Last part
It had been almost a week since the showdown between her
father and husband happened over nakusha. Since that day he barely spoke to her
and behaved as though she didn't exist at all. She poured herself a hot cup of
coffee and was striding towards her room when nakusha came out in the hall,
clutching her stomach. For the second time in the day, she'd vomited. Supriya
glanced at her from the corner of her eye. For the first time it pleased her to
see nakusha suffer because of the pregnancy. Serves her right, supriya muttered
under her breath. She had brought her in this house so that she could give them
a child and fill their lives with happiness but now nakusha was using this very
child as a weapon against her. She was a fool to have thought nakusha's care free
and spunky nature as her innocence. When the truth was absolutely the opposite.
Nakusha had cleverly used her pretty innocent looks, her emotional past and her
ability to give him his heir in making a soft corner for her in his heart. Supriya
pressed her lips hard, when all these months she was devoting her time and
energy in ensuring that the baby came comfortably in this world, this woman was
secretly having a scene with her husband. She felt like being stabbed in the
back. Supriya loathed the sight of her and climbed up to her room, she could no
longer tolerate her presence in her life.
She sat on the rocking chair with her coffee cup. Everything
was slipping from her hands. She was reduced to a mere show piece in her very
own house. Nakusha had captivated his mind and his world revolved around her
and his baby. Supriya took a long sip of her coffee. She had insisted upon
nurturing his flesh and blood so that he would always be tied to her and she
would remain to be the center of his attention. The huge sacrifice made on her
part as a wife would make him indebted to her forever.
But now she could see herself losing in her own game and
that too by someone like nakusha. It wounded her ego to see her winning. She
closed her eyes to collect her thoughts. She had never lost in her life and had
always been a winner. Until now she had played her cards very intelligently.
She wouldn't let this unexpected twist, ruin her game plan. The chair rocked to
and fro as she thought harder and harder. Ever since he confessed his feelings
about nakusha, she had turned hostile towards him but that didn't bother him at
all. In fact even her father's intervention didn't succeed in changing his
stand. On the contrary it only widened the gap between her and him. Her
indifference was helping him further drift away from her. And that was
something that she couldn't afford. She sighed deeply, thinking about changing
her course of action. Things were pretty much smooth and in control till his so
called love popped up and she didn't take it lightly. Now if she went back to
her old self of taking care of nakusha (only in front of him) and the baby (she
still loved the baby, her maternal feelings hadn't changed) then perhaps the
tension between them might ease out. She remembered his last words that he
didn't intent to change the fact that she was his wife. Even though he was
furious still it said a lot about what was going inside his mind. He loved
nakusha but he wasn't planning to abandon her for nakusha. He wasn't even
thinking of holding nakusha back. She smiled slyly. Then why the hell was she
worrying and getting hyper? When neither he nor his name would ever leave her! the
only bone of contention was... nakusha. She had to ensure that nakusha left after
delivery. Once she would leave then there would be nothing to worry. Today his
heart was going gaga over nakusha only because she was bearing his child. But
tomorrow when he would see her showering love on his child then his heart would
definitely melt. She smirked. Now she only needed to maintain her cool and
behave as though nothing had happened.
She saw him barging inside the room. She furrowed her brows
when he opened the cupboard and hurriedly took out nakusha's blue medical file.
She sprang to her feet, kept the empty cup aside and asked," kya hua?" his face
was creased, he stared at her for a moment then replied," nakusha ki tabiyet
theekh nahin hai..usey doctor ke pass le jana hoga." She knew since morning
nakusha wasn't keeping well but she didn't pay attention. Her appointment was
due at the end of this week.
Without saying another word he walked out of the room. She
rolled her eyes. It was time to get into action / drama. She quickly followed
him down the stairs and said," main bhi saath main chalti hoon." He stopped in
his tracks, turned, raised his head to gaze at her then slowly nodded his head.
On getting down she wrapped her arm around nakusha , assisted her in getting
into the car and asked with voice laced with fake concern," tune bataya kyun
nahin tujhe dard ho raha hai?" nakusha looked at her in confusion, she thought
supriya knew about her. She didn't say anything and just got on to the back
seat.
Dutta turned on the ignition and began driving. From time to
time he glanced at nakusha through his rear view mirror. He drew his brows
together, she was in pain but still she didn't look so bad. He'd seen her in
far worse conditions before. As her date of delivery approached near, his heart
pounded loudly inside his chest. He hoped that everything would go well.
He creased his face in anger when his cell phone vibrated
inside his pocked. Who was disturbing him now?
" kaun?" he scowled at the caller.
" dutta bhau." The caller chuckled and dutta wrinkled his
nose on identifying the person on the other end. He was too furious to say
anything.
" mujhe zinda chod kar tune phirse mistake kar diya." And
dutta agreed with him, he shouldn't have left him alive. He had come back to
create a storm in his life at the most inappropriate time.
" aayi shapath , Anna, agar is baar tune kuch kiya toh..main
tujhe jaan se mardunga." Dutta swore under his breath, he would not think once
before killing him, if this he dared to mess with him. Surpiya shook his head
and nakusha shuddered at the mention of Anna. Her kidnapping incident was still
fresh in her mind and she knew how dangerous that man was.
Anna's eyes glinted evilly as he let out a throaty laugh,"
thoda late ho gaya dutta, maine jo karna tha..woh kar diya." Dutta pursed his
lips in a hard line and wondered what was anna talking about, what had he done
this time? He was thinking about it when dutta heard a loud explosion on the
other side of the phone. His eyes grew wide and he brought the car to a sudden
halt by applying the brakes. There was deep silence on both the ends and dutta
gripped the cell phone firmly in his hand.
" kuch suna?...yeh to bas trailer tha." Anna sniggered.
Dutta clenched his jaws and flared his nostrils in rage.
" tune mera dream toda ..ab mein tera dream hi nahin..tujhe
bhi todega." Setting up a drug making factory in PV, then making the people of
PV drug addicted and ultimately ruling over them was anna's dream. There was
hell lot of money in this narcotics business and he wanted to expand it beyond
the territories of PV but dutta's presence and constant intervention had foiled
his plans. Now he wouldn't spare dutta and his dream project at any cost.
" ANNA ." dutta growled through gritted teeth. Anna smirked
hearing him get angry and sensing him feeling helpless.
" us land par main tera shopping complex ban ne nahin dega."
Dutta contorted his face and his chest heaved up and down in fury.
" thoda time wait kar ...BOOM..aur phir sab khatam." Anna's
eyes sparkled in malice thinking about the line of bombs he'd got planted at
the shopping complex site. First he would bring down his shopping complex and
then he would tarnish his image in public by bringing out his secret affair out
in the open.
" ANNA , main tujhe chodunga nahin." Dutta snarled at him,
in response anna laughed devilishly and disconnected the call. Panic consumed
dutta and he immediately called his aide to give out instructions," kale ..tu
jaldi se bomb squad ko site per bhejh ..aur guards ke saath milkar site ko
khaali kara ..abhi isi waqt." Both the women understood what had happened. This
time Anna had gone too far by attempting to blow up the site. Nakusha forgot
her own pain instead felt jittery for the laborers working at the site. What if
they lost their lives? She glanced at his stiff back and thought he had put in
so much effort in this project, she didn't wish to see it crumbling down like a
pack of cards.
Supriya noticed him changing the route, instead of taking
nakusha to the hospital, he was driving towards the site. What was wrong with
him, why was he going to the site knowing very well that everything could blow
up any time.
" yeh aap kahan jaa rahe hain?" supriya asked in concern. He
tightened his grip on the wheel , pressed the accelerator and didn't care to
reply, she was aware why and where they were heading.
" wahan bahut khatra hai." Going there was damn risky,
anything could happen.
" toh kya karoon..darr ke mare yahin baitha rahoon aur wahan
logon ko marne doon?" he asked in irritation, what was she expecting from him?
To let those innocent laborers die at the hands of Anna and do nothing about
it. She shook her head, that was not what she meant but at the same time it
didn't make sense to endanger one's own life to save the life of others.
She raised her hand and pressed his arm slightly, nakusha
who was sitting quietly, lowered her gaze.
" aapne bomb squad bheja hai ..aur kale bhi toh wahan logon
ko nikal raha hai..phir." the bomb squad would reach the site and diffuse the
bombs in the mean time kale and his men would evacuate the site, what more was
he thinking of doing? He twisted his arm under her hold, she dropped her hand and
saw him staring at the road ahead. He was in no mood to back off, instead would
happily risk their lives. She rolled her eyes and reminded him that he was
supposed to take nakusha to the hospital, saving the life of their child should
have been his first priority.
" nakusha ko hospital kaun lekar jayega ..kya woh zaroori
nahin hai?" he kicked himself mentally, in all this mess, taking nakusha to the
doctor had slipped out of his mind. For a moment he forgot that she was in pain
and needed to be attended. But going to the site was also equally important, in
fact in his eyes it was more important. Lifting his lashes he glanced at
nakusha through the rear view mirror. Nakusha blinked her eyes and assured him
that she was doing fine and she was with him.
" sahab main theekh hai..apko jo sahi lage woh karo." His
heart swelled with pride, he knew she was lying to him, once again she was
pushing her pain aside and thinking about others. That's what he loved about
her. She was compassionate and selfless in her thoughts and actions.
Supriya shot her a nasty look, once again nakusha had
succeeded in belittling her in his eyes. Now supriya had one more reason to
hate her.
Dutta pulled up the car at the site. And what he saw
startled him. There was complete chaos. People were running in different
directions to get out of the place. A part of the building had caught fire
after the bomb explosion he heard while talking to Anna. All he hoped it was a
low intensity one and there were no casualties. The bomb squad team had arrived
and was doing its job while dutta's scattered men were rescuing the laborers.
" tum dono khabardar jo gaadi se bahar nikle." He warned
both of them not to step out of the car and without waiting to hear them
respond he slammed the door shut and mingled into the crowd.
Supriya called up her father, hoping that he would help them
out in some way but unfortunately he was out of station. She let out a
frustrated sigh. She felt as though she was sitting on ticking time bomb that
would explode any moment. Panic and fear gripped her. Nakusha was feeling no
different, beads of sweat formed on her forehead as time passed and her eyes
failed to spot him. Her lips were shaking, unknowingly letting out a silent
prayer for him. She paused and realized what she was doing, then resumed her
silent chanting, hoping that this time He wouldn't let her down.
" taayi, sahab kahan hai..dikh hi nahin rahe."
Supriya bit her lower lip and allowed her eyes to scatter
the crowd. He was no where to be seen.
" main phone karti hoon." She tried calling him but he
didn't take the call.
" sahab , theekh toh honge nah?" nakusha was now panicking.
A large part of the crowd had cleared out still he was missing. She poked her
head out of the window to look for him. Supriya pursed her lips and replied
through clenched teeth," isliye main yahan aane ko mana kar rahi thi." She was
not a fool when she was stopping him from coming here but why would he listen
to her?
" main jaa kar sahab ko dekhoon." Nakusha suggested, there
was no point in staying in the car and worrying for him. Some one had to go and
look for him.
The crowd had dispersed. Ambulance van and fire brigade had
also arrived at the scene.
" nahin..tu ruk..main dekhti hoon." Supriya stopped her
sternly, she didn't want to give him another reason to get mad at her. Supriya
reluctantly opened the door and hopped out to find him. She touched her stomach
area to ensure the padding was at its right place. While craning her neck to
search him, she began walking towards shopping complex structure. Glancing up
the building she cursed Anna for destroying it. More than half of it had
collapsed due to the explosion.
Dutta along with his men helped pulling out workers buried
under the debris. Some had lost their lives while others were struggling to
survive. There were men and women with broken limbs and bleeding heads being
carried on stretchers. The sight was heart wrenching.
Just as dutta thought that the worst might have got over,
there was another blast. This time the bomb exploded on the ground floor of the
building. Clouds of smoke and wild screams of people filled the air. The panic
that had subsided slightly, reemerged. Dutta and his men ran to the spot.
Thankfully it was already evacuated. There was fire and smoke but no one was
caught inside. Sighing in relief, dutta turned around to leave when his ears
caught something. People were howling and wailing around him but still he felt
he heard something more. Moving back to the area, his eyes travelled
frantically and went wide in horror when he spotted a small girl caught in the
fire. She was the same girl who he had often seen on the site. And she was
crying her lungs out. Her father had gone hysterical and wanted to jump in the
fire to save her but was stopped by his fellow workers. Dutta wrinkled his nose
and without wasting another second kicked open the door that had caught fire
and stormed inside. He picked up the child and hugged her to his chest. The entrance
was now up in the flames. He looked around then smashed open the glass window
and jumped out. On seeing him, the father rushed to him and grabbed his child,
taking the little one in his arms. Tears of gratitude streaming down his eyes
said everything that words could have said. Dutta raised his hand and caressed
the child's face. He was glad that she was safe. The girl was still weeping,
she lifted her tiny forefinger and pointed at dutta. He furrowed his brows in
confusion. He couldn't understand what she was suggesting. Moving aside he
found that she was still pointing at something, but what?
" wahan...koi.." she said in between her whimpering. Dutta's
eyes followed the direction she was pointing at. Maybe she had seen someone
behind the building. Who could it be?...Anna! in all this chaos the fact that
Anna must be around escaped his mind. Taking out the gun from his waist pocket,
he walked behind the building. His guards followed him closely.
Anna was waiting impatiently to see the whole building
devastated. He was a sadist. Instead of blowing up the complex in one go, he
had planted a series of low intensity bombs. Wanted to see how slowly and
steadily, dutta's ambitious project crumbled down into pieces. More than half
the building had already collapsed, he was waiting for the last one to explode,
unaware that it had been successfully diffused by the bomb squad.
Turning around his gaze fell on dutta and his guards who had
surrounded him and his men. He knew that now he couldn't escape from here,
alive but still there was no regret on his face and his eyes had a feeling of
victory floating in them.
" dutta, yeh toh khatam ho gaya." Anna said eyeing at the
shopping complex, he had succeeded in destroying it and was proud of his
accomplishment. With his shoulder in a cast, he limped around dutta fearlessly. Dutta clenched his jaws and
gritted his teeth. He was boiling in anger.
" dekh maine tere saamne sab kuch barbaad kar diya." He
openly mocked at dutta, who claimed himself to be the ruler of PV still failed
to save his own dream project from getting battered.
Dutta glared hard at him, for the first time he cursed
himself for not killing somebody. He wasn't upset seeing the building fall to
pieces, it could be reconstructed again, but the innocent people who had lost
their lives, what about them? There was enmity between both of them and anna
slaughtered so many lives only to avenge him.
" pv ke logon ko cheentiyon ki tarah masal diya." Anna
sniggered. He wanted to rule over the people of PV by running drugs down their
blood, that would have killed them slowly but this was even better. In one go
he had terrorized them to death. Nobody dared to mess with Anna!
There was no remorse in anna's eyes, on the contrary he was
proud of his ruthless and malicious act. Dutta flared his nostrils, curled his
fingers in a fist and punched Anna's face who fell on the ground by the impact
of the blow. The very next moment a clash broke out between dutta's guards and
anna's men. Anna took out his gun to fire at dutta but today he was late, dutta
didn't give him another chance and all the
bullets of his pistol pierced through anna. He was finally dead and his blood
splashed all across dutta's clothes. After a very long time dutta's hands had
claimed a life and this was the first instance when he didn't repent killing
someone.
****************************************
Supriya's eyes travelled around in search of him. She kept
on calling out," dutta ji ..dutta ji." But failed to trace him. Walking on the
wreckage with this huge padded stomach was also not easy. A worker was running
by, she stopped and asked him," dutta ji kahan hai." The worker pointed towards
the ground floor of the building that was up in flames. The fire officers had
brought situation under control but still that area was risky. Supriya gulped
and approached the building. She yelled his name from outside. There was no
response. She waited for sometime then unwillingly decided to step inside and
look for him. It was dark, smoky and suffocating. Why the hell had he come here
in the first place, couldn't he stay out and supervise?
" dutta ji .." she screamed again but failed to find him.
She opened her mouth to call him again when she heard nakusha shriek from
behind," TAAYI." Before she could respond, nakusha pushed her hard and she
flung out of the building. Supriya winced in pain and looked back. Her eyes
became the size of saucers. The floor above had caved in. And now nakusha was
trapped under the rubble. Had she not pushed out supriya on time then instead
of her, supriya would have been caught under the debris. She was shocked to the
core, couldn't believe what nakusha had done for her. And why did she do that?
" supriya..supriya." dutta jerked her as she stood up, still
in a state of daze. He pursed his lips in irritation, why was she here, when
he'd told her not to get out of the car?
" tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?" he asked through gritted
teeth. But she didn't reply as though her senses had gone numb. Her eyes
refused to blink, refused to leave the sight of entrapped nakusha. He ran his
hand through his hair in frustration, what was wrong with her?
Suddenly the thought of nakusha crossed his mind, he anxiously
looked around for her then jolted supriya by her shoulders and asked," nakusha
, kahan hai?" her face was expressionless and simply stared at the building
that was falling apart. Dutta followed her gaze, shock seized him, constricting
his chest. He stormed inside the building. Nakusha had fallen on her stomach
and her leg had caught underneath the rubble. Her knocked down head was
bleeding profusely and she was crying in pain while clutching her stomach. He
pushed the debris with all his strength but it didn't move even an inch.
Nakusha's face was scrunched in pain and tears rolled down. Supriya saw the
determination on his face. It was no plain and simple concern for nakusha and
the baby as she always believed it to be. Neither was this mere attraction or
infatuation towards the woman who was carrying his child. It was something
else, something deeper that her mind was ignoring and heart refusing to
acknowledge. The air was filled with smoke and dust yet at this moment her eyes
were able to see everything so clearly.
He clenched his jaws,
flexed his muscles and shoved with tremendous force. It moved slightly but
enough for him to free his leg. He lifted her in his arms, pushed the rubble
with his legs that was blocking the door and came out. Nakusha was slipping
into unconsciousness as he rushed to the car and supriya silently followed him.
" nakusha..nakusha ghabra mat." He tried to keep her awake.
" main hoon nah..sab theekh hoga." He was terrified himself,
knew she was in a terrible state still he was there for her and wouldn't let
anything happen to her. He lay her on the back seat, her eyes were getting
heavy, making it difficult for her to keep them open. He cupped her face, his own creased in worry
and urged her," nakku ..nakku aankhein khol." She raised her tired lashes,
hearing him call her, nakku' always stirred something in her heart. She loved
it when he called her, nakku. Unknowingly a fleeting smile crept her lips
before she passed out.
" main iske saath baithti hoon." He heard supriya from
behind. Supriya lifted nakusha's head and placed it on her lap. Then began
dabbing nakusha's bleeding head with the end of her sari as dutta drove at high
speed to reach the nursing home.
The pulse on his neck throbbed hard. His knuckles turned
white as he gripped and changed gears. His brain was imploding. Fear and panic
were consuming him.
**************************************
The doctors suggested to operate her immediately, it would
be a premature delivery but they had no other option. At once she was wheeled
inside the operation theatre as dutta and supriya waited out. The sight of
nakusha caught underneath the rubble was not leaving supriya's mind. To save
her from the accident, nakusha had risked her own life. If nakusha wanted to
take her place and enjoy this fame and wealth then why did she do this? She was
carrying his baby, he loved and supported her, everything was on her side... the
only hurdle in her or their path was the fact that he was married to her. But
had she died in this accident then the coast would have been absolutely clear
for them, they could have easily united and lived happily ever after. Until now
she saw nakusha as a gold digger and opportunist however the same gold digger
and opportunist had sacrificed her life to save hers. Nakusha had entered their
world to give them a child and then leave with her money so that she could
brighten her future but it didn't take her a second to give it all up. Just a
few hours back she was loathing nakusha, believing her to be the biggest
obstacle in her life, accusing her of being a home breaker and dying to
eliminate her from her life but now she couldn't stop herself from feeling so
small in her own eyes and nothing when compared to nakusha .
Supriya lifted her head and saw dutta standing near a huge
glass window looking out. Today he was different. He wasn't pacing up and down
the corridor in frustration and worry. He wasn't blaming himself or anybody
around for nakusha's condition. He wasn't furious or nervous. He was quietly
watching the sky turn dark and grey as though casting a dark shadow on his life.
He silently watched the hustle bustle outside when his own world seemed to have
stagnated. He was breathing, his heart was pounding but with every heart beat
he felt he was dying. The fear of losing nakusha had gripped and numbed his
senses. He didn't know what to do and how to react? He hadn't felt so helpless
in his entire life.
Supriya stood behind him, slowly placed her hand on his
shoulder but he didn't respond. She pressed his shoulder softly and turned him
around. His dark pools were brimming with tears as they met her eyes and asked
softly," usey kuch hoga to nahin ?" her hand resting on his shoulder slipped
down on its own. For the first time she witnessed his vulnerable side hidden
behind his cold exterior. For the first time she could feel his pain and
understand his emotions. But sadly those feelings and emotions were not for her
but for someone else. She felt acute pain rise to her heart. He truly loved
nakusha! The realization and the admission ripped her heart into pieces. She
felt choked as she looked into his eyes that were seeking reassurance from her.
She pressed her lips lightly and blinked her eyes that were threatening to get
teary, reassuring him that nakusha would be alright.
Both were in silence when the doctor came from behind and
informed letting out a weak smile," Mubarak ho..beta hua hai." Supriya covered
her opened mouth, she always wanted a boy, her eyes glittered as she looked up
at dutta who's lips tugged slowly. He couldn't believe he was finally a father
now. He had a baby boy! The news ironed out his creased face. However he felt
that the doctor had not completed herself, she had more to say and he feared
that it was not something pleasant.
Nakusha had been shifted to her room but she wasn't doing
well, in fact her condition was quite serious. She had suffered extreme blood
loss both internally and externally. To make things worse her blood group was
AB-ve, quite a rare group and the doctor feared that the nursing home might run
short of it. dutta didn't blink his eyes as something icy cold and terrifying ran down his spine.
The doctor turned towards supriya and said in disappointment," maine pehle he
kaha tha ki is bachche se nakusha ki jaan ko khatra ho sakta hai..par aap nahin
maniee." Supriya's head dropped in shame and her eyes scattered the floor. One of the reasons behind turning a blind eye
to the growing proximity between dutta and nakusha was ,that she knew all along
that this pregnancy could be life threatening for nakusha. No matter what
happened eventually, nakusha would be out of their lives either by going away
with the promised sum of money or by losing her life during or after delivery.
Dutta was disgusted to the core. He couldn't imagine,
someone could be so selfish and self centered. To have a new life in her hands
she had the audacity to play with someone else's life and remain tight lipped
about it all along? He pursed his lips and shook his head in disbelief.
" mujhe nakusha se milna hai." He didn't wait to seek the
doctor's permission and strode towards nakusha's room. The doctor opened her
mouth to protest but supriya held doctor's arm and stopped her by saying, "
jaane do unhein."
*********************************
Anguished dutta looked down at the woman laying in bed. She
was connected to various medical machines about which he had no clue, her
forehead was bandaged and her leg was in a cast. She appeared so weak and pale.
Why did she not terminate her pregnancy when he'd asked her
months back? Why did she not care about her life? He sat next to her and placed
his hand against her cheek. She was cold. Why didn't she ever listen to him?
Even today when he had told her not to get off the car then why did she come
out? Did her life meant nothing to her, was it that worthless in her eyes?
She felt his warm touch and opened her eyes slowly. She held
his hand that was cupping her face and smiled weakly at him. He didn't smile
back, he was broken and tormented, seeing her in this state.
" tu kyun kabhi meri baat nahin maanti?" she took a deep
breath and leaned her face slightly into his hand. He was right, she hardly ever
listened to him, always did what she thought was best for him and would
ultimately bring happiness in his life. He meant the world to her and they both
knew that. She lifted her lashes once again, he was still gazing at her but
soon dropped his gaze and looked away when she met his eyes. She smiled
inwardly, he was such a baby and looked even more adorable when attempted to
show that he was upset with her.
" sahab." Unwillingly he glanced at her as she pointed
towards the crib. Standing near the crib, he leaned down and picked up his no
their child wrapped up in a white sheet. The child yawned at him and his lips
broke into a smile. He was so light weight, tender and delicate that dutta
feared he might slip down his hands. Ever so cautiously he brought the child
close to the bed and placed it next to nakusha. Her eyes glistened seeing the
little one, sometime ago it was moving and growing inside her and now it was
finally breathing in this new world. She gently ran her finger tips over the
baby's face, caressing it. She felt he resembled his father a lot, same black
hair, prominent nose and had the most distinguishing feature on his face...the
cleft chin.
" sahab..apko ladki chaiye thi nah?" she asked softly. She
knew he desired a girl child but hoped he wasn't disappointed today. He slowly
nodded his head while admiring the baby, it was true, he wanted a girl but more
than that he wanted something else in their child and that was there. The
gender of the child no longer mattered, all it mattered was that it was their
child.
" main humesha se chahta tha ki iski aankhein tujh par
ho...masoom aur shararti ." the child had same green eyes like its mother. The
green emeralds that were innocent, full of life and yet mischievous at the same
time. Without blinking his eyes dutta continued to gaze at the baby, his dream
had eventually come true. He touched his cheek with the back of his fingers,
his skin was so soft and tender and he immediately grabbed his father's finger
in his tiny fist, brought it to his mouth and began sucking it. nakusha
couldn't stop smiling at father and son.
True to his eyes, the baby was quite naughty, he kept
kicking the sheet it was wrapped in. dutta tried to cover him securely but
every time he did it, the baby would kick the sheet even harder. He was giving
out a toothless grin as though it was some game that he was playing with his
father. nakusha noticed how the creases on his face had ironed out and his eyes
were glittering. Now how could she have deprived him off this joy? A lone tear
escaped her eye that he didn't notice. The pain and trouble in getting their
child into this world was all worth it!
" sahab." She called out softly but he didn't reply. He was
still annoyed with her. Like a stubborn child he was ignoring her and it tugged
her heart. If he had his reasons to be upset with her then even she had her
reasons to defy him. The bottom line was that they both loved each other
immensely and couldn't see the other one suffer.
" aap aaj bhi mere se baat nahin karoge?" every word that
came out, labored her breath.
His impending silence
was killing her, it reminded her of the day when she was leaving for mahabaleshawar
and he had gone all quiet. There was so much going inside him and he was doing
nothing but suppressing all that. Today was no different, he was still behaving
the same, curbing and stifling his emotions. She gazed at him helplessly and
said," sahab, main jaa rahi hai." He turned sharply and glared at her. He
pressed his finger against her lips and retorted," chup." She didn't realize
what those words did to him, they pierced through his heart and killed him
every time she said about leaving him. His eyes were blazing with hurt.
She raised her arms in the air, urging him to embrace her.
There was deep longingness in her eyes that twisted his heart and the next
moment he engulfed her in his arms. She slid her arms over his shoulders then
wrapped them around his neck as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He
held on to her firmly and closed his eyes. The fear and anxiety that he was
curbing within him came out as tears through his closed lids. He didn't want to
lose her and buried himself deeper into her. She felt wetness on her neck and
tightened her grip around him. She knew she was critical and might not survive.
Time was running out and she wanted to hold on to him and this moment for as
long as she could.
He slowly lifted his head and glanced at her, even she was
crying. He held her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. He
wouldn't let her slip off his hands so easily.
" main tujhe khudh se alag nahin hone doonga." He looked
into her eyes as he said those words, she was turning paler and her breathing
had quickened, he pressed his lips against her bandaged forehead and rose to
his feet to leave and arrange blood for her. He would do everything to save
her! He turned around to leave when he felt a tug, looking down he saw the baby
fisting his kurta in his fingers and pulling it. dutta leaned down, held the
baby's hand and soundly kissed his fingers that were gripping his kurta. The
clouds made a thundering noise, he looked at the dark sky out of the window and
pursed his lips. Today he wouldn't let this rain wash away his happiness. He
kissed the baby one more time and rushed out of the room only to pause at the
entrance where supriya stood and watched all the beautiful emotions that the
three of them shared. His eyes were still accusing and unforgiving. She looked
away, unable to bear his abhorrence.
Nakusha saw supriya at the door and called out," taayi."
Supriya was mortified because of shame and wounded pride as she came in and
stopped at the end of the bed. An innocent person was struggling to survive
because of her. She had made the biggest mistake of her life and today she was
ashamed to face its consequences. Nakusha saw her downcast face and furrowed
her brows in confusion.
" taayi..yeh." nakusha said getting breathless. Supriya
lifted her face and saw her gesturing towards the baby. Her eyes filled up and
hands extended automatically to lift the baby but she halted mid hair. She felt
she wasn't worthy enough to touch this pure soul. Tears rolled down her eyes.
She'd spent the last nine months waiting desperately for this moment and now
when it was there she couldn't bring herself to feel it. nakusha could see the
guilt in supriya's eyes overpowering the maternal love, she wanted to hold the
baby but was stopping herself.
" lo nah?" she urged supriya.
With shaking hands, supriya slowly lifted the baby and then
at once pressed the baby to her chest and started sobbing once again. For the
first time nakusha saw supriya breaking down like this and it hurt her. But she
was glad that her child would get so much love from her.
" taayi tum humesha isko aise hi pyar karogi?" her chest
heaved up and down and her eyes became heavy
as she asked her. Supriya nodded through teary eyes and assured,"
haan..humesha."
" aur sahab..sahab ko bhi nah?" supriya opened her mouth to
reply but was at loss of words. Nakusha's love for him was selfless and pure,
she wished she could love him the way
nakusha did, but even if she did, it wouldn't matter because he didn't love
her, he loved nakusha.
" waada karo taayi, tum sahab ko sambhalogi?" she knew he
would be devastated when she left him. She needed that assurance from supriya
that she would understand, support and love him when she would not be around.
Nakusha inhaled deeply, lifted her palm
and asked supriya to promise her. Supriya couldn't lie more, she didn't want to
give her a false promise.
" waada karo." Supriya saw her getting breathless, she
panicked and replied," nakusha tu abhi araam kar..kuch mat bol." But nakusha
was relentless, she wanted to promise her. Supriya shook her head she was
terrified and said," main abhi doctor ko bulati hoon." Before nakusha could
stop her, she was out of the room like wind to fetch the doctor.
The doctor and nurses immediately covered nakusha's nose and
mouth with the oxygen mask and then monitored her heart rate and blood
pressure. She was serious but still they hoped that she would recover, she was
a fighter. After all going through such a difficult pregnancy was not child's
play. The doctor advised her to be left alone, she wasn't supposed to exert
herself. Supriya thought of leaving the room with the baby so that she wouldn't
be disturbed but nakusha patted the empty space next to her, gesturing to leave
the baby with her. Supriya did so.
The room was dark and it was raining outside. Nakusha
glanced down at her baby and stroked his face affectionately. She had done her
job and now as promised it was time to leave. She wasn't sure whether he(dutta)
would ever understand and more importantly forgive her for what she was going
to do.
Aasmaan tera mera hua
Khwaab ki tarah dhuaan dhuaan
Aasmaan tera mera hua
Saans ki tarah ruaan ruaan
With quivering fingers she pulled out the IV that was
attached to her left hand. And then removed the oxygen mask covering her mouth.
She started breathing heavily. The world was collapsing around her but she
didn't care. The little time that she spent with him was beautiful like a dream.
But dreams seldom came true and this one was destined to be shattered. Their story of meeting and falling in love was
nothing less than a fairy tale however all fairy tales didn't have a happy
ending. And now it was time to free herself from this world and let go.
Ho jaaye jahaan tu jaaye
Paaye mujhe hi paaye
Saaye ye mere hain tujh mein samaaye
she glanced down at her baby and wrapped her arm around him. She always
knew that one day she would have to leave him and go away, that she would never
get a chance to love him and see him grow up. But she didn't know that she
would leave him like this. She snuggled close to him and wondered would he ever
know who is real mother was, would he ever miss her? tears slipped through her
eyes.
Perhaps she wouldn't be around him to see him, feel him and
love him but she was glad that even in her absence he would still have parents
who would shower immense love on him. He was her flesh and blood, a part of her
would always reside inside him.
Tu jo mila toh yun hua
Ho gayi poori adhoori si duaa
Tu jo gaya, toh le gaya sang tere
Mere jeene ki har wajah
she was getting out of breath still she cuddled to the baby and thought
of dutta. When she met him for the first time she was of the opinion that she
would only have to spend a night with him, like she did with several men every
night and then forget everything in the morning as though nothing unusual
happened between them. But it didn't happen that way, the night stayed with her
forever and the moments that they shared together made her feel differently.
Instead of forgetting and moving away from him she was deeply attracted to him.
And soon this attraction turned into love. Having someone like him in her life
was an old forgotten wish that she never expected to get fulfilled. But it did.
His seed growing within her and his love residing in her
heart changed her completely. They gave her life an all together different
meaning. She couldn't imagine her life without him and their baby. But sadly, a
life with them was also not possible. She was brave enough to move out of their
lives but after doing that she had no reason and desire to live. Though she
belonged to him but he belonged to someone else. She had to step aside so that
he stepped ahead in his life.
The baby lying close on instincts started kicking her,
hitting her with his tiny fists as though stopping her from leaving him. And
when nothing seemed to work he started wailing loudly, crying his lungs out.
But it was too late. Her eyes were getting heavy and her heart was beginning to
collapse.
Supriya rushed to the room on hearing the baby cry. The
scene before her drained the blood out of her. How did nakusha's mask come out,
did she remove it herself? Supriya hurriedly picked up the mask to cover
nakusha's nose and mouth but failed to do it on time.
" sahab." She called out while breathing her last breath!
Dutta felt as though he heard something. He gripped the
steering wheel with both his hands, he had managed to arrange the blood and now
all he wanted was to get back to the nursing home as soon as possible but this
torrential rain was making his task difficult. The fear of losing her to these
rains was stifling him. He had already lost a lot in his life and now she was
the only he had, he couldn't bear to lose her.
The cell phone in his pocket started vibrating, taking it
out he saw supriya's name flashing. With one hand on the wheel he took the
call.
Supriya's voice shook and cracked as she said," nakusha..nakusha."
His eyes turned wide and the phone slipped through his hand.
He could see his nightmare coming true. Nakusha falling off the cliff
and...dying. He closed his pain stricken eyes. Various images of nakusha starting
with the bold one who for the first time stepped into his room with a bubble
gum in his mouth, followed with the understanding one who could feel his pain,
moving on to the giggling one who always managed to bring a smile on his face
and ending with the one who confessed how madly and truly she loved him,
flashed before his eyes in a matter of seconds and brought a slow smile on his
lips.
This was his life. It started with her and ended on her!
He lost control on the car and it crashed against a huge
rock. With the huge impact the door flung open and he fell out of the car. His
body rolled over the road and his smashed head bled heavily. With drooping eye
lids he gazed at the dark sky above as rain drops drenched him. Tonight he
didn't loath the rains. They didn't succeed in taking her away from him.
Instead he felt close to her.
Saiyaara main saiyaara,
Saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahaan mein milenge abb yaara
With a triumphant smile on his lips he let out his last
word," nakku.". Maybe they weren't meant to unite in this world. But in the
other world no one could ever separate them. Their love had triumphed and now
they were together...forever!
Epilogue
Two years later.
Supriya opened her cupboard to fetch a suitable sari for the
ceremony she was supposed to attend. She brushed her hand through various saris
that were hanging in the closet when her gaze fell on his picture kept on her
folded clothes. What did he mean to her? she loved power and money. Both the
things gave her immense satisfaction and pleasure. Being his wife she ruled PV
and it gave her an opportunity to fulfill her ambitions but beyond that did he
ever mean anything to him? She always managed to get from him space and much
desired freedom to do things her way. They lived and stayed together yet they
were distant. And neither of them attempted to eliminate this distance. They
were a couple, it wasn't good enough to let each other be. They had to do
something together to nurture this beautiful relationship but they weren't
around to do it. The desire to control things and people became so strong that
she began wanting to control him as well. Instead of sharing his life she
wanted to run it by being his centre of attention. More than wishing to share
his emotions and feelings she wanted to share his power. Instead of being his
life partner, being his business partner thrilled her more. She wanted to
spread her wings and fly, unaware that her hunger for power and wealth were
flying her away from him. She was so deeply immersed in achieving her personal
goals one of them being having his child and raising it so that he never left
her because of her infertility on the contrary remained indebted to her for his
life that she failed to realize that their marriage was being sacrificed in the
process. While saving and securing her position in his life she was actually
discarding herself from his life. He wanted this marriage to work but she took
this marriage for granted. He wanted love but she loved only herself. He was a
man of principles but she forced him to compromise on his principles. She was
so blinded by her desires that his wishes were sidelined and slowly even he was
sidelined from her life. The distance between them instead of reducing widened,
so much so that he started finding happiness outside this relationship. The
bond between them grew weaker as he grew closer to an outsider. Sadly the love
that lacked in their marriage was found outside marriage. Still she failed to
realize that they were drifting apart and life had spun out of control. Their
marriage had ended! She had lost the war long since and never known it because
she saw only what she wished to see and heard only what she desired to hear.
Today she had his name, fame, wealth and power. Her father
was a successful politician and she had a bright political career waiting for
her with open arms. The people of PV respected and worshipped her. In other
words she had everything that she always craved for except for...him.
A tear trickled down her eye. She brushed it with her finger
and felt someone tug the end of her sari.
" aayi." She looked down and saw his son, Aarav raising his
tiny pair of hands in the air, indicating her to pick him in her arms. She
smiled and lifted him as he clung around her neck after giving her a sloppy
kiss. She paid a heavy price to have this life like this in her arms and now
she deeply treasured him. With his coming everything changed. He stirred the
emotions that she wasn't aware, ever existed in her. She wrapped her arms
tightly around him. He was now her world. He moved away slightly turned his
neck and pointed his finger at the picture before calling out," baba.". She
glanced at his picture once again and hoped to raise the child the way he would
have wanted. He became a gangster not out of will but out of circumstances and
never liked soaking his hands in blood. Aarav would not grow up to become a gangster.
She would keep him away from this dark world. She promised herself.
Baby Aarav took his finger in his mouth, blinked his eyes
and then pointed one more time towards the picture and this time called out,"
maa" it was the same picture in which dutta and nakusha were together. Supriya
nodded her head, yes that was his mother. When he would grow up she would tell
him all about his real mother and father. He deserved to know everything about
his parents, for the rest of the world it didn't matter, disclosing the truth
would only malign his reputation, it was more than enough for them to know that
Aarav was his son and even if it did matter to them... then supriya still felt
that she lacked the courage to tell them, she wasn't strong enough to face
them. She sighed deeply, hugged Aarav tightly and hoped that he wouldn't hate
her on knowing the truth.
She softened her eyes and gazed at nakusha, how wrong was
she in understanding her. Nakusha was so different from her, in fact they were
poles apart. Nakusha was large hearted, full of life and a giver. Her happiness
lied in the happiness of others. She rarely thought about herself, it was
always the baby that she was carrying inside her and the joy that she would
eventually give to him and her that was important to her. So much so that not
even once did she complain about going through a complicated pregnancy and
risking her life for others. For a long time supriya believed that she was
doing all this for money but that was hardly the case. During the course of
time, the so called deal lost its meaning and giving birth to Aarav at any cost
became her priority. She had made a commitment to supriya and she fulfilled it
by not caring about her own life.
She was a beautiful and selfless soul who cared not only
about the people around her but also thought of the people of PV who were
absolute strangers to her. Like him she too wanted to see PV progress and its
people living a better life. No wonder she suggested him of building a high
school for the children of PV instead of that shopping complex. She weighed
life not in terms of money.
The bomb blasts had
destroyed the shopping complex building. Instead of rebuilding it, supriya
thought of constructing a high school on that piece of land, something that
nakusha had wanted. Today supriya was fulfilling her wish. She smiled while
looking at Aarav, he would inaugurate the building with his cute little hands.
Nakusha had everything that dutta was looking for in his
life partner, therefore it wasn't hard for him to fall for her. She deserved
him and his love. They were made for each other and meant to be together. Their
love was unconventional, something the society would probably never understand
and accept but that didn't deter them from giving their hearts away. The
feelings that they harbored for each other only grew stronger with time. If
they wished they could have deified social norms and united but that wasn't
love for them. Being in love was for more important.
For them love was a moment in time that brought them
together and lasted forever. Their love was so deep and sacred that even destiny
couldn't separate them.
Hota hai jo love se zyada
Waise wala love
Ishq wala love!
True love doesn't have a happy ending...True love doesn't have
an ending.
Thanks for reading
Rose
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtODmncbXG4[/YOUTUBE]
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