Part 11
Raj straightened as he saw her approach, her eyes searching the crowd for him. Even though everything around him was so miserable, Raj couldn't help but smile after seeing her after such a long time. He raised his right arm and waved to her. She noticed him and relief spread over her tense face. She quickly trotted up to him, carrying only an airbag on her shoulders. Her quick steps came to an abrupt halt in front of him, a smile on her lips. Both of them remained silent drinking in each other's appearance, breathing deeply, gazing into each other's eyes. Sur broke the eye contact and looked at her feet before raising her head and asking in a timid voice, "Hi Raj...How are you?"
Raj smiled and muttered, "Im ok..chale?" He would have liked nothing better to pull her into a tight hug and never let go, but she already had had enough and he did not want to burden her with himself.
It was only then that she came back to the present and the momentary calm that had spread over her face vanished to be replaced by a look of anxiety. He took her bag and slung it over his shoulder despite her mild protests- she was too tired to even walk and led her out of the airport into the car silently, occasionally grasping her hand and pulling her along so that she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. She followed him, happy that somebody else had taken charge of the situation and her.
"Tum kaisi ho Sur?"Raj said when they were in the car and heading for the house.
She turned to look at him, taking in his weak appearance but decided to discuss the matter later. His uncharacterstic quietness was also troubling.
"Mai to thik hu...bas Papa..."she trailed off staring at her hands which were clasped together in her lap.
"Don't worry...tumhare tension lene se situation nahi sudhregi."
She gave a nod of approval. He spoke again
"Pehle hum ghar jayenge, you can freshen up aur fir hospital-"
"No"she revolted"Hum sidha hospital jayenge...please...mai zyada der nahi rukungi bas 1 baar Papa ko dekh lene do."
Raj couldnt ignore the pleading in her voice and redirected the car to the hospital. They went to her father's ward where Vishal was sitting, trying not to doze off. He smiled at her trying to be as cheerful as possible. Sur burst in the ward and sat down on the stool beside her father, and tears splashed down her face. She made no attempt to stem the flow, and just sat there crying quietly. Till now, she had only heard about the situation, and a part of her brain had refused to accept it, and she had remained in control of her emotions. But now, looking at her father lying weak and injured in front of her, the truth stared at her in the face, raw and painful. Raj was standing at the doorway watching her cry, his heart aching like hell. In 2 long strides he crossed the room and came to a standstill beside her. Gently, he placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist firmly. He put his arms around her sholuders, stroking her hair affectionately. He placed his hand below her chin, turning her face upwards and wiped her tears with a small sad smile on his lips. Her eyes were closed, and his actions were so natural that she did not even feel awkward. Just like this has always been her right. He released her face and she bowed her head. She remained like that for a long time, eyes closed, arms around him. Then she opened her eyes, from which tears had now ceased to flow and moved away. He removed his arms and she took a few long breaths. He walked out of the room without saying anything and came back with a steaming cup of coffee.
Sur meanwhile realised what she had done a few moments ago, kicked herself mentally. She saw him go out and took the opportunity to rearrange her features into a calm look and failed miserably. She gave up and her mind wandered back to the moment she did not want to end and a smile crept up her face. Even in middle of all this crisis, there was one reassurance, that he was there to hold her. She heard his footsteps and looked up at the door. He handed her the cup smiling. She returned the smile and sipped the coffee. He leant against the wall, arms crossed across his chest, watching and waiting.
"Tumhari coffee kaha hai?"Sur asked
"Mujhe nahi peeni..."he replied
"Pee lo....thik lagega"she offered turning around to look at him.
"Mai thik hu...tum coffee pee lo fir tumhe farmhouse drop kar deta hu...sab vahi hai." Sur looked at her father, reluctant to leave him, but Nandini and her mother must be expecting her too. They had sent her mother to the farmhouse only.
At that moment, Vishal burst in carrying the reports. He looked pleased. Before any of them could ask he declared
"Finally...Docs say that he is responding to the treatment...getting better. The docs say that if the progress continues, they might even shift him out of ICU in a day or two!"
A large smile broke across her face and Raj looked relieved and happier. Sur closed her eyes and thanked God while Raj and Vishal moved out to have a better look at the reports. After sometime, they came back to find Sur rearranging the sheets unnecessarily.
Vishal said in a low yet firm voice,"So all set sali sahiba...aap Raj k sath farmhouse chali jayiye.I would have done the honours myself par shayad yaha kisi ko hona chahiye."
Sur couldnt help but smile a little wider and said, "vo sab to thik hai par aap bhi thake huye lag rahe hai...chahiye to aap aur Raj ghar chale jayiye, mai yaha rukti hu."
Vishal shook his head but Raj said, "I think bhaiya ap aur sur ghar jao...mai yaha rukta hu."
Vishal:"Arre nahi mai thik hu"even as he struggled to keep his eyes open"tum log jao"
Sur looked at both of them and said, "Raj sahi keh raha hai jiju...hum chalte hai..." she wanted to put some distance between herself and Raj, as breaking down in his arms was certainly a tempting offer, and she wasn't in command of her emotions. Vishal looked at Raj from Sur who nodded and he sighed, giving in.
"Ok...lets go then." he got up and went outside to take out the car from the parking, leaving Raj and Sur alone once again. Sur bent and kissed her father's forehead. He moved a little and opened his eyes. She smiled down at him, and he smiled weakly.
"Sur meri bachchi"he muttered in a trembling voice"Tu a gai?"
Sur said in a throaty voice"Mai yahi hu papa...ap zyada mat boliye, strain hoga...just take rest...ap thik ho jayenge"
"Mujhe kuch nahi hoga beta..."he closed his eyes and fell asleep again. Sur was now confident that her father would make it through. She got up and turned to face Raj. She had forgotten that he was still there. She walked up to him and said, "Thanks"
He smiled and muutered, "Anytime."
"Mai..jati hu jiju wait kar rahe honge na" it seemed essential to take his approval.
Raj said in a teasing tone, "To jao mene kab roka hai"
She laughed and went away. She could feel his eyes following her and she did not want to turn back. She was not sure whether she would we able to hold herself together if she did.
Raj watched her go with a strange feeling...he was happy that she was feeling better and happier, yet he wanted her to stay with him...what if she became sad again "You can't help her with that." he firmly told himself but a small voice in the back of his head told him that she certainly looked better after he had hugged her. What he wouldn't give in order to hold her like that in his arms forever...He smiled to himself and Nandini's words came back to him. In all this mishap he never had the time to think about them...So Sur was separated from her husband...he didn't know what he should do,he thought as he sat in the chair opposite to the ward. Ofcourse he would talk to Nandini about it later...but what after that? Should he try to bring back her husband in her life...No, if he left her like that, alone, then he had no right to come back to her...but then did he have any right to invade her privacy like that? Would he be any better than her husband if he ended up hurting her too? I wouldn't hurt her like that ever...but would she accept him? All the questions buzzed around in his head, 2 voices arguing inside him. He shook his head and hid his face in his hands. He sat there for the whole night, refusing Vishal, Sur and his parents when they offered to take his place or give him company. When the first rays of dawn crept up the sky, he dozed off, only to be woken up by the loud sound of ambulance. He opened his eyes and realised that his head was resting on somebody's shoulder. He raised his head and looked around to see who it was and saw her smiling up at him.
"Goodmorning!"she said cheerfully as he ran his hand through his hair, emabarassed. he looked at the watch, it was 8.
"Oh my god...mai kabse so raha hu?tum kab ayi?"
"Tum kabse so rahe ho ye to mujhe nahi pata kyuki jab mai ayi thi to tum so rahe the, aur mujhe yaha aye karib 1 ghanta ho chuka hai, tumhare liye breakfast layi thi, lekin ab mujhe lagta hai ke apko sidha ghar chale jana chahiye, you have had enough."she replied thoughtfully.
Raj stared at her and said, "Thankyou so much for the breakfast." she was unwrapping sandwhiches which she had taken out from her bag and handed one to him.
"You are welcome" she said"Maine kha liye hai, don't worry." she said as he extended his hand to offer her.
"Mujhe company dene k liye 1 aur kha lo na please" he requested.
"Raj I just ate!"she rolled her eyes.
"Dekho kam se kam 1 ghanta to ho chuka hai..."he said putting on a desperate expression. Now she couldnt ignore that one. Glaring at him, she chose the smallest sandwhich and took a bite. He smiled happily and ate his own. They finished eating and Sur told Raj to go home at once.
"Par tum yaha akeli kaise rahogi? dekho kisi ko a jane do, fir mai chala jaunga!"
Sur flared up, "So you think I cant take care of myself?"
Raj was taken aback and said, "Nahi, I jus thought you could use some company!"
Sur crossed her arms and said, "Raj I dont care what you want to say, just get out here.Bhabhi tumhara wait kar rahi hai."
Raj accepted defeated and muttered,"Mar gaye...bhabhi to maar dalengi mujhe...dono behne ek si hai."
Sur raised her eyebrows and asked, "Kuch kaha tumne?"
Raj merely shook his head and said, "Nahi, meri majal jo mai kuch kahu! ha meri ma ja raha hu mai, aise mat ghooro mujhe..."
Sur laughed as Raj made a face at her, picked up his coat and left, smiling. He drove back to the farmhouse in the car she had brought and welcomed by his family, who fussed over hima and ordered him to go to sleep at once, which he obeyed willingly, feeling dead tired.
He entered his room and sat down on the bed. He recollected her memories...she was wearing a light peach salwar kameez this morning, looking heavenly. Her hair were slightly damp she smelled fantastic. He had noticed her damp hair and fragrance even while he was alseep, and probably that was whne he dropped sideways right onto her shoulder. He took out his diary from his coat's inner pocket and started writing. After filling a page, he shut it and placed it on his bedside table, picked up his towel and went for a bath, after which he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
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Sur paced around in the corridor in the hospital, as visiting hours were yet to start. She was thinking about Raj...when she had reached the hospital, she saw him dozing on the bench. She could tell that he had just fallen asleep...he looked disturbed. She didn't want to wake him up and so sat down beside him, waiting for him to get up. After a while his head dropped on her shoulder. She was startled and felt a little awkward at first. But it felt nice to have him close...and she didn't have the heart to shake him away. She balled her hands into fists, which were aching to run themselves in his hair, soothing him...and waited. As the memories overtook her, she felt angry with herself...how could she let him come so close to herself...he knew that she was married but what if he came to know the truth...that she hadn't seen her husband for years...would that get his hopes up?No, he surely wouldn't want to live with a girl like her...abandoned by everyone. Morover did she even have the guts to get into another relationship, seeing what became of the first one? She shuddered at the thought...her bad luck was better confined to her life... it was too much to expect that he would accept her with the past she wanted to forget so desperately. Even if he accpeted her, his family would never do it...She had done the right thing in London...and it would be better if she stopped melting every time she saw him...stopped hoping that he would try to win her over...he was just a friend...a relative...thats it.
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Nandini entered Raj's room with a mug of coffee and found him sleeping. Thinking it would be better not to disturb him, she turned to go but spotted the empty water jug on his bedside table. She picked it up to refill it and her hand brushed across something. Looking down, she saw his diary lying on the floor, and protuding from it was a phototgraph. She bent down to pick it up and the photograph fell out. turning it over she saw Sur smiling up at her. She wondered what her photo was doing in his diary, though she had suspected it the night her father fell as she did not have time... she opened the last entry, and then the previous one, and the the previous one...and by the time she had finished, her eyes were wet. She looked at him, sleeping curled up under the covers...She had never imagined that he could be so serious about a girl, and that too her sister. Would he still be the same, after she had told him about her life? Knowing him, he would be. She looked at the last entry again, where he had written "if she would give me a chance, I would take away all her pain...What difference does it make if she married some bloke who did not have enough brains or even feelings to be with her...I love her and nothing else matters" Sur needed somebody in her life, she had been trying to convince Sur for years to get married. But she never budged and now she did not even dare to bring up the topic as there was always a chance that she might slip into her old depression. She knew that Sur was every thing that a woman desired to be- beautiful, successful, rich- but not happy. She was the knid who needed somebody to love, to take care of and someone who loved her. Life had been really cruel to her, but not anymore. Getting her to accept Raj was a tough thing but nothing is really impossible, is it? Raj stirred in his sleep and she replaced the diary, and hurried out of the room, smiling to herself.
End
Hi friends....so finally bahut sari dhamkiyo aur reminders k baad mai vapas a gai hu, apka sir khane...I know ye part bahut chota hai, but that was all I could manage....My xams are 2 weeks away nd I hav 2 catch up with my studies 2, so sorry for the delay! Now its ur turn to comment...achcha bura jaisa bhi hai please tell me guys! or use the like button @Priya- Iknow tum out of station thi aur ab bhi bahut busy ho, so jab bhi time mile comment kar dena...I had 2 post this part cuz a lot of people were waiting for it...😊 Love
Sur
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