chapter-------32
pratigya was led into a dark chamber....she did nt protest...she did nt cry...her eyes were dry and she behaved like a dead.... at frst her dress was changed...she was given the uniform of the asylum----a sky blue saree to wear..... hardly had she just settled inside her new room,wich was a stuffy chamber with no outlets,nt evn a ventilator..... an attendant came to her and said-------aapse koi milne aayi hain......
pratigya looked up....the attendant cud see it clearly in her eyes that she did nt wish to meet anybody at present... she sighed------kehrahi hain bht zaroori hain.....
pratigya nodded... the attendant left.......
few minutes passed away wen suddenly pratigya was surprised to hear a vry familiar voice,a voice wich she knew bt cudnt remember the person-------pratigya?
she looked up...bt cudnt see her face properly......becoz it was quite dark inside her chamber.... the lady knelt down beside her and laid her hand on her knees...then she said in a whispering voice-----pratigya hum tumhe yahan se le jane ke liye aye hain.....
pratigya was stunned to see whu it was.....she was the last person she had expected to come to her wen she needed someone the most.....
Dr. riddhima???-------she gasped.....
riddhima smiled vry sweetly---------tumhe yaad hain?
pratigya-------aapko kaise bhul sakti hoon? aap hi ne to hume ek nayi zindagi di thi......
riddhima-----lekin pratigya us nayi zindagi ke saath ye tumne kya kiya?
tears rolled down pratigya's eyes at her wrds.......how cud she explain to her that she had done nothing wrong.....she had just listened to her heart......
unable to express her feelings.....she hugged riddhima tightly and cried...... her heart-wrenching breathless sobs evn brot tears in riddhima's eyes...she consoled her and slowly wiped out her tears..... then she said--------tum bilkul fikar mat karo......tum yahaan ek pal bhi nhi rahogi...... chalo hamare saath..... she took her hand......
pratigya-------par kahan?
riddhima-------hamare ghar.....aab se tum wahi rahogi......
pratigya cudnt understand what to say....she felt terribly grateful to her on one hand and on the other she did nt want to become a burden on her......
riddhima's voice disturbed her thots-----kya soch rahi ho...? chalo.....hume kuch formalities bhi puri karni hain.......
pratigya followed her out of her hell into the fresh air once agen.....
in the office riddhima had some argument with the head official...... she tried to make them understand that she was her doctor....and she had the full right to take her away bt they kept on nagging on the same thng that without any family member's consent,pratigya cud nt be taken away by anyone..... riddhima got terribly pissed at it and she turned to pratigya and said-------tum bus do min ke liye bahar lounge mein wait karo....dnt wri......hum tumhe yahanse kisi bhi halat mein lekar jayenge......
pratigya nodded softly and obeyed her...... she went out in the lounge and sat down on the sofa...with a tensed heart....... she wondered whether riddhima wud be able to take her out of the hell.....without her family's consent..... that family wich pushed her away wen she needed them the most........ KRISHNA...... her head started paining terribly as she remembered his face...... she tried hard not to cry bt cudnt stop the onslaught of tears wich broke all barriers and rolled down her face.....
krishna.......tumne aisa kyun kiya hamare saath-------she sobbed silently to herself--------hum tumpar kitna viswas karte the.......kaise tod diya tumne hamara bharosa....kyun??
she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her tear stricken face at the person......it was riddhima...she was smiling-------chale?
pratigya almost jumped up--------tumhara matlab....un logo ne permission dedi?
riddhima-------un logo ki to........aisi ki taisi...she made a face wich made pratigya grin.......
riddhima liked her innocent smile.....in fact she loved this grl....she had nvr seen anyone like pratigya before....she was soo innocent,yet so strong......so adorable yet so desparate......
she took her hand--------aab chalo...tumhe bhuk bhi to lagi hogi nah?
pratigya smiled..........
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riddhima lived in the hostel of the medical college.... she had to make special permission for pratigya to stay there bt it wasnt much difficult considering her condition..... riddhima's room was small yet vry neat and tidy,enough for two people....
riddhima welcomed her nicely and made her sit down on the bed.... she was still struggling with her emotions.....
riddhima-------hum tumse sabkuch sunna chahte hain pratigya.....ki tumhare saath kya hua....... lekin usse pehle tum kuch kha lo...hum tumhare liye khana late hain......
she was abt to leave wen pratigya caught her hand..... she cudnt wait... she wanted to pour out her heart to someone..... as riddhima sat down...she moved close to her and put her arms around her neck....half crying....half struggling with her inner rage,she blurted out evrythng to her....ryt frm suhani's pathetic death to her last day in the thakur mansion........ she cried miserably and riddhima found it vry difficult to stop her.......
she enclosed her in her embrace and cntinued consoling her by stroking her hair....caring for her,telling her to calm down.....after a really long time....she ultimately succeeded... pratigya became quiet......
riddhima------aab kuch khaogi nah? bhuk lagi hogi tumhe?
pratigya nodded....
riddhima pushed her messy tangles of hair behind her ears and said------thk hain hum khana lekar ate hain...tum apna chahra thk karo....bilkul bhutni jaisi lag rahi ho.....
pratigya smiled.......
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riddhima came down to the canteen to take food for pratigya...bt before she did that she went out into the garden and took out her mobile...
riddhima------hello?
the voice on the other side said------kya baat hain? tumne itni der laga di?
riddhima-------sry......der ho gayi...dnt wri...kaam ho gaya hain....she is fine......
the voice------uska dhyan rakhna plzzz....
riddhima------tum fikar mat karo....hum uski bht acchi tarah se khayal rakhenge...waise tumse kuch zaroori baat karni thi...
the voice-------haan batao....
riddhima------yahan nhi....humse milo tum kal......
the voice-------okay.....
riddhima--------thk hain abhi hum fon rakhte hain...uske liye khana le jana hain.....
the voice-------ok ok......aah....rids.......thnx a ton yaaar.....
riddhima smiled--------anytime....anythng for u.........KRISHNA.........
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krishna put down the mobile.....his face depicted how relieved and happy he felt....... he tossed his mobile on the bed and walked towards the cupboard....he opened it and took out a small,pink teddy bear-----the one wich pratigya had gifted to him before they got married....before all the complications happened.....
he kissed it gently and whispered to it as if it was some living person-------- beta tum chinta mat karo.......tumhari maa bilkul thk hain......
he pressed it on his chest and laid down on the bed.......
pratigya-------he said to himself-------hume maaf kar do ki humne tumhara dil dukhaya hain....lekin hamara yakeen karo.......agr uswaqt hum tumhe asylum nhi bhejte to chacha ji shayad tumhare saath kuch aur bura karte.....jaise unhone shaadi ke mandap mein ki thi......... hum jante hain tumhe chacha ji ke bare mein kuch galatfaimiyan hain lekin iske liye hum tumhe itni bari saza nhi de sakte...........hum tumse bht pyaar karte hain pratigya....bht pyaar.....bas kuch din ki baat hain....ekbar chacha ji yahan se chala jaye fir sabkuch pehle jaisa ho jayega.......
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Anupamaa
