“It's been a week since Anuj has not come to the office. Where is he?” Anupamaa thought while looking outside the window of her office room “Is he alright!!”
“Areeee aupamaa where are you lost?Mai peechle paanch minute se pak pak kiye jaa rahi hu aur tu kuch jawab hi nahi de rahi” Devika finally questioned anu, bringing a halt to her train of thoughts
"Devika…ammm I was thinking about Anuj” anupamaa said hesitatingly,her gaze still fixed outside the window as if she was hoping for someone to surprisingly pop out from there
“Oh, i see....so finally you got the time from your busy schedule to think about my friend” devika taunted anupamaa without bothering to look at her face
"Devika tu aisa kyu bol rahi hai.And...and what do you mean by your friend....He is Mine Friend Too"
"Glad that you atleast consider him as your friend anu" devika tossed the file and fumed "I thought he is just a 'no-one' to you"
"It's enough devika.Its enough of your taunts...now will you please tell me where is anuj...his number is unreachable,he is not coming to the office,GK kaka can't be seen anywhere....Anuj theek to hai na??"
"As if you care"
"For god's sake devika STOP IT...please stop it" saying so anupama finally broke down in tears,she covered her ears with her palms to prevent devika's words from reaching her, she closed her eyes in a hope that when she will open it again everything will be back to normal and this nightmare will end.
Devika's words were acting like daggers for her already bleeding heart.
Only she knew how much she hated herself for saying those things to Anuj .
How could I do this?
How could I spit venom on him?
How dare I question his intentions?
The memory alone of that noxious day drove her berserk with rage.
What overtook her that day?
Her rationale always knew that she was being unfair to him. Deep down she also knew that he had never flirted with her or made any inappropriate passes at her. Sure, he had been friendly, sometimes interfered in her personal space too but that was for her own good.God knows that he never tried to cross his boundaries.
Then why the heck I said those nasty words to him
"Anu....I'm sorry...I'm...I'm so sorry....I did not mean to hurt you like this....tu please rona band kar" devika felt guilty for behaving like a douchebag "Anu trust me....never ever in my wildest of dreams I would want you to cry like that because of me...tu idhar aa ...mere saath baith....mai tujhe sab batati hu Anuj k baare me"
Saying so devika made anu sit on the sofa and sat beside her.
"Anuj has left the country"devika finally blurted out "He did not want you to feel burdened or guilty so he asked me to zip my mouth and not tell you anything"
"Whatt....Anuj left!!! " Anupama felt excruciating pain. It felt like someone had just ripped her heart out of her chest. The pain felt physical.Tears kept rolling down her eyes.She did not know what else to say.Her palm made its way to her chest and rubbed it in a desperate attempt to ease the ache.
I must have hurt him very badly for him to leave secretly like this.Maybe I deserve this only.I deserve all his hatred and anger
She wanted to punish herself for her stupidity.
"Devika...devika slap me...thaapar maar mujhe devika" saying so anupama started slapping herself.She was out of her control now."Mai bahut buri hu...bahut buri hu mai"
By now she was sobbing so hard that it was difficult for her even to complete her sentence.Her face was red and eyes were swollen out of crying.She was banging her head against her palm out of guilt.
Devika was taken aback.Last time she saw Anu this broken was when she got to know about vanraj's affair. "ANU I beg you... please stop crying....pleaseeee...I can't see you like this" devika pleaded her.
She could not see her best friend like that and by now she also had tears in her eyes.
"Anu tu chal mere sath" suddenly devika wiped her tears and stood up with a determined look on her face.
"Devika..mujhe... kahi...nahi... jana... please leave.. me... alone"anu finally completed her sentence in multiple attempts as she was sobbing uncontrollably
"Tujhe meri kasam....chal mere sath"
××××××××××××××××××××
Anuj was lying half conscious on his hospital bed still thinking about what happened that day.
He hated himself for spoiling everything.
26 years....it took 26 long years for them to be freinds and he spoiled everything in just that one moment.
Anupama trusted me and went against her family to take my side but what did I do?
Why the hell did I buy that lehnga?Even if I bought it why the hell did I not give it directly to her?
Because of my stupidity all those misunderstandings were created.
Because of me she was proven a liar in front of the whole crowd.
How confident she was when she said to the crowd that the lehnga was gifted to her by her best freind devika and not me.Only if she knew that she is going to be proven wrong the very next minute by the two people whom she trusted the most.
Because of me her character was questioned.Because of me her own children accused her of lying.
And how the hell did that vanraj know that the lehnga was bought by me and not devika?"
"Sir it's time for your dressing" the nurse entered the room with a tray full of band-aids and medicines and interrupted his thoughts
"Leave it...I will do it myself" he answered coldy without looking in her direction
"But sir...."
"I said leave"
The nurse kept the tray on the side table and left the room.
The moment after she left Anuj tried to sit up but winced in pain.He saw his medicines lying in the tray and felt sad.For the very first time he felt that he was all alone in this world.He rested his head on the pillow and started reminiscing good old days of his childhood.A lone tear rolled down his cheek when his mother's face flashed in front of his eyes.She was the only person who always understood his unsaid feelings.
Only if anupama also understood me like that.Only if she also trusted me enough to know that I would never do anything to hurt her.Only if she knew how much I respected her.
"Dawa kyu nahi li aap ne abhi tak" suddenly Anuj heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance,the voice which was music to his ears,the voice which he could recognise even when he was sound asleep, the voice which can bring him on his knees
Am I hallucinating again?
"Come on Anuj tu paagal ho gaya hai.....anupamaa kaise aa sakti hai yaha" he spoke to himself
"Ab khud se kya baate kar rahe hai aap!! aur ye kya!!...aap ne abhi tak dinner bhi nahi kiya"anu said while pointing towards the food that was still kept on the table
Ooooh godd....I have gone crazyyy....kyu pareshan kar rahi ho yaar anu mujhe....why do you come in my dreams when you can't be in my life
"Lagta hai sir par kuch zyada hi gehri chot lagi hai janaab k" anu whispered to herself
"Teri yaadein kanch de tukde
Te mera ishq nange pairi"
"OOO shaayar kaparia....abhi to shayari karna band kijiye ne aur seedha seedha boliye kya bol rahe hai"she said in irritation.
"Bol du....bol du....??"
"Nahi bilkul nahi....pehle aap dinner kijiye fir baatein"saying so anu carried the food tray from the table and came to sit near him on his side
"Bahut hi khoobsurat sapna tha
Mera bhi koi apna tha
Haan,mera bhi koi apna tha
Par wo sirf ek sapna tha"
Anuj softly whispered the shayari while looking lovingly at her face.For him this all was just a dream which will end in a few moments.
"Ye kya Sapna Sapna laga rakha hai" anu said in irritation and threw the water from the glass on his face. "Come back to your senses Anuj"
By now she was angry and frustrated.
She was angry on him for not telling her about his accident.She was angry on him for hiding from her for one whole week.She was angry on him for lying.
"Why did you ask devika to lie to me about being in America?" she fired her questions one by one on him "Why did you not tell me that rohan attacked you that day after returning from pandaal?"
"Oh gosh....anu tum sach me yaha ho!!Tumhe kaise pata chala!!!....ye devika ki bacchi....."
"Chup bilkul chup...ab bas mai bolungi aur aap sunenge" she shushed him sternly by gesturing to put finger on his lips which he cutely did without any question or second thought.
"Anuj meri wajah se aap k sath ye sab ho gaya.Meri wajah se aap ne us rohan se dushmani le li aur aaj aap yaha is haalat me..." she stopped midway.She did not have it in her to meet his eyes.The guilt traced back as she remembered all the filthy things that she said to him that day.Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat she continued "I am sorry Anuj....I am really really sorry" saying so she turned her back towards him to hide her tears.
"Anu....come on look at me...meri taraf dekho" he pleaded her to look into his eyes but when she did not listen to him he tried to get up from the bed. " Aaaaah" Anuj cried in pain as he felt unbearable head ache while trying to get up.
"Anuj....aap theek to hai na!!!" she turned in his direction as soon as she heard his painful voice
"I'm...I'm fine... but please listen to me anu"he gestured her to sit near him
"Anu...us din jo kuch bhi hua....I mean....believe me I never had any wrong intentions...." he did not know how to begin and what to say but still he continued
"ok,I won't lie to you....I love you....infact jab se mujhe pyaar word ka matlab pata chala hai I have only loved you but....but that doesn't mean ki I don't know my limits.....I know that you have a family and most importantly I know that you don't feel the same for me"
Anu was shocked at his confessions.Tears were continuously brimming down her eyes and she was looking directly into his orbs trying to read his unsaid emotions
"Anu trust me....mujhe tum se pyaar karne k liye tumhari bhi zaroorat nahi hai....peechle chabbis saal tak mai ne tum se ektarfa pyaar kiya hai..I always knew that you were married and you had a family but still I never moved on....not because I expected you to be in my life one day but because I never expected you to reciprocate my feelings.I was happy thinking that you were happy in your life.... doesn't matter agar wo khushi mere sath thi ya kisi aur k sath.Tum apne family k sath khush thi aur mai tumhari yaado k saath....aur jab itne saalo tak mai ne tumhe paane k liye kuch nahi kiya to now after all these years why would I try to break your family"
"Shhhh....aap ko kuch safaai dene ki zaroorat nahi hai.I know us din mai ne kaafi kuch bura bhala bol diya tha aap ko gusse me but I never meant so."
"Accha theek hai ab ye rona dhona band karo aur mujhe khana do...bahut tez bhookh lagi hai" he wiped his tears and forced a smile as he did not want her to feel more guilty
"Ek baat puchu Anuj?"
"Hmmmm"
"Am I the reason that you never got married?" Anu asked without thinking much
"Hmmmm"
"Do you still love me?"
"I always will"
"Won't you ask me if I love you back or not?"
"Nope"
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter anyways....regardless of what you feel about me I will always feel the same for you....so you don't need to feel burdened"
"Don't you feel that you deserve better?"
"Kuch logo k hisse me bas pyaar baantne ka kaam aata hai....wasool karne ka nahi...and I am one of them"
"What if I say that I love you too....??"
"Then I will be 100 percent sure that it's all just a dream and I'm hallucinating because of high doses of medicines"
"I love you Anuj"
Anuj was dumbstruck and confused listening to what she said.This was all too good to be true.
No no it must be a dream
But why is this dream not getting over?
Is this all for real ?
Why is she not vanishing as she always does?
"Aise kya dekh rahe hai....fir se paani feku kya!!!"saying so she hugged him tightly to make him believe that this was all true and he was not dreaming.
Fan Fictions
Cricket
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
