Dil kyun yeh mera, shor kare,
Idhar nahi,
Udhar nahi,
Teri... ore chalein.
- Kites.
"Humein yeh manzoor nahi hai!" Ranjana screamed, announcing her presence, breaking the intense eye lock between Suraj and Chakor. "Yeh math samajhna Suraj ki tumhaara jo mann kare woh hum karne denge!" She glared at him from behind her mascara filled lashes.
Turning briskly, Suraj walked towards her, stopping when he stood in front of her, glaring at her from above. He looked intimidating, that wild look in his eyes and the heaving of his broad chest as he towered over her slight frame. Ranjana tried her best not to flinch or show emotion.
"Yeh toh humein aapse kehna chahiye. Galti se bhi math samjhiyega ki aapka jo mann kare, hum woh aapko karne denge! Aapko kya lagta hai, hum buddhu hai? Humein pata nahi ki aapke mann mein kis tarah ke vichaar hai?"
"Tum... tum hote kaun ho humse aise baat karne waale?! Apni aukat math bhoolo tum!"
"AUR AAP BHI!" Suraj roared. "Aur aap bhi apne aukat mein rahengi, toh behthar hoga, Ch..." he stopped abruptly, and then, with a crooked smile on his face, he continued, "Nahi, Chachi nahi. Aap toh... aap toh humare Maa ki souten hai!"
"Suraj Babu!"
***
Suraj threw another pebble into the water as Chakor sighed beside him. He was angry. No, he was livid.
"Kuch galat nahi kaha humne! Hai toh woh aurat humare Maa ki souten!" He roared, and another pebble went down the lake. Chakor looked on helplessly at Suraj's state. She had managed to whisk him away from the haveli before things got violent; rather, before HE got violent. This Suraj was capable of doing... things, she knew. Anyone who saw him would know. He didn't try to mask his feelings of hatred, he would never.
"Shant ho jaayei Suraj Babu," Chakor tried to calm him down. He turned toward her with a face screaming 'How?!' And she internally sighed. He turned back towards the water bed, his hand slowly hitting his knee. He looked around him for a while, before finally looking straight at her.
"Sach mein. Bohot kuch badal gaya hai tera saalon mein," he paused. "Except the fact that my father killed Maa and Dadi.
Tho Chakor, tum humara saath do, ya na do, I will surely exact my revenge from them."
That was an ultimatum. Chakor just gaped at him. She didn't know of this. She didn't know his mother and his grandmother had been... murdered! The whole village thought that the former had taken her own life, whereas the latter succumbed to old age. That's what they had been told as well.
So when she heard that, Chakor didn't know what to speak. Suraj's words kept ringing in her head and she covered her ears in an effort to stop the voices in her head. She shook her head violently, tuning out the voices from outside. She started gasping for air, and looked up at Suraj. He wasn't looking at her. Instead, his face was toward the sky, his forearm covering his eyes. She couldn't tell whether he was crying.
Suddenly, it felt like she had been stabbed. She knew Suraj hated his family with all his being, but she never knew, nor could she imagine the mental torture he had gone through all these years.
Never had he known what it felt like to have parents. Never had he known what Family meant. Never had he known Love.
She let out a small sob, and he stirred, but stayed still. Carefully, she moved towards him, her hands gripping the rough surface of the boulder in an attempt to gain balance. Kneeling beside him, she gently held his head, pushing it towards her chest as she hugged him, silently sobbing herself. He took a few moments to react, but then his arms wound around her back, clutching her kurti as he buried his face in her chest. She didn't know whether he was crying, her eyes were too glassy to see. But he was, she was sure, if the wetness of her top was anything to go by.
"Humein maaf kar dena Suraj Babu," she silently whispered patting his forehead and kissing it as he slept on her lap. What she was apologising for, she didn't know.
For stopping him from speaking his mind? Maybe. For not understanding him? That too.
For not being able to share his pain? Definitely.
***
"Uwaa!" Chakor huffed, blowing air over the paratha. "It's really hot. Thodi der intezaar karo, phir khana shuru karo."
"Par humein bhook lagi hai," Chakor whined as she gulped down a glass of water. "Bhukkad." Suraj teased, and she puffed out her cheeks.
It was almost 6 in the evening now. They had spent the rest of the morning and the entire afternoon by the river bank; some people seriously need to learn to manage their time. They had driven to a dhaba to satisfy their stomachs before going back. None spoke of the events of the morning, and while she so badly wanted to, Chakor kept quiet and didn't ask anything further. She felt it better to give him some space for a while. She needed time to think about things as well.
Suddenly, her eyes widened in realisation. Suraj, noticing this, stopped mid bite. "Ab kya hua?"
"Ab kya hua matlab?" She huffed and he rolled his eyes. "Tum jab bhi koi gadbad karti ho toh ajeeb shaklein banati ho." He said, imitating her 'ajeeb shaklein'. She tried to hit him, but he dodged. "Batao. Kya hua?" He tried again.
She remained quiet for a couple of minutes, her eyes shifting from side to side, avoiding him. Scratching her scalp in nervousness, she asked in a low voice, "Aapko pata hai nah, ki Roka agle hafte hai?" She squeezed her eyes shut as he went rigid.
"Woh... humari liye kal chitti aayi thi. Sports Association se. Agle hafte humein jaake Sports Marathon ke liye register karna hai. Aur uske liye humein Dilli jaana padega toh..."
"Roka nahi ho paayega." Suraj smirked.
"Haa..." Chakor's further words were cut of as she stared at Suraj. He was grinning like a maniac, before beaming at her. Chakor resisted the urge to cover her eyes.
Suraj definitely lived up to his name as he beamed at her from across the table that evening. He was definitely as bright as the Sun.
Precap: "Suraj Babu?! Aap yahan kaise?"
"Tumne humein yaad kiya, aur lo, aa gaya tumhara Rajkumar." He winked, smirking like a mischievous boy.
This only meant trouble.
Fan Fictions
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Debate Mansion
