Made an extra long update for delay, 12 pgs on word! 😃
Part 7
Mausam
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh,
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh.
Jaab tarapta hai khabi, aapna koi,
Khun ke asoon, rulade bebasi.
Jee ke phir kaarna kya, mujhko aaisi zindagi?
Jisne zakhmoon ko nahin marham diyeh,
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh,
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh.
Aapne bhi pesh aaye, humse ajnaabi,
Waqt ki sazish, koi samja nahin.
Be irada kuch khataien humse hogayi.
Rah mein pathar meri har dum diyeh,
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh,
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh.
Ek mukammal kash-ma-kash hai zindagi,
Ussne hume ki khabi naa dosti.
Jaab milli mujhko asoon ki woh taufe degayi.
Haasn sake aaise mauke kaam diyeh,
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh,
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh.
Encino, Ca. – Nancy's Residence 9:30am (next morning)
She could feel the glass slashing her cheek, she could feel the pebbles poking at the delicate skin on the soles of her feet, she could feel the coldness of the concrete pavement under herself; she could hear herself screaming at Neev to stop, she could hear the sounds of glass shattering, she could hear the car horns honking, she could hear the waves crashing onto the beach; she could hear a voice calling out to her in concern and love…she could hear Milind.
Prachi woke up with a start in a cold sweat, nearly gasping for air. After a second she realized that it was all a dream, no…it was a nightmare. She looked around trying to orient herself but found that the more she saw, the more disoriented she became. Trying to figure out where she was, why she was there and what happened last night was making her mind spin. It wasn't until she finally saw Nancy come out of the bathroom, drying her hair that it hit Prachi about where she was…in Nancy's studio apartment.
"Hey you, how are you feeling?" Nancy asked as she took a seat next to Prachi on the bed.
"Umm…I don't know. I have a head ache and I am sore all over." Prachi looked down at herself and saw that she was in a white and pink knee length night-tee from Victoria's Secret; she was covered from the thighs down by a blue blanket. Prachi began fixing her messed up hair, "Nancy, how did I end up here?" she asked. Nancy remained silent. "What's up? Why are your so quite? In all the years that I have known y…" Prachi's sentence died half way out as she let out a small gasp; her fingers had come in contact with the half fresh wound on her cheek.
Nancy looked up at Prachi the second that she had stopped talking and gasped. When her eyes met with Prachi's eyes she could already see the fear in them. Prachi ran her fingers delicately across the length of the cut on her cheek, feeling the inflammation and dry blood around it. Her mouth formed the shape of an 'O', which she tried to cover with a trembling hand.
The look in Prachi's eyes told Nancy what she was thinking; realization finally dawned on Prachi about what had happened last night between her and Neev. Tears came to here eyes, ready to fall at any second. She pulled her knees up to her chest and held them together with her arms; her body rocked back and forth almost at its own will.
The scenes from last night played in Prachi's mind like a Technicolor movie, complete with sound and effects; it all came rushing back with the speed of a freight train. She remembered coming home to a dark house, she remembered Neev. throwing the glass liquor bottle at her and the bottle shattering and cutting her cheek, she remembered her screams and protests as she pleaded with Neev to let her go, she remembered Neev tearing at her clothes, biting and scratching her as he forced himself on her, she remembered lying on the floor of her living room, barely dressed, as Neev stood up, zipped his pants, took his keys and slammed the door as he left; but that was all she remembered…it was more then enough as far as she was concerned.
Nancy was at Prachi's side in a second after she had heard her gasp. Nancy took Prachi's rocking body into her arms and just hugged her. Prachi fell into Nancy comforting arms, after a while, and let her tears fall, there was no holding them back. Nancy could do nothing but try and sooth her by holding her and stroking her hair.
"Shh…it's going to be ok." Nancy whispered after some time.
"Why me? Why do these things keep happening to me? Why does he hate me so much? What did I ever do to him?" All Prachi could do was ask these questions over and over again as she wept in Nancy's arms.
After some time Prachi's heart wrenching sobs and died down to sniffles, and she pulled away from Nancy. Prachi glanced at the time and saw that both she and Nancy should have been at work nearly an hour ago.
"Oh my God! We have to get to work!" Prachi said as she attempted to pull back the covers and get out of bed.
"Hell no we don't! Have you seen yourself? You cannot go into work like this." Nancy yelled back, causing Prachi to stop herself. "Besides, I already called Mr. Randal and told him that neither of us would be in due to an emergency, which I couldn't specify."
"You must really be worried about me, you just called Mr. Randal, 'Mr. Randal' and not 'Mr. Stick Up His Ass'" Prachi said.
"Well…" Nancy didn't really have an answer because Prachi was right. In all the years she worked for Mr. Randal, she had always referred to him as Mr. SUHA.
This was just the kind of thing that Prachi needed to take her mind off of the Neev situation. The girls looked at each other and fell into a fit of laughter as they remembered the annoying boss. They laughed for a while, but soon the laughter subsided and each girl was left catching her breath. They both ended up with smiles on their faces, but that didn't last long. Prachi's eyes soon filled with tears once again and she began sobbing, and Nancy took Prachi into her arms as held her; it was all she could do, although she wished to do more…much more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hollywood CA. Angels Hotel – (same time frame)
The night that Milind thought was never going to pass, had finally passed and the new day was christened with the sun's rays illuminating the world. What seemed like countless hours had passed since Milind had left his Pari with Nancy and driven himself back to the hotel. Milind slowly looked around the room and noticed just what kind of havoc he had created. After his encounter with Prachi at the beach, and after hearing the revelations that Nancy had made to him, Milind could take it no longer.
Milind had been seething with anger while he was driving home; if he had the power he would have punched his steering wheel right through to the engine. When he finally reached the hotel he nearly ran up the stairs because he didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator. He had barely heard the hotel staff greet him as he brushed past each and every person. He whipped out his hotel key-card and opened his door, and not a moment too soon; as soon as he was inside he closed the door with force and bolted it shut.
For a minute or two Milind just paced back and forth in his room; his breathing was getting more and more ragged as the seconds passed and the nights events really seeped into his body. He let out a frustrated groan and wanted to pull his hair out because there was nothing he could do to help Prachi until she asked for it. Not knowing what to do, and in need to venting his anger Milind grabbed the first thing that came within his reach…a crystal vase. Taking the vase he hurled it at the wall against which it shattered. That was it, that one action started him on his rampage. He had pulled off the bed sheets, thrown the flowers and vases all over the room, event the furniture was a mess. Nothing in the room was in its place like it was when he entered the room, nothing…except for him.
After his rampage Milind fell dejectedly into an arm chair near the window; that is exactly where he still was this morning. There were a few differences like his clothes being wrinkled, the sun was now out, there were empty liquor bottles resting on the table in front of him. However, there was one small difference that even he hadn't noticed, that difference trails of dry tears on his face, tears he didn't know he had shed in the night.
Milind had spent the entire night going in and out of a restless sleep. He couldn't sleep for the most part because his mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of Prachi and what he had witnessed, but some how sleep had found him. Every time he went into even the lightest sleep, he was awoken by horrible dreams of Prachi yelling out the window of a car driven by Neev, calling out to Milind to save, but as hard as he tired and as fast as he ran, he never reached her. It was so infuriating and frustrating that he wanted to pull his hair out!
He sat in the same chair, in the same position all night long; he didn't know what else to do. Now it was time to begin the new day, a new beginning, a fresh start; only problem was…he didn't know how; how was he supposed to put last night behind him?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Encino, Ca. – Nancy's Residence 12:00pm
"Yes, I will, don't worry. Yes, yes; if Prachi needs anything I will call you first." Nancy spoke into the phone, as she heard the bathroom door creak behind her, "Ok, no I have to go, she is out. Bye." She had managed to cut the call before Prachi heard any of the conversation.
"Who was that?" Prachi asked as she used a towel to dry her wet face.
"No one, just some stupid telemarketer; they were trying to sell me a subscription to the Los Angeles Times."
"Oh I hate when they call!" Prachi said.
"Yeah, well…Hey, I was thinking why don't you grab something from my closet and head on in to take a shower. Since I am already done, you might as well get it done too. As soon as you are out we can order in some Thai delivery and eat, ok?"
"Ok."
Prachi headed off into the bathroom a minute later after she had picked out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from Nancy's closet. As soon as the door closed and locked, Nancy let out a breath of relief. Nancy knew that Prachi hadn't heard her phone conversation, but she still thought that she may have in the back of her mind. Nancy had been talking to Milind about Prachi. He had called numerous times since Prachi woke up. It took a while for Nancy to calm Prachi down and get her to relax. There was no way that Nancy could talk to Milind with Prachi in the same room.
As soon as Prachi got up to go to the bathroom, Nancy snatched up her phone and called Milind. Nancy got an ear-full from Milind about how inconsiderate, irresponsible, and selfish she was being by not answering. Nancy had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling back at him. She understood what he was going through after last night; anyone would be worried about a person they found in Prachi's state, and he wasn't just anyone, he was the man that loved her.
Nancy gave him and update on Prachi's condition, how she had been during the night, her reaction this morning when she remembered what had happened. From the tone of Milind's voice she could tell he was half relieved and half disappointed that she didn't remember it was he who had rescued her. Lastly, Nancy told him that she and Prachi would not be going to work for the next two days. She knew that Milind wanted to see Prachi, and the hotel was the only way for him to do that, but right now they had to consider only what Prachi wanted, and unfortunately she didn't want to see Milind.
Right now Nancy couldn't be thinking about Milind and Prachi's bitter sweet love story, she had something to do. Nancy picked up her cell phone and dialed a number and prayed that it was answered. When she heard 'Hello' on the other end of the line, she let out a silent prayer.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Angels Hotel CA. - 10:00am (two days later)
Milind was going out of his mind waiting to get a glimpse of Prachi; he knew that Nancy and Prachi had returned to work that morning. Their shift had started over three hours ago and still he had no sight of Prachi, hell, he was so frustrated, he would take a glimpse of Nancy at this point. He was pacing back and forth in the main lobby waiting to see someone. He knew that Nancy and Prachi rotated desk duty with a middle-aged man who also worked at the hotel. Milind glanced at his watch in frustration once again waiting for the change, because he knew that either Prachi or Nancy would be covering next. He watched as the door to the office behind the front desk opened and a female figure stepped out…it was Nancy.
It wasn't who he had hoped it would be, but at this point…beggars couldn't be choosers. As soon as the other man left and the other staff members began their work, Milind made is way towards the desk, trying to be as casual and nonchalant as possible.
"So?" he said.
"So?" replied Nancy, who was busy working.
"Don't mock me! You know what I want!" he nearly yelled.
"Yes Mr. Mishra I do know what you want and I have already helped you in your quest. I told you this morning before coming in that she was fine, as well as can be expected."
Milind calmed down and blushed like a little kid being scolded by his mother. "So…no change?" he dared to ask.
"In the past three hours or so, no, no change at all."
A moment of silence passed between them before Milind spoke again, "Where is the bas***d?" he asked, his anger rising just at the thought of that man.
"Passed out drunk in some cheap motel in Vegas."
"Vegas?" Milind questioned, not sure what Nancy was talking about.
"Yes, gambling capitol of the world, Las Vegas."
"Oh," he said, "How do you know that? How can you be sure that he isn't here in Los Angeles, looking for her right now?"
"Because I just am." Nancy said, still typing away on her keyboard, not once looking up to meet Milind's eyes.
"But how?!" Milind asked, he couldn't fathom how Nancy could be so sure that Neev was hundreds of miles away, and not in this very hotel waiting for Prachi in some vacant room.
Nancy took a deep breath before answering Milind's question. "Relax; you don't have to worry about Neev, not now any way."
"But…" Milind question died half way out as Nancy cut him off.
"My brother, Marco, works for the LAPD. I asked him for a favor. I told him about what had happened and he was able to trace Neev's car to a motel in Vegas away from the main strip. As of twenty minutes ago, the car is still parked in the parking lot of the motel."
"How did your brother…I mean, how did he manage…" Milind couldn't seem to put his thoughts together at the moment.
"He has a couple of buddies on the squad, so they helped. It's like a brother hood, so when my brother needed help they all joined in. One of his fellow police officers knows someone on the Vegas PD, so they have been keeping him informed."
Milind let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Than…" Again, Milind's sentence was cut off, but not because of Nancy, this time it was Prachi. He saw her coming out of the far hall, near the staff lounge. She was buttoning up her coat and was holding on to her purse. Milind quickly moved to the end of the desk, turned his back to Prachi, and grabbed a newspaper and looked like he was reading it. When Prachi and Nancy began talking, Milind was thankful that was within ear-shot.
"I'm not feeling up for it today Nancy, I already talked to Mr. Randal and have taken the rest of the day off."
"Are you ok?" asked Nancy, her voice laced with concern and worry, "Wait a minute and I'll come take the day off too and come with you."
"No, no you don't have to do that." Prachi insisted, "I…I actually needed some time to myself, so I'm going over down to Reseda."
"Oh, ok." Once Nancy heard where Prachi was going, she relaxed a bit. "Now look, I don't want you going to your house after that, come here or go to my place."
"But…"
"No 'buts'. Chose one of the two, or else I'm not letting you go at all."
"Ok, fine, I'll go to your place."
"Good, you do have the key right?" Nancy asked.
"Yes"
"Ok, be safe. Call me if you need anything."
"I will thanks."
With that, Milind and Nancy watched Prachi walk away towards the main entrance.
As soon as Prachi was away from them, Milind approached the desk and Nancy again.
"Where is she going?! How can you let her go off by herself like this?!" Milind was on the verge of yelling, he didn't know how much more he could take.
"She is just going to see her parents."
"Oh," Milind said, "Do they know about Neev, maybe they can talk some sense into her so she will finally get the help she needs."
Nancy finally looked up at him from her work, "She is going to Woodland Care Center in the city of Reseda, it's a nursing home; her parents are quadriplegics, they are patients at that facility."
Milind stood rooted on the spot; Prachi's parents were in a nursing home and both were quadriplegics. Dear Lord, how much had she been through in these past four years? He didn't know what to say or what to do.
"What is the address?"
"I'm sorry I don't know. Prachi never talks about them much and I have never been there myself."
"Damn it!" Milind cursed his fate.
"She is going to take a taxi, if you hurry up, you can probably follow her."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Woodland Care Center – 1:20pm
Nearly an hour later Milind pulled into the parking lot of Woodland Care Center, just a few cars behind the taxi that had Prachi in it. When Milind had gotten a car from the hotel, he had been afraid that he was going to lose the taxi, but luckily that didn't happen. This had to be the one and only time that he thanked God for the traffic on the 101 freeway; the bumper to bumper jam at all times of the day/night used to piss him off to no extent, but now, it had made keeping a close eye on the taxi a piece of cake. Due to the traffic on the freeway, the drive that should have only taken 15 minutes, took one hour.
Milind gave his car for the valet to park as he watched Prachi go in; he didn't want her to see him, so he kept his distance. Prachi went in and disappeared before Milind could even get to the entrance. He walked up to the front desk hoping that they would help, even though he had no idea what the patient's names were.
"Good afternoon, I'm here with the girl…" for the third time that day, Milind was cut off by someone.
"Oh, you must be here with the Shah family. They are the only Indian family in our facility." Milind was greeted by a peppy and happy looking receptionist, who couldn't be a day over 18.
"Yes, yes, the Shah family. What room would that be?" he asked.
"Mr. and Mrs. Shah are in room 319; just go straight down the hall, make a right, and it's just past the third nurse's station. I think their daughter just got here as well, maybe you will run into her."
"Not if I can help it." Milind whispered. "Thank you," he said to the receptionist, who flashed him a cheeky smile.
Milind walked down the corridor and noticed that all the residents there were in their late 70's at least, it sent a shudder down his spine to think that Prachi's parents were in a facility like this, at their age. Milind had passed the nurses station and kept a watch out for room 319. When he finally came to it, he slowly crept up and saw Prachi.
Prachi was bent over her father's bed, as she kissed him on his forehead and greeted him; she then did the same with her mother. She found a chair and sat between the beds, one hand on each parent's hand. For a long while, she was quite, but then she spoke…her voice cracked and shaking.
"I don't know what to do; I am so lost without you guys, I need you. Where are you, Mamma, Papa…I really need you, now more then ever."
Milind saw the tears spill over, and it was at that moment that Prachi shot to her feet and nearly bolted out the room nearly running into him, but not noticing him at all. Milind hastily followed her out towards the main entrance. He found her sitting on the little wooden bench right outside of the door. Her elbows rested on her knees, and her face hidden in her hands as she wept. Milind couldn't hold back any more, he had seen her in pain since the night he had come back to L.A., enough was enough.
Milind went and sat silently next to her in the empty spot. "Pari" he called out to her, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Prachi whipped her face toward him, and stared at the man in front of her. As realization hit her as to who he was, her eyes once again filled with tears as she threw herself to him and clung to him, whispering his name as he held her.
"Why Milind, why did it happen? They were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, and then some drunk driver…the accident…the phone call. Why me Milind, why does God hate me so much to give me so much pain? Why, why, why?" Prachi asked, as if Milind had all the answers.
Milind held onto silently, stroked her hair and just let her weep. The circumstances were horrid, but having her in his arms felt right; he finally felt like he was doing something for his Pari.
"All you have to do is ask Pari. Just tell me once about your pain, and watch how fast I take you away from ALL of it. Just once, just ask me once." Milind said, in a near whisper.
Just as suddenly as Prachi had thrown herself onto him, she had pulled back. "I…I'm sorry…I…" Prachi tried to talk as she wiped her tears and tried to compose herself. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Pari, what happened…?"
As if finally realizing where they were she spoke again, "You shouldn't be here Milind? Why did you come here?"
"I saw you leaving the hotel upset, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"So you followed me to Reseda."
"Yes"
"Why?"
"I can't see you in pain Pari. I won't see you in pain. I lo…"
"Don't say it, don't say it Milind."
"Not saying it won't make it go away, and it won't change the fact either."
"It has to, it just has to. I'm married Milind."
Milind's blood boiled at the thought that she had to gall to boast about that jerk in front of him.
"He is a son-of-a-bi…"
"No Milind, stop," Prachi ordered.
"Prachi how can I stop? You and me, we go back…we…" Milind tried to reason, as Prachi stood up to leave.
"That is the past Milind; you have to forget the past. You have to forget the pier, you have to forget that night, you have to forget the memories…you have to forget ME."
Milind was stupefied as he stood there like a statue. He watched as Prachi got into the waiting taxi and soon drove off.
He didn't know what hurt him the most, the fact that his Pari had just told him to forget the one thing that meant the world to him, or the fact that she actually thought that he could ever let her go…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tu Yaad Naa Aaye…
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin,
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin.
Tera jaadu aaisa chaaya,
Haar zarein mein, tujhko paaya.
Chahe mahol ho shoor-o-gul ka,
Chahe ho veerana alam.
Haar pal hai maujudgi teri,
Haar mausam hai tera mausam.
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin,
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin.
Main karta hoon, lakh bahane,
Par bin tere, dil naa mane.
Jitna tujhko main bhulna chahoon,
Utna hi tujhe paas main paoon.
Tu naa jaane, oh mehbooba,
Main tere ishq mein kitna dooba.
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin,
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin.
…Tu yaad naa aaye, aaisa koi din nahin…
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Anupamaa
CID
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
