Thanks bhootnis for your patience and endurance!!!! Here is the much awaited part!!!! Enjoy, and droolllllllllllllll 😉
Part 8..................................
Dev is about to yell and then suddenly from behind him there is a gunshot. Kaajjal too hears is and is jolted out of her senses. Dev turns just in time but the bullet passes him and skins his arm and Kaajjal faints just as she sees the blood oozing out of his arm. "DEVVVV......................" The last coherant words she uttered. Dev is frantic, he looks behind to find that thae person who shot missed and ran away. He clutches his bleeding arm and doesn't know which way to go first. Either K or chudail have done this so to catch them or to go to Kaajjal who is lying there unconscious. Of course he runs blindly shouting out to Kaajjal.
He lifts her in his arms and by this time everybody has come rushing to the terrace hearing the gunshot. NT worriedly rushes to Dev asking if Kaajjal is okay? Then she sees Dev's wound and screams "Dev you are hurt!!! Who did this? " she turns and looks around. None have seen this side of Nayatara Pratap Singh. An angry mother but a hard nut and a successful business woman. She rings the doctor first and then the police and informs them of the situation. She then sofly holds Dev's arm and assists him to take Kaajjal down. Veer and K help him. Dev refuses their help especially K. K is confused but then says "I shall look to see who did this. How dare anyone enter our house and harm any of our family members. Just then a man is shown to start running in the ground and Veer and K run to catch him but too late he escapes. they inform the police about it and they look into the matter.
Dev puts Kaajjal down on the bed gently. He sits there holding her hand disregarding his bleeding arm or the pain. The only pain he feels is that this girl whom he is ready to even die for is lying unconscious and oblivious to whats going on around her. Pahua touches him gently on his shoulders and he looks at him with tears in his eyes. He gathers Pahua in his arms and cries like a baby, "If anything happens to her na Pahua, I will die. I will die." Pahua too has tears in his eyes and says "Master, you see nothing can happen to my Kaajjaldidi. Nothing, mark my words." He consoles him and NT walks in with the doctor. A nurse dresses his wound and the doctor checks Kaajjal. He informs them that she seems fine physically but seems to have got some kind of mental shock. Let her sleep through the night, she should be fine by tomorrow." He leaves. Dev is still sitting there holding her hand. NT comes in and tells him to go and take some rest. Panna chachi and I will stay with Kaajjal. Hottie and Satyaji have come too. He refutes her offer and says "I will not get any peace of mind being away from her for even a minute. Please mom, I shall sit here." Just then Kaajjal stirs a bit as if scared and screams and wakes up. Dev hugs her and tries to calm her saying "I am fine, Kaajjal, look nothing happened. It was just a small scratch. I was not hurt Kaajjal, are you listening to me?" But Kaajjal keeps looking at him with a blind and glassy stare. She is listening to him but there is no response from her. She is like a living corpse. No talk, no emotion or no expressions. Dev shakes her and NT tries to calm him saying we must call the doctor. Dev is berserk and jolts her saying "Say something Kaajjal damn it. Say something." Pahua too tries, Satya, Hottie, chachi, NT too speak to her but she does not respond. She just gives them all the same glassy look. The doctor comes back and checks her eyes and then says, "I think she has been traumatised and has gone into a shock. She has been terrified by what has happened. This is nothing to worry about. Sometimes due to a bad shock, people go into this temporary coma. This phase ends and does not last very long. She needs to cry. In some way you have to make her cry. She will be fine then"
Dev curses himself for her delimma. He blames himself that had he not left her in the first place she would not have to endure what ever she has gone through. He bends down his head near her face and cries the silent tears for her. Mentally asking for her forgiveness. "I am sorry Kaajjal, I am responsible for this. I promise you that you will know that Dev is back. Your Dev has come back to you, I promise Kaajjal and he bends down and kisses her on her cheeks. NT comforts him by putting her hand on his head and tears in her eyes too.................
The following day Dev decides to take Kaajjal out every place they had previously been. He first takes her to the dhaba. the sardarji recognises them and comes to them, "Kyu praji what happened to madamji? Why is she so gumsum and sad?" Dev mumbles a reply and asks him to get mirchi pakoras that are very spicy. Today even that will be like sweet sugar for him. anything for Kaajjal and her lively smile. anything. The sardarji goes away and then Dev seats Kaajjal on the charpayi and then purposely goes to sit on the takhta. Kaajjal looks at him blankly and doesn't say anything. Dev smiles at her but she just blankly looks at him. He is frustrated but gets up sighing and sits opposite her. "Kaajjal you remember the pakoras we ate here. That day I ate them for you. So even today I shall do it just for you." So saying he puts a very spice piece in his mouth. He eats it but his mouth is burning with all the mirchi and chokes too. Kaajjal has no reaction on her face but slowly she raises her hand holding a glass of water to him. dev is pleased and thinks she is back but then she gets up and leaves and goes to the car. Dev stares after her with tears of frustration and sorrow in his eyes. He pays the sardarji who says "I shall pray. Wahe guru ki ghar mein der hain andher nahin" Dev thanks him and leaves.
Then Dev spots the cliff where he had slipped. He even tries to slip from there, but Kaajjal holds his hand before he can try to slip and walks away to the car unpreturbed. Dev doesn't lose hope.
He then takes her to the same restaurant for dinner. He even asks the waiter to put the gift in the plates. She barely touches the food. He holds her hand in the same way reminding her of their converstion. He says "Dev sir, that's what you used to call me remember? I asked you to call me Dev. You listened to my every wish and command, then I command you to talk today. Please say something Kaajjal, please for God's sake say something. Your silence cuts through my heart. She picks up the gift looks and but puts it back and gets up to leave. Dev closes his eyes as if he is defeated. But opens them again thinking "tomorrow you will talk Kaajjal, tomorrow you will, I promise."
Kaajjal is sleeping. Hottie is there at her side and Dev enters. "How is she?" Hottie replies with a sad look "Still the same." Dev mumbles away to Hottie "I am sorry Hottie for what I have put her through. I should not have played so much with her emotions." Hottie puts a comforting hand on his shoulder saying "Why Dev sir, why did you pretend?" He tells her the reason and she is shocked too. She then puts a friendly reassuing hand on his shoulder and says "Don't worry Gannubhaiya will help you. All will be fine" He smiles at Hottie through his tears and leaves.
The next morning Dev takes Kaajjal in the car. He says, "You know Kaajjal I am very happy today. Today we shall do what you have been waiting to do all your life. He smiles at her but she just blankly looks again. They reach the mandir outside Mumbai. The same fakir is singing the same song. Mein to ho gayi teri deewani........... They pass him and reach the baba at the banyan tree. Dev takes another locket from him and asks Kaajjal to put it around his neck. She turns away holding the locket. She keeps staring at it blankly as if not knowing what it is. She drops it and turns away. Dev then takes the thread and ties it to the tree and gives it to Kaajjal and holding her hand with her goes around the tree winding the thread as she did. Kaajjal looks and in the negative gets flashes of something similar. But then the picture is lost again. Dev gets some confidence and takes her to pray. There the pandit blesses them and tells her "akhand saubhagyavati ho" she looks blankly first at him but when she turns to Dev she sees that he is holding sindoor in his fingers and then he fills her maang with the sindoor. She again gets flashes of the sindoor she had filled her maang with in the name of Dev. She starts breathing a bit heavily. Dev takes her in his arms and they go out. She then again sees a couple where the man is making his beloved wear some chudis. She touches her chudis and gets flashes again but is lost again. Dev suddenly stops her and this time he has more red bangles. He takes her hands and lovingly but with tears in his eyes makes her wear them. "Hammare pyaar ka rang aur hamare atoot pyaar ki nishaani. Mujhe pata hain tum inhe kabhie nahin utaarogi" She mumbles "Phek do inhe. Mere kisi matlab ki nahin hain" and saying this she takes them off and throws them. Dev is happy that at least some response came out of her. He bends down and picks up a few broken pieces and a few whole ones. He has tears in his eyes for her state and then Kaajjal comes near him and wipes his tears and looks at him curiously. Just then Dev gets an idea. He goes to a man holding a camera and asks him to take their picture. He holds Kaajjal close to him and looks lovingly into her eyes and all the while the man take stheir pictures. Dev thanks him and he shows the pictures to Kaajjal. But she looks at the picture and returns it to Dev.
He then grabs her shoulders in frustration and says "Okay fine. Mat bolo, but at least speak to your mother. She is the one whom you always looked up to right and saying this he gives her the locket which she had given him at Mussourie. She looks with faint recognition and a few other memoties of Mussourie flash pass in her mind. Satya, bua, Hottie, shortie, Mussourie, her radio station, Gannubhaiya, but then again a blank. She takes the locket and opens it and touches picture of her mother and utters "Maa" dev is happy but that's it. But apart from that no other response. She simply looks and moves towards the cliff edge to sit down.
Then Dev gets an idea. He hides somewhere and rings Kaajjal on her cell. She as if in automation lifts her cell speaking "Hello" Dev replies "I am ready. I have left and am on my way to visit you. Remember we have to spend the whole day at the farmhouse today. I can see that you are looking beautiful wearing that red dress. Your chudis told me that you are wearing red. I know you will not remove them ever. Our symbol of love. and the colour of our love." While saying this he is sits in the car and takes it in full speed near the cliff edge and applies hard on the brakes, and crashes into the tree, but manages to jump out unhurt. At the same time, Kaajjal gets all the flashes and sees Dev in each flash. Dev she mumbles slowly at first then she screams Dev and suddenly she bursts out crying Dev, Dev she frantically starts searching for Dev near the car that has crashed into the tree. "Devvvvvvv, and then Dev turns her towards her and she screams once more "Dev...." and he hugs her relieved. She is sobbing and at the same time cupping his face, kissing him all over his face, tears streaming down both their faces. People surround them but they are oblivious and lost in each other. Dev regains control first calls NT and informs her all is fine and picks her up ever so gently and he then takes her to a quiet and secluded place and hugs her agian. She opens her eyes and goes to speak, but he puts a finger on her lips silencing her and says "Later................ " and hugs her tightly mumbling "Everything later.........................."
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