"Sanyu we have only 1 week left we can't wait any longer." Randhir said trying to remain calm for sanyu's sake. Plan A was supposed to guide them on how to go forward with Plan B but now with the complicated situation MehBeer had gotten themselves and everyone in, they had to go in blind. There was no other option or time left for any other plan.
"Then what about them?" Sanyukta asked gesturing to meher and abeer who were still sitting holding on to each other. Abeer was getting off the parapet wall and then giving his hand to meher, as he supported her while bringing her down. But they didn't move as they got to the floor, they continued staring into each other's eyes holding on to each other. Sanyukta's heart broke seeing them, she wanted to help them so bad, but this was more important.
"We can't help them until they want to help themselves." Randhir said giving a final helpless glance towards meher and abeer before dragging sanyukta away.
------
Lafzon se jo tha pareh
Khaali pann ko jo bhare
Kuch toh tha tere mere darmiyaan
There was so much they wanted to say to each other, so many wounds that had to be bandaged and healed. But words abandoned them.
Rishte ko kya modh doon
Naata yeh ab todh doon
Ya phir yunhi chodh doon, darmiyaan
And so they stood still, staring into each other's eyes searching for answers they couldn't find within themselves.
Benaam rishta woh
Benaam rishta woh, bechain karta jo
Ho na sake jo beyaan, darmiyaan
Kuch toh tha tere mere darmiyaan
Rain started pouring to fill the silences between them with its melody. Meher started to run towards the shelter to take cover but abeer held on to her hand.
Aankhon mein tere saaye
Chahoon toh ho na paaye
Yaadon se teri faasla haye
"For old time's sake?" he asked with a smile trying to mask the pain his eyes were communicating to her as he turned her around.
Jaake bhi tu na jaaye
Thehri tu dil mein haye
Hasrat si banke kyun bhala
She turned around with an expression he hadn't seen in the longest time. Of adoration, love, empathy, like she knew what he was feeling, like she was feeling it too. And in that moment abeer realised these feelings were there all along. He just hadn't looked deep enough, she was always there.
Kyun yaad karta hoon
Mitt ta hoon banta hoon
Mujhko to laaye yeh kahan
All the memories of their rain dances on this terrace accompanied abeer as he pulled at her waist bringing her closer and started swaying the both of them around to the silent music the rain was playing.
He twirled her around and then brought her closer to him. Closer then she was before. As their bodies clashed, he held onto her with all his might. Not wanting to ever let her go.
Chalte thay jinpe hum tum
Raaste woh saare hai ghum
Ab dhoondhu kaise manzilein
They had come here to erase every path of them coming towards each other, for forgetting each other. But now as he dipped her and bent forwards towards her, all he could think of was of ways to make it alright. He wanted to erase all her pain and replace it with happiness.
Yeh raatein hain jaise maatam
Aaate hain din bhi gumsum
Roothi hain saari mehfilein.
With every inch abeer came closer meher's heart broke with a new flashback of an old memory.
She remembered how she waited for him at the door whole night when he had left her in the middle of the night in anger.
She remembered him signing the divorce papers and throwing them at her face.
She remembered how he had walked away leaving her standing alone in rain.
She remembered crying for days wishing him back.
She remembered not breathing properly for weeks.
And lastly with him only inches away she remembered the most painful of them all, she remembered how he had broken her beyond repair. How she was never the same after him. He had taken her smile, love and happiness with him leaving behind only a shell of a person who broke a little further on the inside every day but kept faking strength for her family hoping it became her truth. But it never did.
Itna sataayo na, yun yaad aao na
Bann jaaye aansu bhi zubaan
As his lips lightly touched hers she came out of her trance and immediately straightened herself. Even with rain drops drenching her from head to toe abeer could see the traces of tears from her eyes.
She loved him more than herself, a love she was never able to forget. But the pain he had caused her was something she wouldn't be able to go through another time.
"Too. Much. Pain" were the only broken words she was able to speak up before running away from him, from the terrace filled with their memories and the pain being with him bought.
He watched standing alone in rain as she went away from him and disappeared into the house, leaving him standing alone in the rain. Just like he had left her.
-------
"Randhir please, we can't leave them just like this. Let us do something for them" sanyu begged rd her heart not wanting to leave meher and abeer at this stage where they both were so close to each other yet so far away. Abeer was breaking down on the terrace while meher had locked herself up in her room.
"Sanyu you know we don't have time for this. Our flight for delhi leaves in 3 hours. We are more needed there." Randhir tried to reason.
"Please mere liye." She requested. He couldn't say no to that, everything he was doing was for her.
------
"We are leaving in a few hours for some urgent work in delhi. We need to talk to you now."
They sent the same text to both meher and abeer. Within 10 minutes both of them were in the hall.
"What? Why? How? Where?"
Both of them spoke in unison without letting sanyu or rd speak.
"We are need to be in F.I.T.E right now, to right some wrongs" randhir said with a emotionless expression with his eyes only on sanyukta, she looked like she would break down any moment. He knew the thought of going to delhi and facing what they had done 10 years back was killing her on the inside.
"But what about us?" meher asked.
"We will be back in a week" randhir said with the same blank expression still eyeing sanyu with caution.
"But till we are back" sanyu spoke keeping her voice even, she needed meher and abeer to understand "We need you both to decide what you want, if you want to stay together or not. Only once you take your decision and we act on it can we leave. And we leave as soon as we are back. So please think about it this one week. Like really think about it" sanyu pleaded hoping they took the right decision. She wanted this time travel to atleast set one love story right.
"And we want you to start by seeing the rest of the recording" randhir continued "This time though instead of thinking of your past think of the present they are making, how happy they are, you can be that happy if you give yourselves a chance" he finished.
Meher and abeer were in too much shock to even react or protest after all the information they had just received. RD and sanyu pushed them on to the couch and hit play on the paused recording which RD had got.
------
*Recording*
Randhir was in the library trying to see if this good for nothing college had any good book on engineering structures he could borrow for the construction of the hostel wall. But to no benefit. Just then he heard abeer's voice, randhir smiled thinking atleast he could hang out with abeer for a bit instead of going back to that mad house.
He had only started moving out of the books rack when he heard meher's laughter. Randhir stopped in his place as he eyed meher and beside each other wrestling over a book which meher was trying to open and abeer was trying to close. Their hands were on each other's as they tried to claw away the other's hand from the book and their eyes never left each other. Randhir opened his handy cam and started recording.
"Abeer you do realise that study session needs to contain some amount of studying right?" She tried to look angry but came off as cute and adorable instead.
"SOME being the operational word there." Abeer frowned. "You and I have very different definitions of SOME Miss. Purohit we have been at this since 3 hours. A short break won't do your brain cells any permanent damage.! " he exclaimed
"It is the teacher's definition of SOME that counts" meher said with a smug expression.
"Meher yaar" Abeer pouted as he pulled the book over from under her hands and put the book over his head frustrated cursing the moment he had asked her to teach him. Why couldn't he have just asked her to join his band.
"You are such a kid" meher pulled at his cheeks.
"Oh yeah?" he cocked his eye brow shoving the book aside on to the table and pushing his chair backwards in a swift motion. "Can a kid do this?" he asked resting his weight on one knee as he knelt before her, his hand out stretched towards her.
Her face was a mixture of alarmed and confused.
"Every good musician needs to know how to dance to their tunes mi'lady. Please give me the honor of this dance" before she had a chance to react he took her hand in his pulled her from her seat as he started humming.
Jab mila tu ru turu tu ru turu tu...
He held on to her fingers with his own, leading her as she followed him.
Na thi kami na justuju ru turu tu..
Her left foot went backward with his right foot coming forward. Her right foot came forward with his left foot going backwards.
Aur aadhe aadhe pal hue phir poore yun
And then they came back to their original position in perfect sync like they were doing this all their life.
Jab mila tu ru turu tu ru turu tu
Extending his leg diagonally he pulled her to the opposite end as he took her place and she took his in an effortless twirl as a naughty smile engulfed his lips.
He was trying so hard to make her smile yet he could see that she still was shaken with the whole "tanha dil" experience the song had hit her harder then he'd expected and she was going back into a shell. Something which abeer didn't want. So he continued with the song something he couldnt tell her through words.
Tu aadhe se dil ko, jo layegi bhi toh
Main sau khwaishon se hi bhar doonga woh
Twirling her around he finally pulled her into him.
She crossed her hands as he caught hold of her left hand with his right and right with his left. They continued moving to him humming.
Kare na yakeen toh, abhi ke abi tu
Toh aake aazma
As they parted and came back to their original positions holding palms. He took a step backward and she followed his lead taking a step back and then taking two steps forward they came closer to each other, only the palms they held in between them.
Jab mila tu ru turu tu ru turu tu...
Na thi kami na justuju ru turu tu..
Taking hold of her waist with one hand and supporting her head with another he gave her a final dip while she held on to him for dear life.
Aur aadhe aadhe pal hue phir poore yun
Jab mila tu ru turu tu ru turu tu
Abeer was all smiles as he completed the song and pulled her up to a standing position beside him and meher couldn't keep a check on her happiness anymore as her sparkling eyes gave it all away while her erratic heartbeat only added to it.
"Would you say no to a dance again?" abeer asked with a cheeky grin as he pat himself on the back saying "mission sucessfull".
"I will say yes only if I get to lead next time" meher winked at him. "and if you finish this chapter of business economics" she laughed as abeer groaned.
"There is no distracting you" he said grumpily taking his place on the study table as she re-opened their books.
*end of recording*
-----
"I wish the old scars could be erased." They both thought in unison.
"I wish i could be with that smiling meher who had a spark in her eyes" abeer wished to himself.
"I wish i could be with that abeer who could always make me smile" meher wishfully told herself.
"WISH GRANTED." Destiny whispered to them as the hostel wall broke down and sanyukta, randhir parted for delhi with hugs, tears, best wishes and promises of making everything alright.
PART 6
Indian Idol 15
