Heyo guys. So I wasn't planning on doing a Shivika (sort of) OS yet, but I got a request to write up something about last night's preview. I still think it could be better but I'm not sure what I'm missing - maybe some more Shivika scenes and interaction itself!? Haha - rest assured that will too soon be coming up. Anyway. Please do let me know what you think - I hope I've done it justice.
Enjoy
Nimm xx
The Bitter Taste of Regret
Something was very wrong. Om could feel it in his bones. It had already been half a day since Shivaay left for Nashik and still no word from him. He shared a look with Rudra who appeared to be in a state of agitation as he sat with Priyanka and their mother.
"Even if he did take a car, which he didn't, it would have only been three hours. But he went with the chopper - He should have been there by an hour, for heaven's sake," Tej was exclaiming down the line to Oberoi's representative in Nashik.
"Haan, par Papa, weather bhi buri hain na?" Rudra put in, a faint hope interlacing his tone which only went noticed by Dadi and Omkara.
"Okay so 2 hours by chopper, max." His father amended. "But still, woh dusre country mein nahi gaya tha. He should still be in the same goddamn state. Call me if you hear anything from Shivaay," with that Tej ended the call and turned back to his family - all supporting anxious expressions on their faces. He sighed.
"Jeth Ji, kya kera that woh Aman, mere Shivaay keh bare?" Pinky immediately inquired seeking to soothe the millions of different scenarios that were abuzz in her mind.
Another sigh. "No sign of Shivaay. He was supposed to be at the land plot an hour before the Ranas to close the deal and now the Ranas have been there for the past two hours."
"Nashik poncha hain bhi ya ne?" Dadi spoke up.
Tej shrugged."Who knows? Aman ne ek aadmi bheja tha usko helipad se pick up karne keliye. But the chopper didn't even get there."
"Oh koi baat nahi. Zaroor kuch chote mote se baat hoi hai aur hum sab yahan pareshan aise baithe hain. Usne shayad uska phone phir se gusse mein thod diya hoga aur is liya uska phone ne lagda." The younger Oberoi bahu laughed nervously. It wasn't certain who she was trying to convince, the rest of the family or herself.
Rudra and Omkara shared another look. Somehow they just knew, deep down, that this wasn't one of those cases where Shivaay had thrown away another of his phones.
And then, Rudra had discovered the news. Time froze. Silence prevailed in the living room of the Oberoi mansion. The words 'Nashik, Oberoi and explosion' echoing in everyone's ears. The terrifying image of the burning chopper glued to their minds.
Omkara was the first to react. He shot out of the room, oblivious to the calls that followed him. And all at once, Rudra shot out after Omkara, Pinky crumbled to the floor in a heap, Tej pulled out his phone again, adamant there was some confusion, Dadi cried out for her Billu, Jhanvi went to Pinky and Priyanka sobbed into her Dadi's arms. Shakti Singh Oberoi was still. His eyes trained on the TV screen, tuning out the commotion that was taking place around him; he appeared to not have moved at all.
XXX
"Tumhe kuch ho, usse pehle meri jaan jayegi. Aur Shivaay Singh Oberoi ki jaan itni asani si nahi jayenge."
How could this have happened? Was it not only yesterday, he had promised that he would not lose his life so easily? Then what was going on? He was so confused. Shivaay already had several attempts made at his life. He'd survived each encounter by the skin of his teeth.
"O," a pained voice ventured behind him as a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. And before Omkara knew what he was doing he had spun around and engulfed his younger brother in a tight embrace.
"Yeh sab humare saath kyun hota rehta hain?"
Rudra gave a dry humourless chuckle. "Hamari kismat hi aisi hai."
"Aur jab tak mein hoon-"
"I know. Tere aur tere bhaiyon ko koi harm ne kar sakta. Kyunki humare aur humare enemies ke beech main, the Great Wall of Shivaay jo hain!"
"He's laughed in the face of death too many times to stop now."
"I know, O. We all have."
XXX
If there were any gods up there, they truly did have a cruel sense of humour. It was no doubt the saying went 'be careful what you wish for.' It must have surely been as a warning of the universe's sick habit to grant wishes and desires expressed in the spur of the moment and that too in the worst way possible over the genuine ones.
Anika had never felt as much guilt and self-loathing in her life as much as she did now. Had she just condemned a man to death? How had this happened?
That was never her intention. She may have despised the bagar billa but never in a million years would she have asked for his life to be taken away even though he was her 'so called enemy.' She recalled her conversation with Sahil on the phone and his story about his girlfriend.
Realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks. Sahil and her only had each other. But him? This whole family was in a miserable state before they had even gotten any news - he was about to get married too. All these lives that were interweaved with his own and would be irrevocably changed with his...death. And she had spoken to him so callously this morning.
There was a tight sensation uncoiling in her chest and Anika struggled to breathe. What had she done? No. She couldn't think like that. They hadn't found his body yet. He could be alive.
But still the heavy burden gnawing at her chest wouldn't ease. She wished she could take back her words this morning. Even if it did nothing to change the events that took place today, at least her conscience would be clear and their last encounter wouldn't have been such a bitter one.
A sudden shriek jostled her out of her thoughts. Alarmed, she went to investigate the source of the shrill sound. And there he was. Every inch of his face being desperately smooched by his mother in between her loud relieved exclamations. Dadi was crying tears of joy whilst his siblings encircled him. He didn't have a single scratch on him.
"Oh my mata! Mera Shivaay! Kitna darr gi thi mein."
"Kuch nahi hoya hain mujhe, Maa. Mein bilkul teek hoon. Mujhe raste mein Igatpuri main land karna para kyun ki weather bohot kharab ho gayi thi."
That's when he looked up and caught her eye from across the hall. Anika instantly let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and simultaneously two tears slid down her face. Shocked at her own reaction, she hastily wiped away the the stray drops lest anyone see them. But the damage had been done - Shivaay had caught the action and frowned. He watched as she made her way toward Dadi, quietly excusing herself for the day before leaving.
This was a family moment, she thought. It wasn't her place. She didn't belong there.
That night Anika fell asleep in Sahil's lap, too afraid to be alone after the day's events and needing the comfort of her brother's presence with her.
That night Shivaay found an enfolded note sat on his pillow, so small that he wouldn't have noticed it had he not been more attuned to minute details.
'I'm Sorry.'
"Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
Drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live."
-Dorothy Parker
Hindi TV Shows
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
