GUYS, THIS IS NEET'S STORY, I'VE ONLY GOTTEN THE HONOUR TO SHARE IT 
|| ShiVi OS Tabahi||
Raavi stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hated what she saw. There was a time, months ago, when she’d been dressed up the same way. The day everything, absolutely everything in her world had come crashing down. The day her destruction had started.. her tabahi.. And today, dressed in similar bridal attire, she was finally ready to close that chapter of her life. Slapping on more of concealer and lipstick to hide the grief etched on her skin, Raavi rehearsed her happy smile. She could do this. She would do this.
***
Shiva paced by the door of his house. He was so unsettled, it felt like he had ants crawling up his veins. The Maami ki behen ki beti was getting married today.
Their divorce had been finalized less than a month ago but much to his dismay, his casually flung accusation about Raavi being attracted to educated men had blown into full gossip throughout Somnath. Stories were made, gossip circulated and no matter how many people he tried to shut up, with words or with punches, there were always more people talking about it. He genuinely regretted what he’d said and done but didn’t know how to apologize to her or go about setting things back right.
And then the Maami had announced as they exited court from their divorce ruling that she would get Raavi married again within a month while he, Shiva, would forever remain single since no one would knowingly give their daughter to someone as jungli, gawar, jaahil as him. Raavi had been fielding all the gossip about her rather bravely but it must’ve taken a toll on her too because in the midst of the drama, talks and gossips that had unfolded, she had announced to her Maami that she would accept the very first proposal that came their way, no questions asked. And now, she was getting married.
Relationships between the two families had soured considerably since the divorce so no one at Pandya Niwas knew any info about the potential groom. But Shiva could feel it in his bones that something wasn’t right. He wasn’t jealous. Of course not! He had let her go of his own free will. But.. this heaviness on his chest was suffocating. He had a right to be worried, right? Just out of common humane courtesy? Why was everyone else so calm about this? Why did no one else seem concerned? He’d tried hinting to Dhara bhabhi, Gaumbi, Dev, Rishita, Krish and even Maa that they should find out who Raavi is getting married to. They all had told him that he had done enough damage to her life already and the best they could do right now was to let her be, stay as far away from her as possible and wish her the best. And they were right. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right. He picked up the wedding invitation laying on the table and read through it for the umpteenth time. It had only the groom’s name and an address somewhere in UP. He threw the card into a corner in frustration. He couldn’t just sit here. He had to do something.
***
The wind fluttered the curtains into her room and she shivered. The sound of the dhol from the baraat downstairs thumped so hard in her heart and head, she almost felt faint. She sat on her bed, gathering every last vestige of her courage when the reason for her self-destruction climbed in through her window. Their eyes met and held for what seemed like eternity. “Kisse shaadi kar rahi hai tu?” he asked, his voice devoid of the tornado brewing inside him. “Tujhse matlab?” she stood up angrily and turned away from him. “Aur tu yahan kya kar raha hai? Meri badnaami mein koi kasar baaki reh gayi thi? Achcha.. Ab main samjhi.. Poore Somnath mein meri badnami karke tera mann nahi bhara. Tho ab meri baraat ke saamne bhi meri beizzati karna chahtha hai. Arey! Dekho! Shaadi ke din bhi dulhan ke kamre se ek paraya mard nikal raha hai. Yehi plan hai na tera? But tera yeh plan na, ekdum flop hone waala hai. Kyunki jisse meri shaadi ho rahi hai na, usse koi farak nahi padtha.”
He reached for her arm and pulled her towards him. “Apni bakwaas bandh kar aur batha tu kisse shaadi kar rahi hai,” he growled. The absolute blankness in her eyes scared him to the depths of his very soul. “Ab aa hi gaya hai, tho khud dekh le.. English bolne waala, gentleman types..” she said, struggling to get out of his grasp. “Tu ne usse baath ki? Tujhe woh pasand hai?” he asked. She looked at him with wide eyes. How many births would she need to understand this man? Would she ever be able to understand him? She pushed him as hard as she could. He fell back towards the mirror, toppling over her bangle stand, breaking all her glass bangles.
“Raavi!” Maami banged on the door hearing the commotion, “Raavi tu theek hai na?” Raavi walked past Shiva to get to the door but he caught her hand and pinned her against the wall. “Ek baar.. Bas ek baar mere sawal ka jawab de de aur main yahan se chup chaap chala jaoonga,” Shiva said, desperation creeping into his voice. “Mujhse koi bhi sawal jawab karne ka haq tu bahut pehle kho chuka hai. Aur chup chaap chale jaane ka kya matlab hai? Nahi tho kya karega? Tamasha karega? Maar peet karega? Jo karna hai kar. Meri zindagi ka itna bada tamasha tho tu bana chuka hai, isse bura mere saath aur kuch ho bhi nahi saktha.” She pushed him away and opened the door.
Maami was about to unleash a barrage of questions but she spotted Shiva and went completely silent. Before she could say anything to Shiva though, Raavi caught hold of her hand and shook her head indicating no. Maami took a deep breath and willed herself to keep quiet. She took a hold of Raavi’s hand and took her with her.
Shiva followed her and even though everyone was shocked to see him, no one commented anything. Quite a few whispers were left in their wake. He walked with her all the way to the mandap. The groom’s face was covered with a sehera. Shiva shifted on his feet impatiently, waiting to see the groom’s face. What that would accomplish, he did not know. He just needed to see for himself. When the Panditji asked to see the dulha’s face to do the teeka, he lifted the sehra and Shiva stood in absolute shock - the man was years older than Raavi. She deserved better. What were Maama and Maami thinking? When he took a step forward, Maami caught hold of his wrist in an iron grip. “Sochna bhi math,” she gritted. “Itni mushkil se ek rishta pakka hua hai. Mujhe koi tamasha nahi chahiye. Chala jaa yahan se.”
“Paagal ho gayi hai tu, Maami? Yeh Raavi se umar mein kitna bada hai! 5 saal aur bada hota tho Raavi ke umar ki beti hoti iski!” Shiva retorted. “Aye! Bakwaas math kar. Do baar shaadi hui hai par koi bachche nahi hain iske!” Maami countered. “Sheheri hai. Padha likha hai. Ameer hai. Aur sabse badi baath, yeh jo tu ne meri beti ki zindagi ka raita failaya hai na? Usse isse koi farak nahi padtha! Tho ya tho nikal jaa ya phir khada reh magar ek dum chup.”
As if he’d ever listened to the Maami. He stormed onto the mandap and pulled Raavi up to standing. Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. “Raavi! Tu iss se shaadi kar rahi hai? Yeh tujhse 15-20 saal tho kam se kam bada hai. Dekh iski taraf! Kya kar rahi hai?” He tried to shake some sense into her.
“Tujhse matlab? Tera mera har rishtha khatham ho chuka hai. Phir kis haq se tu yahan khade hokar sawaal kar raha hai? Meri tabahi ka tamasha dekhne aaya tha na? Bas side mein khade hokar dekh aur nikal yahan se,” Raavi told him angrily. “Nahi!! Side mein khade hokar nahi dekhoonga. Tujhe khudko iss tarah barbaad karne nahi doonga. Iss liye nahi chhoda tha tujhe!” Shiva yelled.
“Excuse me! Who is this guy?” the groom stood up and asked Raavi. “Aye! Apne excuse me ko fold karke apne jeb mein daal aur nikal yahan se! Koi shaadi nahi hogi teri iske saath,” Shiva said, coming between the groom and Raavi. “Shiva! Kya kar raha hai?” Maamaji intervened. “Chup!” Shiva yelled and the entire hall fell eerily silent. “Yeh kya bakwaas hai. Koi police bulao. Isse yahan se nikalvao,” Maami finally shouted. “What is this, Raavi? Who is this guy?” The groom spoke again. “Aye! Uss se kya baath kar raha hai? Mujhse baath kar. Agar Raavi ki taraf aankh uthakar dekha bhi tho teri aankein phod doonga!” Shiva warned.
Raavi yanked his arm away from the guy and stood in front of Shiva, “bas kar Shiva! Bas kar!” Shiva’s eyes softened a little as he saw the distraught state that Raavi was in. “Dekh Raavi, please.. meri baath sun.. main tujhse alag hua tha taaki tujhe mujhse behthar ladka mile, iss liye nahi ki tu kisi bhi ayre gayre se shaadi karke apni zindagi barbaad kare,” he tried to explain. “Aur tujhe kya farak padtha hai meri zindagi aabad ho ya barbaad? Nafrat kartha hai na mujhse? Mujhe mere haal pe chhod de!” She said weakly. The room was starting to spin and she was having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight. “Nahi! Nahi chodunga tujhe! Mujhe teri har baath se farak padtha hai, Kyunki main tujhse pyaar karta hoon gadhedi!” He yelled for the whole world to hear.
Raavi stared at him dumbfounded before falling into a heap in his arms. Shiva looked on in shock as blood started trickling from her nose and mouth.
***
The light was almost blinding and she was convinced she’d finally reached the other world. Her throat felt awfully dry and parched and she wondered if souls could feel this way? What if she was in Hell and this was her punishment? No! She hadn’t done that many sins in her life to deserve Hell. She looked around at the stark plain white walls and then she noticed the different equipment around her. Darn it! She was in a hospital. Her attempt to end her life had been thwarted again. And once again, it was because of the Bhootnath! She was about to mentally curse him when she remembered the last snippet of what he said before she’d blacked out. Had he said he loved her? Or had she been delirious from the poison in her blood?
That’s when she felt some weight on her foot. She raised her head slightly to see what it could be and found the Bhootnath laying by her feet. Just then the nurse walked in. “Oh! You are awake. Finally. We told your husband he had nothing to worry about but he hasn’t moved an inch since you got here. Because he refused to leave your side, we had to create a private ICU in a separate room for you since visitors are not allowed in the regular ICU. Badi shiddat se chahatein hain yeh aapko,” she said, checking Raavi’s vitals. Raavi’s eyes filled up. She didn’t want him touching her feet so she tried to move her foot without disturbing his sleep. But the movement woke him up and he looked up. When he saw her eyes open, he sprang onto his feet, and rushed to her bedside. “Raavi! Raavi! Tu theek hai? Tu theek hai?” He repeated over and over again as he caressed her hair and face. “Yeh bilkul theek hain Mr. Pandya. Ek baar doctor confirm kar lein uske baad aap inhe ghar le jaa sakthe hain,” the nurse commented happily. Her own eyes tearing up a little. She left the room,
“Gadhedi! Bandariya! Chipkali! Akal ki dushman!” He started yelling at her. “Haan, tho tujhe kisne kaha mujhe bachane ko? Wahin chhod deta marne ke liye..” she said but before she completed her sentence, his hand clamped down on her mouth. The fear and pain she saw in his eyes was so raw, her breath caught. She held her arms out to him. Wordlessly, he went into her arms, sliding into the bed next to her, burying his face in the crook of her neck and started to sob. Hard, painful sobs raked his frame as she tried to soothe him by running her arm up and down his back.
“Main theek hoon, Shiva,” she tried to comfort him. “Tu ne.. tu ne.. mujhe chhodke jaane ka socha bhi kaise?” He said in between sobs. “Tu ne hi nikala tha na mujhe apni zindagi se? Tab nahi socha mere bina tera kya hoga? Ya main kaise jeeyungi tere bina? Gadheda kahin ka!” She complained. “Maaf kar de! Please mujhe maaf kar de. Jo saza dena hai de, lekin please.. please kabhi bhi mujhe chhodkar jaane ka khayal bhi math lana apne dimaag main. Agar aisa khayal aaye bhi na, tho pehle mujhe maar dena. Kyunki main nahi jee sakta tere bina. Tu meri zindagi, shiddat, ibaadat sab kuch hai. Main tujhse pyaar karta hoon, Chipkali. Aur main apni poori zindagi tujhe iss baath ka yakeen dilatha rahoonga. Mera vaada hai tujhse,” he said, his eyes baring the sincerity in his soul. In response, she pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. “Main bhi tujhse bahut pyaar karti hoon, Bhootnath. Yeh baath meri samajh mein zara der se aayi, lekin hamesha se sirf aur sirf tu hi tha. Lekin tab tak itna raita phail chuka tha.. mujhe aur koi raasta hi nahi sooja.. Lekin ab na agle saath janmon tak tere sar par baithkar naachoongi main..”
“Jo karna hai kar. Ab se yeh Bhootnath poora ka poora sirf tera,” he said softly. Raavi’s heart melted. “Aur yeh Chipkali sirf aur sirf teri. Poori tarah se.” Shiva leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss, sealing their deal with a lifelong promise.
***
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