Chapter 8: truth revealed
Antara was all lost in her thoughts when suddenly her phone rang. A smile appeared in her face seeing the known number in her screen. "hello.." she said in a cheerfull voice. "didu..." ishan's cheerfull voice came from other side. "ishan you!!.." antara asked in surprise. "yes didu me... I purchased mami's phone for sometimes. How are u didu?" he asked in an adoring voice. "I am ok...what about you? Is everyones all right? Did they admitted moma today?" antara asked. "yes didu. Moma got admitted today. She is fine. Mama and mumy are also good... I am taking care of everyone.." ishan said proudly. "oh really?!" antara asked with a smile. "yeah didu... I am all ready on my mission. U pls take care of urself..." ishan said. "ok my sweet little man brother..." antara said both of them burst into laughter. "didu u know, raghu's mother daya mai, she came back at the basti today." Ishan informed. Raghu!.. His name was enough to remind those bitter moments again. "hey didu what happened?!" why are u silent?!" ishan asked. "nothing... yeah what are u talking about." Antara controlled her overflow. Their phone convo continued.
Raghu was hovering on the roads of basti at night after sending beera to DM. She never allowed any third party when she was with beera. Not even him. But that's ok with him. Somehow he didn't like that beera. He seemed weird to him. Raghu stretched out his arms to washout the hangover when again his eyes fell on that balcony which he was observing all the day. And two his surprise he saw the lights in that room. Seeing that light he didn't thought for a while that there were so many people at that house rather than miscall. He just stood still with wide eyes for a moment and jumped on the water supply pipes. With smooth measure move he landed on antara's room's balcony. He was about to enter but he heard ishan's voice and stopped midway. He slightly pushed the door and looked through the small opened place. He saw ishan seeting at the bed and talking to someone in mobile. Darn it!! So it was ishan! And he thought... so that mean miscall didn't came back yet. He again felt dishearten, "arey raghunath huya kya tujhe?!.. wo humesha ke liye thori hi na Kashmir gayi hain...kabhi na kabhi to reverse gear maar ke wapas ayegi...tab batein kar lengey... Kyun itna utawla ho raha hain... Tension chor aur wapas apne ghar chal..." he thought and was just about to go when suddenly ishan's words got into his ears. "didu remember when u will reach at Srinagar u must call me first!!" ishan demanded. So ishan was talking to miscall. Raghu concentrated on his words. Ishan paused for a while and said, "don't worry didu I remember. I won't say a single word to anyone. As u say I will also tell everyone that u have gone to Kashmir to sale our house. But I know what actually is ur mission. And trust me didu main kisi ko nahi bataoongi ki aap ki Kashmir jane ki asli reason kya hain." Ishan said in an assuring voice. But his words rang the alert tone of raghu's mind in high speed. What?! Miscall didn't went to Kashmir to sale their house! Suddenly raghu felt some unknown fear in him. Miscall lied to everyone!! The girl who always hold on to her idealism, she didn't revealed the actual reason for her Kashmir visit to her mama mumy?!! But why?! As much he knew about antara, he could bet that she didn't have any bad intention to hide from her family. She was not that kind of girls who would lie to her parents and would chill out with her friends in the back of her parents. Then why did she didn't tell? Until it was really a very serious or dangerous issue which she afraid to share with everyone?! Raghu felt hell confused as well as he could again feel some kind of fear in him. What actually miscall wanted to do?! What way he found to gain money for her mother and brother that she had to hide?! Seemed like only ishan, knew the truth. Raghu thought to face ishan and ask him directly. But at that moment saroj entered and took ishan with her. Ishan was going to lay with saroj. So no chance at the moment to confront him. Unwillingly raghu got down from balcony and moved towards his place. ab ye yeri asalmein karne gayi hogi ye yeri? Uff! Soch soch ke dimag satak jata hain...ye miscall khud to yeri hain hi..sath mein apun ko bhi yera bana dega!' he thought while moving along the road. karne kya gayi hogi ye yeri Kashmir mein...s***a bheje nein khuch ghusta bhi nahi...' the thoughts started to roam on his mind.
Another sleepless night raghu spent, rolling all over in his cot. Each and everytime he was closing his eyes ishan's words coming in his mind. didu main kisi ko nahi bataoongi ki aap ki Kashmir jane ki asli reason kya hain.' Each and everytime he felt his worry rising for her. Spacialy the thing bugging in her mind was that her cold lifeless face which he saw just the night before she suddenly went for Kashmir. He couldn't calm down a single time after that moment. God! Each and everytime she managed to took away the peace of his mind. Either quarreling with him or by her silent looks. Enough, he wouldn't think about that mad girl again. arey usey job hi karna hain kare...bhar mein jaye...mujhe kya... uske liye apni nind kahe ko waste kare...' he closed his eyes. At the last night finally his effort got result and he was in sleep finally. But what just he saw, was never ever wanted. In his dream he saw a huge fire, just like a huge funeral pyre which could be seen in cremation grounds. He saw a girl, wearing white salwar, heading straight towards the fire. Her back was facing him so he couldn't see her face. But the sight was enough to shiver him all over. That girl was going to sacrifice her life?!! But why?! When the girl was just one inch away from fire she turned back and raghu could see her face. And he got the most shock of his life when he saw the girl's face was same to none other than but the her. Antara!!! His whole feature jerked up and he jumped up from bed. He was sweating all over. His heart was racing in uneven tremendous speed and his breath couldn't come back to normal. He rushed towards the shower and pushed the knob harshly. The cold water spread all over him. He started to take deep breaths and his wide fear full eyes got fixed on the wall.
That day was holiday. So ishan and his friends were playing cricket at the chawl. But ishan couldn't concentrate on game as his head was all full with antara's thought. He was eagerly waiting for her didu's call. "hey ishan?! What happened to u today?! Pehele to baton baton mein sixer mar tat ha?! Aaj kya huya?" his friend asked. "nothing!! Just... I am not feeling well actually. Tumlog khelo mera man nahi kar raha hain." Ishan handed over the bat to his friend. "ok..." he said and quickly they all again got back into game. Ishan sat on the bench at the roadside and took out the phone from his pocket. He poorly looked at the black screen hoping for some response. He felt someone seating at his side. "kya re chotu aaj no cricket?!" ishan felt the strong hand pat in his back. He lifted up his face sidewise and found raghu seeting there with his usual croocked smile. "Akele akele baithe mobile ko kyun taak raha hain?... tere girlfriend ka phone anew ala hain kya?" raghu asked. Ishan's face got hard. He just couldn't face that guy anymore. He also thought that raghu might be not that bad, but his didu was right from the beginning. Ishan jumped down from the bench and started to go back to his house. "arey ishu sun to.."raghu followed him. Ishan snapped back to him with that hard look intact. "mujhe tum se koi baat nahi karna. Pls mujhe akela chor do.." he said quite loudly. Raghu understood that he was so mad at him. "tujhe mujhse baat karna ho ya na ho par mujhe tere se baat karna hain... samjha?!" he said in his dominating voice and grabed his hand. "mujhe tumhara koi baat nahi sun na..." ishan shoved away his hand from his grip. "arey tum dono bhai-behen ek hi khet ki muli ho... sidhi tarah se baat kyun nahi maan te hn? Dekh ishan, mera bheja sanka huya hain!! chupchap mere se baat kar warna..." his voice started to raise. "warna kya hn? Main nahin baat karunga tumse... Jo karna hain karlo..." ishan was trying to go away but that time raghu grabbed his hand tightly. Ishan couldn't take back his hand that time. Raghu bend down on his knee to look in ishan's eyes properly. Ishan could easily feel the sign of danger in his expression. "ishan mere ko pata hain tere aur tere didi ke bich mein koi solid khichdi pak rahi hain... sidhe sidhe bata nahi to mere ko aunty ji ko bata na parega ki teri didu ne jhoot bol kar Kashmir gayi hain..." he said in his dangerous husky voice. Ishan's eyes wided at his words. How did he come to know? Raghu saw the fear in his eyes. "aur agar maine aunty ji ko ye baat bata di... to soch kya hoga...sab tujhe aur teri didu ko jhoothi kahengey...tab kya hoga tu jaan ta hain na?" he really mean those words. He saw ishan looking away from his face and staring at a side. "ishan meri taraf dekh..." he just ordered. Ishan didn't saw at him. "meri didu jhoothi nahin hain..." his voice was shaking. Something was glitering at the edge of his eyes. Raghu immeadiately got worried as he saw tears in his eyes. "ishan!!..." Ishan looked back to him and said, "jhoothi nahin hain meri didu, usne aaj tak kabhi kisi se jhoot nahi boli... aur papa kehete hain agar kisi ke ache ke liye jhooth kaho to wo jhooth jhooth nahi hota..." Ishan was bitting his lips to controle his tears. "abbey chirkut chup ho ja... larka ho ke rota hain... chal mere sath..." raghu dragged him. Without saying a word ishan accompanied him.
After some times both of them were in raghu's balcony. Ishan was seating at his cot and drinking water from a glass. Raghu was standing supporting the railings and looking at ishan. After some moments when ishan seemed bit stable he opened his mouth. "dekh ishu...apun ka iradha tere ko rula ne ka nahin tha..mere ko bas tere se sach ugalwana tha to meine aisa kaha.,..." he said. "kyun kahoon main tumhe sach?" ishan snapped back to him with his innocent anger in his face. "tumhari wajah se aaj didu ki aisi halat ho gayi hain... tumhari wajah se aaj didu ko aaj wo sab karna par raha hain... Abto mujhe ye bhi nahi pata..." suddenly his voice chocked and he looked back to his house. "kya nahi pata?!" raghu asked. "ki didu kabhi wapas ayegi bhi ya nahin..." he said in a low voice. Raghu again felt his feature froze by his words. What was he actually talking about?! What did he mean that her didu was not coming back?! He rushed towards ishan and hold onto him. "ishan bata mereko...teri didu akhir kiss kaam se Kashmir gayi hain..." raghu hold his shoulder tightly and urgently looked into ishan's eyes to search for an answer. Ishan looked at him and just uttered a single sentence. "didu un terrorists ko pakarne gayi hain jin logon ne papa ko maar dala.". Raghu looked dumbly at his worried face for a while. It seemed that he was struggling to digest the words. After some times he again became furious. "dekh ishan main iss time mazak ke mode mein nahin hoon..." he said quite irritatedly. "main mazak nahin kar raha hoon. Didu sach mein unhe pakar ne gayi hain..." ishan emphasized. "kaise?!! Ye sad kab huya?" the fury in his voice raised. Then ishan told him everything that he heared from antara. How she met vishal uncle that night, how she got to know about that mission and how she herself showed interest to join the mission. Raghu heard everything without saying a single word. And when ishan finished he crushed on the bed with wide eyes and shocked expression. The meaning of the dream got clearer to him. That mad girl was really moving towards the burning funeral pyre at slow pace.
Precap: "mera naam antara hain..." her cold voice got into raghu's ear from the other side of phone. "koi miss call ya yeri ya job hi tum bolo wo sab nahi...sirf antara..." she continued in that steal hard voice.
ps: so girls whats my reward for this another long crap update? anda aur tomato?🤣
but no chappal pls..🤢
Edited by ifians - 12 years ago
