[ 11 am in the morning, Dev is waiting in his car in the parking space of SFFP. ]
Dev was starting to feel restless now. It's been more than an hour Vidhi has gone inside. The last time he called her she said that Jai is insistent on bidding her a little farewell but it has been half an hour to that. Shouldn't all of it be over by now? Shouldn't Vidhi be coming out by now? What's taking her so much time? Should he go inside? All these thoughts clouded his mind. He was feeling a bit uneasy, an unknown feeling, a mix of fear and anxiety was working its way through him. "Vidhi thik toh hogi na?", he muttered. Why was he suddenly worrying so much about her? Why was he getting this intuition that something bad may happen? "Main andar jaun kya?", he asked himself. "Nahin, nahin... Vidhi bachchi nahin hai... Woh independent hai... Apna kaam khud kar sakti hai... Woh aa jayegi... Haan, woh khud aa jayegi", Dev assured himself. He started tapping his chest in an attempt to calm his racing heart. Clearly, his self-assurance wasn't working. He got down from his car. He looked at his mobile. He looked around him. Nope, still no sign of Vidhi. He dialed her number and put the mobile to his ears.
Trrringgg... Trrrriiinnggg... Vidhi's phone rang. She didn't answer. Dev could feel his throat drying up. "Pick up the phone, Vidhi. Come on, pick up the phone", he kept repeating. "The number you've called is currently busy", said a mechanized voice. "Ppttt" Dev cut the call, irritated, and all the more, worried. He is going inside the office, he has to. He turned around hurriedly to go but suddenly stopped....
There was Vidhi, standing there with a radiant smile lighting up her face. Seeing her, Dev finally found his breath back. He heaved a deep sigh of relief. "Kya huya Dev ji?", Vidhi chirped, coming closer. She was in a awfully good mood. "Tum... Tum kahan thi itni der tak, Vidhi? Main kabse tumhara intezaar kar raha hoon... Kitna waqt lagta hai yeh... yeh sab farewell aur bye bolne mein...", Dev blurted. "Aur phone... Phone kyun nahi utha rahi thi mera... Ab bolo bhi...chup kyun ho?", Dev couldn't stop himself. "Aap chup karenge tab toh main kuch bolun na", Vidhi said innocently. "Aur aap mujhe daant kyun rahe hai?... Main toh 10 minute pehle hi office se nikal gayi thi sab ko bye bolkar, lekin gate pe guard bhaiya bhi toh hai... Main unko bye bolkar aur unse thoda baat karke aayi... Aur mera phone toh baja hi nahi... Mera phone ....", Vidhi started going through her bag for her mobile. She couldn't find it. "Dev ji, mera phone.... Areh mera phone shayad main jab upar thi, woh Jai ji ke cabin mein hi chooth gaya... Main abhi lekar aati hoon", she started to leave when Dev held her hands stopping her. "Oh... Oh meri bullet train... Ruko zara... Koi zarurat nahi hai tumhe wapas jaane ki... firse 1 ghanta lagaogi, guard se aur peon se aur pata nahi kis kisse baatein karne mein... Main lekar aata hoon... Tum gaadi mein baitho tab tak", saying this, Dev left.
Dev entered the office. He felt something strange as soon as he did. Something seemed wrong. The reception area was empty. The receptionists' weren't in their place. He peeped through the glass door to find none of the staff members' in their place either. He could hear the ruffled sound of a commotion from there. He pushed open the door and entered the main office. The whole staff was gathered near the stairs.
Jai was shouting uncontrollably at them. He seemed to be boiling with rage. Sashi was trying to calm him down, but in vain. He too, got scolded by Jai in the process. The staff were looking at each other, confused. "Ab ek dusre ka muh kyun dekh rahe ho? Iss hi baat ke paise deta hoon kya? Jaao apna kaam karo... Jaao", Jai yelled.
"Excuse me... Jai... Sorry to interrupt lekin woh Vidhi....", Dev addressed them. His voice startled the staff. They looked at him. "Aahhh Mr. Raichand... Aap yahan kya kar rahe hai? Aapki Vidhi toh yahan nahi hai... Naukri chor di hai usne... Bataya nahi aapko?", Jai mocked Dev. Dev wasn't expecting anything better from him. He very well knew Jai. He kept calm. He said, "Vidhi shayad apna mobile tumhare cabin mein chor aayi hai... Main woh lene ke liye aaya tha."
"Haan toh lijiye na... Phone upar baj bhi raha tha uska lekin woh nikal chuki thi tab tak... jaiye aur lekar aaiye... Yahan aapka employee toh koi hai nahi jo aapke orders follow karenge... Khud le lijiye", Jai taunted and stormed off the office. "Jai Sir, Jai Sir, rukiye", Sashi followed him.
"Kaisa aadmi hai?", Dev thought in his mind. "Bahut hi ajeeb aur gande kism ke insaan hai", Kavita, a friend and Vidhi's former co-worker said. "Sir, aap rukiye, main lekar aati hoon Vidhi ka mobile Jai Sir ke cabin se", she smiled. "Thank you, thank you so much Kavita", Dev said.
The staff was still standing there discussing Jai's sudden outburst. "Vidhi ma'am jab tak thi tab tak toh sab thik tha, unke office se nikalte hi Jai Sir ko pata nahi kya ho gaya?", one of them said. "Aisa laga jaise koi jang har gaye ho aur uska gussa humpe nikala", other one said. "Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai, aadmi pagal hai pura, psycho hai, psycho", someone else said. Dev stood there hearing all of them. He kept expressing gratitude in his mind. "Thank you, Milapini Maa... Thank you so much. Vidhi yahan se haste khelte nikal gayi.. Ab mujhe koi tension nahi. Aapka bahut bahut shukriya Maa sab kuch thik karne ke liye", Dev said in his mind and just right then thud!!!
Kavita slipped on the stairs. "Areh areh sambhaliye", Dev shouted. Luckily, Kavita had held the railing and restored her balance. She wasn't hurt. "Aap thik toh hai na?", Dev asked her, rushing up. "Nahin nahin Sir ruk jaaiye . Aap upar mat aaiye... Main thik hoon lekin seedhiyon mein tel gira huya hai... Koi cleaner ko bulao... Dev Sir main Vidhi ka mobile lekar aa rahi hoon... Aap wahin rukiye", saying this Kavita turned around and stepped with utmost care skipping some stairs. She managed to get to the cabin safe.
The cleaner came in no time and started cleaning the stairs. Dev was a little too stunned to speak. All of this that happened right now infront of his eyes was somehow not easy for him to process. Same went for the rest of the staff. They started discussing among themselves. How can oil be spilled on the stairs of an office during work hours? Anything could've happened... Anybody could have got hurt... This was very careless... Maybe someone spilled it by mistake. But still... Its not acceptable. "Woh toh achcha huya Kavita ko chot nahi aayi", said a female employee. "Aur socho agar Vidhi ma'am ka call tab aaya hota jab woh office mein thi aur woh gayi hoti phone laane tab kya hota...", another employee said.
Her words suddenly alarmed Dev. Oh my God!!! If Vidhi herself would have gone to get it, it'd be such a catastrophe. He felt uneasy. His vision got blurry, his heart skipping beats, voices started fading. How God had saved him and his family today! Just a matter of few seconds... And he could have been on the verge of losing everything that mattered to him the most. He touched his face. He was sweating. He kept thanking God in his mind. "Vidhi, Vidhi, humara bachcha", he muttered under his breath.
"Sir, Vidhi ka mobile", Kavita stood with Vidhi's mobile in her hand. Dev looked at her and took the phone from her hand. "Thank you, thank you so much... Aap apna dhyan rakhna", saying this much, Dev dashed. He ran as fast as he could.
Vidhi, still standing near his car, was thinking what was taking Dev so long. "Mujhe bol rahe the main ek ghanta lagaungi ... Pata nahin khud kisse baat karne mein lag gaye... Mmhhhmmm", Vidhi curved her lips. She turned as she heard Dev's approaching footsteps. Seeing Dev, she pointed out her watch just like he does when she gets late. She was somehow feeling jolly and much more relieved after having left the job.
But Dev, he was traumatised just by the thought of the danger that unknowingly they avoided. He could have lost Vidhi, his child, in a matter of seconds today.
Seeing Vidhi smiling at him brought some life back to him. He took a step closer towards her and hugged her tightly. "I love you Vidhi. I love you so much", his voice almost breaking. Vidhi now realised something had gone wrong. Something had terrified Dev. She started rubbing his back. "Kya huya Dev ji? Aap thik toh hai na? Kya huya", she broke the hug and placed her hand on his face. Dev was breathing heavily.
He kissed her forehead and placed his hand on her stomach, slowly caressing it. His wife was safe, his baby was safe, he assured himself.
Dev : "Kuch bahut bura hone wala tha Vidhi, bahut bura, lekin Milapini mata ne humein bacha liya. Chalo hum na chalke unse ashirwaad le lete hai."
"Kya bura hone wala tha Dev ji, kis cheez se bachaya hai Maa ne humko… aap aise paheliyon mein kyun baat kar rahe hai… mujhe toh kuch bhi samaj nahi aaraha", a confused Vidhi complained. Dev asked her to get in the car. He kept thinking whether he should tell Vidhi or not. He started battling with himself in his mind as Vidhi patiently waited for his explanation. After a lot of struggle he finally decided not to tell Vidhi about it. "Iss baat ne mujhe itna pareshaan kiya… Vidhi ko na jaane kitna pareshaan karega. Uski tabiyat ke liye thik nahi hai yeh", but he knew Vidhi wouldn't give in so easily without knowing.
"Hum roz apni apni life mein kitna kuch face karte hai Vidhi... Kabhi bhi, kuch bhi ho sakta hai... Lekin hota nahi hai... hum safe hai... humare apne... humari family... Hum har waqt unke saath nahin ho sakte hai, lekin hum bhagwan se unke liye duaan toh kar sakte hai... Yeh pray kar sakte hai ki woh humesha safe rahe... Hum na sahin lekin bhagwan hamesha humare apno ke saath rahe unka rakshak bankar. Aur bhagwan jab humari family ko safe rakh rahe ho, toh unko thank you bolna toh banta hai na", Dev said. Vidhi nodded, "Banta toh hai."
[At Milapini Mata's temple]
Dev and Vidhi stood infront of Milapini Mata eyes closed, hands folded. A tear rolled down Dev's cheek which he quickly wiped off before Vidhi could notice. He said in his mind, "Maa, aapse kuch nahi chupa hai... Jab maine pehli baar Vidhi ke liye kuch mehsoos kiya tha tab bhi main aap ke paas aaya tha. Aapke ashirwaad se humne ek dusre se aapne pyar ka izhaar kiya. Humari shaadi aapki mandir mein huyi. Aapne humesha humara saath diya hai. Mujhe toh jitni chahiye thi, usse bhi zyada khushi di hai aapne Vidhi ko mere zindagi mein laakar. Aur ab jo humara bachcha aane wala hai, mere zindagi mein unse zaruri aur kuch nahi hai. Aap chahe toh mera sab kuch le lo lekin mere biwi aur bachche ke saath hamesha rehna. Unn dono par apna ashirwaad hamesha banaye rakhna. Unn dono ko kabhi bhi kuch nahi hona chahiye. Aaj jaise aapne khatre ko taal diya, aage bhi unka dhyan rakhna iss hi tarha se. Aaj ke liye dher sara shukriya Maa", Dev slowly opened his eyes.
He found Vidhi looking suspiciously at him. "Itna kya maang rahe the aap Maa se?", she asked. "Tum dono ki khushi aur tum dono ki salamati", Dev said with a smile. "Aur apne liye?", Vidhi asked again. "Tum dono ki khushi aur tum dono ki salamati", Dev answered. Vidhi hugged him and kissed him on his cheeks. "Hum dono ki khushi toh aap se hai", she said. ".... haan ek aur cheez hai jo hum dono ko bahut khush karti hai", Vidhi said while walking towards their car hand in hand. Dev looked at her. Both of them smiled and said at the same time, "Golgappe..." They had a hearty laugh as they almost ran towards their favourite panipuri stall. "Bhaiyya do plate", Vidhi said. "Inke liye mineral water haan", Dev reminded. The crackling sound of the puris, the scent of the sour water, the perfect combination of the spices was making both of them drool, especially Vidhi.
Dev however felt something again. A heavy feeling gripped him. A distant sound of someone weeping was reaching his ears. He asked Vidhi if she could hear anything. She nodded her head in a 'NO' while stuffing her mouth with a panipuri. Dev however could hear someone crying very clearly. He even recognized the voice. Somebody he knows, was weeping. The sound was making him sad, it was piercing his heart. His chest was starting to feel tight. The sound became more and more clear. Dev suddenly realised his eyes were shut. What was he doing having his eyes closed in the middle of the day? He opened them.
He was no more infront of a panipuri stall. Instead he was in the hospital. Vidhi was lying on the bed infront of him, weeping poorly. He got up and walked towards the bed. Vidhi was under observation for the last 12 hours. Today she would be released and the two of them could go home. The one, they spent the whole night crying about, had gone a bit too far from them, never to come back. Dev sat beside Vidhi and hugged her from the back. "Humara bachcha, Dev ji", Vidhi cried out loud. Dev too started sobbing. "Don't worry, Vidhi", he kissed her forehead.
"In another universe, we did everything right."
