RagNa SS: Demons [Last Part, Page 41 updt Dec. 16th] - Page 11

So here we are again with yet another update. This part is, as you will see, Kalpi's side of the story. This part has a play on perspectives a lot. After all, action speak louder than...thoughts in this case? lol. Also we sort of tweaked their ages a bit lol. So yeah, hope you guys liked it!

"It's funny how everything you find out, no matter how close it is staring you in the face, you will hold onto the denial until the very end until you no longer have a choice and the lies have nowhere left to hide." ~ Tear Stained Beaches

Kalpana Jadhav learned a very valuable lesson at the mere age of 13.

It had been a fine day, when she had run into him at her school premises - Prem Kapoor. She hadn't really intended for that to happen. She had been minding her own business and going to the cafeteria to meet with her friends for lunch break, when she had collided into him. Their meeting hadn't been pleasant as he taunted her for being poor and for being a daughter of a nanny and she couldn't do anything aside of looking down embarrassed as tears raced down her dusky cheeks.

After that particular incident, Kalpana (or better known as Kalpi by her dear ones) had decided to avoid Prem Kapoor entirely at any cost. This proved to be more difficult since he had friends all over the school (because he was the rich boy who owned everything that every child could ever dream about). This is the precise reason she kept on running into him and carefully avoiding his taunts and keeping her head held high (even though it internally killed her very being). Perhaps this had been what led to Prem finding it more and more amusing to taunt her. Gradually, those taunts had weaned their effects of hurting her. She had soon realized that, after a while of serious bashing, he only taunted her playfully. That's why she had decided to tug him away in far corner of her memory.

Alas, her peace had been taken away from her two weeks after the previous realization regarding his taunts as he relentlessly followed her everywhere. She had been fed up of him and had approached him when he was alone to questions his behavior.

"Prem, why do ou always follow me around? Stop that! I am serious okay?" She huffed as she furrowed her eyebrows at him in frustration

"Simple! Because I want to be your friend."

She had been surprised at his statement. Friends? The very guy who had taunted her in front of the whole school for her status had followed her around just so she could accept his hand in friendship? How absurd was that?

She had raised her signature right eyebrow at him and rolled her eyes.

"Then that's your problem. Please stop following me around because it's catching too much attention. My classmates are starting to talk weird."

"So? I don't care!" Prem had said smugly as he folded his arms and stood up straighter.

She shook her head. Once a bully, always a bully. His antics may have changed but he still served his purpose of making her life miserable. She had left from there.

Of course, their encounters had become more frequent no matter how much she had wanted to avoid him. This is what led to him helping her in some of her - less fortunate - moments. That's why they had become sort of acquaintances. It wasn't friendship in real sense (at least according to her) but it was sort of camaraderie offered from his side. Alas, Kalpi had been naive.

Kalpi had been passing the grassy, quad area when she heard Prem by the bushes. She had followed his voice out of curiosity when she had heard his conversation.

"--bored! I had to make it more interesting after all. The whole stopping and taunting in the hallway was becoming an old game already and she was already immune to it. Besides, she is pretty useful to be friends with. She is a top student after all," Prem smirked as he finished off.

"But Prem, aren't you her friend?" one of his follower' chided.

Prem laughed at that.

"Yeah, friends. We are friends," he finished sarcastically.

"But wouldn't she feel bad if she knows that you are just playing with her?" the same friend spoke up in concern.

"And? What is she going to do? Go tell the teacher or her mommy? Pfftt! My mom will make that go away like it never existed. Besides, no one likes a sore loser."

Kalpi hadn't been able to stand their conversation any longer and had slowly walked away undetected. She didn't know exactly how to react right at that moment, so she just went about her day. Her patience finally broke when she came home and found herself alone at home.

She had sat on the staircase, stared onto the sky and looked miserable. After few moments of complete silent contemplation, she had felt her cheeks dampen. She had been so shocked to realize that she had been silently crying the whole while. At that point she hadn't realized why she had cried so much. However, if someone had asked her today, she would have just smiled and replied that she had actually foolishly started believing that people can look beyond status and power, that people can genuinely care for her the little lost girl who merely wanted to find her place in this grand and flashy world. That naive girl had gotten her lesson that very day too, when she had a strange (very unexpected) encounter with Raghav Singhania.

She still remembered clearly, as if it had happened only yesterday, that she sat on that very staircase and looked onto the sun as it set, leaving the sky pink from its after-glow. She had been momentarily distracted by how beautiful it looked.

"Ah, and here is the damsel in distress who's looking onto the moon and waiting for her prince charming to come to dry her tears," she heard someone call out cheerfully.

She had been completely startled to find Raghav standing on her porch, hands folded, patiently waiting for her to take notice of him. She had quickly dried her tears and stood up. He had lazily gestured her to sit back and sat down next to her. She had felt tensed wondering if he had been there for long, and if he had seen her crying. They say there in silence for about half an hour, when Raghav turned to her and stared at her for a bit. When she finally had the courage to face him, she had daringly looked back at him while trying her best not to let her eyes wander away from his.

She saw him smirk, but she still tried to remain calm without breaking their eye contact. After a little while, he broke into laughter - the kind of laughter that she hadn't heard from him before. She had looked onto him, confused and amused at the same time. When he finally stopped, he looked at her with a slight smile.

"And that's the Kalpi that I know! You do realize that damsel in distress status doesn't suit you right?" he had said simply.

She had smiled hearing his words, finally realizing that he was just trying to make her feel better.

"I don't know what really happened and I honestly don't want to either because that's your personal issue but it must be a big deal for you to be crying about it.." Raghav had finished off thoughtfully, not really expecting any reply from her (since he was surprised when she had answered).

There had been silence again, this time it was much more relaxed.

"Why do people you are starting to trust hurt you so much and take advantage so easily? Don't these rich people have heart?"

Raghav chuckled again. "You know that technically I am rich too, right?"

Kalpi hadn't said anything and Raghav fell silent again.

"Look Kalpi, people will always hurt you. Even the ones closest to you. Even your own family. But you're also the one at fault for getting hurt because you give those people that power to hurt you," Raghav had softly whispered.

"But how do I stop giving them that power?" she had looked onto him with so much hope, as if he was the one with all of the answers.

"The only way you will ever have control over your life is to not trust everyone so easily. I am not telling you to not trust anyone. Just be careful who you trust. Besides when you give people that power, you're giving the control of your emotions too. They are setting your limitations for you then," she had turned away from him at that point and stared back at the sky.

"They already have set those limitations for us. My parents are known as the poor' class people in my school. People already talk enough about me. I think they already have a control over my life," she had said disheartened.

"Do they really though? From their perspective, they have set limitations for you. Now it's up to you entirely if you want to live by those limitations or if you want to go beyond them."

After saying that, he had completely turned to her and titled his head that made him much older than his age of 20 years. "So Kalpi, tell me. Will you let others set your limitations for you and tell you what you can't do in life? Or do you want to find that out by yourself as you grow up?"

She had looked onto him, not exactly sure what she would reply to that question. What had she really wanted for herself? Did she really have the ability to fight all of the odds and come on top with a triumphant victory? Would she really have enough courage to stand up against the preset norms and fight them? She hadn't known answer to any of those questions, but she had still gone to school the next day with head held high and feeling prouder of her status than ever. When Prem had tried to interact with her, she had dismissed him by telling him that he wasn't worth her friendship.

Needless to say, after that incident, Prem had been too shocked and steered clear of her as she did the same. It wasn't until after her high school that they had started talking again, but they were always those snide remarks about her status and incompetence which she had grown to ignore.

She hadn't encountered much of Prem, since they both went to separate colleges and she had left that there. Alas, her life had always played tricks on her - when one jerk' left her in peace, another entered to make her life hell. Another person was obviously more of a man than a boy, a man named Mr. Akdu Adiyal and Khadoos Singhania. She had despised him from the moment she had interacted with his arrogant self. She had thought that Raghav would've grown up to be an amazing human being, but she had encountered a devil in disguise as she tried to make her mark. He had taunted her, belittled her, humiliated her, and made her feel so small that she had almost forgotten that it was the same Raghav Singhania who had given her an advice that became the motto that she lived by. The ironic pat was that that was the exact motto that had constantly reminded her that it was the same Raghav Singhania that she knew as a child.

Of course, he had changed. But what had she expected? She had been too naive in assuming that he would be the same man she knew from years ago before he left for abroad. She was the one at fault for giving him the power to affect her. What was that again? The only way a person can get hurt is if he or she gives that power to the aggressor. That is why she had decided to steal herself when she went to him. She bore his insults. She ignored his taunts, and she talked back when it was necessary. She did all of this, while bidding her time and waiting for the day she would get a chance to prove herself.

She obviously got that chance in the most humiliating way because life had never been too generous to her. She had hated it, and would have never taken it up if not for her mother. She swallowed her pride and she went to work every day, making sure that she was flawless in her work. The day came again when Prem had raised suspicions on Kalpi's loyalty towards Raghav, which she proved by making one of the best proposal she ever saw herself making. She had expected him to crawl up to her and apologize. He hadn't. He had merely stared at her for brief moment and then gone about his other appointments. Was she disappointed at that time? She had been outrageous at his arrogant and indifferent attitude. When she was offered back the job, that had already proved herself more than worthy for times and times again, she wanted to go slap Akdu on the face and tell him that he could take the job offer and flush it down the toilet because there was no way in million years that she would take that offer. But she hadn't. She had again swallowed her pride and accepted it with no qualms.

That was the day when she was again reminded of the different having a status makes. That was also the day when her resolves to make something big of herself strengthened by ten-folds so no one ever has the chance of walking all over her again.

Incidentally, the loathing towards the Devil in Disguise Singhania had dissipated after she had insisted on bringing her to Pakhi's house in half-drunken state. That's the first time she had seen the human behind the hard shell called Raghav Sighania. She had been very surprised to see him so vulnerable. What was even more surprising was the fact that he had reminded her of the same man she had known from years ago who had left when she was merely in her early teens. This was the reason that made her soften up in her interaction of him. This was the reason she had tried to look beyond his actions and recognize his follies as mere human flaws (instead of reasons to despise him for). Perhaps this was how their unique bond had started to form. She had gotten promoted, as she had dared him, and he did sign her letter however begrudgingly it had appeared to everyone. However, she had known, that deep down, he had approved of this. Because if Raghav Sighania really didn't want someone in his life, he didn't need a reason to throw him/her out. They were just kicked out without warning. At least that's what she had interpreted of him.

Perhaps this was also a reason why she hadn't wanted to leave him alone. For some strange reason, no matter how much he kept his distance from everyone, she wanted to penetrate those barriers. He had looked so lonely, and so tired - as if he was no longer that child that sat beside her and held the wisdom of the world in his small body. She had wanted to help him bring out that same person again.

Perhaps this was also the very reason why she had bonded well with Sammy. If Kalpi ever had a best friend, or even had experience of having one before, she would assume that Sammy was it. He knew exactly how to deal with Raghav and exactly what buttons to pull. He was the one who was always there to comfort her and make her understand Raghav better, unknowingly forming a strange bond between Raghav and Kalpi.

That's why, without really trying to push the boundaries, she had tried to build camaraderie of sorts with Raghav. She was successful at that too, when she had realized that she had perhaps gone too far without realizing that he hadn't wanted that at all. When he had rejected her invite for dinner, she had felt a stab in her heart. That was her peace-offering to him, to finally make the subtle settlement official. Alas, he had dismissed it without ever realizing what she was offering. That had hurt. When she was entertaining Sammy, while her mother set the table, she had been distracted. Sammy had noticed that and smiled at her assuringly.

"He will come, you know," he had simply stated.

"No. No, he won't," Kalpi replied while smiling sadly.

She had excused herself for a bit and went downstairs and sat by the tree to calm her nerves. That instant her life had seemed like a terrible joke where people who she expect something from tend to disappoint her in every step of the way. First, Prem. Then, her mother. Then, low and behold Mr. Singhania. This broke her heart all the more, and she was taken back to her little self once again. It was the same self that was crying under the sky, while sitting on her stairs. The irony was that she was crying for the same person who had told her not to give others power to control her emotions back then. The same person who made her feel better when she was young had become the reason her heart felt crushed at that instant. She was so distracted while she was crying that she didn't realize that the person she had turned around to hug had been the very reason who caused her tears. She had first thought that it may have been Sammy, so she tried to pull away embarrassed. However, the firm unrelenting hold told her otherwise. Sammy would never hold her like that; it has seemed too personal. That was the instant she had realized it was Raghav. She may have mistaken it with clouded judgment before but his distinct cologne that gave the aura of dominance told a different story. Besides, only he would have the audacity to do something like that without fear of any consequences. When the realization hit, she had gasped in surprise. Still, that hadn't made him let go of her. Why? She had wondered profusely after that.

Kalpi wasn't any dense heroine of a soap opera that it would take her up to 100 episodes to finally understand why that had been. She had assumed that the mere gesture could've been him offering her solace in his arms when she needed someone to lean on, like he did when she was young. Of course, having any relationship or interaction with Raghav was like trying to cuddle with cats - almost impossible. She had tried to reach out to him and bring up the topic. She had tried to explicitly extend her hand in friendship. That had been impossible seeing as Raghav relentlessly started avoiding her. She had accepted that as one of his mood swings for the time being, because she thought that he may have needed some time to come in terms with everything. Perhaps he felt like he needed to explain the hug? She didn't really want nor need that. So, she let him be. Until, he himself became unbearable to be around and started being more prickly towards her work (and her) in the days that followed. So, she had snapped. It had come out completely unexpected and unintentional.

This was the exact reason why she had been very ticked off at his reply. How long does it need for a guy to trust another human being? A decade? Or perhaps an eternity? She could not believe how ridiculous she had been to assume that he had started to trust her and wanted to be civil with her. That's why she had completely stopped every little thing she did to show him her support, while only keeping her professional (and signature) smile back to assure him that she was still on professionally stable terms with him. She had taken his childhood advice to heart and steeled herself up again, refusing to be broken down the second time by the very same man.

This proved harder than she had thought. Everywhere she went, she saw him. Every time she was in trouble, she felt him intervening. Of course, she never let him have the last word because she was taught really well by him. She had tried her best to look as unaffected as much as possible only to be affected all the more by his small caring gestures (that apparently meant nothing to him except for the fact that she was Kamla Ma's daughter - such denial!). However, she was not going to back out now. It was his turn to try this time whether he liked that or not.

That's why she had given up on the idea of being friends (or anything close to that) to Raghav. Instead, she had decided to focus on the friends she does have. Hence, she had started spending more time with Sammy without realizing. After some time, she had realized that there had been some whispers around the office but nothing too drastic. However, she didn't know how Sammy felt about that so she had brought it up once while he discussed a project detail with her (which Raghav should've been the discussing if he wasn't so busy avoiding her).

Sammy had looked up at her. "Do you care?" he had asked curiously.

She shrugged in response because she really didn't. She barely made a friend and she wasn't about to lose him to baseless rumors. Besides, she was used to senseless talks about her.

"Alright then. We will never talk about this again!" Sammy waved his hands dismissively as he exited the door.

She had always been amused by his cheerful persona. Yes, there was no way she was letting this relationship go. That's why they had just gone about their business as usual. That is, until he burst into her office on a fine Wednesday afternoon. She had jumped at this sudden interruption.

"Kalpi are you free right now?"

"Almost done. Why?" she had asked curiously.

"Let's go on a date!" Sammy had exclaimed excitedly.

Kalpi merely raised her signature right eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He didn't. As always.

"Uhhh what?"

"Let's go out for lunch! Aren't you hungry?" Sammy had looked at her confused.

That's when she realized what Sammy had meant. He had meant the "hanging out as friends" kind of date.

"Yeah sure just let me quickly finish this and I will be right out."

After that incident, Sammy had relentlessly called it a date.' She didn't really understand the point, since it didn't really make any difference. Yes, people were still talking about them but what was new in that? Then again, it was Sammy and he always did as he pleased so she had never thought of commenting or explaining it. This was only until he had said that in front of a shell-shocked Raghav who had already wrongly assumed that there was something going on between them.

The expression on his face, even though she guessed that he probably hadn't realized it, was full of so much bewilderment and betrayal. To say that she had wanted to stop right then and explain the whole situation would be entirely accurate. However, for the first time in her life, Kalpi had decided against her first instinct. She was done being driven by Akdu Sighania. Why does he need to know where she was going and for what purpose? He had already lost that right when he had decided to shut her out.

Alas, little had she known that if only she had stopped for just a brief moment, she would've seen him realize her importance in his life with far greater depth and far greater intensity than she had ever seen in him.

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Alright, so this part ends here! I know that you guys really wanted to see what Raghav would do and how that would continue but we really wanted to give Kalpi's perspective before all of that happens. Hope you still liked this part nonetheless. Next part will definitely further the story more. Oh, and let us know if we are doing something wrong with the story and you don't like it because I noticed that there were less feedbacks from before. I really don't mind less comments because we would still keep on writing (even though we really love all of your replies) but Please do let us know if we are doing something you don't like. I don't promise that we will change the track but we could definitely try to do something to explain it better somehow so you understand where we are going with it too. Hope you guys enjoyed her side of the story too =]