FF - Togetherness Again - Epilogue & A letter from NK Updated Page - Page 33

Part 18

As awaited, Ragini reached Mumbai and was warmly welcomed and received by Nidhi's younger brother.

Ragini was nostalgic as she passed through the streets in Mumbai , bringing back memories of her childhood and her family. She had last visited Mumbai 2 years back when she lost her father who lived in Mumbai. The driver soon took to the highway towards Matheran.

In a couple of hours Ragini had reached the venue for the wedding, the Regal Hotel at Matheran. The spacious resort was lively and beautiful. The vast landscape was covered with greenery and rows and rows of cottages around. A big canopy decorated traditionally with silk drapes wrapped around the pillars and the backdrops were in auspicious colors like red, golden and silver. Marigold and jasmine garlands were used that gave a beautiful look to the entire canopy where the wedding was to be solemnized late in the evening.

Ragini admired the decorations and the arrangements as she passed through the entrance, walking on the long red carpet laid for the guests to the cottages of which one was booked for her. She thanked the staff and Nidhi's brother for all the hospitality before she went into her cottage. She made a quick call to her Mrs.Malhotra to inform her about the safe arrival to Matheran and also to talk to Ranbir and cheer him up who was a little upset with his mother gone. After the call she decided to take a shower and then get dressed for the wedding that evening. Something wihin her told that this day would change her life forever.

****

'Hi, Nachiket Khanna', Nachiket said to the lady at the reception. She scrolled through the list of invitees and found the keys to the cottage that was booked in his name. Smiling at him graciously, she handed him the keys and politely added, 'Have a good stay Sir'.

Nachiket smiled back to her and turned to leave, but something occurred to him and he stopped and turned to face her again and spoke casually, 'umm...I have a friend who is here from Bangalore to attend the wedding, can you tell me what her cottage number is? Might as well drop in to say a quick hello to her...'

Noticing her hesitation, he quickly added, 'Be rest assured I don't mean to disturb your guest but she is a common friend...so..'

'Sure, her name?', she asked politely but a little hesitant to disclose the information.

'Ragini', Nachiket answered and anticipated the lady's positive reply just to confirm her arrival because he definitely was not going to meet her and talk to her immediately.

'We have Ragini Malhotra in cottage G101', the lady said.

Nachiket noticed the number of his keys and it read, G102' and said, 'Thanks! She is right opposite...Fantastic!' Nachiket was thrilled to know that Ragini was just in the opposite room.

The lady looked a little surprised to see Nachiket's happiness and watched him walk swiftly towards his cottage.

***

Later Evening

Nachiket put the maroon colored stole around his neck and stood in front of the mirror admiring himself, 'perfect!', he muttered. He wore a beautiful pearl colored knee length Armani Sherwani finely embroidered on collar, front panel and sleeves. He looked charming and princely perfect! He wore his favorite scent before he stepped out dressed up for the wedding and to meet his lady love, Ragini.

Ragini too looked gorgeous in a deep maroon color Upadda silk saree with beautiful floral jaal design all over and jari kadhi pallu. She'd rolled her hair into a low bun encircled by fresh mogra and had kept the makeup minimum. The maroon color suited her fair skin and she looked simple yet mesmerizing. She picked her little purse and left the cottage to be beside her friend for the wedding.

She was occupied with the thoughts of wedding and meeting long lost friends so was feeling much better and relaxed than earlier. The last few days had been very disturbing for her, but this wedding was a welcome break. She walked towards the canopy slowly and carefully and noticed that the guests had already arrived. She took small steps and stood at the entrance and her eyes darted from one corner to another to check if she could spot someone she knew. She saw the couple; both Nidhi and her husband Shekhar seated in the canopy and the ceremony had just begun.

'Ragini', Nachiket whispered in her ear. Ragini swiftly turned around and her eyes met Nachiket's. She kept looking at him silently and her eyes brimmed with tears to see him in front of him after so many days. She put her hand forward to cup his face, but stopped suddenly and turned away wiping her tears. Nachiket held her wrist instantly and said, 'Ragini please wait, I need to talk to you.'

'Nachiket, not now, please leave my hand', Ragini said a little hesitantly and pleaded Nachiket to let go of her. Nachiket looked around and loosened his grip on her wrist and he let go of her hand. Ragini walked away and sat beside Nidhi's mother for a while but her eyes were now constantly searching for Nachiket. She spotted him talking to someone, but noticed that his eyes too were on her. Her heart fluttered each time their eyes met. She was extremely awed to see him traditionally dressed and couldn't for once take her eyes off him. She'd once told him in college that he looked like so princely when dressed in Indian attire and that he would be the most handsome groom ever. She smiled unknowingly with the thoughts running in her mind, but was distracted with the hymns and chants by the priest.

Ragini caught Nidhi's attention and waved back at her . The bride blushed and smiled at Ragini acknowledging her presence. Ragini was keen to meet and talk to her, but she knew she would have to wait for a while more. The various ceremonies took place one after another and then the priest told the couple to stand up for the pheras. The couple promptly stood up and all the guests surrounded the couple to shower them with the flower petals when they would take the pheres.

The priest began to explain the vows as the couple took the first phera and Nachiket stood beside Ragini quietly as she happily showered petals on her friend.

'I vow to pray to God on our behalf for plenty of nourishing and for this we'll walk together to get pure food', Ragini heard Nachiket murmur in her ears.

She turned to face Nachiket and he continued, 'I vow to pray to God for a healthy and prosperous life and ask for the physical, spiritual and mental health of both from God', as the couple took the second phera.

Ragini kept looking into his eyes and Nachiket continued as the couple went on to take the third phera, 'I vow to pray God for wealth and for the strength for both of us so that we can share the happiness and pain together.'

Not once did Ragini tear her eyes away from him while he continued to vow along with the couple as they took the fourth phera, 'I vow to pray to God for the increase in love and respect for each other and for our respective families'.

Nachiket smiled and said further, 'I vow to pray for beautiful, heroic and noble children from God' Nidhi blushed while she took the fifth phera.

Ragini's eyes were still arrested with Nachiket's and she heard him sincerely take the next vow, 'I vow to pray god for a peaceful long life with each other'.

'And in my seventh vow, I promise to pray to god for our companionship, togetherness, loyalty and understanding between ourselves forever.' Nachiket said and the couple too took the last phera.

Ragini was dumbstruck and rendered speechless to say anything. She stood there wanting to believe every word Nachiket spoke with utmost sincerity and that he would fulfill all the vows. The world ceased to exist for the two as they both spoke through eyes in silence with one another. A conversation that needed no words.

Nachiket pleaded through his eyes to her to understand that his love was true and that he meant to fulfill every vow he just took. Ragini for the first time lowered her eyes and wiped her tears. She turned to leave, but two scampering children rushed past her hurriedly pushing her aside. Ragini was unable to balance herself with the push and was about to fall and hit her back on the ground but she instead fell into Nachiket's arms. He grasped her immediately and saved her from the fall.

'Oops! Is she alright?', Shekhar spoke loudly. Ragini heard his voice and hastily tried to stand up clutching Nachiket's arm. Nachiket helped her to stand up and asked, 'You are okay?' Ragini nodded 'Thanks'.

'Let's go and meet them', he said and helped Ragini walk ahead of him. They went together to congratulate the couple.

'So Mr.Khanna finally makes his grand presence in my wedding', Shekhar said and smiled as he saw both Nachiket and Ragini approaching towards them and continued, and along with my bhabhiji.' Ragini was surprised to be addressed as bhabhiji but she quietly walked to them.

Nachiket's hand rested on Ragini's back to support her. He hugged Shekhar and said 'Congratulations my friend!'

'Thanks buddy! , Namaste bhabhiji, Congratulations to the two of you too...When Nachiket told me about you I was very pleased and excited to meet you. Must say, a wonderful wife Nachiket has found in you.'

Ragini faked a smile awkwardly and she looked at Nachiket in confusion. Her friend Nidhi too was equally confused and before she could say anything Nachiket spoke, 'Absolutely! Ragini is the most amazing and wonderful person I've ever come across. Indeed a wonderful wife.' He finished confidently, his eyes on her.

'Ragini?', Nidhi questioned a little confused. Shekhar was surprised to know that Nidhi knew her and asked, 'You both know each other?

'Yes, she is my school friend, but with Nachiket?', she spoke skeptically.

Nachiket sensed her confusion and to avoid further misunderstanding and awkwardness he spoke quickly, 'Mr. Photographer one picture with my best friend on his big day please'.

'Sure', the man smiled and said.

Nachiket immediately pulled Ragini beside him and clicked a picture with the couple. She was very uncomfortable with all the happenings, but did not want to vent out in front of others. After the picture, she went to Nidhi and said softly, 'We'll talk later! Many congratulations to both of you!!'

Nidhi thanked her, but looked upset to see Ragini worried. She prayed for her friend and wished things to be simpler for her who she knew had faced a lot of trouble. She was more surprised to see Nachiket with her. With the guests coming up to wish her, she pushed her thoughts aside at that moment, but it did remain at the back of her mind.

Ragini walked out of the canopy in fury and exited without waiting or talking to anyone. Nachiket ran behind her and followed her till they both were out of anyone's sight away from the canopy and the wedding. Ragini shivered as she walked swiftly in the cold night towards her cottage. Nachiket jogged to keep pace with her and held her hand to stop her, 'Ragini wait! What is the problem?'

She turned to look at him and asked angrily, 'WHY? Why are you doing this Nachiket?'

Nachiket looked shocked to see Ragini's anguish, it hurt him to see her so disturbed. He waited for a minute to let her calm down and asked, 'What am I doing?'

'Do you know Nachiket I have always loved you and no one else in my life, four years back and even today, for me it's only NACHIKET. The last few months whatever you said, you did, whatever I read in your eyes I thought it was love, but NO...', Ragini screamed and as she cried.

Nachiket was taken aback to see Ragini's outrage, he opened his mouth, but the words failed to come out. He took a step towards her, but she backed immediately, 'No Nachiket, stay there. THIS is what you are doing to me.'

'Sympathy!' She declared.

Nachiket gasped and repeated in disbelief, 'Sympathy?'

'Yes Nachiket, sympathy, I thought...the midnight promise, the candles, all that you did was love, but now I know, it's your sympathy for me, for Mrs. Ragini Aman Malhotra who has a son to raise! Let me tell you Mr. Khanna, I do NOT need any of your sympathies. You need not feel bad for me and marry me and take up Ranbir's responsibility just because you think I am living this life after you denied my proposal. We are good and happy the way we are. And as far as I am concerned, you've already broken my heart once Nachiket, It will be yet another time and I'm okay with it, but I can't see this concern in your eyes that you call love. It hurts me Nachiket. It hurts...that it's not that love, I have for you because you could never love me more than a friend right?', Ragini retorted and cried further.

Nachiket froze in his place unable to believe what Ragini just said. 'I loved her more than my life and here she misunderstood my love as sympathy?' he thought. Ragini wept uncontrollably hiding her face in her palms. She shivered as she spoke everything out that she held it within. Her sobs reduced slowly and without looking at Nachiket she turned and began to walk away.

Nachiket saw her leaving without even giving him a chance to speak. He gathered himself and spoke loudly, 'I love you Ragini...and I have always loved you.'

Ragini turned around to face him and was fighting her tears unsuccessfully. Nachiket closed his eyes helplessly and spoke, 'It is true Ragini that I broke your heart, something that killed me equally, but I had to no option but to do that. I loved two people a lot in my life. My mother and you. I lost my mother, she was killed. I loved you more than my life Ragini and I could not let Kamolika kill you.'

It was Ragini's turn to be shocked to death. Her hands and feet turned cold with what she just heard. Nachiket paused and sighed in frustration recollecting the evil mother in Kamolika before he spoke further, 'I did not want to lose you Ragini, I had to choose your life over mine, I dreaded to lose you like my mother and so I let go of you against my will and I married Rupali. My wedding with her brought the required investments in Khanna industries, but it took everything from me, it took you away from me Ragini. And when I fought my fate and came back to you, you were gone. I longed to meet you one day to apologize for all that I did. Yes, I m guilty to break your heart, yes, I'm guilty to know that today you are living this unpleasant life because of me, but trust me Ragini, I proposed marriage to you only because God has been kind enough to give me an opportunity to be with you again. It cannot be sympathy Ragini!', Nachiket finished and broke down.

He was depressed and emotionally drained and too much in pain. He looked up at Ragini standing at a distance and said, 'It was my mistake that I let you go back then and it brought grief to both of us Ragini, I can't let you go now, If anything then only death do us part.'

Those words were all it took to break all the invisible walls that stood between the two. Ragini ran towards Nachiket and threw her hands around him and hugged him tightly and said, 'Never say that again Nachiket.' Nachiket too tightened his hold on her and rested his chin on her head. He shut his eyes, letting his tears flow while Ragini buried her head in his chest and broke down. She cried as she said, 'I should have listened to my heart Nachiket I'm sorry!'

'Sshh..., calm down Ragini', Nachiket rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. He caressed her hair and cradled her head, holding it close to his heart and let her cry. She cried her heart out and melted in Nachiket's arms. They stood embracing each other in the cold night, letting all their anguish and pain flow out as tears and unburden their hearts.

After a long emotional moment Ragini had calmed down, she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Nachiket wiped her tears and grinned before he said very softly, 'Be mine!'

Nachiket's mischievous smile brought a blush to her cheeks. Ragini nervously rose onto the tips of her toes, slid her arms around his neck not breaking the eye contact even once. She blushed further as she closed her eyes and tilted her head inching closer to him and softly kissed him on his warm lips. Nachiket gave a slight gasp as her soft lips covered his. He hesitated first, but finally he kissed her back and warmly enveloped her into him. They both poured in all their pent up feelings in that moment as they deepened the kiss embracing one another tightly.

It was their first kiss, the moment of acceptance of their love, the moment that put an end to all the distance between the two, the moment that marked the beginning of their togetherness again. In the quieter part of the night, only their heartbeats were audible to the two. This magical moment was witnessed by the same moon that saw them move apart.

***

The next few moments were brief, the blink and miss kinds, she did not realize when she was carried by him to her cottage. It only dawned upon her that this was indeed reality and not a dream when she saw Nachiket hanging the do no disturb' tag on the knob before he shut the door behind him.

As he inched forward, as if hypnotized, Ragini felt her palms sweating. He looked possessed. A look she had never seen on his rugged and handsome face before. She had seen him shocked, she had seen him surprised and happy, she had seen him sulking. She had hardly seen him looking so.. words failed her.. s**y! She knew she had only moments before the trance would be broken so she tried all her best to save as much of him as possible in her eyes. She tried to etch him on her memories forever, so every night as she would close her eyes, his face, his 'this' look would come before her eyes and would make her feel just as breathless and helpless as she was feeling right now.

As he stepped closer, she had to crane her neck to look into his eyes that shone with passion and anticipation. The sensitivity and warmth that she always found in those shining eyes was replaced tonight by sheer want and longing and for once she wasn't complaining. As she mustered all her will to take his name, all she could hear was a whisper. His hand flew to her lips and they trembled under his finger. As his eyes rested on them she felt a pull so hard as if it was magnetic. She was giddy with happiness and needed the support that only his powerful arms could offer. The hug was bone crashing, as she had always anticipated. The touch today however was different than those times when they had hugged each other previously. Today there was no retraction possible. As his lips touched the most sensual spot on her neck, she hoped she had not gasped to make it all very obvious. Or maybe she had because his lips lingered a little more. He was certain about what he was doing and that confidence was what she knew made him all the s**ier.

What had followed after that was a chain reaction. She was amazed at her own body and mind. At her body because she never knew it had so many spots, waiting to be touched and caressed, she never knew its limits of receiving and giving pleasure. At her mind because she never knew she would have moments where the entire universe would come to a standstill and she would have nothing else on her mind other than the man himself and the sweet torment he was putting her through. She sensed her inhibitions melting. She sensed her worries for tomorrow evaporating. She was in general amazed at him. He had caressed her name just as lovingly before with his husky voice as his hands caressed her now. He had the ability to let every fiber of her come alive, to make her aware of every tiny thing that changed inside of her. All she was aware of right now was their bodies making music together.

She gasped as he picked her up in his arms and led her to the bed. The brown comforter did not look that bad after all that had her discarded earrings and change of clothes. Setting her on it, he literally pushed everything off the bed in one sweep of his hand. His pupils had dilated fully announcing his state of arousal. Ragini was nowhere different. She could have never imagined him with these moves.

She was floating above her own body with pleasure, pain & boundless passion that threatened to push her limits. She thought she would faint but his aggression lessened no more and secretly she didn't want it to either. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been an hour or it could have been a century. For the first time in her life, she had stopped tracking time. Her gasps were quicker now, her breathing shallow. His state was similar too. When he spoke his voice was husky, dipped in warm honey. Are you ready? She could feel his readiness and hers too, but the words had failed her. She barely nodded. She could feel his lips curling into a smile as he tugged gently on her earlobe.

What preceded that last wordy conversation of the night was what she had never dreamt of. Yes. She had imagined in the past how it would feel to be crushed in those strong arms. How it would feel to be kissed by those beautiful lips. How it would feel to know him so intimately. How it would feel to finally open up to him and surrender. How it would feel to reach that crescent of pleasure together, but now when she was experiencing all this first hand, it was nowhere near to what she had imagined. It was a blur as her clothes came off and his too.

Nachiket dived in and claimed what had become his on this beautiful night. Strong wind extinguished all the candles that were burning and the entire room was washed into the moonlight. Just good enough for you to see what you wanted to see and dark enough to hide the rest of the world that didn't matter anyway!

As they moved, now settled in a natural rhythm, their bodies brushed, their hands explored each other as if it will be the doomsday tomorrow and what they had remained was just one night. She made him feel complete. A man that was able to take her on a whirlwind tour to the universe. He made her entire body feel like a bundle of nerves, open and exposed to the pleasure that poured in. Time passed slowly & Ragini understood why they called it making love. You couldn't feel anything other than love in the moment as you reach the peak of ecstasy together, as you experience the wave of undiluted passion, soaking you over, not giving you any respite from the first before the next one crashes on you.

That night witnessed the beautiful unison of two bodies burning with desire as one soul, Nachiket and Ragini discovered newer dimensions of their love and also that they had longed for one another for ages. They had explored one another a little more this time; intimately yet beautifully completing one another as man and wife. They had discovered their love passionately, shedding all their inhibitions as they made love to, possess each other more and more. They were enthralled in experiencing a heavenly bliss that suited them best which was as divine, as pure and as true as their love!

Nachiket and Ragini were now one, two hearts entwined, knotted, fused, to be never separated or torn apart for eternity!