Posted:
Special Mention: This One Shot is dedicated to my dearest Anukka (Prejudiced)😳 And I hope she and all of you peeps will have a good time reading it.
The Confession
The reflecting image of the moon was flickering in the limpid water of the river; the coolness of the breeze blowing could be felt by Jalal and Jodha as they sat on the steps of the river. Jalal looked up to the moon which was the only source of light in the midst of the night and let himself be swept away in awe of its beauty. But it was short-lived as his eyes fell upon his wife who was sitting beside him looking into infinity. His eyes softened as he noticed how exquisite she looked in this red-lehenga with thick stone embroidered bordering and a smile skipped from the corner of his mouth when he noticed a small mole on her left collar bone. He immediately turned his face on the other side and let out a broad smile on his thought as how he never noticed it before, 'maybe because of all the jewelries she carries'. Jodha moved her focus to Jalal, her lips immediately donned a gentle smile as she asked 'Do you remember this place?'
Jalal looked around and thought 'How can I not remember this place', this was same place where they both saw each other for the first time, where their story actually began. He shook his head and let out a 'yes' in response.
Jodha nodded her head and with playfulness filled in her doe like eyes asked 'Tell me one thing Shahenshah, you took this much trouble of coming to Amer in disguise just to caught a glimpse of mine?' and there her smile was turned into a quick laugh as she noticed the changing color of Jalal's face.
'What? That's...That's not true,' Jalal rubbished her assertion in one go.
'Really then what was the reason of your visit?' she asked with a raised brow.
' I came to gather some information about Amer which would have helped me in winning the war...There you go and Jodha I am Shahenshah I have better things to do than to roam around pretty girls.' Jalal said in his defense.
Jodha didn't buy it but said nothing except of giving him a nod. After few minutes of no exchange of words, Jalal let out a sigh and said 'You were...one of the reasons, I won't deny that,'
'One of the reasons or the actual reason?' she asked in her gentle voice while gazing placidly at him. With such innocence she asked that Jalal wanted to pull her cheeks for being so adorable but restrained from doing so. He ran his finger through his hair; passed a glance at her, while doing so he realized how genuinely she wanted to know the answer, so he said 'You were the actual reason.'
He noticed the changed expression of her face, her tranquil gaze; her eyes softened and her whole face lightened as if she made some discovery, She lowered her eyes and moved alittle closer to him and asked gently 'Was it worth taking this much risk?'
'It was worth it,' he replied not wasting a single moment.
She raised her eyes slowly to meet his, he took her left hand in his right, smiled seeing how her delicate hand fits beautifully in his and said,
'I was wandering on the street when I saw you passing by sitting in your palanquin, you were carrying a Diya in your hand and were smiling on your own like as if you were thinking of some good memories which was reflecting beautifully in your face. And I was mesmerized. I looked at you and kept on looking at you, the child like innocence of your face, the tender and delicate smile, the liveliness which was so evident in your eyes. It was all worth it, I think I fell for you immediately on that day. I'm not sure but I think I did because... '
He stopped and raised his gaze from their intertwined hands to her face and noticed the moisture in her eyes, he wanted to know what was going on her mind, he wanted to analyze her expression but he didn't. He with a quick movement removed his hand from hers as the memories of the night when she rejected him played out in front of his eyes. He became mad on himself thinking how he can get carried away like this as after that night he promised himself that he'd never let his feelings get a better of him and never would display his feelings to her. He quickly rose and said in a bitter tone 'Let's go, it's already very late,'
And just in the moment when he was about to walk out, Jodha held his hand and brought his movement to a halt. She rose from her place and approached him. Her eyes never left his face where as he was determined to not to have any eye contact with her; he was looking in different directions ignoring any eye contact at all. She knew the depth of the pain she caused him that night by her one unintentional act, she knew that ever since he try hard to maintain his distance from her and she could see the pain in his eyes right now. She removed the tear which just rolled down her cheek and said 'you didn't ask me the reason why I wanted to come here today with you'
'I don't want to know, Jodha let's go,' he said and proceeded to leave but was again stopped by her. He wanted to be out of her sight as he was afraid that his feelings might come out and then she'd able to see how much he still yearns for her love but he considered it being an embarrassment. He preferred to keep his feelings in a nutshell than to shower her with it since the night of rejection of his love.
Jodha on the other hand was determined to say what she was planning to say and with such determination burning in her eyes no one could have stopped her, not even Jalal. So, she continued 'Well... I love this place because it...it was this place only where I saw the glimpse of my future, it was in the water of this river only where I saw the reflection of the man who I was to love one day and that day has arrived. I have started loving that man...'
It took guts for her to finally let out her feelings as it was the hardest task for her to do. She never hated him, the man whose reflection she saw, actually she liked him. She liked the way he was looking at her with such confidence as if she was already his. But then everything changed and she had to hate him, hate him for the sake of his name, Jalaluddin Muhammad, hate him because she thought it was the right thing to do, and she continued to wear the mask of hatred even when she got married to him, as it was easy to do than to face him without the mask. She was afraid that she'd lose her identity in the process of loving him so she restrained herself from doing so but not anymore. That love helps a person to grow; to make self discoveries was the epiphany she made.
She continued, 'Shahenshah, I can't give any explanation for that day but all I could say is that I never wanted to hurt you, I didn't want to push you to the ground and I don't know how it all happened but it happened. And I regret it; I always wanted to talk to you about it but didn't know how. I know you the still carry the raw wound of that night but it was nothing intentional... I can't hurt you Shahenshah, it's not in me to hurt you. Time has changed and a lot of things happened between us since then and between all this I realized I love you. You know, I...I feel bad when you don't talk to me, when you don't look at me, when you don't reply to my taunts with a taunt, I feel bad...I feel bad and I want to start over, Can we?' her eyes glittering with tears.
Jalal was dumb-struck for a moment, how could he not be? The love of his life confessed that she loves him back. He didn't know how to react, whether he should hold her or remove the tears which were floating at the edge of her eyes. He looked at her with the teary eyes and a slight smile on his face. After a moment, he took her hand and put it on his chest and said 'Did you feel it? That's my heart which is beating. The first time when I realized of its being alive was when I made the realization of being in love with you and you know the strange thing... it didn't stop beating even after the night when I lost all the hopes on us, it didn't. Jodha, I'm always ready to give us a second chance but what if...'
'No but...Nothing,' nodding her head in a clear no, she interrupted him and continued,
'I love you Shahensha and it is for eternity, we are for eternity, our love is for eternity.'
What if it's not?'
'It is, I can feel it and I know you can feel it too.'
With such confidence she spoke that it made Jalal sure that this is for eternity. He moved forward closing the distance between him and Jodha, cupped her face softly and wiped the tears off her cheeks. He rested his temple against hers, a tear or two made their way to his cheeks as he closed his eyes tightly and slowly rubbed his nose against hers. After a moment he gently planted a kiss on her forehead and wrapped his arms around her, to embrace her in a hug, his one hand touched the bare skin of her back, other was wrapped around her waist and her head rested on his chest. She wrapped her arms around him so tightly as if he was her only treasure.
So, under the moonlight there they stood, holding each other tightly, feeling the delectation of being wrapped in each other's arm, the warmth of the embrace and the sense of relieve for finally pouring out their heart to each other. She felt even more cosseted when he tightened his hold around her, the happiness was mirroring on their faces as they both were drawn into the world of sheer magic and love. The feeling of being held by your love is the feeling most beautiful and pure and both Jalal and Jodha let themselves be lost in the purity of their love.
The End...😳
Hope you all have enjoyed it!
Do comment!😳
Vanshaj
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Udne Ki Aasha
CID
Hindi TV Shows
