Hey guys,
Back with Chaper 12! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! See you all with new chapters after Eid 😊
Day Two in Pune - Viraf's POV:
Last night had been a blur or rather an evening I'd rather forget. I drove into the driveway and had stepped out in the night air but somehow the breeze didn't feel welcoming. I had walked up to the door to knock on the door but it had flung open before I could even blink.
"Kya baath hai aap toh bilkul K3G ka Jaya Bachchan ban gayi? Karan Johar ka call aayi thi kya?" I had joked as I was led inside to our lounge room by my mother.
"Mera haath mein koi thaali hai? Accha tujhe bhukh lagi hogi na? Main na khana laga detha hoon. Tu fresh hoke aa jaa," she had said to me while stroking my face and hair.
The pit of my stomach, at that point in time, had begun to churn. I had begun to contemplate whether or not I should tell my mother now or wait for the whole family to arrive. I had splashed water onto my face, hoping that it would dissolve the tense lines on that had formed on my forehead. With my heart pounding loudly in my chest, I walked towards the dining table only minutes away from telling her about Chhavi.
"Accha tu ab baith jaa aur chup chap mere baath sun. Kal tujhe na Meera ko milna hai, maine usse bol diya ki tu meet up karna chahthi hai," she had said to me while piling on the rice and curry on my plate.
As soon as those words had left her mouth, I had felt a tremor course through my body. I had definitely not expected my mother to drop the atom bomb on me; I thought it would be me who would give her a big shock. I sat down on the nearest seat trying to process what had just happened then.
"Aap mere saath mazak kar rahe hai? Seriously Maa yeh joke funny nahi hai," I had said sternly hoping that she was just pulling my leg.
"Nahi main serious hoon! Viraf tera umaar toh kaam ho raha hai toh tujhe kya shaadi nahi karna hai?" she said scolding me.
"Oh so you want me to marry Meera? Maa please aap ko patha hai ki main uske saath baath nahi karthi hoon then how can you expect me to meet her and then marry her?" I had raged as I had started to make my way to my room without eating.
"Viraf please bas ek baar mil toh dekh. Tujhe agar shaadi nahi karni hai toh nahi kar par mere liye please meet kar Meera se," she said pleadingly.
All I had really wanted to do was get in my car and make that journey back to Mumbai but the pleading in her voice had made me stop in my tracks.
"Fine. Main milne jayunga usko but please shaadi ki koi expectation maat rakhna," I had said to her without facing her and stomped off into my room.
"Tu khayeg nahi? Arey khane par gussa nahi kartha," she had said to me but I had chosen to block her out.
As of now, I stood in front of the mirror, combing my hair to one side. I was fixing the buttons on my shirt when I glanced up at the unrecognisable reflection in the mirror. My face looked pale but the bags underneath my eyes were dark. I always thought that white brought out the best in me but today, I looked plain as ever. The buzzing of my phone averted my attention from the horrid reflection but I could barely move myself as my feet felt like they were bound to heavy shackles.
"Lagta hai Pune jaa kar tum mujhe bhul gayi ho. Phone utane mein itne der kyun lagi?" the familiar voice chirped on the other side of the phone.
"Sorry actually main phone karne wali thi but...anyways tum kaise ho?" I replied trying to avoid having to discuss the fight I had with Maa last night.
"Main aur kaisi ho sakhthi hoon? Tumhare bina sab kuch boring lagta hai. Waise tumhari awaaz aisa kyun lag raha hai? Tum tikh ho na Viraf?" she inquired with her voice heavy in concern.
"Haan bas thoda tired hoon. Vafreen ke saath khelthe khelthe mujhe realisation hua ki main old ho jaa rahi hoon," I said smiling to myself and feeling relaxed after hearing her voice.
"Yeh toh mujhe bohot pehle se patha tha but you're hiding something from me. Kisi se jagra hua hai kya? Batao mujhe," she said suspiciously.
"Oh god phir se tumhari jasoosi shuru hogayi hai. Kuch nahi hua hai but main tumse bohot miss bhi kar rahi hoon isliye awaaz aise aa rahi hai. Dekho Maa mujhe bula rahi hai, main baad mein phone karthi hoon, I said as I heard my mother knocking on my door.
"Apna khayal rakhna aur please phone karna! Fikar hothi hai...wait main toh bhul gay...I love you," she said with a smile which I could hear from my phone.
"I love you too baby. Bye," I said as we both disconnected the call.
I gained some energy from having talked to Chhavi but still my feet didn't feel like they wanted to budge from their place. I forced myself out of the door where I found my family seating in the lounge.
"Mujhe laga tu makeup laga rahi thi kyunki tujhe itna waqt lag raha tha tayyar hone mein. Tere chehra aisa kyun hai?" my mother said to me as I was opening the front door.
"Kuch nahi main jaa rahi hoon bahar," I said without wishing anybody and hopped into my car.
I walked inside the dimly lit restaurant where plenty of loved up couples had been sitting closely and chit chatting or even just simply staring into one another's eyes. I felt a pang of jealousy while observing them as I wished that I could do the same with Chhavi with the world watching us and without the pressure of our clashing culture and religions. All that would matter is our love and our happiness. Nothing else.
I sat down quietly on a table far away from those couples and near the window where I watched the busy traffic become static and then rush on as if the flood gates had been opened. A light tap on my shoulder brought me back to the dimly lit restaurant and her face seemed to be brighter than her surroundings.
"Viraf? Why are you sitting here? I reserved a table for us over there," she said to me still resting her hand on my shoulder.
"Oh right sorry, we'll move over there then. Actually I just needed some time to think," I replied back while I discretely tried to shrug her hand off my shoulder.
As we moved towards the reserved seats, I felt uneasy as she linked our arms together and guided me towards the couples once again. She glanced at me with a smile on her face as she ushered for me to sit down.
"It's great na that we're seeing each other after such a long time? I'm glad Dolly aunty called me up and said that you wanted to catch up with me. I was a little surprised but I'm glad you wanted to meet up," she beamed as she placed her hand gingerly onto mine.
For a couple of seconds, I felt my mind go blank. Her touch and that smile had taken me back to the old days where we were practically inseparable. I slowly retracted my hand as I gave her a small smile. Her smile started disappearing as I fidgeted in my seat.
"Kya hua? Itna chup kyun ho? Puchogi nahi main kaisi hoon?" She said while trying to make eye contact with me.
I remained silent and looked into her eyes. They looked hopeful, almost too hopeful, to see if I would care enough to know how she had been doing. Fourteen years ago, I'd crave for her hand on my shoulder, her hand intertwined with mine, that opportunity to gaze into her eyes and even the liberty to kiss her but today I felt nothing. Just numb.
"14 years hogaya hai, Meera but it feels like we've met for the first time today. Bolo kaise ho tum?" I retorted a little more vehemently than I had intended.
The smile on her face had now completely disappeared and she looked as if she was going to release those waterworks. I sat there in silence once again, completely unmoved by her sudden change in demeanor.
"Viraf forget it na, it has been so long. Can't we start again? Tum single ho aur main single hoon, this is the perfect opportunity for us to start from where we left off," she beckoned to me as she tried to hold my hand again.
"Please Meera you know we have nothing to start from again. We were friends, very close friends, but you were the one who said no," I said to her pulling my hand away before she could hold it.
"Yeah you're right. I did say no but what could I do? You were going off to join the merchant navy! Main paach saal tumhare liye wait nahi kar sakhthi thi. Long distance relationships never work," she said to me while a tear fell down her cheek.
"Accha then how did you think a long distance engagement would work out? Please enlighten me," I said to her mockingly.
"Viraf...main kya karthi? My parents were forcing me to marry him and I had no choice but to say yes to him," she said quietly but this time there were no tears.
"Yeah true. He was settled in UK, he had a high paying job, he promised marriage and security but I obviously had nothing to offer. Meera, I'm sorry but I'm only here because my mother forced me to come," I said to her as I started getting up from the table.
"Is there someone in your life now? Don't you miss those days we had? I thought you loved me?" she inquired while following me to the door.
"I was 19 and stupid. What did I know about love? Now I'm 33 and I've finally met someone who isn't with me because I can give her everything materialistic. Anyways it was lovely seeing you again," I said to her nodding my head before walking out into the cold night air.
I didn't bother looking back to see what her expression was. I actually couldn't care less just like she couldn't fourteen years ago when I had put my heart on my sleeve for her. As I drove off in my car, I felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off my shoulders. Years worth of pain and hurt had been released but now the question was how will I tell Maa about Chhavi?
So how was the chapter? Sorry for the slow pace but I promise ViCha won't be away from each other for too long! Anyways leave your comments and thoughts behind 😃
Shegufta x
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Fan Fictions
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