Author’s note (READ BEFORE YOU START)
Hello guys! In this piece, no IVF drama has occurred because I genuinely despise the Shiva we get to see nowadays. This OS includes Shiva and Raavi from the Disha track. So only the events from that track has occurred so far in this story, NOTHING ELSE.
Kaash
The sun was at its peak point in the holy land of Somnath, causing the residents of the city to burn in its scorching heat. While the inhabitants were complaining, a man was smiling to himself at how familiar the high temperature felt on his skin. Even after all these years, he recognised the heat radiating from the boiling sun, the lanes filled with kulfi stalls, the scent of various agar batti’s and the sound of prayer chants coming from the Somnath Mandir. This was after all where it all started. Their Pandya Store began on this land. His youth was spent here, carrying boris, helping Gaumbi, meeting Chipkali, marrying her and then leaving her…His smile disappeared, replaced by lowered eyes that held shame. Life had given him everything, but the guilt of leaving his Chipkali could never leave him. Not until he took his last breath. This was Shiva Pandya. The man who regretted almost everything.
Shiva completely lowered the car window to take in some fresh air. When he looked around the little world outside his car, he realised that every lane held a memory of Raavi. Memories that were etched into his brain forever like little moles on a human body. He could feel a smile flicker across his face as he saw a gol gappa stand. He remembered how an overconfident fifteen-year-old had challenged the sixteen-year-old Shiva to a gol gappa competition. The winner was allowed a wish of their choice from the loser and of course, he had won. Shiva still remembered the furious look on Raavi’s face after he beat her miserably, making him chuckle even in his mid-thirties. As for his wish, he used the opportunity to make her wash his football shoes and carry his bag for a month.
Shiva took out a handkerchief from his suit and wiped his forehead, the heat was starting to get to him. He rolled up the window and asked the driver to drive towards the place where his store used to be. When they arrived at the destination, Shiva failed to recognise the area. If the driver didn’t inform him that they had arrived at the location he gave, he would’ve never been able to guess that this was the place where his beloved store used to be. He walked out of his car and took a few steps towards the entrance of his old dukaan which had now been turned into a clothing store. He touched the walls of the store, the hand imprints of his and his brother’s no longer visible.
This was the place where he worked day and night trying to make ends meet with his brother. This was also the place where he shared some of the most beautiful moments with his Mami ki Behen ki Beti. He still remembered how she nagged him to give her free chocolates and the way he would simply throw her out of the store. Their crazy fights were the talk of the town back then. He took a deep breath as he wondered where he went wrong after they got married. Maybe it was his ego, jealousy or insecurity, as Raavi pointed out before she left his house. It was too late to ponder on these thoughts, he had done too much and she had suffered enough.
Shiva could no longer bear standing near the site anymore. The dukaan which once held his heart was no longer in existence. The tall marble building which replaced the humble-looking Pandya Store was not his anymore — for the first time, Shiva felt like an outsider in Somnath. Before his heart could break any further, he moved towards his car and asked the driver to manoeuvre the vehicle towards his old house.
When Shiva arrived at his desired destination, he once again got out of his car. The house remained the same even after all these years. A tear escaped Shiva’s glistening eyes as he reminisced the life he lived in this house. This house had witnessed multiple events in Shiva’s life that he could no longer speak about; the way his childhood abruptly ended after the demise of his father; the multiple insults he threw at Raavi; the anger that consumed him enough to let her go right in front of his eyes. He couldn’t help but let out a sob as he sat down at the very spot that he sat at a long time ago as an angry young man in his early twenties, letting his wife walk out of his life with her blue suitcase.
He held onto the wooden pillar, remembering the expectant gaze Raavi gave him when she turned around to look at him. The crazy girl thought that he held onto her pallu to stop her…he laughed at how innocent she was. His self-consuming rage was at its peak in his twenties, he was not capable of stopping his own wife from leaving him, even if it caused him to shatter. Shiva recollected how Raavi’s face fell as she figured out that her pallu was actually stuck on the bike. He didn’t even bother to help her untangle her pallu.
Shiva took another deep breath and finally got up. He didn’t have the courage to face his old demons, it was better to leave them in his past, hidden away from this world. He went inside his car and finally asked the driver to take him to the place he hated the most…his Mami’s house.
As soon as they arrived in front of Prafulla's house, his eyes unconsciously searched for a certain someone. In the back of his head, he wondered if he was lucky enough to get a glimpse of her.
A few steps away from Prafulla’s house, Shiva finally saw Raavi standing in front of a gola stand. A man stood behind her and he wondered if he was who he thought he was. Shiva quickly distracted himself from the man and instead focused his thirsty eyes on Raavi.
Wrapped up in a chiffon saree with her hair tied into a tight bun, he knew that she was no longer the girl he fought with, she was a proper woman. The way she held herself up surprised him; she no longer stood in a flimsy manner but rather in a stiff and straight way. Watching this older Raavi made him wish for the carefree Raavi to appear once again in his life. Shiva would run his fingers through her soft curls, trace her beauty marks with his lips and this time he would hug her, cradle her and never let her go from his life… only if time worked like this.
The current day Raavi fixed the mangalsutra around her long neck, making Shiva’s breath hitch a little. The little scatter of moles on her face still made him go crazy, only if he could hold her close and kiss each and every mole… this was also something he regretted. He regretted not holding her close soon enough. If he had held her close to him, there was no way she could have ever escaped from his life. He let out a sigh as he realised that these thoughts were pointless and made little difference to his reality.
“Mumma jaldi idhar aao!” A little girl screamed. Raavi’s straight lips curved into a tiny smile as she walked toward the girl. From what Shiva could tell, the child asked her to try the gola she held in her hand.
Shiva couldn’t believe that his Chipkali was old enough to be a mother. He felt like an intruder eyeing the interaction between Raavi and her daughter. She looked like the exact replica of her mother. Hazel coloured eyes, a pointed nose and a toothy smile. God even her child knows how to give a batissi, he thought to himself while shaking his head. Shiva was brought back from his thoughts when he heard his phone ring, it was a call from his accountant.
While Shiva spoke with his accountant, he heard a hard-knocking noise on his window. He ended the call and turned around. It was the same girl who stood with Raavi. Shiva rolled down his window with a beaming smile.
“Papa aap kab aaye??” The little girl asked with excitement.
“Abhi aaya mera princess,” Shiva pulled her cheeks lightly while Raavi watched the dramatic union of her husband and daughter. They called her a drama Queen but here they were acting as if they hadn’t met in an eternity.
“Tum log bhi na kitna drama karte ho! Sirf ek hafta hua hai humein Mumbai se aaye hua!” Raavi cheered as she shook her head.
“Mujhe kaunsa tujhse milna tha! Mein toh sirf apni Shivi ke liye aaya hoon!” Shiva patted Shivi’s head again.
“Meri toh koi kadhar hi nahi hai,” Raavi retorted with feigned annoyance. Soon the three burst out laughing.
“Woh Mein toh bhool hi gayi!” Raavi looked back at the spot she stood at earlier and indicated the man standing there to come towards the car. Once he arrived, she introduced him to Shiva.
“Yeh hamare Surat wale branch ke naye manager hai. Inka sasural bhi Somnath mein hi hai, iss liye ruk gaye the tujhse milne ke liye.” Shiva got out of the car and shook hands with the man.
“Mein toh dekhte hi samajh gaya tha,” Shiva noted as he talked to him further about how the store at Surat was doing.
***
After Shivi went to sleep with Prafulla, Shiva and Raavi sat on Raavi’s bed, discussing the events of today.
“Kya Raavi, tu bol sakti thi na teri maasi se ki hum koi hotel pe rahenge…” Shiva complained like a kid as he rested his head on Raavi’s lap.
Raavi ran her fingers through Shiva’s thick hair. “Aare mere pati dev, itne saalon baad aaye ho Somnath, ek din meri maasi ke ghar pe rahoge toh pahadh nahi toot jayegi."
“Tujhe pata hai na meh sirf tere kehne pe waapis aaya,” Shiva held the hand that Raavi placed on top of his chest.
“Pata hai,” Raavi placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.
“Aaj mein humare purane store pe gaya aur fir humare purane ghar pe,” Shiva tightened his hold on Raavi’s hand. “Waha jaake mujhe fir woh sab yaad aagaya jo meine tere saath kiya tha,” Shiva’s voice started to break.
“Shhhhhh,” Raavi put her index finger on Shiva’s soft lips. “Jo hogaya usko yaad karke kyu apne dil ko jaalate ho? Meine tujhe kab ka maaf kardiya Shiva,” she smiled as she lifted his hand towards her lips and gave it a kiss.
“Mujhe toh abhi bhi vishwas nahi hota ki tu mere saath hai,” Shiva also kissed Raavi’s hand. “Us din woh ganna nahi bajta toh shayad humara divorce sach mein ho hi jata.” Shiva chuckled thinking about his past.
“Haan aur agar Kaki uss Dishu ko nahi lati humari jindagi mein toh mein kabhi samajh hi nahi pati ki mein tujhe khoo nahi sakti” Her face went red at the memory of Disha. Shiva noticed his wife’s face and couldn’t help but look at her adoringly.
Both Shiva and Raavi got lost in their own thoughts as they remembered the day when everything changed. The day that was supposed to mark their separation had ironically become the day where they united.
**flashback**
Raavi sat behind Shiva, holding onto his shoulders, touching him as her man for the last time. She cursed the damned day for arriving so soon. Raavi wanted to evade this day at all cost but what could she do? It was her husband who wanted to divorce her after all. Her heart knew that she couldn’t watch him with Disha or any other girl. Only she could be Shiva's Gauri.
Meanwhile, the man who had sent the divorce papers out of anger was regretting it all. He told himself that he was doing this for Raavi. If he released her from this unwanted marriage then she could have her happily ever after with her prince. But could he actually watch her go with another man? He kept telling himself things to strengthen his heart but today his words weren’t working. He shifted his focus on driving, trying to get away from his suffocating thoughts.
Raavi collapsed into Shiva’s back with a hard jolt as the bike suddenly stopped.
“Raavi tu theek hai??” Shiva asked as he frantically turned around to see if Raavi was okay.
“Mein theek hoon, pr bike ko Kya hua Shiva?” Raavi asked.
“Lagta hai tire puncture ho gaya.” Both Shiva and Raavi got down from the bike and waited at a tea stall. While Raavi sat down on a wooden bench, Shiva called a mechanic. When he was done with the call, he went towards the chai-wala and bought two cups of chai. Handing one cup to Raavi, he sat in the opposite direction of Raavi on another wooden bench. Both were facing each other but pretended as if the other didn’t exist or that they were two hours away from divorcing each other.
The chai-wala started playing the radio.
“Aur agla ganna request kia hai Aayushi ne,” the RJ spoke in a rather animated tone.
Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam
Vo phir nahin aate, vo phir nahin aate
Shiva took a sip of his chai, thinking about how life had brought him to this manhoos day. He could no longer call Raavi his by the end of today. They would officially separate. On the other hand, Raavi continued to stare at her chai, hoping that the mechanic is late, and they never reach court on time.
Phool khilate hain, log miilate hain
Magar pattajhad men jo phool murajha jaate hain
Vo bahaaron ke aane se khilate nahin
Both individuals gave their thoughts a rest, and listened to the song, still avoiding looking at the other party.
Kuchh log ik roz jo bichhad jaate hain
Vo hazaaron ke aane se milate nahin
The lyrics hit home. It touched the clump of muscles that lay in the middle of their chest. Both looked up at once and gazed into each other’s eyes. Why were they fighting? Why the hell were they so close to ending their relationship? Shiva knew that no one could replace Raavi in his life and Raavi knew that no one could take the spot of Shiva in hers.
Umr bhar chaahe koi pukaara kare unakaa naam
Vo phir nahin aate, vo phir nahin aate
Shiva and Raavi stood up in an instinctive manner. Tears threatened to leave Shiva’s eyes while Raavi had already started sobbing a little. They could no longer hold onto their feelings anymore. Love was what connected the two and today they couldn’t hide their feelings anymore. They needed each other in order to be complete. Both walked towards each other step by step until they wrapped their arms around each other. At this moment they knew that they couldn’t end their relationship. Their supposed ‘hate’ for each other felt so little and insignificant in front of the love that awaited them.
“Mujhe tujhse alag nahi hona Raavi.” Shiva tried to control his tears but they kept flowing.
“Mujhe bhi nahi jaana tujhse door” Raavi held him even closer to her.
From that moment on they knew that divorce was no longer an option for them. But what they failed to see was the chai-wala who gave them a stunned look, unable to understand what happened in front of his eyes. He decided to give them a pass by saying, aaj kal ke bacche.
**flashback ends**
“Woh din bhi kya din tha, tujhe yaad hai hamare ghar wale kitna shocked hogaye the?” Raavi thought about how that day ended and giggled a little. When she didn’t get a response, she looked down and saw that Shiva was fast asleep. He looked so adorable when he was asleep. She kissed his forehead and made him sleep properly on the bed.
Raavi lay next to him and thought about how quickly life had changed for them. From owning a kirane ki dukaan, they were now the famous Pandya’s who owned multiple Pandya Supermarkets across India. As she thanked Baba Somnath for the blessings in her life, Raavi felt Shiva’s right arm snake around her waist. She slightly smirked, this Bhoothnaath couldn’t even leave her in his sleep. She snuggled closer to him, hoping that for the rest of her life she would fall asleep in the arms of this particular human.
The end!
Author’s note:
I hope you guys liked the twist in the middle hehe! I tried to make it seem like Shiva and Raavi separated on purpose to add a surprise element at the end! Please let me know if you guys felt surprised or you expected the ending 😂
Please comment down your thoughts and react to this post!! ❤️
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