FF It's complicated||DISCONTINUED|| IMP NOTE-pg86 - Page 13

please P.M. me as i won't able to come online daily.

i will come to home once in A week or once in two weeks.

i liked ur way of writing& revealing emotions

& this is for U 🤗

BYE &update soon.

i request the silent readers to plz press the 'like' option coz i wld love to pm u all....

pooja

It's complicated but you explained things nicely throught Abhi, Shaan was being a friend to Kanak, but Abhi realises that there is more to it than that😃.....

My Advice to Abhi is to just let things be and just be there for his friends....Because I don't want the poor guy hurt, if there are more complications and his intentions are mis-understood.....Shaan or someone esle may thinks he has a ulterior motive, since he does feel something towards Natasha.....

Can't wait for the next part........

P.S. Forget my advuce to Abhi....It's will be a good thing if things get more complicated, more drama😆......

dis is a serious part... it is heavy... i wasnt going to dwell on the dream but since you guys were very interested in knowing what it was... it got me interested to...😊 so i wrote you guys the dream... i hope you guys like it *fingers(of both her hands and feet) crossed*

any suggestions/ critiques/ recommendations/ comments are
MOST WELCOMED by me....

so here it is ... i hope it's as good as i think it is....😊

~CHAPTER 10~

Khanak stood in the terrace near the railing, looking towards the vast Mumbai city which had accidently become her home. But all she could think about was the dream she had had. 'Kyun?' she asked herself again, 'kyun meine...' she tried recalling the dream, trying to make sense of it, but recalling was not necessary, the dream, it had been so vivid it had felt real. It had been engraved in her mind and soul. 'Yeh sapna meine hazaro (thousand) baar dekha hai phir...'

It was a dream she had seen time and time again, it was dream that had haunted her since in the day her Suraj had left her in this world alone. Every night she would see the same thing, some things might change, their conversations, the location, her clothes... but every time she meet her Suraj. It was something she looked forward to and dreaded at the same time.

She closed her eyes and the dream played itself in her mind. She was wearing the same white sari she had worn to the party, and this time she wasn't in Dhulwadi, like she always was in her dream, but she was in Mumbai, more specifically in her new home on the terrace ,the same terrace which had become her sanctuary in a way, a place where she poured out all her emotions all the time, a place she felt secure, at home. She kept walking and looked around and saw her Suraj standing near the railing looking down at Mumbai, and waiting for her. 'Suraj...' she whispered, he turned towards her and smiled, 'Khanak...'

A wide innocent smile spread across her face and she ran to him and hugged him, held him like she would never let go, and she didn't want to. A tear travelled down her cheek to his shirt, 'tumhari bahut yaad aati hai...'

'shh...' he held her and consoled her, like he had always done, always embracing her in his arms, protecting her from the evils of the world, it felt like the old times, she had missed it so much.

'mein kahi nahi jaa rahan, mein hamesha tumhare saath rahoonga Khanak. Chahe tum mujhe dekh na pao, par mein humesha tumhare paas hoon, tumhare saath.'

She held him tighter and took in his scent, he always smelled like her village's soil, reminding her of her Dhulwadi.

'tum kyun chale gaye? Tumhare bina tumhari Khanak...'

'agar mera baas chalta toh mein tumhe kabhi nahi chodta. Mera sapna tha tere saath budha (old) hone ka. Bahut maza aata tujhe ladhi pakad kar bhagne dekhne mein, tab toh tu kabhi mujhse bhaag kar nahi jaa paati. Mein humesha tujhe apne paas rakhta.'

Khanak laughed, 'uhmm... tum mujhe tab bhi nahi pakad paate!'

Khanak looked at him, ' mujhe yahan bilkul achcha nahi lagta...'

'kyun?'

'kyun kya? Tum mere saath nahi ho, aur yahan sab mujhe na-pasand karte hai, mere bare mein buri baatein karte hain...'

Suraj smiled reassuringly, ' Khanak... tum sabse achchi ho, aur agar baki sab yeh nahi jaante toh yeh unki badkismati ... tumhari nahi...'

Khanak hugged him again, and took in his scent, but this time he didn't smell like he used to, he smelled... like the city. He smelled like... Shantanu ... and she still felt safe in his embrace.

Suddenly it started raining, thunder and lightning striking the city with gods furry.

Suraj held Khanak's shoulder and pulled her away gently.

'ab mujhe jaana hoga...' he turned.

She held his hand and pulled him, ' mujhe chod ke maat jao.'

'mujhe jaana hoga....' he said, still facing the opposite direction.

'kyun? Kyun jaana hoga tumhe? Abhi toh aaye ho!'

'tum nahi chahati mein jaaon?'

She nodded her head frantically,' mein chahati hoon tum hamesha mere paas raho.'

Suraj smiled, 'agar aisa hai toh....' he started running, 'mujhe pakad kar dikhao...!'

Khanak tried running but she couldn't move, it was like she was stuck, and he kept on going farther and farther away. She wanted to say his name, stop him, tell him to wait for her, but every time she tried she felt herself choking, she felt helpless and lost. She finally succeeded and called out for him, ' Suraj...' the rain muffled her shouting his name... he kept on running... he was at the door of the terrace, she had to do something, she finally was able to start running after him, with all her strength.

'ruko.... ruk jao...' she shouted.

She ran and unlike her previous dreams where she would keep running, unsuccessfully after him, she this time caught up. She extended her arm and touched his shoulder. He stopped and turned around... only it wasn't him... it was Shantanu, smiling at her, warmth in his eyes... playfulness lurking somewhere in his brown pupils. The rain suddenly stopped, and the sun came out, the silence of the night gave in to the soft chirruping of the birds in the distance... suddenly the sorrow the dread she had felt was lifted from her chest, 'Shantanu...'

His smiled broadened, ' aur nahi toh kya Khanak... tumhe kya laga kaun hoga? Shahrukh Khan! Ab mere ghar mein... mere terrace mein, main hi toh miloonga tumhe...' he bent down and touched the tip of her nose with his index finger... 'pagli...'

Khanak smiled at his friendly yet sarcastic comment, 'shantanu... aap bhi na! Mein pagli nahi hoon! Ap yahan nahi hone chahiye!'

'mein nahi toh aur kaun Khanak?'

'woh...'

'woh kaun?' he gave her his most devilishly mischievous smile, and winked at her.

She couldn't help but blush as she smiled....

The dream after that was a blur... all she remembered was her and Shan spending time, laughing, having fun... and talking...

Khanak opened her eyes, ' yeh mujhe kya ho gaya hai? Mein Shan ke bare mein sapne...' she looked up towards the heaven , ' kyun?'

'apne aap se batein karna achi baat nahi hai...'

She turned around to the person who was coming towards her...

::::

Shan woke up, the sun was bright and his eyes refused to stay open for more than 5 seconds, not to mention he had a headache thanks to lack of sleep due to previous nights events. He suddenly sat up, 'kal raat... Khanak... Tashu... Oh god!' he looked to his side and didn't find Khanak sleeping there, she must have woken up before me, he thought to himself. 'Natasha! Woh toh gusse se lal, peeli... Aur pat nahi kya kya ho rahi hogi!'

He got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. He rushed out his room as soon as he got dressed... ' jaldi se tashu ko mana leta hoon phir khanak se baat karonga.' he remembered last night, spending time with Khanak, on the beach, in his favourite cafe. He smiled; he had never imagined that being with Khanak, spending time with her would or could ever be so fun. He then remembered her in his arms, and her smiling face as she slept, their closeness when she had held on to his shirt, his smiled, he couldn't take the picture of the peaceful sleeping Khanak from his mind.

Shan's phone rang, he looked down to see Akshay bhaiyya's number flashing on the phone, he was forced to stop thinking about Khanak for a minute, ' haan bhai, what up?'

' Shan woh Dhulwadi project ki presentation kal dekhani hogi, Mr. Uday ko ek important business meeting ke liye out of India jaana padh raha hai...'

'KAL! Bhai that's impossible... itne kaam waqt mein!'

'Shan I know, but you have to make this happen, otherwise yeh project aur ek mahine ke liye stall ho gayega!'

Shan sighed out of frustration, 'theek hai bhai!'

'good, aur ek aur baat hai...'

'kya?'

'yeh project tujhe khud dekhana hoga...'

'KYA!'

'I'm sorry Shan, but mein aur dad doosri meeting mein busy honge... meine Abhi se baat karli hai ... woh tere saath jayega, support ke liye. Par woh presentation mein teri help nahi kar payega... usse gallery mein jaana hai, apna portfolio dikhane or something of that sort...'

'BHAI AAP BHI NA!' Shan sighed, 'FINE! Mein karloonga... aap logon ki mujhe koi zaroorat nahi!' he cut the phone, ' samajhte kya hai apne ko?!'

Shan stood there for at least a minute in frustration, then he heard Tashu calling for Hari. 'Oh! Tashu mein phir uske bare mein bhool gaya! Shan tu bhi na.'

He walked and knocked on Tashu's door, Tashu looked at him, anger creeping into her eyes, ' toh aap ko finally time mil gaya mujhse milne ka?... apki biwi kahan hai?'

Shan took in his breath assessing the situation, wow! He thought to himself, she is really mad, warna Khanak ko kabhi bhi woh meri biwi keh kar refer nahi karti... aur Aap?! Shan bete you are so dead...

He cleared his throat, 'Tashu, I'm...'

'Don't even bother Shan! Mein tumhare liye importance nahi rakhti... issliye tum mujhse milne bhi nahi aate... magar uss Khanak ko defend karne ke liye tum kuch bhi kar sakte ho!'

Shan looked at Tashu and raised his eyebrow... he didn't like her talking about Khanak in that tone, after all the poor girl hadn't done anything to deserve it. 'Natasha, Khanak ke bare mein iss tarah se baat karne ki koi zaroorat nahi. Ussne kuch nahi kiya... aur kal raat job hi hua woh sahi hua... in fact those women deserved worse for talking about Khanak that way.'

Natasha looked up from her work, 'oh really?!'

'Yes!' he said with a little more determination than had meant to use, ' you weren't there... tumhe kuch andaza nahi hai woh Khanak ke bare mein kya keh rahi thi... it was so derogatory! And you can't be... shouldn't be upset with me for what I did, you should be proud...'

'Please Shan! Do you really expect me to give you a standing ovation for defending your wife? '

'Natasha you are not making sense! Yaar Khanak se mein kabhi baat nahi karoonga toh meine nahi kaha tha...'

'baat karna, console karna aur gale lagane mein bahut farak hota hai Mr. Shantanu Khandelwal!' she stood up.

'i saw both of you, in the parking lot... usse console karne ke liye usse hug karne ki kya zaroorat thi!?'

'woh upset thi...'

'toh raste par koi bhi upset ho tum usse apne gale laga lo ge?!'

'Natasha woh raaste mein chalti hui koi anjaan ladki nahi hai, she is my...'

'kya Shan? What is she? Are you going to point out to me that she is your wife!?'

Shan sighed in frustration, 'i was going to say she is my friend.'

'oh really1 tumhari uss miss Dhulwadi se dosti kab hui haan? Tab jab tumhe humare liye table book karwana yaad nahi raha? Ya ...'

'Natasha ...' he cut her mid-sentence, and looked at her furiously, ' you are not thinking straight! Jab tumhara gussa kaam ho gaye tab mujhse baat karna...' with that he marched out of the room.

Tashu let out an audible sigh, and closed her eyes in anger. 'urgh! Shan!'

::::

Khanak turned around to see a smiling Abhi walking towards her with two cups in his hands. 'Abhi tum?'

'aur nahi toh kaun Khanak?' he smiled as he reached her, 'lo garma garm chai.'

'thaanku'

Abhi smiled, ' toh... kyun kya?'

Khanak looked at him with a puzzled expression, 'kya?'

'arrey... tum abhi toh pooch rahi thi apne aapse... kyun?'

Khanak took in her breath, she was embarrassed. What do I say to Abhi? I can't tell him about my dream...

'uhh.. woh...'

'kya Khanak! Mein tumhe saab kuch bata deta hoon par tum mujhe kuch nahi batati... ab mein tumse baat nahi karoonga!' he turned his back to her, after stomping his foot on the ground.

Khanak smiled at Abhi's deliberate childish behaviour, ' main... apni zindagi ... mein jitney bhi... badlav(change) hue hai... unki wajah pooch rahi thi...'

'hmm... kyun tumhe woh badlav pasand nahi?'

'nahi... mera matlaab hai...umm...kuch badlav itne burre bhi nahi...' she thought of the time Shan and she had spent on the beach, in that restaurant ... laughing having fun, 'par... daar hai...'

Abhi leaned against the railing and sipped his tea before asking, 'daar? Daar kiss baat ka?'

Khanak looked at him, 'daar... ki mein kahi in badlavon (changes) ki wajah se khud badal na jaaon...' she took a deep breath.

'kabhi kabhi khudko badalna itna bhi burra nahi hota... kabhi kabar badlav zaroori hota hai...'

Khanak took a sip from her tea, to give herself some time for choosing her words, ' haan, par kuch badlaav zindagi ko bahut uljha dete hai... phir unme achcha kya hua?'

Abhi smiled, and kept his cup on the table before holding her shoulders and turning her to him, 'kabhi kabhi zindagi bahut uljh jaati hai... paar un uljhano ko suljha karhi humme asli khushi mil sakti hai... aur kabhi humme lagta hai ki kuch badlav se zindagi uljh jayegi... par woh badlav zindagi ko sawar dete hai Khanak.'

She recalled Shantanu in her dream... and how somehow as he had turned to her the clouds, the rain, the thunder had all vanished. What had been left was sunshine, a sense of... she closed her eyes shut... nahi she thought to herself..

'Khanak...'

She kept her eyes shut as she replied him, ' mujhe kuch nahi pata abhi... mujhe kuch nahi pata...'

He took her in her arms, and rested his chin on her head, 'shh... saab theek ho gayega...'

She held on to him, she felt secure and calm and in his arms she was able to take a break from the inner battle rising within her.

'Khanak, nahi paata toh uss baare mein soocho hi maat... waqt aane par sab kuch saaf ho gayega...'

She nodded as a tear trickled down her cheek...

They didn't know how long they stood there in an embrace... but after quite some time, after she had gathered herself and her thoughts Khanak looked up, 'Abhi?'

'hmm.'

'thaanku....'

Abhi looked at her innocently looking at him and his lips broke into a smile... ' you're welcome... Ab chai khataam kare? Thandi ho gayi hogi...'

'kuch nahi hota...' said Khanak in her usual cheerful manner, ' mujhe thandi pasand hai...'

Abhi smiled, 'kya baat kar rahi hai, mujhe bhi thandi pasand hai!... iss baat par de tali.'

He extended his palm... and she gladly gave him a high five...

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