PART 26
'Last 2 hours were perhaps the most beautiful as well as the most horrible 2 hours of his life. From the moment he realized that they had lost kripa in the jungle, not for a single moment had he been able to relax till he actually found her. It's so true, that u don't realize the importance of someone till you lose them. That is what happened to him too. Only he knew how many times he prayed for kripa's well being in these two hours. He realized what she meant to him and what has forced him to come all the way from Mumbai to shimla. He just wanted to be with her, now and forever, to bug her, irritate her, to make her frown and to make her smile. The realization of love was so beautiful that the mere thought of making it into a reality filled his heart in joy. And when he found kripa, only his heart knew the immense relief he felt. Why…why wouldn't she let him speak his mind?? How could she be so insensitive to his feelings…….' All these thoughts ran into Angad's mind when suddenly a loud shriek hit his ears.
'KRIPA' God…how can he be so stupid…immersed in his thoughts he didn't even noticed if kripa was following him or not. He turned around only to see kripa sitting on the ground, crying in pain. He ran towards her and kneeled down.
"O god kripa…I am so sorry. What…what happened? Sh*t u have got badly bruised…god, its all because of me…" Angad panicked as he checked on her bruises.
"I was walking and I just lost my balance…land was so slippery. I am sorry Angad. Bohat pareshan karti hoon na main…" kripa said between the sobs.
"Don't u dare say this ever again. Just hold my hands and try to get up." Angad held her and tried to make her stand. Unfortunately while getting up, kripa bruised her hand against the wet thorny bushes, tearing off her top at the arm as the thorns pierced deeper into her skin and instantly blood started oozing out. Kripa screamed in pain as her hand reached to cover her wound from rain.
Angad stopped her hand in air and covered the wound with his hand instead "Your hand has got all muddy…don't touch your wound. It may cause infection. God...its bleeding so much…we have to protect it from rain…otherwise wound would not be able to clot and heal itself. Quick." Angad commanded and supported her to walk towards a large tree to shield themselves from rain as kripa merely limped along.
Angad made kripa sit under the tree as he himself searched for some antiseptic or band-aid in his bag pack. The worry and urgency evident on angad's face filled kripa's heart with pain and warmth-'it was this care and warmth that has made things so complicated for her…she felt trapped and lost.' She thought as she continued staring at angad who was busy nursing her.
Angad, oblivious of kripa's continuous stare, took out kripa's handkerchief from her bag and carefully cleaned her wounds. Then he took out another handkerchief from his bag to wrap it around the wound. He further pulled out a polythene bag which contained some fruits he has brought along and emptied its contents on the ground. He managed to wrap polythene securely over handkerchief to protect it from getting wet in the rain.
Angad sincerity and concern tugged kripa's heart when she finally spoke up "why are you doing all this Angad?? Why are you making it so difficult for me??"
Surprised at her words, Angad looked up to meet her eyes which were now filled with tears of pain, anger, longing, betrayal and what not.
"Just a few minutes ago…it was you only who asked me if I cannot see anything…if I cannot see how you feel about me…why am I ignoring the obvious. Its because of you Angad. For what you did…whatever you said…its all because of you……." Kripa choked on the words.
"kripa…whatever I did……" Angad tried to interrupt but kripa cut him off in between.
"No Angad...you have said and done enough. Now it's my turn. It was you Angad who humiliated me in class for the first time…it was you who wanted to use me to hook nisha. It was you who wanted to come closer to me so that you can come close to nisha. It was you who hurt me. And it was you only who made me smile again. It was you who made me respect my life again. It was you who held me for the first time…who gave me the strength to go on stage…who stood by me when I was low…and the one who kissed me for the first time in my life." kripa's voice softened "It was you who made me fall in love with you. All your pranks…the way you irritated me, bugged me, made me feel special made me realize that how much I love you." A tear skipped from kripa's eyes.
"But then what Angad….I come to know the person I am in love with, was doing this all along for my best friend. You proposed nisha and my fate cruelly reminded me of our deal….remember Mr. Angad khanna." Kripa wiped her tear. "It was you Angad who forgot whatever you said after our annual dance party at my apartment. I gave you a chance Angad…you lost it. I moved to shimla to get away from you…but couldn't forget you…you know why…because it was you who had made me fallen in love with you."
Angad smiled as tears filled his eyes. He remembered everything and so did she. He stepped towards her and before she could say anything more…cupped her face in his palms and sealed his lips with her, kissing her deeply and softly like never before…
Preview: angad's confession.
Note: This part is not completed yet… hope you like it…I'll post remaining part next week probably.
Previous part: pg92
Recap: pg86
Udne Ki Aasha
Kumkum Bhagya
63