Chapter 37
A painful whimper escaped from his mouth as Arjun tried to pull his body. But his lower part felt so heavy almost numb; he gasped for air as numerous pangs of sharp pain engulfed him. He could see the morning sun peeping through the roof of the dark pit to announce its glory to the entire world. The pain was too excruciating and he felt breathless...the exhaustion was too empowering for him to be able to do anything… A silent tear escaped from his eyes as he remembered two beautiful faces and he forced himself to move but of no avail. He saw his phone lying quite close by but the distance although a fraction seemed too far. He could hear some voices : he tried to shout aloud to grab their attention but he only managed to voice another whimper. He looked up at the sky, tried again to reach for the phone but could sense the drowsiness getting him…he sensed his eyes closing; he sensed his severely wounded body giving in to the lull of care charmer sleep…he sensed death!!!!!!
The mere sensation suffocated him with a gripping awareness of his responsibilities. Out in the real world there were two people waiting eagerly for his home-coming. Two innocent faces again flashed through his mind…his Arohi and his Aayan…his own family….who meant the world to him. No he couldn't die!!! He is the Arjun Singhania of the world…he had never learnt to give up so soon. Fight Arjun Fight" he inner voice reminded him of all the promises he had made to himself to keep his family happy…to give to them all his support. He couldn't afford to leave them like this. He was even ready to fight with death!!!" He tried again to move a fraction to get hold of his phone. But his slight movement brought back the sensation of millions of sharp knife piercing through his spine. He didn't wanted to give up but he was too exhausted!!!
Salil rushed to a delirious Arohi who was constantly uttering the same words "he is not my Arjun" as if she was chanting a mantra; as if with constant repetition her Arjun would come back. She looked shattered but there was not a single tear in her lifeless eyes..she just looked like a possessed soul….a soul who firmly believed that the man in the chiller drawer did not belonged to her. Her whole body shook as she gasped for air. Even Salil's eyes filled with tears as she saw her kissing the mobile fervently and playing Arjun's voice messages again and again. 'You cant be dead….can you hear me Arjun Singhania you can't be dead…you can't leave me…you have promised me" her voice echoed all around the corridor. Some onlookers shook their head in sympathy while some wiped their tears seeing the agonised state of the young girl. But there was some hopeful twinkle in that life less eyes that made Salil's heart skipped a bit. He could see her dialling Arjun's number and urging him to pick up the call. How would she go through it!!!!! She looked so vulnerable.
Seeing Salil she went to him.
"Jiju…tell him that he can't be dead…he can't go just like that…he has a wife and a son to look after..…it is not done " She almost shouted as if the power of her words would have an effect on the situation.
"Arohi even I wish the same but.." Salil provided her with a brotherly embrace. He knew it was impossible for any wife to come to terms with the fact but it was very important to tackle Arohi properly. She could loose it totally if she was not shown the brutal mirror of truth.
"Jiju it can't be him..look at the picture messages…he was in a car wearing a while shirt, stripy tie and a suit jacket…but the man there is wearing some casual clothes and the accident was between a bus and a truck ..how can it be him" Arohi said in a voice full of hope. " I know my husband…and that is not him…he is fine" She went back to trying on calling him but could not get any response. It kept on coming unavailable.
"It doesn't prove anything…may be he stopped somewhere and changed….we need more proof" Salil tried to reason with her.. In Salil's mind it was very important for Arohi to come to terms with the reality.
"I know it jiju…my heart is saying he cant leave us like this…that man is not him…..believe me jiju….he is not my Arjun" She looked up at Salil with almost a plea urging him to have trust on her trust.
Before Salil could say more to console her Dinesh's number flashed in his mobile.
"Hello Dinesh…I have been trying to get through to you like hell…."He said irritated
"Sorry Sir..I am having some network problems but we have managed to track down the driver who took Arjun Sir …and according to him their car broke down near Solapur but Arjun Sir was adamant to continue with his journey so he took a lift in a private bus"
Salil felt the room spinning around him. Till then even he was hoping against hope that there had been a misunderstanding but now that Dinesh had confirmed that Arjun did take a lift in a bus all the rays of hope seemed to shatter down on him. He glanced at Arohi looking minutely at her phone and mumbling on her own….her words regarding Arjun's clothes came back to him.
"Did you manage to find Arjun Sir yet? the voice from the other end asked worriedly.
"Dinesh ..what was Arjun wearing when he left?" Salil just asked abruptly cutting him in between.
" Well Sir was wearing a white shirt, a stripy blue tie and a grey suit" He replied with a pause trying to remember it.
"Are you with the driver?" Salil asked.
"Yes Sir"
"Pass the phone to him..now?" It seemed like eternity till he could hear the voice of another man.
"Helo"
"Hindi ati hai"
"jee "
"Thik se boliye sahib ne raste pein apna kapra change kiye the?"
"Nehi Sahib…hum to ekdam sidha chal pare the office se...khane ke liye bhi nehi ruke ..phir gari kharap ho gayi Solapur akar..…mausam itna kharap tha..hum bole sahib ruk jate hain ..par unhone nehi mane…bolne lag e ki abhi ke abhi jana hain…mano jaise zindagi aur maut ka sawal ho..hum dhunde bhi the lekin baju mein koi mechanic garage nehi tha…meri ek bhi bat nehi mani unhone…highway se ek private bus mein lift le liye..pata nehi kya junnon sawar ho gaya tha"
"Sir…did you manage to find any information on Arjun Sir" It was Dinesh back on the phone.
"Not yet….I hope" Salil said hesitantly leaving a bewildered Dinesh.
His heart was pounding like as if he had ran a double marathon. There was still some hope. If Arjun hadn't changed then how come the body they are claiming to be his be HIS!!!! But the watch and the wallet with all his details belonged to him. But there could be so many logical explanations for this. The problem was there were still so many buts and time was slipping away …He glanced back at Arohi hugging a tearful Aayan. The little boy was tired and cranky. But still no tears in hie mother's eyes…just a hollow look on her eyes as she kept on looking at her son and rocked him back to sleep singing "papa abhi ayenge Aayan ko ghumane le jayenge…papa abhi ayenge.." her hopeful words seemed to in still more hopes in him. But he didn't want to say anything to Arohi before he could gather more information.
"Pata nehi kya junoon sawar ho gaya tha" the driver's words kept on playing in Salil's mind. Indeed he just failed to comprehend why the hell Arjun wanted to come back to Mumbai so urgently despite of the bad weather condition. Was it pre planned!!! He had heard and read news about all sorts of sabotage stories when it came to big business tycoons. There muse be some reason behind such a drastic action by Arjun and as far as he had known he he is a very level-headed man. Jumbled headed he called Purvi again and instructed her to send Shelafi to Pune so that she could look after Aayan and help Arohi.He also asked her to inform Mr Mehta the manager of Singhania & Sharma so that he could inform the necessary people. Salil was an ordinary man, neither he had the connections not the influence that the mighty Singhania's would have but he was determined to perform his duty as a friend…as a fellow human being. He saw the police inspector standing with the doctor in charge and decided to start his enquiry from them. There were still so many loop holes!!!!But one thing he knew in his heart of hearts that if Arjun was alive they would find him at any cost.
Arjun forced his eyes open so that he could keep himself awake….he knew falling asleep would be catastrophic.The voices that he could hear earlier had faded. He wanted to call out to them urging to come and help him but the heavy rock that had landed on his spine earlier seemed to crush down all his power….he ached so much that even the excruciating had lost its meaning!!! It was just him stuck in a dark pit. He had no idea where this place was. All he remembered was his car breaking down and him taking a lift in a private bus. He remembered him bartering his priceless watch and his full wallet with the conductor for the favour. He could have never parted with the watch that Arohi had given it to him but it was only to get back to her. He remembered the sudden jerk, a flash of light and him blowing out of the bus into the onset of bleak darkness…him tumbling down the sloppy areas and his back getting hit by an array of rocks and him going deeper and deeper into more darkness. He had heard voices nearby which pointed to the fact that the rescue team was in action. But would they know that he was in the bus as well? This realisation struck him like a lightening. What if the driver didn't bother to inform them about the breakdown? What if the man who had his watch and wallet had died in the accident. What if Arohi had left as he was not home in the morning and was waiting for him to look for her. What if it was all like last time!!!! An unknown fear ran down his spine as all kind of scenario kept on playing on his half asleep mind. Yes now despite of all the pain he needed to make this effort only to get back to her…just to tell her that he didn't wanted to break his promise…he had made the effort to come back to her.With pain as excruciating as hell he still forced himself to drag a bit more. His lower part left so heavy and he could sense it was stuck. The growing drowsiness was too much to control…he could sense his eyelids drooping..he knew death was inevitable but he didn't deserved to die without seeing her only once for the last time……her beautiful face came to haunt him again…he could see tears in them "please Arohi don't cry I can't see tears in your eyes" His hand automatically tried to reach out for her to wipe away her precious tears but only if he wasn't this drowsy!!!!
"Driver ji Kurkumbh chaliye" Salil instructed the driver as he seated beside a silent Arohi. Shefali had arrived on time and had taken Aayan back to Mumbai. Another couple of hours have passed but still they have failed to gather any concrete information about Arjun. On enquiry Sall was informed that there were approximately twenty passengers in the bus on their way from Hyderabd. The accident,which was a head on collision between a bus and track, was actually accentuated by the land slides and had lead to the outbreak of a fire. The exact timing of the incident was still unknown as the couple of people who had managed to make it were badly injured. Another bus driven who was on the same route had reported it to the police later on. Although the rescue team had managed to recover most of the bodies but due to the land slide and the fire majority of them were hardly recognisable Salil was shown another four such mutilated corpse but none of them fitted Arjun's description. The fact that one of the body had his watch and wallet confirmed to the fact that Arjun had taken lift in the same bus. But where is he???? When the inspector told him that the rescue team was almost done he had felt absolutely helpless..not knowing what to do.
Just the thought that Arjun was out there but without any trace had made him shiver in dread. He looked at Arohi looking outside the car , engrossed in a different world but from what he had seen before he was assured that inside the fragile state there resided a strong woman who was willing to go to any extent to get her husband back. Just the moment when even he had felt helpless it was her who had come forward putting aside all her apprehension and agony and taken all the responsibilities. Her words "Jiju we will find him…I know he is all right" kept on echoing in his head. It was her who had insisted on coming to Kurkumbh and look for Arjun personally. It was her who had called her security manager and ordered him to arrange for specially trained squad to look for Arjun and informed the national media about the business tycoon Arjun Singhania's involvement in a road accident. It was a very good move…now that the national media was involved even they would do anything to get a scoop about missing Arjun Singhania and also put pressure on the police to look for him ardently!!! But it was all her….he looked up in the sky and thanked the allmight for creating such wonderful species called women…they might look fragile but the power in then can surpass any man at any time !!!!!
It was nearly mid afternoon. Salil looked at his watch as he treaded carefully through the loose rocks. The search had been on for nearly two hours and still no sign of Arjun. Arohi wanted them to look further down which according to the team was a complete waste of time but in front of her staunch belief even they had to bow down. He could see Arohi still trying Arjun's mobile and calling out for him….. Suddenly Arohi stopped…her single movement brought a pause to everyone's action. Almost instantly they could hear the faint ringing of a phone. Arohi cut the call and the ringing stopped. She called back again and it rang. With this followed the desperate search of a wife to find the source…and finally they stopped near a dark pit who mouth was almost covered by a tree pulled down from its root. The ringing was coming form inside but it was so dark. Her "ARJUNNN" came echoing back to her. As the team leader, Commander Singh focussed a bright light they could see something. "Rassi layo..andar jana hain" his order was immediately followed. Just as he was about to go in Arohi demanded to go in with him. Despite of the risk she was adamant. All eyes opened wide in astonishment and awe as she forced the leader to give in to her demands and take her with him.
Arjun was in the place where he had always wanted to be….on the bank of the Styx, the river that ran between the living and the dead. As a child when he had longed for his mother and searched for her he was told by aunty Gloria that he would one day meet his mother on the bank of river Styx. He had looked for the location of this river on every possible map but could never find it and gradually with time forgot about it. But today when he looked at the vast river in front of him he knew he was there…he knew on the other side he would find him mother. He could see a figure rowing down the river and extending its cold hand towards him. A cold voice whispered "come to me ..I will take you to your mother..dont be scared" "Please not yet...please give me some time " Arjun whispered. "I can't wait for anyone…it is nearly time" Arjun could almost feel the figure's cold hand touching him..see his cold eyes instructing him to go with him. He sensed a tremour beneath him and incredibly another voice …a faint but soft voice sweeped through him.
"Arjun ...open your eyes….pleaseee open your eyes..pleaseee come back to me "
The pull of those words were so strong that everything else faded in to oblivion..the river, the man…. Arjun gasped for air as he opened his eyes slowly and he found his beautiful Arohi looking intently at him with tears steaming down her eyes.
"Arohi.." a smile appeared on his lips but before he could manage more his eye lids started to droop again.
"Arohi…don't let him sleep…just don't let him sleep..I will get my men back as soon as possible…we will need more help….just keep him awake" Commander Singh ordered her as he went up to instruct his men.
She managed to turn her head just to reply in affirmation.
"Arjun…listen to me…open your eyes…look at me" Arohi voice forced him to look up at her.
"Arohi…I thought I would never see you again" his eyes exploded with emotions.
"Shhh…don't say like that…we are together now and we will be together forever' she hugged him tight. She just wanted the moment to go on forever.
" I am ever so sorry Arohi…I couldn't make it on time..I tired but.." he said taking a deep breath.
"What are you made of Arjun….This is all my fault I did this…I harmed you…please forgive me..I should have never said those words…it was all because of my foolishness " her eyes full of tears.
"No Sweetheart…don't cry…." He fondly wiped her tears "just hold me …hold me…don't let me go Arohi..."
"Forever Arjun…forever" she said fiercely as she put her arms around him possessively. She kissed him on his forehead trying to take away all his pain. Her heart was wrenching to see him like this but at least she had found him…"help will be coming shortly….just hold on Arjun…please for us"
" I want to live Arohi….I really want to …" but his eyes had closed again and his breathing had become faint.
"Arjun…wake up….listen to me….wake up"
But he didn't open his eyes and he knew that the boat was waiting for him. He was about to embark on his final journey, leaving her behind. He had vowed to spend the rest of his life with her but he was going to a place where he couldn't have taken her. At least he had seen her for the last time.
"No Arjun…you cant do that to me…you can't ..please wake up"she begged. "Pleaseee help…helppp….he is drifting away.." her voice hitting the walls of the hollow pit.
But there was only stillness and the sound of his breathing growing fainter. As she saw him slipping away she lifted her face to the heaven, silently begging with all her heart and soul.
Take me!!!not him!!!..let him live !!take me!!! Pleaseee
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Arjun could see himself back to river Styx again. He looked back at the earth from where he had arrived, but it was too late. He had left it forever…left her forever. He could see the figure in the boat , its hand reaching out, imploring him to come. But he recognised the figure…it was not a him…it was a her.
"Wait for me …we will make this journey together" her soft voice sounded so musical.
"How did you mange to come here" he asked " You can only come here once you are dead"
"How could you even dream that I will leave you half way…remember we are meant to together forever…" she said proudly.
He went towards her and she lifted her into the boat.
"Eternity" he whispered as he kissed her gently. It was so peaceful. He felt rejuvenated.
The boat turned and began to sail back across the water, towards a new beginning or a new ending………
(I have used river Styx from Greek mythology as Arjun's mother was Greek)
Plz HIT the like button and leave comments….after all the hard work it feels nice to see few words from you all…
Edited by Anupa28 - 13 years ago
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