Vignette 32. Bhai - Part 2 : Page 3 - Page 2

Love the start. 

Love the Akash Payal conversation.

What a cliffhanger

I hope AKash or Arnav is okay is okay

Loved the start . Waiting eagerly for the next update when Arnav come to know about Akash being shot. Surely he is going to figure out that the actual target was himself. Thank you for the pm

Hi aparna...I m just here after watching 10yrs reunion of ipk cast. Mood and spirit fully charged and happy, and with the flow and speed I read the story, I completed it in what! half a minute. Waiting waiting waiting to read further😵

So u had already written  beautiful scenes between many relations, how can I forget apart from few moments,  there's no entire story about akash and arnav. So being 'bhai' it seems to be about arnav and akash. 

Come back soon with next part. 🤗

Originally posted by: h-arshi89

Hi aparna...I m just here after watching 10yrs reunion of ipk cast. Mood and spirit fully charged and happy, and with the flow and speed I read the story, I completed it in what! half a minute. Waiting waiting waiting to read further😵

So u had already written  beautiful scenes between many relations, how can I forget apart from few moments,  there's no entire story about akash and arnav. So being 'bhai' it seems to be about arnav and akash. 

Come back soon with next part. 🤗

Harshi!!!! Hi dear! The 10 year reunion was so good, just to  see the incredible bond between the cast who have become family, hai na?

So good to see you back.. this is all Arnav and Akash, you guessed it right. Will be updating soon ❤️

Shots? This could be bad. Was Arnav being targeted and since Akash came in his car, he was mistaken for him?

Hi

Such a heartwarming start to the story. You write on relationships so well, and as mentioned the relationship between both the brothers were not showcased. You are making a fantastic job on focusing on this aspect .....the awesome start is proof.

But you left us at a  cliffhanger......so please  update as soon as you can....Very very worried about the shots....hope akash is okay.

Thanks,

Take care.

Leena

Hello and welcome back!
You’ve left a quite a cliffhanger? So is Bhai meant to be Arnav or Aakash? 

Thank you for the kind comments....

This story takes place a few months after Anjali and Raghuveer's marriage. There will be filler OSs after I complete TKD, to show how he has become an integral part of our Shantivan family, and how he has become a big brother figure for all of them, especially Arnav.

Part 2

Payal stood blank for a second, not comprehending what was happening. The screams and chaos that broke out momentarily blocking her view, she was stunned when Mohan grabbed her bodily and threw her into the car.

”Mohanji, aap….Kya kar rahe ho? Hua kya hai? Ye aawaz kya thi?”

Fairly trembling in anxiety, fear and grief, Mohan replied, taking barely a second before slamming the door shut, “Main dekhta hoon, Bhabi, aap bahar mat nikaliye.”

“Par.. Akash…?” Payal murmured, not registering anything, and trying to see around Mohan, who was standing ouside the window, blocking her view. With the glass up, she couldn’t hear anything clearly, but saw Mohan shaking and then raising both hands to his face before taking off at a run.

It was in that horrifying moment that she saw her husband on the ground, glasses thrown off, crumpled into himself. White with shock, Payal stared open-mouthed as he gave an almighty shudder before going limp, just as his driver and Mohan both reached him, looking around frantically for whoever had shot at him, trying to cover him as much as possible in case of a repeat attack.

“Akash….” , a tortured whisper escaped her lips.

Not aware of anything she was doing, she threw open the car door and took off at a run, her sole focus her husband. Crashing to her knees near him, pushing away Mohan’s hands that was trying to shield her, she sobbed out Akash’s name as she frantically ran her hands through his hair, and grabbing hold of his shoulder, tried to turn him over. With out resistance, Akash flipped over on to her lap, just as she noticed the red stain spreading on the ground.

“Bhabi…!!!” came Mohan’s scream, just before another couple of shots rang out, slamming home on the door of the sedan, merely inches from where Payal was sitting, bent over Akash’s prone form, defeaning her. Paying nary a heed to the continuing attack, in spite of flinching at the loud bangs, Payal wrapped her arms around Akash, trying to shield him from whatever danger lurked.

All this having happened in less than a couple of minutes, the security rushed in, concentrating on the bike parking area from where the shots had come, as pointed out by Akash’s driver. The sounds of bikes taking off at a high speed, and the subsequent screech of the security vehicles taking off after them, all went unnoticed by those gathered around the hurt man.

Frantic in her attempts to stem the flow of blood that seemed to gush out of Akash, Payal had covered him up in the pallu of her saree, and the towels that Akash’s driver had rushed up with. The ambulance already having been called, Payal and Mohan were trying to wake Akash up, when he groaned, his face paling by the second, shock from blood loss setting in. His eyes flickering open for a few seconds, his unfocused gaze up on the sky, Akash shivered and zoomed in on Payal’s face. 

A slow smile blossoming on his face as he squinted to bring it into focus without his glasses, he opened his mouth to say something when he coughed, spraying her with bright red blood, and gave a long shudder before going completely limp on her lap.

“Akash….. AKASH….”

Payal shook him in panic, before gathering his head close to her bosom and let out a long wail of utter grief, bent almost double over her husband.

***************************

Raghuveer had just stepped into the Gallery, the name he had given to the Production Control Room, for his customary hourly overview of the news and programme broadcast, when his phone rang.

Smiling softly at the caller image, he answered, “Ji, Mehmsaab…”

“Aap chup rahiye!”

Stepping out again, after lifting a finger to tell his assistant that he would be back in a minute, he laughed, “Ajeeb aurat hai! Khud mujhe call karti hai aur bolti hai ki Mai chup rahoon.”

Laughing in spite of herself, Anjali grumbled, “Hum aapse gussa hone ke plan bana rahe the, aaj bhi ghar par dinner miss karne ke liye. Lekin humesha ki tarah aap hume hasa diya…”

“Wada kiya tha na, shuru shuru me hi? Aage se aapke chehre par ye hasi hi rahegi.”

“Haan… haan… lekin hume ab lag raha hai ki ye naa aapke escape plan tha!”

Laughing outright now, Raghuveer replied, “Ouch! I’m hurt, Anjali!” and continued, “Acha, bolo, call kaise kiya?”

“Bus ye yaad dilaane ki aap waqt pe khaayiyega. Hum soch rahe the ki aapko khana bhej de. Lekin Maa ne yaad dilayi ki aapko kaam ke beech me sandwiches jaisa kuch light khana hi pasand hai, toh idea drop kar diya.”

“That’s true. Kaam ke beech me mai proper meals kha nahi paaunga. It’s okay, Anju, I do take care of myself, khaa lunga mai. Aur aap kya kare ho?”

“Hum? Hum ghar gaye the shaam ko, seedha office se aake, kyunki Maa ko bhi aaj meeting thi. Aur abhi woh aa gayi toh hum bhi aa gaye humare ghar, aur abhi dinner karne jaa rahe hai.”

“Anju, I know you will take care of yourself, par aapko nahi lagta ki aapko office hours cut down karna chahiye?”

“Hey Bhagwan! Ab aap bhi!” Anjali exclaimed. “Aapko pata hai, mujhe aaj ek baje, humare lunch break shuru hone ke time par, kisne call kiya?”

“Of course, pata hai,”, Raghuveer laughed, “Aapko kya laga, aapse baat karne ke baad, aapke irresponsibility ke baare me complain karne ke liye Arnav mujhe call nahi karenge?”

“Hey Bhagwan! Bus iski kami reh gayi thi! Aapko pata hai, humare shaadi ke baad naa, maano Chotte ko apna bestfriend mil gaya! Hume lagta hai ki woh aapse utne hi baat karte hai jitna humse! Bus farak ye hai ki aapse humare baare complain karne ke liye call karte hai!”

“Of course! Hum donon ke beech me bohot saari cheezen hai jo hume common footing dete hai, par Anju, the biggest factor is always you. Aapke Chotte se zyada aapki firkar kisi ko bhi nahi hai, shayad humein bhi nahi, and I trust his opinions implicitly for the same reason.”

The affection in Raghuveer’s voice for her brother making Anjali smile fondly, thinking back on the wonderful bond that had developed between the most important men in her life. 

“Achcha? Toh iss bar kya tha humare Chotte ka complaint?”

“That you are working too hard for someone in the last trimester, and that I should try and talk some sense into your head, since he is unable to.” Raghuveer shot back, knowing he had her now.

“Oh!”

His voice softening, he continued, “Mujhe pata hai ki aap apna khayal rakh sakete hai, lekin Arnav ki worry bhi jaiz hai na, Anju? He has seen you go through a lot, and his helplessness in preventing a lot of it all through the years still torments him.”

“Par hum ab theek hai, Veer…” Anjali interrupted, her soft heart hurting at the thought of Arnav’s lingering pain.

Heaving a sigh, her husband replied, “Maine bus aapka recovered, strong Anjali version dekha hai; aur aap par jo kuch beeti hai, woh sab sunne par hi muhe jo takleef hua, woh aap jaante ho. Toh mai ye soch bhi nahi sakta ki har mod par aapke sath jo bhai khada tha, uss par kya kuch nahi beeti hogi!”

Pausing and smiling now, not wanting to make them both morose, he continued, “ And my lovely wife, when it comes to taking care of you, I can’t hold a candle to your Chotte. I can only play mediator for you, and save you from his loving wrath and worry, aur mai wahi kar raha hoon. Maine Arnav ko wada kiya aur shaanth kiya usko, ki mai aapse baat karoonga aur samjhaaunga ki aap apne office hours cut down karein. That’s why he called me today, to remind you that you need to leave work and rest in the afternoon.”

“Thank you, fir, mediatorji!” Anjali lughed, and continued, “Theek hai, baba, hum kal se afternoon off lenge. Waise toh hume pata hai ki ye aapne kiya hoga, ki hum half day jaa sake. Chotte ka bus ka hota toh bahar nikalne nahi deta.”

“Exactly!”, Raghuveer too laughed. His smile turned fond and wistful at how he, while advising her to cut down her hours, was not able to spend that time with her, even when she was heavily pregnant with their miracle baby. He was about ask about how she was feeling and how the baby was, when his assistant came out, looking very grim, and interrupted him.

“Sir, you need to see this.”

His eyebrows lifting sky-high at the interruption, which everyone he worked with knew, was never permitted, if he was talking to his family, he stared, only to be told, “Sir, you really need to come inside right now.”

Surprised to the extreme, he told Anjali, “Anju, hold karna ek second.” and walked in, to see the entire panel display lit up with one scene playing on loop.

His stunned eyes took in the image of his sister-in-law, drenched in blood, screaming out in grief as she bent over the body of his brother-in-law. His hand almost crushing the phone held tight in his hand, he stood and stared in horror, forgetting that Anjali could hear the anguished gasp he let out through his phone.

“Akash?!!”

Authors Note:

A cliff hanger is an interesting point to stop, I think!

Please do let me know your thoughts… be generous.

Enjoy!

Hi Aparna....somebody wanted to hurt Arnav and Akash has been hit as he travelled in Arnav's car...what is going to happen now...Eagerly waiting for the next one...Take care and be safe