Hello,
I have an update for you all. A little something to brighten up after the stupid precap. This is my take or rather my wish on what should happen next, though personally, not pinning any hopes on this set of writers - toh socha mein hi likh dun.
This one is set right after today's episode [10/12/21]. Will quit yapping and let you all read. Meet you at the bottom,
Mridz
PS - Will update the index with the pages for my OSes
OS # 4 - Blazing Love
"Woh toh chali gayi"
Abhimanyu stared at Dr. Aarohi, "chali gayi?" he muttered, the emptiness within him gnawing at his insides, he had seen Akshara wanting to run in to the fire to save the kids - he had stopped her, held her back and he had ran into the flames instead of her - She hadn't waited to see if he was okay?
That hurt. That hurt so much more than he ever cared to admit.
Move on, my foot! Jaw clenched, he looked away, while he was glad she hadn't done something stupid like run in behind him, the fact that his safety mattered so little to her that she had not even cared to know if he was okay -
What are you thinking, Abhimanyu? She is safe, she did NOT follow you into the fire, that is what matters, she - is - safe!
Was she? He craned his neck, looking everywhere his eyes could reach. When he couldn't see a flash of the dark black hair or a hint of the almond eyes that he so loved, he started to get worried.
Pushing himself up from the bench, he stood up. No sooner had his feet hit the ground, he swayed on the spot and Neil grabbed him, "Bhai, kya kar rahe ho aap? You need to sit down" he scolded, pushing him back on the bench.
He saw out of the corner of his eye that Dr. Aarohi had plonked next to him. Placing an arm over his biceps, she said, "Haan, Dr. Abhimanyu. I don't need to tell you, aap toh jaante hai, you are just out of a blazing fire and - "
" I need to go find Akshara" he said with finality as he brushed her hand away and stood up again. Not giving his brother and Dr. Aarohi another glance, he set off in search of the only one he wanted to see right now.
***
"Oww" Wincing, Akshara dabbed a bit of coconut oil on her burns. The minute the ball of cotton touched her slightly burnt skin, it sent tingles of pain throughout her body. Shuddering, she poured a little bit more oil onto the cotton ball and dabbed at her skin.
This time she did not feel any pain. Because this time her mind, heart and soul was elsewhere
I love you, Abhimanyu. Suna tumne, I love you
Inside the blazing flames, she had wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes - as she had cradled his face in her arms, she had wanted nothing more than for him to hear her proclamation of love.
But now, back to the real world, and surrounded by her reality - she was glad he had not heard. Handing him over her sister and walking away had been the hardest thing she had ever had to do - she wanted nothing more than to stay by his side when he opened his eyes. But if she had, she did not know how long her resolve would hold up.
Every second Aarohi and the team of doctors spent trying to revive Abhimanyu as he lay unconscious, she had felt the life drain out of her, as did her resolve. Every second she gazed at his closed eyes, her heart had pleaded with his, silently telling him a million times per second, the biggest reality of her life, "I love you, Abhimanyu"
So she had walked away, she had walked away leaving a part of her behind.
***
He never remembered being so tensed in his life before, neither did he ever remember walking so swiftly. He did not know where he was going, nor did he know how many people he had crossed on the way, thanking him for setting up this camp.
He nodded vaguely, bending his head down as an elderly woman blessed him. Smiling at her briefly, he rushed ahead, all he knew was until he found Akshara and saw with his own eyes that she was indeed safe, he was not going be at peace.
And then he saw her, sitting cross legged beside a tree. "Phew" he muttered, breathing out in a huff, releasing the breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Relief washed over him, and with a smile he looked at her again. The cascade of black hair hid her face from his view, but he could see that her petal lips were puckered up, blowing air into her hand.
What was she doing that for? Was she hurt? Brows creased in confusion and concern, he walked over to her, not caring about what she had told him earlier. Not caring about what he had told himself earlier.
Move on karo..
He would, after he made sure she was okay.
"Ouch"
His feet stalled at the feeble moan of pain, a swift wave of trepidation rising within him,
"Koi baat nahi Akshu, remember what Mimi says, nariyal ka tel on burns and jalne ki nishaani bhi nahi hogi" Before he could react, she took a deep breath and lifted the cotton ball again, muttering to herself "Tum theek ho, Akshu, Tum theek ho"
"The hell you are"
Abhimanyu. It was as if a cool gush of wind enveloped her, her hand stalling in mid-air, she pushed herself off the ground, whirling around to face him.
He stood there before her, his brows creased together, his eyes boring into hers, his lips set in a firm line, jaw clenched. Her eyes travelled over him, making sure he had not suffered any burn marks. Before she could stop herself, she rushed forward, grabbing his fingers, "Tum theek ho" she said, looking up at him again.
She saw a muscle in his jaw twitch, as he stepped closer, " Kya hai yeh?" he bit out, lifting her hand with the cotton ball in it. One look at his face told her that he knew - he had seen what she had just been doing, and she was going to be scolded for this. "Um-" she started saying, biting her lip, her eyes downcast.
"Don't" he croaked, shaking his head, "Just - don't"
She gulped, Now he would know she had run inside the fire for him, and she would not have any answers to his questions.
"Akshara..." he trailed off, shaking his head exasperatedly, and she looked up at his face again.
Big mistake.
What she saw took her breath away. Reflected in his eyes were so many emotions that she had difficulty deciphering the depths of each one of them. There was irritation with her antics, with what she had been doing, there was concern for her safety, there was a relief on seeing her safe, but above each of these - there was love. So much unadulterated love. His eyes were flashing, but also glistening with unshed tears.
To hell with the confusion, to hell with their reality, to hell with moving on - to hell with everything.
She almost threw her arms around him, when he spoke, "Chup chap chalo mere saath" he said in a soft growl. Curling his fingers around her wrist, but taking care not to touch her burns, he led her inside an empty room.
Abhimanyu pushed the door open, pulling Akshara in with him. He had been beyond relieved at that first glimpse of her, knowing she was safe. And then he had seen her, dabbing away at what looked like burn marks with a ball of cotton, and exasperation and irritation has risen within him in equal amounts.
Akshara and her ghar ke nushke
Pushing her down on the chair, he hooked his foot under another chair and pulled it to them. Grabbing all the supplies he needed, he plonked down on the chair, "Abhimanyu, mein toh - " she started saying, her voice shaky. He looked up at her sharply, as if to say, "Tum please chup hi raho"
Pouting, she looked at him, okay, she replied wordlessly. Not swayed by her puppy dog face, he returned her reply in a curt nod, good.
Sighing, he pulled his chair closer and lifted her hand gingerly to examine it, turning it in his fingers to check, "Nothing deep, just superficial, minor first degree burns, thank god." he muttered, retrieving a wet cloth to clean the wound.
Oh no. Now he was going to ask her how she had got these burns. Oh no, Oh no. Oh no.
But the question never came, Akshara watched as he cleaned her wound with the wet cloth, taking extra care to be soft and gentle. The hair on his head shone with the light filtering in, his eyes focussed on her wounds. It was a good thing, he was not looking at her, Akshara thought, for if he had, he would have seen the tears pooling up in her eyes. One look at her, and he would know that these were not tears of pain.
And then all the defences, all the walls she was putting up will come crumbling down.
Blinking profusely, she battled the tears away, as Abhimanyu applied some sort of jelly on her hand before bandaging it up with a sterile bandage. Knowing this might probably be the only chance, she focussed her attention back at him, memorizing the curve of long eyelashes, the little twitch of lips, the light stubble on his skin, the chiselled jawline.
Before she could mask the expression of utter adoration and love on her face, he looked up.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
If he caught her, he didn't ask. Instead, he asked the one question she had fervently hoped he might not, "Kaise hua?" She would take him catching her with that love-sick expression anytime over this, Akshara thought, biting her lip and rummaging her brain for answers.
Come on, kuch toh bolo.
When she realised she had nothing, she settled for, "Bade aaye mujhe lecture dene. What were you doing? Running inside fire like that" she finished, adding a "HMPH!" for effect.
Abhimanyu stared at her. Here he was, worried sick and concerned about her - asking her how she had these burn marks and she was telling him off for running inside fire. He fought the urge to roll his eyes, he just couldn't with this girl, he thought, gritting his teeth. "Mein - " he blew out a breath, "Those. kids. were. caught. inside. the. fire" he bit out, "Jaana pada mujhe andar. bacche ke liye" he said through clenched teeth.
"Haan, and you were stuck inside. Toh mujhe bhi aana pada, tumhare liye" Akshara said in a single breath. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her lip.
Damn it. This was exactly what she did not want him to know. Damn it, Akshu, you could not shut up.
Mujhe bhi aana pada. Tumhare liye..
Her words reverberated around him and within him. It felt as if the world around them stilled. She had run into fire for him. The epiphany that came with it soothed every little cell in his body. A warmth encompassed him, lightening his very being.
He lifted his eyes to hers, and in the depths of those almond eyes, he found every answer he had been looking for.
In the depths of those eyes he found what he had been searching for.
Love.
*** The end ***
And that was it - kaisa tha? I had an idea in mind, and while this one was more or less true to that idea, I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Read and Review, as always.
Love,
Mridz
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