Chapter 15
Kabir sat in the jail cell and thought which devil had prompted him to believe a stranger. Two tragedies back to back! How would he prove his innocence now? That would come later but, even if proved not guilty, would his college let him complete his degree? In short his whole career was as good as reduced to rubble.
Was this fate's way of making a joke at his expense?
He felt a swirling darkness around him and then lost consciousness.
Next day afternoon, Manveer touched the feet of Daadi Saab and set out towards the car outside. Their servants carried two heavy bags behind them.
"3 din ke trip ke liye aise tayyari ki hai jaise 3 maheene ka trip ho..hmph!" Manyata muttered under her breath.
They sat in the back seat and their driver took over. It surprised her that Uday let the driver, instead of driving himself. She had worn a saree again and sat at the farthest corner of the seat crumpling her saree together.
"Manyata, itne paas mat baitho door ke, galati se khul gaya na, toh seedhe neeche gir jaogi..aaram se baitho" Udayveer said.
"aap toh chaahte hi yahin hai..main yahi theek hoon" she sat even more carefully now.
"Driver, railway station ki taraf lo gaadi ko" Uday told the driver. No she wouldn't say anything lest he think she was interested in him.
They alighted at the Railway station and Uday instructed the driver to take the car back home.
Manyata followed him like a meek lamb as their train came and he loaded their bags onto it. She had the window seat to herself and sat there silently, while Uday spoke on and on about the place they were going.
As the train began to gather pace, she spotted a young girl running to catch up. She was panting with exhaustion.
"tum Manyata ho na, suno meri baat..tumhara dost..." the rest of her words were drowned in the deafening noise of the train.
"arre aap koun hai? Kya keh rahi hai aap? Mujhe sunayi nahi diya.." Manyata tried to put her hand out of the train window and earned a sharp reprimand from Uday.
"woh ladki mujhe kuch bata rahi thi..mujhe usse-"
"tumhe kaise pata woh ladki tumse milne aayi thi? Pehle kabhi train se travel nahi kiya tumne? Don't be a kid..chalo baith jao.."
Tanya sighed in displeasure as the train disappeared out of sight around the bend. It had taken her hell lot of time to haggle with jail authorities and then go to kabir's house, procure Manyata's photograph and then find her. But never mind, she will inform her soon.
It was twilight outside. The rest of the journey passed without a word as no one spoke. Manyata couldn't shake the curiosity about the stranger. She tried hard to sleep and failed. The wind was too strong and it kept her awake. She was sure she had never met the girl before but how could the girl recognize her so correctly? Did she come to warn her about Uday? Was she an ex-girl friend of Uday too, like J? Could it be that Uday is a closet paedophile? Was he going to push her off the cliff after having his fun??
"are you thinking about me? Yahi ki hum wahan jaakar tumhara khoon kardenge?" he said suddenly breaking into her thoughts.
A crimson blush covered her cheeks as he was very close to what she was thinking.
"main apne exams ke baare me soch rahi thi.." she tried hard to fix her feelings.
When her sleep broke, the train was not moving and it must have been midnight. Udayveer wasn't in sight. Maybe he must have gone to buy something from the shops that remained open 24 hours. She needed some fresh air and alighted from the train.
As you might have guessed, what took place next was a scene straight out of a bollywood pot boiler. Some rowdy elements that keep an eye out for lonely women at night attacked her from behind and pulled her saree's pallu. Ofcourse Udayveer came to save her like any hot blooded hero and rewarded them each swollen faces and maybe broken bones.
By the time the confusion sorted itself out, their train was already moving fast and they could not board it.
"yeh sab tumhari wajah se hua! Kya zaroorat thi train se utharne ki? Ab train choot gayi na? saath me humara luggage bhi..you idiot!" he screamed at her.
Two drops of tears appeared on corners of her orbs and flew out on her cheeks.
His anger turned to jelly in seconds and he said "abhi rona band karo, chalo chalte hai yahan se.." he put an arm around her shoulders and they walked out of the station.
It was 2am in the night and they were told that till 5am there was no other train. There was a lake right opposite the railway station and on its banks there was a stone bench too.
If they were a real couple in love, this night could have been a gift from the providence, thought Udayveer with amusement. Like in the car, Manyata again sat at the farthest end and Uday at the other end.
The crickets were making a din and the lake looked black in the partial moon light. Sleep was strangely absent from the scenario and Udayveer broke the silence by speaking first.
"tum kismat par trust karti ho?" he asked.
"kya?"
"I trust it..tum mano ya na mano our fate brought us here.."
Did the goons beat him up too hard? Thought she. "aap kya keh rahe hain?" she said aloud.
"yeh stars dekh rahi ho? Yeh humare ancestors hain, yeh har pal hume dekhte rehte hain..maybe.." he stopped suddenly.
"maybe kya? Boliye na?" she had a feeling that he was going to reveal something that he could show only to the people whom he held close.
"maybe in stars me humare mom aur dad bhi hain.." he let out the breath he had been holding.
"main aap se humesha poochna chaahti thi ki aap ke mom dad kahan hai? Woh humari- humari shaadi me bhi nahi aaye aur aap unke baare me baat bhi nahi karte" she prompted in a low voice.
"hum bohot chote(young) the jab un dono ki death ho gayi air crash me..DS ko aisa shock laga ki woh aaj tak us accident ko bhool nahi paayi..unko dukh na pohonche isiliye hum unke baare me kabhi baat nahi karte.." his voice grew moist.
Too late, Manyata noticed that she had moved closer to Uday on the bench and their hands were on top of each other.
She got up abruptly and went back to her previous place. She wasn't sure if Udayveer was pretending or his feelings, his tears were real. But something inside her pricked her for doubting him over that unknown girls' appearance.
"Manyata..pata hai hume kya lagta hai? Hume yeh lagta hai ki jab tak tum humare ghar me ho, hum dono ko ladte jhagadte nahi rehna chaahiye..hum dono me pyar ho ya na ho, can we be friends?" Udayveer extended his hand.
Now Manyata couldn't restrain her doubts inside. "aap ko sar par chot aayi hai? Doctor ke paas chalein? Aap itni jaldi badal jaayenge mujhe nahi lagta..Amrish Puri se seedha Shahrukh khan? Sach batayiye, kya plan hai aap ka?"
"hum tumhe villain lagte hain? No..koi plan nahi hai..trust me.." she did. But she couldn't quell the tiny seed of suspicion that thrived in her mind.
Soon it was 5am and they caught a local train to Matheran. The station master over there told them that their luggage would be sent to them in the evening.
Precap: "I can't understand anything in this text book..main fail ho jaaoongi is baar.." she cried.
"Manyata, tum fail ho hi nahi sakti, hum tumhe padha denge" he held her face in his hands and tried to look into her eyes.
Her phone rang and she answered it. The person on the other end said something which made her drop the phone and say "mujhe ab samajh aaya ki yeh dosti ka natak kyon chal raha tha kal se.."
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Edited by Chamakchallo30 - 11 years ago
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