CHAPTER 37Shailu, Ms Kaur and Sneha... Sorry for getting late guys..
Guys really sorry if it wasn't upto mark.. Lil busy these days..
Anyways I'll wait for comments.. Chahe jute chappal hi ho..
But please give whatever you want to..
Love you all..
Thank you for reading it...
VISHAKHA'S POV
Two weeks have passed since Neil was shot. He's recovering really fast, he should be afterall his family is always here with him, for him. Bebe visits him daily and they spend hours together talking and chuckling. Mrs Khanna never allowed us to feed him hospital food. She managed to bring everything from morning tea to dinner from home. Mr Khanna admires him for hours from the door glass standing outside when he was asleep. And of course Avni... She takes care of him like a child. Very often i see her spending sleepless nights looking at him and glancing his heart monitor. She hardly understands the ECG peaks but she smiles seeing the activity of the heart which she owed.
Same way, exactly two weeks have passed since i came to know that my life has been robbed of each and every happiness a year before. I was broken but then decided to stay strong. Not something unique, someday or the other we all decide to stay strong. I have accepted that he's not my Neil. Although we have become friends... For me he's the person whose face makes me smile genuinely and for him i am.. An old friend.
Things become even worse when i came to know that he has no physical injury in his brain. He's been trained or i should say tortured psychologically. Although Avni had a slightest idea about the person behind this but she didn't disclosed this fact to me. It took me just seconds to put two and two together and I came up with one name Dr Singh. Unfortunately, I couldn't confront him we'll have to wait two more weeks for him to return.
Often in life I have been called strong. Although, I know they mean it as a compliment but the word evokes a sadness inside me these days. I wanted a life with him, to be truely happy. I wanted a world devoid of any pretence. But now I can't see a real me, a smile. Now i feel a pain in my cheeks whenever i try to smile. But still i do..even if it is false..I do. Because now it doesn't matter that I m happy or not. What I want is to be soft and helpful and do what my soul and heart need to get healed. I believe in giving others, for others. But now I have realized that I too have limits.
When people call me strong, it sounds nice. But in reality, it's like picking a flower, using it to decorate inanimate things causing it's death and praising it for it's beauty and splendor, there's a cruelty to it. I don't want to listen from anyone that I M STRONG, because it hurts.. It really hurts.
END OF VISHAKHA'S POV
AT KHANNA MANSION
"Oh My Gods!! Too much work, and you lazy people, do it faster" Shweta is commanding the servants to finish the decorations of simply decorated Khanna Mansion. The decorations weren't too pompous but sober enough to express the happiness of the family.
"Shweta!! Don't panic. Everything will be done. You go and get ready, Avni and Neil must be arriving" Bebe was in good mood today so she instructed Shweta without any taunt much to her amazement.
AT HOSPITAL
Avni was standing near the bed of Neil and the nurse was changing the dressing.
"Please be careful!! Lil gently!! It'll hurt!!" Avni instructs the nurse as she touches his wounds making hurt faces.
Neil looks at her each times she scolds the nurse for being harsh and raises his eyebrows at her which makes her nervous.
"Ahh!! Please.." Avni said as the nurse tightened the knot at his arm.
"Mam!! The patient isn't reacting, what's your problem?" the nurse was annoyed with continuous interference of Avni.
"He won't say but you should understand na" Avni snatched his shirt from her hands."Thank you!! Rest I'll manage".
The nurse went out.
"Why didn't you said that it was hurting.." she asked him.
She picked his arm gently and made him wear the shirt.
Neil didn't said anything he just smiled at her.
"Bhabhi car is ready... I have done paper work. I think we should leave" Avni looked at DD and gestured him to go they're coming.
"Ooh.." an involuntary sigh escaped Neil's lips as he bent down to tie shoe laces.
"Superman.. The anaesthetic effect is over. So kindly be precautious." Avni told him and bent down to tie his laces.
"No please!! I'll manage" Neil said.
But Avni tied his shoelaces.
As they were walking through the corridor, they saw Vishakha approaching them.
"Bye Neil.. Get well soon buddy" she sidehugged Neil lightly.
"I'll go back to Dehradun today. And as soon as Dr Singh comes back from USA I'll have to go to volunteer at the Kashmir front." she informed them.
"Please stay for some more time" Neil asked her.
"I wish.. I could" Vishakha replied.
"Are you going.. Or it's an escape" Neil pulled her in a proper hug.
"Escape" she replied as she pulled back out of his grip.
All three of them had watery eyes.
"Take care" she hugged Avni and then turned away to leave without looking at Neil.
"See you soon"Neil said as he saw her walking away.
"I don't want to see you again..ever in my life Neil" Vishakha thought as she walked away without replying him.
"Hayee Mera baccha!! Kisi ki nazar na lage" Shweta said moving the arti thaal.
"Neil tried to touch her feets but he couldn't bend. Shweta hugged him.
"Aaja bacche tere bina to ye ghar mujhe kaatne dodta hai" Bebe hugged Neil.
Riya, Mitali and Tanu all hugged Neil one by one and be reciprocated them with a wide grin on his face.
Ali also hugged Neil and this time Neil could feel the warmth in the hug.
All three butterflies were ready with their luggage to leave. For two weeks they stayed at Khanna Mansion to help Shweta managing things at home and hospital.
Ali was also having his luggage with him. They left wishing Neil a speedy recovery.
"Ahh Avni you also need to go na? Let's go! I'll help you to pack and move.." Shweta said to Avni winking slightly at Bebe.
Avni felt like killing herself for creating this drama to increase her own problems.
"Woh Bebe... Neil abhi" Avni tried to make an excuse but couldn't come up with one.
"Haan puttar.. I know you were waiting for him to return. But now he's. back.. So you're free to go." Bebe smirked on seeing Avni's condition.
Neil was looking at Avni with hurt eyes. He knew she'll leave.. But this soon. He wanted to stop her...but he just can't. Because he felt that he has no right to do so.
Suddenly, Avni ran upwards towards the room in which she was staying. Everyone followed her.
She picked her bag and turned to see everyone standing at the door. She was looking at everyone with optimistic eyes to be stopped by someone. But no one stopped her for even once.
She moved out of the room and halted in front of Neil's room. She ran inside the room, placed her bag in the cupboard of her side and sat on the bed hugging her knees close to her chest.
Neil was still standing outside the room while everyone entered the room.
"Avni! What happened?" Shweta asked trying hard to supress her laughter.
"Avni! Tu hi to jaana chahti thi na.. You love Ali. Look he's waiting. Chal puttar" Bebe went close to her and tried to hold her hand.
Avni got up, ran out of the room and hugged Neil. The impact was too strong that he took few steps back to stabilize himself and the bullet wounds nearly bleeded. His mind couldn't process what's happening and his heart didn't wanted to. His hands hands involuntarily held Avni tightly. His heart was jumping in joy inspite of the pain he was feeling.
"Mujhe kahin nahi jaana.. Main tumhe chod kar kahin nahi jaungi... Please Neil.. Please!!" Avni burst into tears squeezing him.
"Avni relax!! You'll not go anywhere... Just calm down" Neil gently pushed her back out of the hug.
Avni went to Bebe and cried like a child sitting on the floor.
"Bebe... Main apne husband aur apni family ko chod kar nahi jaana chahti" Avni said sobbing.
Bebe smiled triumphantly at her victory and dragged Neil and a sobbing Avni to the temple.
"Puttar Main to hamesha se janti thi ki tum dono ek dusre se kabhi door nahi hona chahte... But tum dono ka ye accept karna zaroori tha. Chalo ab bhagwan se ashirwad lo aur apni zindagi ki ek pyaar bhari shuruat karo" Bebe joined her hands in front of lord's idol.
Avni, Neil and rest family members also joined their hands and thanked the God.
As Neil opened his eyes, Bebe presented him with kumkum and asked him to fill her maang in front of God.
"Be..bebe wo...main..wo..nahi..mera matlab..I can't" Neil stepped back.
"I can't ka kya matlab hai Tillu?" Bebe asked seeing his weird behavior.
"I mean I can't lift my right hand due to pain.. We'll do it some other day" he said looking at Avni.
He was about to leave when Avni bent on knees in front of him. She looked up at him with eyes that displayed her heart which was full of love.
Bebe smiled and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Tillu come on now. First time I have seen a girl on knees. Unique sa proposal hai.. Hai na Prakash ji" Shweta said getting excited.
"Haan puttar.. Go for it now" Prakash ji said holding Shweta in a side hug.
Neil felt his heart shattering into pieces all over again. From previous two weeks he had a feeling that Avni thinks him to be Neil. But today her actions confirmed his fear.
He was feeling betrayed again.
Having no other choice Neil filled her hairline. A tear made its way on Avni's cheeks. The tear was a happy one. She smiled but as she got up and looked at Neil the smile evaporated from her face.
AVNI'S POV
His eyes were narrowed, rigid, cold, hard. I have never seen him like this, his eyes had a deadness, a stillness. His focus was somewhere behind me, as if I had become invisible to him or he could not bear to see me at all.
Have I crossed some invisible line which I shouldn't have, offended his sensibilities. I was never afraid of his anger when it came as fire, hot as lava. I was deathly afraid of his eyes.
The ice didn't appeared too deep, the danger wasn't it's depth, but it's existence was lethal. I knew he's too far too reach now. He went away without saying anything or looking back at me. As I saw his retreating figure... It was pointless to try to reach him now, my every word of explanation would bounce off as good as a hard rain.
END OF AVNI'S POV
Neil's sudden retreat confused everyone.
"He's just bit tired I guess... He'll be Ok. Don't worry. I'll get his dinner into the room." Avni tried to defend him and went behind him taking dinner for him.
"Chalo bhai sab dinner karo kalla chod do unhe kuch time" Bebe asked Shweta and Prakash to have food.
Avni walked inside the dark room. Every step is so light that she makes no noise at all.
Suddenly, Neil appears before her. He placed the food plate on the table and held her arms firmly pinning her to the wall. Avni's eyes were teary but those tears seem insignificant to Neil.
"What was that? A new game or the same old story" Neil asked in a cold tone.
Avni had no explanation. She knew it would be better to listen rather than making herself more prone to a sentimental outburst.
"Aisa kya ho gaya hai Avni ki tumhe lagta hai ki main Neil hoon?" He shouted.
Avni closed her eyes not being able to bear the coldness of his eyes.
"Neil wo.." Avni tried to explain.
"Ssshh... Don't." Neil pulled her more close to him.
"when i first believed your eyes. The breakdown I underwent was like an insatiable fire that burnt me whole from inside. But now it's a thin layer of ice , cooling my inside, a gentle reminder of pain that you gave me, a warning not to let you stoke that fire again. What they once bitten, twice shy but for me it's like forever shy.
Even if you hate me.. As Neil Kapoor, I m happy with that. But I don't want you to love me for being someone who I am not. It's something unbearable." Neil's cold stare was painful for Avni.
Neil went to the bed and draped the comforter over himself. Avni stared him. She knew he isn't sleeping.
"Main tumhe sab kuch bhot zald yaad dila doongi Neil... Tumhare dil ko sab kuch yaad hai.. Dimaag ko bhi aa jayega" she sat on the couch preparing an action plan to melt the ice.
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