Differences Between Us :: Arshi FF [COMPLETED] - Page 36

"Kya yahi din dekhne ke liye zinda rakkha tha Devi Maiyya ne? Teen betiyon mein se ek ki bhi shaadi nahin hui aur pati ki aisi haalat hai! Inhein kuchh ho jaata, to hum kya karte? Sab kuchh kaise sambhaalte ?" Garima repeated. Manorama stood behind her, rubbing her back. (Had devi Maiyya kept me alive to see this day? Three daughters amongst whom none is married and my husband is in such a state! What would I have done if something had happened to him? How would I have lived?)

Manohar and Khushi were with the doctor. Shashi Gupta's health had started to get back on the right side now. He was out of danger and stronger, his heart was back to normal but he had been kept back for two more night under observation, just in case. He would be discharged that day, so his daughter and her uncle needed to confirm that everything was fine and they also had to take the instructions about the kind of care that Shashi would be requiring.

Their greatest worry had been about the hospital fees, which they had not told to the rest of the family. They had to pay the amount as soon as possible or else they would be charged with additional fee for lateness and some five hundred were still lacking.

"Ab kya kareinge, Bitiya?" Manohar frowned tersely. The bank with which he had his accounts had no branches there and the other ways of arranging money that had come to his mind would take too long. Khushi glanced at the gold bangles in her hand thoughtfully. They had belonged to her Nani as well and she treasured them greatly. But right now, her father, her family were more important to her than anything else, right? (What will we do now?)

***

"Kul milaake kitne milsakte hain, Bhaiyyaji?" she wrung her hands together, her heart aching as she watched the bangles now in a stranger's hands. (How much can I get, brother?)

The pawn-broker analysed the ornaments before shaking his head. "Teen sau se ziaada nahin." (Not more that three hundred.)

"Kya? Dekhiye, humein in paison ki bohot zaroorat hai!" Khushi pleaded, her eyes welling up. Suddenly, her voice grew weaker as the ache in her throat increased. "Humein sirf paanch sau rupaye udhaar chaahiye. Jald se jald vaapas kardeinge, aap-" (What? Look, I really need this money! Just five hundred. I'll return it as soon as I can, you-)

"Dekho behen, jo ho sakega, main vahi to karounga! Achha chalo chaar sau dedounga. Girvi rakkhne ke liye aur kuchh hai?" (Look sister, I'll do whatever I can! Fine, I'll give you four hundred. Do you have anything else to mortgage?)

Khushi bit her lip and looked down. There were the pure silver anklets her father had bought, a pair for each of his daughters. She sniffed and crouched to take them off. They sure meant a lot to her but she had to give them in return for her father, himself. She deposited the payals on the counter bravely and soon, she had her five hundred rupees.

Her heart was shattered, but she smiled. She would earn those jewellery back soon, she promised to herself.

A man entered the store minutes after she had left. He slapped a stack of notes on the table before the owner.

"Ek ladki yahaan aayi thi, hare rang ke chudidar mein? Ussne jo bhi diya hai, mujhe khareedna hai." (A girl in a green chudidar had come here? I want to buy whatever she gave.)

The owner looked at the notes hungrily and his hand stealthily reached for the little velvet bag under the counter...

***

It had been a few weeks now since Shashi had returned home and these days, he felt so much better that he would sometimes be found gardening when he ought to be resting. His cheerfulness and her mother's somewhat improving behaviour was lifting Khushi's mood. It was only Manohar who knew what she had done and that day, sometime before noon, he called her and handed her a thousand rupee note and told her to retrieved her prized possessions.

Khushi's face broke into a wider smile and she took off, ignoring Payal's call for lunch.

"Bhaiyyaji!" she squealed upon entering the store. "Humein paise milgaye. Hum apna saamaan yaapas lene aaye hain!" (I got the money. I came to take my things back!)

The owner shrugged nonchalantly at her, without even lifting his eyes from his accounts. "Nahin mil sakte." (You cannot get them.)

"Nahin mil sakte?" she gasped, feeling dizzy. "Kya matlab hai aapka? Hum poore hazaar rupaye laaye hain!" (Cannot get them? What do you mean? I brought a thousand rupees!)

"Arrey, kaha na, nahin mil sakte!" he grumbled. "Tumhaare kangan aur payal bikh chuke hain!" (I told you, you cannot get them! They are sold!)

Khushi instantly felt a loud buzz fill her senses. "Bikh chuke hain?" she repeated. There was nothing else she could understand. What did he mean? How could he have sold her jewellery? He did not have the right to, did he? She gripped the counter tight. (Sold?)

"Haan! Ek aadmi aaya tha aur khareed liya. Ab tum jaao yahaan se, mera vakt barbaad mat karo!" (Yes! A man had come and he bought everything. Now you go from here, don't waste my time!)

***

"Lekin voh aisa kaise kar sakta hai?" (But how can he do that?)

Khushi averted her gaze from her Mama, a smile smugly pasted on her face. "Koyi baat nahin. Bauji ghar par hain, theek hain. Sab kuchh ache se chal raha hai... Humein aur kya chaahiye?" (It doesn't matter. Dad is home. Everything is fine... What else can I wish for?)

Manohar opened his mouth to argue but the doorbell rang right then. None of the servants were there, so Khushi herself walked to the door and answered it, only to freeze in shock. Akaash Dogra stood there with an anxious expression. For a moment, his mouth opened and closed mutely a few times, like a fish would do, then he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them with more determination.

"May I come in?" he asked Khushi.

Petrified, she just stared at him for a few seconds before she nodded. And just as she came in, her older sister jogged down the stairs.

"Khushi, kaun-?"

Payal paused in mid-stride when she recognised Akaash staring at her from the doorway. She gave a silent gasp of what Khushi assumed to be some kind of terror and ran back upstairs with double speed.

***

"Ab aapke Bauji kaise hain?" he muttered as she led him to her father's room. (How is your father now?)

Khushi nodded kindly. "Pehle se kaafi sudhaar aaya hai." (Better now.)

Akaash tilted his head politely in satisfaction and stepped in the room, making Garima jump out of her seat and Shashi look up from his newspaper. The young man turned to Khushi.

"Aapko bura na lage to main aapke parents se akele mein baat kar sakta houn?" (May I talk to your parents in private if you don't mind?)

She glanced at her father briefly, and when he had blinked tightly in agreement, she turned and left.

***

Akaash Dogra didn't stay long and Khushi didn't even know when he had left. Anjali had called a few times since she had left Lucknow and asked about Shashi but Khushi still felt some emptiness. Was it because she hadn't heard from Arnav at all?

And she didn't dare ask Anjali about him. After all, what right did she have? She sat there slumped in the armchair, brooding. It looked like she had lost a lot. Her bangles, her anklets, the person she might be in love with...

But at least she still had her family, her father most importantly, because he was pillar. A small smile started to grow on her face but it was quickly interrupted by her younger sister's arrival.

"Hey, Chamkili. Bauji bula rahe hain," Lavanya murmured. Khushi looked up at her sibling's dull face. It was really strange how her father's illness had abruptly changed so many things. La had sobered from her obsessions and irritating excitement. Her mother had relented over-reacting and was giving more attention where it was really needed, her father's well-being, for instance. Mamaji and Mamiji had taken up the major responsibility of the three girls and the household for the time. (Hey Chamkili, Dad is calling us.)

One person Khushi really missed was Shivanee. Her best friend usually said the best things to relieve her but right now, she had gone to Kerala, where her brother now lived as her sister-in-law was going to have a baby.

Surprising herself, Khushi smiled and draped an arm around La's shoulders and together, more united than before, they marched in silence to their parents' room...