Never had she thought that she would be have to lend her shoulders for her to cry on. She always wanted to be her support. But when its finally happening, all she wished was this moment to never come back again. She hated to see her in this state. She is her pillar of strength. She had seen the worst face of life, but has never let her to face it. And here she is facing the worst nightmare of her life. Her sister, her Ishana is crying her heart out in her arms for the first time ever in her life. She had never seen her like this and she prayed God to never have to see her like this ever again. It is ripping her heart out.
She knew that her sister has the golden heart and yet she has been tagged to be the Con woman just because of her so called father. She never like what she has been doing for all these years and yet she did it for her. She never lived her life so that she could live hers. And now that finally she has seen her living, the real Ishana, destiny had killed her again.
For the past few weeks, she has never smiled nor laughed. She has been a lifeless soul just breathing and walking here and there. Right from the moment Om Jeeju, can she call him that anymore, she wondered, had met her, she had stopped living her life yet again. And now when she has met him again, she is dying with life right in front of her eyes.
"Why is life so unfair to me?"
"No, why is life so unfair to him? He is such a gem. Yet why did I have to meet him? Why did I have to fall in love with him? And the worst of all, Why did he have to love her? What the hell did he see in her? "
She saw her sister rambling breathlessly. And she didn't get a word of it. She wasn't sure if she herself knows what she is talking about. She doesn't what happened between them today. All she could see is Guilt overpowering her love she had for him. She may too small to understand life, but she is not dumb to not understand her sister's heart.
"I don't deserve him Mona. Yet he loves me. He loves me to death. And I love him more than anyone could ever imagine. But how will I make him understand, that he can never be happy with me? How can I make him understand that staying away from me, is the best thing that could happen to him?"
She had it enough. How could she let her sister the stupidest decision of her life? She knows that right now, her sister is the biggest stupid of this world. But she is not going to let that happen. She saw her rambling senselessly and struggling to breath. She held her arms and slapped her to calm her down. She could see her calming down out of shock.
"Enough is enough. Do you even hear what you are saying dhidhi? How the hell did you turn into such a big stupid?"
She cupped her face and made her meet her eyes.
"You love him dammit. And he loves you too. You both are MADE FOR EACH OTHER in all freaking ways. You COMPLETE each other. Your HAPPINESS lies in each other ONLY. This is the biggest truth of your lives and Jeeju knows this. When are you going to realise this fact? Rudra always keeps telling me that he has never seen Jeeju this happy as he has been when he was with you. And You have been yourself as you were when with Jeeju. Stop blaming yourself for things that you are not responsible for. Life is giving you chance Dhidhi. In the form of Jeeju. What is stopping you to grab hold of it?"
"He was never your Jeeju and he is never going to be. Stop calling him that."
She saw her sister reply with plain face. But she knows the answer to her question. Because that is what she saw in her eyes. Guilt. How is she going to get rid of that? While she was trying to get the answer, she heard a beep on her mobile. Seeing the name flashing on her screen, she picked it up with a confused look on her face.
"I need to meet you now. Lets meet in our usual place. ASAP" the voice said.
"Yes Rudra. I will be there soon." She hanged up and rushed to meet her only friend in hope of getting a solution to mend her stupid sister's brain back.
***
He started pacing back and front in his room. Every corner of it brought back memories of his miserable past and how he had let all of them vanish into air only because of her. She had given him a new life altogether. Now she cant take it back. He is not gonna let her take it back. Because he knows, that she loves him too, like he loves her and they are MADE FOR EACH OTHER.
He recalled how she had made him realise that everyone deserves a second chance. She had said that when she saw him break down when everything were going wrong between him and his father. She made him forget everything and just give them a second chance. And when he did, he couldn't be more glad to have agreed to it. It's only because of her that they both are in good terms with each other. He had got back his father and moreover a friend in him. He still can't forget her face which showed only happiness overflowing seeing him hug his father.
He is doing the same now. He is ready to forget what she was because he doesn't give a damn to it. Whatever she was, it was not her true self. The real Ishana was that girl for whom he fell in love with. That girl without whom he could not live his life. The girl who has given him immense happiness in such a short time and the girl who could never ever hurt him intentionally.
But now, how could she even dare to say that she can never give him the happiness that he deserved. He has never been this adamant in his life as he is now. Because he has to win back his love, his life. And he is ready to go to any extent for the same.
He immediately took his phone and dialled his brother to check on if the work has been done.
***
She had been running on the streets for more than an hour. She didn't even care to take an auto rickshaw or a taxi. And she cursed herself for getting all the thoughts that has been running in her stupid brain all this while.
She tried condoling her heart that he could never do such thing. She recalled Mon telling her how Rudra has called her saying that Om has been missing for about an hour and how he had left the house with such a plain face. She repeatedly cursed her for everything that has happened. She recalled Om's face when she last saw him. How pale and lifeless it was.
"And staying away from you is worse than death to me Ishana"
She had walked away from him with stone in her heart. She had to do it. Had she been there for a second longer, she would have not been able to stop her heart. Thay is why she killed it and left for his sake. And now, is she never going to be able to see him again?
NO. Nothing would happen to him. She didn't realise when she reached the place where she wanted to. Because she knows that's where he would be when he is devastated.
***
She kneeled down in front of him lifelessly. She felt someone ripping her heart of seeing him lying in the way he was. What has he done? What has she done? How is she ever going to forgive herself? Whatever the answer for that is, she can never forgive him. He can't do this to her. He had no right to take his life which belonged to her.
She is not going to let him do that. She can't. She shook him up rigorously. She started screaming his name to her lungs out. She was rambling endlessly not able to realise that she is struggling for breath. She didn't care that her head started spinning. She continuously shook him in hope of walking him up.
And suddenly she felt his hands on her which were on his chest. She stopped like a statue in front of him. She saw him rise up from his lap and kneel down in front of her. She was shocked would be an understatement. She felt his hands slowly cup her face.
He saw relief strike into her face in his hands. He felt her his arms with a bone crushing hug. That meant eternity to him. He held her close to his heart and rubbed her hair placing a faint kiss on her head. He felt her slowly relax in his arms and slowly made her look into him. He felt her hands all over his face as she checked on to make sure he is fine.
"I am fine Ishana. Nothing happened."
"You are fine now? Nothing happened to you right"
"I am completely fine."
He saw relief strike her face which slowly turned into anger.
He suddenly felt a forceful thrust on his cheek which made him turn away from her. He slowly turned his face back at her with his hand on his cheek where she had slapped him.
"How dare you do this to me? Who gave you the right to do this? What if something had happened to you? Do you have any idea what I went through in the last few minutes? Do you even know how many deaths I have died seeing you like that? How the hell am I supposed to live, if you had died?"
"And How the hell am I supposed to live without you next me?"
Her eyes and heart skipped a beat at that
"This is what I said you before. How do you expect me to live without you Ishana? Do you even realise that you are punishing not only yourself but you are also punishing me by going away from me? What did I do to deserve that punishment? You wanted punishment right? This is your punishment. That you have to deal with me for this entire life and all the lives that we have to live in this world. You have to love me each day, every minute and every second of your life. I don't know anything else. All I know is I deserve the happiness of spending each and every moment of my life with you. And I know you deserve all the world's happiness and only I mind it, only I could give you that. Just like only you could give me mine."
She looked at him with complete amusement. How could he love me so much? In spite of what I did to him.
"I Love You because I do Ishana. As simple as that. And I don't care about the past. You are the one who taught me this. It wasn't your fault. It was destiny who brought you to me and I can't thank it enough for that. Because you are the biggest truth of my life and I'm yours. PERIOD."
And there he answered her unsaid questions. She glanced his eyes which were filled with only Love for her. She wrapped her arms around her very tightly never letting him go. As if that was her only source of her life. Because it is. He was right. She should not care about the damn past. She deserved a second chance or rather her first chance of her life. And now, she is not going to let that go. She must have definitely did some good deeds in her life to be in the arms of this man who loved her to death. And she vowed to herself and to him that never ever would she go away from this man and to shower him with more love and happiness than he deserved.
She slowly parted away from him only to cup his face in her tiny hands. She leaned forward and placed a tight and deep kiss on his forhead.
When he slowly opened his eyes after savouring the moment, she looked at him with only passion and love filled in her eyes.
"I promise to love you like never before, forever, to the moon and back, from the deepest bottom of my heart and soul."
Their lips slowly curved into beautiful smiles for which they both lived and which were the reason of their lives. Their forheads met and they closed their eyes to savour the presence of each other to the fullest.
She suddenly backed to look at his face with a confused look.
"By the way, from when did the calm and composite Omkara Singh Oberoi start lying to get his point made?
"When you can lie to get into my life, Why can't I lie to get back my life?"
She couldn't understand if she should be happy or sad at that comment. But one smile in his face answered all her questions.
"And now that I have a whole bunch of Nautankis in my life, I had to have such an effect."
"Nautankis? Whom are you talking about?"
"You, Rudra, Anika and not to forget, my darling saali, Mona"
"Oh, so all these were their plan huh?
"Nope. It was all mine. They just helped me execute the plan."
"Not bad. Mr. Artist. You are no more the boring Oberoi."
She said it with a wink which made him laugh out. And soon both were laughing and were so into their own world.
Little did they realise, that their private moment was witnessed by three other people. All the three watched the duo with tears in their eyes, thanking the God for finally giving their sibling the life they deserved. Mona could not be happier for getting a new family and friend in her Jeeju while Shivaay and Rudra could not thank god enugh to bring such a lively girl into their lives with whom life can never be boring.
Anupamaa
Udne Ki Aasha
