Chapter 12

Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 10

 

"Good morning Bhola Bhaiyya, Mr. Shukla ke medicines aa gaye?" Sonakshi asked Bhola, with a smile.

Bhola nodded and outstretched his hand which contained the packet, "Yeh lijiye Doctor Didi." Sonakshi took the packet and made her way towards Mr. Shukla's ward. It had been two days since she had a session with him. Reaching the ward she spotted him sitting on his bed and reading a book. She walked up to him, " The Notebook? Mujhey toh laga tha yeh romantic books sirf ladkiyon ke liye hota hai" Sonakshi said to him teasingly. Mr. Rishav Shukla was a man who never smiled. The weight of his misdeed had taken a toll on him. Hence he believed that he wasn't worthy of a smile. But Sonakshi was the one who had challenged him that she would make him smile again.

He merely kept the book aside and said, " Yeh meri beti ka favourite hai. Uski yaad aa rahi thi toh socha padh loon." But his face never expressed any emotion. He believed he was too broken to feel or emote anything. Sonakshi checked his pulse and eyes, " itni mehnat ki kya zaroorat thi? Ek phone hi toh karna tha." Mr. Shukla looked away, " Main ussey baat nahin kar sakta." Sonakshi sighed and sat down on the chair beside his bed, " Kyun? Apki beti aapsey bohot pyar karti hai Mr. Shukla. Aur aapki Biwi bhi. Ek baar unsey baat toh karke dekhiye." Mr. Shukla fisted his hands, " Kis muh se baat karun Sonakshi? Main unsey aankhein milane ke kaabil nahin hoon." Sonkashi clicked her pen and opened her pad, " Par who toh yeh bilkul nahin sochtey." Upon hearing this his head snapped to Sonakshi, " Tumhey kaise pata?"

Sonakshi smiled, " Bataungi...par uskey badle me aapko mujhey aaj batana padega ki usdin aapko gussa kis baat pe aya tha." Mr. Shukla looked conflicted. He wanted to know why Sonakshi said that but he didn't think he was ready to discuss the matter yet. "Sonakshi...mujhey nahin lagta ki main abhi bhi bata paunga." Sonakshi looked at him sadly, "Andar dabane se aap theek toh hongey nahin. Aur aapney kahan tha aapko theek hona hai. Ab kya karein, aap hi batao?" Mr. Shukla sighed, "Theek hai...bataunga. Par mujhey thoda time lagega. Dheerey dheerey bataunga." Sonakshi nodded, " Koi baat nahin. Mere paas aaj bohot time hai." Mr. Shukla observed his Doctor, " Kyun, tumhey ghar jaaney ki jaldi nahin hai?" He observed a change come over Sonakshi's demeanour. There was an air of sadness about her, "Nahin. Jitna late ho, utna achha" she answered almost absentmindedly.

"Jhagda hua?" He asked her. Sonakshi was taken aback. "k-kya? Nahin toh!" Mr. Shukla nodded his head knowingly, " Sab theek ho jayega. Zyada tang mat karna uss Dev Dixit ko." Sonakshi laughed a little, "Aapko lagta hai main unhey tang karti hoon?" Mr. Shukla shrugged, "tum toh sabko tang karti ho bak bak karke" Sonakshi laughed loudly at that and Mr. Shukla looked at Sonakshi satisfied, at least he could make one person laugh.

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Sonakshi stepped into the penthouse and dropped her keys into the bowl. Dev's keys weren't there. She was slightly relieved but the greater part was disappointed. She wanted to apologise to him properly. The last two days had gone terribly for her. After that night, Dev had gone out of his way to ignore and avoid her. Right after she had asked him, she regretted it and wanted to take it back. She had no right to ask him that question. It was his life. She had tossed and turned in bed that night. She had even gotten up extra early so that she wouldn't miss him and could apologise. But by the time she had freshened up and reached the drawing room, his keys were gone.

She had hoped to catch him when he returned but when she finally decided to go to sleep after waiting till 12 am, he was still not home. She had tried again yesterday morning, but had missed him yet again. That is when she realised that he was deliberately going out early and coming back late. She had never felt this bad for anything. She sincerely wanted to apologise and end this situation as soon as possible. She thought back to the moment when she had tried to call him at work, yesterday afternoon.

**Flashback**

Sonakshi dialled Dev's mobile number and held it up to her ear. She knew he wouldn't pick up but still she hoped. When he didn't pick up on the third try as well, she called Tina. Tina picked up on the first ring, "Good afternoon, Dr, Bose! Kaisi hai aap?" Sonakshi smiled a little, "Theek hoon. Uh- Tina, Mr. Dixit hai kya?" Tina sighed, "Haan Sir yahin hai Dr. Bose, par unhoney aapse baat karne se mana kar diya." Sonakshi was surprised, " Unhey kaise pata chala ki maine call kiya hai." Tina lowered her voice and said, " unhoney kal hi mujhey keh diya tha ki aapka phone aye toh, aapsey yahi keh doon." Sonakshi put her head down on her desk, " Achha." Tina immediately apologised, " I'm sorry Dr. Bose, Main Sir ke orders ko mana nahin kar sakti. I hope you understand that." Sonakshi sadly replied, " Haan haan. Koi baat nahin. Bye. Khayal rakhna apna."

"Yeh kya kar diya maine" she said as she put her head in her hands and sighed.

**End of Flashback**

Sonakshi went up to Dev's study with the notes that she made during her session with Ranveer last evening. She had conducted the session at Ranveer's house because she wanted him to recover properly. Ranveer had protested saying he was fine, but Sonakshi heard nothing. She had gone to his house directly from the clinic. She had met Raanveer's Uncle and Aunt, who were staying with him at the moment and then gone ahead to conduct her session with Ranveer. As she went through her notes she thought back to their conversation after the session.

**Flashback**

"I'm so glad ki aap theek hai, Mr. Shekhwat. Mujhey bohot guilty feel ho raha tha." Ranveer waved his hand, " Dekhiye Dr. Sonakshi, mujhey pata hai ki aap mujhey theek karna chahti hai. Aur main sochunga nahin toh theek nahin ho paunga. I can handle this." Sonakshi smiled, " Aapki iss sincerity ko dekhkey main bohot khush hoon. Aap theek hona chahtey hai, this is a big deal." Ranveer smiled, " Aap khush hai? Aapko dekhkey toh nahin lagta."

Sonakshi's eyes widened, " Matlab?" Ranveer smiled a little wider and said, " Aap jab se ayi hai, at least 10 baar apney phone ke taraf dekh chuki hai. Koi problem hai kya?" Sonakshi laughed a little, " Aap bohot observant hai Mr. Shekhawat." Ranveer made a face, " Occupational hazard. Lawyer hoon, observation toh powerful karna hi hai! Aur yeh aap mujhey baar baar Mr. Shekhawat mat bulaiye. Ab toh hum dost hai. Ranveer theek hai." Sonakshi nodded, " Okay Ranveer. Phir main abhi chalti hoon. Will see you day after tomorrow. Aur woh list taiyyar rakhna. But don't take too much pressure."

Ranveer nodded as Sonakshi got up to leave.  As Sonakshi approached the door, Ranveer said, " Dr. Sonakshi?" She turned around, "Yes?" Ranveer pointed towards Sonakshi's phone and said, " Usko thoda time dijiye. Apney aap baat karne ayega aapse. I know him. Zyada der gussa nahin reh sakta apne dosto se." Sonakshi gaped at Ranveer. She didn't know what to ask him first- the fact that how he figured out it was Dev or the fact that he just called her Dev's friend. Ranveer laughed at her expression and said, " Ghabraiye mat. Main psychic nahin hoon. Sahab ne aaj subah hi bataya mujhey. Isiliye jaanta hoon." Sonakshi widened her eyes, " Unhoney aapko mere baarey me bataya?" Ranveer nodded, "Haan." But he didn't elaborate any further. Sonakshi was dying to ask him a lot of questions. But seeing him go quiet she just asked, " Woh theek toh hai naah?" Ranveer nodded, " Theek ho jayega. Aur aapse baat bhi karega. Buss thoda time lagega."

Sonakshi nodded and smiled, " Thank you Ranveer." This piece of information had made her feel lighter. She had literally skipped home in happiness. She had stopped at the supermarket to get some groceries. As she carried them into the apartment building and into the elevator she thought, " Toh kya aaj woh baat karengey mujhsey? Kya unhoney mujhey maaf kar diya?" Lost in these thoughts she absentmindedly opened the door to the pent house and stepped in. Keeping her keys in the bowl she went to the kitchen, but she failed to notice the other set of keys lying beside hers. She started segregating all her groceries into the cabinets and the fridge. As she was not really into doing what she was doing, she accidentally let a jar slip from her hands as she tried to reach for it. She closed her eyes immediately fearing that it would fall to the ground and shatter. But she heard no noise. Opening her eyes she turned around to see Dev with the jar in his hands. Wordlessly he gave it back to her. Immediately Sonakshi said, " Thank you" though softly.

He just nodded and turned around to go upstairs. Sonakshi desperately wanted to ask him to stay and talk to her but she didn't have the courage to ask him. But suddenly she found an excuse to talk to him, " Main aaj Ranveer se mili. He's doing really well." Dev stopped right before the first step and turned to look at her. Sonakshi internally pumped her fist into the air. "Pata hai. Meri baat hui ussey" Dev replied curtly and then turned back to go up the stairs. Sonakshi's hopes dampened as she saw him disappear upstairs. " Aaj bhi baat nahin hui. Par unhoney kuch toh kahan" she told herself. "Yahi bohot hai.." She thought back to Ranveer's words and decided to give him some time.

**End of Flashback**

Sonakshi sighed as she shut her notepad with a slap, "Kal se aaj shaam ho gaya. Aur kitna time. Kab baat karengey Dev?" As she said this she heard the soft thud of a door closing. Her heart started beating fast when she realised that the sound came from Dev's bedroom door. She quickly gathered her things and walked out of the study and turned right towards his room. She stared at the door contemplating. Suddenly with a whole lot of determination she walked up to the door thinking, " Abhi nahin toh kabhi nahin." With that she knocked on the door, " Dev? Kya main aapse baat kar sakti hoon?" She waited for his response, but nothing came. She tried again, " Dev?" But yet again, she was rewarded with silence. Sighing deeply she gave up and turned back towards the stairs.

As she was about to go down the first step she stopped. Moving back towards the door she looked towards the left. There past, the study was a balcony that opened over the poolside. The poolside could be accessed from the door at the end of Sonakshi's drawing room. Walking towards it she could make out a silhouette near the railings. As she reached the door of the balcony, she saw Dev standing there, looking out towards the sky. She knew he had heard her approach. She took a deep breath. "De-I mean Mr. Dixit? Kya main aapse baat kar sakti hoon?" Dev didn't turned around. He didn't say yes. But he didn't say no either. So Sonakshi mustered up whatever courage she had and said, " main aapse yeh kehna chahti ki...I'm sorry. Usdin mujhey who baat nahin karni chaiye thi. Who aapka matter hai. I had no right to get into it." She paused.

She observed Dev. He wasn't looking up at the sky anymore. He was looking down at the pool now. That meant that he was listening to her. Before time ran out and he stopped listening she spoke up again, " Par mujhey buss yeh kehna tha ki, even though I know woh aapka matter hai, main uss din boli kyunki I wanted to help you. Main apney har dost ko khush dekhna chahti hoon. Toh mujhey jab pata chala ki aapke saath kuch bura hua tha, toh automatically maine samajh liya ki it was my right to ask." She took a step towards him, "Aapko mujhey kuch batane ki zaroorat nahin hai Mr. Dixit. I respect your privacy. Par buss yeh yaad rakhiye ki agar aapko kabhi ek friend ki zaroorat ho jiske saath aap apni dard aur khushi dono baantna chahey, toh I'll be there."

Sonakshi ran down the stairs and landed on the couch with a thud. Her heart beat wildly. She didn't know if she had made matters better or worse, but telling him what was in her mind turned out to be a lot scarier than she had imagined. She never understood why she lost her calm around this man, but at least she said what she wanted to. Now she would leave it to him. She decided that she needed to share this with someone, so she made dinner, ate it and went to her room to call Elena and Raunita through conference.

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The moment Sonakshi finished what she had to say, she  had turned around and left. But if she had waited just a second longer, she would've seen Dev turned around to look at her with a painful expression. Dev watched Sonakshi leave and wanted to stop her. But when he ultimately opened his mouth to say something, she was gone. He turned back towards the sky and sighed. Right then his phone rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he checked the caller Id and it was Ranveer.

"Bol" he said getting straight to the point. " Baat kiya?" Ranveer asked from the other side. "Nahin" Dev sighed. "Toh kab karega? Agley janam me?" Ranveer asked incredulously. Dev kept quiet for a while and then said, " Ayi thi woh abhi. Kehkey gayi ki she will be there agar mujhey kabhi bhi baat karni ho toh." Ranveer was intrigued, " Tune kya bola?" Dev looked at his free hand and then said, " Kuch nahin." Ranveer slapped his forehead on the other side of the phone, " Woh aakey tujhey itna kuch boli aur tu chup raha?" Dev answered a " Yes" dejectedly. Ranveer got up from his bed and walked to the window, " Yaar Dev kya kar raha hai tu? Woh khud tera dost banna chahti hai aur tu ussey in childish harkaton se duur karta ja raha hai." Dev was slightly angered by that, " Mujhey kisi dost ki zaroorat nahin hai!" Ranveer scoffed, " Haan, isiliye toh tu uss kand ke baad se rotlu sa shakal banake ghum raha hai."

Dev gripped the railing with his free hand, " Kisne kahan?" Ranveer rolled his eyes, " Kisiko kehna kyun padega. Teri awaz hi kaafi hai. Tabse jitni baar meri tujhse baat hui hai naah, aise same sad awaz me baat kar raha hai tu. Arey tu kyun nahin samjhta sab ek jaise nahin hote. Sonakshi uski tarah nahin hai." Dev took a deep breath, " Sonakshi kabhi uske jaise ho bhi nahin sakti. She's an amazing girl. Woh kabhi apne dosto ko let down nahin karegi." Ranveer grew excited, " Wahi toh main bhi keh raha hoon. Ki Sonakshi is a good friend. Ab ja jaakey samjha ussey. Bechari kitni pareshaan hai tujhey lekar. Tere peechey mere se zyada toh woh apna dimaag lagati hai." Dev smiled, " Janta hoon. Par beech me call mat karna. Ho jaye toh main hi call karunga." Ranveer laughed, " Sir, Yes, Sir!" And quickly hung up before Dev could yell at him for the comeback.

Dev put his phone into his pocket and made his way downstairs, it was time he made things right.

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Sonakshi sat on the couch in her drawing room making a chart for one of her patients. She felt much better after talking to her sister and sister-in-law. They had assured her that she had done the right thing and that now it was up to Dev. Sonakshi was working, but her mind wasn't into it yet again. So when she heard the pitter patter of soft footsteps she immediately looked up to find Dev descend the last step and walk towards her. "Aap soyi nahin?" Sonakshi sat up straight, "N-nahin..woh main kaam kar rahi thi." Dev sat on her right. "Kya hum baat kar sakte hai Sonakshi?" Sonakshi was pleasantly surprised to hear him say her name again.

She quickly removed all her belongings from her lap and kept it on the table. "Zaroor. I'm all ears." Dev looked at her and gave a small smile. "Par main baat batane se pehley ek aur baat batana chahta hoon. Uske baad aap decide karna ki main baat sunna hai ki nahin." Sonakshi kept quiet but nodded. Dev took a deep breath. "Main college me padhta tha, jab meri dosti ek ladki se hui. Her name was Natasha Gujral." He leaned back on the couch, " I was always the quiet one. Apne aap kisise dosti nahin karta tha. Shayad woh mere saath huye problems ki wajah se tha. Jo bhi ho. Par main apne aap me rehna zyada pasand karta tha." He paused.

Sonakshi nodded and urged him to go on. " Mere paas koi dost nahin the. Buss Ranveer tha, but he wasn't in my college. In fact college ke teen saal he wasn't even in my city." He looked down at his hands, " Phir Natasha ayi. Usney zabardasti mujhse dosti ki. Usne mere har darr ko tod diya. I was proud to have a friend like her. Par unn salon me maine ussey apne saath huye hadse ke baarey me nahin bataya. Woh bhi tumhari tarah mujhe dilasa deti rahi ki she will always be there." Dev looked back up at Sonakshi, " Phir Final year ke end me, I decided to tell her. Mujhey pata tha that she would give me strength. Aur shayad...shayad main ussey pyar bhi karne laga tha." Sonakshi pursued her lips together as that fact made her heart do strange things. It was almost like she was in pain to hear it. But she didn't stop him. Dev continued, " Maine mann bana liya ki main usko propose karunga. Par pehley I wanted to share my deepest pain with her. Aur maine wahi kiya."

And he stopped. There was a pin drop silence all around. The only sounds were of Dev and Sonakshi breathing. Sonakshi quietly asked, "Phir?" Breaking the silence. Dev looked at her for a bit and then said, "Phir who chali gayi. Kahani sunne ke baad ussey laga that she isn't "strong" enough to handle a broken man like me. Aur uske theek teen din baad uski engagement bhi ho gayi. And mujhey pata chala ki uski shaadi toh college shuru hone se pehley hi fixed thi." Seeing the expression on Dev's face, Sonakshi's heart went out to him. "Par mujhey iss baat ka dukh nahin tha ki who kisi aur se shaadi kar rahi thi. Maybe maine kisipe emotionally dependent honeko pyar samajh liya tha. Mujhey bura iss baat ka laga ki usmey mujhey mere flaws ke saath accept karne ki himmat hi nahin thi, when she called herself my friend."

Sonakshi wanted to comfort him and she also wanted to strangle Natasha. But Dev was her priority now. She put her hand on top of his, "Sab ek jaise nahin hote Dev." Dev abruptly laughed lightly. Sonakshi grew confused, " Kya hua?" Dev looked at her and said, " yahi dialogue kuch der pehley Ranveer se sun ke aya hoon main. Tum dono bilkul ek jaise ho." Sonakshi smiled, " Toh kya aap mujhey Ranveer ki tarah trust karengey?" Dev grew serious again. At his quietness, Sonakshi grew nervous by each second. After a while she almost gave up hope but then Dev said, "Toh kya aap apne dost ki dukhi story sunne ke liye taiyyar hai Dr. Bose?"

Sonakshi broke into the biggest smile she could manage and immediately said, " haan bilkul, Mr. Dixit." Because in that moment she knew that it was the best thing she could do for her friend, her special and favourite friend.

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Note: Updated the character sketch. Do check it out! :D

So that was it!

Do like and comment guys and let me know what you thought about the Chapter.

But before I go today, I want to thank all of you. We've reached the halfway point of this story with today's Chapter!

Thank you for all the love and appreciation guys! You are all wonderful people, who take the time out to read my works, appreciate it and also show excitement to find out what happens next.

This is the main thing that drives me to write more and more. So thank you so much for that.

And also, I'd like to share a fun fact about myself with you. before this story, whenever I tried to set a schedule for my writing, time management issues would always end up ruining it. But with your encouragement , this is the first time I've been able to follow the schedule perfectly till the halfway point. Don't know what'll happen after this, though! :P

So once again, Thank you forum buddies!

See you on Sunday!

Love

Mishti