AbhiGya SS~ The Ineluctables - Chapter 2 (Page 5) 22.05.2017 - Page 3

Omg aafrah this is amazing!
As usual your abhigya make more sense than the shows.
Can't wait for next update.

I Am actually new in this forums so I dont know about your earlier stories. But this one is amazing. The anticipation in each line was touching. And all this i was able to imagine. Your story was really hitting the right strings of my heart. And I guess everyones too. It was really amazing. I dont have proper words to praise your beautiful work.

This is so so amazing !!!😊👏 I had tears in my eyes towards the end .. Abhi and Pragya do need a break from each other and sort out their individual lives first

Originally posted by: vlhs12993

Omg aafrah this is amazing!
As usual your abhigya make more sense than the shows.
Can't wait for next update.

Originally posted by: Samrahaisha

I Am actually new in this forums so I dont know about your earlier stories. But this one is amazing. The anticipation in each line was touching. And all this i was able to imagine. Your story was really hitting the right strings of my heart. And I guess everyones too. It was really amazing. I dont have proper words to praise your beautiful work.

Keep the good work and waiting for the destiny to play its next card, or to say in clear words waiting for your update.

Wish the Kumkum Bhagya Writers were as talented as you.

By the way from the other people I came to know you have daughter. Still a bit confused about your family as some said twins recently. Anyways convey my greeting to them. Let them be naughty as this is their innocence period going on. And may all mighty bless you and your family.

Aafrah, my name is Samrah Aisha😉

Originally posted by: firsttimehere

This is so so amazing !!!😊👏 I had tears in my eyes towards the end .. Abhi and Pragya do need a break from each other and sort out their individual lives first

Thank you for writing this .. please do continue soon 😊

Aafraahhh where is the next part?? 😆

Originally posted by: Naina-

Aafraahhh where is the next part?? 😆

Chapter 1 ~ Second Chances

~Seven months later, in Mumbai~

Purab Khanna could never be convinced that he should try a second shot at living happily. How could he? When did he ever have the time to think about himself? Life seemed to pose so many challenges on his best friend and sister-in-law, that he exhausted all his emotions in trying to narrow the gap between them. Now, when Pragya and Abhi and willingly walked away, Purab for the first time felt the loss he had suffered quite some-time back - the loss of his beloved Bulbul. In a way, helping Pragya and Abhi was his coping mechanism of dealing with his personal loss, but now there was no escape. He would have continued to lead a life of misery had his Pragya di not taken it on herself to convince him that even though his Bulbul was far, she would want him to have another go with happiness.

Pragya had a triumphant smile on her face today after she finally selected the kurta Purab was going to wear on his engagement next week. It was a simple dark blue fabric with slight self embroidery on it. It was simple, yet the dark colour was going to help bring out Purab's complexion, she thought. She was contemplating whether she would be able to convince Purab to wear an achkan with it, or would he stubbornly stick to churridar, when her phone rang, it was from her college.

"Hi Mrs. Khanwalkar, no I am not coming from this Wednesday, as I had mentioned before, it's my brother's engagement next week...oh...but...did they confirm? Okay, I suppose I will come on Thursday then. Thank you for the information. I will see you", She hung up with a perplexed expression. This was happening sooner than expected!

Some people have everything in the world, yet happiness eludes them, and some people find happiness even in the smallest of things. Pragya was among the latter, life had given her immense reasons to grieve, but she had always found a small ray of hope that pulled her through. Today her life was a complacent place, it was in order. She had a loving family, she worked as a professor and did what she loved doing, for a living. She was independent, and she had all the necessities in life to lead a comfortable life. She felt that there was one more person who deserved to reach this comfort zone in life. He had suffered as much in his life, yet he didn't speak much about it, his sorrow was overshadowed by hers' continuously - but if she could find happiness, so could Purab - this was thought she had when she approached Purab. Even though it took longer than she anticipated, but life for her had come a full turn, all that wilted, were about to be born again.

***

Abhishek Mehra was a star for as long as he remembered now, he worked hard, he supported causes, he was less lost now. His daadi was proud to see that people couldn't take him for a ride now - he could tell between well wishers and free-riders. He was more responsible now. Though slightly distant, he still took his sister's responsibility, he encouraged her to therapy, and wanted to ensure she went back to be the good person she was raised to be.

His songs topped the music charts, his melody still took the nation for a frenzy, but he was a more private person now - he would finish his recordings and go on long breaks to exotic locations all by himself, sometime he would learn a new instrument there, sometime a new recipe to treat daadi and Purab with, sometimes he even used local tunes to his work. All in all Abhishek Mehra had attained self actualization - the media speculated about his sudden disappearances, but he never bothered to clarify - he was in the dangerous side of independence - a point where nothing matter, a point of solitude.

He had returned from one such trip, when he received a surprising message on his phone.

"Bhai, I am getting engaged next Wednesday. It happened all too quickly. I met her and she reminded me of Bulbul. I know the last time you asked, I had said, I was humouring Pragya di. But I suppose it was destined this way. Please call when you see this."

***

~At the Engagement, at a posh hotel in the suburbs of Mumbai~

"Di!! I told you no achkans!!" argued a flustered Purab, but Pragya and Sarla weren't listening. They were busy arranging all the gifts, flowers, sweets in place, the engagement was due in half an hour, on that the priest was in a hurry!

"Di!!! How do you tie this thing? I told you I want simple stuff nah?" pestered Purab again.

"But I told you we are not listening to you Purab!!" replied back Pragya with a smile.

"Plus you're looking dashing in this bro!!" came a reply from the door. Pragya froze for a moment at the voice before going back to hastily picking up the garlands that were to be taken . Ever since that dinner with Abhi all those months back, they never really interacted much. Agreeably, their lives were so tangled that there was never an absolute cut off, but they weren't particularly in touch.

They met socially - like the last time at Swarni daasi's prayer meet, before that at Rachna and Akash's son Dhruv's third birthday party, they would meet along with family and exchange polities and move on, none too keen to start a conversation. But both Abhi and Pragya knew anything related to Purab wouldn't be so easy - Purab shared the strongest bond with both, they couldn't possibly act cold and make Purab awkward on his special day - he had suffered enough already!

"Arre bhai? This is when you come? Where is my ring?" demanded Purab, as Abhi laughingly hunted it out of his pocket to hand it to him.

"Di, come, see the ring! You haven't seen it nah?" asked Purab.

Pragya, though she was still slightly conscious, she had enough prepared herself for these instances, quietly moved towards them to see it.

"It looks stunning Purab!" she replied softly.

"So do you Pragya!" she heard Abhi reply. She slowly looked up to him, the same crooked smile and twinkling eyes. There was a point when those features would race up her heartbeat. Not so much today. In fact the humour helped, maybe even he was trying?

"Thanks Abhishek! You should have arrived earlier, it's Purab's engagement!!" she replied smiling.

What followed next were the typical ceremonies that precede an engagement, all guests arrived, and as Purab's family, Abhi and Pragya along with their respective families gathered, welcomed, greeted the guests - amongst music, laughter and the usual chaos, the engagement took place, and both Abhi and Pragya sighed in relief, seeing a happy Purab with his fianc.

"What you did for Purab was very thoughtful Pragya." Pragya didn't realize Abhi was beside him while she stood at a far corner watching Purab laugh and jovially talk with his fianc.

"He's family. And he's done far too much for me. Him and Bulbul".

"Bulbul..yes, I heard about her a lot from him. Purab had mentioned she was your sister. I am sorry for your loss Pragya" he replied shortly. Pragya was quiet. Life had hardly given her the time to properly miss her sister so far, but today she remembered her more clearly than usual. Her child-like ways, her obsession to make her jiju reciprocate to her di's feelings, her laughter...

"She was a big fan of yours" replied Pragya softly.

"She was? Er..how was our equation? She was my sister-in-law right? He asked unsure.

"After our marriage, you had slowly gone to become the brother she never had. She adored you Abhishek. In fact, I don't know if you know, but she had laid down her life for us." Pragya replied as she tried hard to not let her voice crack.

"I am so sorry Pragya. I didn't know so much details...See, this is why it's complicated. We have sacrificed too many loved ones for us. It didn't need to be this way, we didn't need to lose her you see.." he whispered.

"I know." She replied quietly before moving from there.

***

~Two weeks later~

Abhi was just out of his recording when his phone rang. He looked into the screen and was surprised to see that he was getting a call from Pragya.

"Hi Pragya, how are you?"

"Hello Abhishek, I know this is sudden, but can we meet today? I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't urgent." She sounded breathless.

"Pragya are you alright?" Abhi asked perplexed.

"Yes, yes. I am alright. But this is urgent, please can you meet me now?"

"Sure, where should I meet you?"

"Can you suggest some cafe? Preferably less crowded? This needs privacy" she sounded tense.

"Sure, let's do something. Tell me where you are, I will come and get you, we shall talk, and then I can drop you back home"

"Sure."

~An hour later, inside the car, parked near a service lane on the Mumbai-Pune highway~

Abhi killed the engine and looked at Pragya.

"You sound tensed Pragya, is everything fine?"

"Yes. Yes, everything is fine, it's just that I needed a small favour." She bit her lip in awkwardness, suddenly feeling she had bothered him too much.

"Abhishek, it's just that, I have been trying to adopt a child for some-time now."

"Oh..but..but.." Abhi stammered. Pragya, if she adopted a child, how would she ever get back the normalcy in life? Going forward how would she get married? Who would accept her with an adopted child? Why did she want to be a single mother anyway?

"But what?" she asked exasperated. These "but" from well wishers irritated her. Why did people think she didn't think this through? Why did she need a man to raise a child? Didn't her own mother not set an example already?

"Pragya, I don't know if it's in my right to say this. But I am concerned about your future. Don't you think, having an adopted child would narrow down your chances at a regular life? I am not against adoption, I just want to hear what are your plans."

She saw the concern in his eyes and softened. No. He wasn't challenging her, he was just concerned.

"I have thought this through Abhishek. I have no intentions to getting married again. My life is perfect, I only feel that I have a lot of love to give, so I want to mother a child." She whispered staring into the nothingness of the night before her.

"Pragya, you don't want to marry again and give yourself a chance? Many people have one unsuccessful marriage, but the next one works! They find love!" whispered Abhi gently.

Pragya looked at Abhi's nave innocent eyes. She was pained to see the delusion he was in. He really thought she has had an unsuccessful loveless marriage? "Abhishek, I have had enough goes with marriage to know. I have been at the alter two times before marrying you. I realized it's not my best place" she laughed.

Once again it appalled Abhi when he realized how little indeed he knew about his ex-wife. "Pragya, I trust your sense of judgement. If you are sure about this, then I am going to support you."

"Thank -you Abhishek. It's just that, any adoption follows a certain set of background check for the adopting parent. During Purab's engagement they back checked with my college, the organization checked with my neighbours, colleagues and now they will be taking your appointment for tomorrow. You know, because you have been my ex-husband, your testimony has high weighted value. Also I was hoping if you could give them some time soon, it would reduce my wait period too."

Abhi smiled, for once it felt god to be able to do something that didn't fall short of his wife's expectation. For once he could make his ex-wife happy.

"Of course Pragya, I will meet them tomorrow itself." He smiled at her, and then after a pause, asked her what just came to his mind.

"Do you want a baby boy of girl Pragya?"

The questioned brightened her face in a way Abhi had never seen before, as Pragya proudly announced, "I want a cute baby girl Abhishek, and I am going to name her Bulbul".

Abhi smiled, "Can't wait to meet our little Bulbul".