chapter--4 pratigya reached her seat,and found her frnds babbling away as usual. seeing her pari called out---hey pratigya kahan thi tum? pratigya---hum hath muh dhone gaye the. shje thot of that man whu saved her,she didnt evn know his name,he was quite attractive. she smiled to herself
mouni---pratigya? itna blush kyu kar rahi ho tum? aur apne aap se kya batein kar rahi ho jo man hi man muskura rahi ho?
pratigya smiled more widely---kuch nhi yar.....
she looked out of the window...suddenly she felt that it wud be more enjoying if she stood by the door and watched the landscapes...
she ran to the door and holding on to the door handles,she peeped out. she enjoyed the beautiful breeze and was loving it wen suddenly she heard frm behind----yahan aise khade mat hoiye...
she looked back. it was the same guy and he stood uncomfortably close to her,so much so that she cud smell his breath mixed with the taste of cigarette.
she leaned back to get a little away frm him. he saw her slight movement and leaned closer to her. now,she was a bit afraid..
krishna---kyu? darwaze se jhakte hue dar nhi lagta?par nazdiki se dar lagta hain?
pratigya closed her eyes,he was too close....she felt her heart beating remarkably fast... this was a new feeling...she started breathing heavily,perhaps she expected somethng.........bt he let go of her. he moved away. he said----apne seat par jaiye aur chup chap baith jaiye...yahan aise khada hone thk nhi hain..
pratigya felt sweat on her forehead... wat was he going to do?---she thot.
she was abt to go towards her seat wen krishna called her frm behind----naam kya hain apka. she looked back,confused abt telling him or nt.....then she thot----naam mein kya rakha hain?
she smiled a heart stealing smile and uttered her name softly----pratigya... then she left...
krishna rested his head on the door and closed his eyes----pratigya....he uttered her name with a strange passion.....-----kitni sundar naam hain....
................................................................
it was a small station where the train stopped after few more hours. it had been almost evening by then. aarushi suddenly discovered that all the water they had bought had finished. she exclaimed---god!!!saare pani khatam ho gaye hain...aab kya karenge puri journey?
pari---aur kya,saara mam ke paas pani hain kya puch na koi...
mouni---kisise puchne se to accha hain hum aur pani kharid le...waise mam ne kaha tha ki journey ka pani apne apne ghar se le aana....
pratigya was drooling away wen pari shook her hard.
pratigya---kya hua? thoda rest karne do na?
pari--ye lo....ye madam rest karengi aur hum inke liye khana pani le ayenge...oye pratigya uth jaldi...pani khatm ho gayi hain....station par jake pani kharid ke le aa.....
pratigya---tumlog kyu nhi jate?
mouni---kyu? harbar hum hi kyu jaye? ye madam yaha baithke soegi aur hum iske liye duadte rahenge...thk hain...hum jate hain lekin hum jo pani layenge wo tumhe nhi milega...bolo manzoor hain?
pratigya got up---okay okay baba chalti hu....
she rubbed her eyes and took out her purse frm her bag. then she got down and walked towards the statioon's corner where all shops are situated. to her dismay she found the snacks shop closed. she looked here and there,there wasnt anbymore snacks shop to be seen. she thot--agar main khali hath wapas chali gayi to wo log mujhe kaccha chaba jayenge...
she looked around her and noticed a hand pump a few distance away. she had brot a single empty bottle with her and thot---agar main isme pani bharke le jau,to at least kuch to kam hoga!!!
she started to walk towards the hand pump wen suddenly she heard the shrill whistle of the train. she looked back,horrified to see that the train had started to move. it took her some seconds to realise wat was actually happening. then she ran,shouting---ee ruko................plz ruk jao......RUK JAOOOO!!!!!!!!
the train gained more speed. pratigya ran faster,her heart beating so fast that she cud almost hear it..... she started to cry----mouni,pari..............plz.................roko train ko.......................
they didnt hear her......she satrted to lose her speed...
suddenly she tripped over her dupatta and fell down on the platform,hitting her nose badly. blood started to smear out of her little nose and it mixed with her tears.... the train left without her. she stared at it, until it disappeared out of her sight.....
pratigya did nt get up before few minutes..she was still in a state of shock. she wiped the blood and tears off her face and looked around her. that station was the lonliest station she had evr seen in her life. not a single person was there inspite of the fact that it was only 6.30. she knew that she had to calm down and think some way out,somethng to get out of this trouble. she had evn left her mobile phone with her luggage. wat she had was just a purse and an empty bottle. she evn did nt know the name of the station.. she looked at the board. it said KAMALPUR. pratigya had nvr heard the name. a stange fear engrossed her totally as she felt that she was the only person in the station. as soon as she realised it,she ran towards the waiting room. she stood in frnt of it for some seconds,wondering whether to enter or nt. then she slowly pushed the door...a nasty smell made her almost vomit. the room had been closed for so long.....and of course noone was there. pratigya felt as if she had reached outside this world,she had reached some haunted place otherwise hw was it possible that there was nt a single person in the station and if it was such a lonely and unused place then why did the train stop here? she wondered...perhaps it was waiting for the ryt signal..and foolish she thot that this was an important station. she entered the room,as because she knew that she wud be safely hidden inside till the morning. once the sun rises she wud leave this station and ask help frm anybody. afterall she had money....
the smell was intolerable and she felt that she wud lose her senses. it was dark and she hit a table sort of thng,her feet ached.. she groaned in pain.... PAPA!!!---she cried----kahan ho aap.....
pratigya sat down in the corner of the room,hiding herself well..she felt tired bt was too frightened to go to sleep....
she didnt know how long she had been waiting there wen she heard some noise outside....some voices of men. terror shook her interiors as she realised that the men were drunk... she almost stopped breathng and wondered if she cud stop her heartbeat for few seconds.... the voices came nearer....and nearer.... and stopped outside her room. she put her hand across her mouth to stop herself frm gasping..
a man kicked the door open and cried out---woohoo!!! are yar dekho...hamare liye ek pura room khali hain chalo aajao andar.... raat ko sone ka jagah to mil gaya....
two more men stranded behind him. pratigya wud hve been as quite as dead bt her fear gave her out. she gasped out a loud breath wen one man approached the corner where she was and stood up. the drunkard was at frst surprised and tried to make out whether he was imagining thngs or not. then he laughed out loudly. the other two turned at him. he said----eee dekho,aab isiki kami thi...boss kya solid cheez hain yar....lagta hain aaj raat ko maza aa jayega...
pratigya cried out in pain as he grabbed her hand and her glass bangles broke into pieces, she bit his hand immidiately...
AAHHHH----he cried out in pain and let her go. she ran out of the room as fast as she cud. the men followed her----jane mat dena usko...pakdo use..sasuri ladki....
pratigya cntinued to ran for her life. she searched for a single hiding place bt found almost nothing until her eyes fell on a small closed shop wich had a little space to hide behind. she entered that space and sat quietly. the men were surprised to see her disappear suddenly. one cried out---kaha gayi...yehi kahin hongi,dhundo use,hath se jana nhi chahiye...
she closed her eyes in relief as they moved away frm her hiding place. she gave out her breath at last....
just a few minutes......pratigya jumped up in horror as someone touched her shoulder. she shouted out immediately,without looking back----jane do mujhe...plz jane do......
PRATIGYA????--the voice was husky and mechanical,with least emotion in it... she turned and saw the familiar handsome eyes,looking down at her.... she couldnt cntrol herself anymore.. she threw her arms around krishna and hugged him so tightly that he cud scarcely breathe.. after all she went through,she had nvr expected him to be there....she didnt know why her heart jumped with joy at seeing him....she didnt know why she felt that she cud forget evrythng in his warm embrace.. she did nt want to let go and clinged onto her last shelter... tears flooded her cheeks and lips and krishna's neck and she kept on sobbing. krishna caressed her in his arms and tried to console her. he whispered softly---pratigya chup ho jao......kuch nhi hoga......hum hain na..........
EE dekho.....ye yahan hain,aur hum ise kahan kahan dhund rahe hain--- pratigya became stiff and cold in his arms as krishna looked back. the men had returned. the one whom pratigya had bitten was surprised to see the new face----abe!! ee hero kaun hain be?
krishna got upand said---ee tera baap hain be...
he looked back at pratigya whu was clutching at his shirt and hiding herself behind him. then he turned to the men agen---kyu pareshna kar raha hain ladki ko...dekhta nhi kitni darr gayi hain bechari???
the man---tu kaun hain re....is ladki ka aashiq hain ka? khair jo bhi ho...humko to is ladki se matlab hain,uski aashiq se nhi....
krishna----krishna.....krishna thakur....naam hain hamara...
evn in the dim light of the station pratigya cud see the effect,his name had on their faces wich suddenly became pale....
krishna thakur---she whispered to herself..she knew she had heard it somewhere bt was too tired to remember where....
the men suddenly folded their hands and said--maaf kar do bhaiya..galati ho gayi humse....aap ladki ka kuch bhi karo hum chalte hain...
they turned back and at frst walked then suddenly gained speed and ran....
Edited by kaasshh - 15 years ago
Anupamaa
