OS: Itni si khwahish thi

Writer:Aazeen Khan (aazeen02)

Graphicer: dellzcreationz

Chosen Trope Set (Set A+Set B): One Night That Changes Everything (SET-A) + Magical realism- DREAM (SET-B)

Character Pairing (Hero + Heroine): Prem Nath (Salman Khan)+ Nisha Chaudhary (Madhuri Dixit) from Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!

Story Title: Itni Si Khawahish thi

Word Count:1287 words

Book Cover:BOOK COVER FOR ENTRY-2

One-shot:

Nisha smiled broadly at the mirror as Prem had tied the family's traditional necklace in front of her Jiji. Handing Munna in her arms, Jeeji had gone out of the room to take the call, apparently from Jeejaji. She felt a certain sense of foreboding at that moment, but nothing really happened. They were still smiling and making cute faces, looking at Munna. Their moment broke with Pooja calling for Prem... But it still had a happy ring in her voice.

“Prem! Prem, tumhare bhaiyya phone par bula rahe hain. Maine batayi unhein ye khush khabri.” She giggled. Prem had a broad smile and rushed out of the room while Nisha blushed away shyly.

“Chal baahar chalke sunte hain dono bhai kya baat kar rahe hain... Tu kya yahan baithi-baithi sharma rahi hai.” Pooja lovingly pulled her out of the chair she was sitting on.

“Bhaiyya, tum aa jaao pehle yahan, phir batate hain ye news Kaka ko aur Uncle-Aunty ko. Main kaise bataaunga...” Prem was hesitant and feeling shy. Probably, his elder brother Rajesh was pulling his leg. In the meantime, Pooja had clicked the hands-free button on the phone piece and kept the receiver back on the cradle, so that all of them could hear the conversation between the brothers.

“Ab sharma raha hai... Hum sabki naak ke neeche humari saali saahiba se isqh farmaate waqt nahi sharmaaya tu?” Rajesh was talking gleefully.

“Arre Nisha ka bhi yahi haal hai. Dono aise sharma rahe hain ki poochiye mat. Aap aa jaaiye na yahan jald se jald, phir shaam mein Kakaji aur Mummy-Papa ko bhi ye news de dete hain.” Pooja sounded as excited as Rajesh was on the other side.

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Waah-waah Ramji Jodi kya banayi

Prem aur Nisha ko, badhaai ho badhaai...

Pooja and Rajesh had taken it upon themselves to make Prem and Nisha feel pampered, as they were getting engaged in Ram Tekdi. Their extended family and friends had joined in to do the sagaai in the time being till they get an auspicious date for the marriage. Prem and Nisha have been the centre of everyone’s fun. It was practically the first love marriage in the Nath Household, and though they have been very welcoming about this union, they all still teased them. After the initial shyness, both had started taking the teasing in their stride and laughed and smiled along. Dressed in a peach and mint-green lehenga that shimmered softly under the fairy lights, Nisha gazed at the diamond ring glinting on her finger — the same finger Prem had just held so gently moments ago, and she did the same as she smiled shyly at his handsome figure with his boyish charm in a cream coloured kurta and a peach and mint coloured vest jacket. They had just exchanged rings when Pooja and Rajesh performed on the song, congratulating them.

The evening felt like passing in the blur; the marigold and lamp-decorated hall was filled with laughter and happiness as their wedding date got finalised, which was in a month.

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Nisha couldn’t help but brim with happiness, as she could see the rituals of her marriage going around on her wedding day. Pooja had arrived with the barat procession, and from thereon kept juggling between fulfilling the duties of Nisha’s jeeji and Prem’s bhabhi. Her younger cousins had even reprised the ‘Joote Do Paise Lo' moment, though it was at a smaller scale, because the boss lady of the previous time herself sat as a bride in the madap, completing one ritual after the other in front of the holy fire with Prem. It was mostly their immediate family that remained awake when late at night they took pheras, and he had filled her hair parting with Sindoor and tied a mangalsutra around her neck.

The dinner continued with the teasing, and to ease the situation for them, Rajesh fed a hesitant Nisha a ladoo and Pooja to Prem. Her vidaai felt bittersweet... Sweet because she was finally going to the home she always belonged to with the man in her heart, where her jeeji will always be there to guide her, help her and be the shelter to any problem... Her heart felt heavy for her parents, though. They were growing older, and both their daughters have left the nest... Nevertheless, she hugged them a tearful goodbye and got inside the waiting car... She eventually was all smiles. Her jeeji was standing at the doorstep of her new home with the Aarti ki thaali, and did all the welcoming of the new bahu as the elder bahu of the house... All of this felt like a dream come true.

Their mornings had become so beautiful. They prepared breakfast together, ate together, sat together, and had family time together. Weekends meant Rajesh and Prem helping them in the kitchen so that the work gets wound up soon and all of them together go play a match of cricket. Even little Munna was enjoying being together with everyone. Maamiji recently gave birth to a baby boy, and Munna, though himself a toddler, loved having another baby around. Lalloo and Chameli got married too in their village. The entire Nath and Chaudhary family, along with extended families and friends, attended the wedding, all arranged by the Naths.

Bhola Bhaiyya and Rita were getting engaged soon. All of them had planned to gather at Mamaji’s house. Nisha, clad in a blue silk saree and gajra, was getting ready for the function when Prem returned from work. He wanted to romance her instead of getting ready, and she was swinging between giving in to the temptation and running away from him so that he could get ready, and ran out of the room so that she could go down to her jeeji’s, calling her downstairs. He held her fingers when she tried to pull her hand out of his grip, and the jerk made her slip from the topmost stairs.

The jerk of the moment made Nisha jerk physically, and she opened her eyes to find herself lying in the bed in the semi-dark room. Munna was sleeping in his cot, and Prem was peacefully sleeping next to her. She blinked her eyes many times, trying to gauge the situation. Was that a dream? Trying to remember which turn of events was the reality. Yes, she was married to Prem, but there was no jeeji. She passed away after the unfortunate slipping on the stairs... And the roll of events came rushing in front of her eyes, where in the last moment Rajesh had got her married to Prem because of the letter she had written to Prem. Nisha was living the dream that she had always wanted to live. But that one night changed everything. This was not the reality; this was her dream.

Nisha sat up on the bed, and a fresh roll of tears streamed down her cheeks in a powerful flow. Everything was there. She was happy with Prem and the family; everyone was moving positively after she came into this house. Even Rajesh had come out of his depression, seeing Nisha take up the role of the woman of the house and a mother to Munna. They all grieved Pooja silently in their hearts, yet started remaining genuinely happy for each other. Nisha was happy too; she just missed having her Jeeji in the house like they were when she had come here for Pooja’s godh bharayi and then delivery.

Nisha wiped her tears and smiled softly through them- “Jeeji,” she whispered into the quiet, “Tum saath hoti na… toh ye sapna sach hota.” She closed her eyes, her lips trembling into a smile. “Bas itni si khwahish thi.”

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