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Note: This is a work of fiction, and the roles of these characters are not to be compared with that on the show.
Bashers can stay away. Do not turn a piece of fiction into a war zone.
This is a kind of bitter-sweet ending to RiKara on request from a dear friend, Aashna, who wanted a closure on RiKara.
In this story, it is already known to everyone that Anika and Gauri are sisters.
An Angel Of Hope
Omkara Singh Oberoi walked into his bedroom holding a tray, "Dekho Gauri, main tumhare liye khaana leke aaya hoon!" he announced as he placed the tray on the bed. Seated at the window, staring at the moonlit sky seemed to be her favourite thing to do. Not that Omkara complained, for he loved watching her, soaking in the moonlight; the only light in the room at the moment. Her angelic face looked as bright as the full moon, and dressed in a flowing white anarkali, she looked even more ethereal. Anyone who had a glimpse of her would almost mistake her for a celestial being that ascended onto the face of the earth from paradise, above.
"Gauri..." he called out to her again, and this time, she looked at him and smiled. His heart almost skipped a beat while her smile figuratively lit up the whole room. She walked to him, and sat on the bed, leaning against the bed post, folding her legs. "Tumne dopehar ko lunch bhi theek se nahi kiya tha, na? Bilkul dhyaan nahi rakhti ho apna!" Omkara said in a disapproving tone, as he sat in front of her. Picking the tray, he removed the cloche and smiled at her. Gauri looked surprised and looked at him with a soft smile. "Tumhare pasand ka dal-chawal, lehsun ki chutney ke saath..." He almost picked the spoon, when he remembered how she had once told him about the simple joy of eating dal-chawal with the hand. Raising the sleeve of his kurta up to his elbow, he took a morsel and brought it close to her lips, "Maine banaya... mujhe pata hai, tumhari maa jitni achhi banati hai, utna accha nahi bana hoga, par taste kar ke batana..." Gauri shook her head in a no, only to have him frown at her. Holding his hand, she guided the morsel to his own mouth and made him eat it. "Not bad!" he said, with a smile of appreciation for his own culinary skills, and then grinned, "Actually, saccha bataun? Shivaay ne thodi si help ki thi meri..." She shook her head at the childish grin he gave her and giggled in response, while she made him eat his food.
"Om..." a voice called out from the threshold of the door, "Arey Annika Bhabhi, come in..." Omkara said. Annika smiled, and walked towards the bed. "Tum itne andhere mein kya kar rahe ho?" Omkara grinned and looked at Gauri, "Andhere mein kahan, Bhabhi? Yeh chaand aur uski chandni mere saath jo hai..." Annika was about to reply when he said in a tone of displeasure, "Aur Bhabhi, dekhiye aapki devraani ko... I mean, aapki iss chutki ko... Na mere saath lunch kiya, aur na hi dinner..." Gauri was about to say something in her defence, when Omkara glared at her, "'Ab agar tumne apni jiji se meri shikayat ki, toh main shivaay bhaiyya ke paas jaake keh doonga ke dono behno ne ek team bana liya, mere khilaaf..." Annika laughed, "Accha? Jaise ki uss baagad bille ki koi himmat hai mere saamne kuch bolne ki. Unko bhi pata hai ke agar unhone apni tadi dikhayi, toh main unhe kamre ke baahar ka rasta dikha dungi..." Omkara huffed, and stared at Gauri, "Dekha, tum dono behno ne hum bechaare bhaiyon ko kitna pareshaan karke rakha hai?" Gauri pouted at that, and looked at Annika, who was busy watching her baby-like brother-in-law in an adorable way.
Omkara caressed Gauri's cheek with the back of his hand, "Lekin jitna bhi pareshaan karo, ek baat toh maan ni padegi, ke tumhare bina meri zindagi ekdum khaali lagti; tum saath ho, toh main zinda hoon, jee raha hoon. Tum meri zindagi mein nahi aati, toh meri saansein bhi..." Gauri placed her hand on his mouth and he left his sentence incomplete. "Chalo, ab..." Annika said in a shaky tone, overwhelmed with Omkara's words, and trying to wipe that lone tear falling down her cheek, "Ab... yeh emotional senti baatein bandh karo... aur yeh lo..." Annika handed over a couple of tablets to Omkara, "Yeh apni dawaai le lo, aur chup chaap so jaao... Gauri, tu mere saath chal..."
"Par Gauri ne toh khaana bhi nahi khaaya!" Omkara said in a complaining tone, and Annika slapped her forehead, "Chutki, tune apne jatadhaari hippie pati ko bataya nahi ke tune mere saath khaana kha liya?" Gauri grinned cheekily and shook her head in a no.
Omkara clicked his tongue, "Hamesha aise karti ho. Kabhi toh mere saath dinner khaya karo... Kal, promise?" Gauri nodded, as she promised to have dinner with him tomorrow. "Chalo, ab so jaao..." Annika said, picking up the empty tray, and walked away. "Goodnight..." she said, as she looked back. "Goodnight Bhabhi he replied. Om settled on the bed, with his head on Gauri's lap, "Thoda sa head massage karo na?" he said to her in the sweetest voice possible, and she obliged by running her fingers through his hair. Annika closed the door of the bedroom with a soft smile.
***
Annika returned to her bedroom, and looking at Shivaay, she burst into tears. "'Annika!" he whispered and hugged her, knowing very well of the reason. "Mujhse uski yeh haalat nahi dekhi jaati, Shivaay..." She pulled away from him, "Aap sab kuch theek kar sakte hain na, Shivaay? Aap apne bhaiyon ke liye kuch bhi kar sakte hain na? Om ko pehle jaise bana dijiye na? Usey uski khushiyan lauta dijiye; uski chiraiyya ko wapis laiye aap; mujhe bhi meri chutki mil jayegi, Shivaay please..." She dropped on her knees, hugging her husband tightly... Shivaay had no words in response. He simply hugged her tight, rocked her back and forth, and patted her head, while his own thoughts ran back in time.
***
Shock was an understatement. No one knew how Veer had escaped the clutches of the police, and had sneaked into the Oberoi Mansion. It had been Gauri and Omkara's second wedding anniversary celebrations. And while everyone was busy enjoying, Veer had vowed to ruin their happiness. His target had been Annika. However, in the pitch dark due to the deliberate power cut, he had ended up stabbing someone else in a hurry, instead of Annika. That someone else had turned out to be Gauri.
Shivaay recalled the horror on Omkara's face, and the way he had kept murmuring in Gauri's ears as to how much he loved her and that he would die if something were to happen to her. But, as fate had planned its tragic turn, Gauri had breathed her last even before they could reach the hospital. Omkara's painful and unemotional laugh, unable to let this horrific news sink in, still reverberated in Shivaay's ears. The pain had been too much and the shock was too hard to handle. Everyone in the family was devastated. Omkara had clearly refused to believe his wife was no more. He even refused to take part in the funeral ceremonies, all the while muttering in displeasure to Shivaay about how it was wrong to have someone's funeral at the Oberoi Mansion, just because the woman resembled Gauri. "Meri Gauri zinda hai, in fact, kamre mein hai!" he had yelled, throwing the garland off of Gauri's photo frame, when the temple priest had asked him to participate in the final rites. Omkara had dragged Shivaay and Rudra to the bedroom to prove what he was saying, and had pointed out to an empty bed saying that Gauri was asleep there, and shouldn't be disturbed.
"Gauri wahan nahi hai, Om! Gauri marr chuki hai, damn it!" Shivaay had once said, with a mix of anger and pain, as he witnessed Omkara talking animatedly to the plain white wall. For the very first time, Omkara had felt that sudden rage and had raised his hand on his brother, "Dobara aisi bakwaas ki, toh main bhool jaunga ke tu mera bhai hai, Shivaay Singh Oberoi!" He had walked off to his room, and shut the door, while Shivaay and Rudra had heard him yelling at Gauri as to how his brothers could say such a thing.
Weeks and months passed by, and Omkara refused to believe that Gauri was no longer with him; that she was no more. The counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists tried their best; in fact, they even put him on mild sedatives. They tried to even hypnotise him, to see if he could be brought of the shock. Nothing seemed to work on Omkara. Omkara's day still began with making breakfast for Gauri and for him, and it ended with taking dinner for Gauri and for him. The entire family, when looking at two empty chairs, longed to have at least Omkara with them at the dining table, which he refused, because Gauri required rest and could not leave the room.
Looking at Omkara's enthusiasm of spending time with Gauri, the family never had the heart to force him. The one time a psychiatrist had tried to force him to accept the fact that Gauri was dead, Omkara had suffered a severe panic attack, followed by a horrible situation where he had taken an additional dosage of sleeping tablets. Shivaay had almost frozen when he found Omkara fallen unconscious on the floor of his bedroom. He had made sure that the psychiatrist had his license cancelled, while ordering everyone to never try to force Omkara for anything in any way. "Meri Gauri thik hai na?" Om had asked when he had come to consciousness, to which Shivaay nodded, saying that she was praying at home for his well-being. That particular incident had been the last one where anyone tried to convince Omkara to believe that Gauri was no more.
***
"Teen saal beeth gaye, Shivaay," Annika said amidst tears, "Kya hamara Om kabhi theek nahi hoga? Kab tak aise Gauri ki yaad mein..." Shivaay wiped his own tears and heaved a sigh, "I wish iss sawaal ka jawaab main de paata, Annika..." "Kismat ne mujhse meri behen cheen li, Shivaay... lekin main mere bhai ko bhi khona nahi chahti..." she said and Shivaay only held her tighter, consoling her wails and sobs.
***
It was way past midnight when Shivaay tiptoed into Omkara's bedroom. He was fast asleep with his head rested on a pillow, while hugging another pillow. Shivaay bent down and ran his hand over his brother's head, "Goodnight Om..." he whispered. Then walking to the window, he looked at the moonlit sky, and when he spotted a star shining brightly, he said with watery eyes, "Apne Nandi bail ka khayal rakhna, Gauri... You're his, as well as our, angel of hope..." With this, he walked out of the room after wiping his tears.
***
Gauri sat next to the bed, watching her husband sleep. Running her fingers through his hair, she undid his pony. She never liked that dreaded ponytail. She loved his open hair. It made him look younger; more carefree; it made him look more kind and warm, like the man he truly was at heart. Combing his long longs with her fingers, she saw how he frowned in his sleep. She eased the lines on his forehead with her fingers, and his frown turned into a smile, unconsciously.
"Hum hamesha aapke saath rahenge, Omkara ji. Aur marr ke bhi hum aapse kiya hua waada nahi thodenge..." She shifted closer to him, and when he rolled in his sleep, his head rested on her lap. He wound his hands round her waist, "Gauriii..." he muttered in his sleep. She smiled; His life may have come to a stand-still, but at least he still had a reason to live, even if his reason wasn't with him anymore. "I love you, Omkara ji..." she whispered, as she kissed his temple, and caressed his cheek.
***
"Harr kahani ke kismet mein poora hona nahi likha hota hai...
Aur adhoori kahaniyon ki khoobsoorti hi kuch aur hoti hai..."
***
This is a wrap. Do let me know your take on it,.
This will be my last story on RiKara, for evident reasons, although best known to me.
I've had a great time writing on RiKara. Hoping you had a great time reading it, if found worth your time.
Silent readers, do hit the like tab.
Udne Ki Aasha
Cricket
