Thread 2 : EK ANOKHI KAHAANI - Part 26 Updated!! :D (Page 124) 13/04 - Page 88

Originally posted by: Anukalu

No pressure...just an anxious and loyal reader waiting...

Originally posted by: ..optimist..

Hehe Thanks 🤗

I am writing it... Don't know whether you all will like it...

A bit serious update... Just dialogues...

Originally posted by: Anukalu

Don't worry as long as it's about ashlok we will like it.

EK ANOKHI KAHAANI - Part 26

Aastha went out with the file. Shlok was waiting outside the gate sitting on the bonnet of the car. Aastha knew he was not at all in a good mood. She had already experienced his wrath. She didn't want to take any more risk now. She slowly walked towards the car. She was afraid to face him. She went ahead and stood behind him facing his back.
Shlok didn't notice Aastha come.
He was engrossed in a deep thought, staring into the empty darkness. His seriousness scared Aastha more. His face bore mixed feelings... there was anger, there was hurt, there was agony, there was hatred, there was deep sorrow...
Aastha had a lump in her throat. Finally, with all her courage, she decided to speak...
"I am sorry Sir..." she said in a low voice. "I shouldn't have said all that... Main kuchh zyada hi bol gayi... I have no right to interfere in your personal life..." she said feeling guilty. "Please don't be angry... Please gussa mut keejiye... Mujhe aap ke gusse se bohot darr lagta hai..." said Aastha innocently.
Shlok didn't say anything, nor did he move. Aastha didn't know what to say. Also she had to reach home before it was too late. But now she didn't think it right to ask Shlok to drop her after all that she had said. She knew Shlok needed to be left alone for some time. She spoke again...
"It's okay if you don't wish to drop me home..." she said. "I will go on my own..."
There was no reaction from Shlok. Aastha started walking ahead, looking around for an auto. She stopped suddenly when she heard Shlok speak...
"She is not my mother...!" said Shlok, still staring into the darkness.
Aastha turned around. "Jee?!" she said confused.
"Woh meri Aai nahi hai..." repeated Shlok. "Meri Aai toh..." he couldnt speak more. His eyes watered.
Aastha walked towards him in shock. "Yeh aap kya keh rahe hain...!!" What are you saying...!!
"Sach...!" he said. The truth...! And a tear dropped down his eye. Aastha was shocked to see tears in Shlok's eyes. "The" Mr. Shlok Agnihotri could cry too?!! Ofcourse he could... He too was a human afterall...!!
"Are you okay, Sir?" asked Aastha. He was still sitting in the same position looking in the same direction.
"Saat saal ka tha main..." he said, "just seven years old. It was Sunday. Dada and I were enjoying the holiday. Baba was at home. Aai was there... My Aai... Veena...!" he smiled remembering his mother. "We were enjoying our Sunday lunch... Aai ne aaloo ke paraathe banaye thay... hum sab ke favourite! I had spilled water over my pant while drinking. Dada was teasing me. I was upset. Baba was scolding Dada... aise hi jhoot-moot ka daant rahe thay taaki mujhe achha lage... Aai, as always, was on my side... She always supported me on such occasions..." he smiled as another tear rolled down his cheeks. Aastha was listening curiously. "Baba's phone rang. Some Anjali, who worked in his company, was fighting death in the hospital. She had to be operated on and her family had no money to pay" continued Shlok. "Baba toh humesha hi tayyar rehte hain logon ki madad karne ke liye... Being a generous man, Baba left for the hospital the next moment. Dada and I were very upset. Sunday was supposed to be Family Day. Ek hi din tha jab hum sab saath mein khaate thay, khelte thay... But Baba had to go today too...! Aai tried to explain.. She always said 'Always try to help others... Doosron ki madad karne se humaara kuchh kum nahi hota... We never lose anything by helping others... We always gain many things... We gain respect, we gain blessings, we gain relations... and most important thing... we gain satisfaction...!!' Aur aaj Baba wohi karne gaye thay... kisi ki madad...!!" And Shlok's smile faded away. Scare filled his face. Aastha wanted to know more. She wanted to know what happened next. "Suddenly Aai started feeling restless..." Shlok became restless too while speaking... "She complained of heart pain. Dada and I were scared. Whe were too small to take her to the hospital. Her pain was unbearable. I was crying seeing my Aai in pain. Dada was a brave son. He told me to wait there with Aai and he soon called our neighbours. They made the arrangement to take Aai to the hospital. Here, Dada was trying to call Baba, but Baba was not picking up the phone. I was scared seeing Aai's condition. She was lying on the bed of the ambulance, unconscious. Mere toh kuchh samajh mein nahi aa raha tha... I just sat beside her, holding her hand in mine. During all this, Dada had suddenly transformed into a matured and responsible son...! He was constantly trying to call Baba, but there was no response." Shlok was becoming more and more restless while narrating all this. "We reached the hospital and..." he stopped. Tears flowing down his eyes. "How could they..." he sobbed. "How could they say it so easily... I didn't believe them. I didn't want to believe them. The doctors were joking... they were saying that my Aai was no more...! Aai aise kaise mujhe, hum sab ko chhod ke jaa sakti hai...!!" Shlok was breathless. Aastha's eyes filled with tears. "I tried to wake her up... I called out to her... I cried at the top of my voice... But the woman who could hear my unspoken words, was not able to hear my screams today... She didn't even open her eyes to see that I was in pain..." Shlok's body shivered all over. "I was holding her tight... I didn't want to let her go... Dada and others were pulling me off her body... and they took her away..." he paused to breathe and whispered... "away... forever...!!"
Aastha didn't know what to say. She could feel Shlok's pain.
"And then Baba came..." Shlok continued, still looking into the empty darkness. "His phone was on silent mode when he had gone to hospital to help Anjali... And when he come to know about Aai's death, he was shocked. And it took him many days to come back to normal..." Shlok took a deep breath and wiped his tears.
"She was wrong..." he said. "Aai was wrong... Helping others never gives us happiness. Baba had gone to help someone... And what did that give us? What did we gain? Nothing!! Instead we lost her... I lost my world!! I lost my Aai...!" Tears streamed down Shlok's cheeks. And suddenly the sorrow and pain on his face changed to anger. "And all this was because of Anjali...!! She was responsible for Aai's death...!!! If Baba were at home, we would have been able to take Aai to hospital sooner... And she would have been with us today...!!" he said in anger. "And that was not all, this Anjali later came to marry Baba?!!! How could she even think of it!!!" Shlok was boiling with anger. "How could she think that she can take the place of Aai...!!! How could she think that she can replace someone for whose death she herself was responsible...!!!!" Shlok's anger was at its peak. "I hate her...!!! I just hate her...!!!!"

There was silence. Aastha was still trying to digest all that she had heard right now. She wanted to speak but waited for Shlok to calm down. After a while, Aastha spoke...
"I am really sorry to hear about your Aai..." she said sadly. "But how can you say that Anjali ji was responsible for all this? She herself was on death bed... She didn't do all this on purpose... right?" Aastha tried to clear Shlok's mind off his hatred towards Anjali.
"Yeh sab main nahi jaanta...!!" said Shlok. "I just know that she is unlucky for us...!!"
"Sir, for once, try to think in the other way..." said Aastha gently. "Everything happens for a reason... Everything happens for good... and..."
"So you are trying to say that Aai left us for good?!!" Shlok yelled back.
Aastha calmly said, "Maybe..." Shlok was very angry now. Aastha continued... "Maybe, if she had lived then, she would have had to tolerate immense pain... Maybe she would have had to face painful health problems... and death relieved her from them."
"I don't believe you are saying this...!!!" said Shlok.
"We need to think positively and move ahead in life... Life is full of ups and downs... Everyone has problems in life... But not everyone is always sad. People are happy too... It depends on how we face and handle situations in life... It depends on our perspective... It depends on how we look at things..."
"Be positive, haan?!!" said Shlok. "Okay, then tell me... what is positive in Mrs. Agnihotri getting married to Baba?!!! Is there anything positive about it?!! C'mon tell me...!!" he yelled.
"Yes!" said Aastha. "You all needed someone to care for you, and she was there...!!"
"Care?!! Huh!!! She came because she cared for us...?!! She came to care for us like Aai used to?!! Impossible!!! She can never ever take Aai's place...!!" said Shlok.
"Aap ne kabhi unke nazariye se dekhne ki koshish ki hai? Have you ever tried to understand her? To understand her decision? To understand her feelings?" asked Aastha. Shlok was silent.
"And you are angry because she married Baba... But wasn't that decision your Baba's too? Then why are you blaming only Anjali ji?"

Aastha further said "Which young woman would readily get married to a man, who had lost his wife, and who already had two kids?" asked Aastha. Shlok was shocked at the question. Aastha continued, "maybe somewhere she felt guilty... maybe she felt responsibe for the death of her saviour's wife... maybe she felt sad that two kids lost their mother because of her... She could have easily got someone else, someone younger to marry. But she married your father... Beause she wanted to see this family through... She wanted to give you all that your Aai would have given if she were alive..." said Aastha. "This is not easy... not at all...!! She sacrificed her wants for you all...!! And that is a very big thing... Not all can do this...!!!"
Shlok had never thought that way. He had always hated Anjali right from the day Aai left him.
"You cannot deny that she loves you a lot... she cares for you... probably more than your Aai... She always tries to fulfil all your wishes... She always wants to see you happy... Am I wrong in saying this?"
Shlok was silent. He recalled the days when he was in distress or whenever he was not well. Anjali stayed awake all night only to see to it that Shlok slept well. She used to became restless whenever Shlok used to be late from school. It was Anjali who always read Shlok's mind, whether it was good or bad. He remembered, it was Anjali who had cried the most when he had left for his higher education abroad. She cared for him more than anyone else. And what did Shlok give her all these years? Just hatred and sorrow. She had to face his wrath for no reason. Still she never said anything. She tolerated all his misbehaviour just because that made him feel better. Now Shlok realised what Aastha was trying to say. His eyes watered. He had never tried to understand Anjali. He felt guilty for the way he had treated her all these years.
"Main bohot bura hoon... Buss logon ko takleef deta hoon... Why can't I give happiness to anyone? Why do I always hurt people...? Kya main itna bura hoon? Kya main..."
"Shhh...!!" said Aastha, trying to calm Shlok down. "Aisa kuchh nahi hai... You are a good person... Aap bohot achhe hain... Buss haalaaton ne aap ko badal diya hai... Circumstances have forced you to change... Ask yourself... Don't let circumstances control you... Listen to your heart now... and you will know how beautiful life is...!!" said Aastha smiling.
Shlok couldn't control his tears.
"Arey, kya hua?" asked Aastha. What happened?
"Aai ki bohot yaad aa rahi hai... I am missing Aai very much..." said Shlok. "Whenever I used to be confused, I used to go to Aai. I am missing her guidance badly. Not a single day passes when I don't miss her..."
"I understand..." said Aastha. "Afterall she was your Aai... And I can see how attached you were to her... And there is nothing wrong in it...!! Lekin yahan koi hai jo aap ke munh se "Aai" yeh shabd sunne ke liye itne saalon se taras raha hai... Koi hai jo aap se pyaar paane ke liye taras raha hai... Jo log ab nahi hain unke baare mein sochne se ya unhein yaad karne se woh wapas toh nahi aayenge... It is always better to think more about the people who are with you, around you... whose lives you can make better...! Think about and care for the people who have made you what you are today... who are always with you to support you in all phases of life... who can be happy just with a few beautiful moments spent with you..."
Now Shlok was feeling better. He had realised what Anjali meant to him. He wiped his tears. He was feeling as if a huge burden was off him. The haze in his mind was clear now. He looked at Aastha.
"Thank you...!" he said. "Aastha... agar tum nahi hoti... yeh sab nahi kehti... toh... pata nahi..."
"Buss buss..." she said. "I didn't know you are so emotional..." she said smiling.
Shlok immediately said "Please don't tell anyone that I cried in front of you okay?"
"Nahi bataungi...!" said Aastha. "Top secret" she whispered and winked. Both laughed. It was a rare sight to see Shlok laugh heartily.

Just then, Aastha's phone rang. Kalindi was worried for her. Everyone was waiting for her at home.
"Sorry... Meri wajah se tumhein late hua..." said Shlok.
"No problem at all... I was glad to meet a different Shlok Agnihotri...!" she said. Both smiled.
They got into the car. Shlok inserted the key and then stopped.
"Aastha, maine yeh sab baatein aaj tak kisi se nahi kahi thi... I haven't spoken about all this even to Dada or Vahini. Pata nahi aaj kyun laga ki tumhein batana tha... Tum se baat kar ke achha laga... Tumne jo bhi kaha, Aai hoti toh woh bhi shayad yahi sab kehti...! Atleast tumhein toh lagta hai ki main bura insaan nahi hoon...!"
"Aap hi ne toh kaha tha na ki main aap ko samajhti hoon...!" she smiled. Shlok smiled too.
They left for Aastha's home.

Kalindi was waiting at the door. She saw the car arrive. Aastha got down and shut the door. She looked at Shlok.
"Thank you!" he said smiling.
"Life is a much better place..." said Aastha as she smiled and turned to leave.
"Aastha!!" Shlok called her.
She turned.
"I wanted to tell this since morning... Aaj tum achhi lag rahi ho...!" he said drove away. You are looking nice today...!

Aaj aap ki yeh baat sun kar
Khushi se jhoom utha hai yeh dil mera...
Yehi dua hai dhal jaaye yeh raat...
Aaye aap ki zindagi mein ek naya savera...!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Hope you all liked it... Do give your precious feedback...

All criticism, comments, discussions, suggestions,requests are most welcome.

Originally posted by: Aishaa3

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