Hey guys, it's here at last! Sorry for the delay and I hope you haven't all died of suspense! 😆 Here it is, hope you all enjoy it:
Chapter 12 – Salvation
Everything went spinning about them like a merry-go-round that was out of control, then suddenly the world stopped with a sharp judder. For many minutes Kaajjal sat with her eyes squeezed closed, listening to the frantic pounding of her heart, wondering if she were still alive or if this eerie silence all around her was that of death. She was fearful of opening her eyes, not knowing what she would see, but in the end she peeked from one eye, squinting about her. It was pitch dark and she could see nothing clearly so she was forced to open her other eye as well. The headlights were still on, casting two pale beams of yellowish light across the land in front of her, but all she could distinguish were blades of grass and what looked like large lumps of turf. It was as if a giant had come along, ripped up pieces of the grass and placed them at odd angles all around, like a mosaic. Seeing this her heart rate began to decrease and she came to realise that she was gripping Dev's arm tightly. Suddenly her heart missed a terrified beat and sitting up she looked round at him, dreading what she would find.
His head was turned away from her, towards the window, so she could not tell if he was conscious or not. This increased her panic and tugging at his arm she shook him violently, shouting his name as tears welled up in her eyes. Her throat felt choked and as she shook him she could barely get her words out. Her heart was thundering and she could hear its wild beating in her ears, like the roaring of the waves in a storm.
"Dev!" she cried, the tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
With a stricken heart she held her clasped hands up to the sky and begged Gannu Bhaiya to assist her.
"Please Gannu Bhaiya," she pleaded. "Take my life but spare Dev's."
She could barely see now for the thick flow of tears clouding her eyes, and at first when she turned back to Dev she did not realise that his head had turned. It was only when his lips curved into a smile and those deep brown eyes sparkled that she realised he was now looking at her. With an astonished gasp a hand flew to her mouth, trembling as relief and joy overwhelmed her. More tears fell from her brimming eyes, but they were tears of happiness as she cried out his name and threw her arms about his neck, linking them there like wrought iron chains. Dev's smile widened and he wrapped his arms about her waist, closing his eyes as he felt her tears drop onto his neck.
"Dev," she sobbed. "Thank God you are alright. I was so worried. I..."
Just then the thought crossed her mind that he had only been pretending to be unconscious and a flare of annoyance shot up inside her. Frowning she pulled back and saw the gleeful shine deep within his eyes that told her of his joke. That was all she needed to revert back to her earlier irritated mood.
"You were joking with me?" she demanded.
"Oh come on Kaajjal," he replied, sitting up straight with a broad smile. "I was just teasing you...I thought you would have realised."
"It's not funny Dev," she told him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? What effect do you think that had on the baby? At least once behave responsibly."
With those words she pushed the door of the car open and stepped out, only just missing a pot hole in the road. It was one of these pot holes that had jammed the front wheel of the car and thus halted their spinning. Dev had also left the car and he came to stand beside her, looking down at the damage with a contemplative frown.
"Yeh dekhiye," Kaajjal said in an imperious tone, gesturing with her hand to the wheel. "You can't even do one thing right, can you?"
"Ab kya hua?" he asked, trying not to sigh, but hints of his wearing patience coming through in his voice.
"Kya hua? Yeh kya hua!" she declared, motioning all the more with her hand. "You couldn't even drive carefully! You are so irresponsible Dev! I ask you to do one thing for me, sirf ek cheez, lekin tum...I bet you did it on purpose! Some father you will make: you can't even get ice cream for the baby."
Her accusations were getting too much for him now; he could feel his temper beginning to rise like the mercury in a thermometer, and dragging a frustrated hand through his hair he turned and placed his elbows on the car bonnet, breathing deeply in an effort to reign in his anger. This had no effect on Kaajjal whatsoever. She had gotten upon her high horse and now nothing could stop her. Standing with her arms folded sternly across her chest she continued to list his shortcomings until he could take it no longer. He banged his fists down on the bonnet with such force that she jumped and turned to him with wide startled eyes. His eyes were blazing, aflame with the passion of his temper and his jaw was clenched in the same aggressive manner she had been used to seeing when they first met. He pointed a finger at her and it was like the trigger of a gun, his words the bullets firing into her.
"Bas Kaajjal, bas!" he said hotly. "Not another word! Ek aur shab nahi! All night you have been complaining to me, telling me that I am useless, that I don't care about you or our child, and I have listened without saying anything, lekin ab nahin. Ask yourself this one question: if I really was as selfish and arrogant as you seem to think I am, would I be here now? Would I have come out so late in the night on this ridiculous mission if I didn't care? Just ask yourself dammit!"
He could feel hurt creeping into his voice and dimming his anger, much to his annoyance. Yes, her words had pierced his heart, but he didn't want to show her that, and so he turned and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, quelling the flow of pain from his heart. Kaajjal stood in stunned silence, her eyes cast down to the ground in shame as his words revolved about her brain. It was not his anger that had stunned her but the glimmer of anguish she had detected in his expressive eyes; she had seen them darken with pain and she knew him well enough now to know that when those worry lines appeared on his forehead he was suffering internally. Lifting her eyes tentatively she gazed at the back of his head, longing to reach out to him but uncertain of how to do so.
"Dev..." she began.
His head snapped up.
"Bas!" he said sharply, holding a hand in the air.
The sting of that one word speared her heart and she felt tears burn the backs of her eyes. Before she could say anything he had leaned into the car, taken the keys, found a torch in the glove compartment, and had started to walk away. All she could do was silently follow on behind him, mulling over his passionate words in guilt as she went. The silence between them was intense and anyone who had spied them that night would have been forgiven for thinking they were two strangers who had gotten lost together. They walked down the main road, she behind him, lost to their own meditations. Dev's face was like a closed book – his eyes hard and guarded, his jaw clenched and his lips drawn into a tight, stern line. Kaajjal's inner turmoil was evident from the disconsolate aspect of her eyes: they were wide and deep with emotion, and as she walked she kept biting her lip, as if she were about to speak but then stopped herself.
How long they travelled like this neither knew, but the night was slowly giving way to the day by the time the first signs of humanity came into view. In the distance the towering rooftops of the city arose like the prongs of a crown, jutting out boldly against the softening grey of the sky. A pink tinge glowed in the eastern horizon, casting a puce hue over the slate grey and white washed buildings of the city. The sound of early morning traffic began to hum away in the background, mingling with the sweet chirp of birdsong. Gradually the first golden ray of the sun pierced the skyline, streaking out across the mauve sky like the beam of a torch. It rose steadily, and the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful tapestry of golds and ambers, finally revealing patches of azure sky, winking at the weary travellers like gem stones.
By this time Dev and Kaajjal had reached the outskirts of the city and there were already people out and about, ready for the commute to work. As they were walking down one street Kaajjal spied a chaiwallah on the other side, and the sweet smell of hot jalebis reminded her of how partial to them Dev was. She looked at him, striding forward with that determined, stony aspect he had maintained since the car broke down, and she was struck by the thought that he had not eaten for many hours now. She knew he must be hungry but she also knew he would never admit to it, especially not in this mood. That was when she decided she would go and get him some jalebis without telling him. This idea brightened her face for this first time in many hours and her eyes shone with delight, a smile curving her lips. Turning she began to walk across the road, her eyes trained on the chaiwallah, her mind occupied with imagining how surprised and delighted Dev would be when she presented him with the jalebis. She was so intent on these musings that she did not see the car zipping round the corner at breakneck speed and come zooming towards her.
Dev, meanwhile, had spotted an ice cream parlour just down the road and to his relief it was just opening up. He turned to convey this to Kaajjal and that was when he saw her in the middle of the road, only inches from the car. His heart froze and a cold palsy of terror gripped his body. Every nerve screamed at him to move, but he could not get his feet to leave the spot. The car was coming closer and closer and his heart was palpitating when suddenly like a shooting flame of fire his senses came back and shouting her name he darted towards her. Kaajjal instinctively stopped when she heard him shout her name, and turned with a smile, delighted that he was finally speaking to her. As she did so she spotted the car and the smile froze on her lips, her eyes widening in horror as she realised she was about to be mown down. Screaming she placed her arms up to shield her face and held her breath, waiting for the inevitable.
The next thing she knew she was being pulled forcibly by the arm to the side, at such a speed that she lost her balance and fell. The person caught her about the middle and steadied her in his arms, pulling her to her feet. When she looked up she saw Dev staring anxiously down at her, his brown eyes dark with alarm and concern. Seeing him her heart leapt ten feet in the air and she relaxed, though she was still breathing quickly from fright. Dev was out of breath and he could hardly speak, as he fisted his fingers in her hair and pulled her into a tight embrace that sucked the breath from her lungs.
"Kaajjal, thank God you're alright," he told her, burying his face in her silky locks. "If something had happened to you...but what were you doing?" he suddenly demanded, pulling back and looking sternly down at her. "Why were you crossing the road without looking? Have you gone mad? You know how dangerous it is..."
She looked down at the ground, wondering how she should answer him. It was then she realised they were standing very close to the chaiwallah and an idea came to her mind. Smiling she looked up at Dev and said,
"Dev, let's have some jalebis. Look, there is a chaiwallah..." she motioned with her head to the stall. "Chalo, let's have some."
"Paar Kaajjal, ice cream..." Dev began.
She shook her head and took his hand in hers.
"Forget the ice cream," she told him. "Let's have some jalebis. We both like them, nah?"
He looked at her in bafflement, not understanding how after so adamantly chasing after ice cream she could now happily settle for jalebis. Still, when she pulled him towards the stall he did not resist and in minutes they were standing by the road, savouring the jalebis. Kaajjal smiled amusedly as she watched Dev gingerly touching the food and bringing his fingers back, shaking them as the hotness burnt his finger tips. Rolling her eyes she broke a bit of and held it up to him, placing it in his mouth with a smile. Their eyes met as they did so, both of them shining with mirth and for a moment they were lost in the other's gaze. Without words that one look negated all the anger and irritation that had been between them all through the dark hours. Smiling Dev put his arm about Kaajjal and she nestled into him, relieved that they were finally on speaking terms again.
Just then she spotted the ice cream parlour and she recalled the cravings that had disturbed her the night before.
"Dev," she said, looking up at him. "Dekho...ice cream parlour. Let's go, nah!"
Dev groaned and held up his hands in mock horror.
"No! No! No! Not ice cream!" he pretended to cry.
"Dev!" Kaajjal cried, but a smile hovered about her lips and she hit him playfully, her eyes shining with glee.
Laughing they both hugged one another and on that busy street in the early hours of the morning they finally could laugh at their adventures of the night before.
So guys, that was DK's adventure! 😃 Hope it all ended to your satisfaction. Do let me know what you thought and feel free to suggest things you'd like to see. 😊
Anu 😳
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
