Daasta Uljhe Rshton ki -Mauhaan and Kunal OS

Part 1

After returning from the medical camp, mauli's feelings and emotions were still all over the place and she was hell confused. Why was she still having feelings for the man who cheated on her with her best friend and dumped her? The lack of proper closure with Kunal was also a major factor in her not being able to move on to the next chapter in her life. She also felt guilty of deceiving Ishan, although she had not acted on any of her feelings.

It was in this state of mind that she was accompanying Ishan,Radhika and Mishti to the nearby amusement park ,after meeting Ishan's mom and being honest with her to put her doubts to rest. Mishti had been insisting that they go this park for a long time now and so Mauli and Ishan had agreed to take her there. Mishti was delighted to finally spend quality time with both her Mumma and popsie. She jumped from ride to ride, from the ferris wheel to the merry go round delightedly,while Ishan and Mauli looked on in indulgent love. She had even pulled Ishan along with her on the roller coaster but Mauli refused to go due to her fear of heights. Standing down,she observed the man holding her daughter, steadying her, laughing with her and hugging her tight to himself to ensure she didn't falter.

He had no blood relations with Mishti. No obligations. Nothing. She was the daughter of a divorced woman,whose father had dumped her. And yet, he had accepted her as his daughter,and enveloped her in his heart with the purest kind of love without any expectations, a fact Mauli knew her real father would never have done because for him the child was just an unwanted inconvenience. Wait, why did she ever love that man, again? Oh right. Jazbaat. No right or wrong she thought to herself and chuckled bitterly. Just then, she heard a voice behind her scream Mauli aunty!!' and she turned around, half sighing, half smiling, making sure Ishan and Mishti were still occupied. Turning around, she gave the child a small bright smile, making sure to avoid physical contact. "Hi pari! Aap yaha kaise? she asked the little girl. 'Mauli Aunty.. Mehek aur Buddy na Mujhe ghumane laaye hain.. Humne khub masti ki.. ' The little girl chirped. Mauli gave her a gentle smile and a pat on the head, nodding. Then, forced to make eye contact with Kunal and Mehek for the first time since their return from the camp, she made sure to keep her eyes and expression devoid of any emotion and just said a meek Hi to them. Kunal and Mehek had awkward looks on their faces while Pari chattered non stop.Radhika indulged her.

Just then, she heard Mishti's voice shouting 'Mumma! ' and she turned, panicked that Mishti wud again be angry with her and tried to explain but Mishti just came and hugged her waist without saying anything. Behind her, Ishan appeared with his usual smile in place and a twinkle in his eyes. She gave him a questioning look about mishti's unusual gracious behavior to kunal and pari and he just winked and at that moment she knew he had spoken to her daughter and handled her well. Her heart burst with joy and she gave him a thankful smile. Meanwhile, they were unaware of the eyes on them.Radhika was delighted. Mishti looked happy, Mehek looked bored while Kunal was trying to force a smile on his face telling himself he was happy for Mauli while his eyes remained pained and bloodshot at the thought of what exactly he had lost. Just then, Mishti greeted the other group in a friendly but detached way. 'Hello Pari. Hello aunty. Hello Kunal uncle. ' She smiled serenely at them. Hearing the word 'uncle' from his own daughter felt like such a stinging slap that Kunal reeled back in shock,his eyes moist. Mauli noticed it but strangely after a long time her heart did not clench at his pain. The group now stood face to face with Ishan ,Radhika and Mehek making general conversation with some difficulty, while the kids ran to try their hand at a nearby shooting game. Mauli and Kunal remained silent.

Just then, they all heard a commotion from a distance. They looked to see that a young woman had climbed onto the roof of the park's restaurant and was perched there, time and again swaying and almost falling down. A crowd had gathered below her and were urging her to get down but she paid them no heed. When the woman turned and Ishaan saw her, all the blood drained from his face and he turned pale. Shaken inside, he shouted "Rosh! What the hell are u doing! Get down u fool! and ran for the roof of the restaurant before the rest of them could even blink an eye. They saw him climb steadfastly to the roof and bodily lift the woman, who struggled violently against him and tried to push him away, causing both of them to loose balance for a second before ishaan stood straight and continued pulling her again. After being stunned at the sight, Mauli panicked for Ishaan's safety. ISHAAN! She screamed and ran for the roof too. Radhika panicked. "Mauli! Puttar ruk but Mauli had already dashed off. Radhika's eyes were filled with pure fear for both Ishaan and Mauli. Kunal looked at her and then back at the duo on the roof and said "Don't worry Ma..mai unhe safely niche launga. Mehek aur aap bus pari aur mishti ka dhyan rakhiye aur unhe ghar le jaiye. Yaha hum thik hai aur sab sambhal jaega. Saying so, he also left for the rooftop.

Part 2

ON THE ROOF

Mauli had just reached the entrance of the roof and saw that Ishaan had successfully pulled the woman away from the edge and out of danger. He now held her tightly against him and tried to console her as she sobbed violently. Confusion and a feeling of being an outside intruder to the encounter had her frozen in place and she just watched what was happening,not daring to step in,feeling a bit insecure somewhere too as she remembered how Kunal also used to run to save nandini but immediately dismissed that thought and felt guilty for comparing them both. She had started backtracking when her back collided with Kunal's chest and he had to hold her to steady her. He gave her a questioning look and she just pointed towards Ishan and the woman. Confused, they stood next to each other and watched the scene unfold.

Meanwhile, Ishan pulled away from the woman and held her chin. "Roshni..ye..ye kya haalat bana rakhi hai apni? And are u mad? Kya karne jari thi tum? And why r u drunk??? He whispered in pure agony. Roshni looked at him through her tears and pulled away from him. "Aisi nahi to kaisi haalat banau!? Jab wo log jinpe aap apni jaan ka bharosa karte hain wo aapka dil tode to kaisi haalat banegi insaan ki Ishaan!? She questioned, pulling his collar. Ishaan was stunned. He took her hands and holding her upper arms asked "Rosh..tum kya bol rahi ho mujhe kuch nahi samjh raha..kya tum please clearly bataogi ki tumhare sath hua kya!?

Roshni pulled back and looked at him blankly,all expressions gone from her face as it now looked pale and lifeless. Surprisingly calm, she said in a dead monotone "Tumhe jaan na hai na kya hua. Thik hai. Mai batati hu kya hua. I was out for a banking conference for a week. I came back 2 days earlier than expected. I unlocked the apartment and went in to give my live in partner and fianc a surprise. When I opened the door of our bedroom, I found him naked in bed WITH MY SISTER. Aur kuch batau!? When she uttered this sentence, Ishaan reeled back in shock as if slapped. Mauli and Kunal gasped,looking at each other and back at the duo, surprised and shocked as well at the cruel twists and ironies of fate,especially mauli who was now having flashbacks of her own experience and whose heart now went out to the poor girl. While for Kunal it felt like dj vu as he recalled mauli's state the day she had found out his affair and it was similar to this woman's, and a fresh dose of guilt overcame him.

Meanwhile, Ishaan recovered a little from his shock and realized he wud have to deal with this situation very, very delicately for one wrong move could backfire easily. "What happened after that, roshni? After u found them? he whispered.

Roshni let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, the usual. They had the decency to jump up and look for their clothes. Aman was screaming my name saying something but I was frozen and didn't hear. My sister just hid her face and ran to the bathroom. After I got over my shock I ran out of the apartment as fast as I could and kept wandering the streets for a while. After sometime I found this park and restaurant and came here and drank myself to oblivion. And now here I am talking to u. She said in a drunk voice, smiling serenely at him. Ishaan shook his head "Roshni we need to take u home..i mean my home..obviously u cant go back there..but we need to get u out of here..come on honey please he pulled her but she was still protesting. When he touched her, however he saw that she was burning with fever. "Roshni! U have fever! We need a doctor right now..o my god he was panicking.

At this cue, Kunal and Mauli went to them both. Seeing them Ishan was a bit relieved. "Guys please dekho ise kya hua hai..ye kya haal.. his voice was shaking. Kunal and Mauli put their hands on his shoulder and tried to calm him down before going to Roshni. They told her they were friends of Ishan and doctors and needed to examine her. In her drunk state she obliged and they both checked her temperature, pulse and other vitals as best as they could. Looking at Ishaan, mauli said " Ishaan she has weakness, she hasn't eaten or slept for a while it seems. Also too much stress..this may or may not be signs of a nervous breakdown. We will need to do checkups on her to be sure. Grimly, Ishaan nodded. "If that's what it takes. Lets go to the hospital. Oh and by the way guys this is Roshni Mehra..my second cousin but we are very close..she is like my real sister. Mauli smiled at him and nodded, feeling bad for ever feeling insecure about Ishan,the guy who thought of no one else but her in a romantic way. Kunal was still checking Roshni's pulse.

When roshni heard the word hospital',however, she panicked and flew at Ishan, beating his chest "No no no hospital..i hate hospitals..mujhe dar lagta hai bhaiya..mujhe already bahut dar lagra hai..please bhaiya..mai seh nahi paungi..please mujhe hospital nahi jaana she cried. Ishan tried to protest but Kunal spoke up "Ishaan agar ye nahi jaana chahti to force nahi karte hain aaj..ek kaam karte hai ise tumhare ghar le chalte hai..waha pe mai aur mauli proper checkup kar lenge iska and dawai de denge for the time being..dont worry roshni aap hospital se safe ho. He smiled at her. She looked at him timidly, still having no idea who the stranger was. "Thank u Dr sahab. She smiled.

Afterward, they all got down from the roof, and taking Ishaan's car drove to his house. Mehek and Radhika had already taken the kids home so there was no worry of that. Ishaan sat at the back with Roshni coz she was still in an emotionally weak state, and so Kunal was driving while mauli sat beside him at the front. As the car drove on, Roshni who was cuddled against Ishaan randomly looked up and asked him a question in a teary voice " Bhaiya..kya galti thi meri? Kaha kami reh gai mujh mei? Kyu aman meri behn ke paas gaya? Kyu mujhe meri sagi behn ne dhokha dia? Her questions broke Ishan's heart and cut him deep,while they made Mauli and Kunal tense up. All this felt like some twisted dj vu.

Ishaan knew that if her questions were not handled properly, if she was not handled properly at this stage the after effects would last for life. Very cautiously he said "Roshni. Tumhari koi galti nahi thi.. OK? Koi nahi. Tum ek perfect girlfriend aur ek bahut acchi behn thi. Galti un dono cheaters ki hai jinhe koi sharm lihaaz nahi, jinhe koi insaniyat nahi. Just the sad thing is ki unki galti ki saza tumhe mil rahi hai. But zyada din nahi OK? Bhagwan sab dekhre hai. Hisab barabar Karne mein unhe zyada der nahi lagti. Tum dekhna kaise jald hi wo sab thik kar denge tumhare liye. He said, hugging her tight. His words felt like a slap to Kunal and a soothing balm to Mauli. Roshni wasn't done yet though. After a few minutes she looked up again.

"Ishan bhaiya? she asked. "Han baccha..bolo Ishan replied. "Kya aman aur meri behn ne kabhi mujhse pyar nahi kia? Kya hamara pura rishta jhutha tha?' she asked sobbingly. Ishan was perplexed. Finally he said "I cant vouch for the entire duration of 5 yrs Rosh..but aapne harry potter padhi hai na? Roshni nodded like a child. "NOW WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HARRY POTTER!? Kunal wondered, tensed as he drove. "To tumhe uska quote yaad hai.. "The ones who love us never really leave us. It has one more interpretation -The ones who leave us never really loved us,because you don't leave or hurt a person u love. And honey u will have to accept that fact. However long it takes u. Whatever it takes u to heal..im here for u thru it all. Just a request. When u have finally healed, ur backstabbers may come back in some form. DO NOT allow them back in ur life no matter what happens, ok?Ishan said all in one breath. Roshni just looked at him in awe and nodded. "Plomish. She said,wrapping her pinky finger around his. Mauli watched the scene with tears in her eyes. Here was a man ready to love and unconditionally support the women he loved, never bailing on them, never breaking their trust, just being there for them, helping them heal, never wanting anything in return.

Mauli knew he could help her heal too, if only she let him. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. But if u close your eyes even after u are out of the tunnel u will still see only darkness. To see the light, u need to open ur eyes first. That is now what she would do. Meanwhile, Kunal only felt more ashamed of himself as he realized that the woman's state, identical to mauli's, feeling smaller than he ever had in front of Ishaan.

They finally reached Ishaan's house, and checked Roshni to make sure she was fine. Ishaan put her to bed and told Kunal and Mauli that he wanted to help her. Roshni was a top financial banker.He would first see that she got psychological help and then ask her if she wanted to move abroad for a fresh start. He wanted to help rebuild her life, he said,slowly but surely. After dropping Ishan and Roshni home, Kunal and mauli got in the car again. There was silence between them. Kunal finally spoke,impulsively taking her hand in both of his "Mauli..wo camp mei jo hua..aur abhi..im really really sorry I ever hurt. If possible please forgive me one day. Mauli smiled slightly. "The day is now Kunal..today I saw everything clearly. U are forgiven, for every single thing. I do not want to carry a burden in my heart into my beautiful future. " she said,pulled her hand away and got out as she had reached her place. While she was getting out, kunal impulsively said "All the best for ur beautiful future Mauli..with Ishaan...? The last bit unknowingly came out in a shaking teary voice as a question. Mauli just smiled at him and walked off. He sat there for a while, leaning his head against the car steering, letting a lone tear escape his eye. A tear of guilt, a tear of regret and now, most crucially, a tear of pain of loss, of losing something infinitely precious which we would never,ever find again in life and which now belonged with someone else and would sprinkle his world with happiness,love and bliss. Something that could have been his if only he was not stupid to lose it in the first place.