hey guys...next part for Tahnai is here...sorry for delay...but been busy with Roja, Eid...and over all just being a lazy bum during my time off from school...so here is the next installment...hope you enjoy...😳...
Recap: Veera is getting married to Manmeet...Heer over hears her father and brothers talking about Preet Mehta
NOTE: Gudiya and purplestar22...im working on your comments...will be posted soon 😳
Part 5
Heer had woken up hours ago, but she had just been lying on her bed ' she wasn't ready to go out into the 'real' world again. Prem and the love she had shared with him, lived in the safety of her own room. Their memories, their laughter, their tears, their hearts and their souls all resided in that one room. Heer was just lying on her side staring out the window as a new day began with a fresh note. Heer was lost in her thoughts until she hears someone knock lightly on the door. It was Veera.
"Didi?" she called quietly as she stepped in.
"Hmm," Heer responded, letting Veera know she was up.
"Good morning."
"Good morning Chutki." Heer felt the bed dip down as Veera got in and laid down next to her.
"Didi, aap tik toh hai naa?" she asked, softly.
"Hmm. Kyun?" Heer asked. Heer knew exactly why Veera was asking. After the way she disappeared from the engagement party, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened.
"Nahin woh'kaal raath'" Veera stopped because she didn't know how to finish her sentence.
"Chutki, main tik hoon. Saachi. Tu chinta maat kaar," Heer said, her back still turned at Veera as she started out the window.
After a few minutes of silence Heer heard Veera say, "I'm sorry Didi."
"Kyun?" Heer asked. She didn't have the slightest clue as to why Veera was apologizing.
"I'm sorry that I'm happy," Veera said.
Heer literally sucked in a breath as the words that Veera said, passed her ears. She had to turn around at this point ' when she did, she was face to face with Veera. In her sister's eyes, Heer could see that she truly felt guilty and sorry for being happy when Heer wasn't.
"Chutki'" Heer began to speak.
"Main jaanti hoon Didi ke yeh tik nahin hai. Meri zindagi mein itni sari kushiyan aa rahi hai aur aap'" she couldn't finish.
Heer sat up as she said, "Chutki, tu aaisa kyun sooch rahi hai?"
"It's just not fair," Veera repeated.
Heer pulled Veera so that she was sitting too. "Dekh, mere saath joh hona tha, woh hochuka. Kismat mein joh likha tha, usse toh hona hi tha. Lekin tu aaisa maat sooch, ke tu kush hai, issi liyeh main dukhi hoon."
"Magar Didi'" Veera began to say, only to be cut off.
"Jaab main tujhe dekhti hoon Manmeet ke saath toh main bohot kush hoti hoon. Joh kushiyaan mujhe nahin mili, main chati hoon ke woh saare kushiyaan tujhe miljayeh. Aapni zindagi ke bees (20) saal mein maine aapni saari kushiyaan ji li hai'Prem ke saath. Haan, jaab jaab main unn paloon ke baarein mein soochti hoon, ya phir yeh soochti hoon ke woh paal dobara lautke nahin aayenge'toh dard toh hota hai. Bohot dard hota hai. Lekin iska matalb yeh nahin ke main tere liyeh kush nahin hoon. Prem ke saath maine aapni zindagi ji li hai. Prem ne meri zindagi ko zindagi banaya tha. Uske saat bitaya haar ek paal bohot khaas hai'mere dil ke paas hai," Heer said. "Aur ek baath main tujhe batadoon'I wouldn't trade one moment I spent with Prem. Never."
"Lekin Didi, jaab main aapko dekhti hoon toh mujhe lagta hai ke yeh kushiyaan mere liyeh nahin hai. I don't deserve it," Veera said with her eyes down cast; the tears shimmering in the light from the sun.
Heer lifted Veera's face so that she was looking right into her eyes. "Hey Chutki'you deserve it. You deserve more than this. Never doubt that."
"Oh Didi!" Veera said as she wrapped her arms around Heer.
Heer embraced her baby sister tightly. It amazed her to see how much Veera had changed. She had gone from the annoying and spoiled preteen to an understanding and caring adult ' she had become a woman. Heer truly prayed that she got all of the happiness in the world.
"Chal, kuch hi haftoon mein teri shaadi hai. Ghaar mein bohot kaam hai. Jaldi utt," Heer said as she pushed Veera away.
Veera fell back onto the bed and pulled Heer with her. "Baas Didi, thodi dehr aur," she said.
"Magar Chutki'" Heer began to protest.
"Please," Veera said with her head tilting to one side and her lips displaying a smile.
For a split second, Heer could see Prem doing the exact thing when trying to get her to do something she didn't want to do. "Tik hai," Heer said, as she laid down beside Veera.
The two Maan sisters just laid in bed silently for a few minutes. The peace didn't last long because soon Meher was at their door yelling at them about being lazy and sleeping in when there were a million and one things that needed to be done before the ceremonies that night.
------------------------------
The house was a complete mad house. Veera and Manmeet's wedding was to take place in just two weeks time. The pundit-ji had said that if the wedding didn't take place by this time then there wouldn't be another auspicious time for at least 7 months. Everyone at the house was busy with making all of the preparations. Even the little kids had but given assignments ' the older ones had to make sure the younger ones were occupied and didn't get in the way. Of course, they had to be bribed to babysit their own brothers, sisters, and cousins because the family had no other choice.
It was the day before Veera's haldi/mehndi ceremony. The house looked absolutely superb. The family had decided that the wedding would take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, but the other functions would all take place right there at the house. The entire family members were al gathered around the dining table ready for lunch. The kids were settled and creating a mess as they waited for food, the brothers and their wives were all arguing about reading newspaper at the table.
Veera and Heer were in charge of getting the food out, so they were working in the kitchen. They were laughing at something that Rohan had said about a cartoon that he watched in the morning. Heer had to admit, in the atmosphere of Veera's wedding, she caught herself smiling more and more often than she had in the past seven years. It felt good to smile and be merry with her family after such a long time ' well most of the anyway. Heer was bringing out a dish to the table when she noticed Preeti missing.
"Bhabi," Heer called at Maya, "Preeti kahaan hai?"
As if on cue, the little girl in question came running into the room screaming at the top of her lungs. "Massi! Massi!" she yelled as she saw Heer.
Heer quickly rushed to her as all the other adults at the table got up from their seats as well. Preeti looked absolutely terrified as she ran into Heer's arms. Heer lifted her onto her hip and began to check her body to see if she was hurt. "Kya hua Preeti? Kahin pe chot lagi hai kya? Gir gaye the?" she asked.
"N'nahin," Preeti cried.
"Phir?"
"Daar lagta hai," Preeti said between her sobs.
"Daar? Tum toh mere bahadur baachi ho naa? Tumhe kis se daar lag raha hai?" Heer asked.
"Woh, vahaan pe'." She pointed towards the playroom.
"Koi hai vahaan pe?" Harman asked.
"Haan Papa."
"Kya hai?"
"Bohot bada'khatarnak'chuha," Preeti said.
For a moment everyone was quiet and then, less than a second later, they all burst out laughing.
"Joh iss ghaar ki Dadi-Amma banke ghumti hai, woh aaj ek chuha se daar gayi!" Balraj laughed.
Preeti's eyes filled with more tears as she grabbed onto Heer's neck tightly.
"Nahin rote. Tum toh meri aachi baachi ho naa? Aura aachi baachi nahin rote," Heer said as she soothed her.
Everyone continued to laugh and joke about Preeti's new found fear ' everyone except Heer and Maya. While everyone else laughed, they shared a knowing glance. They shared a split second of pain, they shared a moment, they shared a weak smile ' they shared a moment with Prem.
*~*Flash Back*~*
(Heer = 16 & Prem = 18)
It was the summer time and the Maan house was buzzing. Rishab had been on his way to Mumbai for a business conference when his car had met with an accident, when it collided with a huge cargo truck. The doctors revealed that he had broken his left leg in 4 places, a few ribs, not to mention other cuts and scrapes. However, his most serious injury was the internal bleeding that was caused by the impact. After being in the hospital for just over one month, the doctors had finally given him the news that he could go home.
It was welcome news for everyone because most of the family had been out to Mumbai to watch after him. Of course, Kulraj had been there along with Teji, Nihaal, Meher and Heer. Heer was off from school so she was more than happy to help, after all he was her brother. However, the down side was that it had been over one month since she had seen Prem. In all of their years as friends, and then some, they had never spent more than a week or two away from each other. Heer was going crazy and so was Prem. So when the new came that Rishab was going home, neither of them could have been happier.
They had gotten home to see Maya and Harman working hard putting together a pooja at the house. They had prayed for Rishab and has promised to have a pooja at the house when he was well enough and returned home. As Kulraj took Rishab up to their room, the rest of the family got to work. Heer knew that she needed to call Prem so they could meet, but she also saw that Maya was overwhelmed with all that she was going. Heer promised to be back in 20 minutes, just as soon as she was changed out of the clothes she was wearing.
Heer went up to her bed room and dug in her closet for something to wear. The entire time she was humming a song in her mind ' it was the song she had dance to with Prem on their date. Finally settling on an orange and rust colored salwar suit, Heer headed to the bathroom. She took the quickest shower she had ever taken and quickly changed before coming out. She was at her dresser just drying her hair with the towel when she heard Maya calling out to her.
"Heer?! Kahaan reh gayi!?" she called.
"Baas, abhi aayi Bhabi," Heer yelled back.
"Jaldi!" Maya said. From the sound of her voice, Heer could tell she was just down the hall in her room.
Heer was humming away when out of nowhere she felt a sudden draft of air. She thought it was weird because she could have sworn that the window had been closed the entire time. Maybe she had opened it and didn't realize it. Without giving it much thought she walked over to close it. As soon as she closed the window, she felt someone grab her from behind.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Heer screamed.
Heer kicked the person behind her, as if some kind of reflex, and managed to get out of their hold. Turning around she saw who it was.
"Prem tum!?" she yelled. "Tumne toh meri jaan hi nikal di!"
"Aur tum," Prem said as she grabbed onto his leg, "Tum kaab se karate jaanti ho? Tang thodiya mera."
Before Heer could say anything she heard Maya Bhabi, "Heer? Kya hua? Tu tik hai?" she called.
"Maar gaye!" Heer said as she smacked her head. "Tum jaao yahaan se! Iss se pehle ke Bhabi aajaye, jaao."
"Magar kyun?" Prem asked. "Darti ho aapni Bhabi se?"
"Bhabi se nahin, Bhaia se. Aagar mera kissi bhi Bhai aagaye toh mujhe maar dalenge," Heer said.
"Haath lagake toh dikhaye," Prem said with a grin on his face.
"Prem, yeh macho banne ka waqt nahin hai," Heer said as she held his hand and dragged him towards the window. "Jaao please."
Heer managed to get one of Prem's legs out of the window when Maya barged in and she too yelled, "Ahh!"
"Shh Bhabi," Heer called.
"Maya?" Harman called. "Maya kya hua? Saab tik hai?"
Heer instantly panicked because she was sure her brother was already half way up the stairs.
"Bhabi please," Heer pleaded.
"Main tik hoon Harman," Maya called.
"Phir, tumne chilaya kyun?" he asked. His voice wasn't louder, that meant he has stopped coming towards Heer's room.
"Kuch nahin, baas ek chuha tha," Maya said as she looked Prem up and down, "Bohot bada chuha."
"Chuha, iss ghaar mein? Chi, kaal hi terminator ko bulake uss chuha ko maarna hoga."
Maya watched as Harman walked away, before she came in and closed the door. "Iss chuha ko tum nahin maar sakte Harman. Yeh chuha toh tumhari behen ki jaan hai."
"Bhabi," Heer said as she blushed.
Maya noticed that half of Prem's body was still hanging out of the window. "Aab chuha sahab, andar aane ka irada hai, yah phir khud kushi karne ka irada hai?" she asked.
Prem too blushed as he stumbled in, nearly falling over but grabbed onto Heer just in time.
"Heer," Maya said in a condescending tone, "Yeh saab kya hai?"
"Bhabi woh'Prem'milne'." Heer just stuttered.
Maya walked past Heer and looked at Prem. "Oh ho, toh yeh chuha Mr. Prem hai?" she asked. Looking him up and down again, this time with more scrutiny she said, "I approve. Heer, tumne khabi nahin bataya ke Prem itna handsome hai. "
"Bhabi," Heer admonished.
"Kya 'Bhabi'? Aapni Prem se nahin milvayegi?"
"Oh, haan'Prem yeh hai Maya Bhabi aur Bhabi yeh hai'.Prem." Heer blushed one hundred shades of red as she said his name.
"Toh aap hai Prem, jisne meri nanad ki dil churaya hai?" Maya asked.
"Guilty as charged," Prem said as he bowed slightly. "Aur aap hai Maya Bhabi. Heer ki dost zyada aur Bhabi kaam." Prem then bent down to touch Maya's feet.
Maya jumped back, "Yeh kya kaar rahe ho?"
"Ashirwad leh raha hooon," Prem said.
"Haan, toh loh naa. Lekin abhi main itni budhi nahin hui hoon ke tum mere pair choo kar ashirwad lo," Maya scolded.
"Phir kaise?" Prem asked.
"Aare, gale lag kar bhi toh le sakte ho," Maya said.
"Bhabi, you are the best," Prem said as he embraced Maya. "Heer, tumhari Bhabi'haye'awesome! Aap mujhe Heer se pelhe kyun nahin mile? Aapki toh jawab hi nahin!"
"Baas baas bohot hogaya," Maya smiled, as Heer frowned. "I'm sorry Mr. Chuha, lekin aapko aab jaana padega. Heer ne vada kiya tha ke woh meri madat karegi pooja ki tayari mein. Chal Heer."
Both Prem and Heer's hearts fell as Maya walked towards the door pulling Heer along with her.
"Magar Bhabi'Woh Prem'" Heer began to say.
Maya turned and looked at their faces. She couldn't help but laugh. "Mil le, mil le aapni Prem se," she said as she let go of Heer's hand. "Koi poochega toh main kehdungi ke tu soh gayi hai. Main laddoo khud hi bana lungi." As Maya left she called out one more time, "Aur haan'tum dono'BEHAVE!"
Heer blushed as Maya closed the door. When she turned around she saw Prem with an odd look in his eyes.
"Kya hua?" she asked.
"Laddoo? Ghaar mein laddoo baan rahe hai?" he asked.
"Haan toh?"
"Mere liyeh kuch leh aao naa," Prem pleaded.
"Main kaise'"
Prem turned around and folded his arms across his chest. "Kya Heer'main aapne jaan pe khelkar yahaan taak aa sakta hoon'aur tum mere liyeh laddoo main mangva sakti?" he said.
"Prem baath ko samjo'" Heer said as she faced him.
Once again, Prem won this situation. He smiled at her, tilted his head and said "Please."
"Uff, tik hai!" Heer said as she gave up. "Tum se toh main khabi nahin jeet sakti!"
Heer quietly opened the door just in time to see Maya coming out of her room, and luckily no one was with her. "Psst! Bhabi," she called out.
"Kya hai?" Maya asked in a hushed tone.
"Woh'aapke uss chuha ko laddoo khana hai," Heer said.
"Aare wah, usse laddoo bhi pasand hai." Maya smiled as Heer looked utterly exasperated. "Tu jaa, main abhi leke aati hoon."
Heer walked back to her room and closed the door. "Tum mujhse milne aaye ho ya laddoo khane?" she asked, in mock anger.
"Obviously'" Prem began to say, when Maya walked in, "'laddoo khane!"
"Prem!" Heer yelled as she threw two pillows at him.
"Haye haye, usse kyun maar rahe ho. Bechare ne kya kiya?" Maya asked as she handed Prem the plate filled with laddoos.
"Haan aap hi kuch kahiyeh Bhabi. Yeh humesha mujhse aaise pesh aati hai," Prem said as she stuck a tongue out.
"Bechara'yeh koi bechara vechara nahin hai Bhabi!" Heer said. "Aur Bhabi, aap kyun aaye phirse. Kissi aur ko bej deti."
"Main kaise bej deti? Yeh chuha joh yahaan hai," Maya said. "Tu naa Heer'budhu ki budhu hi hai."
"Haan Heer, tum toh budhu ke budhu hi ho," Prem teased as well.
Maya turned to leave but then remembered she forgot something. She came over and handed Prem a small tiffin box. "Prem, yeh ghaar lejana tere aur Maa-ji ke liyeh kuch laddoo pack kiya hai. Heer ke hatoon ka gajar ka kalwa toh nahin hai lekin phir bhi, chake batana ke kaise bana hai."
"Aare Bhabi, yeh toh gajar ka halwa se bhi aacha hai!" Prem said. "You are the best!"
"Oh, I approve! I definitely approve. Major plus points."
"Bhabi pe line maar rahe ho!" Heer yelled as she felt jealous.
"Bhabi hai hi itni aachi. Can't help it," Prem said with a wink.
"Prem Jhuneja!" Heer yelled as she grabbed more pillows. "I'll kill you!"
Maya stepped out and closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it so no one stumbled inside.
Heer and Prem continued to fight until Prem put down the laddoos and grabbed her. He held her arms down and brought her body close. He started into her eyes for a while until he finally brought her in for a hug.
"God, I have missed you," he said as he held her.
"I missed you too," Heer said. She pulled back only slightly and placed a quick kiss on his lips before hugging him again.
*~*Back to Present*~*
When Heer snapped out of her thoughts the kids were still laughing at Preeti. This caused Preeti to cry even more because she was being made fun of. It didn't help matters that even the men at the table were still snickering and not even trying to hide it. Just as Heer was about to interject, Kulraj stepped in.
"Bachoon, aaise Preeti ko math tang karo," she said. "Ketan aur Rohan, khas kaar ke tum dono."
"Kyun Mamma?" Ketan asked.
"Woh iss liyeh kyun ke tum dono uske bhai ho." Kulraj began to serve the children food as she continued to talk. "Tum doho ki yeh zimedari hai ke humesha aapni behenoon ki dekhbhal karo. Samje?"
"Haan, aaur uppar se kaal Raksha Bandhan hai," Meher added.
"Woh kya hia Mamma?" Rohan asked.
"Raksha Bandhan woh din hai jaab saari behene aapni bhaiyoon pe rakhi bandthi hai. Rakhi bandne ek baad bhai aapni behen se yeh vaada karta hai ke woh humesha aapni behen ki hifazat karega. Humesha usse kush rakhega. Bhai yeh vaada karta hai ke woh khabi aapni behen pe koi aanch aane nahin dega."
"Oh," Rohan said. "Matlab ke kaal Roshni, Diya, aur Preeti mujhpe, Dhruv pe, aur Ketan Bhaia pe rakhi bandnenge?"
"Haan. Aur tum dono ko saab ko gift dena hoga," Maya said.
"Gift? Magar mere paas toh paisa nahin hai," Rohan said.
Everyone giggled at his comment.
"Tum chinta maat karo beta," Nihaal said, "Hum saab sambhal lenge."
"Aur Dhruv? Woh toh abhi bhi baby hai." Rohan reminded everyone. "Woh behenoon ke liyeh kya kaar sakta hai?"
"Dhruv ka hum sambhal lenge," Harman said.
"Yeh bandhan toh humesha ki hai," Meher said. "Dhruv aaj chota hai, kuch nahin kaar sakta lekin jaab woh bada hoga, taab karega."
By this time Heer had managed to call Preeti down, so she set her in a chair and proceeded to the kitchen to help Veera bring out the rest of the food.
"Heer beta, tu bhi aapni list deh deh," Teji said suddenly.
"Kaunsi list?" Heer asked as she returned to the dining area with a plate full of rotis.
"Aare, Veera ne toh ek lambi list di hai. Usse kaunsa gift chahiyeh Raksha Bandhan ke liyeh, saab kuch likha hai. Chal tu bhi deh deh."
Heer stood silent as did everyone else present at the table. In the past seven years, Heer did not tie rakhi to her brothers even once. Never had anyone even mentioned it. On that day, Heer either stayed locked in her room or she made some excuse to go outside. Heer didn't know why her mother was bringing it up suddenly.
Heer looked at her three brothers. They were all looking at her, and Heer could have sworn, just for a brief moment, there was a spark of hope in their eyes.
"Mujhe kuch nahin chahiyeh," she said as she headed back to the kitchen. "Innse toh kuch bhi nahin." Heer had said it under her breath but her mother was close enough to hear it.
"Heer, aaisa maat kar," Teji pleaded.
"Kya kaar rahi hoon Maa? Mujhe kissi se kuch nahin chahiyeh. Joh mujhe chahiyeh woh toh koi bhi nahin deh sakta. Vaise bhi, yeh log mujhe deh bhi kya sakte hai," Heer said as she looked at her brothers in disgust.
"Heer'" Teji began to say but was cut off.
"Aap ko kya lagta hai Maa? Pichle kuch dino se main aap saab se mil-jul rahi hoon toh iska matlab ke main saab kuch bhul chuki hoon?" Heer asked. "Nahin Maa nahin! Main kuch nahin bhuli hoon. Aaj bhi saab kuch mujhe yaad hai. Jin logoon ne mujhse meri kushiyaan chini hai, woh mujhe kya desakte hai?"
It was after Heer made that comment, that Nihaal slammed his paper down on the table and yelled, "Baas Heer baas! Saath saal beit chuke hai. Tu abhi bhi humse naraaz hai? Humne kitni baar tujhse maafi manga hai."
Knowing full well where this conversation was going to end up, Veera, with the help of Ketan, rounded up the children and rushed up stairs. This was not an argument the children needed to hear or see.
"Aapko lagta hai maafi mangne se saab kuch tik hojata hai?" Heer asked. She was in utter shock that they would be so stupid to believe something so ridiculous.
"Hum toh baas tujhe lehne aur usse darane gaye the," Rishab added. "Hume kya paata tha ke Prem'"
Hearing the man who killed Prem take his name caused Heer to feel a sudden burst of fury that she had never felt before. "Maat lo mere Prem ka naam aapni zubaan se!" she yelled. She grabbed to the chair so tight that her knuckles were turning white and her breathing became labored.
"Heer," Harman said as he got up. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Joh kuch bhi uss raath hua, saab ek glahti thi."
"Ghalti!?" Heer screamed. Was she hearing right? Were her brothers trying to find excuses for what they had done? They were trying to pass on the worst moment of her life as a mistake?! A mistake?!
"Haan, ek bohot badi ghalti," Rishab joined in. "Jaab Nihaal ne Prem ko dhakka diya tha, toh woh achanak mere bahoon mein gira. Woh chaku'woh chaku ghalti se lag gaya tha."
"Kya!? Ghalti se?!" Heer was beside herself with rage, it just seemed to pour out of her body. "Aap theeno ne mere Prem ko maardala aur keh rahe hai ke woh ek ghalti thi?"
"Heer tu sun toh'." Nihaal tried to say. He explained that when Prem stepped on his feet, it was like a reflex so he just pushed Prem away. Rishab had been holding the knife but didn't mean to stab Prem with it.
"Tik hai. Chalo, maan bhi lete hai ke woh ghalti se laag gayi," Heer said, as she folded her arms across her chest. "Lekin aap logoon ne mujhe usse bachane kyun nahin diya!? Kyun usse hospital nahin leke gaye!? Kyun usse aaise pekh diya jaise ke woh insaan nahin, janwaar ho?! Kyun bhaage aaye?! Kyun police ko phone nahin kiya?! Kyun usse nahin bachaya?! Kyun?! Kyun?! Kyun?!" Heer now had tears streaming down her face as she remembered her last moments with Prem ' as she remember the last breath he took. "Kyun mujhe vidva banaya?!"
Heer nearly fell to the floor as all of the emotions overwhelmed her. Before she hit the floor she was supported by Maya and Meher. Her mother and her brothers stood silently.
"Kaal raksha bandhan hai, lekin aab woh bandhan mere liyeh koi maeiyne nahin rakthi," Heer said once she found some strength. "Yeh ek aaisa vaada hai joh ek bhai aapni behen se karta hai. Yeh sirf behen ka raksha karna nahin. Yeh aapni behen ki haar saapna, haar iicha aur haar kushiyaan ke raksha karna hai. Jissne mujhse saab kuch china hai, woh kya raksha karenge? Jissne khud mera haar saapna thoda hai, woh kya raksha karenge? Jissne meri jeena ka iicha hi khatam kardiya hai, woh kya raksha karenge? Jissne mujhse meri kushiyaan china hai, mujhse mera Prem china hai, woh kya raksha karenge?"
No one spoke for at least a minute. It was Rishab who finally said, "Hume maaf karde Heer."
The sadness, dejection and remorse in his voice would have broken most people, but not Heer'not after what they had done.
"Maafi mangne se kuch badal toh nahin jayega naa? Mera Prem, vapas toh nahin aayega?" Heer asked. "Aap saab," she said as she pointed to the four men in the room, "'aap saab mere gunegar the, mere gunegar hai aur humesha rahenge. Maafi mangne se kuch nahin hota. Kuch nahin!"
Heer was about to walk away when something her brother had said finally stuck out to her. "Aap keh rahe the naa, ke joh kuch bhi hua, saath saal purani baath hai?" she asked Nihaal. "Saath saal purani baath hogi aap saab ke liyeh, lekin mere liyeh nahin. Mere liyeh, yeh toh jaisi kaal hi ki baath hai. Haar paal, jaagte hue ya sohte hue, mujhe Prem ki kaami mehsoos hoti hai. Jaab bhi aapni akheen baand karti hoon toh uska cehera saamne aajata hai. Jaab bhi main akeli hoti hoon toh uska ehsaas hota hai. Jaab bhi usse yaad karti hoon toh akhoon mein asoon aajate hai. Aaj bhi jaab main uss raath ke baarein mein soochti hoon toh wohi dard vapas aajata hai, kyun ke uss raath ko maine sirf Prem ko nahin khoya'uss raath ko maine aapni Bauji aur bhaiyoon ko khoya tha. Ek hi paal mein mera saab kuch khogaya. Main uss paal ko kaise bhool jaoon'kaise bhool jaoon?"
Heer went to her room as once again, she relived every moment of the horrific night that took Prem from her. No one said anything, they just stood around. Heer knew that they had all noticed that she hadn't addressed her brothers directly by calling them by name or even by referring them as "Bhaia". She knew they noticed that this was the first time in 7 years that she had even spoken to them, directly or indirectly.
The last time she had spoken to her brothers had been the night Prem died. She had begged and begged them to let her go and help him, but they hadn't allowed her. Then she pleaded with them to let her at least make an anonymous call to the police to tell them what had happened so that they could at least save Prem. She had promised them, she swore to them that if the let her save Prem then she would never see him again and get married to Rajveer. As long as Prem was alive she didn't need anything more, she'd learn to live with out him even if it killed her. Heer tried everything, but nothing worked.
------------------------------
Veera's mehndi ceremony and haldi happened on the same day. The haldi was in the day time with just close family and friends, while the mehndi was later in the evening and was a grand affair. Thankfully, it went off without a hitch. Of course there was still tension between Heer and her family members but for Veera's sake, she put everything aside. It was Veera's day ' she wasn't going to ruin it. All the festivities and rituals went off beautifully. Veera was getting her mehndi done, as were Heer's sister-in-laws. Heer watched form the corner as all the married women put on mehndi for their husbands.
Prem had loved it when Heer wore mehndi. Her hands were always red, the reddest of the red. As she watched, she remembered the time she first put on mehndi after her and Prem were officially a couple.
*~*Flash Back*~*
(Heer = 16 & Prem = 18)
"Uff, Bhabi! Mujhe nahin lagani mehndi!" Heer complained as Meher dragged her over to where the other females were getting their mehndi done.
"Kyun nahin lagvani?" Kulraj asked. "Shaadi wala ghaar hai, mehndi toh lagana padega."
It was Heer's cousins wedding, which just happened to be held at Maan Estates. God knew it was big enough, but Heer had no interest in the wedding. She did at first, since her oldest cousin, Ashlesha, was getting married. However, since the day of the engagement all of the aunties had been after her trying to fix her up with either their own sons or sons of family/friends. Enough was enough! It was like there was some guy thrown at her face every few minutes. To make matters worse, she hadn't seen Prem all week.
Ever since he had graduated she saw less and less of him. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to see him regularly since Prem no longer was in school. Just because she knew what to expect, didn't mean she had to like it.
However, being the good girl that she was, she didn't have the heart to say 'no' when her chachi asked her to sit and have her mehndi done. Heer nearly held her breath the entire time because she couldn't stand the smell. Finally, when all of the festivities were finally done 4 hours later, and she was excused to her room, she ran straight for the bathroom and washed it off. She came out wiping her hands and threw the towel on her bed.
In the darkness of the room she heard someone say, "Hey!"
She stopped in her tracks. "Prem?" she asked, as she turned on the lights.
"Aur nahin toh kaun?" Prem asked as he moved the towel off of his face. "Dekh ke nahin phek sakti?"
"Mujhe kya paata ke tum iss waqt yahaan ho. Tum toh jaise mujhe bhool hi gaye," Heer pouted as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Oh ho, kya meri girlfriend mujhse naraaz hai?" Prem came up behind her and hugged her tightly. "Main tumhe kaise bhool sakta hoon? Pichle doh ghanto se yahaan pe baita hoon tumhare liye, aur tum thi ke uppar aati hi nahin."
"Doh ghante?" Heer asked, shocked. "Woh, main kya karti? Saab itne busy the Di ki shaadi ko lekar. Aur aaj toh ghaar mein mehndi ki rasam thi'haan, sangeet bhi."
"Mehndi ki rasam? Tumne lagaya mehndi?" Prem asked as he rested his head on her shoulder and tried to look at her hands.
"Haan, Meher Bhabi ne zabardasti lagva diya. Mujhe mehndi bilkul pasand nahin." Heer made a face as she talked, which caused Prem to laugh.
"Aacha? Mujhe toh mehndi bohot pasand hai," Prem said. "Zaara dekhoon toh, tumhari mehndi ka rang kitna gehra hai." Prem held Heer's hands from the bottom as she held her palms up for him to inspect. "Wow!" he said, "Tum jaante ko ke mehndi ke rang ke baare mein kya kehte hai?"
"Nahin toh. Kya kehte hai?" Heer asked, not really interested.
"Kehte hai ke mehndi ka rang jitna gehra ho, tumhara paati tumse utna zyada pyaar karta hai."
"Saachi?" Heer asked, now she was totally interested. "Phir, mere hatoon se kya pata chalta hai?"
"Tumhari hatoon se yeh paata chalta hai ke main tumse bohot pyaar karta hoon," Prem said as he kissed her palms.
"Tum kaise, tum paati tohdi naa ho," Heer teased.
"Haan legally nahin hoon, toh kya hua. Maan se, dil se aur aatma se toh hoon naa. Baki ke toh saab formalities hai. Baad mein dekh lenge," he said with a wink. "Dekho, mera naam ka 'P' bhi hai. I'm yours forever!"
Heer was shocked when she looked closer and saw a simple 'P' in the middle of other exquisite designs. "Yeh kissne likha?" she asked.
"Tumne nahin kaha likhne ko?" Prem asked.
"Nahin maine toh nahin'." Heer smiled as she remembered something. "Maya Bhabi," she said. She remembered that while the lady was working on her hand, Maya had come over and whispered something in the lady's ear. Both women giggled but then went about their ways, doing what they were doing. This is what Maya must have told the henna artist.
"Gotta love Maya Bhabi!" Prem said as he smiled as if he had just won a prize in a game or something. "Gotta love you too." Prem hugged Heer tighter and kissed her cheek.
"Love you too," she said as she snuggled closer.
Suddenly there was a knock that interrupted their calm silence. "Didi? Kya kaar rahi ho, darvaza kholo?" Veera said from outside the door.
"Loh aagayi tumhari 'chutki'!" Prem said. It seemed like every time Prem got a little close to Heer, Veera ended up coming to interrupt.
"Aayi Veera, baas change kaar rahi hoon!" Heer yelled to Veera. Then she turned to Prem and said, "Sorry. Lekin ghaar mein itne saare mahman hai. Veera mere saath kamra share kaar rahi hai."
"Tik hai baba, main jaa raha hoon. Vaise bhi bohot raath hochuki hai," Prem said as he stood up.
"Sambhal ke," Heer warned as she watched Prem.
Prem headed towards the window and was half way out when he stopped and gave Heer a quick kiss before disappearing into the darkness of the night.
*~*Back to Present*~*
A smile crept onto Heer's face as she remembered the fact that after Prem's graduation, whenever they had to meet, 8 out of 10 times it involved him sneaking in through her bedroom window. It was hard to get out of the house for Heer and Prem was busy with his studies as well, not to mention the fact that he also had a job which helped pay for school. Heer didn't know what would have happened to Prem after his mom's death but like the great human being that he was ' he pulled through with flying colors. His one aim in life was to finish college because his mother had always dreamed of that for him.
Heer always left her bedroom window unlocked because she didn't know when Prem would be popping in to see her. Many times it just so happened that he came in during the early hours of the morning after everything else was taken care of. Sometimes, he would just come to see her and then leave because he was so tired. One night he had been so tired that he had fallen asleep as Heer talked about her day. She didn't bother to wake him since he was sleeping peacefully. Instead she removed his shoes and covered him with a blanket before snuggling up next to him. Heer knew what could potentially arise with having Prem in her bed, but she didn't worry about that. She trusted Prem and she knew he would never do something like that with her. After all, if sex was what he wanted from her, he could have taken that advantage long ago.
Heer was reminiscing about how Prem's body felt as he slept. She remembered the warmth she felt as she lay next to him; she remembered the steadiness of his breathing and the gentleness of his hold. As Heer remembered her moment's with Prem, she was brought back to reality as commotion suddenly broke out in the hall.
Turning her head Heer saw a crowd of girls huddled around someone at the entrance of the hall, while smaller groups surrounded other people. Heer looked towards Veera who seemed to be blushing. Finally, when the people calmed down, Heer could see that Manmeet had just crashed the party with a few of his friends. Everyone began to tease Veera and Manmeet about how impatient he was, that he couldn't wait a few day for the wedding to pass.
A group of Veera's friends brought Manmeet over so he could sit with her. Heer gave up her seat happily so that the new couple could enjoy a few moments together before Manmeet got kicked out by the ladies of the function.
Heer quietly slipped away into the darkness behind the pillars as she imagined her and Prem doing the same thing. She knew for a fact that if her wedding had been as joyous as Veera's was, then Prem would have crashed every function he was not invited to as the groom. She could imagine him making excuses as to why he was there, she could imagine him teasing her, just as Manmeet was doing now to Veera.
Heer's eyes again became blurry with tears when she looked down at her hands, which were void of any mehndi. As she quietly headed up the stairs, Heer saw her brothers and her father huddled in one corner discussing something.
"Preet Mehta aaj bhi nahin aaya?" Balraj asked.
"Nahin Bauji," Harman replied.
"Tum logoon ne tik se invitation toh diya tha naa?" he asked.
"Haan Bauji," Nihaal said, "Maine khud jaake unke secretary ko diya tha. Woh ek meeting mein busy tha issi liyeh unhe nahin deh paya. Lekin baad mein phone pe baath hui thi, aur unho ne kahaa ke card milgaya aur woh zaroor aayenge."
"Kaal phone kaar ke paata karo ke woh kyun nahin aaye?" Balraj ordered.
"Ji Bauji," Nihaal said.
"I want this deal done!" her father yelled as he walked away.
As the Maan men dispersed, Heer couldn't help but think what was going on? Why was her father so upset that a guest didn't come? What deal was he talking about? And most importantly, who was Preet Mehta?
JAZ
ps: dont forget to comment 😳😳
Edited by jnawaz - 16 years ago
Jhanak
