[Banner credits - Koeli from the Fan-Fiction Book Cover Shop🤗]
Broken. Helpless. Miserable…
That’s exactly how he felt when Pakhi turned her back on him as she left the terrace. He knew that her feelings were hurt. Of course, she would be hurt. Just a day ago, she had witnessed the man she loved take the sacred pheras with another woman. But he did tell her the truth. He poured his heart out to her on the day of his wedding, desperately hoping that she would understand. He knew that no one else in his family would. But Pakhi… she was his friend. He told her everything… everything that happened from the time he went to Gadchiroli till now… she knew everything. But she didn’t even try understanding his perspective. All she cared about, was the fact that he broke his promise… which he didn’t. Hell, even Sai knew about it, and she had assured him that she’d never come between his promise.
He just wanted scream… cry his heart out. He was usually the guy who was there for everyone, but today, he felt like he had lost himself. He wanted someone to be there for him, hear him out, and understand his inner turmoil… was it too much to ask? Where was his Jeeva? He desperately needed his Jeeva now.
Suddenly, he felt too tired… tired of everything. Everything around him seemed to weigh him down. He knew that he couldn’t probably sleep with everything happening around him, but pacing about the terrace like a madman wasn’t going to help either. As he turned around to go back to his room, he came face-to-face with Sai, who was standing right behind him. Something inside him just broke when he looked at her. Her eyes, which were always filled with hope, happiness and courage, now looked empty. All he could see was pain and misery. Gone was the Sai who would fight against the world when something was wrong. In her place stood a broken, frightened girl, who just wanted her father. It was then he noticed how fragile she actually was. At that moment, he just wanted to protect her… shield her from everything that was tormenting her.
“Virat sir!” his train of thoughts was broken as he heard a voice call out to him… a voice that had become too familiar in the span of a few weeks. He saw her looking at him with a determined expression on her face.
“Sai… tum iss waqt, yahan? Soyi nahi?” he asked, trying to gauge her mood through her expressions.
“Yahan aapke saamne hi toh khadi hoon. Iska matlab yeh hi hua na, ki main soyi nahi.” said Sai, rolling her eyes at his question.
Virat wanted to slap himself at that moment. Of course she wasn’t asleep. Why does he go around asking such stupid questions when he knew that Sai could twice as sarcastic and witty as anyone else? Maybe his tiredness got better of him.
“Der hui hai Sai. Tum jaake so jao. Aaram ki zaroorat hai tumhe.” Virat tried to usher her into her room, but she stopped him.
“Actually, main so gayi thi. Lekin ek bohot hi daravna sapna aaya, toh main uthke yahan aa gayi. Mujhe pata nahi tha ki aap bhi yahan honge.” Virat looked at her tired face, and something inside him tightened. In front of him was a girl, only about 18, and god alone knows what horrors she had to face already.
“Virat sir… aapse ek sawaal poochun?” asked Sai looking him square in the eye. Virat nodded in agreement and waited for her.
“Aap kaise hain?” the question just caught him off guard. He probably expected her to ask him again why he had married her, or lash out at him for asking Pakhi to help her, but he never expected her to worry about his welfare. He waited to see if she would follow it up with a sarcastic remark of sorts. But she didn’t. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.
“Main… main theek hoon.” He finally managed to murmur.
“Sach mein?” she pressed, a knowing look adorning her face.
Was he really fine? Hell no… he wasn’t. But Sai didn’t have to know that. She was already suffering enough. He didn’t have to burden her with his problems. He opened his mouth to assure her that he was okay, but Sai stopped him.
“Aap theek nahi hai Virat sir.” She said mildly. His head snapped towards her. Between all the messes that has happened so far, no one so much as to wondered if he was okay, except for Sunny. And here was Sai, a girl whom he knew for just a few days, trying to understand him despite her own miseries.
“Jitna mushkil yeh waqt mere liye hai, usse bhi kahin zyada mushkil aapke liye hain. Jiss din main apni aaba ko khoyi thi, aapne bhi apni guru ko khoye hain. Aur aapke bhai, jinse aap sabse zyaada pyaar karte hain, woh laapata hai, aur iss waqt, jab aapko apni parivaar ki sakt zaroorat hai, sabne aapse muh pherliya.” Sai’s eyes filled with tears as she uttered these words. She slowly looked up to see Virat, whose tears were also on the verge of spilling.
“Virat sir… main chahti hoon ki aap bhas doosron ki fikar karna chodiye, aur khud ke baare mein sochiye. Aap chup chaap kitna sahenge?” Sai took Virat’s hand in hers and held it, her grip hesitant and gentle.
Virat wanted to say so many things, but no words came. He just looked at Sai, trying to stop those treacherous tears from falling any further. He looked at their hands, still entwined, and tightened his grip. He usually prided himself on keeping his emotions in control, but at that moment, he didn’t want to control himself. He just wanted to pour his heart out.
“Virat sir, you’ll get through this. I know that you will.” said Sai, wiping his tears from the ends of her saree, and that was when he let himself cry. His knees gave away as he sunk to the floor, broken and helpless, and he just let the tears fall. All the emotions that he struggled to keep in check, came pouring out.
“Maine Jeeva ko bohot dukh pohonchaya hai Sai. Usko shayad mere aur Pakhi ke baare mein pata chal gaya, issi liye woh shaadi ke agla din hi chala gaya. Maine uska bharosa thoda hai Sai. Bhas woh ek baar mere saamne aa jaaye, main usse maafi maangunga. Chahe woh jitna bhi mujhe dhaante, mujhe maare, main nahi chodunga. Main tab tak maafi maangunga, jab tak woh mujhe maaf kare. Bhas mera Jeeva wapas aa jaaye, utna hi kaafi hai. Mujhe aur kuch nahi chahiye.” Virat couldn’t remember the last time he broke down like this, probably because it never happened. Sai didn’t say anything. She just sat next to him and held him nimbly, listening to him.
“Woh zaroor wapas aayenge Virat sir. Aur aap unse maafi mangenge. Kisi aur ke liye naa sahi, woh aapke liye wapas zaroor aayenge, kyunki aap unse bohot pyaar karte hain. Aur woh aapko maaf bhi kar denge, kyunki woh bhi aapse bohot pyaar karte hain.” said Sai, as she cupped his face in her hands and wiped away his tears with her thumb.
Their eyes met, full of hope despite everything that was going wrong around them. Time stopped in its track, settling in for a moment’s peace before it started running again. Virat’s hand slowly made its way to back of Sai’s head, pulling her closer, as he rested his forehead against hers. The silence deepened, and the only that was heard was probably the sound of an owl hooting at a distance. He didn’t know what he felt for Sai at the moment. He didn’t know whether he was in love with her yet. But he had a lot of time to figure it out.
But at that moment, he only knew this… she was the calm between the storm around him, and that was enough.
~*~
A/N
Hey guys🤗!
This is Niya here, and I've written my first ever SaiRat OS. In fact, this is the first time I'm trying my hand at writing, so do read and tell me what you guys think. Please don't throw eggs and tomatoes at me if its bad😆 . Feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome.
Love,
Niya
comment:
p_commentcount