Ariya FF: Niyati ka Khel - Page 18

"Mr. Rawte, chamatkar ho gaya hai. Ms. Mukherjee ko hosh aa gaya hai."

Before the doctor could complete his sentence, Arjun had disappeared from the room. The entire team was left wondering what happened when their minds registered the doctor's words. A million watt smile crawled its way on to their faces. They, much like Arjun, ran towards the room where Riya was waiting for them. The only one remaining there was Ahana and her doctors.

Arjun had reached Riya's room in a matter of a couple seconds. He was about to open the door when his hands froze on the doorknob. Flashbacks of his last words to her and her death' flashed in his mind. I'm the reason why she's in there. Do I even deserve to be the first person she sees? No...scratch that...Do I even deserve to breathe the same air as her?

By this time, the entire team had reached there and were silently watching Arjun in his mental debate. Sameer could understand his trouble but felt helpless in helping him. After a while, Arjun removed his hand from the knob with a melancholy face. He walked a few steps away from the door, giving way to the others.

Everyone walked in the room. The sight that greeted them was heart-breaking. Riya was half-lying and half-sitting on the bed, covered in bandages and several wires connected to her. She didn't look like the fearless ETF officer from Arjun's story. Instead, she replicated the image of a pale and weak girl who has seen the worst terrors of the mankind.

Riya's head snapped up when she heard the door opening. A beautiful smile grew on her face when she saw three of her most favourite people walk in. That smile was enough to break everyone out of their trance. Tears sprung up in everyone's eyes immediately. Shree and Chotu didn't waste a second. "Riya!!" and they were on either side of her, capturing her in a bone-crushing hug.

Riya laughed lightly and patted them both on their backs. "Come on yaar, abhi abhi hosh aaya hai. Meri haddiyan tod kar phir se mujhe behosh karna hai kya?"

Shree immediately parted and started scolding her, "Shut up Ri. Dobara mujhse dur jaane ke baare mein socha bhi na toh mujhse bura koi nahi hoga samjhi tu? Pata hai kitna darr gaya tha main?"

Chotu also joined in. "Sach mein. Mera toh kuch khaane-peene ka mann hi nahi karta tha. Bahut sad the hum sab."

Riya had a sheepish look on her face and she apologized to both. Shree tried to lighten the mood around the room. "Haan Riya. Tujhe pata hai tere jaane ke baad toh yeh Meena Kumari ban ke ghum raha tha. 2-3 film directors ne toh isse heroine ka role offer bhi kiya tha."

Chotu blushed and started chasing Shree around the room. Riya laughed and the atmosphere of the room lifted up. All the other spectators watched this exchange with a pleasant smile on their faces.

Outside the room, Arjun heard Riya's laughter. His lips broke into a smile automatically. He knew that the team will take good care of Riya so he went back to his sister's room, a little disheartened. As soon as he opened the door and walked in, Ahana bombarded him with questions. "Bhau kaisi hain wo ab? Aapne unhe dekha na...unhe zyada chot toh nahi aayi na? Dard toh nahi ho raha? Doctors ne kya kaha? Kab tak wo theek ho jaayengi? Boliye na bhau aap chup kyun hain?"

Arjun looked at her. "Nahi dekha maine use Gudiya. Himmat hi nahi juta paya uske saamne jaane se. Kis muh se use baat karun? Aaj meri ek galti ki wajah se wo yahan hai. Uski nafrat bhari aankhen sehan nahi kar paunga."

Ahana's face was crestfallen. She knew what her brother was feeling because those were her feelings as well. Galti meri bhi utni hi hai bhau. Aur main nahi chahti ki meri wajah se aapko ek baar phir dukh jhelna pade. She somehow gathered the courage and spoke. "Bhau mujhe unse milna hai."

Arjun's head snapped up at a neck-breaking speed. He looked at Ahana wide-eyed. "Kya bol rahi hai Gudiya? Tu usse kyun milna chahti hai?"

"Please bhau...main unse apni galtiyon ki maafi maangna chahti hoon. Phir chahe who mujhe jo saza dein, I'll accept it. But please bhau mujhe unse ek baar milna hai."

Arjun was about to protest but when he saw the desperate look in her eyes, he gave in. He knew his sister really needed to do this for hers and Riya's sake.

Back in Riya's room

Sameer decided to step in and put a break to Chotu and Shree's game of tag. He went near Riya's bed and put his hand on her head. "Kaisi ho Riya?" Riya smiled at him. "I'm perfectly fine sir."

Sameer did the next thing that surprised everyone; he hugged Riya and cried a bit. "Pata hai tumne kitna dara diya tha hume? Aage se aisa kabhi mat karna understand?" Riya got over her shock and nodded. When they broke off, she looked at the three unknown figures questioningly. Sameer took charge of the situation. "Riya yeh ETF members hain. Inhone tumhare jaane ke baad join kiya tha. Ayesha Kapoor, encounter specialist. Liza D'Cruz, forensic expert and Sakshi Anand, crime journalist."

All three girls came forwards and hugged Riya. Riya greeted them with a friendly smile. You could see an invisible bond forming between them. Ayesha saw the restlessness in Riya's eyes as she desperately looked around the room, as if trying to find someone or something. Of course, Riya was waiting for the man she gave her heart to. She was a little disappointed to see that he was not present amongst her family.

Before Ayesha could say something, the sound of door opening brought their attention towards it. Ahana was being wheeled in by a nurse. Riya was shocked to see her in this condition. Ahana looked at Riya and instantly started crying.

Before Riya could question her, Ahana started speaking. "Isse pehle ki aap kuch bole...main aapse maafi maangna chahti hoon. Maine uss din pata nahi aapko kya kya suna diya. Mere wajah se aaj aapki yeh haalat hai. I'm really very sorry. Sab meri galti hai. Meri wajah se aapko aur dada ko itna kuch sehna pada. Lekin bhagwan keg har der hai...andher nahi. Maine aapke saath galat kiya toh bhagwan ne mujhe saza bhi de di. Uss din se leke aaj tak main comma mein thi. Mere liye toh yeh saza bhi kam hai. Isse achha toh mujhe mar jaana chahiye tha."

"Ahana!" a slap followed the yell. A silence prevailed the room. Everyone looked on shocked. Ahana put a hand on her aching cheek and turned towards the owner of the offending hand. She stared confused and shocked at Riya whose hand was raised and anger reflecting in her eyes.

"Just shut up. Tum aisa bol bhi kaise sakti ho? Tumhari koi galti nahi thi. Tum toh sirf apne bhau ko protect kar rahi thi. Kabhi marne ki baat mat karna got it?"

Ahana and Riya tightly clung to each other, all past offenses and problems forgiven and forgotten. Riya was never angry at Ahana and this made her realize the goodness in Riya's heart. Riya broke the hug as she remembered something. "Ahana, tumhare bhau kahan hai?"

Ahana, being the naughty girl that she is, quickly spoke up before someone else could. "Wo...bhau wo..."

"Bolo na. Kahan hain wo."

Ahana pretended to cry and talked in a broken voice. "Wo...uss din bhau ko 5 goliyan lagi thi aur wo...wo hume chodkar-" Her voice cracked and she couldn't finish. Honestly, someone give this girl an Oscar already. The ETF team were confused with this lie but one look from Ahana and they started acting as well.

Riya was suddenly numb. She couldn't believe her ears; they were surely playing tricks on her. Her Arjun couldn't leave her alone. The God couldn't just get up one morning and decide to take Riya's Arjun away from her. Her vision got blurry and that's when the reality hit her. Tears poured down her face but she made no move to wipe them. She spoke in a tone that matched Arjun's when he saw Riya on that bed. "Aisa nahi ho sakta. Mere Arjun mujhe chodkar nahi jaa sakte. Unke bina main zinda kaise reh sakti hoon. Nahi this is a lie (this was only heard by Ahana). Please leave me alone for some time (this was addressed to everyone)."

Everyone just left the room quietly. Ahana was lost in her thoughts. I'm sorry maine jhooth bola. But I wanted to confirm that you also love bhau as much as he loves you. I don't want him to get heartbroken again. But now im sure that you love bhau more than your own life. Thank you so much for coming in his life...Riya vahini.

Arjun saw everyone coming out. He wanted to ask them about Riya but when he saw their faces, he knew something was surely wrong. He looked at his sister and asked, "Gudiya kya hua? Sab itne shaant kyun hain?"

Ahana looked at him with teary eyes. "Bhau wo Riyaji..."

"Riya kya Gudiya? Tu saaf saaf bol."

"Bhau wo Riyaji ko suddenly internal bleeding shuru ho gayi thi toh wo comma mein chali gayi..." Seriously man, just give her the damn award.

Arjun's world suddenly turned dark. Without bothering to even reply, he stormed in Riya's room chanting one mantra. "Nahi...nahi...nahi"

Arjun saw Riya sitting in the bed crying her eyes out. Riya looked up when she heard the door opening once again. Their eyes met and the world stopped. At first, they were shocked, but then they thought their minds were playing tricks on them.

With Arjun

When he saw Riya, he couldn't believe his eyes. She was sitting fine and staring at him with her beautiful brown eyes. He thanked his lucky stars that he got to see her once again. When his met hers, everything froze. Her eyes showed everything her heart was feeling. He saw relief, concern, sadness and love in her eyes and he was damn sure that he was looking at a mirror of his eyes. His face roamed around the face of the person whose name was written on his soul.

With Riya

Riya was confused to see Arjun but she wasn't complaining. Her heart felt relief, concern, sadness and love for Arjun at the same time. She was glad that she got to see his handsome face once again because the last time she saw him, she thought she was taking her last breath. She tried to see any changes in the person whose face was permanently imprinted on her heart.

He slowly walked to her bed with unsure steps. Time seemed to have slowed down. It was as if even God wanted to witness this beautiful union of two souls who have been born just for one another. Two bodies that were connected by heart that even death can't take them away from one another. Two humans who found their way to one another even when the path that led to their destination was covered in thorns. Two people who feel each other's pain and when words fail, their eyes are enough to do the talking.

Arjun covered the distance between them. In the blink of an eye, both were tightly wrapped in an embrace. Their face showed pure bliss and tears of happiness cascaded down their faces. The wind seemed to have picked up, the flower petals were dancing and the sun shined brighter. Two lovers separated because of fate have now united because of the same. Both felt complete in each other's arms. Arjun realized that Riya fits perfectly in his arms like she was made just for him. Riya felt as if they were both missing puzzle pieces.

Arjun came back to reality first. His guilt started edging in his mind and he broke the embrace. Looking at Riya's tear-stained face, he began his non angry tirade. "I'm so sorry Riya. I have hurt you a lot in the past. Meri wajah se tumhari yeh haalat hui hai. Maine tumhe apni incapabilities ke liye blame kiya. Please ho sake toh mujhe maaf kardo. Aur tum jo saza dogi mujhe manzoor hogi. Maine tumhe apni life ki problems ka doshi tumhe theraya. Bahut badi galti ho gayi mujhse. If anything, tumhari life ki sabse badi problem main hoon. Meri wajah se tumne kitna saha hai. Tum chaho toh mujhe maaro, chillao mujhpe...main kuch nahi bolunga. I deserve every bit of your anger, your hate. Manhoos hoon main. Mujhe tumhari life mein aana hi nahi chahiye tha."

Riya put a hand on his lips and shook her head. Tears were streaming down her face. It hurt Riya to see him this sad. "Sir please chup ho jaaiye. Aapki koi galti nahi hai. Aur khabar daar jo aisa kaha ki meri life ki problems aap hain. Aapko koi haq nahi hai mere Arjun sir ko manhoos kehne ka. Aur aap sorry mat boliye please. I know you just wanted to protect your sister and it was my choice to get in the way of the bullet not yours. And I don't hate you...I can never hate you sir. Hmm saza toh aapko milegi. Aur aapki saza yeh hai ki you will never blame yourself for my condition." Saying this she wiped his tears and give him the smile she reserved for him. Arjun responded with a smile of his own and a hug. They stayed like that for a while.

A couple of coughs forced them to break their hug. They turned around to see a smiling ETF team standing behind them. Shree passed a teasing look to Riya and she blushed bright red. Arjun smiled happy to see his Riya back. Ahana looked teasingly at him and he gave her a mock-glare. He went to her and pulled her ear. "Gudiya...tune aisa mazak kyun kiya."

Ahana gave him a mocking painful look. "Ouch bhau dard ho raha hai. Sameer bhai bachao mujhe."

Sameer just looked at her and smiled. "Sorry doll...you're on your own for this one."

Ahana just pouted while everyone laughed. Riya looked at the scene confused and turned to Shree for explanation but Shree shrugged his shoulders as he also had no clue about Arjun, Sameer and Ahana.

Ayesha suddenly realized something and voiced a question nobody payed attention to before. "Ek minute..." Everyone turned to look at her. "Rathore sir, aapne kaha ki jab aap aur ETF crime scene pe pahunche tab sirf Arjun sir, Riya aur Don Alpha wahan the. Toh phir, Ahana hospital kaise pahunchi?"

Everyone realized she had a point. They all looked at Arjun and Ahana but both of them were just as puzzled as the rest. How did she reach the hospital?

Just then, a voice from behind them startled them. "Kyunki main use yahan le ke aaya tha."

Looking back, they saw a very handsome man standing there with a charming smile on his face.

"Ryaan?"

"Ryaan bhai?"