FF: Rishtey (Completed) - Page 5

The next morning, the routine began again. The women were in the kitchen early in the morning, leaving the men to entertain themselves around the house. Pia managed to convince the other women to let her help out in the kitchen, something she was very eager to do. Although Maithili and Paro were conversing with her, Pia's mind was thinking about her conversation with her brother.

She was happy to see Paro after all these years, but she and Gaurav still had important business here in Chandangarh. Gaurav had gone to the BSD that day to meet with General Singh, but was unavailable. Call it a stroke of fate, he ran into the one woman who could be just as helpful. Pia had just met Rudra, and she wondered if she could ask for such a favor. He was a BSD officer, so it was his duty to help others, but would he even help her? There was only one way to find out: ask him.

Normally, Pia would be able to talk to any stranger and instantly become friends with them. Rudra wasn't any different. In the last two days, she had spoken with him and managed to stay on his good side, something her brother struggled with. He asked her about herself and Paro, and she talked to him like she has known him for years. This was something that came naturally to her. However, when it came to this topic, Pia was quieter than a mouse. She would immediately become nervous and would begin stuttering. Gaurav knew his sister was sensitive about the topic, but knew she needed someone else's help. Although it was going to be difficult, Pia needed to ask Rudra for his help.

She walked out of the kitchen to pass out chai to the men, when she saw Rudra come out of his room, dressed in his uniform, getting ready to go to work. She placed the tray in her hand on the table and trailed behind him. He was too busy looking down at his phone to notice her following him. He had finally reached the door when Pia called out to him.

"Rudra jeeju!" she said loudly.

He halted in his tracks and turned, "What did you call me?"

Pia stood in front of him now and smiled, "Jeeju? Why? Did I say something wrong? Paro and I grew up together. She is like my jija. Since you married her, I consider you my jeeju. If you don't like it I can call you Major ji. Or Major jeeju. Or-."

"What do you want? Why did you stop me?"

Rudra saw the smile fade from Pia's face. Her cheerful demeanor suddenly disappeared. She dropped her gaze as she nervously began fiddling with the edge of her dupatta. Pia looked around to make sure that they were alone, because she didn't want what she was going to say to be heard by anyone. He now focused completely on her. He may have only just met her, but Rudra could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Pia hesitated, "I...I need your...help."

"With?"

"Gaurav and I...we...I..."

"Speak clearly."

"We need helping finding someone."

"Who?"

"Some...someone."

"Does this person have a name?"

"I don't know it."

"Do you know what this person looks like?"

Pia shook her head in denial.

Rudra huffed, "Do you know anything at all about this person?"

"They live in Chandangarh. It's a married couple."

"So let me get this straight. You're looking for a married couple, in Chandangarh. You don't know their names, or what they look like. And you want me to help you find these unnamed, unknown faces?"

Pia stood silently for a minute, "I know it's not a lot to go on, but-."

"That's nothing to go on, Pia! I have to get to work. Stop wasting my time."

Rudra walked out the door passed Pia. He got into his jeep and was about to leave when he found Pia standing in front of his car.

"Are you crazy?" he shouted.

"I really need your help!" Pia said.

"You have nothing to go on! How can I help you?"

"You have me!"

"What are you blabbering about?"

Pia walked to the driver's side of the jeep and said, "I need help finding my family. My parents."

"But your parents are dead. Paro told me."

"She doesn't know about this, and I don't want her to know. I'm coming to you secretly because I need your help finding my family. That's the reason Gaurav and I came to Chandangarh."

Something clicked in Rudra's mind as he heard Pia speak, "You mean yours and Gaurav's family right?"

She shook her head, "My family. My parents."

Rudra stared at her for a good five minutes before speaking again, "Go get Gaurav."

"Where are we going?"

"BSD."

Pia nodded. She ran back inside and found Gaurav heading into the kitchen. She quickly pulled him aside and told him that they had to go with Rudra to the BSD; she had told the Major about why they were in Chandangarh. As they were leaving, Gaurav informed the family members that they had to leave for some important work and that they would be back as soon as possible. Everyone seemed to understand...everyone except Mohini. She watched Gaurav and Pia closely, paying close attention to the nervous and tense looks on their faces. She snuck passed everyone and caught a glimpse of the two of them driving off with Rudra in his jeep. Sumer, who was not too far behind her, saw his mother's pondering expression.

"What happened maa-sa?" he asked softly so others wouldn't hear.

"There are some secrets between our guests," Mohini replied. "And Rudra seems to now be involved."

"What do you mean?"

"Something is going on between them, and I want to know what it is. You and I are going to watch their every move. I have a feeling Gaurav and Pia will be of some use to me."

Meanwhile at BSD Headquarters, Rudra was intently listening to Pia and Gaurav's story. It turns out, Pia and Gaurav were not really brother and sister. When Gaurav was little, he and his parents found Pia, then an infant, on the steps of the Shiva temple in Birpur. His parents asked the pundit about it, who said that a young couple had left the child on the steps just moments ago, and he was about to take her to an orphanage in the next village over. The child's parents had told the pundit they were leaving for Chandangarh, and before he could inquire further, they handed the child to him and left. Gaurav's parents, being the kind-hearted people they were, decided to give the baby a place in their home. They had given her the named Pia, meaning beloved, so she would always remember that she will always be loved by them.

Gaurav's parents immediately made a place for Pia in their hearts. Gaurav gave her the place of a little sister in his life. It didn't matter to him if they weren't related by blood; he loved her all the same, and vowed to always protect her. The family decided to never tell Pia that she was adopted, and for years they never did. The villagers had never questioned Pia's sudden arrival, but everyone who met her took a liking to her. After their parents died in a terrible fire, Pia and Gaurav had no one left but each other. Gaurav's parents kept a large sum of money stashed away in the house, which was discovered after their deaths by Pia and Gaurav. With the money the two of them had saved together while helping out others, and some money given by Thakurain maa-sa, they managed to have enough to go to Mumbai to further their education.

Even after all of that, no one had ever told Pia that she was adopted. Gaurav shielded her from that harsh truth because he knew that if she found out now...it would break her. However, almost a year after their arrival in Mumbai, the truth came out. Gaurav had just returned from a night of drinking with his friends. He hadn't drank much before, but that night, under the pressure of his fellow men, he drank beyond his limits. That night, in a rage, Gaurav admitted to Pia that she wasn't his real sister. At first, she thought he was lying, and saying such things just to hurt her. But the next day, when she asked him to tell her the truth, he had no choice but to tell her.

The weight of the abrupt revelation had taken a toll of Pia. She pushed Gaurav away, and for quite some time hated the sight of him. It took months for him to get her to accept him in her life again. He convinced her that the love showered on her was real, and it didn't matter if they weren't related by blood. To him, she would always be his sister. His words were enough to thaw even the coldest of hearts. Pia, eventually, acted normally around him. But the question of her birth parents gnawed at her, and Gaurav could see it. One day, he asked her if she would like to find them. He knew she wanted to see them, not to be with them, but to ask them why they left her in the first place, why they didn't want her. When she agreed, they began searching. They had gone back to Birpur to question the pundit, but he had passed away a few months after they left for Mumbai. The only clue they had was Chandangarh. That's how they arrived here. They were in an unknown city, and they were looking for a couple that knew practically nothing about, yet they were still searching.

"...And that's why I came to you," Pia concluded. "You're a BSD officer, and you must know everyone and everything that happens here. I just thought that maybe you could help."

Rudra had been sitting quietly, observing the two as they told their tale. He did want to help them, but there wasn't enough information for them to go on. He had to tell them that it was a lost cause.

"Look," he said. "I feel bad for everything you went through Pia. I want to help you, but you have almost nothing to-."

Gaurav looked at him, "I know we have nothing to go on, and yet we're still asking. It's no less than a miracle."

"I understand, but you have to see this from an outsider's point of view. If we were to search for them, it would take a lot of time looking. We would have to go door-to-door and ask people about an event that happened more than twenty years ago! Who knows if the couple is still living!"

With eyes filled with unshed tears, Pia looked at Rudra and said, "Rudra, Paro doesn't know anything about this, and I don't want to tell her. I know if she found out then she would be out of the streets day and night searching. If I tell her, she will ask you to help us. You know as well as I do Paro won't rest until the situation is handled. So please, help me. If not for me, then for Paro's sake."

She was good, Rudra had to admit that. Pia had managed to use his weakness against him. The three of them knew that if Paro found out, she would help find out the truth, even if it killed her. And Rudra would never allow that. This wasn't going to be an easy task, but he had to do it.

Rudra let out a sigh of defeat and nodded, "Okay. I'll help you."

Gaurav and Pia both nodded in approval.

"But let's get some things straight. If I ask you something, I want a direct answer. No details are to be left out. If I say we have to go somewhere, then we are going. No one in the house will know about this, especially not Paro. You will have to act normally around them. I don't want any other family members getting involved. Only four people will know about what we are doing."

"Four?" Gaurav asked.

"Me, you, Pia, and Aman. Aman is a fellow officer, and he will help speed up the search. I trust him to keep this quiet."

"Thank you," Pia said. "You don't know how much this means."

It was true. Rudra didn't know how much his help meant to them, but the look in Pia and Gaurav's eyes said it all. For Pia, this was something her heart was desperately searching for...the truth. For Gaurav, this was the one thing that would give his sister the peace of mind she needed. Helping her would be a way for him to redeem himself for the years of deception. Somehow, Rudra felt a bond build between the three of them. They came to him for help, even though they would have to tell a practical stranger details about a past they were still trying to come to terms with. It was unexplainable, and quite inexplicable, but Rudra felt some sort of bond was created the minute Gaurav and Pia asked for his help. Little did the three of them know, this search was going to be a test for them all. A test of courage. A test of strength. A test of loyalty. A test of faith. But most importantly, a test of relations.