Part 6.
She was standing against the door inside, when she heard the gate close , the bike start and the noise fade. He was gone. She ran to her room and fell on the bed. She heard the thunder and rain, how will he reach home in this rain. He did not have his jacket either, he might fall sick , catch cold, she wont be able to remind him to take medicines. As it sank in she cannot do all the little things she was doing for him, cannot talk to him see him for a year, a shiver passed through her. how could she agree to this, he had that power in the eyes that made her say yes to anything, she was brave enough to say that she can wait for him forever but she is not able to live it even for 5 minutes. She cried bitterly realising the reality.
Her mother came in after a while, 'kuch khalo, bhuke pet nahi sona hai' 'khana bhi ek saal baad khaungi, agar bhuke mar gayi toh aur bhi accha hai' she said wiping her tears. Seeing her red eyes and tear stricken face her mother's heart was twisted, she felt a pit in her stomach, but whatever happened was for her own good. May be this fire of infatuation will die soon over the year and arohi will realise it was not love for life, she atleast wanted to believe that way. Arohi got up to lock the door to her room when her mother left, then she heard a knock on the door. may be it is him, he too realised it is too hard and came back for her, may be he will fight with her dad and take her with him, she was ready to go. before her mother could ask who it is she ran and opened the door expecting to see him.
It was a guy , looked like a delivery boy. He had a packet in his hand that smelled of food, 'delivery madam' 'humne kuch nahi order kiya' 'Kisi saab ne order kiya, address yahi diya delivery karne ko' he said handing her the cover and leaving. She knew who it was that ordered. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and fell down the cheeks. Her mother was about to say that she can now atleast eat, but arohi snapped at her 'abi 12'clock hua nahi hai, woh abhi bhi mujhe communicate kar sakta hai' then she stopped 'daro mat main phone nai karungi, kyunki agar kiya toh phir ruk nai sakti yaha par, aur woh arjun ne jo papa ko promise kiya uske khilaaf hoga, main use haarne nai doongi'. Her mom took all that bitterness in, since she knew arohi was going to behave this way for a while now. Now that she was going to eat, she felt satisfied and went to serve herself and aro's dad dinner.
Once in her room she opened to see what was in it. Along with a food packet there was a slip. She took it out and read , 'khalo , varna main bhi nai khaunga. rona nahi, nahi toh main bhi nai hasunga. Theek ek saal baad aaunga , aur agar main nahi aaya toh..' looked like he could fill as much space as he could in that little chit he had found. he knew the answer and she completed it 'agar tum nahi aoge toh main tumhare paas aa jaungi, tum jaha par bhi ho' . She felt little calm and satisfied. He had sent her favourite fried rice, she ate it all , even after she was full. If he had seen he would have teased her of going fat. she laid down on her back and tried to smile like he had asked, but she could not, all she could do was cry some more.
He was drenched when he reached home. On the way he saw the restaurant arohi always loved to eat from. he knew she wont eat anything after he left, he placed an order and sent it to her. He could write a small note for her. 'agar main nahi aaunga toh ...' he wrote and stopped himself from writing further, if she reads what he wanted to say she will freak out and will definitely come out now itself. He could call her there was still time, then he will making her more anxious. He changed into dry clothes and made himself a warm glass of milk. If aro was there she would make a huge thing , yeh davai lo woh davai lo , he smiled imagining her freaking out over his small discomforts. kya kar rahi hogi ab, khana khaya hoga, aur phir note baar baar padti hogi , aur phir roti hogi she was so sensitive. If he had the power he would make the year go by in a second.
His father heard him and came out. The talk they had was still incomplete. Seeing his dad he sat upright in the chair 'baarish mein bheeg ke aaya?' 'haan woh raaste mein shuru ho gayi' 'main kuch baat karna chahta hoon, tumhare aur ...' 'arohi ke baare mein?' 'haan, tum jo bol rahe ho uske liye unke ghar wale maan jayenge, aur aage kaisa hoga, iss ghar mein...' 'abhi bahut waqt hai abba' 'kal toh aise bol rahe the ki sab kuch abhi tai karni hai' 'aaj baat badal gayi' 'hmmm ladki walo ne mana kiya?' 'mana nahi shart rakhwaya' 'shart?' arjun told him how arohi's dad wanted them to be apart for a year and see. Ismail Khan was taken aback that arjun agreed to such a challenge and he could not imagine knowing his son how he might go through this. 'aur tumne haan bol diya' 'aur kya karta , jhagda karke sab kharab hone deta?' 'tum ek mard ho aur agar woh ladki chahti hai itna toh tumhare sath aa jaati' 'main ek saccha mard hoon isiliye toh accept kiya hai abba, usse pyaar karta hoon aur use koi bhi aise kaam karne nai de sakta jo use apne ghar se door kare' then he repented saying the last lines of taking her away from the family seeing his fathers face go grim 'mera woh matlab nahi tha'
They were silent for a while. 'ab kya karoge' 'bas ek saal ka kya aise hi guzar jayega , koshish yeh karni hai ki waha jaane se apne aap ko rokna padege' 'tum US chale jao' 'US? abba usi din behas huyi thi main dubara woh sab nai bolna chahta' 'tab baat alag thi, main maan bhi gaya tha, ab alag hai, yahi par rehke apne aap ko kahi bhi aane jaane se rokne se accha, tum US mein raho, dono ke liye accha hai' 'maine bol diya na nai jaunga' 'tum kisi aur ki baap ke shart aur baat ko maan sakte ho, apne abba ki nahi, humari koi mol nahi hai, akhir waha tumhare chahne wale hai , yaha par koi nahi?'
'aap yeh sab kya bol rahe ho' 'agar tumhe apne baap par bhi wahi izzat hai jo uske baap ke upar hai toh meri baat maan jaa'. Now even his mother came. She came to know everything and supported her husband's decision. After deliberating for more than 2 hours and trying to convince them otherwise arjun had to give in. Their emotional talk took upper hand and he was forced to take up the decision of leaving to US.
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