Ariya Of Roses and Thorns

Disclaimer: Okay so firstly this plot is a little different and gray at places. Justice is not served here and there so if anyone is uncomfortable, please let me know. I will skip you out of the PM list for the particular story. 

Of Roses and Thorns

An SUV stopped outside the premises of Jeevan Nirmal, an NGO for rehabilitation for women and children. It was 7 am. Barely few people were roaming around except for the workers. A man stepped out from the vehicle and walked inside. The receptionist greeted the familiar face warmly.

Kinjal: good morning ACP Arjun, here for a pep talk?

Arjun smiled: plan toh chauffer banne ka hai lekin madam ka nature dekhkar toh waisa hi lagta hai

Kinjal giggled as she made an entry for him and passed him the register to sign. Arjun signed and returned it.

Arjun: naashta kiya usne?

Kinjal: pata nahi, tum khud jaa kar puch lena

Arjun nodded and headed towards the quarters of the NGO. He reached the desired room and knocked on the door. No response came from the inside. He knocked again but again was left hanging. Sighing, he turned the doorknob and entered.

A girl was seated on the floor with some 10 books all around. She was hurrying through the pages of each of them frantically, jumping from one book to the other. A plate of poha lay untouched outside her circle of knowledge. Arjun shook his head. He went forward and took the plate. Careful not to break her concentration, he stepped inside the circle and sat beside her feeding her spoonfuls as she skimmed through her books. After 20 minutes he stopped her.

Arjun: Riya bas, ab chalo warna late ho jaayega

Riya looked at him with worry lines on her face: 5 minute aur?

Arjun made her stand up: bilcul nahi, chalo

She frowned and reluctantly closed her books.

Arjun: ye sab baad mein karna, abhi chalo bag le lo apni

Tensed, she absentmindedly took her necessary belongings while recollecting every page that she had read. Suddenly, drawing to a blank she lunged for a book startling Arjun.

Arjun took the book away: Riya bas karo, jitna yaad hai utna kaafi hai

Riya: lekin woh answer…

Arjun dragged her outside: option mein chod dena, 8: 30 se pehle report karna hai tumhe, let’s go!

She closed the door of the room and secured it. The duo walked out. Kinjal wished her luck which she wholeheartedly accepted.

Arjun: Riya tum kyun itni tension le rahi ho? You are a good student

Riya: mujhe 40 din mein 48 paper likhne hai! chaar saal aur 8 semesters ke ek saath!!!!

Arjun: aur uske liye tumne do saal mehnat ki hai…well almost par fir bhi

Riya: lekin…

Arjun: just relax! Sab ho jaayega, aur abhi sirf aaj ke papers par focus karo ok?

Riya: par..

Arjun held her shoulders: take a deep breath

Riya: Arjun…

Arjun: jaisa kehta hun waisa karo, take a deep breath (she followed hesitantly), breathe out….breathe in…..breathe out…..breathe in…..breath out (Her anxiousness reduced) good, ab chale?

Riya nodded.

They sat in the car and Arjun drove towards her exam centre.

Riya: Arjun

Arjun: ha

Riya: thanks for the breakfast

Arjun: ha, ha fir tum bologi thanks for bringing me here, fir thanks for taking me there, fir thanks for helping me, fir thanks for Jeevan Nirmal…tumhari list toh endless hai isliye chup hi raho samjhi ya samjhau?

Riya looked at him innocently: main genuinely thanks bol rahi hu

Arjun: Riya, no offense but main tumhare ye saare thanks sun-sunkar pak chuka hu, honestly, agar tumne mujhe fir se kabhi thanks bola na toh mujhe is shabd se hi nafrat ho jaayegi

Riya shook her head: you are a drama queen, you know that?

Arjun: ha woh toh meri maa humesha kehti thi, ki Arjun kitne nakhre karte ho tum, meri beti nahi hai fir bhi aisa lagta hai jaise beti ki maa hun

She chuckled: tum milne jaane waale the na? kya hua?

Arjun made a face: hona kya hai? khadoos baap haina mera? 10 minute mein firse ghar se bhaga diya mujhe

Riya: interesting, jis insaan se duniya bhar ke criminals bhaag jaate hai use koi apne hi ghar se bhaga sakta hai

Arjun: well, technically, ghar maine choda tha toh…you know, zyaada bol nahi sakte, us maamle mein

Riya smiled: acha Arjun woh college se pehle ek mandir aayega waha rok dena do minute please

Arjun: theek hai

Riya: tha…

Arjun: no Riya please

She shut up and looked out the window.

Arjun(emphasizing): thank you

Riya hid her face as they giggled. Arjun stopped by the temple as she wanted. He waited outside as she offered a quick prayer before resuming their journey.

Arjun stopped her from getting out of the car when they reached college.

Riya: kya hua?

Arjun: ek second

He leaned back and took a small box and spoon from the backseat.

Arjun: ye lo, dahi Cheeni

Her eyes widened: Arjun iski kya…

Arjun: formality mat karo aur kha lo, mummy humesha khila kar hi exam mein bhejti thi mujhe

Her eyes welled up lightly as she ate from the tiny box. Her reaction did not go unnoticed by him. However, knowing her reasons he kept his mouth shut.

The college premises was bustling with students and why not? It was exam time. Everybody was buried in their books, along with feeble attempts at group study. The behavior around her only tensed Riya further.

Riya(muttering): kyun ki maine software engineering?

But Arjun heard her: kyunki tumhe wahi karni thi aur tum wahi karogi (he took her hands in his) itna mat ghabrao Riya, ek exam hi toh hai. agar aadhe paper bhi clear ho gaye toh baakhi ke agle semester mein kar dena, tumne 4 saal ki padhayi do saal mein ki hai wahi badi baat hai, koshish karna humara kaam hai, hona na hona waqt batayega, ok?

Riya took a deep breath and composed herself. She nodded.

Riya: par mujhe ek baar mein hi pass hona hai, main kabhi fail nahi hui

Arjun rolled his eyes: tum na sach mein, kya bolu tumhe samaj mein nahi aata kabhi-kabhi

Riya lowered her eyes to hide the mischief in her eyes. He wished her luck and she proceeded into the building, sparing him a last glance from the entrance. He waved to her mouthing words of encouragement and she smiled.

He waited for a few minutes before leaving for office.

ETF Office-

Sameer greeted him as they entered the lift together.

Sameer: tum toh roz puri duniya se pehle pahunch jaate ho, aaj kya hua?

Arjun: are woh Riya ko chodne gaya tha, uski exam shuru ho rahi hai

Sameer teased him: chodne gaye the ya fir…

Arjun: shut up Sam, exam hai uski

The elevator dinged and they walked out.

Sameer: ha woh maine suna lekin tum use sirf chodne gaye the ya fir use encourage karne bhi gaye the you know….us style mein?

Arjun rolled his eyes: Sam use pata bhi nahi hai, please tum mujhe chedna band karoge?

Sameer: are ched kaha raha hu? Bas puch raha hu

Arjun: acha? Main puchu? Tum aur Ayesha kal record room mein kya kar rahe the?

The color of his face faded away: kya….kya mat...matlab? hum kaam kar rahe the

Arjun: oh table ke upar let kar bhi kaam hota hai? (Sameer turned red with embarrassment) waise I prefer only files on them khair, chalta hun...bye!

He walked away to the conference room with a smirk leaving Sameer toh wallow in shame mv “ye mera dost kyun hai?”

Conference room-

Sakshi: good morning Arjun!

Arjun: good morning

Shree handed him a file: sir ye woh report aapne kal maangi thi

Arjun: ha, sorry tumhe bolna pada, gaya tha record room mein par khaali haath waapis aana pada

Ayesha stopped writing and subtly looked up to an amused Arjun. She gulped nervously and gripped her pen tightly. Shree however, was confused. He wondered why the extra disciplined second-in-command was suddenly so bothered with unnecessary formalities

Shree: sir aap sorry kyun bol rahe hai? it’s ok, kabhi-kabhi cheezein nahi milti hai aur waise bhi pura record room kachre se bhara pada hai, safayi karne ki sakht zaroorat hai

Arjun smiled lightly: ha waise table bhi purana ho gaya hai, change kar dete hai, zyaada comfortable hoga

Ayesha choked on the air she was breathing. Arjun was clearly having fun at her expense. Sakshi quickly passed her water as Chotu patted her back. She drank a few sips, making sure not make eye contact with anyone.

Arjun: kyun Ayesha tum kya kehti ho?

Her head shot up: ha? uh….jaise….jaise aapko theek lage sir

Rathore entered the conference room just then.

Arjun: sirf mere kehne se kya hoga Ayesha? Rathore sir bhi maanne chahiye na (he looked at him with a question mark on his face) hum record room ka table change karne ke baare mein soch rahe hai toh laga ki tumhe bhi toh puchna padega, tum hi toh use….

Rathore immediately understood what he was doing and immediately changed the topic.

Sameer: team ek dhobi ghat mein ek businessman ki body mili hai, let’s go!!

Arjun laughed internally as he took his gun and followed. They wrapped up the case by evening and Rathore called the lights out. Arjun’s phone pinged with a message

Riya- dono paper ache the

Arjun smiled- kaha tha na maine tum tension mat lo? Ab kal ke liye padhayi karo, main subah lene aaunga okay?

Riya- ha thank you

Arjun shook his head at the thank you- tum aur tumhare thank you’s

Riya- please abhi nahi, bye!

Arjun did not reply after that mv “paagal ladki”

As promised he turned up at 7 am at her room again. He dropped her to college after her brief temple visit and his dose of dahi Cheeni and encouragement. The days passed by, Riya was busy with her exams and Arjun helped her all throughout, taking her to college every morning before going to work.

Slowly, one by one as the papers got over Riya became less anxious and coped easily with the exam stress.

Arjun pulled up at the temple: last exam par bhi bhagwan ko pareshaan karna zaroori hai?

Riya: bas do minute lagenge mujhe pakka

Arjun: baat time ki nahi hai, baat bhagwan ki hai, tumhara paper toh tum hi likhogi, woh thodi aane waale hai?

Riya: maana ki woh mera paper nahi likhenge lekin ache se likhne ke liye help toh karenge na?

Arjun rolled his eyes: jo khud nahi hai, woh tumhari help kaise karenge?

Riya: tumhe aisa kyun lagta hai ki woh nahi hai?

Arjun: tumhe aisa kyun lagta hai ki woh hai? agar hote toh tumhare saath itna sab kuch hota kya? Achayi ka Pratik maante ho na tum log unhe? Toh fir unke hote hue duniya mein itni buraiyaan kyun hai?

Riya smiled: wahi toh, achayi ka Pratik hai, isliye tumhare jaise log aaj bhi is duniya mein hai, woh har us, insaan mein baste hai jo tumhari tarah dusro ki madad karte, jo galat ke khilaaf awaaz uthate hai fir chahe woh kisi bhi roop mein kyun na ho

Arjun stared at her, unable to answer. She smiled and left……………………..

Index:-

Part 2 : Pg 4

Part 3 : Pg 7 

Part 4 : Pg 10

Part 5 : Pg 13

Part 6 : Pg 16

Part 7 : Pg 19

Part 8 : Pg 22

Part 9 : Pg 25

Part 10 : Pg 27

Part 11 : Pg 30

Part 12 : Pg 34

Part 13 : Pg 37

Part 14 : Pg 40

Part 15 : Pg 43

Part 16 : Pg 46

Part 17 : Pg 49

Part 18 : Pg 52

Part 19 : Pg 55

Part 20 : Pg 58

Part 21 : Pg 60

Part 22 : Pg 63

Part 23 : Pg 65

Part 24 : Pg 68

Part 25 : Pg 72

Part 26 : Pg 74

Part 27 : Pg 77

Epilogue: Pg 80