Aastha knew Shlok wanted her to be there as he shared his story. She was eager to know more...
There was silence for a moment as both stood side by side. Though Shlok didn't look at Aastha, he could feel her presence beside him. He knew she was here for him. She was here to listen to what he wanted to tell her.
"Swati's dad, Shyam Uncle was Baba's business partner. Their fathers started this company together 50 years ago and see where it is now!" Shlok's wet eyes gleamed with pride as he spoke.
Aastha smiled in acknowledgement. She could imagine all the efforts these friends might have had put in to build an empire as it was now - The A-J Group of Industries. It was named after the creators - Agnihotri and Jagtap.
Shlok heard Aastha take in a deep breath, his eyes looking past the trees in front surrounded by darkness.
"Swati and I know each other since we were born... Our fathers had taken over the business from out grandfathers by then..." he said, breaking the silence.
Silence? Not really! They could hear the rustling of leaves as the branches of trees swayed with the wind. The cry of insects continued as Shlok paused for a while to recollect what all had happened. His face became grim as he continued, "It was some 28 years ago that marked a black phase for our company. Many frauds were revealed, the company was in the black list for the scams that came out into limelight..."
Shlok's eyes spoke of how horrifying days those were. Aastha looked at him to see his restlessness.
"Though I wasn't born then, I have seen it through my parents' eyes. Baba was devastated. The company was into loss. The clients broke all the ties. Baba suspected that all this was done by someone from inside the company. Shyam Uncle too agreed and the police began the investigation"
Aastha was lost into the story Shlok was narrating. She was waiting for more, she wanted to know who had brought such bad days to the company. But Shlok was lost into his own thoughts, may be thinking of it. He was silently staring into the empty air but Aastha could read his mind through his eyes. She could see his mind racing through numerous thoughts. She waited for a while, giving Shlok's mind some time to settle down. But she couldn't wait any longer. She was curious to know the further story. Before she could ask for more, Shlok resumed the narration.
"Three people have been murdered till now. The investigation is still going on... Every time we used to think that we were close to getting hold of the culprit, the link was broken by the murder of the person who we thought would be the key to reaching that devil behind all this"
Aastha was horrified to hear this. Three murders? She missed a beat, her body shivered and her hands turned cold. Investigation still going on? For all these years? She couldn't imagine what everyone must have gone through, especially the Agnihotris and the Jagtaps.
As if Shlok heard Aastha's unasked questions, he spoke further, "It was very tough... Facing all this... facing the world. The constant taunts, the inquiry, the questions thrown at us by the media... Our innocent employees had their pleading eyes set upon us in the hope that everything would be fine one day. People were being murdered fearlessly despite the police investigation going on. All this was too much to bear" Shlok's eyes were wet, his throat dry. "Baba was fed up... The pressure and tension was rising. Thought the company's position improved a lot, thought we gained back the lost trust and respect over the years, there was this unknown guilt. How could someone, our own someone, cheat us? Baba felt hurt whenever he thought about it. He felt like being stabbed in the back by someone close" Shlok's voice cracked. He swallowed to wet his throat to ease speaking.
Aastha wanted to comfort Shlok. She couldn't see him in pain. She never knew all this. Shlok never told her. He just used to say that there were some problems going on and would be solved soon. But never did he let Aastha know the seriousness of the issue. Before Aastha could come out of her thoughts, she heard Shlok's voice.
"Baba was under tremendous pressure, so much that he began facing health issues" A tear escaped Shlok's eye which he quickly wiped off. "We were worried for him. Aai too was very tensed but she never showed it thinking of Baba. I always feel so helpless at such situations. I just want to take away their pain, I want to see them get rid of their tensions. But I can do nothing..." Another tear flowed down his cheek. "Nothing at all..." he whispered.
Aastha's eyes watered seeing Shlok's condition. She placed her hand on his that rested on the railing as he kept staring into the darkness at a distance. Wiping off the tear, he sniffed before he continued. "Shyam Uncle too was badly affected by all this. Unable to bear more pressure, he and Swati went to London for a change two years ago"
Hearing Swati's name, Aastha instantly withdrew her hand away from Shlok's. Shlok looked at her in surprise. He could feel his hand empty... as if the soft, warm, protective sheath was suddenly taken off him and he was left there all alone to face the cruel world. Aastha chose not to look at him as she could feel his intense gaze on her. Shlok could very well understand the reason behind Aastha's action.
"I don't like her!" he blurted out at once. Aastha looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to say this. "Trust me... I don't like her..." he repeated. "I mean, not in that way..."
"Do you hate her?"
"What?!" exclaimed Shlok confused by Aastha's question.
"Do you hate her?" repeated Aastha stressing every word.
Shlok had not expected her to ask this. "Why would I hate her?" he said.
"Well then... That's enough, isn't it?" said Aastha to Shlok's surprise.
Shlok knew Aastha was hurt. But he was bound by his father's word, and he hated it the most at the moment. Aastha let out a helpless sigh, carefully controlling the tears in her eyes with great effort, and looked away from Shlok... back to staring at the reflection of the night sky in the pool water.
"I never thought of her in that sense..." Shlok tried to explain. "She was just a friend always..." he said, "Not even a friend, actually... Just that I knew her..."
Aastha remained silent. Her eyes filled with tears as pain gripped her heart. She somehow managed not to break down. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she said, "You never spoke of her... not even once... not even after your marriage was fixed with her"
"Because she never meant anything to me!"
"But now she does..." replied Aastha.
There was silence again. Aastha did not want to cry... not now... she didn't want to feel weak, not in front of Shlok.
Shlok had nothing to say in his defense. He had lost to his destiny.
After a few moments of unspoken words, Shlok spoke in a low voice. "It was two years ago when another guy was murdered. It was the third murder related to this case. The investigation tightened. There was immense tension and pressure. We were being questioned. That's when Shyam Uncle suffered from a mild heart attack. The doctors said that it wasn't good for his weak health to face all this. As I said earlier, he and Swati went to London for a change so that his health would improve. But the investigation took a different turn and things worsened. Shyam Uncle's health weakened due to tensions and he was admitted to some hospital in London. Thankfully Swati's Aunt, who is settled in London, was there with them. Before we could understand anything, Shyam Uncle suddenly passed away due to a severe heart attack. He had called Baba a day before. He could feel he was dying. Baba was very disturbed listening to his pale voice over the phone. He could feel Uncle's pain. And that's when Uncle expressed his wish that I should marry Swati. She had lost her mom at a very young age. Her father was her only close relative. Uncle knew she would be well taken care of if she would be with us. He expressed his wish about our marriage. How could Baba deny a dying man? Baba promised uncle that his wish would be fulfilled... And the next day we got the news that Shyam uncle passed away"
Aastha was shocked to know this. She didn't blame anyone but her fate. She felt bad for Swati. She knew what it was to lose parents. Two years ago she too had lost her dear mother. And her father... He never was the same after that accident. He was close to her, yet so far. Aastha had no hatred towards Swati now, just sympathy.
Shlok was silent. Aastha knew what he was going through. "Some things can't be changed..." she said gently, "Whatever happened was to happen... We must accept it... and move on" she said not only for Shlok but for her as well.
"Move on?"
"Hmm"
"Would we be able to? After all that has happened?" asked Shlok, not ready to let Aastha go away from him.
"We will have to... That's what we are destined to... Part ways..." she said sadly.
"I wish we could change it..."
"I wish..."
Just then Anjali came there looking for Aastha to call her for dinner. She was surprised to see Shlok with Aastha.
"Shlok? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We were just..." Shlok didn't know what to say.
"Enjoying the breeze" Aastha quickly completed Shlok's sentence.
Anjali thought for a moment, not understanding what exactly was going on. She then just ignored her thought. "Okay, come for dinner both of you..." she said with a smile and went away.
Aastha glanced at Shlok and began walking ahead. Shlok followed. As they walked past Varad's room, Varad called out to them. "Shlok! Aastha! Will you please come here for a moment?"
Shlok and Aastha exchanged glances knowing not why Varad called them. They went in. Varad showed them some missed calls on his phone from an unknown number. And then he showed them a text message he had just received. Aastha and Shlok's eyes widened in shock after reading the message.
Edited by ..optimist.. - 9 years ago
