Thunder rolled outside in dark waves setting off a current of electricity that shocked the world around for a minute before it went all black and rain filled the silence. The sound of the drops, once welcoming, now seemed mysterious and shallow. Through her limited vision, she could only see darkness around her as she stumbled through the mess of trees and branches that poked through the water that circled her feet. She didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she needed to get home fast before the rain began to flood her body and drown her in the harsh weather it was staged in. But it felt like she was going in circles moving against the wind and then being pushed back by its wrath into another direction that would only pull her further away from safety. She had tried for help hours ago, but all that did was clench her throat and wipe away her voice. The dark of the night walked on casually as if mocking her for her helplessness yet looking on in curiosity to see if she would break down and sob.
She hadn't cried yet though.
She hadn't let herself waste her tears on something she believed was temporary. She was just momentarily stuck in an abyss of nothingness. All she had to do was wait it out and some help would come to get her. Surely, they would know that she was missing and that she needed help. They would notice that she was gone and then send a search team to rescue her. He would know. He would have raged his anger on to everybody by now and called up the entire Police department to find her. He would find her.
All she had to do was wait.
But, for how long? The water began to soak her knees and her kurti making it harder to walk through the narrow pathway while keeping herself from stumbling. Another burst of light shot through the sky showing her the height of the trees around her and a small path to the right before it went all black again. She moved slowly, to avoid the scratches from the thorns and needles on the forest floor and made her way to the edge of the pathway that was less flooded with water.
Now she could walk safely feeling her way with the tree bark on her skin to guide her away from danger. She took the first few steps cautiously, waiting to see if she heard any movement that would indicate the presence of a predator. When she was sure of her surroundings, she moved further down the path, hoping that this would lead her away from the darkness and into safety. She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared.
And alone.
A small burst of light shone from the end of the pathway and illuminated the mist that fogged her vision. She squinted at the contact with light first, but then took a deep breath of relief, having finally found the way out of this darkness. Taking generous steps towards it, she felt her way through the path only to be pulled into darkness once again when the light was blocked by the outline of a person. It was definitely the body of a man. From the strong built and the height, she could tell that the man was familiar. She wondered who he was and why he had gotten stuck in this nothingness the way she had. Wasn't she the only one here?
She slowly but steadily made her way closer to the man only to find that he had moved the same distance away. Confused at how he had maneuvered his way around the rapidly increasing rain and found the light, she worked her way quickly across the stream of lizards beneath her feet and towards the mysterious man ahead of her.
Yet again, the more she came closer to him, the farther he moved away. She could have sworn that she had walked faster than him through the mud and insects of the path, but somehow she kept falling behind and farther away from the glow of light that seemed to move with him. Worry and anxiety getting the best of her, she tried using her voice to call out to him, but it came out raspy and indistinctive. Frustrated, she stomped her feet in the water and slumped against the tree bark to the side of the path. How was she ever going to get out of this? How was she going to go back to him? Where was he? Why hadn't he found her yet?
Taking a deep breath, she stood up again and took off in a run towards the figure that moved slowly ahead of her. She ran and ran until she was out of breath and the water had scraped her feet dry. She ran until she finally was able to make out the deep trenches of his back and his broad shoulders that were still turned away from her. Hadn't he heard her run?
His feet were dry in spite of the rain that was pouring heavily around him and his clothes seemed familiar. Now that she thought of it, everything about him seemed familiar. His long mane of hair was tied up in a tight bun at the back of his head and she could faintly make out the soft footfalls as he continued his walk towards the misty light.
Who was he and what was he doing here?
At the sound of another pair of feet behind him, he turned around so that the light from the end of the pathway framed his head in a halo. His face was expressionless as he stared into her deep hazel eyes.
She gasped.
It was him.
He had found her. He was here. He was going to get her out of this mess. He was going to take her to safety. Relief and happiness slithered over her body as she heaved against the drops of rain that clouded her vision.
She didn't waste another minute before turning to him and reaching out to launch herself in his arms. But, as soon as she touched him, he started to fade into the darkness that surrounded him. No. No. No.This could not be happening. He couldn't leave her here. Frantic, she screamed his name out to stop what was happening, but it was all so sudden that she didn't have time to blink. He had disappeared into the misty cool breeze of the forest along with the light that would guide her out of this abyss, leaving her here forever.
________
Gauri woke up in panic and in a sheen of cold sweat that layered her face.
That dream again.
The memory of the helplessness of the abyss and the dark of the forest floor came back too clear and too painful for Gauri to hide it away in the depths of her mind. It came back with a chilling reminder of what had happened, but this time she hadn't screamed. So, that is an improvement, I guess, she thought, remembering the nights that she had woken up with a blood-curling scream on her lips and the terror of the incident etched in her mind. Towards her right, Annika di was sleeping peacefully with the sheets wrapped tightly around her.
Her cheeks were still stained with tears though.
Too wide awake to fall back asleep again, her traitorous mind wandered back to what happened two weeks ago.
She had been happy. Very happy. Smiling into space and twirling in her daydream were now her new regular habits that she was not sure she was used to. And she knew, surely, that she was falling hard and fast for the man she had been dating for about three and a half months now. If she could get away with confessing one truth to the world, she would admit that she was a die-hard romantic at heart. How couldn't she be, having grown up watching SRK and his larger than life romance. She had hoped, deep down, that she would find someone who could be half as romantic as her filmy hero, but the practical Gundi in her shot that idea down every time her heart tried to hope. Practical and cautious Gundi Gauri dealt with cheap men everyday who teased her in the train, on the bus, on the street and in class trying to get something that they had no right to ask. Gundi Gauri was a fighter who dealt with real problems, not the Gauri who dreamed of running into the arms of her hero in the middle of a field of yellow sunflowers.
Then how had he found the romantic girl inside of her while keeping the Gundi alive? How had he so effortlessly understood her practical, outspoken, bold nature while cherishing her shyness and her inhibitions? How was he so perfectly matched for her?
Omkara Singh Oberoi, Gauri thought with a smile. Someday, he was going to get the best of her, get her down on her knees in love and get her to confess how much she wanted him to herself. Not for the near few months they talked about, but for eternity. For the rest of her life. Whether he wanted it or not. She just needed time to figure out her feelings exactly, Gauri thought, then Gundi Gauri knew exactly how to tie her boyfriend up in a tangle of words that would keep him to her forever.
At least that was what she thought.
That was what she had hoped until she walked home one day to find her Annika di in a mess of crumpled dreams and broken tears at the foot of their house, dead to the harsh words around her. She wouldn't move or speak or eat or react. Her Annika di was gone. Gauri had never been so scared in her life. She had never seen her di so helpless, so dead and so barren. They had faced problems before, many, but Annika di had always fought back. But here she was, like a dead woman walking and staring into nothingness. Her limp body was here in her arms, but her mind was trapped somewhere else. Where?
Gauri wouldn't know until her so called Nikhil Jiju stormed into the house and accused Annika di of an affair with Shivaay Singh Oberoi. Shivaay Singh Oberoi? All she knew about him was that he was a ruthless businessman and a quiet person who loved his sister. What did any of that have to do with Annika di? And why was everybody hell bent on ruining di's name by calling her a mistress of the eldest Oberoi brother? If there was anyone rumored to be romantically linked to one of the three heirs to the Oberoi empire, it was her. Then why was Annika di's name being dragged into all of this?
If Nikhil's accusations weren't enough, Chachi began her taunts that only made the situation worse and brought out the wrath in her. She screamed and shouted for her di's innocence, but nobody was ready to listen. Elders who had seen her di grow up in front of their eyes were now turning their backs as if they didn't recognize her. And it broke Gauri's heart.
Di was still frozen in her wedding dress when Gauri took a good look at her and found the remnants of sindoor in her hair and a flower garland around her neck. Her eyes widened in shock and deceit, wondering what had happened to her di. She shook her, pushed her, screamed and cried, but nothing worked. Her Annika di would not budge.
Then when Sahil came limping towards his di and turned her tear-stricken face to him, she let out a breath and a few tears. He had hugged her then pulling her against his small frame and that let down a river of tears that had been stopped by a dam of shock. She clutched Sahil's frame and screamed until her voice went hoarse and here eyes began to dry from the lack of tears to cry. Gauri couldn't see her in this state and she needed to know who had done this to her di. Whoever had snatched her di's spirit was going to pay with his life, because Gundi Gauri was coming to get him.
Gauri led her Annika di into the remains of their house, sat her down and urged her to tell her what had happened. Annika couldn't utter words. All she said was "wedding and "Shivaay Singh Oberoi, but Gauri was no fool. She understood what had happened.
She needed to tell Om, she needed him to know the damage that his brother had done to their family. She knew it would be difficult for him to believe, but she needed his support the most right now. She had enough faith in her love to know that he would be there for her.
So when a knock on the door echoed through the room, Gauri opened the door and launched herself into Om's arms crying over the broken pieces of her di's life that had been strewn across her happiness. Om was shocked at the bare emotions that his Gauri was showing him. She had always been a hard nut to crack when it came to expressing emotions. So, her crying like this meant that something very serious had happened. He hugged her back immediately, leaning into her and comforting her. What had happened for his Gundi Gauri to sob? She was a fighter, then why did it feel like she was leaning on him for her support? Slowly he pulled her back and cupped her face to wipe her tears. Then, he placed a firm kiss on her forehead and asked her without words who had wronged her.
Before she could say anything though, Annika's shocked voice broke through the silence and Gauri's eyes widened in horror.
"Gauri, what the hell is all of this?"
She had wanted her di to know, but not like this. Not when she was stuck in a hate-filled marriage with her boyfriend's brother. Not when she knew that di would disapprove. How had things gotten so tangled up? She was so happy, then why did things have to tear and brake like they were never meant to be?
"Di, I-I can e-explain.."
"NO" Annika roared for the first time in days. There was no way she was going to let her sister be destroyed by another Oberoi, the way she had been destroyed. She wouldn't let her sister daydream about a happy relationship with this man when she knew what his family was capable of.
Om and Gauri both jumped out of their embrace at the steely, ice-cold hate in Annika's voice. Both held their hearts, scared for what was going to happen next.
Slowly but determinedly, Annika made her way to where Gauri stood and pulled her back from Om and behind her body.
"How dare you?" She sneered.
"Annika, I don't know what has happened, but believe me-"
"Believe you? Why should I believe you when all your family has done is disrespect me and leave me with nothing left?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Your so called brother, Shivaay Singh Oberoi thinks he can run the world and forcibly marry anybody he wants. Well that isn't the case. I am going to take legal action against him. He WILL not get away this easy. And I want you to stay far far away from my sister. I know what you are capable of."
Om stood there dumbfounded. How had things gone so wrong? On one hand was Gauri's sister Annika who he had nothing but respect for. Here, she was claiming the worst of his brother and making him believe that his brother was a monster.
But he wasn't.
Om had grown up with him, shared his food with him, played with him, leaned on him. He had seen the good side of Shivaay and the bad side of Shivaay, but a forced marriage? He couldn't just believe that his brother was capable of something that horrendous.
And stuck in the middle of this mess was his Gauri. Simple, innocent, Gundi Gauri who he wanted to be with more than anything else in this world. Now quivering with tears behind her di's back, he wanted nothing more than to just reach out and hold her.
"Annika, you might me mistaken. I'm sure Shivaay wouldn't do something like that."
Annika's eyes widened in horror. So, this man truly was just like his family. He didn't bother to find out about the truth before distributing blame on her and taking sides. After all, he was Shivaay Singh Oberoi's brother, right? The same Shivaay who she had once thought was Sweet Singh Oberoi.
She could feel Gauri clutch her arm as she tried to explain her side of the story, but Annika was having none of it. There was no way in hell she was going to let someone like Omkara play with her sister's feelings and leave her high and dry when the time came.
"GET OUT! Get out of my house now and don't ever come here again. Forget Gauri. Forget your relationship with her. I don't want your filthy mind anywhere near my sister."
"Di, stop. Om isn't like what you think he is. He is-"
"Gauri, I don't want to hear anything. I don't want you talking to him ever."
Annika moved to close the door in Om's face when his strong hands stopped her from doing so.
"Annika, you are hurt. I understand, but Gauri is my girlfriend and no one can stop me from meeting her."
"Oh really? So, I should just let you take her for a ride and then dump her when you feel convenient?"
"Di, I-"
But she was shushed.
Om took a deep breath reeling in his anger so that he wouldn't make the situation more complicated.
"I WON'T let her go."
"Well, do you think that you will just say that and I will believe it? I've seen people like you who talk big big things about marriage and future, but when the time comes you bail." Annika cried, thinking about her estranged fiancee Nikhil.
"Just believe me, I won't let her go ever." Om said in a determined voice, looking straight into Gauri's eyes. The reassurance that he saw there relieved him.
"Why? Can you say that you love her? Do you see a future with her? Or is this a few months of time pass that you are used to?"
Om stopped cold. Love? He didn't know what that was. He didn't know if he felt it for her. If love was the mushy couples romancing in the middle of the street like no one was watching then no, he wasn't in love. If love was admiring her beauty and heaping praises on her every chance he got, then no he wasn't in love. And if love was looking into her eyes so that he could count the number of eyelashes she had on each eye, then no, probably he wasn't in love.
And he had never thought about the future. All he knew was the present and that was with Gauri. He felt belonging to her, he felt incomplete without her. If that was love, then he didn't know what he felt.
But, wasn't it all too soon? He had only given about three months to this relationship. Weren't people supposed to wait an eternity to fall in love? Weren't people supposed to feel violins sing and flutes chime every time they saw each other in love? He didn't. All he saw was his Gundi Gauri who was a devil and an angel mixed in one human being.
"Bolo, do you love her?" Annika asked again, knowing that whatever this man felt for her sister couldn't have been love. If it was, he would have said something by now.
Gauri stood behind her di's shoulder looking on hopefully into Om's eyes. She knew that she was hopelessly in love with this man. She had always known she would fall for him since the first meeting on the train. He had this charisma and this charm that brought you in even when you were least expecting it. And then the beautiful friendship they had shared where he had gotten to know her flaws and her strengths and had encouraged her in her worst had only warmed her heart. She had started falling for him since day one, but she realized it only now, three months into their relationship. And now in the midst of the mess that had been wrecking her life, she had been able to count on Om to not let her go. She had been able to lean on him and cry her heart out the way she did with no one else. She had been able to depend on him for him. Not for the money and the riches that defined him, but for his cool, instinctive, caring nature that was the perfect antidote to her personality.
So then why didn't he say anything and reassure di of their feelings for each other. Why didn't he say what he felt?
"See, I knew it. You never see anything more from my sister other than someone who is your current fling. Someone you can manipulate and tease. Get out of my house, Mr.Omkara Singh Oberoi and never come back."
Om stood still, not hearing what Annika had said, because he knew it was her rage talking. He was stuck though and he had no way to come out. If he took Shivaay's side in this mess and stood with his family, he would face Annika's wrath and possibly lose Gauri and if he stood by Annika, then he would betray the people who had stood by him all his life. What was he supposed to do?
And to make things worse, he had stood there not saying anything when Annika asked if he loved Gauri. He didn't know his feelings and knowing how unsure he was, he couldn't bare to look into the hope in Gauri's eyes. He had known what she expected him to say, but he couldn't say it. Not when he didn't truly believe in it. And when Annika asked him to get out after the long pause she had granted him, he didn't protest. He knew no way to pacify the situation and stand by her. Maybe tomorrow, when things cooled down, he would be able to talk. Maybe tomorrow he could come back and explain things to Gauri and make her believe that even though he wasn't in love yet, he would still stand by her side. So, he stepped back and turned around to walk back to his car as he heard the loud bang on the door behind him. Tomorrow, he would come back and make everything all right, but right now he needed to find Shivaay and find the truth.
Gauri stood there seeing his back turn and feeling her heart burst inside her chest and feeling all of the broken pieces lodge into her chest making dents that tore through her pain. She wanted to scream behind him, she wanted to pin him to the wall and demand an answer, she wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, but all her words died in her throat when she saw the uncertainty in his eyes. Did he not love her? Was he truly just thinking about their relationship as a temporary fling? Was she just another girlfriend to him? All those dates and kisses that she had given her heart and soul to, were they just regular events for him? Was she in this relationship alone, hoping and wanting something more than what they had in the present? Where was he? And if he never felt more than physical attraction, why had he led her on only to drop her like a hot potato when the time came to choose? Was she worth only that much?
She should have known though.
She should have known that his status, his brothers, his family would come in between what they shared. She should have known that when it came down to a choice, he would always choose his family. But, he hadn't even stopped to say a goodbye before dumping her in a mess of emptiness and endless darkness. He hadn't even stopped for a second look over his shoulder before he turned away. There wasn't a second of thought towards what they shared and what he had admired about her. He hadn't thought about the promise to share her best and her worst.
And the worst part was he had broken the Gundi in her.
Suddenly the Pros and Cons that they had made a joke of when he had asked her out to a date that rainy night, flashed in front of her eyes. Family. Friendship. Status. Brothers. Honesty. He had lied through his teeth about all the promises that he made about not letting her go and he had let his family and his status come in between them. And worst of all, he had broken so much of what she loved, that she could never go back to being just friends with him ever again.
She should have known.
She should have seen what she was getting into. She had listed out the Cons to this entanglement and had known the risks, but she had listened to her heart and done it anyway. So, then how could she blame him for the mess that they had created? How could she say that she had been blindsided when he had told her exactly what she was getting into?
It was her stupid heart to blame for the pain she was in right now. It was her heart which had begun to dream way more than the bounds of their relationship allowed. And it was now her stupid heart that was going to suffer through the anguish and heartbreak that she had allowed herself to feel.
Two weeks later.
She had gone back to college immediately, resigned from Sancham Publishers and had busied herself in finding another job that would help her di through the financial crisis that always seemed to loom over them.
She hadn't allowed herself to cry, because crying would mean she was weak and Gundi Gauri was a fighter and a winner. Heartbreak or not, she would fight through it and survive.
But, she couldn't stop her heart from hoping that he would realize his mistake and come back to get her. Her stupid stupid heart couldn't learn from the wreckage it went through.
He didn't come though.
A single phone call came late in the night after the incident, but she had been too damaged to pick up and he didn't call again.
It was clear.
He had moved on and she would have to forget and move on too, even though her traitorous heart wished otherwise...
😭😭😭
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