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“Dad! Prerna! Thank you so much! This was my best birthday ever! I love you guys so much!” Kuki hugged Prerna and Bajaj with joy after the party ended.
“Okay… ab chalo. It’s time for bed. Kuki, upar jao.” Prerna nudged Kuki towards her room upstairs.
“Goodnight Kuki, goodnight Mrs. Bajaj.” Mr. Bajaj kissed Kuki on the forehead and gave Prerna a slight smile before he got into his room.
Prerna and Kuki walked towards their room in silence. Kuki looked hesitantly towards Prerna, meaning to ask her something, but not too sure about it.
“Tum mujhse kuch poochna chahte ho kya?” Prerna asked Kuki, as if she read her mind.
“Haan…poochna chahti thi. But if you’re sleepy, kal baat karte hain.” said Kuki.
“Nahi… main bilkul bhi sleepy nahi hoon. Kya poochna tha tumhe?” asked Prerna, sitting on the bed next to Kuki.
“Actually…aaj subah tumne mujhe birthday wish kiya tha… yaad hai. I asked you what you wish for me. Tumne kaha tha ki you want me to be happy in life, get everything I want, be successful and independent – and you also told me to have one epic love in my life hai na? Kuki looked at Prerna earnestly as she spoke. Prerna gave a longing smile as she looked at Kuki and nodded.
“Kya tum kisi real life epic love story jaante ho? Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha wali? Mujhe nahi lagta they exist. And out of everything, why did you wish for me to have an epic love?” the sudden question made Prerna look up.
She found herself drowning in an ocean of memories as she replayed that question in her head. Did she know any such epic love story? Yes, she did. It was the kind of love that many people wished for, but very few had. It was that kind of love that never died.
“Haan… Jaanti hoon.” said Prerna, her eyes brimming with tears. A small smile played on her lips as she thought of her lost love.
“Mujhe woh kahani sunao na! Please! Though I don't believe in real love, mujhe love stories bohot pasand hai.” Kuki looked at Prerna with those cute puppy dog eyes, making Prerna smile.
“Kuch saal pehle, ek ladki thi, jo bohot hi dreamy or romantic thi. Woh ek aisa love story chahti thi, jo Romeo-Juliet ko bhi beat kar sake. Woh chahti thi ki jo ladka uske life mein aaye, woh khud deewana rahe aur usse bhi thoda paagal karde…” Prerna stopped to wipe those tears that unknowing trickled down her cheek.
“Uss ladki ko mila aisa koi?” asked Kuki, intrigued to know more.
“Haan,mila. Woh ladka toh bilkul opposite nikla. Bohot hi seedha saadha ladka tha. Woh pyaar mein believe hi nahi karta tha. In fact, according to him, life was better without love.” Unknowingly, a smile crept up on Prerna’s lips as her mind wandered to places that it shouldn’t.
“Oh my god! Yeh dono toh North Pole aur South Pole hai. Yeh dono mile kaise?” asked Kuki, her curiosity increasing more and more.
“Woh dono ek dusre ko saalon se jaante the. In fact, uss ladke ke papa aur uss ladki ke papa dono best friends the.”
“What?? Itne saalon se ek dusre ko jaante the? Toh pehle se hi they must have felt the chemistry between them.” said Kuki, urging Prerna to continue the story.
“Bilkul nahi. In fact, woh dono ek hi college mein padte the. Woh ladka 2 saal uss ladki ka senior tha. Phir bhi woh dono ek dusre se sirf hi, hello bolte the. Bhas. Actually, college ki bohot saari ladkiyan uss ladke pe marte the. Lekin woh ladka kabhi bhav nahi deta tha.” The smile on Prerna’s lips grew prominent as she remembered the way her friend Anjali and the other girls used to crowd around the football court just the catch a glimpse of her lover.
“Obviously.He doesn’t believe in love na. But Prerna, agar inn dono ki story itni boring thi, pyaar kaise hua? Jo log ek dusre ko itne saalon se jaante the, aur aapas mein chaar baatein nahi karte the, unn dono ke dil ek dusre se kaise baat kar sakta hai?”
“College mein sab log yeh sochte the. Ki ladka aur ladki ke beech kuch bhi ho nahi sakta hai. In fact, yeh ladki bhi wahi sochti thi.” Prerna remembered Anjali’s rants about how she afraid of her stealing him away.
“Then how did things change Prerna?” there was no way Kuki was letting Prerna stop now. She had to listen to the entire story.
“Ek din toofan aaya, aur sab kuch badal diya. 8 saal pehle Kolkata mein Navami Puja ke din pandaal mein aag lag gayi. Aur uss ladke ne ladki ko aag se bacha liya. Aur ussi din Kolkata mein toofan aaya. Uss din se shuru hui thi dono ki dosti.” Prerna was no longer there at the Bajaj mansion with Kuki. She felt that she was there at Kolkata, in that moment, that moment when Devi Maa’s red chunni fell on them, like a blessing in disguise, telling them they were meant to be.
“Bhas dosti hui thi? Pyaar nahi?” asked Kuki, bewildered.
“Nahi. Sirf dosti. Uss ladka aur ladki ne yehi socha tha. Aur phir ek din ladki ne ladke ko thorn bird ki kahani sunaya. Aur ladke ne kaha tha ki yeh shiddat wali pyaar, pyaar mein dard paana, etc, etc, usse nahi hoga.”
“Aur phir?Uss ladke ko pyaar hua ya nahi?” Kuki was getting impatient by the moment.
“Haan… hua. Dosti ke raaste mein chalte chalte, dono ko ek dusre se pyaar hogaya. Aur dono ek dusre ke humsafar ban gaye… zindagi ban gaye. Woh ek aisa pyaar tha, jo dono ne kabhi pehle mehsoos hi nahi kiya tha. Dono ko bohot saare kasautiyon se guzarna pada. But through everything, their love only became stronger. Dono ke beech, bohot saare problems aur misunderstanding hue the. Bohot saare logon ne koshish ki dono ko alag karne ke liye, lekin nahi ho paaya.” She remembered the scornful faces of Mohini, Navin Babu, Komolika… and Mr. Bajaj.
“Toh finally dono ko happily ever after mili?”asked Kuki, so engrossed in the story that she failed to notice that it was way past her bed time.
“Nahi… itne saare kasautiyon se guzarne ke baad bhi, woh ek dusre ke nahi ho paaye.” Prerna struggled to hide the shiver in her voice. Painful memories… beautiful moments. She just didn’t know what to feel. “Uss ladki ko bachane ke liye… uski khushi ke liye, woh ladka hi thorn bird ban gaya.”
"Matlab??"
"Matlab... uss ladki ke khushi ke liye, ladke ne usko khud se door kar diya."
“Yaar… itni filmy love story thi! Happy ending kaise nahi mila unn dono ko?” asked Kuki, pouting her lips.
“Kyunki, kuch kahaniyaan aise hi adhoori reh jaati hai. Lekin woh pyaar… woh pyaar abhi bhi hai.”
Kuki looked up to see a faint smile playing on Prerna’s lips despite her tears. Her hand slowly reached out to hold Prerna’s as she asked her… “Iss kahani mein jo ladki hai, woh tum ho?”
“Haan… woh ladki main hoon.” Kukki could sense that Prerna was scarcely in the
room with her. Her tear-filled eyes seemed to look far away… probably in another world.
“Aur woh ladka? Woh ladka kaun hai? Dad toh nahi hai, for sure.” said Kuki.
“Woh ladka…mera Anurag.” saying his name after years felt like honey on her lips, sweet and soothing.
“Anurag? Woh tumhara business rival Kolkata mein? Tum usse pyaar karte the? Mujhe laga tum dono ek dusre se nafrat karte the. Tum dono ek dusre se pyaar kaise karte the?”asked Kuki, bewildered.
“Pyaar karte hain. Hum ek dusre se abhi bhi pyaar karte hai. Kuch rishte rail ki patriyon ki tarah hote hain. Milon tak saath mein chalte hai, lekin kabhi bhi ek nahi ho paate hai. Unn dono ka saath adhoora hai… lekin pyaar poora hai. Aur iss pyaar ko unn dono se koi nahi cheen sakta. Koi bhi nahi.”
Prerna smiled at Kukki, pulling her closer. “Abhi sone ka waqt hogaya. So jao. Kal baat karte hain.”
Kuki looked hesitantly at Prerna. There was something else she wanted to ask her. “Kya hai?” asked Prerna, reading Kuki’s expressions.
“Kuch nahi, main sirf itna poochna chahti thi ki... agar mauka mila toh, kya tum Anurag ke paas wapas jaoge?” asked Kuki.
Prerna smiled knowingly. She knew that this was exactly what she expected Kuki to ask her. She laid a loving hand on her shoulder, and kissed her forehead.
“He’s my soulmate Kuki. He’s my thorn bird. I’d go back to him in a heartbeat.”
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