DING DONG!
The bell went signanling the end of classes. Gunjan Bhushan stood up immidiately, wanting to get out of there before Samrat could come and ask to take her home. She wanted walk home today and do some thinking. She knew that he would figure out that something was wrong if she went with him. So she hurried out of class.
On her way out, Gunjan caught a glimse of the very guy she was thinking about. He was with Sheena, flirting...um... talking with her. Tears found their way into her eyes and she ran out, not caring for the irritated looks people shot at her as she bumped into them. She just wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.
"So, when are you gonna tell her?" Sheena asked Samrat.
"Tell who what?" he asked confused.
Sheena sighed. "Gunjan that you love her, of course!" she exclaimed, smacking his shoulder. Samrat looked astonished.
"Wh...what? I'm not in love with Chashmish!" he exclaimed.
Sheena shot him a glare. "No need to hide it. Mujhe sab pata hai."
Samrat looked defeated. "How did you...?"
She shrugged. "It was obvious really. I mean, you are always with her, you are always helping her and you cannot bear it when some other guy comes close to her," she finished the last part with a grin.
Samrat's face took a far-off look. "Doesn't matter, though. Uske liye toh main sirf uski best friend hoon. Usse zyada kuch nahin," he said sadly.
"Tumhe kaise pata? Ho sakta hai ki, she also loves you, but thinks that you like someone else?"
Samrat shook his head. "Nahin, yaar. Forget it. It doesn't matter. Main ussee apni dil ki baat batakar, usse khona nahin chahta. Our friendship means everything to me. Is liye, main usse kuch nahin kahoonga," he said firmly, turning to go look for Gunjan so he could drop her home.
Sheena sighed. She knew for a fact that Gunjan loved Samrat just as much as he loved her. At first she had just suspected it, but then she had overheard Nupur talking to Mayank about it. But she had kept her mouth shut as had also heard Nupur talk about her promise to Gunjan. Respecting Gunjan's privacy, she had decided that she would try and find out how Samrat felt about her. After observing him a few days, she could tell, he definitely loved her but was hiding behind the mask of a caring best friend. And today's conversation just confirmed it. Sighing once again, she turned to pack her things and get back home.
"I don't believe it!" Samrat's startled exclamation brought her back from her musings. She turned to him questioningly.
"Kya hua, Sam? Why are shouting?"
Samrat turned to her. His expression was a cross between anger and frustration.
"Gunjan ghar chali gayi! Without telling me! Phir se!"
Sheena frowned. "Toh?"
"Toh? Gunjan ko hamesha main ghar drop karta hoon. If she wanted to go alone, then she could've at least told me!"
Sheena giggled. "Relax Sam. I'm sure she had a good reason to do so," she said soothingly. Samrat hmphed.
"She'd better!" he said and the two went home.
'I'm home, Gunjan!" announced Nupur, closing the door behind her. Hearing no reply, she called again.
"Gunjan?... Gunjan?...Kahan ho tum?" she walked around the hall, calling Gunjan's name. Suddenly, Uday jumped out in front of her, dressed up as a chef.
"Uday bhaiyya! Don't scare me like that again, samjhe?" she said angrily. "Achha batayiye, Gunjan kahan hai?"
"I don't know," he said with a confused look. "I don't think she's home yet."
Nupur frowned. "But she left collage as soon as the bell rang! So how come she's not here yet?" ahe began to get worried. Gunjan had left almost two hours ago. She'd stayed behind in order to do some extra rehersals with Mayank.
"Shayad Samrat ke saath hogi," she tought and phoned him.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Samrat? Gunjan tumhare saath hai kya?" she asked.
"Nahin toh," Samrat said. "Nupur, kya hua? Sab theek to hai na?"
"Nahin Samrat. Gunjan ko collage se nikalte hue almost two hours ho chuke hain. And she's still not home," Nupur' voice was worried. "Mujhe laga tha ki maybe she was with you. After all, you drop her home everyday."
"Nahin, Nupur. For the past few days, Gunjan mujhe usse ghar drop karne ka chance hi nahin de rahi hai," Samrat sounded frustrated.
"And I know why," thought Nupur. Out loud though, she just said, "By god! Now where do I look for her? Where can she be?"
"Nupur, don't worry. Main ek kam karta hoon. I'll drive around the neighborhood. Ho sakta hai, mujhe woh mil jaye," he suggested.
"Ok Samrat. Tum woh karo. Main Uday bhaiyya ko bahar bhejti hoon. Shayad Gunjan kahin aas paas mein ho." But even as she said, she didn't believe it. And she knew Samrat didn't believe it either. Something had happened to Gunjan and they both knew it. They could just feel it somehow.
Two hours later, Uday, Samrat, Benji, Nupur and Mayank were assembled in Samrat's hall. After sending Uday out to look for Gunjan, Nupur had called Mayank immidiately, needing him to get through this. And Samrat had called in Benji for help to look for Gunjan. But even after two hours of non-stop searching, they had not been able to find her. Finally, tired out, they had all decided to meet in Samrat's place to discuss whether to call in the police or not. Needless to say, eveyone had been shocked out of their wits when Nupur flatly declared that they were not calling in the police.
"Lekin Nupur, tum kyun nahin police ko bulana chahti?" Mayank asked, frustrated. "They can help us find Gunjan!"
Nupur shook her head. "Nahin Mayank! Main polce ko involve nahin karna chahti and that's final! Bas!"
"No Nupur," Samrat's voice was soft. He hadn't said anything since the argument had started and the others had nearly fogotten that he was there.
"You have to tell me why you don't want the police in this," Samrat said firmly. "Wahan, meri best friend, tumhari behan, na jaane kis haal mein hai aur tum ho ki?" he trailed off before he said anything he might regret later on.
"Fine!" Everyone were shocked to see that Nupur had tears in her eyes. "You want the truth? Take it."
She brought out a photograph from her pocket. An old, torn photo that was black and white. She placed on the table as everyone gathered to have a good look at it. It showed a young man and a woman, smiling happily. the woman held a little bundle in her arms, while a young girl sat on the man's shoulders. It was the picture of a happy family.
Nupur had tears flowing down her face as she looked at the photo. She looked up at Mayank, expecting his outburst any second. He didn't disappoint her.
"Ek minute!" he exclaimed. "Woh aadmi-" he trailed off, looking at her questioningly. She could almost hear the wheel turning in his head.
"Yaani ki tum...?" Nupur nodded tearfully. "Haan, Mayank. And that's why I don't wanna call the police."
He nodded understandingly. "But why didn't you tell us? And how come you're from Morena?" he saked frowning.
Before she could reply though, Benji cut in unable to take the suspense any longer. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?!" he exclaimed.
Nupur stood up, turning her backs to all of them. Mayank put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked at him tearfully. He nodded, smiling.
"Main batati hoon. Aaj tak, maine aur Gunjan ne tum sabse ek sach chupaya."
"Aur woh kya hai?" came Samrat's voice. Nupur turned to them and pointed at the photo.
"Do you see that couple? Woh hamare mom dad the. Mr. Dhanraj and Malati Bhushan." She heard Samrat gasp and she nodded at him.
"Haan, Samrat. Hamare papa ek India ke sabse bade industrialists mein se ek hain. Lekin woh ek bahut hi simple aadmi hain. He was never into money or wealth. He wanted us also to grow up like he had; simple and kind. And so we lived in a small house with very few servants. But we were very happy," Nupur's voice was dreamy at this point.
Samrat frowned. This still didn't explain why she didn't want the police involved. And how come she lived in Morena? Before he could say anything though, she continued her story.
"When I was seven and Gunjan six, hamari ma chal basi. Lekin unki death ek sochi samjhi sazish thi," she turned to them, tears making their way down her cheek.
"Mere papa ke buisness partner ne unhe dhoka de diya. He stole all of my papa's hard-earned wealth. Mama found out and she threatened to inform the police and papa if he did not return the money as soon as possible. He tried to trick her but she found out and so...so...he ki...killed her!" Nupur's voice broke and she started sobbing. Mayank put his arms around her comfortingly as the other three watched aghast.
She sniffed, pulling herself together. "Uske baad, papa ko us bhains ki aulad ke bare mein sab kuch pata chal gaya. He wanted to kill him but Gunjan and I stopped him. We handed him over to the police. Lekin tab se papa badal gaye. Haansna aur muskurana unki dictionary se hamesha ke liye erase ho gaye. Suddenly, ek din, woh hume Morena le gaye. He said that we were to be brought up there with our nani. Hume vahan chodkar woh chale gaye," Nupur finished, sniffing. She turned to the guys.
"Tum samajhte ho na? Agar hum police ko involve karte hain, then unke liye bahut badnaami ho jayegi. Aur woh jaante tak nahin ki hum dono yahan Mumbai mein hain," she turned to them, a pleading look on her face.
"Please guys," she said, bringing her hands together. "Main tumse haat jodkar vinti karti hoon, please don't call the police. Gunjan meri behan hai and I want to look for her at any cost. But I don't want the police's help. Please."
Samrat nodded. "Theek hai, Nupur. Hum police ko involve nahin karenge. Lekin mujhe ek baat samajh mein nahin aayi. How come Uday and Diya don't know about this? They are your cousins after all."
Nupur nodded. "They are my cousins, true. But unke papa, yaani ki meri chachaji, ne unhe kabhi ye baat nahin bataya. Papa ne unhe bataya tha ki he didn't want anyone to know that his wife was murdered. Puri duniya ko aaj bhi yahi lagti hai ki mama ko high tension ki wajah se heart attack ho gayi." Nupur turned to Uday.
"Bhaiyya. Please aap yeh baat kisi ko math batana. Diya ko bhi nahin. Please, bhaiyya, please," she pleaded.
Uday nodded smiling. "Chill Nupur. I won't tell anyone. Not even dids. I promise."
Nupur hugged him. "Thank you, bhaiyya, thank you," she said, sobbing.
"Alright then," said Benji. "We'll look for Gunjan on our own, right Sammy?" he looked at his best friend.
Samrat nodded. "Of course. And we are going to find her."
"And when we do find her, you are gonna tell her the truth," Banji said sternly. Samrat stared at him in surprise.
"How did you...?"
"I heard you two," stated Benji simply. Samrat groaned. Nupur and Mayank looked at them in confusion. Dodo, well, dodo's expression is always confused so there's no need to ask.
"Yeh kya bak-bak kar rahe ho tum dono?" asked Mayank.
Benji opened his mouth to say something but Samrat put a hand over his mouth.
"Nothing, guys, nothing."
Mayank still looked at hm suspiciously but then shrugged. "Whatever. Ab chalein? Gunjan go ghar vapas lana hai ki nahin?"
They all nodded, getting up to go. But just then Samrat's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and smiled in relief.
"Gunjan ka phone hai," he told the others who also sat down relieved.
"Hey Chashmish! Kahan ho tum? Hum sab kitne pareshan the!" he said into the phone, smiling.
The others looked on anxiously as Samrat's smile disappeared and his face turned deathly pale.
"Don't you dare-" he growled but the phone line got cut before he could finish. He threw the phone onto the couch in anger and frustration.
Nupur got and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kya hua, Samrat? Gunajan kahan hai? Woh theek to hai na?"
Samrat turned to face her and she was shocked to see his eyes. They were burning with anger and another emotion she could not identify.
"I'm sorry, Nupur. But..." he trailed off.
"But what, Samrat! Gunajan theek to hai na?" she asked frantically. Samrat was quiet for a few seconds and then-
"Gunjan's been kidnapped."
dats the end of the 1st chapter. pls tell me if u want me to continue!
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