Chapter 31
"Mummyji...mummyji. Please have some water"Vidhi bent and offered a glass full of water to her mother in law Gayatri as she struggled to hold back her emotions.
Gayatri shook her head not wanting anything and just kept her prayer going sitting in front of radha-krishna idol in the mandir. She was in the same posture since yesterday and it was worrying everyone in the house especially Vidhi who had finally had had enough of it and thought to do something about it.
"Mummyji you have not even had a wink of sleep the whole night and neither have you had anything to eat or drink. This is too risky for your health mummyji.
It is paining us to see you like this. Please...please for our sake, have some water at least" Vidhi sat next to Gayatri this time and offered the glass to her once again.
Gayatri just kept looking at the glass but did not take it from Vidhi's hands; instead she then turned her focus back to the idols.
"Mummyji...I know how hard it has been for you.
Since you came to know of the news you have started this constant prayer without a break... I can understand how worried you must be and how the news would have shaken you. But please if you keep doing this I am afraid I am afraid that...that...something might happen to you too" Vidhi voiced her concerns unable to stop herself anymore.
"You are diabetic mummyji ...you have to take your tablets and for that you have to eat something...Please mummyji for our sake please have something" Vidhi's eyes started to burn with unshead tears when she saw how lost Gayatri was looking. She wondered if anything that she had said even registered with her mother in law. But she had to try harder, this just would not do.
"Mummyji atleast...atleast we have got to know that Yash bhaiya is fine...that he was unharmed in all this. I am sure Aarti would be fine too. Now that your eldest son too has reached Delhi I am sure both he and Yash bhaiya would get back Aarti safe and sound. They would leave no stone unturned to get her back, I assure you" Vidhi said more to assure herself than her mother in law.
"Mummyji are you listening to anything that I am saying.
Why can't you thank god for small mercies..at least.Yash bhaiya is fine. Why don't you take heart from that mummyji? Why don't you understand this fasting is not an answer to anything and why don't you try and understand that...that" Vidhi did not know what to say then as she knew her line of thinking and persuasion was all wrong.
Finally Gayatri turned and looked at Vidhi.
"Don't YOU understand Vidhi... don't you understand Vidhi that if anything...ANYTHING at all happens to Aarti...Yash too won't survive?" Gayatri told her in a flat tone which conveyed the weight behind the words and their significance.
Vidhi lost the battle with her tears when she recognised the truth in what Gayatri had just said.
Even if either one does survive the ordeal only the shell would survive the soul would be completely destroyed.
Vidhi just hugged Gayatri then who remained impassive for the longest time till her numbness gave away and tears started to run down from her eyes.
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Ansh got up first amongst the three siblings and was puzzled at finding himself in their bed room with his sisters with him.
Palak and Payal too woke up after him and looked at each others faces in confusion.
"How did we get here?" Ansh questioned.
"Do you think mumma and papa might have come home finally last night?" Palak had a question of her own.
"Yes they would put us to bed. Come let us go and meet them" Payal said excitedly.
The kids rushed to their parents' room only to find it empty.
"Ok Papa might have gone for a jog and mumma might be in the kitchen" Palak deduced.
"That's strange mumma did not come to wake us up as always" Ansh said finding it very odd.
"She must be tired or she must have...she must have... forgotten" Payal tried to reason but finding it out of the ordinary as well.
"Hurry then let's go to mumma then" Ansh egged his sister on as they rushed towards the kitchen.
And all three of them went in search of their mother in the kitchen. At not finding her even there the checked the dining room followed by the living room. They were starting to ge a bit worried then.
"Is she playing hide and seek with us?"Payal questioned.
"Oh yes mumma is always upto games" Palak agreed not knowing what else could possibly be the cause of their mother disappearing on them.
"This time there are three of us against her. We will find her in no time" Ansh said with determination rising to the challenge.
After hunting for their absent mother everywhere they finally gave up and grouped together near the mandir where they found Vidhi and Gayatri huddled together and in tears.
It made absolutely no sense to them and they were left to wonder what could be the possible reason for the day to start off at such a note.
"Good morning children"
All three of them were startled to hear a voice from behind them. They turned to see that it was their chachi Pari.
"Where is mumma?" All three of them asked together.
And before Pari could answer the question they rained her with several more.
"When did mumma and papa come home?"
"Did they see our gift?"
"Did they put us to bed?"
And finally the asked "Why are taiji and dadi crying?"
"Hold the fire sweet hearts. Why don't I answer your questions one by one" Pari took the children away from the mandir. She knew how mummyji was struggling since yesterday. And seeing her sister in law and mother in law like that just broke her heart too. But she did not show her emotions before the children. She just kept taking them away from there.
"Your parents are still in Delhi" Pari tried to stay as close to the truth as possible without giving any possibly damaging information out.
"What? Oh NOOO , but WHY?" All three of them cried.
"They were held back. They...they...Yes their flight did not take off...the pilot did not turn up" Pari just had to lie and told the first thing that came to her mind.
"But why?" All were unable to understand how that could have happened feeling very disheartened on learning about the delay.
Their sad faces made Pari heart squeeze in pain. If just the news of delay in arrival was capable of having such a bad effect on them she shuddered to think what the truth would do to them. But she did not have the courage to tell them the truth to find out about it.
"Well his children did not get ready for school on time and he had to be with them the whole time so... and so" Pari voice hitched "And so he did not show up" She finally finished.
"Uh Oh! funny how some kids are. Just look at us Chachi we get ready on our own and that too on time like we did the past two days" Ansh said believing Pari's explanation.
"If only all kids were like us" Palak shook her head in disapproval over the said children's behaviour.
"True. Come on let us prove to everyone how we are different and get ready today too. Hopefully pilot uncle's children too would let him fly the plane at least today" Payal concurred with Palak and Ansh.
"That such a great thought everyone and while you are at it let me help you out today by lending my hand" Pari volunteered.
"YOU?" the three of them questioned in shock.
Had it been any other time Pari would have found their expressions comical but for the life of her she was not even able to summon a smile at that.
"Yes ME. Now hurry up. Let's see who brushes first" Pari said and was relieved that the children bought her story.
Ignorace was bliss she thought. She was glad she could buy some more time for them from knowing the reality. Who knew some miracle could happen in the meantime that would make things alright. Hopefully...hopefully.
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Yash stood under the shower fully clothed as the grime and soot that was on his body like second skin started to get washed away.
The force of the shower was hitting his scalp like tiny bullets but it made no difference to him. Physical pain of any sort was just insignificant right now compared to the emotional trauma he was under.
"Thank GOD Pankaj bhaiya you were able to drag Yash out of there. I was just unable to do so on my own" Aman said as they waited outside in the hotel room for Yash to come out. They had returned from the market and had extened their booking of the hotel room. Aman did insist on taking them to his home but was politely declined.
"I am just happy that Yash accepted to come back to the hotel Aman that's all. I do not know what I would have done otherwise. By the way Aman... thank you for all the help you have done for us..." Pankaj took Aman's hand in his to try and express his gratefulness.
"Bhaiya please...don't mention it. Yash is like family to me. I know we have not been in touch since a long time but certain relations don't diminish even with time" Aman tried to play down what ever he had done and placed his hand on Pankaj's shoulder.
"Such tragic circumstances to meet you again Aman I just cannot believe it; I could not have forseen that Yash and Aarti's trip would have taken such a brutal turn" Pankaj said quietly.
"Bhaiya...please don't lose hope. There still might be a chance..."
Pankaj shook his head in the negative.
"Let us be realistic here Aman...if there was a chance that Aarti would have been alive she should have been found by now. I spoke with the head of rescue operations he had told that right through the night the work had gone on and with the fire finally under control they were able to drag out as many bodies that they could" Pankaj sighed heavily not liking the subject he was talking about.
"We did see the people who came out alive who were rushed to nearby hospitals but in them there was no Aarti. What's left are those unrecognizable bodies. I shudder to think how one can ever make out whose remains those belong to" Pankaj told with growing sense of gloom.
Just then the bathroom door opened. Yash stepped out and Pankaj's heart broke when he saw the condition Yash was still in. He had not even take off his clothes...those were still plastered to him and he was soaking head to toe. His hair was sticking to his skull, though some of the dirt had gone away as a result of the water but still Yash was no where close to being called clean.
Yash just kept walking and sat on the bed as the two other men present in the hotel room kept looking at him feeling helpless and sad.
"Can we go back now? See I did what you asked so that means I can go back to the market. We are wasting precious time here...we have got to go back NOW" Yash got up and started to walk towards the door when he saw the other two men did not budge.
Both Pankaj and Aman stopped him before he could step out of the room.
"No you have to stay put here Yash. And that's an order. We have to dump some fluids into your body. Otherwise you would just die of dehydration" Pankaj told Yash sternly.
"I do not need anything. I am fine. Just let me go bhaiya. If I had known you were going to trick me this way I would never have come with you in the first place even when you have made me swear on Aartiji" Yash said looked at Pankaj angrily.
"What was I supposed to do Yash? I could not see you like that anymore" Pankaj did not loosen his hold on Yash and neither did Aman.
"I agree with Pankaj bhaiya. You had to get out of there Yash. It was doing no good to anyone. How could your presense have served any purpose?" Aman tried to reason with Yash.
Yash stilled as if he had been slapped again and thought over what Aman had said and came to an altogether self incriminating conclusion.
"That is correct...Aman... my presence was of no use to Aarti...I just let her die. Hell I dropped her there to meet death. Could you belive that? I sent her there to DIE. I KILLED HER you are right I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR HER DEATH I KILLED HER" Yash said as gave up struggling.
"Come now Yash it is not your fault you are just not thinking straight right now. How could you have foreseen that this was going to happen? How can you even think of taking the blame for this...that is just preprostrous" Pankaj said finding Yash's point of view all wrong.
"Yes Yash curse those terrorists who are responsible for placing the bomb there and taking the lives of so many innocent people..." Aman seconded Pankaj finding very hard to see his friend break done and lose his senses this way.
"Don't you see that is all irrelevant to me. Who did it? Why they did it? What difference does it make to me now?" Yash questioned them as they finally let go of him. And when they did he lost his balance and slupped into the nearest sofa next to him.
"If she is no more... it makes my staying alive meaningless" Yash said in an inaudible voice.
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"Pratik bhaiya..." Vidhi spoke when Pratik finally answered his mobile.
"Tell me bhabhi...any further news about Aarti bhabhi?" Pratik asked hopefully.
"No bhaiya...I called because...because we just now got a call from the school. It seems the children have been crying non-stop since the recess interval and have become inconsolable. Their class teachers have asked them to be taken home" Vidhi told Pratik getting worried.
"Do you think they have come to know?" Pratik questioned finding it as the only possible answer to this unexpected news.
"Possibly bhaiya...but I am not sure" Vidhi replied shakily.
"Why were they sent to school even today?" Pratik asked harshly thinking about the children getting to know the news from some third person.
"We thought they would be better off away from the gloomy atmosphere at home" Vidhi said in a low voice feeling guilty as she tried to defend their actions.
"Of course bhabhi... I am sorry... forgive me. You did what you thought was for the best; at least you still capable of functioning and taking decisions. Look at me...I have been away from home since morning. Too afraid of getting to know any bad news" Pratik muttered self depreciatingly.
"It must have hit you very badly too bhaiya...I can understand. You and Aarti did share a special bond" Vidhi told him trying to make him feel better.
"How could anyone do such a ghastly thing bhabhi..." Pratik asked unable to get over the injustice of it all.
"I know bhaiya believe me I have asked myself that question but have not come up with any explanation that justifies such inhuman acts of violence" Vidhi said feeling agitated and angry at the same time.
After some silence Pratik spoke up again.
"So you want me to go and pick the kids?"
"Yes...as you are the closest to them after their parents I thought you might handle them the best" Vidhi said knowing full well that she was actually asking him to do something which she had no courage to do herself but having no choice on the matter as well.
"You are absolutely correct bhabhi...I have to think beyond myself at this hour of crisis. Those kids need all the comfort they can get from us" Pratik said accepting the responsibility.
"Please...get them home bhaiya and then and then..."Vidhi choked and cut the call as she was at her wits end about how to deal with the kids upon their return.
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Pratik dreaded meeting the kids as he approached the staff room where his nieces and nephew were present, he started getting cold feet. Yet he braced himself for the worst and came inside the room which was empty but for the kids.
"Pratik chachu" All three of them rushed to hug him and Pratik kneeled and hugged the three of them in return. He could not see tracks of dried up tears on their faces.
"Tell us it is not true Chachu" Ansh asked hicks ups forbidding him to ask further as tears started to pour out afresh.
"We heard everyone talking about the bomb blast in Delhi during our tiffin break. Is that why Mumma and Papa did not come back home" Palak took up the questioning from Ansh.
"Were they...were they ..."Ansh just could not go on. His fear that articulating his suspicions could turn them into reality forbade him from voicing it altogether.
Pratik just hugged all the three children once again putting in all his effort to not break down in front of them. It was the toughest hour of his life as he took the children back home that day.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Edited by Deepti1808 - 12 years ago
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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