Chapter 35
"Hathon mein liye dil kaa nazrana khare hain tere dar pe
Qubbol kar loo zara, kahin yahin pee dam naa tor de!!"
Antara's POV
As soon as I came on the office I got a call from aman sir's cabin giving my handy to parth I went to meet him. Aman sir called me to discuss about some upcoming projects and also some old projects. As we were having discussion I remembered about the incident yesterday in juhu beach where I saw him in that odd fakir's attire. My curiosity bugged me again and I had opportunity to ask him as we both were alone in the room. I was still confused that whether I should ask him or not. After all he was my boss and if it was his personal matter I didn't have any priority to ask that. But still I could ask him that if he was there in Juhu beach. Cause curiosity was really at peak for me. so I gathered courage and composed my words to ask him.
"So here's the detail about project. Is it clear to you?" Sir asked me. "Yes sir, everything is available in this file." I said while checking out the file in my hand. "Still... Any questions?" he asked like always. "Umm.. sir actually I need to ask you something!" I was determined at the moment to clear the things. "Yeah shoot..." he said instantly. "Sir actually..." I thought how to start the whole matter without hurting his reputation anyhow, "Sir actually it's not related to project. It's something else... If you don't mind." I bit my lips on anticipation. Aman sir looked a slight confused by my words. "What's that antara?!" He asked me frowning a bit. "Well!..." I sighed, "Sir I know, I am just an employee here and I don't have any priority to ask something about your personal affairs. We are bound to share only the professional talks and repo. But this thing is bothering me so much for these days so I just want to clear it out." I said in polite voice. "Hmm..." The frown invisible and a generous small smile appeared in his lips, "As much as I came to know about you antara, you are not that type of girl who get any interest of anyone's private life. I know you don't even like to discuss about those things. But still if you are asking like that then it must be some serious matter. You don't have to be hesitant. Just ask!" he assured me with his friendly behavior and I finally gained the courage to ask him.
"Sir, did you went juhu beach last evening?" keeping my reluctant aside I at last asked him. His expression turned confused again. "Juhu?!! Nope..." he shrugged, "As long as I remember yesterday I spent the whole evening in my client's house discussing about their demands. So there was no chance for me to be in juhu beach or any other else." he informed. I sighed as if I knew the answer. But still, I was so confident that I saw him there. I waited for a minute to think what to do next. I decided to end the confusion at the spot so I dared to proceed further. "Person me sir..." I kept my voice as polite as possible at that moment, "but I think I saw you there..." I finished keeping eye on his face. "What?!! You saw me there..." he laughed a small. "So that's mean I was there as well as in my client's house." He said making funny face. Thanks again to gracious god that he didn't mind steel. "Sir I know it sound odd but it's really not funny. I actually saw you there last evening while I was there with parth and kirti." I informed. "Ohh its okk antara! the beach is really crowded and I think you cross checked someone with me. Or may be u just saw a hallucination." He opted but his denial was increasing my stubbornness. "Sir, at first I thought I was wrong but I might not be wronged twice." I said with a bit cold voice. "Twice?!" Aman sir looked thoughtful. "Yes sir twice. Not just yesterday, some days ago I saw you in a local railway station of Mumbai." I said with more confidence. "That's surprising, I rarely visited in local railway station of Mumbai and last time I travelled in train was almost two months ago. You were not even in Mumbai then." he informed me and he was literally patient with my every question. I was thankful to him for that but still I was not convinced by his answers. "You believe me or not sir, but I actually saw you there. I called you so many times but you didn't respond..." I hold for a moment to take some breath, "You know sir what bothered me so much. It's not only about that I saw you in odd placed where you might be but your attire at those moments. Sorry if I was being rude but sir I never imagined that a business tycoon like you will move around in a fakir's attire." I said in thoughtful face. I instantly saw a huge change in aman sir's reaction. He was all light about my question till the moment but as soon as I mentioned about fakir's attire his smile was gone at that moment. As if he chocked for a moment and become steal. As I silently watched over his every movement it made me suspicious somehow. for a long moment he was looking towards the wall avoiding my gaze as if he didn't want to meet my eyes. after a long awkward silent moment when he met my eyes I felt different. I felt like he was affarid all of a sudden. His eyes were having amusement and as well as a chink of fear. he took a deep breath closing his eyes and finally talked again, "You saw me in fakir's attire?!" he asked me straight and it seemed like his voice was shaking. "Yes sir... exactly!"I nodded in agreement. He lowered his face and it seemed like a saw a huge pain in his facial expression. He was looking towards the photo frame which was kept in his table facing its back side to me. I didn't know why I wanted to see the photo kept in that frame.Iit seemed like my all questions answer was hidden within it. Aman sir sighed again and looked towards me with a serious look. "Whatever... Just make it clear to your mind antara that I was not there. Whoever you saw was not me and you can count on that." his voice seemed a little cold. I looked stright towards him silently for a while. Aman sir lowered his eyes again and said, "I am sorry antara. But I can't answer your questions anymore. I have some important works to do and it's urgent. U may leave now." His voice was a bit firm that time and I understood that I had to stop at that moment. Otherwise it would go out of my hand. "I am sorry sir!! I am really sorry for everything..." I said lowering my gaze, "Sorry if I upset you with my stupidity. You are right. May be I imagined someone else to be you." I said in generous voice. Aman sir smiled a little but still that sadness was intact in his face. "Not at all antara! You don't need to feel sorry for anything. Truly I am not upset about any of your questions. I told you on very first day that I prefer those people who are clear cut rather than keeping matters hidden in their mind. So you don't have to worry about that. You didn't undignified me any way." Aman sir assured with a generous smile. It assured me that he didn't mind at all. But the sadness still enact to that face clearly showed me that something was wrong with me. "Thank you sir... I won't disturb you anymore. I will take my leave now and will discuss about this files with others." I said and got up from chair. "Have a nice day." He greeted. I came out of his cabin with thoughtful face. I was sure that aman sir hid something from me. I could never forget the change of his expression when I mentioned about him being in fakir's attire. I looked back and through the glass door I saw aman sir holding the photo frame in his hand and his eyes were so sad. I stood there for a moment. Everything that happened arose another question mark in my mind. sometimes I thought that why I was always so curious about every unknown fact. I didn't have less problems in my life from start but it seemed like they wouldn't get less so soon.
Raghu's POV
"Tulip?! Haan woo too yahan milta hain." the worker of the nursery said and I huffed at last. I almost spend a half day just to find this tulip. There was not a single florist shop or nursery in the Mumbai area where I didn't visited to search for a single flower. Sometimes it felt like it's easy to find the needle from straw heap rather than finding a tulip in Mumbai. Sometimes my frustrated mind made me scream on the midway, "S**a duniya mein ek yee hii foll mila tha ussey pasand ane kee liye?! Bappa koi easy option dene kaa tha naa ussey..."
But then I remembered her painful colorless face and my heart pinched like always. That painful face somehow pushed me to find for her favorite flower all over the Mumbai. "Locha bara hoo gaya.. Too uss kie bharpayi bhi too chota nahin hoo sakta..." I kept consoling myself saying that. Mai called me at the middle. She asked me that if I went to meet the lawyer. Again I had to tell lie unwillingly. That was the 2nd time I was saying lie to the woman whom I worship as my living god and for whom, that crazy girl antara!! The guilt pinched me hard sometimes but strangely it was nothing compared to the remorse which I felt after knowing antara's truth.
When I looked at those red tulip flower bunch which the boy kept at my front I instantly felt sudden warmth inside. It's not that I didn't see the flower before. There was a huge garden of tulips in Kashmir and I visited there but never felt like that while I watched those flower before. The small water droplet on the petals looked like pearls. The vibrant yet warm red color was so wonderful. I actually remembered the words which antara told ruku. The flowers were disguised fairies which could cheer up even in saddened mode. When the petals shimmered in day light it actually felt like they were smiling. And the warmth of those crimson red petals remembered me about her vibrant smile which I saw last time while she was dancing in ajji's class. I felt the light smirk appearing on my lips. Bending down on my knees I touched the flower petals on the basket. The tenderness actually made me shiver. I was always surrounded by rough things in my life, guns, knives, etc. I never touched such tender things before. "Sahab,... abhi too bas yee red color hii aap ko milega... Waisey bhi yee flowers yahan kee nahin hain. Kashmir see order de kee lana parta hain... Aur iss baar too delivery bahut kam hain..." the boy informed me. Hmmm! I should also know about the color which would antara prefer. The boy left me there for some work. I picked up one stick from the bunch and keep staring at it. The flower quivered slight in such a low rhythm in little wind in my hand.
It was almost 8 o clock in the evening when I came back to basti. Parking my jeep near the garage I moved towards govind uncle's house. Standing on the doorway I thought what to do next. Should I just knock the door and give the flower to her. But what would others think about that. Govind uncle would surely faint on the spot if I gave flower to her dear niece. I didn't know why that guy was so afraid of me from very day. So I cancelled the plan. I heard the sound of door knock and quickly went aside. Govind uncle, saroj aunty and rhea all came out. Saroj aunty was talking to someone in phone and I heard her conversation. "Haan anatar... tujhe ane mein der hogi?!!... 10 min mein aa rahi hain... par humein too abhi nikalna parega... dekh naa rhea kii friend kaa b'day party hain aur achanak se invitation aa gaya... Tu samhal legi naa... Ghar kii ek duplicate chabi maine diya tha naa tujhe woo hain tere pass?!... Acha..." listening to saroj aunty's talk I understood that antara didn't come back from office yet and they all have to leave to attend some birthday party. Soon they left from the place and I came out of corner and stared at the balcony of govind uncle's house. There were only those two balconies through which I could enter inside. I preferred the back side balcony as it was away from roadside. I sighed and caught the rain pipe. "S**a raghunath, kya din aa gaye hain tere... Pahele sidhe darwaza tor kee kisi ke ghar kee andar ghus taa tha abb pipe charna par raha hain..." my mind said as I hooped over the rainpipe and soon landed on the balcony. But soon I came to know that the balcony door is locked from inside. I kicked my feet in anger. I thought to check out to other balcony but it seemed like even it was closed from inside. At that moment I noticed the small window beside. Slowly I caught the rain pipe and went near the window. Placing my feet on the narrow cement edge I caught the grills and balanced myself. huffing a beat I pushed the wooden doors of window and fortunately it opened. "Khirki too khool gaya.. Abb andar kaise gusega?! Choohaa too nahin hain kii grill ke andar see ghus jayega..." I stood there feeling utter stupid. "Abb aisey khirki see poori raat latakna hain kya?! Raghunath kuch too soch yaar..." I bit my lips in frustration. The little street light invoked inside the dark room and cleared the view a bit. I got to see the bed in a close proximity to window. I thought of something and took the flower in my hand. Invoking my hand inside the grill I aimed it to the bed and it directly fell on the bedsit. "Chalo... Fool to andar ghus gaya... bas abb dekh lee..." I thought what to do next. Should I leave the place or stay there. "Fool to de diya... par sorry too nahin kahan... Woo too batana parega..." I said to myself. I understood that I have to stay there and wait for antara's arrival. "Eee bappa... jaldi se bhej naa misscall koo.. kabtak aise khirki see latak taa rahega bandar kaa mafik... basti kaa log mere koo iss halat mein dekhega too apni importion impression ki too watt lag jayega.. kuch too soch apun kee barein mein bappa..."
Antara's POV
Mami already informed that they wouldn't be in the house as they had to attend some b'day party. So when I entered inside the room it was dark. I didn't know why my heart thudded loud as soon as I entered. As if like something was about to happen and my sixth sense indicated me. I never had such feelings before. However, I straightly went upstairs to my room. As I switched on the light my eyes fell on the bed. For a moment I couldn't believe that what I saw there but soon I couldn't stop my lips crept into huge smile. I felt like some fairy had brought a little warm peace of sun and kept that on my bedsit. The warm yet vibrant red was enough to remove all my stress, sorrow of the day.
A little red tulip was there kept over my bedsit. My fav flower and specially I loved the red tulip most. From the very beginning of my life I had such deep connection with those flowers. Pappa said that the day I born was the day when the first tulip bloom on the valley after winter and so from the moment I felt a deep connection with them. I used to talk with the tulips which were in the garden of my house. I often used to go to Tulip garden all alone after my school and cont to stay hours and hours in between the flowers talking to them. Sometimes lying in the grass bed in the flower bush I used to look upon the sky and thought of abrupt things. I believed that tulip flowers were actually angels in disguse, the angels who came on earth to remove each and every sorrow of human. My parents and my all friends knew that if antar kaul was upset then they just need to give me a tulip flower and they would be forgiven at the instant. That much I loved those flowers.
I rushed towards the bed and picked up the flower. How long I felt that warm sensation I didn't know. It actually moistened my eyes a bit. Not in sad note but I was actually happy at that moment and grining huge along with. The small breeze passes through window inside my room and the flower trembled a bit as if like it talked to me. My grin increased and I touched the tender flower petals to my chicks. I used to do that in my childhood days in my garden. Ahh!! It felt like the warmth soothed my every pain. As if the fairy hiding inside the flower waved her magic wand and took away my all pain. I held the flower near my chest and closed my eyes feeling its tenderness. It reminded me about my parents and noor appa, their warm smile. But that time I didn't cry as I felt them so close to me. As if they were standing just at my side and I could feel their warm touch. As if I could feel them just stretching my hand. The cold breze ruffled my hair and I felt like those were blessings from my father. In the silence of the room I could listen to my heartbeat after long moment.
After a long moment I opened my eyes with such a content feeling and my eyes stuck on the window at my front.
He was there hanging from the window supporting the railings. His face was plastered between two grills and was slightly twitched. His lips were parted in big O and his expression was full of amusement. And his eyes which were directly looking towards me, I really couldn't define his gaze at that moment. I always saw those black pools with hard unreadable expression but that moment those black pools looked so tender and full with some kind of mesmerizing feeling. The way he was gauging my face slightly twitching his head, like an innocent little boy staring on his fav things and adoring it. It was really hard to believe that a renowned goon and gangster like him could look so innocent at a time. It actually made me shocked. And there was something more in his eyes despite of that innocent look. Some dangerously huge intensity which I could feel at that moment and it really shook me hard. I didn't know what happened but I actually forgot to breathe as I found raghu in the window of my room. My faint heartbeat suddenly rose from its usual speed when the air hit me which passed through us. I felt like the air was containing his powerful presence, as if like I felt him touching me through the air. I actually gasped as the sensation was so deep and not at all cringing like all the time.It was alarmingly different!!
What was he doing there?!
Edited by ifians - 10 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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