Part 5
It’s been an hour of playing carroms with them seated on the floor. Sai is seated on the floor leaning to the sofa on which Samrat is uncomfortably asleep. Opposite Sai is Devyani and Virat and Shivani on one team, the parents are having their nap upstairs. Devyani stretches herself, and mutters “Hum Vaise jeet rahe hai, lekin mai thakk gayi hun.” Shivani says, “theek hai tu jaake so jaa, hum log yeh khumbakaran ko uthate hai” pointing to Samrat. Virat starts to shake Samrat’s leg and wake him up. Sai turns and looks at Samrat waking up slowly. In the meantime, Devyani gets herself a glass of water and walks up the stairs, tripping slightly and then yelling “Maine yaha thoda paani giraya, be careful”. It’s unclear whether people at the carrom board heard her, but Samrat is up, wiping his eyes and grabbing some water himself and comes and sits at Devyani’s place. He looks at Sai and pointedly “Tumhe khelna toh aata hai na?” Shivani and Virat glance at each other, and Shivani says “tumse toh behtar khelti hai!” Sai grins at Samrat’s surprised look, “Really?” Shivani smiles and says, “Haan actually kash yeh meri partner hoti” Virat mock shocked “Kya keh rahi ho?” Samrat joins in “Actually not a bad idea, boys vs girls khelte hai” Ashwini and Sai high five each other and everyone changes positions accordingly. Just as they are about to start the game, the front door opens and in walks Pakhi.
Sai stares at the girl at the entrance, she is taken aback at how much more beautiful she is in person. Sai smiles a little at her, and Pakhi smiles back. Samrat suddenly looks to his left and there she is, his best friend for life, he immediately gets up, yelling “Pakhiiii Pakhiii Pardesiiii” in a sing song, he walks to her and hugs her. Shivani glances at Virat who side eyes Sai. Shivani yells from where she is seated, “Pakhi aaja, Sai se mil” Pakhi walks to where they are seated, Samrat continues to hold her around her shoulder. Samrat looks at Sai, grins and says “Sai, yeh hai Pakhi Pakhi” Sai grins back “Hi Pakhi”, Pakhi smiles and says “Hi, Sai nice to meet you”. Shivani watches them while Virat hits the board with a striker and three coins go into the pockets, a black, a white and the queen. Shivani yells at him, “Cheating kar rahe ho?” Virat grins, Sai bites her lip slightly and turns her engagement ring round her finger, Virat notices and he looks at Samrat who immediately announces, “Kuch aur khelte hai na, Pakhi bhi khelegi”, the others nod. Pakhi announces “Mai upar se Uno cards leke aau?” Samrat encourages “Haan leke aa”. Sai watches Pakhi extremely comfortable in the house. Shivani looks on and says, “Sai zara yeh sab hataane mei madat karogi?” Sai nods and they begin to remove the board and coins, Samrat and Virat also help. Virat walks to the TV area and Sai walks to the kitchen to get some water for herself when suddenly there is a huge thud, a scream and a shout....”Pakhi!”
Sai rushes out of the kitchen to see Pakhi sprawled on the stairs, like she has missed her balance and fallen, Samrat is sitting on the stairs closest to her, examining her knee and ankle, Pakhi is in obvious pain, Samrat suddenly yells, “Yeh kya hai?! Yaha paani kisne giraya” Sai watches Shivani get a cloth from the kitchen and wipe the stairs. Samrat is livid, “samajh mei nahi aata, koyi itna careless kaise ho sakta” Pakhi in tears “Samrat, it’s ok!” Samrat stares into her eyes “Tum na..bilkul chup! Tumhe pata hai na, tumhe chot se blood clot hotey hai, tumhara dhyaan kaha thaa?” Sai leaning on the banister notices their proximity, Samrat’s level of care, she pipes in “Leg ko zara straighten karo”. Virat watches Sai’s doctor take over her inner feelings, he at the foot of the steps looks at the triangle formed with Samrat in the middle of the staircase holding Pakhi’s leg and Sai on the other side of the staircase leaning on the banister also looking at Pakhi’s leg. All they need now is his mom to add to this drama, he thinks. And lo and behold at the upper end of the staircase, his mother makes an appearance. Virat sighs, shaking his head while his mother fusses “Kya hua?? Oho!! Aise kaise gir gayi, Samrat usse upar leke aa, apne kamre mei, aise baithegi toh aur dard hoga”
Samrat carries Pakhi in his arms, who is vincing in pain, Shivani follows them and Ashwini upstairs begins to set up the pillows on the bed in the room that was set up for Samrat and his fiancé. Sai is hesitant to follow them and doesn’t move from her position, Virat keeps looking at her and signs her to walk ahead. Sai looks softly, “Shayad meri zarurat nahi hai” Virat looks at her and with a small smiles says “Just Sai, tum doctor ho na? Tumhari zrurat hamesha rahegi!” Sai gives him a small smile and walks ahead of him on top of the stairs, she slips slightly on the wet stair, he holds her elbow to support her, she mutters “Oho..Sorry!” He smirks and says “it’s ok” she turns to him at the head of the stairs, “Vaise sorry aapko kehni chahiye” he grins and says “Mai kal hi iss pure staircase ko hataa dunga” she grins and shakes her head, they walk into the bedroom together.
Sai immediately places an extra pillow under Pakhi’s leg while Samrat seems to be checking her pulse. Sai looks at Samrat and says “Kya Thrombosis hai?” Samrat nods. Sai looks at Pakhi and says, “Pakhi if you don’t mind, Mai tumhare salwar ko hatake pair dekhu?” Pakhi looks at Samrat who nods, Pakhi nods at Sai. Sai lifts her salwar a little above her knee and starts to look at the leg. She starts to touch certain points which elicits a cry of pain from Pakhi. Samrat immediately moves Sai away with her elbow with a grim “Mujhe dekhne do!” Sai shifts behind him and watches him touch the slight swelling, he continues to be serious, talking about the possibility of a clot, while his sister enters the room. Devyani quips “Arrey kya hungama hai? Sone kyu nahi de rahe ho, tum log” this angers Samrat even more, who starts yelling at her about her carelessness that has brought this situation upon Pakhi. Sai stares at Samrat while Virat from the other side of the bed watches his brother’s fiancé watch his brother unravel. Surely, now his mother is going to step in. And she does...
“Samrat, chillane se koyi fayda nahi hai, Pakhi mai tumhare ghar call karti hun, shayad vaha se..” Pakhi interrupts “Ghar pe koyi nahi hai, voh log mere cousin ki god bharai pe gaye hai, Mai unko kal join karne vaali thi” Samrat announces, “Pakhi aaj yahi soyegi” Ashwini is taken aback, “yahaa kaha” Samrat points to the bed where she already is “yaha, jaha abhi hai”. Ashwini stares at her younger son, wondering if he is an idiot while she can sense her older son who is standing next to her beginning to get angry too, this is what her older son meant when he said, she can’t control everything. Thankfully, Ninaad walks in. “Samrat, tu kaha soyega?” Samrat points to the floor which has just enough space for two people to stand and yells without thinking, “Yaha, kahin pe bhi, I don’t care, lekin Pakhi kahi nahi jaa rahi”. He gives Pakhi a tablet and some water, he then touches her swelling and examines it again.
Ninaad looks at Pakhi and Samrat and says, “Pakhi ko thodi dair araam karne do, Ashwini thodi chai milegi? Chalo tum log sab, let her sleep.” Samrat agitated “Actually usse Sona nahi chahiye” Ninaad silences him, “Tumhare chillane se usse headache bhi na ho jaaye, chalo usse rest karne do”. Everyone piles out of the room, Sai watches Samrat put his blanket on Pakhi. Her heart pinches a little, but something starts to germinate in her mind, she has never seen Samrat like this and she wonders maybe it wasn’t Samrat, it was her.
As they walk into the living area, before anyone can say anything, Sai pipes in “Actually Mai hotel mei check in kar sakti hun” , Samrat agrees, “Perfect!” Ninaad angrily shuts hum down, “Ghar aaye mehmaan ko hum hotel nahi bhejte Samrat.” Ashwini looks at her older son, who she knows is now definitely angry with her, but decides to roll the dice anyways, says “Virat, tu Sai ko apne ghar kyu nahi leke jaata?” Sai is shocked and looks at Samrat who seems to be agreeing, “Actually Sai, Dada ka apartment is really nice, you will be very comfortable.” Ninaad is silent and Ashwini and Samrat keep piping in to support the idea. Ashwini says “uske ghar pe sofa cum bed hai living room mei, aur bada hai, double bed.” Virat looks at them, stands up from the chair, looks at his mother sternly and announces, “Hum abhi nikalte hai” he turns to Sai and says, “Tum apna bag leke aa rahi ho, ya Mai leke aau?” Sai is thoroughly confused, she is stuck between a rock and a hard place, she realizes, no matter what the situation, as though up until now, it wasn’t enough, she feels even more like a stranger in this ping pong situation, she silently nods and goes up the stairs to get her bag. She passes Shivani and Devyani who smile at her, she smiles back weakly.
Downstairs, Virat is boiling angry, Ninaad realizes his wife’s stupidity, but also knows this isn’t the time to get into it. Ashwini looks at Virat and is about to say something when Virat somberly says “Maine aapse pehle hi kaha thaa ki aap sabki life control karna band karo”. Ashwini softly nods, and Virat turns to his brother with a steely face “Aur tum! Selfish toh ho hi, but itne stupid aur inconsiderate hogey, Maine kabhi nahi socha thaa” Samrat tries to answer him back, Ashwini stops him, as she watches Sai come down the stairs. She walks to Sai saying, “Samrat, Sai ka bag le” Samrat comes to Sai and takes her bag and they smile uneasily at each other. Samrat follows Virat who steps out to bring his car upfront. Ninaad comes forward to Sai and says “Sai, raat ko khana hum sab ke saath khane ke liye aajana” Sai nods as he walks away, Ashwini holds Sai’s hand and says “Sai, I am sorry ki situation aisa ho gaya, but meri sirf ek vinati hai, ki tum mere bete ko ek chance zrur dena” Sai nods with an uneasy smile. In the meantime, Shivani and Devyani come downstairs and bid their goodbyes to Sai who waves back somberly.
She walks stoically to Virat’s car , where Virat is already seated behind the wheel, she can sense the tension between the brothers. Samrat smiles at her, “Raat ko miltey hai” she nods and gets into Virat’s car. Virat starts the car with a grim face and tightened jaw. She glances at the angry man next to her and then glances at the man standing at the driveway, who looks almost relieved. She feels bad that the man next to her has been put in a place he doesn’t want to be in. And suddenly she feels bad for herself, in a situation that she has had no control over, a stranger in her so called fiancé’s home, if it wasn’t for his mother’s words, she would have stormed and gotten into a bus back to Chandrapur. She is unable to collect her thoughts and Samrat’s agitated face keeps coming back to her.
Virat is livid, to say the least, he is angry at his mother, at his inconsiderate brother, but he doesn’t realize, he is angry for her, and he glances at her turning engagement ring around her finger. She suddenly stops and pulls out her phone from her bag. And she says, “Actually mai hotel book kar sakti hun” Virat sternly replies, “I think faisla ho chuka hai” She looks at him and says, “lekin aapse puchaa nahi gaya, and it’s not fair to you”. Virat looks at her and continues sternly, “Aur tumhare liye bahut fair hai?” She looks at him confused, “Matlab?” He tightens his jaw and says “agar tumhei iss ghar mei shaadi karna hai, toh chup chap sunnaa option nahi hai. Tum topper ho, doctor banne jaa rahi ho, tumne Samrat se Kuch kaha kyu nahi?” She glares at him, and before she knows it, he has turned into his building and has parked the car, he gets out and slams the door shut. She is now equally angry, how dare he blame her? How dare he talk like this was something that she should have handled? She opens her side of the door and slams it too. There in the underground parking garage, her residual anger bursts, “Kya matlab hai aapka?” She walks to the back of the car, where he gets her bag out of and he looks at her glaring eyes, while she continues “Aap kehna kya chahte ho? Yeh sab meri galti hai!? Maine sirf itna kaha thaa ki mai hotel mei reh lungi” Virat glares back and says “Kehne ki kya zrurat thi tumhe? Tum kyu apne aap ko bali chaddha rahi thi? Tumhari jagah upar ke room mei thaa, itni asaani se Pakhi ko kaise de diya?” He turns and starts to walks and she follows him, her voice echoing in the garage, “De diya ka kya matlab? Ghar Samrat ka, dost Samrat ki, usse fikr thi..” They enter the elevator area and he pushes the button impatiently turns to her and says “Aur tum?? Tum Samrat ki Kuch nahi, usse tumhari fikr nahi hai?” The door opens, Sai goes quiet.
They both enter the elevator, she is closer to the buttons. She looks at him, he says 25. She presses the button, she keeps thinking of what he said. They reach his floor, she says softly, “Jab Maine hotel ka zikr kiya, usne perfect kaha thaa, toh mai kya karti?” Her soft voice while she questions him, calms him down completely, almost shaming him into silence, he stares as they stand in front of his apartment door, says softly, “I am sorry.” She looks at him with a small smile and says, “It’s ok,” he smiles back and says “Vaise sorry tumhe kehni chahiye” she chuckles and says, “Darwaza toh kholiye phir dekhte hai”. He opens the door and says “Welcome home, Just Sai.” She smiles and they enter together, he places her bag near the counter where he sets his keys and sniggers when he hears her gasp and say “Horlicks ki bottle khula kaun rakhta hai?”
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Next part : Page 18
Edited by columbia - 3 years ago
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