I always thought about Keerti and Raghav's relationship so finally I managed to scratch something out. Read and review plz.
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Keerti... Keerti kuch bol naa. Pallavi dekho no.. ye kuch bol kyun nhi rahi... baat nhi kar rahi... kya hua isko.. Keerti dekho main aa gayaa.. kya hua bol na kuch.."
Raghav looked at his sister frantically trying to break her tranced state., begging her to speak to him, asking Pallavi to intervene in between. Pallavi just sat beside her best friend turned sister in law looking at her with sorrow, a glass of water in her hands.
"Pallavi ye kuch bol kyun nhi rahaan..? Keerti.. kuch kiya naa uss khajur ne tere saath? Kya kiya bol, abhi ke abhi usse Ventakeshwara ke paas nhi pauhacha diya naa toh mera naam bhi Raghav Rao nhi."
Raghav jumped up, fury exploding ripe on his handsome face. He will kill that ba*tard. He will rip his limbs one by one before pumping him full of lead. And no force on this earth could stop him, no even his beautiful wife who was pleading at him with beseeching eyes.
"Raghav please shaant ho jao. Abhi ye sab chodte hain naa.. baad mein aram se.. abhi Keerti ko hamari zaroorat hain. Plz apne gusse ko kaboon mein rakho."
"Kya kaboon mein rakho! Dekha nhi ye kaise chup chaap beitha hain.. chehra dekha hain.. Kahan tha! Kahan tha maine ki dur raho uss khajur se! Kahaan tha naa! Galat aadmi hain. Par nhi! Kisiko toh nhi sunna meri baat. Ye toh tha hi pyaar mein andhi, tum aur amma ne bhi nhi suni meri baat... bola kara do shaadi.. ho gaya... "
Raghav roared making Pallavi flinch but neither could she protest as they knew it was true. Keerti had gone against all of their collective suggestion and wishes and had gotten married to Sunny. They were living in Bangalore for six months now, Keerti wanting to move away from her family. Jaya might have forgiven Raghav and understood his point and her own mistakes but Keerti still smarting from the initial problems they had due to Sunny and Pallavi's involvement in the same had refused to even listen to his side.
Raghav had kind of made peace with the fact that he had lost his aby sister forever. It was a bitter pill to swallow and many a night he had woken up screaming from the vestiges of the nightmares which loved to capture his troubled mind. But, Pallavi had been a blessing. She was the one he talked with when he couldn't sleep, her silly antics distracted him during the day and he could feel her soft hands running through his hair when he would be tossing and turning in the bed and her kisses on his fevered brow.
She was helping heal the still raw and burning wound left in his heart by the rejection and subsequent departure of his younger sister.
When suddenly one day, they had returned from Deshmukh house after a Puja, Sharda Aai had forced them to attend, they saw Keerti sitting on the sofa in the living room, a suitcase beside her and a weird haunting hollowness in her eyes.
That was three hours ago and they had still been unsuccessful in trying to make her talk. Raghav had started to get increasingly tensed as the minutes ticked by and though Pallavi wasn't showing it he knew she too was in the same state.
And suddenly the guilt in him started eating him alive yet again. He must have held on against the situation and not given in to her sister's demands as a last resort to get her back and let her get married to that fiend.
He will kill him.
"Farhad! Abhi ke abhi ticket book kar mera! Bangalore janaa hain... dikhata hun uss sadi hui khajur ko! Himmat kaise hui Raghav Rao ki behen ke saat aisa karne ki."
"Ji Anna!"
"Arre par Raghav ruko tum ek minute plz.. hum Keerti ki baat sun le.."
He was storming away towards the door, Pallavi running after to catch up with her husband's long strides when suddenly they stopped and turned around shocked at the sound which came from behind.
It was Keerti. She had let out a keening noise like that of a wounded bird.
"Bhai... Bhai.. please.. mujhe chodke mat jao..."
She had stood up and was teetering towards her elder brother like a kid tripping over her own feet reminding Raghav of when they were very small and she had once coming running to him crying about a boy who used to tease her in school. How she had clung to him crying and he had patted her and tried to console her and then distract her with stories and sweets.
Keerti never come to knew what had exactly Raghav said to the boy but he came and apologized to her and never ever did she see him near five mile radius of her.
Raghav felt something break inside him and he took a few steps forward, his furious features melting into concern and care and he dared to open his arms out to her for the first time in over a decade. Keerti ran into them with a dizzying speed making him almost topple back with the impact but he felt a small but sure steady hand at the small of his back steadying him as usual.
Pallavi felt her heart swell at the heart warming scene in front. She saw Raghav engulfing his baby sister in a huge bear hug patting her back and her head muttering sweet nothings in her hair, in his mother tongue which was beyond her scope of understanding while Keerti sobbed unconsolably.
"Woh.. woh maarta hain mujhe bhai! Mujhe pata nhi... ki kaise badal gaya sab itha... uska tattoo ka business sahi nhi chal raha tha toh mujhe aake... maarta tha... saara waqt baaki ladkiyon ko chedta rehta hain.. main kuch kehne jaati hun... toh... bhi maarta... hain.. Kyun kiya usne mere saath aisa bhai? Maine toh bass pyaar kiya tha na usse... phir kyun? Mere saath hi kyun?"
Raghav could feel his internal barometer rise and rise till it had reached beyond his control limits. He would rip that hide of that monster's bones and burn him alive. With every word his sister said sobbing inside his chest he felt his temper rise till he was shaking with the sheer rage boiling his blood.
Pallavi noticed this as she had come to stand in front of the duo, her husband's face visible to her and her sister in laws back. She blinked her eyes reassuringly and mouthed a 'not now' to him and he nodded trying to control his temper yet again.
Pallavi patted her back too soothingly gesturing the house help to bring water. They made Keerti sit and Raghav kneeled in front of her and held the glass urging her to drink while Pallavi stroked her hair back from her wet face. Keerti drunk with much difficulty and again started crying with such ache that it brought tears to both of their eyes in default. Raghav tried wiping her tears still on his knees and tried to make her stop.
"I am sorry bhai.. I am really really sorry. Mujhe aap ki baat maan leni chahiye thi... but main kya karun mujhe laga Sunny bhi mujhse utna hi pyaar karta hain jitna ki main..."
She started crying again.
"Keerti.. Keerti shaant ho jaa.. itna nhi rote naa.. sab theek kar dega main tu dekhna... bass bass.. ho gaya naa.. baapre kitna rota hain tum ladki log really. Ek tum aur ek Pallavi.. matlab ek baar shuru toh tanki khaali hone tak rukta nhi kya..? Ek kaam kyun nhi karta tum dono.. agli baar Hyderabad ke water management plant ko bhi donate kar dena aansun mere naam se... thoda sa charity ho jaega... reputation mein kaam aayega.."
Pallavi caught his drift and mock glared at her husband from where she was perched on Keerti's arm chair's handle.
"Kya bola Raghav tumne? Main aur Keerti paani ki tanki hain? Bht zyadaa udo mat tum haan. Kuch nhi kehte rehte ho! Bolo Keerti? Ek pad na chahiye isko toh.."
Keerti laughed tearfully seeing her brother grimace comically while mock fighting with his wife.
"Haan, haan.. pura tv serial ka heroine jaisa rota hain tum dono.. baad aa jaega ghar mein tum dono ki wajah se.."
"Kya bola Ghamandi Rao! Keerti main keh rahi hun.. ye abhi humein sorry nhi bola na toh main maarungi isko jhadun se phirse."
"Eh Saaree Ka Dukaan.. woh jo tum din bhar amma ke saath daily soap dekhta rehta hain.. wahaan kya bolta hain..? Pati param... something.."
"Parmeshwar..."
"Haan! Wahi... tum mereko nhi maar sakta. Main tumhaara pati param whatever hun naa.. toh aisaa nhi mar sakta..."
"Tum koi parameshwar warmeshwar nhi ho samjhe! Ghamandi kahike.. aur iss baar na jhadu nhi belan se maarungi main toh.. Keerti ko bhi bolungi mera saath degi woh. Kyun Keerti?"
Keerti gave a watery smile at her sister in law come estranged friend whom she had never treated fair trying so hard to make her smile.
"Ehhh!!! Keerti mera behen hain.. woh mera saath dega.. tum usko mat laayon ardham aindaa!"
"Kyun na laayun? Woh meri bhi behen hain aur best friend bhi samazla! Aur tumne usko bhi paani ka tanki bulaya..."
"Dekho Pallavi main.."
"Arre bas bhi karon tum dono. Samajh gyi main..."
They looked at her sheepishly and Raghav pulled her to stand up again as Pallavi held her other arm to support.
"Aur waise bhi tum kya bol rahe ho ki hum rote hain.. khud ka yaad nhi? Keerti ke vidai mein mein toh bht show off karke bhej diya, amma ko samjhake sulaa diya phir khud Ganga Jamuna bahaan rahe the mere paas. Mujhe toh lagaa ghar na dub jaaye.."
Pallavi saw Keerti look at her brother at that who looked away. She knew she shouldn't have brought that on right now. But she wanted to strike the iron when its hot. And it was roaring hot now. She had seen her husband pine for his sister since forever. And Keerti turning a deliberate blind eye to his efforts to reconcile. So she thought it was a good chance for hem to strengthen their bonds.
Keerti saw Raghav blink away suddenly, moisture in his eyes and her heart dropped. She had never realized how much she had taken her brother and his love for granted. She leaned on his chest sideways as they walked towards her room. Pallavi had surreptitiously moved away muttering a nonchalant pretext of going to the kitchen.
"Tum sach mein roye the kyaa?"
Keerti asked quietly while Raghav was arranging her blanket as she was forced to lie down on the bed. He avoided her piercing gaze opting to look out of the window at the opposite wall.
"Haan... kyun? Ismein itna bada baat nhi hain... tum behen hain mera, actually behen kam tu mera baccha jaisa hain.. tum dono, Arjun aur tum... Tum chalaa gayaa toh mereko samajh nhi aaya ke kya karun... main tumko miss kar raha tha.. but woh toh sabko hota hain na..ye Pallavi naa har baat ka patangad banake bolta hain.."
"Par... maine toh tumhein itne saal kabhi apnaya hi nhi. Hum toh saath the hi nhi Raghav toh phir kyun .."
She stopped mid flow when he caught her hand gently and gave her a little sad smile.
"Paas rehne keliye saath rehnka zaroorat nhi hain. Haan, ye baat sach hain ki tum shayad mera paas nhi tha uss hadse ke baad par main toh tha na tumhaare paas. Aur rahunga humeshaa.. tum chinta mat karna.. uss Sunny ke saare haadiyan nhi thoda na main toh phir dekh lena.. sayaa tak nhi padega uska tum pe."
He had gone into that angry sphere again mentally dissecting his soon to be ex brother in law. But Keerti was in a completely different sphere. She was remembering all the happy moments she had shared with her elder brother. All the games they used to play as children, pranks on each other, saving Arjun as a team most of the time. How close she was to him at one time? She remembered how she had snubbed him each and every time they met after that horrible incident. How desperate he was to redeem himself. To talk to her but never had she spared him a thought.
She had once in a misguided effort even tried to separate him from Pallavi, the only woman she knew without whom her brother will wither and die. Suddenly she was feeling disgusted at herself. At her petty small mindedness.
She squeezed his hand which was still holding hers and saw him turn to her, eyes wide in shock.
"Bhai.. I am sorry. I am really really very very sorry. Maine bohot galtiyaan kardi naa...? Tumhe hurt kardiyan kitni baar. Mujhe pata hi nhi chala ki main kabse itni selfish ho gyi. Apne dukh mein kho ke tumhaare dukh ko toh dekha hi nhi. Please maaf kardo akhri baar. Please.."
She was about to cry again seeing tears appear in Raghav's eyes when he hugged her tightly finally feeling like the empty void inside him fill up slowly. Keerti spoke again in between her sobs as he tried shushing her but failing due to his own tears swelling his throat.
"Please maaf kardo Raghav. Aaj se kabhi tumhaare baat ko nhi taalungi... kabhi nhi.."
Raghav chuckled wetly at that.
"Eh.. Keerti.. itna bhi sapna mat dikhao. Tum mera baat kabhi nhi taalega toh main bimaar pad jaega shak aur stress se ki na jaane tumhe ho kya gaya.."
Keeti laughed.
"theek hain.. toh phir hafte mein ek baar sun lungi tumhaari baat phir dekhungi decide karke ki advice leni hain ya nhi.."
"Haan.. ye thoda normal lag raha hain.."
They laughed again trying to hold back their tears holding onto each other for dear life. Both reliving the harrowing incidents which had torn them apart one last time before she could finally.. finally close that chapter in their book. They still had a long way to go before things are set up right but the start ad already begun.
Pallavi smiled from the doorway leaning against it with her hands crossed over her chest. A stance she had copied very effectively from Raghav and flaunted it almost every time in front of her husband. But now, it had become more like a habit.
She muttered a prayer to her God to keep her family safe, hale and hearty and in love like this before she turned away to give the good news to amma shutting the door noiselessly in her wake.
The End
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
