Arhi SS: Aashiqui (Chp 6) End - Page 16

Chapter 6:

7 years later

Khushi's home was completely decorated today. Every corner of the house was lit up. She was also happy today. After completing her studies she had settled well into her career and now had decided to finally get settled in life and tie the knot.

Her husband was working for NASA. He was an engineer and earned quite a good living. She didn't know him a lot as her parents had finalized her wedding a few months earlier. She trusted her parents and said yes without even looking at the photo. All she knew was his name. Rahul Sharma.

She was staring at that R in her mehendi for quite a while now. Thinking about everything that had happened till then.

She had no regrets.

She looked as her fianc walked towards her and smiled at her.

"How is your project coming along?" Khushi asked to which Rahul grinned and replied,

"Well it's going quite well. The launch date is set after two days and finally you will get to see the project I worked in come to life"

Khushi smiled and said "I'm sure it's going to be fine. Don't be too nervous"

Rahul's face fell a little which Khushi noticed.

Khushi asked him "What's wrong?"

"I'm just sad for my friend Khushi. Even though this is going to be such a big achievement, its just so hard to accept that I wont ever be meeting him again."

Khushi knew what he was talking about.

"Well he applied for the honor willingly Rahul. You should be happy for him and support him. He will need it. By the way when is all this secrecy going to end? He is such a good friend of yours and you haven't yet told me his name."

Rahul smiled a little as he replied," Well this mission was top secret as we didn't want people to compromise it. And even both the astronauts that are going added a clause as they didn't want their families to be troubled by the press when they wanted to spend time with their loved ones."

Khushi stayed silent for a while and asked him," Why didn't you invite him here today? "

Rahul finally smiled and looked through the crowd again,

" He should be here soon. He promised he would come for sometime"

And suddenly Rahul looked at the guy he was waiting for.

He rushed towards his friend and his senior and gave him a salute, as was his duty.

"Good evening sir. I am quite honored to have you here. I know you don't do this kind of thing nor attend any functions. I'm glad you could make an appearance"

" It is my honor to be here Rahul. After all this is the second last wedding I'd be attending before I bid farewell." Replied his boss.

"Oh who is that?"

His boss smiled as he looked towards the woman who was holding his hand.

"My date for the evening, Sania" replied his boss.

Khushi was yet not able to see whom Rahul was talking to. She got a feeling it might be his boss. She walked towards Rahul.

She overheard him say "Does that mean you both are getting married?"

Before his boss could answer, Khushi's eyes fell on the man's face.

How could she even forget that face.

How could she even forget those eyes.

Arnav Singh Raizada was standing right in front of her.

" Khushi meet my boss and friend, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada"

There was a silence. Khushi had gone completely numb. All those memories she had buried, all those feelings she had forgotten, all the love of his she had destroyed, everything came back into her mind. She couldn't react as Arnav walked forward and took her hand and kissed on the knuckles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms.Gupta."

That was the time she looked right into his eyes.

Fear gripped her. What had she done to him. What had he gone through. Everything was utter confusion as there was only one thing she could make out from his eyes.

His eyes looked DEAD.

There was no life in them.

Sania walked and shook Rahul's hand and then Khushi's hand to congratulate them both.

But Khushi had become completely unresponsive.

She was looking at his eyes.

Trying, hoping, wishing to see some kind of life in them.

But she was failing. Though his face had that smile, she knew from her heart that this was the famous fake smile he used to dish out at people to make them think that he was quite happy.

He had mastered the art quite well.

Rahul took the mike and invited the couples to join him and his wife on the dance floor to celebrate their engagement.

He led khushi out on the floor. But her eyes were elsewhere. She was looking for him. Trying to find him. Then she saw him. He was graciously leading out his date on the floor.

He danced with her with ease. She could make out that Arnav was quite comfortable with his date.

He had learnt dancing quite well in these years.

But there was something she couldn't quite understand. Arnav was one of the astronauts?

She looked at her fianc and asked" Is he really doing this."

Rahul replied, " Yes. Even though I tried to talk him out of it a billion times but he wouldn't listen. That man has quite some determination."

Khushi lowered her eyes to conceal tears that were threatening to pour from her eyes.

She had to talk to him. He cant do this. He had promised. No way will she allow him to be so reckless.

-------------------
Arnav was standing by the pool. Staring at the reflection of the stars. He had excused himself from the party to come here as it was quite a difficult to attend Khushi's wedding. A lot of his past had just flashed through his eyes all of a sudden. It was quite painful.

He suddenly felt a presence. One which he had tried forgetting.

"What are you doing here?"

Arnav turned to look at Khushi standing right beside him. Her eyes still looked like they cared. But that look wasn't reflected in his eyes anymore.

They were unreadable. A blank stare.

"I was just looking around the house. Quite a nice family."

Khushi walked forward. A little closer to look at his face again. A face that was embedded in her past.

"What about you? And what about your family?"

Arnav's face hardened.

"You made it a point to tell me you don't care. So Ms. Gupta I'd advise you to keep it that way."

Khushi was taken aback. Where was the person she had known? Where was the Arnav who cared for the well being of even those people who used him for everything. He even cared for them because he wanted to spread only good in the world. No matter how much negativity there was in the world that was thrown at him, he absorbed everything. Where was that person?

"Why are you behaving this way Arnav?"

"There was a time when I owed you explanations but now I owe you nothing. Please do not fake your care. You are settling down with the person your dad chose. So I wish you luck for that. But my personal life is none of your business."

Before she could respond, someone called out from behind Khushi,

"Sweetheart""

Khushi turned around to see the same person who had come here with Arnav behind her.

"Am I intruding?" She asked

"Of course not sweety. If you have finished your dinner shall we leave?"Arnav replied.

"Arnav, you know I wont eat unless you do. I'll make us something at home." Arnav walked over to Sania and turned to Khushi,

"Congratulations Ms.Gupta. Wish you a happy married life."

After uttering those words, he was gone.

----------------
It had been a good long hour and Rahul was searching for his fiance. He found her standing at the very spot she was when she was talking to Arnav.

Rahul had no idea what she was going through. When he put his arm around her he felt her body's temperature high. She had a terrible fever.

"Honey, you're not at all well. You should rest."

"Can I ask a favor of you Rahul?" Khushi asked. Rahul could see those tears she was trying to hide.

"Sure honey. What do you want?"

------------------

Khushi was running. She was running hard. She had to get to the damn car. As she got in, she tried opening the door of the car. But she was shivering. Her hands were fumbling. But she could care less.

She had to reach the wedding.

-----Flashback-----
"Sure Honey. What do you want?"

Khushi held his hand and replied "Is Arnav the one going on the spaceship to Mars?"

"Yes he is. Why? And do you know him?"

"And what about his girl friend? Is she the other astronaut?"

"No she isn't. Their life is quite complicated and Sir doesn't let anyone intrude in his private life. All we know is that there is one last wedding he is going to attend tonight. We have no idea why he is doing it but I guess he will be marrying Sania before he goes into space.

Khushi's face went blank. Her body went numb. She had to try and stop him. He couldn't leave.

Not when he was getting married.

----End Of Flashback----
She didn't know how she got there but she finally did. It had taken her more than 3 hours to get there. Her car had broken down and she had to walk her way through the traffic that was not moving at all.

The wedding hall was decorated beautifully with every flower known to man. A variety of candles lit the entire hall. To any other person, it would look like a man made heaven.

But Khushi was here to meet Arnav. She just hoped she wasn't too late.

A group of people was blocking her view and when she got to the front of the line, she saw Sania who was dressed so beautifully standing next to Arnav. By the looks of it the wedding was indeed complete.

------------------
"Are you ready Sania?"

A faint "yes" answered him.

He picked Sania up into his arms while she looked into his eyes. This was a night she could never forget. Arnav had taken so much pains to make the wedding special. And even if that wasn't enough he had designed her dress too which made her look like a true angel.

He started walking as slowly as he could to the car that had been decorated with flowers too.

He was at peace right now. He never wanted this moment to ever end.

But the distance between him and the car was decreasing until there was no more to go.

"I love you Sania."

He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too Arnav."

Now the tears Sania was trying to hold back were let out. She also kissed his cheek as he kept her into the car.

Arnav walked to the man standing by the car.

"If you ever bring tears to her eyes, I swear I will destroy you. Don't tempt me to."

The man placed his hand on Arnav's shoulder and replied,

"I assure you I will keep her happy. With my life if need be. I love her Arnav. I will always be with her."

Arnav relaxed as he knew this man was saying the truth. Arnav knew love. This man loved Sania as much as he had loved Khushi once.

"But what if she weeps because of you Arnav?"

For the first in a long time, a smile adorned on Arnav's face as he replied," Well you're always welcome to come and kick my ass on Mars."

The man laughed as he shook hands with Arnav and sat in the car.

Arnav looked at the car driving off into the night.

-----------------
Khushi was taken aback looking at what had transpired here. Rahul was right. Arnav never let anyone into his life. People had even mistaken Sania to be his girl friend whereas she was just a friend.

Arnav had worn his shades to hide his eyes. He hadn't yet seen Khushi. He started to walk off into the night. His launch was supposed to start early next morning. He had to get to the launch site.

----------------
Khushi was just numb. What was happening? She followed Arnav and caught hold of his hand.

Arnav jerked to see who was holding his hand. For a mere second there was emotion in those eyes, but as the second passed his eyes were dead cold again.

"I thought our conversation was over."

Khushi caught her breath as she replied,

"You have to give me a chance to speak Arnav, I-."

Arnav turned away from her, "You never gave me a chance 7 years ago. Now I don't owe you my time. Goodbye."

He walked to his car with khushi right behind him pleading him to listen to her. He sat in his car and as khushi tried to reach into his window to stop him from going he closed it as she withdrew and chased after the car until he was gone.

She didn't waste anytime. She went to the auto nearby

She was chasing him down.

Today was the last day and she had to stop him before he went into the organization. She wasn't successful at overtaking Arnav at any point on his way to the Launch site. When he finally stopped his car and was getting out of it, did he see Khushi running towards him. His features changed as she got closer and closer. His face didn't betray any emotion.

"You have to stop this madness Arnav. You cant do this." Khushi managed to blurt out despite being short of breath.

"Last time I saw, you no longer had the right to decide what I can and cannot do." Arnav replied to her moving her to a teary state.

"Arnav please. Listen to me. Don't do this. You're just doing this to take revenge at me. Punish me in some other way. Please don't do this."

Arnav moved her hand away from himself and replied" I never wished to punish you. I don't intend to either. What I am doing is my dream. It has been for quite a while. It doesn't consist of you. That is all."

"But Arnav, you promised me. You promised me that you will live. You promised me you wont hurt yourself. You promised-"

Before she could proceed, Arnav cut her off " And you promised me to love me for the rest of your life. Life sucks if you put your faith in people who don't care about you."

Khushi looked into Arnav's eyes "But I still see love for me in them somewhere. Why are you hurting yourself. Punish me. Hurt me. Scold me. Beat me. But don't do this."

"Yes there is still love for you in my eyes. And for that I will pay the price. The ultimate price. The price of love. Sacrifice."

"You don't need to do this Arnav. You may find other better girls in your life. "

Arnav smirked and replied" Main apni kismat khud likhta hoon. I choose this path. To devote my life to science. If the past couldn't value my life,atleast the future will."

Khushi shook her head as she lost balance and fell. Arnav grabbed her before she fell.

"Its time I let go khushi. I have given you more than enough. Don't snatch away this too. It's the only way I will truly be unable to hinder in your life ever again."

Khushi interrupted him "But Arnav, you promised me you wouldn't harm yourself."

Arnav smirked as he let go of Khushi

"I promised that I wouldn't take my life. And I haven't broken it. And if you remember there was another promise I had made to you when I told you last that I loved you. The fact that I wont be able to live on this earth if you kicked my love from you. And I am fulfilling that promise. I am leaving Earth. The pain, the suffering, my past, everything I am leaving on this side of the shore. What I am taking is a dead man whose only use is of being alive to carry out this mission. At any cost. Be it my life. I will not back down, neither will I give up."

"Arnav please. Stop"

Arnav shook her hand off of his and looked into her eyes.

"It was you who said it Khushi. It's Over."

Arnav turned on his heels. He knew it would be the last time he would be seeing her but he controlled his tears and walked into the building and the guards stopped her outside.

She fiddled into her bag to reach her phone and call up her fianc to get her into the building. But it took almost an hour or more to come out and get her. By the time she was inside, the countown for the launch had already begun. There were only 20 minutes till launch.

The screen was occupied by a video feed of both the astronauts on board. One of them was Arnav. His eyes were blood red. But there were no tears in those eyes.

What had she made him into?

T-20

"I would like to take permission from the deck." Arnav finally said.

The deck's incharge was Rahul.

"Go on Arnav."

"I would like to say a few words before we depart."

T-19

"You're on air Arnav. Go on."

"I know we signed a contract to answer a lot of questions before I and my co pilot depart but both of us are not mentally strong enough to crack jokes nor take any other kind of questions. All I can do right now is that I wish to sing. One last time before I'm gone."

Everyone looked at Arnav. The last few years no one had gotten to know Arnav. Noone knew his story. He was always the quiet one, who never mixed with the team. It was as though he knew his fate was leading him on to a confined and solitary life.

T-15

Apne karam kee kar ataayein,

Yaaarraaa...

Mujh ko iraade de
Kasmein de, vaade de
Meri duaaon ke ishaaron ko sahaare de
Dil ko thikaaney de
Naye bahaaney de
Khwaabon ki baarishon ko
Mausam ke paimaane de
Apne karam ki kar ataayein
Kar de idhar bhi tu nigaahein

T-10

Sun rahaa hai naa tu
Ro rahaa hoon main
Sun raha hai naa tu
Kyun ro raha hoon main

Manzilein ruswa hain
Khoyaa hai raasta
Aaye le jaaye
Itni si iltijaa
Ye meri zamaanat hai
Tu meri amaanat hai..
Haan..

T-7

Apne karam ki kar ataayein
Kar de idhar bhi tu nigaahein
Sun raha hai naa tu..

Waqt bhi thehra hai
Kaise kyoon ye huaa
Kaash tuu aise aaye
Jaise koi duaa
Tu rooh kee raahat hai
Tu meri ibaadat hai..

Apne karam ki kar atayein
Kar de idhar bhi tu nigahein
Sun raha hai naa tu..

Arnav stopped as he couldn't go on any further. His co pilot had also cried along with the rest of the world. There was a lot of pain in his voice.

Khushi was crying the most. She didn't even let Rahul calm her down. She felt so guilty for deciding everything for them that she didn't consider Arnav's choice. That's why Arnav was where he was today. It was a result of all her failures.

Arnav's co-poilot asked him why he was here despite loving a person so much.

" She believed that my love was just something I could easily overcome. It was so weak that I could replace her in my heart. But usko main kya bataaon. I was born once, I lived just once. Aur pyaar, who bhi sirf ek baar hua. But as they say. The show must go on. I cant interfere in her life so I am removing every possible scenario where I can meet her now. I am going forever. She thought my love would fail. I proved her wrong."

His words pierced her like daggers. How much pain had she put him under. Everything had gone still for her as the last seconds flashed on the screen bringing back the time they spent together.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Take off

Take off

He had freed her and his friend.

But he had jailed himself.

And now he had given his all in the name of love and in the name of friendship.

For his Aashiqui and his friend's.

---- The End---