"Raavi, chal na, tujhe office chodke mujhe vendors se meeting hai. Jaldi kar!"
Shiva called out to Raavi, stepping onto the terrace, expecting her to be ready.
But she was just calmly sitting in her palazzo suit, drinking her chai and reading the newspaper.
"Aaramse newspaper toh padhne de, Shiva. Kaunsa superfast express pakadna hai tujhe?!" Raavi chirpily said, sipping her tea.
"Arre yaar, Raavi." Shiva stepped onto the terrace of Pandya House, taking off the clothes from the drying stand.
"Tu newspaper office mein kyu nahi padh sakti, bag mein ghusa aur chal na. Mai keh toh raha hu ki der ho rahi hai, aur tujhe chai ki chuski lagani hai aaramse. Tujhe der nahi ho rahi hai kya, tere office mein toh koi important presentation bhi hai na, jaa tayyari kar. Aur tu bol kyu nahi rahi hai kuch, badbad mai kare jaa raha hu tu-" Shiva turned around, only to find her standing still, staring at the newspaper.
"Kya hua? Moorti kyu bann gayi tu?" Shiva walked over, her expression blank.
He snatched the paper from her hand, to see what was bothering her, and Raavi stepped back, slowly, and began walking down the stairs in a daze.
Shiva glanced over at the paper, something in this had her go eerily silent. What he found, shocked him.
BREAKING NEWS
'Gujarat's biggest contract killer put behind bars'
Ahmedabad: As of Sunday, Gujarat's biggest network of contract killers have been taken down in a special operation by the police force. The head of the network has been put behind bars, and will face court verdict in upcoming sessions.
One of his men upfront committed to his crimes of dealings and murders, specifically mentioning a deal he got, of the famous Mr. Pradeep Joshi and Mrs. Arya Joshi from Surat, business tycoons of developing Gujarat. On enquiring, he revealed that this contract was the last one he ever took, because he was ordered to murder the 10 year old innocent daughter they had, but didn't have the heart to do it.
All the killers involved are currently behind bars, awaiting court verdict.
The newspaper dropped from his hands, as realisation sunk in.
Pradeep Joshi and Arya Joshi were Raavi's parents, who supposedly died in an airplane crash. Which means the 10 year old daughter was.....
Shiva rushed down the stairs hurriedly to find Raavi, heart beating a mile a minute.
"RAAVI!" Shiva called out as he stepped into the aangan, which Raavi walked across, as if her legs were just dragging her wherever they took her.
Shiva ran behind her and threw his arms around her, pulling her to him, back hitting his chest.
"Raavi" Shiva whispered, placing his head on the side of hers.
"Shiva, chod mujhe!" Raavi gritted her teeth, trying to get out of his grasp.
"SHIVA! LEAVE ME!" She slapped his arm repeatedly, thrashing around in hopes he'd leave her.
"Shiva, akela chod mujhe, please, JUST LEAVE ME! CHOD NA MUJHE, SHIVA CHOD NA, LEAVE ME." Raavi sobbed and tried to push his arms away, trying to get out of his hold, but his hold on her just tightened.
All the family members in the aangan were witnessing this, and were thoroughly confused at their behaviour. What was Shiva trying to do, that got Raavi so mad?
"Nahi chod sakta." He whispered back, just wanting her to calm down.
"Chod na, Shiva. Please. Please." She whimpered, going lax in his arms.
The moment he felt her calm down, Shiva let his arms loose around her, and she crumpled to the ground on her knees, devastated.
He immediately went around and sat down in front of her, as she fell against him, tears streaming down her face, body raking with sobs.
"Mummy papa ka murder hua tha. Koi accident nahi hua tha unka, Shiva." Raavi sobbed, as Shiva gathered her in his arms.
"Woh log ne mujhe kyu chod diya? 10 saal ki bacchi hi toh thi. Mujhe bhi tabhi maar dete na!" She clutched onto his shirt, burying her head into the space between his shoulder and neck, her nails almost piercing his skin.
But that pain was nothing compared to the grief that had painfully settled in her heart right now.
"Shiva, ye unhone theek nahi kiya. Mere mummy papa ko maar diya. Mujhe pata bhi nahi chala? Sab meri galti hai, SAB MERI GALTI HAI." Raavi hiccuped, her sobs turning into wails, as Shiva ran his hands up and down her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"Aise mat bol Raavi, teri koi galti nahi hai. Koi galti nahi hai." Shiva kissed her head, holding her closer to his self.
"Nahi, sab meri galti hai. Agar mai uth jaati toh at least police ko phone kar deti. Mere mummy papa ki maut ki wajah mai hoon. MAI HOON!" She complained, chest contracting painfully with every sob and breath she took.
"Dard ho raha hai mujhe, Shiva. Nahi hoga mujhse ye. Yaha," Raavi pointed at the centre of her chest, voice dwindling and fading away slowly, "bohot dard ho raha hai. Aisa lag raha hai abhi marr jaungi."
"AYE GADHEDI! BAKWAAS MAT KAR." Shiva yelled, as she went unconscious in his arms, body burning up slightly.
"Aye chipkali. Aankhen khol!" He patted her cheeks, when he felt her body go warm. Shiva pressed the back of his palm on her forehead and side of her neck.
Badan tap raha hai iska. Shock ke maare behosh ho gayi aur bukhaar bhi chadh raha hai. Oh god...
"BHABHI! PAANI!" Shiva yelled across the hall, as Dhara came with a glass of water.
"Kya hua hai Shiva? Kaunsa murder? Kya galti? Raavi behosh kyu ho gayi? Mujhe toh kuch samajh nahi aa raha." Dhara asked, back to back, not leaving place to breathe also.
Shiva let her questions slide, as he sprinkled some water on Raavi's face, the cold impact bringing her back to her senses.
"Galti... Meri.... Maar daala." Raavi mumbled, as Shiva carried her in his arms.
"Isko bukhaar chadh raha hai, mai dekhta hu. Aap log aaj ka newspaper padho, sab samajh jaaoge." He announced, carrying her to their room.
....
Raavi woke up in a haze, making sense of her surroundings. She was in their room, blinking a few times, the first thing she noticed was the time. 11 AM. She hadn't gone to office, she felt a bit of weakness, but she could handle it.
Suddenly, she felt a cold patch on her forehead. Raavi touched her head and felt the cloth. Someone had done a cold compress for her. Did she have a fever?
Just then, Shiva walked in with a bowl of soup and placed in on her bedside. "Kaisa lag raha hai ab tujhe?" He placed the back of him palm on her forehead and then her neck, relieved that she wasn't burning up like before.
"Theek hoon. Behosh ho gayi thi kya?" She asked, adjusting herself to rest against the headboard.
"Haa. Aur bukhar bhi chada tha. Ab nahi hai." He said, sitting next to her on the bed. "Baat karni hai?" Shiva asked softly, testing the waters. He didn't want her to have a severe reaction again.
"Nahi." She whispered, leaning her head back against the headboard.
"Okay." Shiva whispered, and mimicked her actions, before placing his hand in hers. "Mai hoon yaha tere liye, hmm?" He assured her, turning his head sideways to look at her.
Both of them sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the ticking clock and running fan, giving each other the space they needed.
Raavi shifted closer to him, and rested her head on his shoulder, fingers entwined. She felt safe with him, she wanted to talk to him. Only him.
"Shiva?"
"Hmm?"
"Tujhe pata hai uss din kya hua tha, jab..." Raavi trailed off, not looking up at him.
"Tujhe yaad hai?" He encouraged her to get it out of her system.
"Nahi. Subah jab uthi, toh mumma papa nahi the, bags bhi gayab the. Aur mumma ne sticky note bhi lagaya tha fridge pe, 'See you soon, mera baccha!' smiley face ke saath," Raavi drew the emoji in the air.
"Aur maasi bhi aa gayi thi, mere liye bournvita bhi banake rakha tha. Mujhe laga, humesha ki tarah business trip pe gaye hai, yehi routine tha humara. Mujhe kya pata tha ki...."
Raavi swallowed her words, and Shiva could feel her stiffen against him. He placed a kiss on their entwined hands, she had something else to say.
"Coincidence ki baat toh ye hai, ki jis flight se unka actual trip tha, woh flight crash ho gayi. Aur hum sab ko laga ki unka death airplane crash ke wajah se hua. Hum teeno pichle raat ke party se kitna thak gaye the, maine unko good-night bolke gale bhi nahi lagaya, aise hi so gayi." She choked on her words, eyelashes graced with unshed tears, as she buried her face into his shoulder.
It broke him to see her hit rock bottom. Her tears on his shirt pierced him like a knife through his heart. She was so broken. So, so broken. It didn't occur to him in so many years, that the bubbly, cheerful and happy Raavi could have so much pain buried in her heart. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how to.
"Mai..." Shiva tried to find the right words. "Mai kaise teri help karu, Raavi?" He asked softly, tucking the hair that had fallen in front of her face, behind her ears.
"Koi nahi kar sakta, Shiva. It's okay." She looked up at him, wiping away at her tears. "Thank you. Mere saath rehne ke liye."
"Of course." He whispered, pulling her closer to him, as she rested her palm on his chest.
"Shiva? Ek help kar sakta hai meri."
"Bol."
"Mujhe baat karni hai usse."
"Kis se?"
"Woh jo jail mein baitha hai killer, usse."
Shiva sat up straight immediately, "Tu sure hai, mera matlab-"
"Positive. Sirf ussi ko pata hai kya hua tha. Mujhe janna hai. Tera woh commissioner friend hai na, Sohan, jiske ghar dinner pe gaye the. Usse baat kar sakta hai mere liye?" Raavi nodded, she needed to do this.
Shiva looked over at her, and knew why she wanted this. It was necessary for her to get closure on anything that was broken. She deserved it, after 10 long years of being deceived, she deserved to know the truth, whatever and however it came.
"Okay. Baat karta hu usse."
....
Part 2 - page 4
Anupamaa
Debate Mansion
