AkDha SS ~Bonds Of Hearts~ Part 3 Pg. 60 - Page 43

Bonds Of Hearts : Part 3

While Jai set off back towards the camping site, Jalal moved towards the north, the direction in which the sound had originated.

The forest was a dense one, and it was difficult to guess which path led to which direction.

After a long search, finally he spotted a girl of his age walking over to the other side. He couldn't see her face, as she had her back to him.

Jalal was pretty sure he had heard a shriek from somewhere around here. But this girl did not seem to be in the slightest danger, nor did he see anyone else around.

He thought maybe she knew something about what exactly was going on here. He moved towards her, thinking to ask her about it.

He almost ran to catch up with her, and just then, she suddenly turned back, making both of them shout almost together.

"Tum?!!!" (You?!!)

Before Jalal could get a chance to react to this unexpected encounter, Jo began. " Tum yahaan bhi chale aaye? Kuchh kaam nahi hai kya? Dekho toh...tumhari wajah se hum uss khargosh ko bhi nahi pakad paaye..." (You came here also? Don't have any work or what? Because of you I wasn't able to catch my rabbit...)

And she looked to the other side with visible disappointment on not being able to catch the animal.

Jalal was appalled at this girl's words. Before she could begin with some other nonsense, he quickly said, " Humein koi shauk nahi hai yahaan aane ka...tum hi toh chillaa rahi thi...Huh..." ( I have no interest in meeting you.. It was you who was shouting on the top of your voice...huh...)

She quickly turned her eyes to him..." Toh... chillaa hi toh rahe the na? Tumhe thodi na bulaya tha humne..." ( So what? I was shouting right?... but I never called you...)

"Ya Allah... tum toh poori hi paagal ho..." Jalal thought it was best not to argue with this insane girl anymore. ( Oh God! You are totally mad...)

He turned to leave.

But Jodha was never in a mood to close any discussion. She promptly replied, " Aur tum bhi...huh..." ( And you too...huh! )

And without further ado, she turned to the other side.

Now both were walking in opposite directions, none of them sure about it.

All of a sudden, Jalal stopped in his tracks. A sudden thought had crossed his mind, and it made him turn back to the direction towards which Jo had just started moving.

He called out to her, " Arrey tum, Suno..." ( Hey You! Listen...)

She hadn't gone much farther, and Jalal's loud shout was more than audible to her. She quickly turned around, stared at Jalal for a moment, made a face, and then said, " Ab kya hua." (What happened now?)

Her response was a bit irksome, but Jalal decided to brush it off. He calmly stated, " Tum galat disha mein ja rahi ho, gurukul toh iss taraf hai shayad.." ( You are going in the wrong direction.Gurukul is in this direction most probably...) Jalal pointed towards the north.

Jodha herself now didn't know where exactly the gurukul was. She thought maybe it was best to listen to what Jalal tells, most probably he knows the way better than she did.

To Jalal, she seemed shocked and lost at the same time. He could hardly prevent laughing at her sight.

She was back again to her angry avatar with Jalal's giggles. " Tumhein badi hasi aa rhi hai?" ( Aren't you laughing too much?)

It was now Jalal's time to enjoy. "Toh hasi toh aayegi hi na tumhein dekh kar..." ( Anybody would laugh seeing you...) His joyous laughter was a sight to behold, but not so for Jodha.

She quickly strode to where Jalal was standing. She pointed her index finger to him, almost touching his pointed nose. " Swayam ko dekha hai kabhi? Ekdum khargosh jaisa mukh hai... Aur bade aaye hum par hasne waale...huh..." ( Have you ever seen yourself? You have a rabbit face, and laughing on me!!! Huh...)

And the peacock proud look adorned the little Rajkumari's face.

Jodha had expected Jalal to get angry or irritated at this statement of hers. But Jalal being Jalal, simply laughed at this, much to Jodha's surprise.

"Khargosh toh fir bhi pyaare hote hain...tum toh ekdum billi jaisi dikhti ho... aur who bhi aisi vaisi nahi...bilkul kaali billi..." ( Rabbits are cute at least, but you look like a cat, and a black one at that.)

Happiness is contagious, it always is. No exception here too. Jodha being Jodha, wanted to reply to this statement of Jalal too, like she had being doing since always, but she couldn't. One reason was she couldn't think of some strange animal to compare Jalal with, but she didn't reply mostly because she was busy - busy laughing with Jalal.

After both of them were finally done with their laughter attack, they finally stopped, looked at each other again, before another wave of laughter took over them.

Jalal was the first one this time to get back to reality. " Tumhe kya lagta hai? Gurukul isi taraf hai na?" He pointed towards the north, still unsure. ( What do you think? Gurukul is this way right?)

Jodha had been sitting down in the shade of a nearby tree. She looked up at him after his query, and replied..." Tum sach mein khargosh jaise dikhte ho..." ( You really look like a rabbit...) And the little kiddo started laughing again.

"Haan tum bhi sach mein kaali billi hi lagti ho..samjhi? Ab ye sab chhodo aur humare sawaal ka jawaab do..." ( And you too look like a black cat okay? Now leave all this and answer my question. ) The feeling of something being wrong took over the sense of enjoyment for Jalal.

Jodha got up quickly sensing that Jalal was not joking this time. She had been relying on his for the way back to the gurukul, and here he was, as confused as her.

"Kya? Tumhe raasta nahi pata?" ( What? Don't you know the way back? ) She looked at him, her tone a mix of shock and hidden fear.

"Nahi... hum iss jungle mein pehle nhi aaye hain... who toh tumhare chillaane ki wajah se aana pada..." ( No. I have never been to this forest before. Had to come today because of you...) He gave a look to her.

"Arrey...fir wahi... kisne kaha tha tumse itni bhalaai karne ko? Ab ho gayi na musibat..." ( You started again? Who told you to be so helpful? Now see, you yourself got into trouble...) She said sarcastically.

This irritated Jalal a lot. " Toh tumse kisne kaha tha apni sureeli aawaaz mein chillaane ko? Yahaan kya pashu- pakshiyon ko geet suna rahi thi?" ( And who told you to shout in your melodious voice? Were you singing to the animals and birds here? ) And Jalal started laughing again.

"Haan suna rahe the geet...tumse kya matlab?" ( Yes I was...what's your problem? )And she made a pouty face, all red in anger.

Jalal couldn't help but laugh at her antics. " Tum sach mein kaali billi hi ho..." ( You are really are a black cat...)

Jodha glared at him angrily, but her reply wasn't that hot. " Ye sab chhodo, aur ye socho ki ab hum kya karein?" ( Leave all this, and think about what should we do...)

Jalal was glad to know that this girl also talked some sense at times. He smiled at that, and said, " Karna kya hai? Chalo dakshin disha mein chalna shuru karte hain kyunki hum uttar disha mein aaye the...yahaan baithe bhi toh nahi reh sakte na..." ( What has to be done? Let's start moving towards south, since I had been following the north direction. We can't waste our time sitting here.)

Jodha agreed with him, mostly because she didn't have a choice at this moment. " Haan theek hai. " ( Okay done. )

There wasn't any sort of path made in the dense forest. Therefore, it was touch to move in between bunches of bushes and shrubs, especially for Jo. Her lehanga would get tangled in some thorn or bush almost every minute, and it fell over Jalal to help her out.

After a journey of more than an hour, both of them extremely exhausted. Fortunately, a small clearing was visible ahead, and they rushed over to the spot, securing for themselves a sitting under a big, shady tree.

"Hum toh bohot thak gye hain... ab humse aur nahi chala jayega..." ( I am really very tired, can't walk more. ) said a visibly exhausted Jodha. She closed her eyes , leaning on the tree trunk, trying to regain all the lost energy.

Jalal was no less tired. He to sat beside her, eyes closed.

Suddenly Jodha jumped up from her place, seeming all charged up.

Jalal opened his eyes with the sudden noise. He too got up, seeing the much anxious Jodha.

"Kya hua? Cheetiyaan hain kya yahaan?" ( What happened? Are there ants under the tree?) He laughed mildly at her.

Jodha was already exhausted, and fun at this moment was annoying to her. " Tumhe abhi bhi uphaas soojh raha hai? Humein toh bohot bhookh lagi hai... hum kuchh khaane ja rahe hain..." ( You are still thinking about fun? I am very hungry, going to get some food...)

Jalal started laughing again. " Ye aapka ghar nahi hai Billi Ji... ye jungle hai, yahaan khana aapke liye taiyaar nahi hai..." ( This isn't your home black cat, nothing is ready for you here...)

"Humein pta hai. Par shayad kuchh fal hi mil jayein..." ( I know. I may get some fruits at least. )Jodha was in no mood to get involved in frolic here.

Jalal sensed the frustration in her voice. He said, " Accha tum ruko, hum dekhte hain..." ( Okay, you wait here only, let me see. )

"Nhi tum toh rehne hi do... kahin fal lekar bhaag gye toh?" ( No, you leave it. What if you run away with the fruits? ) She looked straight into his eyes.

Jalal laughed at her expressions. " Kitna darti ho tum... fikr na kro, hum tumhe chodh ke kahin nahi jayenge..." ( You are sooo scared. Don't worry, I won't leave you here...) The chuckling Jalal did not seem tired from any angle.

Jodha was hell irritated with this reply of Jalal. " Tum chup raho. Hum kisi se nahi darte, samjhe tum? Aur tumhein jahaan jaana hai jao...bass humare fal humein dete jaana..." ( Shut up, okay. I am not afraid of anyone, got it? You can go anywhere you want to, just not with my food. ) And she turned to the other side.

Jalal was about to respond, when she suddenly started shouting, " Arrey who dekho, wahaan par ek aam ka vriksha hai... chalo jaldi aao.." ( There, see there is a mango tree. Come, let's go. ) She started running towards, with Jalal following her.

A single ripe mango fruit hung to the highest branch of the tree. The rest were either still unripe, or spoiled by the birds around. But the single fruit was large enough to satisfy little kids for sometime at least.

Jodha stood beside the tree, staring at the fruit with hunger filled in her innocent eyes. Jalal got there after her, and followed her gaze up towards the fruit.

He chuckled at her situation. " Ab kya aankhon se hi khaogi use? Chalo hilaao iss ped ko..." ( Are you planning to eat it with your eyes or what? Shake the three's trunk. )

Both of them used both their tiny hands on the trunk of the tree, with all the strength they had. But the fruit seemed to be in no mood to leave it's home.

Jalal saw that Jodha was quite exhausted, and not in a mood to do anything now. But he knew exactly what should be done to get her going.

"Arrey kaali billi, ye kya kar rhi ho tum? Taaqat nahi hai kya bilkul bhi? "( What's this black cat? Don't you have even a bit of strength in you?) His taunting expressions filled Jodha with all the energy she required.

"Tum apni taaqat dekho...humein mat sikhaao..." ( You see yourself first, and don't try teaching me...) And she doubled the amount of force exerted by her on the tree.

With the constant shaking of two little devils, the fruit finally gave in. It fell right beside Jodha, who quickly picked it up.

The joy in the eyes of the little kiddos was immense.

"Chalo, wahin chalte hain, uss vriksh ki chhaya mein..." ( Let's go to our initial place in the shade. ) She said to Jalal, all the while smiling broadly, with not a single sign of anger around.

Jalal said nothing, only followed her to the tree.

While walking, he looked back again at the large mango tree. He was as hungry as she was... his eyes too had hunger in them. But somehow, it didn't seem right to him to ask Jo for the single mango, especially after he knew how eager she was to have it.

Not bothered a bit about Jalal, Jodha took her place under the tree. She peeled the Mango carefully, and using her personal royal khanjar, cut a piece of it. She was about to take it to her mouth, when she abruptly stopped.

She turned her gaze to Jalal, who was looking straight at the piece in her hand. Seeing Jo watching, he quickly looked down.

...

Children are God's incarnations on the earth. They are little bundles of innocence, who know nothing but to spread joy around.

...

Jodha slowly took the Mango piece towards Jalal, who was still looking down. " Tumhein bhi toh bhookh lagi hogi na...ye lo..." ( You also are hungry right? Take this...)

Her words made Jalal look up. He hadn't expected this forever angry girl to behave this way. He smiled at her and replied, " Haan lagi toh hai...lekin tumse zyada nahi... tum hi kha lo...waise bhi humein toh kuchh nahi hoga, magar tum zaroor khane ke bina zinda nahi reh paogi..." ( Yep I am, but not more than you. You eat it, as I'll be fine, but you probably won't survive without food...) The smile was now converted to a naughty one, and soon into a chuckle.

Jodha was annoyed with the response to her goodness. But she knew better than to eat alone in front of someone who is equally hungry.

"Ye sab hoshiyaari hum mat dikhao...samjhe? Hum bhi khane ke bina reh skte hain...ye poora aam tum hi kha lo..." ( No tricky answers to me okay? I can also live without food... you eat this entire fruit...) And she moved the entire fruit towards him.

Jalal thought it was no use arguing with her, and it was better to agree.

He moved the fruit again towards her, " Haan haan theek hai, hum dono hi bina khaye reh sakte hain, lekin jab khana saamne hai toh kha hi lete hain na?" ( Okay okay, we can both stay without food. But when we have it in front of us, why not eat it?) He smiled wide at her. " Chalo iske tukde kar do aur fir hum dono aadha aadha kha lenge..." ( You cut it into pieces, and then we'll share it equally.)

Jodha smirked at his statement. " Dekha maan hi gaye na khaane ke liye, hum jaante the..." ( See, you agreed. I knew it...)

"Par hum nahi jaante the ki iss Kaali billi ke andar bhi itna paropkaar chhupa hua hai..." ( But I never knew that this black cat also has a bit of generosity in her...) Jodha joined Jalal in the laughing session that followed this statement of his.

Seconds later, both the tiny kiddos were all into the fruit, the yellow juice smeared all across their little faces. Does anything get cuter?

While greedily digging into the messy Mango, Jalal suddenly looked up at Jodha. "Tumse ek baat pochhein?" ( Can I ask you something? )

She stopped eating at his question, looked up at him all wide-eyed, and nodded her head in a yes.

...

Thanks a ton for reading! 😃