Chapter 15
Missing
"Manu, I'm not eating this stuff again! It's been three days I'm getting only dal chawal. I've hurt my back. I'm not sick!" Pragya put her hand up in frustration. "But di, this is gonna give you strength. Besides, its easy to eat." Bulbul tried to explain. "Manu I'm dead serious. I wont eat this." She galred at her sister.
It had been three days since the fall. Pragya was being pampered by the whole of her family. Abhi would be around the whole time and when he had to go out, he would make sure someone was with her so that she didn't have to strain herself. Pragya had enjoyed the treatment for a day or two but now, it was getting Her frustrated. Even if she tried to get up and go to the washroom, Abhi would follow her. Her pain had reduced and she was okay now, but, abhi would not agree.
"Hello ladies!" Abhi walked into the room. "Chashmish, you okay?" He said sitting on the bed, facing her. Bulbul moved to the other end. "Abhi, I've been okay only since the last two days! Stop over reacting and let me be alright!" She glared at him. "Okay! Peace!" Abhi raised his hand in submission and took the bowl of dal chawal from Bulbul. "Abhi, for the last time, I'm not eating that!" She said glaring at him. "Aree.. Im hungry! Let me eat it!" He said taking a bite.
"You know what happened today?" He said looking at her."i was at the signal, now on the way back home and this woman was selling this." He said getting out a jelly frog toy from his pocket. "Remember something?" He asked with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Whoa jiju! A jelly frog? What happened?" Bulbul asked.
"This stud boy was in a mood for pranks. So him and his friend, Raj.. They put this under a teachers table. That teacher we are talking about here was, you know, huge.. So imagine.. This bulky huge figure.. Facing the blackboard, she turns around to explain something, sees a frog next to her legs and jumps shouting!" Pragya explained. "Aww her face was worth looking at!" Abhi laughed. "And so was yours when you were almost expelled by the principal. The teacher saved you because she liked you!" Pragya smirked. "See, i was famous since then!" Abhi gave right back.
"Oh! You remember this one birthday of yours.. I was trying to all talk and distract you and take you out of the college premises?" Pragya asked. "The birthday when you pushed me and I was on the floor?" Abhi raised his eyebrow. "Di pushed you and you fell? Like seriously this happened?" Bulbul howled. "Yeah.. He turned around to go back. Behind us were Raj, mithali and aakash trying to get his cake to the canteen so that we could give him a surprise. I didn't know what to do and i pushed him. This guy landed flat on his ass!" Pragya explained laughing.
"Haash! Done!" Abhi said looking at the empty bowl in his hand. "Oh God abhi, you seriously ate that!" Pragya exclamed. "Who said i ate it?" He winked at her. "Then did the food just disappear? Like poof! Or did harry come and cast a spell?" Pragya mocked him. "You ate it!" Abhi smirked. "No way! I was talking here. I didn't.. Did I, manu?" She asked looking at her sister. The smile and look on Bulbul's face confirmed that she actually had. "I hate you Abhi!" She scowled at him. "Aww, too late wifey! You're gonna have to put up with me for life!" He winked at her and walked out.
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"Prags, are you sure you can manage?" He asked for the hundredth time that day. Abhi had to leave for the tour to New York that night. She had told him she was okay a million times. His concern was now getting on her nerves. Her pain was almost gone and she was back to her routine. But Abhi still wasn't sure.
"Abhi, once more you ask, I'm gonna throw you out of the house now. Then spend your day at the airport and leave form there itself." She had said ultimately. Abhi hung his head down and quietly started packing his stuff. She saw his swollen face and all she wanted to do at that moment was to kiss him. But that, they had not come to yet. Pragya knew she loved him. Well, he knew that he Loved her too. But, both didn't know how the other would react. So, they just stayed best friends because they didn't want to risk losing the other.
Abhi was checking his bags one more time after dinner. It was time to leave. He didn't really want to. He wanted to be here, with Pragya. He wanted her to come along but her back wouldn't be able to take all the travel. Also, she needed to resume college since exams were beginning. He picked up her picture from the side table and sneaked it into his bag. "Abhi!" He heard her calling and quickly zipped up his bag.
"Abhi! Close your eyes!" She said walking in with her hands on her back. "What is it Chashmish!" He asked. "Aree just do as i say!" She said smugly. He closed his eyes looking disinterested. Deep down , he was too excited to know. "Open your mouth." She told him and he did what he was aked to. "Gulab Jamun!" His eyes flew open. Oh how he loved the sweet! And these were so tasty. He relished it and made funny noises while eating. Pragya just stood there admiring him. Once he had finished the entire bowl, he looked at her grinning from ear to ear. "You're the best Prags!" He said. "Bhai, your manager is here!" They heard Aaliya calling.
Abhi picked up his bags and walked down with Pragya. After saying bye to the rest of his family, he walked out. Pragya decided to go to the airport to see him off. They kept stealing glances at each other on the way. Neither of spoke anything. They were enjoying this moment of togetherness. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it a bit. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey! Take care of my Chashmish okay! I wanna see her fit and fine when i come back!" He said hugging Pragya. "I will! But promise me that you will take care of my Stud boy! And tell him I'll miss him!" She said. "He says he'll miss you too!" Abhi chuckled. He then broke the hug and walked off towards the departure terminal. Pragya kept looking at his retreating figure with a lone tear in her eyes. Once at the gate, he turned around and waved at her with his patent smile, trying to absorb her face one more time before he left. Oh how he wished he could stay! She waved back too with a smile and headed back home once he was completely out of sight.
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It had been 10 days since Abhi left. His last concert was today and he would be home soon. Pragya had been on cloud nine. She had missed his too much. Every day without Abhi in the house felt like a lifetime. She could not wait to see that face of his, marked with his sexy smirk. She couldn't wait to hear his voice. Yes, they had spoken to each other everyday through these 10 days, sometimes multiple times a day. Abhi would FaceTime with her when ever he could and she would miss him all the more when they cut the call.
"Bhabhi, are you free? I needed some help!" Aaliya said walking into their room. "Hey Aalu! Of course I'm free." Pragya said looking up from the novel she was reading. "Bhabhi, we have an inter college cultural programme and we need to prepare a play. The theme is classics and who could help me with that but you!" Aaliya said sitting next to her. For the next hour or two, Pragya ran her through a few stories that would make an amazing play. Aaliya had noticed that all this while, Pragya had been constantly looking at the watch.
"Thanks bhabhi! You're amazing!" Aaliya said hugging her once they were done. "Aww bacche, im glad i could help!" Pragya smiled at her. "Bhabhi, did bhai call? He's boarding a flight today right? Aaliya asked. "Yeah! He's boarding today and he'll be here tomorrow. I've actually been waiting for his call. His concert should have been over by now." Pragya said looking at her phone kept on the table. She had been waiting for it to ring but there was none. Just then, Aaliya got a call.
"Hey Bhai! We were just talking about you! How was the concert!" Aaliya said. Pragya's face brightened when Aaliya said bhai. She looked at her expectantly with a bit of disappointment that she did not get a call from him. Aaliya extended the phone towards her whispering an All The Best!
"What the hell Chashmish! Why can't i reach you on your phone? I've been trying to FaceTime since a while." He hissed. She immediately ran towards the phone and checked it. "Woh.. Sorry abhi, didn't realise. It's out of charge." She said apologetically. "Use my IPad. I'll ping in 5." He said and cut the phone. She handed the phone back to Aaliya and shrugged. "Thanks bhabhi. I know Bhai wants to see you. Have a nice chat! Bye!" Aaliya said and ran away. Pragya blushed to herself and shut the door.
Abhi had called as soon as she unlocked the iPad. "Hey!" She said cheerfully. Abhi's scowl vanished almost immediately as he saw her face. "Hey!" He wished back. "So how was the concert stud boy?" She asked him. "Fab! The crowd here is so much fun. They loved the performance!" He grinned. "Amazing! Had to be! You're the best!" She smiled. "So, what are you doing?" He asked. "It's a sad weekend Abhi. Dadi and dasi have gone to a friends house for puja and will come back at night.Purab and Bulbul have a wedding to attend. Aalu is busy with her college cultural programmes and I'm bored!" She sighed. Abhi chuckled at her. "Aww poor you! Missing me?" He said winking. "Of course, Abhi! Loads!" She said immediately. "I'll be there tomorrow! And i have a surprise for you!" He said. "What is it! Come on. Tell me!" She squealed in excitement. "Its a surprise Prags! Have some patience!" He rolled his eyes. "Okay gotta go! See you soon wifey!" He said with a sexy smile. "Bye! Come soon!" Pragya said sadly and cut the call. She about to switch off the iPad, when she accidentally opened his notes. She was about to close it when she saw something unexpected.
"God plays games, Just like you had once told me. The last day of college, i wanted to propose to you. Actually, i had practiced so much for it. Made Meethu stand there to represent you and practiced till i thought it was perfect for you. But when the time came, you went missing. I looked for you everywhere for three years and when I ultimately thought I found you, i get to know that you're married and off to US! I got hitched with Tanu to forget you, to forget my love, my chashmish! But i never could. I thought i was not being loyal to Tanu by till thinking about you.. That there was no point in thinking about you anymore and that you were living a happy married life somewhere. I decided to accept Tanu and love her like she deserves. But God played his game once again and Tanu turned out to be the cheater. I so missed you at that point. More than anything else, i wanted my best friend back. And God answered my prayers.
Now you're my wife and I'm still stuck in the same situation as the last day of college. I want to tell you how much i love you! I want to hold you and kiss you. I wanna keep looking at those beautiful eyes of yours. You know what Chashmish, those eyes have always made me go weak. Even behind those thick glasses, they would attract me like nothing else. I so love you Chashmish!
I always have.. That's probably why i never agreed to marry anyone after Tanu. That's why i repelled relationships. When Al and dadi suggested Us, my heart couldn't deny. I did get angry because i thought you would go away again. But when i heard you talking to Bul, I realised that you house the same fear. The fear of losing me. And that gave me hope.
Though I couldn't figure out if you love me, i knew i wanted to jump on this opportunity. I didn't want to let you go again! I couldn't afford to!
Right now, i need to figure a way out to tell you all this for real. Till then, i have my diary!"
Pragya had tears in her eyes and she clutched the iPad close to her heart! Oh fate had been so cruel to her, to them. They had both been in love since forever but they had to wait so long to get together. Pragya remembered the last day.
The entire college was excited for the farewell. Pragya was looking around for Abhi. She hadn't seen him since morning, which was unusual. He was always with her. When she reached the common room , she heard him talking to Raj. "Dude, I'm gonna propose to her." He said excited. "Awesome Abhi. You guys look perfect together!" She heard Raj say. Pragya got excited when she heard that. She really loved Abhi. She had wanted to tell him that since a few days now but could never gather the courage. She went away from there thinking she needed to give him some time. Maybe he wanted to make it special.
Later that evening, he had messaged her that he wouldn't be able to pick her up. She was dejected but she thought maybe he had planned something. She reached the college for the farewell party and started looking around for Abhi. She was walking by one of the classes when she saw him on his knees. "Okay, I don't know how to begin" he chuckled. "Im not good with words like you are! I don't know how to use the vocabulary in my favour. But in simple words, all i wanna tell you is that i love you. I have ever since we spoke for the first time. I kept loving you a little more every day but now, i want to share that love with you. I want you with me, beside me for ever. Will you be mine?"
Pragya walked a little ahead and saw Meethu standing in front of him with a smile. "That was perfect, Abhi!" She said making him stand and hugged him. Pragya couldn't take it anymore. She held her tears and ran off from there. She called up home only to know that Mamaji was sick and she needed to be there. She packed her stuff and left for the airport.
Pragya came back from her thoughts when she felt a hand on her head. She didn't know how much time she'd been sitting and crying now! He loved her too. She couldn't have asked for more. But what made her sad was the fact that they had been far away and suffered because of one silly misunderstanding.
She opened her eyes to see dadi staring at her worried. "What happened bacche? Why are you crying?" Dadi asked sitting beside her. Unable to hold back anymore, Pragya put her head on dadi's lap and cried. Dadi lovingly ran her hand on her head while Pragya narrated what had happened.
"Bacche, i know how you must be feeling right now. You must be cursing fate that you lost all this time. But what matters is you both are together now. That you are his wife rightfully and no one can take him away from you. This is a second chance you both have got. Cherish it! Cherish each other and love each other. The past doesn't matter. Make sure your future is beautiful. Let him know you love him. Hear that from him and let it be a new beginning." Dadi smiled at her. "Dadi you're right. You know what, I'm gonna let him know how much i love him as soon as he gets back." Pragya smiled at dadi.
"Di, did you see the news?" Purab asked running into her room, bulbul following suit. "No Purab. What happened?" Pragya said getting off the bed seeing him worried. "You look tensed. What happened beta?" Dadi asked him. Bulbul was almost crying. Aaliya came too, looking shocked. Purab just silently went towards the TV and switched on the news.
"Mumbai bound Abc Airways flight from New York MUM0512 crashed 20 minutes from take off. Technical fault is the reason cited. No one is believed to have survived the crash. The list of passengers includes Abhishek Mehra, popularly known as Rockstar Abhi. The following are the other names ..."
Pragya couldn't hear any further. She looked at the faces around. Dadi had slumped on the couch while Aaliya held on to her. Bulbul sat next to Aaliya hugging her. Purab looked at Pragya with a pained face while Pragya went white.
"Purab, did you try his number?" Pragya asked, not believing the news. "Not reachable di." He replied. "Call the airlines and find out if he boarded." Pragya said. "They say all seats were occupied di" Purab said, painfully.
Pragya sat on the ground. Her head was spinning and tears flowed non stop. She remembered the last time she had seen him alive, in front of her. That smiling face waving goodbye kept repeating in her head. "You're gonna have to put up with me for life" she could hear him say and she let out a cry "Abhi!"
Maybe, loneliness is what life had in store for her! Like her ma papa and suresh, he had ditched her midway too. She had lost her love to misunderstanding once, found him back and decided to begin fresh. However, She had lost him to death again, this time forever!
------------------------------ To Be Continued --------------------------
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
