~Silent heartbeats~ - IshRa SS - Part 1 Pg1

It was a fine summer morning at the Iyer household as Ishita had come to her Amma's place after Raman left for office. Usually she would be too busy with her family but since everyone was out for a wedding today, she could spare some time for her parents. It had been over a month since Ishita and Raman got married but still Ruhi was not with them. The unexpected turn of events after Ruhi expressed her desire to stay with her mother had devastated the entire Bhalla family. Specially Raman and Ishita. Initially they had fought, vented out their frustrations on each other and even decided to end their forced relationship until finally when Mr Bhalla and Mr Iyer had to intervene and make the two realize the importance of staying together in this time of adversity. And what seemed impossible initially had slowly begun to fall into place...with every passing day Raman and Ishita were getting more used to each other's presence in their lives.

"Ishu..." vandu touched Ishita on her shoulder bringing her out of her reverie..."your coffee"

"Oh I am sorry akka I just forgot" a silent drop of tear cascaded down her mascara filled eyes as she looked up at her sister.

Seeing their daughter so lost and dejected Madhavi and Vishwa came near Ishita and sat with her. Madhavi wiped her tears with her pallu.

"Vishwa main apni beti ko itna dukhi nahin dekh sakti" she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Ye kya Madhavi, abhi tum hi to kah rahi thi na ki humari Ishu kitni strong hai aur ab tum hi usse kamzor bana rahi ho"

"To main aur kya karoon vishwa...dekho na kitni dukhi hai meri ishu...sometimes I think...kahin raman se iski shaadi karke humne koi galti to nahin ki"

"Amma you are absolutely right...I think ye sab humari hi galti hai...its all our fault. Humein Ishu ki shaadi us Raman bhalla se karni hi nahin chahiye thi...dekhiye na ek hi mahine mein kya haal bana diya hai meri payaari si behen ka"

"Vandu pls not now..." Vishwa tried to stop Vandu but Ishita interrupted with an expression of disagreement on her face.

"No akka its not like that"

"what do you mean Ishu? tu kehna chahti hai ki teri shaadi us raman se karwa kar sahi kiya appa ne..pls I don't agree hun!"

"Akka pls! I am not saying that. I know ki Raman is not the kind of guy I always saw as my life partner. But akka isse ye sach nahin badal jata ki Raman Ruhi se bahut pyaar karte hain. I was wrong akka...i thought he is not a good father. Aur bina kuch soche maine ruhi ko shagun ko de diya...and look what she is doing to my ruhi...shes sending her to that stupid hostel...jahan uska khayal rakhne wala koi nahin hoga...usse pyaar karne wala koi nahin hoga...na dada dadi na papa na mumma...I feel bad for her akka. I feel bad for Raman...i cant forgive myself" she hid her face in her hands as more tears escaped her eyes.

"Ishu beta its not your fault...uss samay tumne wahi kiya jo tumhein ruhi ke liye best laga.Tumnein hameshan ruhi ka acha chaha hai beta" vishwa said caressing her hairs.

"But appa I feel so guilty concious...everyone in that family is so sad and that's just because of me...and Raman...he doesn't even eat properly. Mihir bata raha the ki office mein bhi har samay khoye khoye se rehte hain. I am really worried appa" hearing those words from Ishita Vishwa looked at Madhavi and they shared a li'l smile. Their daughter was accepting her new relationship sooner than expected. And it surely was a good sign.

The Iyers were still chatting amongst themselves when suddenly Mihika came running inside.

"Vandu akka...akka woh shravan..." she yelled in a panicky tone making all of them shocked.

"shravan??? what are you saying mihika???kya hua shravan ko??" vandu asked gasping out of fear.

"pls akka jaldi chaliye...pls akka" mihika was crying now.

Everyone ran outside to see what happened. Ishita panted badly. She was hell worried for Shravan. As the Iyers went in their buildings corridor they saw a lot of neighbors gathered around the elevator. None of them could understand what was happening. As soon as Shravan saw his mom he came running towards her and hugged her tightly. Crying she took him into her arms and kissed him all over his body. The Iyers were still clueless about the whereabouts of the scene in front of them when Mihir came upstairs.

"Mihir what is all this ye sab kya ho raha hai" Ishita asked in an anxious tone.

"Bhabhi aap pls relax keejiye everything is fine now"

"No mihir tell me...aur ye mihika itni darri hui kyun hai...aur ye aise kyun chilla rahi thi jaise shravan ko kuch ho gaya ho...jabki shravan to bilkul theek hai" Ishita was almost freaking out.

"Han Mihir ye sab kya ho raha hai beta" Mr Iyer asked.

"Woh actually Mr Iyer...abhi abhi society mein ek bahut bada accident hone se bach gaya"

"accident? what accident?"

"Yes uncle woh society ki lift jo do din se repairing ke kaam ki wajah se band thi galti se shravan ne uska button press kar diya and lift pata nahin kaise chal padi...acha hua ki Raman ne sahi time pe dekh liye ki shravan lift ke andar ja raha hai aur usne shravan ko waqt rehte bahar ki taraf pull kar liya...warna aaj..."

For a moment Ishu felt her world spinning around her eyes...she could not even imagine what would have happened had Raman not been there.

"Raman ne bachaya shravan ko..." a painful sigh escaped Ishita's lips as tears trickled down her eyes. She felt a thick lump building up in her throat. Her breath still caught in her lungs. For that one brief moment, she felt as if all the hatred, all the bitterness, all the grudges her heart held for Raman, had washed away. Almost instantly.

But Vandu was still not able to believe what could have happened with her son.More of because Shravan was with Subbu.Last night when Vandu had come to her amma's place her MIL had asked her to let shravan stay at home as some of her old friend was coming and she wanted to see her grandson. So bala had asked Subu to drop Shravan at Vandus palce in the morning.

"But mihir hows this possible? Shravan to subu...I mean apne chachu ke saath tha...aaj subu hi shravan ko yahan drop karne wala tha" vandu asked mihir.

"Han akka...actually subu corridor ke end mein jaake ek phone call attend kar raha tha and all this happened behind him"

"What? Subbu ek chote se bache ko akela chod ke khud phone attend karne chala gaya. He didn't even care ki yahan ek kharab lift hai aur shravan ko chot lag sakti hai...I cant believe this...how can he be so careless" Ishita said furiously.

"Why the hell I even allow that man to take Shravan with him. I know woh kaisa insaan hai phir bhi maine use shravan ko le jane diya. You know what appa agar aaj mere shravan ko kuch ho jata to main uss insane ko kabhi maaf na karti...kabhi nahin" vandu cried in pain. Seeing her so broken Ishita hugged her and tried to pacify her. Only then Bala Subu and Raman came upstairs. Seeing Bala, Vandu ran towards him and hugged him crying.

"Relax Vandu sharvan is fine now" bala tried to calm her down.

Ishita felt extremely vulnerable seeing her akka in such a state. Worried, she looked at Raman pensively, eyes seeking some comfort. She was shaken by the whole incident and Raman could sense it very well. He gave her an assuring look as their eyes met across the corridor. Ishita stared intently at him. He was surely not the man she had known before they got married. There was so much more to him than he showed...so much more than what she knew of him...he was a mystery she wished to unravel.

Suddenly amidst her musing Ishita noticed that Raman had injured himself while saving Shravan. His hand was smeared in blood. Ishita suddenly felt a sharp pain squeeze her heart. It was strange but she could not see him like this...in pain. Without speaking a word, and without caring about the number of people in that corridor, Ishita walked upto Raman. As she closed the distance between them Raman stared at her dumbfounded.

"kya hua Ishita?" raman asked in a concerned tone.

She looked at him with pain in her eyes. Without saying anything she took his hand into hers and tied her hanky on it. Raman suddenly felt his heart beating faster as her warm fingertips brushed the skin of his hand. Her closeness made his breath hitch.

"Let it be Ishita...i will do it myself" he tried to withdraw his hand.

"aapse nahin hoga... its bleeding so bad...you need a doctor" she held his hand firmly.

"its nothing Ishita" he tried to pull away.

"stop it raman...its not about Ruhi...its about you" her words suddenly made him leave his hand loose...there was nothing he could say to her now...he continued to stare raptly at her as she attended to his injury. For that one passing moment...she seemed to him much more than just Ruhi's mom. They had begun to share something deeper than expected. Something he felt scared to fathom.

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