Beautiful❤️. i hope in real also abhiman😃yu uses his brain soon to connect dotsHappy Ugadi, Folks!! Happy Reading!!
Sorry for the delay in posting but here you go!!!
Part Four
It was the first time they were meeting after he’d regained his senses. The previous one had ended in him not wanting to let her go and her finally blurting out, mujhe jaana hoga. Abhir school se aata hi hoga! He let go of her hand as the words hit him and she’d fled. And now here they were, once again facing each other, walking beside each other along the hospital corridor, a distance of half a feet and an ocean of pain and guilt separating them.
Why was fate throwing him in her path, Akshara despaired. What does it want from me? What more is there of me to give? My sanity? My life? What?
“Congratulations,” Abhimanyu rasped, after clearing his throat twice, gesturing towards her black gown and white collar band still around her neck.
“Thank you. Are you here on a consultation?” she asked, hoping he’d say yes.
“No. I’m…I work here now. After all that… I needed a change. My doctor thought it was a good idea.” He shrugged with a rueful smile and tired eyes.
“And Roohi and Arohi? Have they come along with you?”
Abhimanyu halted at the end of the corridor forcing her to stop. “No. They are in Udaipur. Roohi…she has decided that her papa is super papa like Sharma ji. So I’m good as her poppy.” If Akshara was surprised, she didn’t let it out. He frowned. “But I thought you’d have known. Bade papa didn’t tell you?”
Akshara shrugged. “I haven’t talked much.”
Actually, she hadn’t talked at all. After their brief visit to Kasauli along with Harshvardhan, she had distanced herself with them. Abhimanyu and Arohi would be married and she had no intention of causing any awkwardness to bade papa or the rest of the family. Kairav bhaiya had been sending messages but she was yet to read them. Any calls, she gave the phone to Abhir and let him talk to his nana, nani and Kairav mamu. The two people she looked forward to talking to were Abhinav and Harshvardhan. Abhimanyu’s father had taken to calling her every weekend. He’d even met Abhir during one of the video calls. Akshara told Abhir that he was Roohi’s dada ji. Which led Abhir in addressing him as daadu. If Harshvardhan felt awkward at that, he never let on. In fact, he truly seemed to take delight in interacting with both Abhir and Akshara. He had even made a quick trip to Shimla the day she joined her job to wish her luck.
“What with my law exams and my new job…I was busy.” Her eyes fell on the reception area. Frowning, she began striding towards the now empty chairs. “Abhir!” she called out loudly. There was no response. His schoolbag was still on the floor beside the chair where she’d told him to sit. “Abhir!” she called again, first trickle of fear slithering through her spine.
“Akshara!” Abhimanyu came to stand in front of her, blocking her view, forcing her to look at him. “What happened? Abhir was here? With you?”
Akshara’s nod was jerky. “I told him to sit here and wait for me. He promised. He took out his storybook to read.” Pushing him aside, she began walking at a brisk pace, her gaze moving in all directions. “Abhir! Abhir, where are you?”
“Akshara, wait! Hear me out! He wouldn’t have gone anywhere,” His deep voice was calm and collected. “Probably restroom or something. I’ll go search there, OK?” She nodded even as she began walking towards the receptionist, her phone open with Abhir’s picture. The receptionist had no clue as the duty had just changed and he’d come only five minutes back. Abhimanyu came back, the calm, reassuring look in his eyes now replaced by the first tinge of worry. “Any luck?” She shook her head. “OK. You search that side; I’ll go this side. Whoever finds will call the other. OK? You have my number?” She nodded again, terror making it difficult for her to swallow. “Akshara! Look at me!” Desperate eyes locked onto determined ones. “Don’t panic. You don’t have time for that. We’ll find him. Trus…” Swallowing back the rest of the words, he replaced them with, “We’ll find him.”
With another jerky nod, Akshara took off in one direction and Abhimanyu in another. The next fifteen minutes were the most terrifying minutes of Akshara’s life. On the night Abhir was born, the pain had overlapped the fear but now there was nothing but overwhelming terror. “Abhir!” she screamed finally, exhausted. Her phone rang. It was Abhimanyu!
“Ab-Abhimanyu!”
“He is here. With me. In the two-wheeler parking lot. I can see you. Turn to your left. See me waving?” She whirled around and there! She saw him and her Abhir standing beside him, waving rapidly. Wiping her tears carelessly with the back of her hand, she ran towards them.
“Abhir!” Going down on her knees, she hugged him tight to her body. The small, chubby arms wrapping themselves around her neck calmed her frayed nerves. With overwhelming relief came surging anger. Pushing him out of her arms, she smacked his back. Once, twice, three times. “I told you to not go anywhere, didn’t I? I told you to stay there. How could you do this to me? You promised you wouldn’t move! Pata hain mamma ko kitna darr laga tha! Agar tumhe kuch hojaata toh!”
Abhimanyu tried to intervene. “Akshara! Buss karo! Bachha hain!” But he noticed that Abhir wasn’t crying. That little one seemed to understand the reason behind his mamma’s outburst.
Abhir caught his ears. “I’m sorry mamma. But see, I saw this little kitten. He was lost and meowing. He came to where I was sitting. I picked him up and came out. See! I gave him back to his mamma!” He showed to the corner of the parking lot where the mother cat was licking a kitten and pulling it into its warmth. Akshara turned back to Abhir who smiled. “See?”
Akshara’s heart melted. She hugged him tight. “I’m sorry beta. So sorry. I got scared and…”
Her words trailed off as she comprehended for the first time the fear Abhimanyu would’ve gone through all those years ago every time she ignored his words of caution and did something because she felt it was the right thing to do. For her now, it was Abhir. For him then it had been her and his two babies. Her breath shuddered out.
Abhir wiped her tears. “It’s OK, mamma.”
Akshara smiled, kissed her son’s cheek, and stood up. “Thank you, Abhimanyu.”
Abhimanyu nodded, adjusted his glasses and looked around. “Looks like it’s going to rain. Can I drop you two home?”
“N-no! That’s OK. We’ll manage. I’m sure it’ll hold off…” The first fat droplets from the sky laughed at her words. Soon the skies opened up, the loud pitter-patter on the parking lot roof forcing her to acknowledge that it was either accept his offer or stay back until the rain subsided. Abhir’s little body jerking at the loud thunder made the decision for her. She looked at Abhimanyu who seemed to be patiently waiting for her answer and nodded.
The heavy downpour didn’t give them any chance to speak during the drive back to Akshara’s small, cozy rental house. Abhimanyu brought the car to a halt. “Tum bags leke andar chalo, mein bete ko laata hoon. Sambhalke,” he shouted over the sound of the rain as she opened the door, gathered both the backpacks and stepped out of the car.
Akshara ran up and opened the door. Stepping inside, she switched on the lights, left the backpacks on the small side table and turned in time to watch Abhimanyu remove his sweater and uncaring of the rain, wrap Abhir who was still in the car, completely in it, pick him up and run towards the house.
“Whoa! That was awesome, Docman!” Abhir’s laughter filled voice was muffled in the folds of the sweater. Like any typical energetic five year old, he wriggled out, protesting at being carried and removed the sweater. “Arre, aap toh poora bheeg gaye!” Grinning, he threw the sweater aside and wrapping his arms around Abhimanyu’s waist, hugging him. “Aap toh sachh muchh mein mere Docman ho!”
Abhimanyu chuckled. “I try not to get you wet and you still manage to do it, Junior!”
“Abhir,” Akshara called out from inside. “Come and get changed beta. I don’t want you catching cold again!”
“Don’t go away,” Abhir ordered Abhimanyu who nodded obediently.
Akshara gave Abhir a fresh set of clothes before grabbing a fresh towel and coming out. “Thank you, Abhimanyu.” She extended the towel to him. “For helping me find Abhir and…dropping us home.”
Abhimanyu took the towel, his eyes drinking in her presence, his heart beating once again. She didn’t look like his Akshu. Her sari was a simple, cotton one. No jewelry except for the simple silver earrings and a wristwatch. His father’s gift to her. He knew it. Harshvardhan had sent him the picture when he’d bought it. Her hair was in a plait and those eyes no longer sparkled. Was that why she wore so much kajal, he wondered. As a camouflage? But his heart didn’t seem to give a damn at how different she looked. It still pulsed with life in her presence. It was no longer just an organ of his body.
Akshara slid her eyes away from the burning intensity of his. “Wipe yourself down. I’ll make some coffee.” There was an element of escapism in the way she rushed into the kitchen. She didn’t know why he was here in Shimla and for how long. Did he know about her and Abhinav? About her shift from Kasauli to Shimla? Or was it all just some weird coincidence? By the time got the glass of milk for Abhir and two cups of coffee on the tray and took it out to the hall, Abhir and Abhimanyu were down on the floor, wrestling playfully. Her son’s joyous shrieks brought a contented smile to her lips even as fear took over her mind. Did he know about Abhir? No, her mind immediately rejected. He wouldn’t be so calm and collected if he knew. He’d be furious, lashing out, hurling accusations… but how long before he connected the dots? How long before he realized Abhinav was not the biological father to her child?
Both of them stopped their tussle when they spotted her. Laughter still lingering in his eyes, Abhimanyu took his coffee cup before settling back on the floor with his back to the two-seater sofa. Abhir took his milk glass and promptly hopped onto Abhimanyu’s lap.
“Abhir!” Akshara snapped. “Kya hain yeh? Jao teek se apne chair pe baito!”
“No! This is more fun! Haina, Docman?”
Abhimanyu nodded and they did a cheers with coffee and milk. Taking the first sip, he sighed. Her coffee still tasted the same. Forcing his mind out of those thoughts, he looked around. There were pictures on the walls. Different from what he’d seen in Kasauli. Here there was one of Abhinav with Abhir, Akshara with Abhir and Akshara with Neel – the one his father had gifted her. “This is a nice place,” he commented, eyes and mind shying away from the thoughts and memories those pictures evoked.
“Mere papa ab mere saath nahi rehte!” Abhir responded glumly.
“Abhir!” Akshara interrupted.
“But he comes here every Saturday and Sunday,” he continued. “His work is there na. And mamma has her job here. Aap toh Udaipur mein ho na. Ab waha chale jaoge Docman?”
Abhimanyu looked at those innocent eyes and cupped Abhir’s cheek. “For now, I’m staying here. There are a lot of patients in that hospital who need my help.”
“Aapka ghar kaha hain Shimla mein? Roohi bhi aayega aapse milne? Aur aapki sagai…”
“Abhir! Stop badgering him with your 1001 questions. Go inside. I have your snack on the kitchen counter.”
Abhir got up, gave a kiss to Abhimanyu’s cheek and another one to his mamma. “Questions poochne se knowledge badti hain. Aisa Lawyer Akshara ne kabhi mujhse kaha tha!”
Abhimanyu laughed heartily and Akshara raised her hand playfully at his cheeky comment. “Chal badmash! Ja andar!”
Abhimanyu got up and placed the empty cup on the dining table. “Take care, Akshara. And congratulations once again!”
She silently watched him pick up his sweater and leave the house.
****
“How is your sir doing now?” Abhinav asked Akshara a few days later when he’d come to visit them.
Though they spoke with each other almost every day over the phone, it felt good to talk with her one solid friend face to face. Of course, a major chunk of his time went off to Abhir but finally that little bundle of energy was asleep and it gave the adults some time to catch up.
“He’s doing OK. Recovery will take time though. His family wants him to cut down his work but…” Akshara shook her head and left it at that. “I read so much theory, Abhinav but practical implementation is not easy at all. I can learn so much from him…how to think on my feet, how to catch the nuances in the way the witness replies…”
“Aur bhai ji kaise hain?” Abhinav’s quiet questions halted her chatter. “Nicki ji told me he has been meeting Docman.”
Akshara nodded reluctantly. “He lives close by apparently. Since the rains aren’t giving us a break, he has taken it upon himself to drop Abhir at school. Par darr lagta hain Abhinav.”
“Why?”
“What if he guesses about Abhir?”
“So you plan on hiding the truth all of Nicki ji’s life? Humare pahodon mein na ek kahavat hain ji. When truth is buried, it grows. It chokes. It gathers such an explosive force that on the day it bursts out, it blows up everything with it. Do you want an explosion, Akshara?”
Akshara got up from the chair and whirled away from him. “You don’t understand. He won’t understand. And he won’t listen to me either. No one will. Not my family and certainly not his family. And they’re all rich people, Abhinav. Very rich. They’ll get the court to say that I’m an incompetent mother. That you are not even a father. Meri baat chodo, will you be able to handle that? People screaming and accusing you, mocking you that you’re not Abhir’s father?”
“Kisike kuch kehne se kya hojata hain ji? You and Abhir…”
Akshara scoffed. “Mein aur Abhir kya Abhinav? They will try to lure Abhir away with all that richness. If they want something or someone, they’ll sweettalk their way until they get what they want. But once they get it, they neither value it nor trust it.”
“Bhai ji aise nahi hain. Meine dekha hain! I know your experience has taught you differently but people change, Akshara. Life changes them. Give him a chance.”
“With Abhir?” Akshara looked in disbelief.
Abhinav smiled though a tiny glimmer of sadness lurked in his clear eyes. “Maybe you can start with yourself.” The sudden stiffening of her shoulders was the only indication that she heard his softly spoken words. “There are no restrictions on either of you now. No societal rules holding either one of you back. From the little I know, you two met, fell in love, crossed a lot of hurdles and got married. You were never friends. Why not start with that this time and see? If you decide you can trust him then we can think of how to tell him?”
****
Abhimanyu rang the bell and waited for Akshara or Junior to open the door. He missed Roohi but this little guy seemed to have grabbed the remained chunk of his heart and made it his. It had been more than two weeks since he’d first met Akshara in that hospital. Seventeen days to be exact. And in these 17 days, he’d fallen into a routine of sorts. Wake up, exercise, meditate, get ready, drop Junior at his school, go to work and go back home, chat with Roohi while having dinner and go to bed. Of course, it was a different matter that he always somehow ended up going a little early to pick up Junior which gave him a chance to help the kid with last minute homework or buttoning his shirt or tying his shoelaces. Akshara didn’t talk to him much, but he loved watching the mom and son interactions. And boy oh boy, the kid was a chatter and his queries never stopped. One day, he’d heard as exasperated Akshara muttering to herself, I prayed Kanha ji for a kid, and He sent me a question bank. He’d laughed so loud that Abhir looked positively offended. The involuntary smile that lurked in Akshara’s eyes had made his day that day.
But on this day he hadn’t had any surgeries and it had been a light day for consultations too. So here he was, ringing the bell and fidgeting at the door step, at 6 in the evening. Akshara opened the door. Like a moment frozen in time, they just stood there, gazing at each other. She’d just come out of a shower probably. Her hair was still damp and left out and she was dressed in a short-sleeved rich cream cotton kurta with tiny dark brown flowers strewn all over it along with dark brown leggings. Akshara forced herself to look away from him. Dressed in dark blue jeans, turtle-neck dark green t-shirt and a scarf around his neck, he looked younger than when she’d known him before. Maybe it was the eyeglasses. Maybe it was the hair. She didn’t know and she didn’t want to know. “Abhir has gone out to play with his friends,” she stated.
“Uh, OK. I just…” he extended the book he was holding. “He left this book in my car. Thought he might need it so…”
Akshara took the book and stepped aside, letting him into the house and closing the door. “Do you know what I am, Abhimanyu?” she asked abruptly. He frowned. “Mein tumhare liye panauti hoon.” Abhimanyu paled and stood rooted to the spot. She went on in a deadpan voice and a blank face. “I’m the one who comes between you and your life. You and your happiness. You and…Arohi. I’m the reason behind all your pain and I was the reason you’d met with the accident that day in Udaipur. Now you’re here. If anything bad happens to you again, I’d be the one responsible.”
Abhimanyu stood still as the words lashed across, cutting him, shredding him to pieces. When he spoke, his voice was rough and hoarse. Like he’d been screaming. Maybe smothering the screams too had the same effect, he didn’t know. “You’re the one who saved me from Ruby and the molestation case. I’d have been serving sentence if not for you. You’re the one who threatened the cop and forced your bade papa to withdraw the police case. I’d have lost my career if not for you. You’re the one who gave up your identity to save my hand. To save my identity as a surgeon. You’re the one who after I destroyed you, saved me and my sanity.” She whirled away from him, unwilling to let him see her tears. Her weakness. He lifted his hand as if to touch her shoulder before fisting it and pulling back. “You’re not and have never been anyone’s p-panauti, Akshara.”
“What do you want from me? Why are you here now? Why do you keep coming here every day?” she asked once she got her emotions under control.
What he wanted… he could build steps to the heavens above on the list of things he wanted but… It took longer for Abhimanyu to answer. And when he did, it was obvious that he was choosing his words carefully. “I don’t want anything that you’re not ready and willing to give. Be it your time or time with your son. But I would be really glad if we can be friends.”
“Friends,” she repeated. He nodded. “You want to be friends with me.” The anger she’d been suppressing all these years surged forward like a flood, crashing through her gates of self-control. “Mein toh apni mannmaani karti hoon aur bhugatna tumhe padta hain. Phir yeh friendship kyun? Mein sirf bolti hoon sunti nahi hoon. Phir yeh friendship kyun? Mujhe aadat hain, logon se, situation se bhaag jaane ki! Phir yeh friendship kyun?” Her voice rose with each word, each sentence. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. She seemed to be oblivious to it all as she grabbed his shirt and shook him. “Meri wajah se nau logon ki jaan gayi haina, Abhimanyu? A-aur kya pata tab kya hua tha? S-Sirat maa ko bhi meine hi maara ho, haina? Nau log! Nau log Abhimanyu! W-why this friendship now? Kyun? Kyun? Kyun?”
She pushed him away from her and began punching his chest as he stood unmoving and let her. He wished she could do some real damage with those fists. Exhausted, her fists stopped their punches. When her knees gave her away, he grabbed her and held her up. He stood quietly letting her cry it all out, holding her up even though every cell in his body was pleading with him to hug her, cry along with her. He refused to give in. He refused to let his tears fall. He had no bloody right hug her. Had no bloody right to cry. So he stood and waited for her storm to pass. Gave her his handkerchief so that she could wipe her eyes.
“The things I said, the things I did…I neither expect you to forgive nor forget. I won’t hide behind the excuse that I lost my brother, and I was in pain. I let my anger and my ego rule me that day and that’s a fact. You were right in rejecting my sorry that day in Kasauli. I can’t go back and undo anything.” He squared his shoulders and met her eyes. “But I do want to be your friend. If nothing else it might give you a chance to punish me properly. Get me to trust you and then break me like I broke you. But if you say no, I will accept that, no questions asked.” Her exhausted, red-rimmed eyes looked at him helplessly. Resisting his need to touch her was beyond him in that moment. He gently cupped her cheek, catching the lone tear that trickled out of her eye. “Think about it and let me know, Akshara. Whatever you decide, I will abide by it.”
Akshara locked her eyes on the rudraksh pendant that was once again around his neck. “Swear on your Mahadev?” He held the pendant in his right fist and nodded.
****
Not knowing what her decision would be, he still went the next morning to pick up and drop Abhir at his school. But unlike before, he didn’t go early. He was there right on time and Abhir was waiting for him on the bottom step with his schoolbag and lunchbox. Akshara was standing on the top step, silently watching. He got down and came around to take the kid’s bag, place them in the backseat and open the front passenger seat for Abhir to hop in. After adjusting the seatbelt, he looked at that guileless, happy face. “Good morning, Junior! All set?”
“Yes, my Docman! All set!”
Closing the door, he turned and gave a small wave to Akshara who after a slight hesitation, returned it. Once in the car, Abhir began his chatter. Between that and navigating the still unknown hilly roads, he didn’t get any chance to think about anything. But just before Abhir got down at his school, he turned. “Docman, guess what is tomorrow!”
Abhimanyu thought about it. “I have no idea. What is tomorrow?”
“My birthday!”
“Oh!” Abhimanyu grinned. “That’s awesome, Junior! Big boy now, huh! Four completed?”
“No!” Abhir growled, offended. “Five completed. Mamma said I was born before the date the doctor said. And it was raining that day. No ambulance. So papa put her in a chair and carried her all the way to the hospital on his back. My super-papa!” He yelped in obvious pride. “You’ll meet me tomorrow, won’t you?”
Abhimanyu forced himself to concentrate. “Uh, what? My Junior’s birthday and me not meeting him, impossible. Now, go or you’ll be late.” Abhir left with a wave.
Abhimanyu drove away from the school but brought his car to a halt at the first open space he found. He needed to focus. He needed to think. Junior was five years old. Like Roohi. A few weeks ahead of her birthday. Which meant… which meant…
Abhir! Not Abhinav and Akshara. Abhir was Abhimanyu and Akshara.
His son! He had a son! Abhir was his! His! A part of him. A part of Akshara!
Aaannnddd... that's it for part 4. Hope you enjoyed. Please do let me know.
Thank you for reading.
Love,
Suvika / Suvi.
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