Posted:
Act 1.. Scene 3
Ding Dong!!
Sona just came out to open the door without thinking...it was the food delivery boy. When she wanted pay the guy she couldn't find her purse...so was quite embarrassed Dev came from the other side... went inside the bedroom...Sona came after him...
Sona: Dev mera purse mujhe nahi mila...yahan kahin ...
Dev turns and shows her his wallet kept right on the chest of drawers beside her bed... but the look in his eyes were of hurt and something that she couldn't decipher. All Sona could do is look at that wallet blankly and remember Dev's words...
"Tumne mujhse sirf mere paison ke liye shaadi ki thi, tumhare nikamme bhai ko settle karne ke liye shaadi ki thi, achha hai ke tum maa nahi ban sakti varna tum ek bohot buri maa banti..."
She had to take a conscious breath and then quietly walked away to the balcony of that room...
Dev couldn't have felt any worse than he already did... he paid the guy and kept away the food... but all he could see in his minds eyes was how all of Sona's vibrancy got lost with that sight of his wallet... she who has always been on the extreme side of self respect and pride to be accused of being a greedy manipulative bitch and fraud of first order by him was something worse than all the tortures and humiliations she had borne in their marriage... his expectations of her not leaving him were so much preposterous... he had never deserved her in the first place... but what she endured after marriage was not lost to him... he has never failed so much in anything in his life than this ... his most cherished relationship...
When he came back into the room to remind Sona of her medicine timings what he saw destroyed his heart to thousand pieces... his Sona sat in the balcony floor looking at the Shiuli Phool tree all bundled up... there were no tears but the wounds she carried deep within her caused by her relationship to him were all there to see...
God didn't exist!! if he were there then Sona wouldn't have suffered like the way she did... She who has always been most considerate of daughter, friend, sister, wife and daughter in law... has suffered through no actions of her own... Will he ever be able to take away the hurt he saw pulsing in through every beat of her heart...
What happened at the LIT Fest before Sona came...
He was drinking in the LIT Festival... because he had met Asha maa there... when he met her accidentally or rather intentionally on his part he was just going to taunt her or get some information about Sona and Soha... He had been boiling inside... but what had happened was so different from his expectations...
D : Asha Maa... aap yahan...not your genre of interest here...or are you here to search for Rabindranath, Sharatchandra or is it Durjoy Dutta...kyunki Bengali writer ke alava aapko kuchh padhna allowed hoga nahi...
Asha maa being Asha maa just looked at him with the strength of a tigress and grace of a dragon enduring a annoying fly in her august presence... one look and the lady could make him feel like a monkey performing back flips ...
Asha: Kaise ho Dev?... I thought we will meet soon but didnt expect to see you here...
Dev collecting himself, for such a suave answer to his stupidly rant he hardly had the strength to look her in the eyes..
Asha: Want to grab a coffee? (why did it sound like more of a challenge and threat than a simple offer for a coffee)
But Dev always had a special place in his heart for this lady who is such a contrast to his own mother...
Asha: So howz life? Now that you know you have a daughter, how do you feel?
Dev: (smilling ) I feel great... really really great...
Asha : ofcourse... after all its the greatest achievement in life... haina? (smilling but with steel glinting in her eyes) To have someone so innocent and lovely ...trusting you, depending on you for her well being, protection emotional and physical, support through ups and downs... seeing you as her ultimate answer to all troubles and woes... heady feeling (smilling all the way)
Dev: Yyyesss...but its not just that...its smthing more ...its as if
Asha: As if all your unsaid prayers are answered ...as if someone sacrificed life and death to give you the gift of life thats a part of yours... I can understand...
You know when i was pregnant with Saurav and Sona ...Bijoy would go mad askingme a thousand times a day how i was feeling... whether i feel like having something special... kept a track of my medicines... medical reports... pampering me like a princess... and mine was a very smooth pregnancy...both the times...but i remember Bijoy holding me for hours after the delivery in his arms and crying because i had gone through such pain to gift him with his kids... even till date i always get gifts from him on my kids birthday...Because he thinks that in making our family my contribution is much more than his... (smilling but with tears in her eyes)
Dev had gone silent... but she had continued..
Asha: I m sure you must be interested in knowing about Sohaz life for the last 7yrs.. toh puchho... jo bhi tumhe jaanna hai... main tumhe bata sakti hun... ek baap hone ke naate tumhe pura haq hai kuchh bhi janne ka..
Dev: Main ...mujhe...(going all red) mera matlab... Sssonakshi (looking down and realizing that with her complexities how wrong things could have gone)
Asha: Mujhe laga tum sirf Soha ke bare mein janna chahte ho... but agar tum Sona ke bare mein kuchh janna chahte ho to main bata sakti hun...atleast jo humein upar se nazar ayaa ...uske andar kya chal raha tha humein nahi pata... kuchh bhi ho jaye par Sona ne kabhi hume tum dono ke beech mein hui baton mein interfere nahi karne diya... nahi share kiya... so cant help you there...
Dev: Pregnancy mein ya delivery ke time pe ... Koi complication... i mean due to her condition...
Asha: yeah she had some serious complications but thats besides the point...she endured what she thought she deserved... worked through her pregnancy to support us and her pregnancy and delivery...we were never allowed to pay a penny for her needs... made an empire and yet ...
Dev: And yet??...
Asha: Dev i m sure you are not interested in all these details... Soha was born after some serious problems and complications to Sona and for the first few months after the delivery I think Soha is the only thing that kept her alive...
Your daughter does not need your money ...her mother has worked hard to make sure she has enough so that Soha is never accused of trying to create a relationship with her Dad's family so that she could glean a part of your wealth... infact we all have our share of wealth... Me and Bijoy has most of the properties and Saurav has most of the business shares... Except Sona...
Dev could see that whats coming up is much more grave so he just tried to brace himself...
Dev: Why not Sona?...( feeling enraged on her behalf ...the fool that she is in money matters she was always a fool...to keep nothing in her name after creating a company of 900 billon...who the hell does that)
Asha: I dont know... she never buys anything for her...her clothes, her jwellery, her cars are all bought by Me, Soha, Bijoy or Saurav... Even her Phone was so outdated that Jatin bought one for her and gifted it to her quite forcefully...(that got his attention) we have not been able to understand why she has started to hate herself so much that she keeps punishing herself ...
Uss din ke baad se ...Sona ne apne aap ko patthar ka bana liya... Soha ke har kaam ko khud kiya...uske kisi vaccination ke liye humen saath nahi leke jaati thi... Soha ki har bimaari mein akele raton ko jagti thi...akele hi uski har zarurat ko pura karne ki koshish ki... kabhi bebasi se roi ho toh hum mein se kisi ko pata nahi... har ilzaam, har tana, har ek toofan mein akele khadi rahi... Holi Diwali tak nahi manati hai... khud ko sheeshe mein theek se dekhti bhi hai ki nahi mujhe pata nahi...(she had tears in her eyes)...aisa kya hua tha Dev ke meri Sona Jeeteji margayi... usne humen kuchh nahi bataya par kya tum mujhe bata sakte ho...
Asha: By the way Dev i have recently applied for a licence for a beautiful pistol... have been practicing shooting... my aim is still not perfect but i can still manage a point blank range anytime... but i prefer to keep it random sometimes... the fun of not knowing where i might hit the right target is what I like ...
Dev had hardly left with the ability to look at Asha maa, let alone giving her reasons so he went back to his signing cabin and did what he had been doing for the last 7 yrs...Drinking...
But he had no desire left to face the world right then so had lost the track of time and amount of liquor he drank...
Present moment...
Dev : Sona, muh kholo khana laya hun... dekho jaldi se khalo kyunki, iske baad humen ice cream khani hai Dawai ke saath Doctor ne prescribe ki hai...
D was acting as if nothing happened but he needed to feed Sona...any awkwardness would put her in her shell and he has promised himself ...he would go through hell before he let his Sona suffer this way for one single moment... any punishment deserved was to be only his ...
Sona: Dev plz i don't...ah ugh Deeevvv..i
Dev: Jaldi khalo varna abhi main Horror movie lagane wala hun...(putting another morsel in her mouth while Sonaz eyes went all round)
Kya?? (licking his fingers of the gravy while Sona scrunched up her nose at the sight)
Sona: Main kya bachchi hun jo tum mujhe horror film ki dhamki de rahe ho??
Dev : Bachchi toh nahi bas Darpok ho (his eyes dancing with some mischief)
Sona : Ji Nahi...Main darpok nahi hun...
Dev: (putting few more morsels in her mouth) i was just thinking that Soha ko pata hai kya ki uski mumma itni darpok hai ki Andhere mein washroom tak nahi jaati hai...
Sona: That was long ago...ab main nahi darti andheron se...(something in Devs heart just clenched its fist...she had to learn it hard way)
Dev: Achha if you can the watch the movie WOH KOUN THI with me tonight toh main maan jaunga ke tum darpok nahi ho...and i will get you your favourite ice cream..
Sona: thats hardly a bargain...
Dev : Accha toh tumhe kya chahiye batao..
Sona: mujhe woh saare pics chahiye jo tumne hospital se liye they..
Dev: (smilling ) Those haunting you still huh?... Raat ko neend bhi nahi aarahi hogi...
Sona: (blushing to the roots of her hair) aisi baat nahi hai.. just want to ensure they are not leaked somehow...
Dev: Done ... but agar nahi kar payi toh... (coming close to her face smilling and mischief in his eyes and then whispering) mujhe kya dogi phir..
Sona had to swallow before she could answer and looked away...
Sona: A days outing with Soha? (Dev read the words between the lines...Sona was sure Dev can never want anything of her... its only Soha he wanted )
Dev: Outing is a good idea but i want it with you and ... only you?
(seriously looking at her... he didn't want her to confuse this part...Sona will have to face the fact that he is on a mission to have her for himself at any cost ...by whatever means and no goof ups this time... he saw the surprise in her eyes and the yearning to believe him... take your time love... i m right here and have no plans to go anywhere )
