Part 6-The end
"Lets do it guys!,Today itself." said Saakshi in an enthusiastic tone. The
others felt all charged up. They too were compelled to do it from within.
It was not an obligation, nor a part of their job. Logically speaking it
seemed like a crazy idea, but no one wanted to hear their mind,it was
their hearts holding the reins at the moment. And it seemed like luck
was on their side too because they had no case to solve on that day.
As if life had suddenly decided to stop being so unfair to Arjun, and
graciously agreed to give him a better birthday this year.
And so they got to work. They had very little time and a lot to do. But
passion sees one through in such times. And so four individuals put
their heart,mind and soul into the task they had undertaken and by evening
they were done.
It was 8 p.m in the evening and they waited patiently in the ETF head
quarter's parking lot. They wished their chief was here too, for they
knew one hug from him could do much more for Arjun than all their
efforts put together, but they admitted that it was asking for too much.
Right now they just hoped that Arjun did not choose this as one of
those nights to spend in his cabin. That would ruin everything!
But very soon,they heard him coming. The brisk walk of the morning
had turned into a slow dragging of feet in the evening. Arjun suddenly
stopped and saw a piece of folded paper on the bonnet of his car. He
felt a tinge of familiar irritation and thought-surely his team had not
dared to give him a birthday card. But as he inched closer he saw that
it contained a drawing. A flag,a police officer in uniform and a little boy
saluting him. Below it was a name scribbled-..Raju. He looked up and
saw the boy he had saved from child traffickers. He saw his eyes
gleaming with happiness as the boy approached him and held his
hands. Arjun suddenly found himself to be surrounded by a lot of kids.
He realized that these were the kids from Sharada Devi Ashram when
he saw Rama approaching with her year old baby. The kid whom he
had saved from an unimaginable cruelty. He felt a pat on his shoulder
and turned around to see Sheen standing. She was the only one who
still managed to arouse some tender affections in him. He noticed her
bright eyes full of life as she hugged him, and shuddered to think what
a nightmare her existence would have been had he not managed to
rescue her. Gradually a lot of people started to surround him. Acp Arjun
never forgot a face and he recognized each one of them. The
kidnapped boy...Bunty with his parents, the kid he saved from the
psycho Austin,the ganikas from Swami Vishvanand's ashram,
Sandy-the boy trapped in the web of cricket betting, parents of
Meera-the girl burnt alive, Sanjay-whose entire family was murdered in
his house.Aarti's father who had lost her in a dowry death case...so
many random people containing one common emotion in their
eyes-GRATITUDE. For saving some of their lives or getting justice
for their loved ones.
It was a sight worth recording,and had anyone of the ETF members
managed to keep a dry eye,their phones would have been out. But
they too were overwhelmed with a scene so rare... Arjun surrounded
by excited children who wanted to share so much with him. And he
actually paid attention to their chattering,patting them lovingly and
occasionally flashing the remains of what had once been his smile. He
noticed that the little baby was bending towards him and he moved
forward to take him in his arms. The baby was visibly sleepy and put
his head on Ajun's chest and nuzzled. The moment his tender hands
touched Arjun's heart,something stirred within. He stiffened up as he
suddenly became aware of his heart beats,he heard himself breathing,
and just realized-that he was still ALIVE.
He saw some of the adults approaching him with folded hands and
immediately stopped them from any display of emotions. But he could
not help feeling satisfied. By saving their loved ones or getting them
justice,he had at least prevented them from becoming another Arjun
Rawte. And this was why, in spite of his job being the cause of almost
all he had lost in his life from the very beginning,he was disillusioned
with everything but never his profession.
Prayers,friends,relationships,love...all lost their significance in his life,
but his uniform..his oath still stood respected.This was re-established
as he silently stood and saw how he had managed to provide so many
strangers with hopes,dreams,peace,security and most importantly a
future.He realized that -his existence actually mattered. It had
played a significant part in each of their lives.
And he was suddenly seized by a strange sort of peace-it dawned
upon him that-
Roshini would have been so proud of him today.
In spite of the the fact that he was unable to avenge her death,being
the selfless women she was,he could imagine the pride she would
have felt today seeing all those who had been helped by his services.
And for the first time in many years,instead of her haunted, suffering,
lifeless eyes...he was visited by her silently smiling,appreciating,proud
eyes...And suddenly time stood still and space was echoing with
silence in spite of so much of noise. He felt as if he had established a
contact with her beyond the realm of this world. A moment which lasted
for a second but felt like eternity.
He soon regained his awareness of the surroundings and glanced at
his watch ; saw that it was time for everyone to go home. He also saw a
reflection on the side glass of his car. His team hiding behind a
vehicle. So, they had actually managed to make it an
occasion worth celebrating . He knew that this night was not enough to
compensate for all that had been snatched from his life, but he really
was touched by their attempt to provide him with one night of peace,
and wanted them to know it. He took a post-it from his car and scribbled
something on it but was having trouble seeing as his vision was
blurred by his moist eyes.
The ETF team suddenly saw him walking towards them and became
alert. But to their surprise he just walked past them. They were slightly
confused by his behavior and also by their own reactions . After all,
there was nothing to be hurt about, what exactly did they expect Arjun
to do? But soon they realized that he had actually done the best he
could do. They had not noticed him sticking something on the glass of
the car they were hiding behind,as he walking towards them.
They all crowded around it and stood there, speechless, staring at the
fluttering piece of paper.
It contained just two words-THANK YOU.
But the ink had been smudged with his tear drop. And it said what
millions of words could not have.
They immediately turned around just in time to see the outline of the
man walking into the darkness. But for some strange reason,it did not
seem very dark. Almost as if some light had managed to enter his life.
And they knew that his wounds were still fresh,but hopefully they had
prevented him from scratching it further...
<The End>
Edited by Sadhana_pr - 12 years ago
Bindi
Udne Ki Aasha
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
16