PENULTIMATE PART
Prachi walked aimlessly down the open road. It was dark and cold but she was hardly aware of it. She had walked for miles; she reached home for this was one route she had not forgotten. A puzzled man servant opened the door to let her in.
Without a word, she walked up towards the room, she shook Jhanvi slowly, "Jaan…utho, please…" she whispered in the dark. Jhanvi stirred, rubbing her eyes slowly, she yawned.
Her eyes took time to adjust to the dark but she switched on the light. "Tanu, tum yahaan?...waqt kya hua hai?" she checked her bedside clock. "Bauhat der hogayi hai…kya hua…?" she looked at her sister for answers but instead was met with silence, it disturbed her. She reached for Prachi's cheek and feeling a cold wetness, she ecame deeply concerned. Her mouth dried as she voiced her thoughts out aloud, "Milind ne kuch kiya…?"
Prachi's shoulders heaved gently, her voice thick with unshed tears, "Jaan…maine…muje…Milind…" she was unable to form a coherent sentence and Jhanvi was thoroughly confused. She wrapped Prachi up in a blanket, smoothing her hair down, she asked again softly, "Tanu…theek se batao, kya hua? Kisi ko pata hai ke tum yaha ho?" Prachi shook her head and stumbled forward, hugging Jhanvi closely. She cried into her shoulder, mumbling "Jaan, shayad…Milind se muje…I think I love him…" she pressed herself into her sister, afraid that now she had spoken the words out aloud, there would be unforeseeable concequences.
Jhanvi laughed softly, "Tanu, tum itna daar kyun rahi ho?" as Prachi began to shake, she suspected though, it was more from the cold.
"Jaan…muje kuch samaj nahi aa raha, woh mujse baat bhi nahi kar rahe…" she was getting in quite a state.
"Milind ko tune bataya?"
"Nahi, main unko dohka nahi dena chahati…kya yeh sach ho sakta hai…agar ye mere mann ka vahaim hua to, sirf is liye ke mera unse koi rishta tha"
"Unhone kya kaha?"
Prachi retold the events as they had occurred; of how she had left, her regret at leaving Ritwik but she tried not to dwell too much on Milind's reaction, her resolve had almost melted when she considered it. Jhanvi's eyes were numb, she could see it but clearly her sister couldn't.
"Tanu…tum kyun aisa soch rahi ho? Khud ko ek mohka do…Tanu, tumhare Milind hai hi aise…agar tumhe nahi pata hota ke tumhari shaadi hui hai…kya tumhe unse pyaar nahi hota? Tumhe zindagi ne dobara mohka diya hai, kuch log itne kuch naseeb nahi hote…isse apne haat se jaane mat do…" she continued her monologue, "Tum iss khushi ki haqdaar ho…isse daro mat…kahin der na hojaye…"
"Nahi…" she shook her head again
"Tanu, hosh main aao, daro mat…socho…tumhari shaadi hui thi Milind se…tumhara…tumahara ek bachcha bhi…to unse pyaar karna galti kaise ho sakti hai?"
Prachi thought for a long while, she knew what she had to do....
"Jaan…main unhe kaise kaho?" she smiled despite her tears, Jhanvi smiled too; she knew Jhanvi would know what to say, to think, to do. But she had broken his heart tonight, how could she ever undo that. Her thoughts returned to Milind continually, what would be doing right now.
"Neev…Prachi ghar par nahi hai…Mr Sharma ka phone bhi nahi lag raha…kya karu? Kal raat maine bauhat kuch kaha jo muje nahi kehna chahiye…" he spoke to Neev on the phone, he didn't know who else to contact. Neev had kept his distant when Prachi was returned home; he thought it best to let her deal with things alittle at a time and this way he made sure Ayesha stayed away too.
"Jaldi aao Neev, main Jhanvi ko phone lagata hoon…" he clicked the phone shut, only to open it again and dial Jhanvi…the dull ringing resonated in his ears.
"Jhanvi" he said quickly, pacing the room "Prachi waha hai…"
"Milind, dheere se…muje samaj nahi aa raha…"
"Jhanvi…Prachi ghar pe nahi hai…Kya woh waha hai…" a sickening thought turned his stomach, "Kahi usse kuch?"
"Milind, tum fikar mat karo…woh yahi hai…Milind, muje aap ko pehle batana chahiye tha…"
"Haan, batana chahiye tha!" he shouted
"Woh teek hai Milind, todi si pereshaan…naraz hone se, woh wapas nahi aayegi…" Jhanvi remained calm
"Muje usse baat karni hai…"
"Milind, usse thoda waqt do…"
"Waqt, waqt, waqt…kya karu main iss waqt ka? Jhanvi, woh mujse door ja rahi hai, muje pata hai aur me kuch na karu? Usse jane do?"
"Milind, usse muthi main baandh kar ke, usse paalo ge?"
"Jhanvi…please…"
"Milind…" he heard, it was a distinct voice, one that certainly did not belong to Jhanvi…he lowered the phone. Turning, he saw Prachi standing there. The phone dropped from his hand, he covered his eyes, breathing deeply in relief. She stood there, unmoving, lowering her eyes under his gaze. He moved swiftly towards her but stopped short of reaching for her. He turned away; she slowly lifted her hand to his shoulder, preventing him from moving. "Mujse baat nahi karenge?" a small smiled touched her lips.
😊
Edited by zcbcc34 - 17 years ago
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