Yes, yes, I know it was only yesterday that I put up Aawaz De Kahin Se. But what can I say? I had this idea for ANOTHER tragic shot (sorry, Radz!) and Shabz helped me make it SO much awesomer that I really couldn't resist! So this one goes out to Shabz, who got me so high last night I felt dizzy!
WARNING: This one nearly made me cry as I wrote it.
You have been warned.
-||-
Red
Heer covered her sister's head with the red dupatta, smiling at their reflections in the mirror. There was a glow about Meher that Heer only saw whenever she was around Preet, and it made Heer happy to see her sister this happy.
"You look beautiful, Meher," Ash said. "Dekhna, Preet tumhe dekhte-dekhte reh jayega!"
Meher blushed, smiling.
"Arre, Meher tayaar huyi hai kya? Shaadi ka mohrat ho chukka hai aur pundit usse bula raha hai!" Teji entered the room, looking rather frazzled. She stopped behind Meher and turned her daughter around. She lifted up Meher's chin and studied her daughter. She smiled; all of a sudden it seemed like the world was perfect. She touched Meher's head. "Tum bohut sundar lag rahi ho, Meher."
The four ladies shared a moment, before Teji remembered what she had come into the room for. "Arre, haan! Jaldi karo, hume neeche jaana hai!"
-||-
Preet sat at the mandap in his beige sherwani, his heart racing. This was it. It was just a matter of time before he was married to the woman he loved more than life itself. He bit back a smile; he was already imagining their suhaag raat.
A soft murmur caught his attention. He turned to see Meher coming down the stairs, Teji and Heer on either side of her, and Ash following closely behind. Preet's heart skipped a beat as Meher glanced up at him and quickly looked back down again, blushing and hiding a smile. She was looking beautiful.
Preet couldn't believe that this was really happening. He turned back to the fire as Teji and Heer sat Meher down next to him.
-||-
He knew he was already intoxicated, but Harman opened up his third bottle of whisky and took a hearty swig out of it. Maya told him time and again to stop drinking, but it didn't matter to him what Maya said.
Maya was no Meher.
He stared at the wedding card. The sight of the cream and red paper with the gold writing angered him all of a sudden, and with a roar, he swept it off the table.
"How could you do this to me, Meher?" he screamed at it. "How could you do this to me? I gave up everything I had for you!"
His vision blurred, and he gruffly swiped at his eyes with the back of his free hand. He took another swig of whiskey. He wiped his mouth and looked down at the card.
"How dare you do this, Meher? Who the hell gave you the right to do this to me?"
-||-
As the pundit began the rituals, Meher was aware of only one thing: the comforting presence of Preet beside her. She couldn't see him, but she felt the heat radiating from him, and she knew he was there.
Her heart raced, with excitement as well as with a sense of foreboding. She tried to push that feeling away. It was her wedding day and she didn't want to feel anything but happiness.
But as much as she tried to push that feeling to the back of her mind, it returned stronger than before.
Her breath caught. She started to feel a little dizzy. She forced herself to focus on the mantras the pundit was saying.
She felt Preet's hand briefly on her lap, as if he sensed her unease.
His touch relaxed her, and for a moment everything was fine.
-||-
The alcohol was clouding his judgment. He wasn't thinking straight. Nor was he walking straight. He paced the spinning room.
His bottle was nearly empty now, and he hurled it against the wall. It made a nice tinkling sound as it shattered, plunging to the floor. Whatever liquid was remaining in the bottle pooled on the floor.
Harman stared at it.
A thought made its slow journey from the back of his mind to the front of his thoughts. He acted on it.
He went to a table and fumbled around in the drawers. He knew what he was looking for. What he didn't know was where it was.
He found it under a folder. He stared at it. There was a little voice in his head that was telling him it was wrong, but it stayed in the back of his mind, his conscience taking a backseat to his blind, alcoholic rage.
-||-
The seven rounds were complete. The only thing left now was the sindhoor.
Preet smiled at Meher as she looked up into his eyes. Without taking his eyes off hers, he took the little container of sindhoor his mother held out for him. He took a pinch of it and filled her parting with it.
-||-
The sense of foreboding she'd had earlier was gone now. Not that Meher noticed.
Meher thought her legs would give way. She knew her smile couldn't reflect the elation she felt, but it gave an indication.
Preet's fingers trailed down the side of her face as he lowered his hand, a private moment they shared, the barest hint of what was yet to come.
-||-
The sounds of a scuffle filtered into the room, and all heads turned to the door, dozens of pairs of questioning eyes wondering what the commotion was about.
Preet's hands closed around Meher's as Harman burst into the hall, pushing away the two security guards that were trying to stop him.
Meher's hand tightened around Preet's as her eyes widened. Her heart beat frantically, as if desperate to escape from her ribcage.
From his appearance, both Preet and Meher could tell that Harman had been drinking, and both of them knew that nothing good was going to come out of this.
Harman raised his hand.
Meher gasped. Her grip tightened. Harman was holding a gun.
Time seemed to slow down as Harman pulled the trigger.
The room was silent, frozen as the bullet shot through the air, finding its target in Preet.
Meher wasn't aware that she screamed her husband's name. She held him in her arms as he went limp. His weight was too much for her, and she sank down.
This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. They had just gotten married. This couldn't have happened.
She screamed his name over and over again, desperate to get a response from him, desperate even as she found none.
Meher wasn't aware that their families were crowding around her.
Meher wasn't aware that Prem was shaking Harman back to his senses, asking him if he knew what he had just done.
Meher wasn't aware that someone had called the police, the ambulance.
The only thing Meher was aware of was that Preet was not moving.
The only thing Meher was aware of was that his beige sherwani and her red joda and her hands were stained with his blood.
The only thing Meher remembered was screaming his name as he was taken from her.
-|end|-
😔 How sad was that? How awesome am I? I know, I know, I'm sorry I killed Preet! Really I am! The next one will be more light-hearted, I promise!
Speaking of that, if you'd like to be in it, TELL ME! Rate the following guys on a scale of 1 to 10 (I assure you it is completely relevant to the next one-shot I'm planning.): Prem, Preet, Kiran, Harman and Nihaal. Those who do not rate or do not tell me shall not have a role in the story. I assure you you'll love it!
Love,
Bhav (:
Edited by sourpuss - 16 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
