CHAPTER 5- COUNTING MOMENTS
It had been 5 days
since Paro had arrived at the Ranawat haveli. She was amazed at how easily she
had felt at home there. Maasa had taken such good care of her
and Paro would be forever indebted to her and Prakriti.
Mala had insisted that Paro call her Maasa and had taken care
of her just like her real mother. She had seen to it that every need
of Paro's was taken care of. She had personally tended to Paro's foot and it
had nearly healed and Paro could now move around, albeit a little
pain. Mala had also promised her that Rudra would personally lead
the mission to find her Jija. When Paro had insisted that she would
leave, since she had already troubled her family for so long, Mala would hear
none of it. Mala had firmly maintained that Paro would not leave
until Tejawat was caught and put behind bars by Rudra. Mala had explained how
Tejawat would now target her and her sister and her staying at home was a much
safer option. Moreover Paro had also witnessed the numerous times
Mala had fought against Rudra where he kept insisting that she had to leave the
house and Mala had vehemently denied every time. Seeing Mala care so much for
her had filled Paro's eyes with tears and had finally given into Mala's wishes
to remain at the haveli.
Another delight for Paro at the haveli was Prakriti Ranawat, Mala's daughter
who had happily welcomed Paro to share her room. The first time Paro
had seen her, Prakriti had come bounding into the room. Seeing a stranger in
her bed she had awkwardly questioned Paro who she was. Fumbling, Paro had tried
to explain about herself, but she had realized she hadn't done a good job of it
as Prakriti still kept staring at her in silence. Moments later, Mala had
arrived and explained the situation carefully and Prakriti had been more than
welcoming. There hadn't been even a hint of displeasure when Prakriti had
promised Paro that she would help her mother in taking care of
her. Overwhelmed by the concern, Paro had started crying and
Prakriti had hugged her and asked her not to. Prakriti would be mostly away at
college during the day but she would spend her time in the nights with Paro.
She would tell Paro everything that happened at college that day and Paro would
be fascinated hearing the stories. Prakriti made Paro listen to songs on her
mobile and Paro's favorite was Kuch Kuch Hota hai, which she
had listened to long ago when she had seen the film along with Jija in
her village. A strong bond had developed between the two girls
in just a short span of time and both cherished it equally.
If there was one thing that perturbed Paro, it was Rudra and his behavior.
After the yelling match that had happened in the bedroom, he had refused to
speak to her. They would bump into each other at times but he would just ignore
her and walk away. Just yesterday, she had suddenly tripped while climbing the
stairs, but out of nowhere, his sturdy arms had reached out to stop her.
Holding her securely he had looked intently at her face. She thought he wanted
to say something to her, but all of a sudden he abruptly let go of her and walked
away leaving her confused about his conduct. Seeing how his mother
was also siding with Paro, Rudra hardly spoke to her either. But Mala was just
as spirited as her son and she continued to ignore him too. But Paro
knew that he was working hard to find her sister and she would be eternally
grateful to him for his efforts. He would spend most of the day at the police
station, sometimes wouldn't even return in the nights. At the times that he was
home, he would spend his time reviewing the case files and planning the next
course of action. Paro was struck by his determination. But, she
hadn't forgiven him for his hateful remarks and Rudra hadn't made an effort to
apologize to her either.
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At the police station:
"I am s-" He fumbled.
"Look I know I
shouldn't have said something so hurtful, it's just that.." He stopped midway
not knowing how to continue further.
He tried again. "Maasa told
me that you had been crying and since I was the reason for it, I should make
amends and..." Sighing and realizing how lame that sounded he gave up.
Frustrated, Rudra ran a hand through his hair as he kept pacing around his work
desk. He was going nowhere with this apology. Rudra knew he had to do it one
day or another, but what he had no idea was to how to go about with it. It
didn't help matters that he would be completely robbed of speech every time he
came across her. Just yesterday, when he had stopped her from tripping on the
stairs and held her in her arms, he had thought that it was the right time to
apologize. But the close proximity had disturbed him. While it did things to
his body, it had completely numbed his brain and he had just kept staring at
her before leaving gruffly without a word. His mother was against
him too and had conveniently chosen not to talk to him until he apologized to
Paro.
Closing his eyes and
breathing slowly, Rudra tried it out one last time. Conjuring up her demure
face in his mind, he spoke out loud.
"Forgive me. Forgive
me for not understanding your state of mind. I know that the things I told you,
shouldn't have even entered into my mind in the first place. I was frustrated
and I took it out on you even though I didn't mean to." Sighing he
continued, "Look I don't know how to apologize or console other people. I am
bad at it and I have no intentions of changing for anybody. But I do owe you an
apology because I behaved in an extremely immoral manner and I shouldn't have.
So... I'm Sorry!"
Opening his eyes,
Rudra saw Aman standing in front of him, with a smile threatening to break on
his face.
Realizing how it must
have seemed, Rudra pulled himself together, cleared his throat and asked Aman
irritably, "Aman, didn't you pass through a door on your way in? Did it ever
occur to you that knocking it before coming in would be a good idea?"
Composing himself,
Aman apologized and said, "Sir, We have new information about the undercover
operation at the Geetanjali lodging Hotel."
His senses alert in an
instant Rudra asked Aman to continue further. Rudra had been working hard along
with his team to find Paro's sister. Their efforts had borne fruits to an
extent after they had come to know that a woman of her description along with
many others were held captive in the cellar of the Geetanjali Hotel, another
"investment" of Tejawat. Rudra had ordered for one of his men to go undercover
and work as an employee to find out more about the matter.
"We were right about our suspicions Sir!" said Aman. "Our man has
confirmed that around 15 women are being held captive in the cellar of the
hotel which includes the woman who matches the description given by...
Parvati Baisaa" he hesitated before finishing.
"Parvati Baisaa?"
Rudra thought to himself. It had never occurred to him to call her that. He had
addressed her by what she had told him. Paro'. Concluding to himself that Paro
sounded simple and better, he proceeded to give orders to Aman.
"Tomorrow" said Rudra
giving out the instructions. "Tomorrow, we raid the place and rescue all of
them. Get the troops ready. We start our operation in the evening. First, you
and I shall enter and scan the place and then the troops will come
in. As per my sources, Tejawat will be busy at that time at a
political dinner, so we can carry out the operation right under his nose."
"Sir!" Aman nodded and
saluted smartly before leaving the room and Rudra grabbed his jacket off his
chair and proceeded to go home.
At the Haveli:
Rudra entered the Haveli
massaging the back of his neck. The continuous labor of the last few days had
begun to take its toll and the fatigue had started to set in. All he wanted to
do was get a few hours of sleep before tomorrow's action.
As he neared
Prakriti's room, he heard music from inside with chiming laughter in between.
As he slowly pulled back the curtain, he was mesmerized by the sight infront of
him. Paro was dancing. With a smile on her face, she matched the steps to the
rhythm of the music. Joining her in the gala was Prakriti who was close behind
Paro in following the steps.
Try as he might, Rudra
couldn't pull his eyes away from the swaying beauty before him. Her eyes
sparkled as she continued to twirl to the tune. Holding her lehenga
she turned around and it swirled into an array of colors around her waist
drawing his attention towards it. The alabaster of her skin stirred
something deep in him. As his eyes went to her long neck, the sensations in him
intensified.
Suddenly the music
stopped breaking his thoughts. Paro and Prakriti hugged each other and
continued laughing as they finished their dance. Looking at them
both, Rudra smiled. He was happy for Prakriti. He didn't allow her to leave the
house often because of his job and enemies. She had a few friends in college,
but otherwise she was mostly alone. But Prakriti had never complained, and for
that he admired his sister. Having seen her gel with Paro so easily made him
happy.
What enticed him was
Paro's face. He had seen her hurt, aghast, scared and confused. Even in the
past few days she had smiled, yet there was a sadness and worry ever present in
her eyes. For the first time today, he saw her laugh and smile without any
inhibitions and her laugh was infectious as Rudra sensed his smile widen.
Adjusting the curtain
back, Rudra made his way towards his room upstairs making up his mind to
apologize to her tomorrow. He would do it for sure.
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