KMTMG Thread 7- A/N on page 63 - Page 28

Originally posted by: rishbala3018

update asap...

Waiting...😳

Originally posted by: kriya_12

Umm what do u think if u want to add some more than complete it or just post it

It feels incomplete, I think I'll write more.

Originally posted by: rishbala3018

It feels incomplete, I think I'll write more.

Ohh okk..🤔

Originally posted by: kriya_12

Ohh okk..🤔

😜😜😂😂

Originally posted by: kriya_12

Dont laugh....👿

🙂🙂

Originally posted by: rishbala3018

🙂🙂

😛

Waiting for the chapter

Originally posted by: kriya_12

😛

Waiting for the chapter

Coming soon 😊

Originally posted by: kriya_12

Whennnn

Before I go to bed tonight 😊

Originally posted by: rishbala3018

Tonight 😊

🤗

Recap

Walking through the Airport towards his gate he felt like a long and difficult journey of his life was starting.

This difficult journey, at the end of which his reward will be Jodha.

A most precious reward for him.

He was happily willing to go through this difficult journey because he knew it would all be worthwhile.

For Jodha, I will go through anything. He had determinedly thought.

With this determination, he strongly moved ahead.

On the other side of the city, Jodha sat alone in darkness, with tears in her eyes and sadness in her heart for their separation. But her eyes were close and hands were folded while she prayed for his safety and well being.

Chapter 40

Jodha kept her head on the pillow, she didn't know for how long her tears kept coming and making her pillow wet.

She felt sad, sad about not being able to go with him, sad that they have a long journey ahead before they can be in each other's arms again.

She didn't know how long she kept repeating in her head “We will be together soon, this time will pass soon.”

She knew it was her only chance to let her tears fall freely, feel her own feelings. Come morning, she has to behave normal in front of everyone. No one should know about her real condition. All this will have to stay hidden in her heart, safely locked away from prying eyes. And she will do it, but not tonight, tonight she will let all her pent up feelings, sadness come out and wash away with her tears.

To reach the shore of Strength on the other side, this river of tears needs to be crossed. And tonight, she will cross this river and emerge stronger on the other side.

At some point, while pouring her heart out, exhaustion took over and she fell into a deep slumber.

She was fast asleep when she heard the faint knocking sound and someone calling her name. It felt like someone was calling out to her from far far away. Slowly she came out of her slumber, her head was pounding, opening her eyes felt difficult, somehow she opened her eyes enough to look around trying to get her bearings. The insistent knocking and panic filled voices made her eyes fully open and her heart jolted in alarm, she quickly bolted out of the bed running to open the door.

As she opened the lock she called out “Wait, wait I'm opening the door.” As soon as the door opened she was pulled into her grandmother's embrace while she breathed a sigh of relief. Jodha looked behind towards her cousin questioningly. She was baffled seeing their sudden panic.

“What is going on?? Did something happen??” she asked freaking out.

“You don't know, you didn't feel it? ” her cousin asked, astonished.

“What are you talking about??” she asked exasperated.

“There was a massive earthquake, everybody ran out except you. We kept calling you and you didn't reply. We got scared. Normally you are awake by this time.” her cousin explained.

“You didn't feel it at all??” she asked again confusedly.

“Ohh really!? No, I didn't feel anything” Jodha shrugged. “I'm fine, don't worry. I slept late last night, that's why I didn't wake up till now.”

After that scare, Jodha started her day. Took a shower, got ready, did Pooja, ate, etc, trying to behave as normal as possible. Though in reality she was anxiously waiting for the evening, she wanted to hear Jalaal's voice, she wanted to know how his flight was? Did he reach there fine? Did he eat on the flight? Was he able to sleep? She just couldn't wait to talk to him.

Later she found out that it really was a massive earthquake and killed a lot of people. She felt sad for the people who lost their loved ones but at the same time she felt thankful that her own family was safe.

*********************************

Couple hours later she received a call from her mother telling her that they had reached safely at her Aunt's house for the wedding. She had also talked to her cousin who was getting married, he was super mad at Jodha for not coming to the wedding. So much so that he threatened to miss her wedding just like she was missing his. She was in a tight spot, he told her she could still come with the afternoon train and attend the wedding tomorrow, she would only miss tonight's henna function. The whole idea was temping, very tempting but she still didn't want to miss talking to Jalaal. Talking to him was simply more important to her. So she tried to convince him that she couldn't come, making excuses about not wanting to travel alone, missing study time and that she will make it up to him. She promised him that after exams she will come to meet both him and his new wife. He wasn't happy with her but gave in at the end.

After that, all day she tried to study while waiting for the evening, though she could not concentrate at all. She kept looking at the time. But today, the time was moving with the speed of a turtle, adding to her anxiety and long wait. It felt like time was against her, it was purposely moving slower today than normal days.

Finally it was around 6.30pm, she excitedly sat near the phone ready to pick it up the second it rang. Finally she would be able to hear his voice, any moment he should call.

7 pm - No call yet…..She started getting anxious.

7.30 pm - Still no call…… her enthusiasm level started going down.

All day it felt like time was moving so super slow, but now it was exactly opposite, time was running like crazy. With each passing minute she was getting worried. “Why hasn't he called yet?? Did he reach there ok?? Did his friend pick him up on time?? Hope there is no problem.

8 pm - Still waiting……

8.30 pm - Nothing…..

As the time moved forward she became more jittery and worried. 'Did he get too busy with his friend and his family?? Has he forgotten to call me?? Will he call me??' insecurities ate at her.

She tried to keep it together, “There must be a reason, he can't forget. I should just wait.” She told herself and tried to stay positive, really tried. But with time her positivity was slipping away. Her mind was running in all negative directions. 'Did something happen to him?' she worriedly thought. Her heart constricted at her own thoughts.

By 9.15 pm she was full on panicking……

'What should I do?? How should I find out?? Where are you??' She was getting really scared now.

She contemplated calling his family but then she thought how could she ask them, what will she tell them about who she is?

As she walked from one corner of her room to the other, fully panicking, she suddenly got an idea. She thought of a way to find out.

'I didn't think I would need to call her so soon, or ever. But desperate times call for desperate measures.' She quickly rushed to the phone to call Deepali Bhabhi. She picked up the receiver of the phone but then hesitated to dial the number. “Should I call her?? What would she think about me?? She might think I'm being impatient or clingy!! Ohh what to do, what to do??” she murmured.

It was now 9.40 pm and she was still contemplating if she should call or not!! “If I want to call, now is the time. It's getting late, if I don't call now, it might be too late. Oh what the heck, stop thinking so much, just call now. She herself said I can call whenever and not to hesitate.”

Finally she picked up the phone and dialed the number. After 3 rings…. .

Came a “Hello” from the other side.

It wasn't Deepali but Vipul on the other side. Her first thought was to immediately hang up the phone but her rational thinking told her not to do that, it would be very rude.

“Hello!! Jodha?” Vipul asked, confused as she wasn't saying anything.

“Uhh hello, is Uhh Deepali Bhabhi there??” came her timid reply.

“No, she isn't. She is at her mother's house for the night.” he explained.

“Ohh!!”

“Is everything okay??” he asked, concerned seeing as it was so late.

“Uhh yes, umm it's nothing. I will call her later. Thank you” she almost hung up.

“Are you sure everything is ok, you sound worried.” Vipul asked. “You can tell me, maybe I can help,” he quickly added.

“I Uhh just wanted uhh to check, umm actually I was expecting uhh….he told me umm he said he will call. Uhh do you know if he reached ok??” She was so nervous she couldn't form a proper sentence.

Vipul smiled hearing her, he could feel how uncomfortable she was feeling talking to him. “I don't know but I can call Bhabhi and ask. May I call you back??” he said in a comforting tone.

“Yes please. Thank you.” Jodha quickly replied feeling grateful.

"OK, I will call right away and find out.” Then he hung up.

As Jodha waited, she tapped her fingers on the book anxiously. She hated waiting for anything, and this particular wait was driving her nuts.

A few minutes later the phone rang and she quickly picked it up.

“Hello”

“Hi Jaan” Jalaal spoke lovingly.

“Where have you been?? Is everything ok?? Are you okay?? How was your flight??” Jodha started firing questions at him as soon as she realized it was Jalaal on the phone and not Vipul.

"Breathe Jaan breathe. I know it took me so long to call and I knew how worried you would have been but I couldn't call any sooner. I'm so sorry, I should have calculated right. Anyway all these details later, I just wanted to let you know that I am fine, everything went fine, I can't talk too long right now but I will call you in the morning. Then we'll talk about everything. OK!!” Jalaal said in one go.

“Ok” Jodha replied confused.

“I have to go Jaan. I love you. I will call tomorrow morning your time. OK. You sleep now, good night!”

“Good night. Love you too.” And then they hung up.

'What was that??' she thought to herself. 'Such a short call, but at least he called. And he said he will call in the morning.' She comforted herself.

Suddenly she remembered her call to Vipul. 'If only I had waited a little more. I bothered him for no reason.' She banged her head with her palm.

Soon her phone rang and she knew it would be Vipul only. She felt guilty about disturbing him at night, but it was too late now to do anything about it. She reluctantly picked the phone up.

“Hello" she quietly spoke.

“Hi! I just talked to Bhabhi and she said Jalaal had called up a little while ago and said he reached all fine and is now with Hemant. They were both on the way to his house. He also told her that he will call in the morning. I'm sure he will call you soon as well,” He explained.

“He called just now…” she spoke before he could continue with his explanation.

“Ohh good. I'm glad, hopefully you are not worried anymore.”

She smiled and replied “No I'm not”, 'though now I'm confused.' She added in her mind and then continued “I'm sorry I bothered you, if only I had waited a bit longer…” her voice faded.

“It's no bother, don't worry about it” he tried to make her feel better.

“Thanks” after thanking him she was about to say bye but he spoke…

“You are most welcome to call us anytime for anything. We are always here for you.” He assured her.

'He is such a good friend!' she thought to herself. “Thank you so much Bhaiya!”

“No worries. Now, can I ask you something??” he curiously asked.

“Uhhh sure” Jodha replied unsure thinking 'what could he possibly want to ask her!'

“I'm just curious to know who proposed who??” he excitedly and without hesitation asked.

Jodha laughed hearing his question and at the curiosity in his voice. And instead of replying to his question she asked him “Who do you think proposed who Bhaiya??”

Realising from her tone he quickly asked, “Did Jalaal actually propose?? Really??” he incredulously asked. “Wow, he actually did it.” he amusedly thought out loud.

Hearing the incredulity first and then amusement in his tone Jodha curiously asked “Why are you so shocked and amused Bhaiya??”

“Well, for one, I remember he never used to even talk to any girl in college, let alone show any interest in anyone. We all used to tease him that he has such high standards. Even after so many years he is still the same. You are the only girl he ever talked about or showed any interest in. You must be very special to him.”

Jodha's heart fluttered happily hearing this.

Then he continued, “Secondly, he himself told me that he will not say anything to you until you said something first.”

“What?? What in the world made him think I would do that??” she blurted exasperatedly.

“That is exactly what I told him. But he was so set on not saying anything. You know, he was actually worried you'd say No.” he revealed and then continued “That's why I'm curious to know how it happened?? Why did he suddenly proposed” Vipul asked.

“I don't think he was planning to propose that night, it was just something that happened in the spur of the moment, I guess. We were just talking one night and one thing led to another you know, and then he proposed” Jodha explained reminiscing that night, without getting into too many details.

“Great. I'm just so happy that you two are together and he finally opened up and said something before leaving. He was really miserable about it all.”

“Ohh!” That was all she could say, her head was spinning with all the new information.

“It's getting late, I'll let you go. Have a good night and remember, you can call us anytime you want, we are here for you.” He assured her again.

“Thanks Bhaiya and good night to you too and say hi to Bhabhi for me.”

“I sure will. Bye!”

“Bye”

After hanging up she kept repeating her conversation with Vipul in her head. 'He was miserable, scared that I would say No to him.' Then she smiled remembering that he wanted her to say something first. She laughed and shook her head. "Seriously!! I'm so glad you didn't wait for that to happen, because I don't think that would have ever happened.” she laughed again.

But something that really caught her attention was that he was never interested in any girls, even in college. This surprised her and pleased her in equal measures. She grinned like crazy. She even felt proud of herself that she was able to catch his attention and now he loved her as much as she loved him.

That night she slept with a smile on her face for multiple reasons. She liked what she heard and was looking forward to his call in the morning.

***************************

IN THE MORNING

Jodha woke up to her phone ringing. She excitedly picked it up.

“Hello” her voice was excited and a bit groggy with sleep.

“Good morning Jaan. How are you??” Jalaal asked lovingly.

“Good morning. I am good, how are you?? How was your trip?? Are you at your friends house?? Why did you call so late yesterday and for so less time??” She right away started firing questions.

“So many questions, don't forget to breathe in between” He teased. “If you give me a chance I'll tell you everything.”

“Okay okay. You talk, I'll only listen” she smiled.

“Well yesterday when I reached here, it took me a while to get out, first there was immigration which had a long line and then baggage claim as well took some time. So by the time I got out and met Hemant it was already two and a half hours after landing.”

“Ohh Wow, it takes that long!!”

“And on top of that his house was another hour's drive from the airport. That is why it took so long to call you. And as for the call being so short, well it was from his phone and I didn't want to use it for so long. I asked him how calling internationally worked from here and it turns out it's the same calling card concept from here as well.”

“Oh really!!”

“Yeah. So anyway, I made him take me shopping for them on the way only so I could talk to you now.”

“Hmm” she mumbled while yawning.

“I also told him about you. He was so happy. In fact, as soon as we reached home, that was the first thing he told Bhabhi.” Jalaal laughed remembering his friend's excitement.

“So how much talk time does your card have??” Jodha curiously asked.

“30 minutes only.”

“Ohh” a tinge of disappointment could be heard as she spoke.

Jalaal understood her disappointment perfectly, as he himself had felt it when he found out the prices of the cards. But, then he thought whatever time he is getting he will use it to make her happy. So trying to change the topic he started “Jaan tomorrow morning I'm gonna finally do it.” he spoke deadpan.

“What? What are you going to do?” she asked totally clueless about what he was talking about.

“Shave my moustache of course, what else.” He spoke so casually for a few seconds she didn't understand.

Once she understood she excitedly asked “Really!! Oooh I want to see how you will look without it.”

“Of course, I will ask Bhabhi to take a picture of me and will send you as soon as I can.”

“That's gonna take some time, I know. First you have to finish the camera roll then get it developed and then only you can send it in email. Right?” she scrunched her nose in annoyance.

“That's true, but I'm more worried about whether I will look okay without it or not??” he said unsure.

“Ohh I'm sure you will look very handsome!!” she dreamily replied.

“Okay, if you say so!” He looked at his watch and realized only a few minutes were left in the card, so he continued “Jaan, I think we only have a few more minutes to talk. I was thinking we can email each other everyday and do phone calls when you get a chance. I know tomorrow your Mom and sister will be back. So I can't call any time I want. But emails can be sent anytime, I think they are a safer option for us.”

“Yeah right. I will email you and wait for your email too.”

“Of course, I will email you, everyday!” he confirmed.

“Hey, 1 minute warning came just now. Call will disconnect on its own okay! Love you Jaan, take care of yourself.”

“Love you too. You also take care of yourself.”

And just like that the phone was disconnected. She felt disappointed that from talking everyday for several hours at a time they were down to calling sometimes and mostly emails now.

This was just the beginning though, a lot more tough times and hardships were to come their way. Some they could imagine but some will be unimaginable.

Hopefully they will get through each and every one of them, together.