FF: Khamoshiyaan... (chap 37 page 133) - Page 74

CHAPTER 32:

There was a new case. Aman was going to meet one of the family members of the vistim to get to know their view. On his way he was thinking about the victim's name. He had heard it somewhere before. Pratap Sinha, the writer.

Maybe somewhere in news or in TV. And he knew who would be the best person to ask about it. Unfortunately her mobile is switched off. "ye Sakshi kaha gayi? Uski chutti tho aaj khatam hona chahiye na?" he was asking himself.

So he reached the place and typed a message to her. "Pratap Sinha. Any idea?reply ASAP"

He walked to the home to ask about the matter.

She was in her flight back to Mumbai, so she had switched off her mobile. As she landed, she opened her phone to find 3-4 missed calls from Aman and a message. She read it and got down the flight, replying the message. "writer? Kya hua?"

Before long, she got the message back. "same. Kaha ho?"

Sa: airport.

Next she got his call. "so you are back?"

Sa: ha. Kya hua Pratap ko?

Am: dead.tum airport me ho? wait. I'm on that way. I'll pick you up.

Sa: its ok Aman. Mien aajungi.

Am: no. I want you to come with me to the crime scene. Pratap ke bare me pehle bhi padha tha. Mujhe uske bare me kuch puchna hai.

Sa: (in a teasing tone) mujhe laga ke aap meri help kar rahe hai. khair…

Am: are aise baath nahi hai Sakshi.

Sa: its ok Aman. I was just kidding. Ok I'll wait at the exit.

Am: will be there in few minutes.

She took her time to take her luggage and waited out at the exit point. Her mind was back at Kerala where she had left him. She was thinking how he must be reacting to the news. She had informed Baba about the same too. But she was worried. Now there is one more person whom she should meet again. She knew Arjun will be upset with her for that. But it's good to take his upset than wait for the destiny to sort everything. Already the destiny had taken a hell lot of time.

She heard a honk that brought her back. Aman was waiting for her. She smiled and took her bag to reach his car.

Am: kaha kho gayi thi madam?

Sa: kahi nahi.

She took the seat, and pulled up the seat belt and turned to him. "chale?"

Aman was watching her. There was something amiss over her face. "hm…" he responded and took off. Sakshi waited for a while to compose herself and then turned to him. "Pratap ko kya hua tha?"

Am: found dead in hisown writting room. Stabbed. do baar. Aur chaukne ke baath ye hai ke ye sab hua aur uske family ko next day morning ko patha chala. They were not at home that night.

Sa: hm… Pratap Sinha. Ache writer the. emotions ke saath kaise khele, koi unse puche.

Am: par unke naam kabhi pehle bhi papers me aya tha, right? I remember it. par yaad nahi hai ke kyu? unke family members ne bhi kuch khas nahi bola.

Sa: ek bar ek ladki ne uske khilaf case ki thi. Ye kehke ke Pratap ne usse mistreat kiya and so on. Kafi charche me thi ye case. Par sare gawah Pratap ke side me the. he came out clean. Par uss ladki ne baadme suicide kar diya. Papers aur media ne usse badnaam jo kiya tha ke wo seh nahi paya.

Am: so that's where I heard about him.

Sa: yup. Par baki team kaha hai? aap akele hi kyu nikle?

Am: Liza ne postmortem karthe waqt huch fingerprint mile the uss knife pe. Rathod aur Chotu usse uthane gaye the. Aisha and Sree in the crime scene, jaha Pratap ka death hua tha.to look for more evidence. Hum wahi jarahe hai. do you have any problem?

Sa:not at all. Mien tho aaj hi join karne ayi thi.

Am: good.

He was driving along. He saw a tag on her handbag.

Am: so coming from Cochin?

She looked at him surprised. "what?"

Am: Cochin se arahe ho.

He pointed at the tag on her handbag.

Sa: yeah… Cochin se.

Am: long south. Case related trip tho nahi thi…

Sa: (smiling) nahi, ek friend se milne gaye the. he needed a small help.

Am: ok… some special friend then. Do din ke leave leke gaye the…

She smiled at his effort. "ha special hai. par koi aur matlab math nikalna. He is more like a mentor to me"

Am: friend… mentor… jisse tumhare madad ke zaroorath pade hai… interesting.

Sa: kabhi kabhi hum kuch aise point pe aajathe hai Aman ke khud kisi ke sahara bhi nahi ban pathe, aur kisike sahare le bhi nahi sakthe.

Aman looked at her serious tone. She looked much different from the chirpy girl that he sees at the office. "kya hua? Everything alright Sakshi?"

Sakshi looks away as if she was caught. "yeah I'm fine. bas yuhi…"

Am: its ok. Hope jisse tum milne gaye the, usse wo sahara mile.

She looked at him. He was having a serious and honest look. "he will Aman. Akhir pyaar jo kiya hai usne. Aur wo pyaar adhuri nahi hogi."

She was as if in a trance. Her eyes were a bit moist, but she blinked it out.

Sa (coming back): so team sab kaise hai?

Am: to be honest. Wo abhi bhi tumse thode naraz hai. I think you should control your thought with them Sakshi. Especially wo, jiske bare me tum ya mien zyada nahi janthe.

Sa: matlab?

Am: hum do iss team me naye hai. but they know each other for a long time. tumne uss din tho keh diya ke shayad Rathod aur uske team ne Arjun ko teekh se dhoonda nahi. They are upset about it. Uss team me Arjun ke kya ehmiat thi, ye hum samaj sakthe hai. aur uske upar jab aise comments aye tho, unhe bura tho lagega hi.

Sa: I know. I never thought to hurt them. but I really feal it. kash uss din…

Am: tum tho aise keh rahe ho jaise tum bohot kuch janthe ho, jo team nahi jaanthe.

She looked down.

Am: what's going on Sakshi? Kya chupa rahe he ho tum?

Sa: its not time Aman. Please try to understand.

Aman didn't know how to respond to it. He thought to keep silent now, but was determined to know about it soon.

They reached at the crime scene where Aisha and Sree were already there.

Sa:hey guys…

Ai:hey, you are back. Kaha gayab hogayi thi madam?

Sa:kuch kaam thi yaar. Kaise ho Sree?

Sree had seen her but kept an ignorant face till now. It was evident that he was upset.

Sr: fine. kab aaye wapas?

Sa:bas abhi abhi. Aman ne airport se pick kiya. He was in that way.

Sr: oh…

Am: so hows it going over here? Anything worthy?

Ai:sir, khoon ke dabhe kafi hai. Liza ne fingerprints nikaali hai. patha nahi ye ek planned murder tha hi nahi. Khooni ne apne pehchan chupane ke koi try nahi kiya hai. family membersaur Pratap ka chodke yaha sirf ek-do fingerprints hai. jinme se ek uss knife pe bhi tha.

Am: aur wo kiska hai?

Ai:one James. Police records me hai. kuch chote bade hathapayi ke cases me shamil the. usse lene gaye hai Rathod sir aur Chotu.

Am:ok… if everything is over here, lets go back to office.

They go out together. Sree accompanies Aman, while Sakshi is with Aisha.

Ai: tho kaha gaye the?

Sa:long story… fir kabhi bathaungi. Wo sab chodo, yaha sab teekh tho haina? Aman ne bathaya ke sab mujhse naraz hai. Sree just showed it too.

Ai: ha aise hi tho lagtha hai.ab kya karoge?

Sa: don't worry Aisha. I'll handle it.

They ride back to the office.

***

Sneh bhavan:

Varma was massaging Aryan's legs. He kept looking at Aryan many times. Some months back, Aryan never showed any response to the treatment. He just lay there for Varma to carry on. Then came the change, with a new hope. Aryan was wishing to carry on the treatment. The news from Mumbai kept him going ahead. And the response was great too.

Varma could hear the talk that he had with an old friend long time back…almost 2 years back. It was on the dawn after the strange incident. After the night that changed everything…

Varma was inside the ward where Arjun was lying. The oxygen mask was on again. He kept on looking at the man in the bed. Who wanted to kill this man? And why? Last night someone had tried to strangle him using a pillow. If he hadn't reached here on time…he shuddered at the thought…

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. "raath bhar yahi thi? Akhir ye kaun hai Varma?and why do you care for him this much… ke tum apne jaan ke parwa kiye bina…"

It was Dr. Jacob. An old friend who is now treating the man on the bed. Varma stood up and walked to the window.

Va: patha nahi Jacob. Jiss haal me mujhe isse mila, mann nahi tha ke usse wahi chodke aau… aur iske jaan ko aur bhi khatra dikh rahe hai mujhe. Patha nahi hai ye kaun hai, aur kyu koi isse maarne ke koshish kar rahe hai. bas ithna patha hai,ke mien inhe kuch hone nahi dunga.

Jacob moved to him. "ok… tum fikar math karo. Par isse Aryan ke naam kyu diya hai Varma. Hamare profession me personal life ko jithna mix karoge, uthna dangerous hotha hai. ye Aryan nahi hai Varma."

Va: patha hai ye Aryan nahi hai. par isse dekh ke aise laga ke, kuch jaana pehchana ho… aur koi tho naam dena hi tha na? ek Aryan ko mien nahi bacha paya… par isse kuch nahi hone desakthe.

He was looking very tired.he stood silent for a while.

Ja:kya soch rahe ho?

Va: kal raath jo hua… I don't know what to do Jacob.

He shuddered again.

Ja: tum fikar math karo. I'll see to it. iss hospital me kayi baar accident case ke patients ko kuch log le athe hai aur fir gayab hothe hai. kuch log bachthe hai, kuch nahi. So you don't worry about last night. I'll see to it.

Va: how can you be so cool Jacob? Hum doctors hai. maana ke tumhare aur mere stream alag hai, firbhi doctors hai. aur hum kaathil nahi hosakthe hai. I did kill him last nght.

Ja: get it straight Varma. Wo admi isse maarne wale the. you where just trying to stop it and save him. usme uska sir kahi thakra gaya aur jaan kho diya. Isme tumhare murder wali matter kaha se aaye? Think in the bright side, this man is alive just because of you.

Va: still…

Ja: agar tum chaho tho police ke madad lesakthe ho, isse bachane keliye.

Va: you know I have lost faith in them long back. Patha nahi unme se kaun kaun iske jaan ke peeche hai. mien unpe aur viswas nahi kar saktha.

Ja: so what are you planning to do?iske treatment…

Va:mien karunga…

Ja:sorry to say this Varma. I won't recommend that. You have seen his reports. Heavy spinal injury aur abhi coma pe. Kab uthega, ye koi nahi keh sakthe. Aur uske baad kya hoga, ye bhi nahi. It can be a serious case of paralysis.

Va: aise koi bimaari nahi hai Jacob, jo treat nahi kar saktha. I'll treat him. yime tho lagega hi, par mien isse treat karunga.

Ja: akhir kab thak Varma. Iske aur tumhare zindagi ke sawal hai.

Va:hamare zindagi already jud chuke hai Jacob. Ab aage bhi hogi. Ye Aryan Varma hai, aur mien inka baba. Do me one more favour Jacob, tellme when can I take him home?

Ja:so you have decided to take him with you to Sneh Bhavan?

Va: ha… wahi lejaunga isse…Aryan ko…

Ja: ok, as you wish. Par iske asli identity? Aur iske pariwar…

Va: I don't know. Jabhi iske pariwar ke bare me patha lagega, I'll inform them. thab thak isse safe rakhna mere farz hai.

Ja: ok… in that case let me see when you can shift. Mujhe pura bharosa hai ke ye bohot jald teekh hoga. Ithna viswas tho hai mujhe tumhare treatment pe…

The friends turned to the man in bed… unknown to all, he was sleeping peacefully.

Varma had looked after Aryan not as a patient but as a son. Maybe it's wrong to keep an emotional touch to the patient, but he couldn't help it.

It took a little more than a few weeks that Jacob had called him.

Ja: Varma jo admi tumhare paas hai wo ek police officer hai. ACP Arjun naam hai unka. Ek case ke baad missing hai,aur…

Va: aur kya?

Ja:he's almost declared as dead.

Va: aur uske pariwar?

Ja:ek wife hai.lekin wo ab kaha hai, wo kisiko nahi patha.

He could have called Mumbai and said the man was alive. But the time with Aryan… he was at last feeling at peace… he was having his son back home.

Aryan Varma, his real son was declared dead… but what happened to him? Was he dead? If so, then why didn't he even get his dead… didn't a father have the right to do the last rituals for his only son?

If he was left back to bear his fate, then why did the same fate bring this man back? Why on an impulse he named him Aryan Varma just before taking to the OT? Why did he have to kill a man to save this person? Why did he hide him, his Aryan from the whole world?

He didn't have any answers. Neither he could be so selfish and keep his Aryan back with him…norhe could allow him to go away…he was in a dilemma…

He had called back Jacob. "mujhe patha hai Jacob, ke mien selfish ban raha hu…magar mien bhi ek insaan hu, jo akele pad gaya hu. Sneh bhavan aur unke inmates hi mere duniya thi.lekin yaha bhi mien bohot akele hogaya tha. Par pichle kuch din, mien Aryan ke ithne kareeb ane lage hai ke, ab ye samajh me nahi athe hai ke ye koi aur hai. mien din bhar iska dekhbaal kartha hu. Kayi baar isse baathein kartha hu. Patha nahi ye sun raha hai ke nahi, magar iske dhadkan ke saath jeene laga hu mien. Ab ye mere Aryan ban gaye hai Jacob. Aur isse wapas den eke mann nahi kar raha hai."

Ja:tum kehna kya chahthe ho Varma?

Va: jiss din isse hosh ayega, uss din mien usse wapas uske duniya me chod dunga…

Ja:lekin kab?kithne din? Mahine? Saal?kuh bhi nahi patha Varma.

Va: keep faith Jacob… he will get up soon.

From that day his whole work was for the revival of Aryan. It took almost 1 year for Aryan to open his eyes.

And the day he opened his eyes, was a shock for Arjun. He knew he had lost a year of his life. But he also came to know that he was paralysed in the lower half of his body.

Va: mujhe maaf kardena beta ke meine aapko aise chupake rakha. Mujhe patha hai ke mien selfish hogaya tha. Tumhare pariwar, tumhe dhoond rahe hoge. Par…

Arjun came to know all the incident after his accident.

Arj: aur agar mien kahu ke aapne jo kiya wo sahi tha tho…

Va: kaha sahi kiya meine. Apke pariwar se dur rakha hai meine…

Arj: sahi hi kiya apne. Mujhe patha hai ke mien ab kis haal me hu. Aur iss haal me kab thak hoga ye bhi nahi patha hai… Arjun tho ussi din mar gaye hai baba… ab mien Aryan hu… apke Aryan…. Kya aap mujhe yaha rakh sakthe ho? please…

Va: ye galatha hai beta. Meine jo galthi ki hai, tum usse aur kharab kar rahe ho. you should go back.

Arj: kya aap batha sakthe hai ke mien apne paav me kab khada hosaktha hu?

Va: tum khada hosakthe ho beta.

Arj: kab?

Varma didn't have an answer. It will take time.

Arj: dekha aapke paas bhi jawab nahi hai. mere ek biwi hai, jisse mien bohot pyaar kartha hu. Par ab mien uskeliye ek liability hogaya hu. Mere team, mere kaam, sab issi point pe khatam horahe hai. aise jeene se kya fayda baba? Isse behthar mauth hi hai. I request you baba, please, issi baath pe sab khatam hone dijiye. Please… patha nahi mien pehle kabhi aise kisise kuch manga hai ke nahi, please…

That was enough for Varma to decide. This is Aryan…Aryan Varma…

Now:

He regrets his decision. He should not have hidden Arjun. he should not have listened to him when he woke up. But more than a man and a doctor, it was father that had listened to him… to his heart…

Arjun looked lost today…

Few days back, after a year of treatment, there was slight improvement. He did show a bit response. It was the happiest day for Varma. At last, his work was getting fruitfull.

Arjun was happy for the past 2 days. But today again he had gone back to the shell. And he knew the reason…Sakshi had mentioned it.

Ba: kya hua? Aaj firse udaas kyu ho?

Arj: kuch nahi.

Ba: bolo Aryan. Bath kya hai?

After a while he opened up. "Aisha… she is looking for me…."

Ba: tho isme problem kya hai?

Arj: aap Aisha ko nahi janhe Baba. Agar wo kuch than liya tho…

Ba:acha hi hai beta. Akhir kab thak chupoge?

Arj: par,jiss din wo yaha ayega… kya kahunga mien usse? Ke jo dard usne saha hai wo sab bekaar tha… mien uska gunegar hu baba…

Ba: wo gunah meine shuru kiya tha. Tum usse aage le aye… ab usse sudharne ka waqt agaya hai Arjun.

He looked up.

Va: agar tumkaho tho,mien Aisha se baath kartha hu…

Arj:nahi baba, agar aise koi bath hai tho mein Sakshi se hi keh dethe. Ab mujhe kuch decide karne ka himmath nahi hai. dekhthe hai ke sab kaise hoga…

Va: tumhare paav respond karne laga hai Arjun. ab wo waqt zyada dur nahi hai ke tum apne pairon pe khade ho… so relax. Sab teekh hoga…

***

Mumbai:

The case was solved by nightfall. All were in the discussion hall. Sameer called it a day. All were about to leave.

Sak: excuse me everyone.

All turned to her.

Sak:mujhe patha hai ke sab mujhse naraz hai.but I swear I didn't want to hurt you. So please mujhe maaf kardijiye.

She looked at everyone. Sameer was the first to respond.

Sam:dekho Sakshi, bath nahraz hone ke nahi hai. par ye sach nahi hai ke humne hamare kaam nahi kiya hai.

Sak: I know Sameer.aur isiliye mien aapse maafi mang rahi hu.

Sam: (thinking) ok. Its fine with me. See you tomorrow team.

He walked out. Sree tried to follow him.

Sak: Sree, Chotu, Liza… sorry…

Sr: its not that easy Sakshi. We will need time.

Sak: sure. I can wait.

The trio walked outleaving her with Aisha and Aman.

Ais: don't worry Sakshi. They will come around soon.

Sak: yeah I hope so.

Aman: ok, then lets leave.

Ais:just a minute. I'll meet you both at parking lot.

She walked to her room. Her work was pending… her mission…

She copied all that she wanted in her pendrive and took her bag and left. She had a night at home,to peacefully go through it.

***

NOTE

This chapter may be disturbing for some. Dr. Varma and Dr.Jacob's action may be wrong in many senses. But for them the situation was as such. The next disturbing point may be Varma's action. It was his action that actually made Aisha to leave. But thinking from his POV, the fear of killing a man, his mistrust on the police, his loneliness, paved his path to hide Arjun's identity. It may not be appreciated by some, but for me, his loneliness was painfull. To live with a false hope of his Aryan to be alive somewhere died in the passage of time. Then to look after the sleeping man, his Aryan came his reason to live. But the day when Arjun rejected of going back, he knew he was guilty. But the helplessness of Arjun was relatable for him… and thus came till now…

I want to know your review about it. you are free to oppose this idea. Aur welcome to like it. but do let me know…