Posted:
STANDING IN THE DARK
Prologue:
"Why did you betray your own heart Cathy? I have not one word of comfort. You deserve this. You have killed yourself. ... You loved me - then what right had you to leave me? Because ... nothing God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. So much the worse for me that I am strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when you - oh God! Would you like to live with your soul in the grave? I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murderer - but yours! How can I?"
-Wuthering Heights
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This was the thirtieth time he had called her but she hadn't even bothered to pick up the phone. "How could she do this to me!" he had thought throwing away his phone which had hit a nearby wall and shattered to pieces. There are times when a person fails to understand if he is floating in his dream world or if the reality is hitting so hard on him that he fails to accept it. This was one such moment for him. He had been betrayed by two people who were closest to him, one being his best friend and the other being the love of his life. They had played a game with him in which he had been a mere puppet.
It was his wedding night. After undergoing a lot of opposition he had won over his lady love and the day had finally arrived when they were to be united for their whole life. As he was getting ready for the big night, his phone had rung. Wondering who could call at that time he had picked it up and had been pleasantly surprised when the caller id had displayed his would-be-bride's picture, but his pleasure had been extremely short-lived. "Arjun...I want to meet to right now," she had said. It was just two hours to their marriage and what could have gone so horribly wrong that she was calling him at this hour. "Is everything fine Purvi?" he had asked in a worried voice. "I am waiting Arjun...Come soon," saying so she had disconnected the call. He had rushed out to her designated place in a hurry. He was worried about her. But little had he known that his angel's thoughts were least focused on him. The moment he had reached the spot, his concern possessing him, she had asked him for something he had never imagined in the worst of his nightmares. In a pleading voice she had asked him to marry his ex-fiance Ovi. He had been so shocked that he had asked her to repeat again. "Arjun! I love and you but I also love my aai," she had said crying, "Only if you marry Ovi she will get back her rightful place back in her house." "And what about me Purvi?" he had asked. He wanted an answer but even after a lot of pleadings he had received none. He had agreed to marry Ovi, only for his angel's happiness. He had known that it would destroy three lives but he had still agreed and today he regretted his decision. "Wish I had not given in her silly demands," he thought to himself.
It had rained heavily that day. One fine day his love had told her, "Whenever it rains something good happens." He had no clue what good this rain was going to do to them. Maybe it was just another lie like the thousands of promises she had made to him, he had concluded. The marriage had happened at the same time it was bound to, only the bride had been someone else. During the whole marriage his gaze had never shifted once from his angel who had put up a brave face and had witnessed the whole wedding. Each moment he had hoped for her to stop the wedding but that moment had never arrived. Rest of the incidents following it on that day had been a blur. He remembered coming to his original wedding venue and explaining the situation to both the families who had been devastated after knowing the truth. He had never for once thought that he was yet to receive the shock of his life.
Walking towards his room had been an uphill task. Things would have been much different if it were his love waiting for him but with all the things being gone the wrong way, it would have been just a living reminder that Purvi was no more a part of his life. It was then he had heard the truth. "I remember the deal Purvi; you don't need to remind me of it at every passing moment." The voice had stopped him right in his tracks. He had wondered about which deal they were talking about. The next words had made everything clear. "I told you that we will accept your...I mean our aai if you get me married to Arjun and I do remember it. Now stop disturbing me." Ovi had been shocked to see him witnessing the conversation but it was him who had been paralyzed by the truth. Purvi didn't ask him to marry Ovi to set the differences right but it had been a deal all the way. She had treated him as a scapegoat to safeguard her aai. When Ovi had asked him for her rights, he had straightway told her that she would never ever take the place which Purvi had in his heart and had left the room without casting a glance at her. Since then, he had tried to call her with all the calls going by unanswered. He decided on visiting her the next morning. He needed answers and it was only she who could provide them.
His visit had been a highly unwelcome one. Purvi had tried to close the door as soon as she had seen him but he was not going to let her have her way all the time. He had kept his hands in between to prevent her from her from closing the door. "It's not right for us to meet like this Arjun," she had told him. "Who are you to decide the right and wrong? Making a deal out of your lover is right and if he comes to ask for answers it's wrong! Great!" he had said, venting out his frustrations. "You are married to Ovi now," she had stated denying meeting his eyes. "Well! I don't consider her as anything as such...And neither would I ever!" he told her, wanting to make her realize that the sacrifice had done none of them any good. In an attempt to convince him she had said, "She is your lawfully wedded wife Arjun...You must give her all the rights she deserves!" He had stared at her face in shock...Was he talking to the same girl who had promised to stay by his side forever? Was she the same girl who had once proclaimed that nothing mattered more to her than being with him? Was she the same lover who had rushed all the way to the airport just to confess her love and had broken down in pieces when she had found that the flight had already departured? "You shouldn't interfere in our private matters Ms. Purvi Deshmukh." His cold stare had frightened her...He had been ruthless and cruel to her in the past but never indifferent..."Arjun"she had managed to mutter." Shouldn't you call me jeejaji!" he had asked looking straight into her eyes. The tears that she had tried to control so hard had finally brimmed over. He knew that the words uttered by him had hurt her but he knew that this hurt was needed. She needed to realize what she had done not just to him but to her own self as well. She had sacrificed him for her mother and with it she had sacrificed her love and her true self.
His next morning had started out as bad as his previous night. He was having his breakfast when Ovi had started the conversation which had finally ended up in tears. "I love you Arjun," Ovi had confessed. "And I don't want to lose you."
"Love! Do you even know the meaning of it!" he had said, hatred emanating from each of his words.
"I have loved you since I knew what the word means! And you ask me if I know what love is!"
"Ohh...So your definition of love is ruining the happiness of the person you claim to love."
"Ruin you happiness! What are you talking about Arjun? You too love me, don't you?"
"Enough Ovi! I have already made it clear a number of times that I have NEVER loved you. The only girl for whom my heart has ever beaten is Purvi. And you better understand it!!"
"But you are married to me now..."
"It was just a deal between you and Purvi...I had never signed it! Then give me one good reason of me abiding by it. The reason I am explaining all this to you now is that we were once the best of friends and I still respect what we shared."
"Once the best of friends. I am still your best friend."
"No! You are not! If you were my best friend you would have respected my feelings...you wouldn't have played with them. You would have been happy in my happiness. Best friends don't do what you have done Ovi. Best friends don't make a deal out of each other. And as far as this marriage is concerned, it's going to last only till I get done with the divorce procedures!"
Just after a few hours, he had received another call from Purvi. He knew what the call was about but he had still picked it up. "I am leaving this city," the voice on the other side had said. "I don't want to come between you and Ovi." "You may leave the city if you want to but that won't make me accept Ovi." "If you had ever loved me..." "Don't even dare to complete that Purvi," he had shouted, stopping her midway, "you have already done what you wanted to and now it's my turn!" That was the last time he had talked to her. He knew that she hadn't left the city but he somehow couldn't convince his heart to go and meet her. He wanted to forget what she had done to him and start over but how could he when she didn't even care! He missed the girl he had fallen in love with. The strong independent girl who had made his cold heart warm with a flame of love had been hidden somewhere in the daughter who was now standing in front of him. The Purvi he knew would never had cried over such trivial things, would have never broken down under sheer pressure but would have stood up to it. "I will bring back the old Purvi," he promised himself, "the one I fell in love with." She had not just hurt him but had also ended up destroying her own happiness and that was what pained him most. He could forgive her for what she had done to him but how could he forgive her for what she had done to herself. He knew that there would come a day when she would finally realize her mistake but he didn't know how far that day was. Till then he would be standing in the dark waiting for a new dawn to come over.
INDEX:
Prologue: Page 1
Part 1-Tired of Being Sorry : Page 5
Part 2-Dreams and Disasters: Page 9
Part 3-Love the Way you Lie : Page 15
Part 2-Dreams and Disasters: Page 9
Part 3-Love the Way you Lie : Page 15
Tum Se Tum Tak
