“Aap teeno itne interest ke saath kya dekh rahein ho,” Shiva saw his three brothers huddled over Krish’s laptop. If Gaumbi wasn’t there, he would have suspected that they were watching an inappropriate movie.
“Dekh nahin, sunn rahein hain. Krish jaldi kar na?” Dev urged his brother.
Shiva walked over and sat on the opposite side.
In a few seconds he heard Dhara Bhabhi’s voice.
“Aao Rishita aur tum bhi Raavi.”
Shiva widened his eyes. “Abbey Krish, yeh pakka tera idea hain. Aise chup chup ke baatein toh sirf mohalle wale aunties sunte hain. Aur Gaumbi aap bhi?”
His elder brother shrugged and smiled. “I couldn’t say no to these two.”
“C’mon. Aren’t you a least bit curious to hear what they say?” Dev asked raising an eyebrow while Krish smiled devilishly as he rubbed his palms together.
Shiva just gaped at the three of them. Was he the only one who thought this was a terrible idea!
As the girls began chit chatting, Shiva contemplated walking away. Why would he want to hear them gossip and talk about who is their favorite actor. He started zoning out and was just about to leave when the topic became much more serious.
“Raavi, tu aur Shiva bachpan se hi jhagra karti hain, lekin ab tum dono ki shaadi ho chuki. Kya tum dono ek nayi shuruwat nahin kar sakhte?”
“Bhabhi, agar baat sirf choti moti ladayion ki hoti, toh shayad... hum dono ek dusre se theek se baat tak nahin kar sakte. Rishta nibhana ya nayi shuruwat karna toh bahut door ki baat hain. Waise bhi... itna aasaan nahin hain sab kuch bhoolna.
“Matlab,” even Rishita sounded curious and a bit jealous.
“Main bachpan se iss family ka hissa banna chahti thi. And Rishita you are free to roll your eyes at this. Dhara Di, aapko dekh ke lagta tha ke kaash ek din main bhi iss layak banoon ke sab mujhse bhi itna pyaar kaare... meri izaat kaare. Ke main bhi iss family ko joodke rakhne mein madat karun. You became my idol. Gaumbi ne bhi hamesha bahut pyaar diya. Mujhe yaad hain woh hamesha ek extra chocolate laata tha mere liye aur woh bhi meri favorite wali. Both of you showed me what family and the love they share means.”
Shiva looked up and saw his brother tear up a little as he smiled fondly. Gaumbi never differentiated between any of them when they were kids, including Raavi.
“Dev aur Krish ne hamesha mujhe apne group ka hissa banaya. Maami ne ek baar bahut zor se kaan pakri thi, aur Dev ne unhein roka. Krish ne toh apni puri pocket money mujhe de di taake mein Salman Khan ki filmon ke dvds khareed sakun.” Raavi chuckled but he could tell she was crying.
This was probably the first time she was talking about Dev post the wedding fiasco. A part of him knew she had so much more to say but was holding herself back to be respectful to Rishita. No matter what, he couldn’t deny that Raavi didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She is thoughtful, kind... Shiva nearly jumped up, shocked at his own train of thoughts.
“Aur Shiva?,” Rishita asked after a few moments of silence.
Shiva’s heart literally stopped as he heard his name. He could tell three sets of eyes were focused on him. Swallowing hard, he prepared for what she was about to say.
“Shiva... Woh apne family ko jaan se bhi zyada chahta hain. Aap sab ke liye woh kuch bhi kar sakhta hain. Lekin mujhe woh kabhi Maasi se alag samjha hi nahin. Maasi ki liye uska ghussa jayez hain. Par main Maasi nahin hoon aur yeh baat woh kabhi nahin samjhega. Shayad issi liye woh nahin chahta tha ki main iss family ka hissa banun. Aur abhi bhi nahin chahta. Bachpan se lekar aaj tak usne ek baat ka ehsaas mujhe hamesha dilaya hain...”
Shiva held his breath, almost scared to hear what she was going to say next.
“Ki main iss family ko deserve nahin karti. Ek annath hoon aur iss family mein mere koi jagah nahin hain” There was complete silence on both ends.
Shiva flinched as the weight of her words hit him. Out of all things, he would have never expected to say all this. Perhaps he never understood that she has so much bottled up inside of her. Dazed he stood up and staggered back a bit. Raavi didn’t sound angry... she sounded tired... defeated. She didn’t sound like his Chipkali.
Krish closed the app and shut his laptop as Dev gave Gaumbi a look.
“Shiva...” Gaumbi got up and approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Shiva felt his surroundings fade away. All he heard was her voice, repeating those words over and over.
Ignoring the thudding in his chest, Shiva forced himself back to the present and looked at his three brothers.
“Mujhe thodi der akela rehna hain.” He gave them a small smile and walked out of the room. He kept waking until he was past the gates of the haveli. It wasn’t until he felt a soft breeze hit his face that he realized he was standing by the water.
The entire time he kept replaying Raavi’s words and thinking about all their interactions from the past to now. Did he really make her feel so awful? Had he been so callous and mean to her over the years? Were all her memories of their past so bitter and painful?
To Be Continued...
This is a spiritual sequel to Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/5223600
Apologies for any errors, I didn’t get the chance to proof read this one. As usual, I hope everyone enjoys reading this part. There will be one more. Thank you so much for all the love and encouragement!
Lots of love,
Esha ❤️
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