahi baat uss pariwaar ki, toh aisa toh nahi tha ki uss pariwaar ke saare logo ne mujhe takleef di thi, hai na? Ab time aa gaya hai ki yeh naatak khatam kiya jaaye taaki main jo sapne lekar waapas aayi hu, woh main pura kar saku.” Sai tried explaining her reasons calmly.

“Toh tum 100% sure ho ki tumhe yahi karna hai? Aur tum sab kuch deal kar logi akele?” Ajinkya questioned again, still looking unsure.

“Ha AJ. Main sure hu. Aur main akele kaha hu.? Mere best friends, mera superpowerful shield hai na mere saath. Main Nagpur mein ek chota sa heart clinic kholna chahti hu jaha unn logo ko madad mil sake jo bade bade hospitals ke kharche utha nahi sakte. In fact, main ne London based ek NGO se iss baare mein baat bhi kar rakhi hai. Woh infact, ready bhi hai mere saath collaborate karne ke liye aur unke conditions bhi kaafi practical hai. Saath hi saath main Gadhchiroli mein bhi time to time medical camps rakhna chahti hu. Bahut kuch karna hai mujhe abhi bhi. Isliye jo cheez abhi ke liye important nahi hai, main uske baare mein nahi sochna chahti. Tum dono samajh rahe ho na main kya kahe rahi hu. Jo jab hona hoga, tab dekh lenge” assured Sai, lovingly gazing at her two monkeys.

Sai had always adored these two for the care and concern they had for Sai. Their protectiveness of her was something unreal at first and took time to get used to. But as time and life had progressed, she knew that they had become an inseparable part of her existence. For Sai, the word friendship had been replaced by the word “disgust”, but these two had redefined it for her. Not even once, in the last 10 years, had these two crossed the boundaries of friendship. They taught Sai to laugh again and more importantly, to live again. Their friendship had faced a lot of trials in the beginning but now it was a smooth sail. No one said soulmate had to be your life partner because Sai knew that she had found her soulmates in her two best friends. Sai continued her contemplation looking in awe of her friends who clearly had a worried expression pasted over their faces.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya and Aniket had nodded with uncertainty to Sai’s words of assurance. Not because they had no faith in their Sai, in fact, they had always admired their fierce Sai's fighting spirit. This girl never gave up no matter what life threw at her. There was a time when life actually damaged her soul, but this lioness roared even louder. She fought back with all her might and logic. Maybe, that is why she is here today. They were so proud of what she had become and even more proud of the fact that they played a role in her achieving her dreams, not that she needed anyone to help her. All she had ever craved for, was love and moral support. Given that,  she could literally carry the weight of the world on her shoulders with a smile on her face. If only, those people had realized her value back then. They couldn't help but reminisce that life-changing moment 10 years ago when Sai got into a life-threatening accident after saving a child from probably the same fate. Sai had to have multiple surgeries (not her first time they thought sarcastically) and only after Sai had gained consciousness, exploded the mighty bomb on the Chavan family or more preciously on Virat Chavan, Sai's namesake husband.

unedited - may contain typos.

That would be all for now 

[MEMBERSONLY]

[NOCOPY]

Chir-Cute2022-01-23 00:16:32

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