2nd Part
"Madamji...O sister...wake up...wake up"
Bit by bit Thapki came to consciousness. Someone was shaking her. She tried to remember what happened ...OH Yes! Her Bihaan was alive and well. At last she found him... proving everyone wrong. She wanted to laugh at everyone who kept telling her to move on, accept the reality that Bihaan was dead...but she knew...her heart knew...everyone was wrong and her Bihaan was still breathing.
"Oye sisterji...wakeup" someone was softly slapping her face now.
Sister? Thapki slowly opened her eyes. And saw her husband. She was still in his arms and he was trying to bring her back to consciousness and CALLING HER SISTER?? WHAT THE HELL?? Was this some kind of tactic to save her from these goons and thugs? Was he their prisoner too pretending not to know her?
Thapki looked at his beautiful face. Dark stubble almost on verge of beard hid most of his face making him look wild and sexy. He was staring at her in concern and a bit of irritation. There was a deep scar at the side of his temple cutting his eyebrow...and so close to his right eye...this must have happened when Dhruv hit him with that slab of stone. Thapki wound her arm around his neck and tried to hug him again. "B-Bihaan"
But before she could hug him tight she was jerked apart.
"Madamji, please maintain some distance...if you think you can use your feminine wiles on me to get out of here you are mistaken. I am simply not interested in your charms. Try these on someone else."
"Bihaan?" Thapki was not sure whether to play along with Bihaan about not knowing each other or not. She couldn't control herself after 7 months of being apart...she didn't have that much strength left in her to pretend indifference. She simply wanted to hug her Bihaan and listen to his heartbeat... forever...
"Yeh Bihaan koun hai?"..."I am your Bihaan, Munni, hug me as much as you want, ajaa"..."Kya kismat paya tune Raja...a girl is clinging to you and you are rejecting her..satak gayi kya?"..."Just few minutes back, the girl was pretending to be so high and mighty looking for her beloved husband...now wrapping herself like a vine to a stranger...what kind of girl is she?" everyone seemed to talk at once but Thapki had eyes only for Bihaan.
Bihaan shook her completely off him in disgust and turned to Durga who was looking at the unfolding scene thoughtfully.
"Durga , I will take your leave...I haven't slept in 3 days..." saying that, Bihaan turned to leave.
Thapki clasped her hand once more to Bihaan to which he shook her off again.
"What is your problem, girl? Get away from me" Bihaan said in anger.
Thapki was now getting seriously scared what was wrong with her Bihaan. She again tried to cradle his face with her hands.
"B-B-Bihaan? What happened to you? Why are you behaving like this? I am Thapki...tumhari Thapki"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Girl...just leave me alone...you are giving me a headache. I don't know any Bihaan or Thapki...And I don't have time for this drama"Bihaan freed himself from her and turned to leave.
"RUKO RAJA" this time it was Durga who stopped him looking at him gravely.
Thapki was now crying pitifully not knowing what she should do...her Bihaan was denying knowing her...she was feeling so helpless. What was wrong with him?
Bihaan halted.
Durga continued, "You know there is a possibility what this girl is saying might be true"
Bihaan gave a dry laugh shaking his head unbelievably. The den suddenly turned silent...
Then someone said, "Raja and this girl's husband?" everyone started to laugh. Even Raja laughed.
"Did you see how this girl is dressed? How she talks? She must be from a rich, hoity-toity family and look at our Raja the only education he seemed to get in his past life was how to shoot guns and stab with knives." Someone snickered and everyone nodded.
"And Durga don't forget the condition he was found...how can a boy from a rich family be in such pathetic condition...rich people even kill like rich people simply with a bullet or some other classy way so that blood doesn't ruin their dress if that was their intention of killing Raja...but Raja was tortured without any conscience, beaten till almost all his bones were broken...someone even tried to change the way he looks by smashing his face with stone, shot at his chest...then thrown down the cliff so that his carcass can be eaten by the animals...that is not how rich people work...that is more our style...Raja must be one of us in his past life...must be a goon of sort and another group did that to him..." Everyone nodded at Chanda's logical explanation.
"Or his pathetic condition could be simply because he bumped into the rocks while falling down from such height into the cliff" Durga persisted.
"But he was shot too"..."I don't know how he was still alive falling down from such height"..."he was lying hanging in that tree for at least two days before we found him."..."Good thing he got trapped in the tree, if he fell on the ground animals would have eaten him while unconscious...only vultures got him thank fully"... "Yes, their flying so much over one place was what caught our attention."..."Thank god only his memory is gone...the way he was he should be gone too."
Thapki simply bent low and vomited on the floor at the men's vivid words of how they found Bihaan...She couldn't imagine...she just simply couldn't...
Someone crouched beside her, gently removed her long hair from her face, held them behind and started to pat her back soothingly. It was Bihaan, Thapki looked at him though her watery eyes...she wiped her mouth with back of her hand and started to cry pitifully looking at him.
He got up and brought a pitcher of water and offered it to her so that she could clean herself up... his expression blank. Was it true what they were saying? Bihaan had lost his memory and really didn't remember her? How could he forget her? Their love?
"Raja, look at her properly, tell us, do you remember her?? Anything?"
Bihaan looked at Thapki who was still sitting in the floor crying looking at him with her beautiful soulful eyes...as if imploring him to say yes.
"No Durga, I don't remember her"
"How do we know, the girl is not lying and trying to get away using Raja?" someone said. Many of them nodded to that.
"Devi, is he the husband you were searching for?" Durga asked Thapki and she nodded.
"She is lying...she simply doesn't want to entertain us so she is making this all up" someone miffed about not getting Thapki as an entertainment said.
"KHAMOSH" Durga roared.
"Durga, I think, what they are saying is true...look how I talk like a tapori, and look how she talks like a well cultured English Mem. I don't remember my past, but I still have all my traits...when I tried to read I could only manage hindi as if I have never been to school...but the moment I saw the guns I knew what to do with them...was that possible if I was from a rich family?? I don't think we are from the same world.She is lying." Raja said stealing a glance at the girl who was looking at him in disbelief, "But at the same time I think we should let her go... she genuinely looks distressed and might not be in her right form of mind."
"I-I-I am completely in right f-form of my mind-d-d Bihaan... you a-a-re the one w-who needs h-h-help ASAP and I am not leaving anywhere not without you." Thapki said heatedly she couldn't believe Bihaan could dismiss her so coldly.
"Devi, do you have any proof our Raja is your husband"
"Yes-Yes I have" She turned to Chanda and asked, "Where is my purse you s-s- seized? Or my p-p-phone? I have his photos, our photos...every proof you n-n-need."
Chanda looked discomfited and took out her phone from his back pocket.
"I threw away her bag; keeping the money...I only have this phone... I switched it off though..."
Thapki dashed the phone from his hand and turned it on; she went to her photo albums and brought out their pictures. She shoved the phone into Durga's face, "See he is mine, he is my h-h-husband."
All the men rushed behind Durga to have a look at the pictures.
"Aila, Munni toh bhabi nikli bey" ..."yeh to sach much Raja eee hai"..." Did you see how he is dressed? He is one of them"..."Ganju tu toh bhaag yaha sey...if Raja finds out the comments you passed on his wife you are dead."... "What will happen to Imli now?" Everyone started to talk together again.
Thapki looked at Raja who was the only one not trying to see the pictures and standing where he was standing before still as a statue. Instead he was looking at her, critically...as if assessing her...
"RAJA" Durga said in his usual roary tone, "The girl is saying the truth...she is indeed your wife"
"If you say so..." Raja was still staring at Thapki gravely.
"Aab kya hoga?" ..."Raja wow...what kismet you were born with...teri biwi kya pataka hai re Raja mia...solid bo----"
Before the comment was finished or anyone could understand anything...Bihaan had already floored that man who whimpered clutching his bloody broken nose...Bihaan fisted that man's hair in a death grip and tugged his head up,
"Biwi hai meri, ijjat se baat kar" Raja said looking daggers at the guy. Nobody came forward to help the guy or stop Bihaan.
"Ji Raja, galti hogayi, age sey nehi dekhhunga us nazariyan sey"
Raja punched him again.
"JUST DON'T EVEN DARE TO LOOK AT HER FROM NOW ON"
"haan Raja... Ma kasam nehi dekhunga ... nehi dekhunga uski taraf kabhi aankh uthake"
"KISKI TARAF?"
"Babhi ki taraf...I will not look at her ever."
"Good...remember that." Saying that, Bihaan released his death grip from the injured man's hair. He stood up and calmly straightened his shirt as if nothing just happened.
"Raja what do you want to do now?" Durga said calmly, whole den has become quiet once again.
"Durga, about the reward you were talking about half an hour before...I want it now."
"Sure what do you want?"
"I want her"
"Arey pagley, she is yours to have, no need to ask her as a reward."
"Thank you Durga." Bihaan grabbed Thapki's hand and dragged her outside with him.
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
