Part 10
Sanam knew that asking Aahil to sleep in the cart wasn't the best idea but she wasn't going to do anything immodest. She was feeling bad for the way she had treated him earlier and felt highly of his courage at confessing even after all that had been said and done by her. She wouldn't want him to sleep on the floor just so she could be comfortable. After all a Nawab's place wasn't meant to be on the ground. She was only doing this to make up for her earlier behavior, atleast that's what she kept reminding herself.
She stole a glance at him and saw that he was still staring at the ceiling. Feeling uncomfortable in the silence, she turned on her side and closed her eyes. She wanted to talk to him and apologize to him but it would seem so awkward. She didn't really know what to say besides sorry. And he didn't look like he was in a mood to talk so it was best to leave him alone and try to get some sleep. But try as she may, she could not sleep.
After a half hour of tossing and turning, she realized that Aahil was still staring at the ceiling. And although his face looked tired, there wasn't a hint of sleepiness in his eyes.
"Aap so kyun nahin raye?" she asked curiously.
"Neend nahin aati. Ab toh aadat see hogayee hai," he replied not once looking at her.
Sanam sat up, giving up on her fruitless attempts at sleeping.
"Mujhe bi nahin aati thi...jab mera nikkah toota tha," she whispered.
Aahil sat up after hearing that. "Nikkah?!!!" he exclaimed, bewildered.
"Haan, jab main Bhopal pehle dafa aayee thee tho mera nikkah toot gaya tha. Mera rishtha Badi Ammi ne Anwar se thay kara tha. Woh humare mauhale main zyaada time se nahin thay lekin unhe woh log acche lage toh unhone baat paaki kar di. Lekin Anwar aur uski Ammi tho mere Dhabe ki zameen ke peeche parey thay."
"Aur tumhe ye nahin pata tha?" he asked, indicating that she should continue.
"Zahir se baat hai. Ye humme kaise pata hota. Woh itne saache hona ka dhongg kar rahe thay. Jab mera dhaba jala..." she paused.
Aahil's stomach twisted into a knot. He knew that she had paused because it was because of him that she had lost her dhaba and that he was soon to find out about all those things she faced as a result of his actions.
Sanam finally spoke after a long pause, " Jab ..jab woh dhaba jala tho unhe mujse koi matlab hi nahin raha. Lekin humare saamne woh humme madat karne aagaye. Anwar Badi Ammi se bola ke usne papers tayyar karwai hain dhaba phirse kolne ke liye aur uspe Badi Ammi ke dastaqat karwaliye. Humse kuch girwi rakne ko bi kaha. Toh bechari Badi Ammi ne humare pushtainee zewar usse girwi rakne ko dediye."
"Nikkah wale din jab usse poocha gaya ke usse Nikkah Qubool Hai, toh usne inkar kardiya. Aur dono humare pushtainee zewar lekke bhaag liye. Jab main dhaba dobara kolne gayi tho unhone kaha ke woh zameen bechdi hai. Woh Anwar dokhe se sign karwakar humari zameen bi bech gaya."
Aahil's right hand balled into a tight fist while the other tugged at the hay that lay under him. "How could someone do that to Sanam? She was such an honest and nice person," he thought.
Sanam laid down again.
"Zindagi bi kitni ajeeb hai. Jab bi meri zindagi main khushiyan aane walee hotee hain to usse pehle he mushkilan saamne aajateen hain aur khushi phir kahin ko jati hai."
Aahil just looked at her painfully while she looked out at the rain. Aahil had given her half of the pain she is in now. He realized how much she must have endured during those days after he had burned her dhaba. And then she ended up working for him and he made her life even more miserable with his ego and task challenges.
Sanam rolled over on her side and shut her eyes for the millionth time. Now that she got some things off her chest, maybe she could finally catch some sleep.
Sanam's back was facing Aahil but Aahil kept looking at her. Thinking about how much she suffered because of him. He admired her courage though. Even after all that happened, she didn't crumble. "She would have a few weak moments but she'll never crumble. I'll make sure of that," he thought.
He finally stretched out on his back when he heard a low snore. Sanam was finally asleep. He put one arm over his eyes and stretched one out towards Sanam, making sure that it was far from touching her. He lay there in that position until sleep took over.
Outside, the rain did not stop. It seemed as though the sky wanted to empty out the whole tank in that one night.
Aahil had only had two hours of sleep when he suddenly woke up. It took him a minute to register that they were still stuck in a barn in the middle of the jungle instead of being in his posh mansion. He rubbed his eyes and made his way to get up when he realized that he couldn't pull his arm up.
Sanam had rolled onto his arm during her sleep and she looked so perfect, curled up in the crook of his arm. She looked so serene that he didn't want to tug his arm from under her. As he started to lie back down he realized that he didn't want there to be a misunderstanding about being so close in the cart the whole night. So he decided that he'd pull his arm out gently. He turned her head over ever so lightly and then tugged his arm out and climbed out of the cart.
********************
The next morning, Sanam woke up to find herself alone in the cart. At first she panicked and thought maybe Aahil had left again but then she saw him resting a little ways away from the cart. He was lying half on the hay and half off of it. Sanam was relieved to find him there. She instantly relaxed and leapt out of the cart, light as a feather. She kneeled down next to him and saw how peaceful he looked while he was asleep. He looked handsome, she had to admit to herself. But one thing was bothering her. She reached over and brushed his over-grown bangs out of his eyes. "There, now he looks perfect," she thought. And then shivered as she realized that she had touched him out of her own free will.
"Ye ho kya raha hai mujhe." she wondered.
The sun was rising but wasn't quite out yet so she hopped back into the cart and watched it worm it's way out of the clouds.
She jumped as a sudden knock on the door, ruined the beautiful moment. She stared at the door. Someone was pounding it with a lot of force and it seemed as they would have no regret if they broke it down.
She rushed to Aahil and hesitated once, before shaking him by the shoulder. Aahil woke up after a couple tries.
"Kya hua Sanam?" he groaned.
"Woh koi darwaze pe aaya hai. Bohut zor se katkataraha hai. Aap please dek lo," she requested urgently.
Aahil quickly got up and walked towards the door while Sanam followed close behind. As another,
loud knock disrupted the silence, Aahil motioned for Sanam to stay behind him. He had one hand out to block Sanam and used one to open the door.
Enjoy My Precious!!!! Don't forget to comment.
Edited by arshi_luver - 11 years ago
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