Interlude 10: The First Farewell
A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Here is the next update. :D :D This update also marks the 50th chapter for this FF, so that's a small celebration for myself. :) :)
Now an important note: The whole confrontation between Ranveer and Ishaani is divided into two parts. One part will be in this chapter, and the other main part will be in Interlude 15. The one in Interlude 15 is the main one. The one over here is the first fallen domino that led to what happens in Interlude 15.
Not keeping y'all for long now,
Happy Reading! :D :D
Knock. Knock.
Ranveer, who was staring at the night sky through the window, turned behind only to find Ishaani standing over there with an awkward expression on her face. He felt his heart get wrung by her sight. Turning his gaze away to the window again as his heart felt wrung by her sight, he bit at his knuckles to keep the tears that threatened to brim at bay.
"Hey," he spoke shakily as he sensed her walk into the room.
"Hey," she replied back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ishaani stand beside him now.
"How are you?" she asked quietly, and Ranveer was threatened by the urge to throw up.
"Great," replied Ranveer bitterly, although the emotion fell deaf upon Ishaani's ears. "What about you?"
"Same. So, uh, why didn't you come with us for dinner?" asked Ishaani curiously, as Ranveer now determinedly chose to stare at the moon. It had been two days since Ranveer had returned back home from Sydney and as a friendly gesture, Chirag and Ishaani had invited him to dinner. He'dd refused.
"I wasn't feeling too well," lied Ranveer, but it was a truth in spite of itself.
"What happened?" asked Ishaani, her voice slightly testy. It wasn't lost upon Ranveer that she was disappointed by his less than warm attitude for Chirag.
"Just feeling jetlagged," he replied in a small voice, and Ishaani nodded her head in understanding.
"Oh okay."
"Why?" asked Ranveer, now meeting gaze with her for the first time since she entered the room.
He was certain that his eyes were red and that even Ishaani noticed it, but he did not care. He did not care much about anything at all except for the pain he constantly felt his heart explode with.
"Nothing, it's just... Chirag felt that maybe you don't like him and it's why you refused to come with us," replied Ishaani, her tone uncertain. It was as though she wondering how he would react to it, Ranveer sensed.
"Oh, Chirag thought so," commented Ranveer rather snidely and Ishaani scowled at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, really. So, engaged, huh?" spoke Ranveer, his voice now mocking an airiness in spite of him feeling suffocated. "How did he propose?"
Ishaani got the cue that he wanted to change the topic. Not arguing further, she looked at him excitedly and told him the entire story in detail, starting from how a mishap at Gauri's wedding led to them proclaiming their love for each other. The story soon progressed upon all of their dates and love-filled promises, their close-knit family ties and how she was the luckiest person on Earth to have found her soulmate - Chirag. She would might as well have thrown him off from the terrace and done the job.
Ranveer noticed that the band on her finger was replaced by the engagement ring that belonged to Chirag, and it stung. Badly. He could feel that sense of a never-ending abyss of pain overtake his senses at the thought of losing what he had secretly hoped would someday become his, even though he refused to admit it to himself. But for her sake, all he did was smile through it. Smile even though he could feel every single blow crack his fragile heart a little more, her every love-struck comment about Chirag draining him a little more of his life and soul.
"So, what about you? Did you find anyone?" asked Ishaani finally, slightly breathless from talking so much. Ranveer smiled at her painfully.
"No..."
"Well, you should find someone soon. It's not like I'm going to be with you anymore," she joked, and even the fake smile was wiped away from his face at the comment. Didn't she realize what she was doing to him? Couldn't she see through his bruised heart and soul?
"You needn't worry about that," replied Ranveer, now feeling hollow. "Besides, I'm not interested in getting married right now."
"Easy there, tiger," said Ishaani, now sensing the tension in Ranveer's tone. "There's no need to get all worked up."
Ranveer remained silent.
"So tell me, what do you think about Chirag?" asked Ishaani suddenly after a few minutes, her tone now slightly worried. This time, Ranveer forced himself to meet gaze with her.
"Does my opinion really matter?"
"Well, if I'm asking you about it, it's got to mean something, right?" she replied reasonably, although he could see that she was beginning to get slightly vexed with his behaviour. How could so much change in two years?
"Well, I didn't see you having to need my opinion when you were getting engaged to him. As a matter of fact, you didn't even bother to inform me that you even had anyone in your life in the first place," replied Ranveer coldly, and the hurt in his voice was evident. Guilt flicked across Ishaani's face as she took Ranveer's hand in her own and spoke softly.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? It's just... Everything happened so suddenly that I didn't..."
"It is okay, Ishaani. What's happened has happened," cut through Ranveer shortly, not bothering to keep his tone soft. Ishaani looked slightly abashed.
"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Ishaani, can we talk about something else, please? I'm having a headache," added Ranveer, his voice now cracking slightly. Ishaani frowned at him, asking once again.
"Well, you didn't answer my question. How do you find Chirag?"
"Do you want to know the truth?" asked Ranveer suddenly, his mind suddenly ablaze with an idea. Maybe if she still considered him her best friend...
"Yes," she replied earnestly and Ranveer made up his mind in one swift second, now staring at her resolutely.
"I don't like him at all."
"Why?" asked Ishaani, looking crest-fallen. Ranveer ignored the fact that he had just made her sad for his own selfishness.
"Because he stole you away from me," he replied blankly, even though he felt his heart break as the truth behind his words struck him like an axe.
"Now what's that supposed to mean?" she asked him sharply.
"Nothing," said Ranveer evasively, his mind now fraught and conflicted between the several thoughts and emotions that were simultaneously running through his mind.
"But I don't like him. There's something strangely familiar about him and I don't like it," he continued, while Ishaani stared at him silently. He had spoken the truth about what he genuinely felt about Chirag, and impossible as he thought it might be, it was his actual unbiased view about the man in question.
"Who are you to judge him like that?" said Ishaani finally after the lapse of a few minutes, her voice suddenly laced with anger.
"Didn't you ask me for my true opinion just now?" retorted Ranveer, a contorted smirk appearing over his tired features.
"You've changed Ranveer... You are not the same person who I knew," she shot back at him. And God, it stung.
"Welcome to the real world. It's not a fair game," replied Ranveer bitterly, while Ishaani now slapped his chest angrily.
"Will you stop talking like that? It's annoying and it's creeping me out!" she exclaimed loudly and Ranveer felt himself explode.
"Then just stop talking about Chirag, alright! I'm tired of hearing you be love-sick about him!" yelled back Ranveer, and Ishaani was taken aback by his outburst.
She spoke in a small voice, Ranveer instantly seeing that she looked close to tears. He'd never shouted at her like that in all his life, in spite of all their arguments that held more of cold-hearted spite than fiery lava.
"I thought you were my best friend and that you understood me and cared for me so much! I thought you would be on-the-top-of-the-moon happy for me when I told you all about him! All you are doing right now is give me a cold shoulder."
"What do you want me to do, Ishaani? Dance? Sing? Jump off the roof with joy?" jeered back Ranveer in response even though he felt the hot tears fall upon his cheeks simultaneously. He chose to ignore them.
"I just want you to be happy for me," said Ishaani, her voice now upset.
Ranveer could see the bewilderment upon her face as she tried to search through his eyes uselessly for a reason as to why he was behaving like this. His soul was still bared in front of her; it was she who had shut her eyes to it.
"I'm sorry, but that's the only thing I can't be," he said finally as he pinched his nose, hopinf for her to leave him alone. She didn't.
"Why not? Tell me, Ranveer, why not?" she questioned heatedly as she forced him to look at her. Ranveer turned her face away from her.
"Ishaani, please. You won't understand," he spoke quietly, his eyes now silently pleading with her to understand. He could feel his restraint on the verge of cracking, the three words this close to spilling away from upon his lips in betrayal.
"No, I want an answer right now! You've just been a sorry prat ever since you've returned back! I can't believe how much you've changed in all these years. And I'm sorry if you can't understand my feelings because you haven't ever been in love yourself! The day you fall in love, that day we'll talk!" she shrieked at him angrily, while Ranveer felt his hand clench into fists.
This was the last straw he needed after thirteen years.
"Oh yeah? You think it's that easy?!" he exploded back in a hopeless fit of consuming rage he had never felt before. "Huh? You think it so easy to see how happy and in love with someone else when I-"
"When you what, Ranveer? When you what?" she questioned, her eyes now livid. She caught hold on his collar rudely as she yelled at him furiously. "Tell me, damn it!"
"When I love you!" he yelled back at her, his eyes now locked with hers in a passion he now let loose for her to see. Ishaani let go of Ranveer's collar as she recoiled back in shock, Ranveer now looking weary.
"No... This can't... No..." stuttered Ishaani while Ranveer stared at her helplessly, instantly regretting what he'd let slip.
"Ishaani, I-"
Ranveer stopped speaking as his gaze fell upon the doorpost, an ominous chill entering the air as Chirag stood over there, a stony expression on his face. And there was no doubt that he had overheard their entire conversation. Choosing to ignore Ranveer as his expressions turned back to getting somber, he approached Ishaani quickly, who'd just happened to notice his presence.
"Chirag, we... I..."
"Ishaani, we don't have time for this," he said curtly, while she now looked close to collapsing. "Right now, you need to come with me."
"Why? What's wrong?" asked Ishaani as she snapped out from the shock, staring at Chirag worriedly.
"It's Harshad Uncle... He's just suffered from a heart attack in his office. His staff have rushed him to the hospital and the doctors are treating him right now. They've called us over immediately."
Ranveer entered the ward to see his mentor asleep, several instruments attached around him as he laboriously took in breath after breath. The doctors had tried their best, but they said that the attack was a major one - Harshad Parekh was now just a temporary guest till he departed for the next world. One by one, all the family members had gone in and met him, tears and false promises made to the dying man.
Ishaani sobbed openly as she bid goodbye to her father without directly doing so, crying in the hospital lobby now with Chirag beside her. All the members of the household were distraught at this unexpected event. Falguni left the room last as she walked up to Ranveer, informing him that Harshad wanted to meet him. Ranveer nodded his head as he took in a deep sigh, not knowing whether he was supposed to remain strong for the people he loved or to be weak in front of the one man who loved him the most.
Taking a seat on his left-hand side, Ranveer took Harshad's hand within his own and sighed, a tear falling from his eye upon his hand. Harshad's eyes flew upon at the sensation, turning his head to look at Ranveer, who now had another tear escape his eye. Smiling tiredly, he wheezed out his words in the softest of gasps.
"Ranveer..."
Harshad had been partially paralyzed from the right half of his body, a slur now accompanying his speech. Ranveer gulped slowly as he found his voice, speaking with a reassurance that both knew were nowhere true.
"The- the doctors have said that you'll become perfectly alright. You- you'll just need to- to... take some bedrest for a few days. No office work... just- just rest. You'll become alright," emphasized Ranveer like a child trying to catch hold of sunlight.
"Why lie when we both know the truth..." whispered Harshad slowly, and Ranveer choked.
"Mota Babuji, please! Just have some faith... you'll... you'll be alright. You'll recover soon, I promise."
"Ranveer..." muttered Harshad, the sadness in his voice not lost upon the twenty-two-and-a-half year old boy. He did not restrain his emotions anymore.
"I can't lose you too, Mota Babuji... Please, I can't lose you too!" begged Ranveer, while Harshad now raised his hand gingerly and stroked his hair in one last ruffle.
"Ranveer... Who said anything about losing me? I'll always be with you in your thoughts, your heart and your soul," he spoke softly, his voice now barely above an audible whisper. "You'll become a big man one day soon, Ranveer... mark my words..."
"Don't say that... Please, stay with me..." begged Ranveer once again but Harshad shook his head, a tear leaving his eye.
"We all have our time to live... and our time to die. Nobody has been able to change that till date... So it's best if you accept it," he whispered sagely, speaking every word with a lot of effort.
Ranveer hugged his mentor tiredly as he cried harder into the shoulders of the weakened man, while the latter stroked his hair softly, another tear leaving his eye now.
"I'm sorry, Ranveer."
"Why?" asked Ranveer, raising his head to look at his mentor in bewilderment.
"Because Ishaani doesn't love you," replied Harshad. Ranveer gasped in shock, while Harshad smiled weakly. "You thought I wouldn't know? I've known you for nearly fifteen years, Ranveer. I've known all along, ever since you saved her life for the first time in school," whispered Harshad with a tired smile upon his face. Ranveer's lips now quivered.
"Does it always hurt so much?"
"There is no pain gr- greater than a... a heartbreak, Ranveer. No- nothing mo- more so than knowing... that you'll never be- be loved back, no matter what..." replied Harshad in between gasps. Ranveer stared at his mentor painfully, his eyes now red.
"How did you live with Falguni Maa for so many years?"
"The love in the heart of one alone is enough to suffice for two," replied Harshad with a small smile. Ranveer remembered how much he loved listening to his mentor say this particular line. Today, he understood what it completely meant.
"Your Falguni Maa never loved me... but my love was enough to sustain for both of us," he whispered, his voice now slighter higher.
"I cannot take it... seeing her with Chirag every time..." confessed Ranveer as his eyes shut, the twisted agony clawing at his heart.
"I know what you feel, Ranveer... I was so sure that she was in love with you too... I don't know how..." murmured Harshad as yet another tear escaped his eye before he shut it.
"It is okay, Mota Babuji..." whispered back Ranveer, his voice now blank. "Maybe we weren't meant to be. I had forgotten that the moon belonged to another universe, not my own," he remarked scathingly while Harshad now opened his eyes once again. Staring at Ranveer for a whole minute, he finally spoke after mustering what little strength he had left. Time was closing in on them and so was death.
"Ranveer, will you promise me something?"
Ranveer nodded his head feverishly and Harshad continued.
"You will let her go."
"What do you mean?" asked Ranveer, his tone aggrieved even though he knew what his mentor wanted him to do.
"If you have every truly loved her, let her be happy. If you have truly loved her, her happiness will always come above yours. If you've ever truly loved her, you'll let her go. If fate has it and the two of you are destined to be together, nothing will stop you. But if she doesn't love you, you must let her go," he whispered to Ranveer, the latter now tearing his gaze away from him.
"You are asking me to sacrifice my love so that she can be happy?" whispered back Ranveer, his tone heavy.
"There's no love without sacrifice, Ranveer. Many are those who have claimed to fall in love, but rare are those who have walked away from it," muttered Harshad wisely, Ranveer now giving his mentor a pained look.
"I promise..." spoke Ranveer finally as he shut his eyes, secretly hoping that he could blend away into the face of the earth.
"Ranveer... promise me one more thing," spoke Harshad once again and Ranveer nodded his head.
"You will move on in life. You have worked very hard to achieve what you have... But you have a long, long way to go... Promise me that you will not give up on life. You will fight it... and move ahead, with or without Ishaani. I know... that you are upon a cross road where you... cannot see a destination to either of it. But just because you've been left right in the middle... does not mean that... you will stop. Pick up the pieces of... of your life and find your aim. Make your own road to it..." replied Harshad and Ranveer bit his lip.
"What good is any life without her?" asked Ranveer softly, his body wracking with sobs now.
"Promise me, Ranveer. You owe a dying man that much," pressed Harshad strongly and Ranveer gave his mentor an agonized look.
"I promise..."
"The more you hold on to it, the more it will make you bleed. You cannot go on like this..." mumbled Harshad as he shut his eyes again. Ranveer felt his heart beat irregularly as the comprehension of what was about to happen dawned upon him, feeling himself shiver.
"All my life... I wanted to become something so that I could ask her hand for marriage... So that I could be her equal... I... I'd foolishly come to believe that she loved me too... And now I..."
"No one regrets what happened more than I do... Will you listen to me, Ranveer?" asked Harshad suddenly as his eyes snapped open again. Ranveer nodded his head for the third time.
"What is it?"
"Go away as far away from here... You can never truly become the man... I want you to become if you are going to... live over here with Ishaani around you all the time. Go- go away from here and settle down in Sydney. Make a life for yourself. Work hard, and make... make me proud. I'll be watching over upon you..." whispered Harshad softly, a painful smile on his face.
Ranveer shook his head in refusal. Harshad gave him a stern look that quickly changed into one of being grief-stricken as the pain shot through his chest, the cue for the final call taken by both of them. And emotions no longer knew any restraint with the way they cried openly, as though their lives depended upon each other. Ranveer hugged his mentor's shoulder once again, pleading futilely.
"Please don't go... please... I... please..."
"Ranveer, promise me one last thing," wheezed the dying man as Ranveer looked up at the now eerily relaxing features of Harshad Parekh, his heart squelching painfully with the knowledge of what was about to happen.
"What?" whispered Ranveer hoarsely as Harshad's hand blindly found his face and cupped it, his eyes half-shut.
"Do me one last honour by cremating me... You've been an extraordinary son whose love and loyalty I'll never be able to repay..."
"God, no!"
Ranveer's eyes flew open, the room spinning around dangerously. He took in irregular gulps of breath as the vision of Harshad Parekh's lifeless face from moments later remained burned across the lids of his eyes, the image refusing to leave his mind. He realized that his face was sweaty and clammy while he had tear tracks upon his face. His head hurt terribly.
Realizing that the glass was still in his hand, he took the last remainder of the whiskey from it, praying that it would wash away the stagnant image. He shut his eyes as he felt the same excruciating pain in his heart, his mind no longer in control of his dangerously crippled emotions. It had been the first blow, a blow that had sapped him of his Mota Babuji. But what had transpired after that on the other fateful night...
No! I won't think about that day, he screamed at himself mentally. I won't. I-
Ranveer didn't realize when darkness claimed him as its own, the glass falling from his limp hand with a shattering explosion on the floor. The noise reverberated around the house, breaking the night's silence for all except Ranveer, who had finally succumbed to an unconscious sleep.
-x-
Ranveer opened his eyes, the darkness of the room impenetrable. His head felt like it would explode as he propped himself upon the bed, wondering where he was. It took him considerate amount of time to realize that it was his parents' house. Rubbing his temples, he opened his eyes and let himself get adjusted to the darkness of the room until he could finally decipher things.
Looking at the digital clock on the bedside table, he gasped as he saw the date. 1:15AM, 3rd October. He'd slept through the entire day and night combined. To verify the fact, he could feel his stomach rumbling yet an uneasiness that he usually felt when he drank more than he could take. He took in a deep breath, trying to curb the nausea that now threatened to take over his senses as he looked beside and saw a note that he had missed before.
Opening it, he smiled as he saw his friend's familiar handwriting.
Nobody's waking you up since you need the sleep. Once you get up, have the medicine that your Mum has kept near the glass of water and have the food that she has laid down for you in the kitchen.
Finch
They must have assumed that he'd get up by noon. He'd woken up straight a day later. Somehow, his senses felt extremely sharp by the intense amount to sleep. The moment he felt a little better, he quickly plucked a tablet out from the strip and gulped it down with the water, his head now throbbing dully. Taking in a deep breath, he got up from the bed with utmost care, making sure not to do it too quickly.
Heaving a sigh of relief at the fact that he was stable on his feet, he quickly refreshed himself before making his way to the kitchen where a helper was awake, in wait of him. He stood up quickly at his presence just as Ranveer entered the dining room, eyes scanning to see whether the tray still remained on the table or no. He gave the helper a guilty look as he remembered the old times when he would remain up at odd hours waiting for his Mota Babuji to return so that he could serve him his late night snacks.
How times had changed.
He quickly excused the helper and apologized for being the reason he had to be up so late. The helper gave him a sheepish smile as Ranveer slipped him a 500-rupee note, the helper taken aback by the gesture. He looked hesitant as Ranveer made him accept the money firmly, before giving him a pat on the shoulder. The helper brought him his food and waited patiently for Ranveer to finish until he could clear everything up and shut the kitchen for the night.
Ranveer returned to his room half an hour later, his stomach now full. He noticed that his mother had already unpacked his suitcase, his clothes finding its way neatly into the armoire while his work files remained stacked on the table just the way he liked it. Ranveer sat upon the table and went through them quickly, making sure that the details were up to date and had no errors in them.
Scrutinizing them to his satisfaction, he kept the files in his drawer and sat idly. The band upon his finger sparked softly underneath the gentle light of the night lamp on the table. He removed the band from his finger and stared at the inscription 'Always Together' around the band, their initials engraved under the ring. RI.
Overwhelmed by the stack of memories the ring brought back to him, he quickly wore it upon his finger, his eyes now searching for the bundle of diaries that he had brought along. He found them in the second drawer, heaving a sigh of relief. He could see several photos popping out from them haphazardly, marking pictorial memories about the incidents of several random days. He had no solace anymore; he only had the souvenirs from those long-lost memories.
Selecting one from it, he quickly walked back to his bed and switched on the lamp beside him, the room immediately bathed with the yellow light. He opened the first page of the diary, smiling in nostalgia. This year had been a very eventful one, and a certainly interesting one to remember.
-x-
Nearly three hundred kilometers away, Ishaani sat upon her bed tiredly, eyeing the painting in front of her. Turning her face away from it in loathing, she opened the door to the life of her 16-year old self, smiling painfully. Her mind recollected several memories from that year as she flipped through a few pages randomly until she found what she was looking for.
Another phase of their life had begun.
Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D
Next chapter:
Epistle 41
Edited by LadyMeringue - 8 years ago
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Book Talk
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
