FF:Tum Ho Toh...Final Chpt updtd on Pg-34 - Page 2

So Vasant is standing a tall, handsome fair wall from the very introduction?! Sigh. No one, even Kesar himself being a 16 year old should have taken this "love at first sight" seriously. But we know Kesar better than that, don't we. I can imagine the axe that befell him hearing the word "bhabhi" for someone who'd caught his eye like glitter that was not going to become his gold after all!

Looking forward to the updates on this story Mini - sounds interesting already. And 3 years sounds like such a reasonable and fathomable age gap for a change.

Thanks you for starting a new one here *hugs*

JZee

Chapter-2

(3 years later)

Kesar

Kesar is in his hostel room holding a letter.

It was crumpled and almost torn which indicated that he had read it more than a few times. Once again he started reading it "Dear Kesar", a smile forms on his face and he lovingly touches those words and then continues reading "mujhe patha hai ki tu mujhse gussa hai lekin meri wajah se tu apne parivaar waalon se tho naaraz math reh.aisa kya ho gaya Kesar,hamaare beech ki tu mujhse ithni nafrat karne laga?hum tho bahut ache dost ban gaye the na,phir kya hua?main jaanthi hoon ki mujhe is sawaal ka jawaab nahi milne waala.shaayad tu meri chitti ko dekhte hi phenk bhi de.par kya karoon main apne aap ko rok nahi sakti.tere bina yahaan koi khush nahi hai.Baba,Ma,Rewa sab tujhe bahut yaad karte hain.aur Vasant,woh mujhse kuch kehta tho nahi lekin maine dekha hai uski aankhon mein ki woh tujhe kitna miss karta hai.agar tu is baar ki chuttiyon mein ghar aayega tho use bahut acha lagega aur uski khushi meri khushi hai………" .

Kesar bunches up the letter in frustration and throws it in the waste basket nearby. Tears were flowing from his face by now but there was also an anger that he just could not control. He kicked the waste basket down and sadly once again his study table and chair became the victims of his rage and pain. Finally the madness stopped when his roommate came by who did not look at all surprised by the view; instead he calmly asked "ghar se chitti aayi hai kya?" Kesar,who was still breathing heavily silently nodded and then the room-mate sighed before replying "theek hai,ab thoda sa paani peele.gusse ko kaaboo mein laa aur yeh room theek kar.main baahar jaata hoon padhne". Kesar looked around. He had to admit that the room did look like a war zone and started picking up the books and other things which were lying all around. Soon he cleaned up the mess and everything was back where it should be except for the letter which was still in the waste basket. Kesar stared at it for a second and with a sigh picked it up and proceeded to smooth out the creases which had formed due to his rough handling of it.

Kesar felt the familiar feeling of guilt creep up in his mind. He hated this feeling. He remembered the day he had found his true love in the form of Gulaal and the same day his dream shattered when he came to know that she was going to marry his Vasant bhai and become his bhabhi. He had tried very hard for everyone's sake to accept it; he even made himself believe that whatever he felt for Gulaal was just a crush, an infatuation which would fade away with time. After all he was just 16 and what would a 16 year old guy know anything about true love?It would be nothing but a phase, maybe someday in the future he can even laugh about it-but it never happened.

The engagement had already taken place and the marriage was supposed to take place after Gulaal finished her graduation. In the meanwhile Gulaal along with her parents were frequent visitors to their home and vice-versa. At first Kesar tried his level best to stay away from her. His interactions with Gulaal were minimal. Everyone knew that he was reserved and shy with girls so no one felt as if he was purposefully trying to keep away from Gulaal. He would talk to her only if it was absolutely necessary and kept away from her for the rest of the time but that did not help his case in the slightest. His eyes always returned to her, he watched her every movement and studied every gesture carefully. He pretended to be least interested in her conversations with his sister, Rewa but he couldn't help himself from chuckling silently when he heard her say something witty. He had to admit that it was Gulaal's beauty that had attracted him to her in the beginning but now he was slowly realizing that she was more than just a pretty face, she was a beauty with brains-she was intelligent and had a way with words but what he ultimately found irresistible was her warm, kind heart. How could he ever resist her? especially when she would come up to him every single time, looking at him with those big, beautiful eyes and try to be friends with him. The first few times Kesar tried to be indifferent and ignored her efforts but that did not last long and finally one day when she put forward her hand and asked him very innocently, "mujhse dosti karoge?" with that brilliant smile dazzling him, he just gave in. From that day onwards he started enjoying spending time with her.

Kesar knew she was not perfect, she had a terrible temper and would sulk at the slightest of things but that only made him love her more because she looked like a little girl, with a frown on her face and her cheeks reddened due to anger,in short she looked adorable. Kesar thought with a smile "gusse mein tho yeh aur bhi pretty lagti hai". He loved pampering her with chocolates, stuffed toys and her favourite imlis. He had somehow managed to unearth this secret from one of her close friends. The imlis always helped. Even when the expensive chocolates failed to calm her temper, he would just have to bring out one imli and she would melt easily. He loved teasing her and he knew she enjoyed his teasing. But he never saw this angry, sulky Gulaal in front of the family or Vasant bhai. With Vasant bhai she became annoyingly coy and had this sweet smile pasted on her face the entire time. Somehow Kesar hated that smile; it looked fake and put on. This is not the real Gulaal, he wanted to shout but no words would come out. When she was with him she became this fun-loving, slightly crazy and sometimes childish Gulaal and he liked to think that he was the reason for that. She was the only person with whom he shared his passion for music especially his love for guitar. He even played for her one time and her reaction had had both surprised and shocked him. She had hugged him-if only time had stood still,Kesar thought.

The only problem he had with her was the way she treated him sometimes. One moment she would treat him like an equal, share her secrets with him and the very next moment she would indulge him, pamper him as if he were a little boy. Ok he did like it sometimes but mostly he hated it, still he did not say anything, just went along with her antics. On top of it every time he saw his brother's happiness he felt guilty. How could he have feelings for his own brother's girl? This was so wrong, but he just couldn't stop himself from loving her and with each passing day it was getting difficult for him to watch her with his brother. He knew that one day it would all come to a head, he would burst out at someone and his prediction did come true-only problem, the target of his anger and frustration turned out to be Gulaal. He still remembered the incident that happened almost 3 yrs ago as if it was yesterday.

In the beginning he had decided to make an effort and try calling her bhabhi but somehow it never felt right. How could he call her bhabhi? To him she was just Gulaal and he could not call her something that his heart did not agree to. And so Gulaal it was, but somehow everyone seemed to have a problem with it and insist on him calling her bhabhi. Usually he avoided them all by coming up with some or the other excuse but that day was different. He had heard noises downstairs and to his joy saw Gulaal's parents talking to his family but Gulaal seemed to be missing.

Kesar thought with a smile on his face: "Gulaal bhi aayi hogi.woh shaayad Rewa ke kamre mein hogi.main hi usse milne chala jaata hoon". As he was walking towards Rewa's room he heard Gulaal's laugh coming from Vasant's room. Kesar hit his head and thought "main bhi kitna buddhu hoon.of course Gulaal pehle bhai se hi milegi na". The door was half open, so he knocked once and entered the room. The smile on Kesar's face froze when he saw Gulaal in his brother's arms and they both were lost in their own world. Kesar wanted to run away, hide in his room but his feet refused to move and he stood staring at Gulaal's shy smile. "Kesar……..", Vasant's voice brought him out of his stupor and he looked at Vasant "huh….."

Vasant with a sheepish smile: "maine poocha tu kab aaya?hum bas…….neeche aane hi waale the……".

Kesar quickly covered up his hurt with a smile and answered "sorry bhai,hamesha bhool jaata hoon.ab se tho aap ke kamre mein soch samajh ke aana chahiye na.sorry.main chalta hoon", and he left the room immediately without waiting for an answer. He could sense Gulaal's confused gaze but he refused to meet her eyes and hurried to the sanctuary of his room.

"yeh mujhe kya ho raha hai?is tarah se tho main kabhi nahin jee paaunga.Gulaal Vasant bhai ki honewaali patni hai yeh main maan chuka hoon phir bhi yeh dard mera peecha kyun nahi chodta.nahi,mujhe apne aap ko sambhaalna hoga.aajkal main Gulaal ke saath kuch zyaada hi waqt guzaar raha hoon.agar usse door rahunga tho sab kuch theek ho jaayega……haan sab kuch theek ho jaayega",Kesar tried to comfort himself before joining everyone else downstairs and that's when all hell broke loose.

Some of his cousins had come over and they had all ganged up against him, teasing him and pulling his leg mercilessly. Usually he let it slide and sometimes even teased them back, but today as it is his mood was bad and it was getting worse with each passing minute. By now Gulaal and Vasant had joined them. Gulaal sat beside him and very sweetly tried to defend him from the teasing, any other day Kesar would have leapt up with joy at her gesture but today was not that day. Her support only increased his irritation. And to Kesar's consternation everyone started grilling him about his refusal to call Gulaal bhabhi. Finally the breaking point came when Gulaal herself asked him in a mock serious tone "haan Kesar,yeh sab tho sahi keh rahe hain.tu mujhe kabhi bhabhi kyun nahi bulaatha?" Kesar did not know how to answer her. She had never asked this question before. Kesar tried to evade by saying "bas aise hi.pehle se hi tujhe Gulaal bulaatha aaya hoon na.isliye". kesar felt this answer would be sufficient and everyone would move on to some other topic but luck did not favour him that day because Gulaal was in no mood to relent. "yeh tho bilkul sahi nahin hai na.tho kya zindagi bhar tu mujhe mere naam se bulaayega. Kitni galat baat hai……"

Kesar getting irritated speaks in a low tone "Gulaal,chod na……yeh kya leke baith gayi".

Gulaal turned to Vasant and complained in an exaggerated manner "dekha Vasant tumhara chota bhai kitna ziddi aur akdu hai.bas ek baar mujhe bhabhi bulaa lega tho kya jaayega iska.tumhi bolo na,meri baat tho nahi sun raha shaaayad tumhara kaha maan jaaye….". Vasant laughed at her indulgently and that only added fuel to the fire burning in Kesar. Gulaal went on to ruffle his hair laughing all the while and Kesar exploded. "Gulaal……bas kar..."

He jerked away her hand with his arm and continued "kyun hamesha mujhe chote bache ki tarah treat karti hai? please mujhe akela chod de.jab dekho mujhe tang karti rehti hai.har waqt masti,mazaak,iske siva kuch soojhtha nahi na tujhe.doosro ke dil ko kitni takleef hothi hai iska tho andaaza bhi nahi hoga na tujhe………..aur sun le Gulaal tu chaahe Vasant bhai ki patni ban jaaye lekin tu meri bhabhi kabhi nahi ban sakti.samjhi tu……",with that Kesar exited the room leaving everyone in the room confused as to what just happened.

Kesar entered his room still fuming and banged his door shut. He started pacing up and down the room replaying the last few minutes in his head and cursed himself, "why did I speak so rudely to her and what happened to me? "baaki time tho chup baitha rehta hoon aur aaj hi baras padna tha us bechaari par aur woh bhi sab ke saamne.use kitna bura lag raha hoga.mujhe jaake sorry bolna chahiye usse". He was just about to leave the room when a sudden realization dawned on him. Dear God! What had he done? Did he just sort of confess his feelings for Gulaal in front of everyone, naahhh surely not? He was now getting nervous. What would Vasant bhai be thinking?would he guess? and Gulaal……what about her?He was stewing in this confusion when Vasant came into the room.

Vasant with a frown on his face: "Kesar,tu ne mujhe pehle kyun nahi bataaya?"

Kesar: "bhai,mujhe……..main kuch…….."

Vasant: "mujhe pehle hi samajh jaana chahiye ki tu Gulaal ko zyaada pasand nahi karta.lekin phir tum dono ki dosti dekhkar mujhe laga ki shaayad sab kuch theek ho gaya hai. par tu tho usse nafrat karta hai.kyun Kesar?woh kitni achi ladki aur jo aaj tune uske saath bartaav kiya bilkul theek nahi tha.Gulaal tho sirf tere saath mazaak kar rahi thi na,tho isme ithna gusse hone waali kya baat thi".

Kesar started to explain about his feelings for Gulaal when suddenly he stopped. Wait……what was his brother saying?Vasant thought he hated her……so he did not guess his true feelings.Kesar was relieved and this was a good opportunity-why should he let it go to waste?Let him think that he hated Gulaal,let everyone think the same…..This way he can stay away from her and maybe that would help him get over his love or crush or infatuation-whatever it was because he was tired, tired of feeling guilty, tired of hiding. So he replied "Sorry bhai,maine bahut koshish ki aap sab ki khaatir, ki main use pasand kar sakoon,uske saath dosti kar sakoon……par main aisa nahi kar sakta,main use apni bhabhi kabhi nahi maan sakta……I am so sorry bhai,maine aap ka dil dukhaaya.lekin main promise karta hoon aage se aisa kuch bhi nahi karunga jisse aap ke dil ko thes pahunche". Vasant smiled and hugged his little brother and left the room soon afterwards. A relieved smile spread across Kesar's face. He was always honest with others but this time he knew a little lie would be of great help not only to him but to his entire family and …..Gulaal…..Gulaal

Gulaal

Gulaal started the letter with "Dear Kesar", scribbled it away and once again wrote on a new page "Kesar" but somehow that did not sound right so she added "Dear" before Kesar once again.

"Dear Kesar"

She proceeded to write about how everyone was missing him and then right at the end she added "main bhi tujhe bahut miss karti hoon Kesar,tu mera itna acha dost tha phir kya ho gaya?mujhse teri yeh naraazgi bardaasht nahi hothi.waapis aaja na Kesar.mere paas Vasant hai lekin mera best friend tho tu hai,mujhe sab se zyaada samajhne waala tu hai,please Kesar waapis aaja…." Gulaal stops writing and looks at the letter appalled at what she had written. What was she doing? She touched her cheeks and to her surprise she found tears flowing "tu hamesha aisa hi karta hai Kesar.hamesha mujhe rulaa detha hai……tujhe bahut mazaa aata hai na mujhe pareshaan karne mein…." she slowly tore the letter and started writing on a new page,this time taking care not to mention anything about her feelings.

She thought back to the time when she met him for the second time at his home. She had been so excited to see her sasuraal and her Prince Charming- yes, that was the name she had given for her Vasant. But then she saw the akdu fellow-the one who had confused her with his stare and right now he had the most indifferent look on his face, as if he was bored by the proceedings. He did not even look at her, arrogant idiot!This guy was supposed to be Vasant's younger brother but the way he behaved, one would think he was the elder one-maybe he was just an old soul stuck in a teenager's body and a picture of Kesar with a walking stick and glasses emerged in her mind. She couldn't stifle the giggle and though no one noticed it she saw him look at her intensely. That just put a stop to the giggle. His eyes once again confused her and she had no idea why? Did he hate her or was it something else………

Later on she decided that she needed to make an effort to reach out to him when she came to know from Vasant that he was quite shy and reserved. "acha tho janaab sirf mujhse sharmaa rahe the aur main samjhi ki woh akdu hai. awww chalo koi baat nahi,I will make him my friend by hook or by crook", Gulaal thought with a determined look in her eyes. From that day on "Mission: Patao Kesar" had started. She would follow him everywhere and would try to start a conversation every single time. The first few times were a total failure, the guy used to just walk off with a bored expression which would have hurt the ego and heart of a lesser girl but she was Gulaal and people did not call her "Jhansi ki Rani" for nothing. She continued on with her efforts and pursued him relentlessly. Sometimes she used to wonder "main tho stalker banti jaa rahi hoon aur mujhe aisa kyun lag raha hai ki main apne liye boyfriend ko pataa rahi hoon……….aww tho phir Vasant ka kya hoga?" and she started laughing maniacally. Kesar who had been standing behind her gave her this look which said very clearly "paagal ho gayi hai….", but she couldn't control herself at all.

Finally one fine day her hard work paid off and Kesar accepted her offer of being friends. His smile which she had never seen before dazzled her. He looked so innocent and it completely transformed his face. He should smile more, she decided and sub-consciously took on the responsibility. Now that everything was falling in place, Gulaal was happy. Vasant was proving to be a great guy and she knew that he would make a wonderful husband and life partner but she was most thankful for Kesar. Though in the beginning her aim to befriend Kesar was just to make Vasant happy, now she truly appreciated his friendship. With each passing day she could see the real Kesar come out of his shell slowly. This guy had an amazing sense of humour and could be as silly as her sometimes. She could be herself with him and she knew he wouldn't judge her. That was such a relief because sometimes she would be so tired behaving all prim and proper in front of the family. Even with Vasant sometimes she couldn't express herself completely but with Kesar she had no such issues. She did not have to impress him, he would not look down upon her childish antics and her temper-My God he did suffer it without complaints, didn't he? He would sometimes joke around saying "jab bhai ko patha chalega ki unki honewaali sweet si dikhne waali dulhan chudail hai tho un par kya beethegi?bechaare bhai…..", his laugh would irritate her but at the same time it would bring about a smile and the tiff would be forgotten. He knew very well how to get her temper down. He would get her favourite chocolates, stuffed toys (they took up half of her room) and imlis-yes somehow he found out her secret and after that revelation every time she would go into one of her temper tantrums he would get her imlis and just like that she would give in with a sweet smile. She wanted to become his friend but instead he had become her best friend.

What impressed her the most about him was his sensitivity. She had never seen a more sensitive 16 year old guy. Sometimes she forgot that he was just a teenager. The way he spoke about some of the things he wanted to do like for instance his music-he loved his guitar and the passion with which he spoke about it surprised her. He made her listen to all of the great guitar players and she had to admit she loved it. She had never even heard about some of them but she was learning. And one day he shyly played the guitar for her. She was shocked. She knew that no one at home had ever heard him play, not even Vasant. She was touched by the gesture and she was genuinely overcome by emotions while he played a beautiful tune. His passion and concentration stunned her and she even forgot to clap at the end of his performance. Kesar got worried when he saw her tears.

"Gulaal……kya hua…achi nahi lagi kya?"