ArHi OSes: When I Knew | Ugly Chaise | PG 53 | NEW UPDATE (21/8) - Page 22

That was so sweet. That is one of my favorite scenes and you have captured those scenes beautifully dear..

Amazingly beautiful...thanks for the PM

It's out of the world as always... Had me teary eyed throughout... Loved it... Pls do write more.

When the Tutees Knew

They were recruited by Sundari. She had asked them to save her from the shaitan tormenting her, constantly threatening her with marriage.

They saw the shaitan roaming the house, prowling about as he barked on the Bluetooth. They watched as Sundari slipped away whenever he was near, her eyes closed, hand placed over a heaving chest.

Her long hair would fly when she slipped away, as soon as she heard the sharp click of his heels rang through Shantivan, his irritated voice calling for a mysterious "Aman" on his phone.

She tugged them into a room, telling them to be quiet lest the shaitan hear them, placing a finger over her lips and shushing them. They would cower in the corner, their eyes widening as his angry caramel eyes flitted across the room, searching for... someone.

He was tall and domineering, with perpetually clenched fists hanging at his sides stiffly. The dark stubble on his cheeks made him look even angrier, emphasizing the strong angles of his face. His brow was always furrowed, and he was always typing away on his phone, booming into the Bluetooth.

There was only one time they hadn't seen him that way, glaring furiously at anyone that dared pass his path. His eyes softened when Sundari was around, as if he sensed her presence. His brisk pace slowed, as if he was in a trance.

He glanced around, his dark eyes searching every corner of the room. His fists then clenched tightly, his jaw tightening in determination- as if he was trying to fight the emotions overwhelming him.

Sundari leaned against the wall, her breathing heavy. She swallowed thickly, closing her eyes as the shaitan stopped right in front of the wall Sundari was hiding behind. Her eyes fluttered shut, her entire face flushing as he stared at the wall.

He shook his head, muttering something about how he was glad that girl wasn't around.

When the clicks of his heels faded, they watched as Sundari heaved a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall.

They would protect her, they swore. They wouldn't let that shaitan come near. Not when he scared her so much.

***

They listened raptly as Sundari told them her story, how she had been kept captive by the shaitan.

"Sundari bohot dar gayi. Woh shaitan tha hi itna daravna!"

And on and on it went. She described how he had threatened her, forced her to stay in his control. The way he growled at her and terrified her into submission, corecing her into marrying him.

But she also talked about his care for his plants, and the tender care he showered upon them. The plants were his life, she said. He would water them with infinite patience, patience he never showed her.

"Mujhse shaadi karo, Sundari. Tumhe mujhse shaadi karni padegi!"

They turned around to see the shaitan just as she had described, his stance relaxed as he poured water over his precious plants. Shuddering, they turned forward to listen to the story, trying to get the terrifying image of the shaitan out of their heads.

"Lekin har raat, Sundari ko sapne mein ek sundar sa Rajkumar dikhta tha... Sundari ka bohot khyal rakhta tha. Sundari sirf usi ke khwab dekhti thi."

They glanced out of the corner of their eyes, discreetly watching as the shaitan froze. He whipped his figure to face their room, staring at Sundari with surprise and... regret.

"Sundari ko yeh baat samajh mein hi nahi aati thi ki-"

Sundari broke off, finally glimpsing the shaitan staring at her. They watched as she stilled, her eyes darkening painfully as their gazes locked.

Her eyes were laden with sadness and longing for the rajkumar, and his were... filled with apologies. As if he was trying to tell her that he was helpless, that he didn't want to hurt her.

That hurting her, hurt him too.

He turned away, his fingers tightening on the handle.

"Ki shaitan aur rajkumar... dono ek hi aadmi the. Jab Sundari ko pata chala, toh woh hairan pareshan ho gayi... pal mein shaitan, pal mein rajkumar. Yeh dono ek kaise ho sakte hain?"

In that moment, Sundari's eyes filled with tears of confusion and devastation. She took in a shuddering, pained breath, her voice tight with emotion.

"Kuch samajh hi nahi payi woh."

***

They willingly became the mode of correspondence between Sundari and the shaitan, carrying letters back and forth. The shaitan regularly threatened them, insisting that he was hungry enough to eat the children.

As soon as he did, they would run away, clamoring for Sundari. She would only laugh, taking the new letter from their hands and muttering about his chicken scratch.

At first, they resisted the temptation to read those letters, straining to hear the low murmurs as Sundari and the shaitan read it aloud to themselves. Almost always, the letter would end in one of them huffing angrily, ripping a piece of paper to scrawl out a scathing response.

But the temptation had grown too great for them to resist. They crowded around Nikhil as he carefully pulled open the letter, squinting to read the messy scribbles across the paper.

Gasping, they folded it shut, running to give it to Sundari.

"Sapno ki duniya se bahar aao Khushi. Yeh zindagi hai koi-"

"Pariyon ki kahaani nahi!"

She looked at them in surprise, shaking her head before continuing to read the letter. It was filled with insults, they knew, and they giggled silently when she crumpled the paper up into her hands.

She handed them another response, telling them sternly not to open it this time. They rushed off, only to be stopped by badi didi. Her eyes widened in surprise when they pointed out the shaitan, her mouth falling open into an o'.

She opened the letter, and they were too curious to stop her. What was Sundari's response to his sharp comment about her belief in fairytales?

"Pariyon ki kahaani se toh kab ke bahar aa gaye hum. Jiski aapse shaadi hui hai, usse pariyon ki kahaani mein vishwaas kaise ho sakta hai?"

At that moment, they knew they should have insisted that the letter stay private. The dark tone surprised them, as it had clearly surprised badi didi. They stood there, fiddling with their fingers as she stared off at the shaitan, her brow furrowed in worry.

She insisted that she could give it to the shaitan, and they had run off, satisfied that she would deliver the message.

But their uncertainty remained, worried for both Sundari and the shaitan. They turned around to see badi didi standing in the same position, nervously swallowing as she watched the shaitan bark into the phone.

Sundari had said that she... didn't believe in fairytales anymore. Not after she had married the shaitan.

Then why was she telling this story to them?

They watched her when the shaitan walked in again, calling out for Khushi. She started, trembling in her position at the front of the room.

Their sharp eyes didn't miss the way she seemed to reach out for him, as he did for her, shivering when their fingers brushed against each other as she handed him the file.

He stalked out, snatching the file roughly from her grasp, but his posture was less confident. The wall behind his eyes wasn't tall enough to hide the emotion simmering behind them as he sent one last glance Sundari's way.

When she caught him looking at her, his eyes had hardened, building the wall higher as he scoffed, the ring of his heels fading away.

They didn't miss when Sundari stared after his disappeared form, her haunted eyes taking in the empty space at the door. When she turned back with a bright smile, they could see that the light in her eyes had dimmed.

She had said she didn't believe in fairytales.

They knew now that she wasn't scared of the shaitan, but of the possibility of the rajkumar hiding behind the shaitan. They knew that she was scared of believing in the rajkumar, for fear that he would become the shaitan again and tear her apart once more.

But they also knew that she still believed in him, and that scared her more than ever.

***

Note: It's been such a long time since I've written one of these! I've missed it, but Swayamvar has me busy, as does AD. This series is still going, and I'll write whenever the inspiration strikes. I hope you enjoyed this!

As always, please follow @ipkchotidesi or my blog for update links.

Love,

Choti

wow..this is one of my absolutely fav serieses...for a sec i didnt get who the tutees were..😆

wow this is an amzing update.

That was wonderful update...

Even the kids knew

ARSHI were the last ones to know that they love each other.. the world got to know about their love but the lovers took their own time.. after long you have written this one.. loved it.. it was superb... 😃