Posted:
My new story. This is dedicated to Maria (Valar.Morghulis) who has shown us with absolute perfection that we can think beyond just a love story on our favourite couple Rishabh-Madhubala. I will try my best to do justice to the concept, and hope my readers will enjoy it.
Crossroads
Prologue
30 October 2015
There was darkness all around her. Only some scratching sounds coming from afar. Her back was pressed against the wall; with abated breath she tightened her grip around the gun in her hand. Then very carefully she put her step forward towards the source of the scratching sound. As she stepped in the dark corridor a ray of light pierced through the darkness and suddenly with a bright flash she was surrounded with tall Eucalyptus trees, and the hard flooring below her feet gave way to stretches of soft white sands. She looked at her gun and it was gone. She could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the sands. She started running towards the vast open sea which was visible to her now. She squealed with excitement as the little waves crashed on her feet and the white foam stayed on even when the waves retreated. Suddenly she started sinking in the sands. And a lightning struck high up in the sky. A heavy downpour started, each raindrop hitting her skin hard. She wanted to cry out for help but her voice was choked and she struggled for breath. In a moment everything around her became black. Was she dead? She kept on thinking when a beeping sound awakened her from the darkness around her. She found herself lying on a bed in a sterile room, very much like a hospital. She looked around for people. Then she noticed a small band tied around her right wrist. It read Female, 34 yrs'.
"I am not 34! Why does this say I am 34?"
She was glad to hear her own voice for the first time. She called out again and a sombre looking nurse came to her and looked at her intently.
"Why are you shouting?"
"I said I am not 34 years. This is wrong," she said and pointed at the wrist band.
"We cannot keep your actual identity in our records. This is how we do it," replied the nurse with a snort and turned back.
"Why am I here? Why can't she keep my true identity?"
She started hyperventilating as the air around her seemed to be sucked out in vacuum.
"Wait! Wait for me please! Don't leave me here, please!"
Madhu woke up with a start. She felt sweat all over her face and neck. She breathed in deeply to calm her erratic breath. She had not had this dream for quite some time, but it seemed to have found its way back in her subconscious mind.
She picked the bottle of water on her bedside table and had a large swig from it. After a couple of minutes more she looked at the alarm clock on the right. It was 7.30 in the morning, way past her usual waking time. She must have been tired from her long journey the night before to have overslept like this. She left the bed and went to the bathroom for freshening up.
After finishing her breakfast, Madhu walked up to the hotel reception and asked for a taxi.
"Where to madam?" asked the taxi driver.
"Rashtrapati Bhawan."
The driver looked at her with reverence and started the engine.
The traffic on the roads of New Delhi was not as crazy as it is usually. It did not take more than 45 minutes to reach her destination. As she paid the taxi and walked up to the main entrance, the heavily armed guards stopped her and asked for her identity and her purpose of visit.
"Madhubala Bose. I have come to attend the felicitation of Mr. Shamsher Malik, Indian Intelligence Chief," replied Madhu and showed her invitation letter.
"May I see your I-card please?"
Madhu pulled out her I-card and the guard read it aloud while jotting down the details.
"Madhubala Bose, Interpol."
Madhu smiled a little as she was handed back her I-card and she walked inside escorted by another guard.
She was led through the ornate corridors into a large ballroom where the function was being held. As she entered, she noticed a gathering of about 50-60 people, most of them known faces. She approached the group of people closest to her.
"Hey Madhu! What a pleasure to see you here!" called out Mukund and extended his hand.
"Hey Mukund! It is indeed a long time since the last time we saw each other. How are you? How is your family doing?"
"I am fine, and family is good too. Thanks for remembering! Have you met the other guys from our batch?"
"No, I just arrived."
"Oh! I guess you will find Sultan and Rishabh at the other end of the room, talking to Shamsher Sir."
"Oh ok. I will go and find them," said Madhu and took her leave politely.
She walked slowly towards the way she was indicated, and could feel her heart beating faster. She had prepared herself in the last few weeks, as she knew this was inevitable. She knew she would have to face him if she accepted the invitation for the function today. Yet somewhere in her heart she had the urge to turn her heels and run far away before he noticed her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked ahead to approach Shamsher Malik.
"Congratulations Shamsher Sir! And thank you for the invitation. I feel very honoured!" said Madhu and shook hands with Shamsher.
"I should feel the honour Madhu, to leave behind my prodigies like you, Rishabh and Sultan!" exclaimed Shamsher and patted her on the back.
Rishabh and Sultan turned to see her and smiled at her in acknowledgement.
"I am so happy today! I am retiring from the most rewarding career, being awarded the most prestigious felicitation by the President of India and my brightest students are all with me. I could not have asked for more!" said Shamsher.
It was announced that The President was arriving and all the guests should take their respective seats.
"Come Madhu, our table is this way," said Sultan and pulled out a chair for her.
Taking her seat she looked around and saw Rishabh taking his seat in the same table opposite her. Their eyes met for a moment and Madhu looked away from him. He looked unusually calm and composed, must have grown with age. Madhu took another deep breath to calm her jittery mind and appear as much at ease as possible. Sultan took his seat beside Madhu and the function started.
After the felicitation ceremony was over, the guests were led to the dining hall where a sumptuous buffet was being served. Madhu joined some other girls from her batch for the lunch, Rishabh and Sultan stayed on their own.
"Why are you not talking to her, Rishabh?" asked Sultan.
"She did not talk to me either. And how do I know, if she wants to talk to me at all!" replied Rishabh with nonchalance and continued eating.
Sultan stared at him and then sighed while nodding his head slightly.
"What?" asked Rishabh seeing his reaction.
"Nothing. I was just thinking of our training days."
"Oh! Mayabono biharini horini*?" asked Rishabh with a slight smirk.
"You still remember that?"
"How can I forget that? That is the truth of my life," replied Rishabh absent-mindedly and looked at Madhu sitting with her friends and smiling with them.
Sultan looked at both of them behaving this strangely to each other and sighed. He hoped things would turn normal again someday.
*Mayabono biharini horini is a Rabindranath Tagore's song in Bengali, which means "the wandering doe of the mystic jungle".
Index
Chap1: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/133688932
Chap2: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/133851147
Crossroads
Prologue
30 October 2015
There was darkness all around her. Only some scratching sounds coming from afar. Her back was pressed against the wall; with abated breath she tightened her grip around the gun in her hand. Then very carefully she put her step forward towards the source of the scratching sound. As she stepped in the dark corridor a ray of light pierced through the darkness and suddenly with a bright flash she was surrounded with tall Eucalyptus trees, and the hard flooring below her feet gave way to stretches of soft white sands. She looked at her gun and it was gone. She could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the sands. She started running towards the vast open sea which was visible to her now. She squealed with excitement as the little waves crashed on her feet and the white foam stayed on even when the waves retreated. Suddenly she started sinking in the sands. And a lightning struck high up in the sky. A heavy downpour started, each raindrop hitting her skin hard. She wanted to cry out for help but her voice was choked and she struggled for breath. In a moment everything around her became black. Was she dead? She kept on thinking when a beeping sound awakened her from the darkness around her. She found herself lying on a bed in a sterile room, very much like a hospital. She looked around for people. Then she noticed a small band tied around her right wrist. It read Female, 34 yrs'.
"I am not 34! Why does this say I am 34?"
She was glad to hear her own voice for the first time. She called out again and a sombre looking nurse came to her and looked at her intently.
"Why are you shouting?"
"I said I am not 34 years. This is wrong," she said and pointed at the wrist band.
"We cannot keep your actual identity in our records. This is how we do it," replied the nurse with a snort and turned back.
"Why am I here? Why can't she keep my true identity?"
She started hyperventilating as the air around her seemed to be sucked out in vacuum.
"Wait! Wait for me please! Don't leave me here, please!"
Madhu woke up with a start. She felt sweat all over her face and neck. She breathed in deeply to calm her erratic breath. She had not had this dream for quite some time, but it seemed to have found its way back in her subconscious mind.
She picked the bottle of water on her bedside table and had a large swig from it. After a couple of minutes more she looked at the alarm clock on the right. It was 7.30 in the morning, way past her usual waking time. She must have been tired from her long journey the night before to have overslept like this. She left the bed and went to the bathroom for freshening up.
After finishing her breakfast, Madhu walked up to the hotel reception and asked for a taxi.
"Where to madam?" asked the taxi driver.
"Rashtrapati Bhawan."
The driver looked at her with reverence and started the engine.
The traffic on the roads of New Delhi was not as crazy as it is usually. It did not take more than 45 minutes to reach her destination. As she paid the taxi and walked up to the main entrance, the heavily armed guards stopped her and asked for her identity and her purpose of visit.
"Madhubala Bose. I have come to attend the felicitation of Mr. Shamsher Malik, Indian Intelligence Chief," replied Madhu and showed her invitation letter.
"May I see your I-card please?"
Madhu pulled out her I-card and the guard read it aloud while jotting down the details.
"Madhubala Bose, Interpol."
Madhu smiled a little as she was handed back her I-card and she walked inside escorted by another guard.
She was led through the ornate corridors into a large ballroom where the function was being held. As she entered, she noticed a gathering of about 50-60 people, most of them known faces. She approached the group of people closest to her.
"Hey Madhu! What a pleasure to see you here!" called out Mukund and extended his hand.
"Hey Mukund! It is indeed a long time since the last time we saw each other. How are you? How is your family doing?"
"I am fine, and family is good too. Thanks for remembering! Have you met the other guys from our batch?"
"No, I just arrived."
"Oh! I guess you will find Sultan and Rishabh at the other end of the room, talking to Shamsher Sir."
"Oh ok. I will go and find them," said Madhu and took her leave politely.
She walked slowly towards the way she was indicated, and could feel her heart beating faster. She had prepared herself in the last few weeks, as she knew this was inevitable. She knew she would have to face him if she accepted the invitation for the function today. Yet somewhere in her heart she had the urge to turn her heels and run far away before he noticed her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked ahead to approach Shamsher Malik.
"Congratulations Shamsher Sir! And thank you for the invitation. I feel very honoured!" said Madhu and shook hands with Shamsher.
"I should feel the honour Madhu, to leave behind my prodigies like you, Rishabh and Sultan!" exclaimed Shamsher and patted her on the back.
Rishabh and Sultan turned to see her and smiled at her in acknowledgement.
"I am so happy today! I am retiring from the most rewarding career, being awarded the most prestigious felicitation by the President of India and my brightest students are all with me. I could not have asked for more!" said Shamsher.
It was announced that The President was arriving and all the guests should take their respective seats.
"Come Madhu, our table is this way," said Sultan and pulled out a chair for her.
Taking her seat she looked around and saw Rishabh taking his seat in the same table opposite her. Their eyes met for a moment and Madhu looked away from him. He looked unusually calm and composed, must have grown with age. Madhu took another deep breath to calm her jittery mind and appear as much at ease as possible. Sultan took his seat beside Madhu and the function started.
After the felicitation ceremony was over, the guests were led to the dining hall where a sumptuous buffet was being served. Madhu joined some other girls from her batch for the lunch, Rishabh and Sultan stayed on their own.
"Why are you not talking to her, Rishabh?" asked Sultan.
"She did not talk to me either. And how do I know, if she wants to talk to me at all!" replied Rishabh with nonchalance and continued eating.
Sultan stared at him and then sighed while nodding his head slightly.
"What?" asked Rishabh seeing his reaction.
"Nothing. I was just thinking of our training days."
"Oh! Mayabono biharini horini*?" asked Rishabh with a slight smirk.
"You still remember that?"
"How can I forget that? That is the truth of my life," replied Rishabh absent-mindedly and looked at Madhu sitting with her friends and smiling with them.
Sultan looked at both of them behaving this strangely to each other and sighed. He hoped things would turn normal again someday.
*Mayabono biharini horini is a Rabindranath Tagore's song in Bengali, which means "the wandering doe of the mystic jungle".
Index
Chap1: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/133688932
Chap2: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/133851147
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
