Raman : wo sab chahthe hain ki theek ho jao.
Ishitha : aur app. Aap kya chahthe hain.
Raman blurts out : main bhi chahta hoon ki tum theek hojaao. Par theek hone ke baad tum chali gayi to main kya karoonga.
Ishitha is taken aback with that answer.
Part 17
Raman and Ishitha hold each others glance and try to searchfor an assurance of the future that is ahead of them. Raman to lighten thesituation
Raman : Madrasan, tum theek ho jaoogi.. magarmach se bhibach chooki ho. To ye kya cheez hain.
Ishitha and chuckles and says : kuch bhi chalega. Simplesa.. inn tablets ki wajah se bahot heavy feel ho raha hain.
Raman : heavy feel ho raha hain? heavy ho tum.. motikahiki.. akele rahti ho.. koi kamnahin.. phailthi ja rahee ho.
Ishitha pouts and gives him a whack on his arm and movesahead.
Days pass by and Raman is taking care of Ishitha. Slowlyeven ishitha is feeling better but she is not making any move to go closer toanybody. One day Pihu and Ruhi come up.
Raman : arrey!! Kya baath hain. aaj mere dono pari yahaan.
Ruhi : agar hum aapke pari hote to aap hume akele chodke yahaan.
Raman and ishitha are shocked to listen to this
Raman ; nahin bacche. Aise kyu bol rahe ho.
Ruhi : aur nahin to kya papa.. hume bhi aap dono ki zaroorathain. pihu ka homework, mera office itna mushkil hain sab kuch handle karna..haan ghar mein aur log hain par aapka aur ishima ka hona alag hain.
Ishitha has tears in her eyes..
Raman : ruhi, pihu hamesha ishima ne hum sab ka khyaal rakhahain. humne unhein forgranted le liya tha na. par ab main ishima ko theek karnachahthe hoon.
Ruhi : papa hum bhi ishima ko theek dekhna chahthe hain. parhum aapse door bhi nahi reh sakthe. Please hum bhi yahin rahenge. Please papa..please
Raman hugs both of them and looks at ishitha. She has tearsin her eyes and nods her head.
Raman : achcha chalo theek hain. tum dono bhi apna samaanlao.
Once they go down to pack happily. Raman looks at ishithaand says : Madrasan, ye mera idea nahin tha.. chado math mujpe..
Ishitha laughs and says : nahin, main kuch nahin boloongi.
Raman : tho madam.. mere saath ek hi room mein rahogi. Sochlo couch bhi nahin hain. Ruhi aur pihu ek kamra le legi. Aur phir nirvaan bhiguest room mein rehtha hain.
Ishitha blushes and says : haan reh loongi.
Raman smiles and goes down to bhalla house to help pihu andruhi pack. As he enters he hears the entire family congratulating each other.
Raman : kya huwa bhai.. kis baath ki badaai ho rahi hain.
He sees everyone laughing and : hey bhagwan!! Ye sab plantha?
Nirvaan : haan uncle, humne socha treatment mein kuch impactlaathe hain. ab amma pihu aur ruhi ka kaam karegi.. to thodi jud jaayegi. Aurmein bhi rahoonga to aap dono ko ek kamre mein rehna padega. Abhi se keh detahoon.. I need a big treat for all this..
Raman hugs nirvaan and says : thank you so much..
Nirvaan : uncle, meri amma mere liye bahut precious hain. wokush rahe bas..
Raman : haan, bas wo kush rahe to hum sab kush rahenge..
An hour later he goes up to spot ishitha cooking for all ofthem. He was happy that she is slowly getting occupied and she will be able to forget her worries. This will help inthe treatment.
Slowly, ishitha is back to being the ishima that she was.She used to get up in the morning. Make breakfast and lunch pack their food.She used to ensure all the projects and home work is completed. She wasensuring Ramans clothes were ready.
Slowly, even Adi used to come up with Aliya and they woulddiscuss small things. Romi and Mihika also came up with Samyukth. They wouldask her about vaccinations and other things. They were slowly getting Ishithainvolved in everything.
It was the day of her monthly check up. Raman was veryscared to even take her. He was hoping she will get alright.
They went to the clinic and were waiting holding each othershands.
Ishitha : Raman , main bilkul theek hoon. Infact kuch dinonse aaram se so bhi rahi hoon. Aapne dekha na neend bhi achi se puri karthihoon. App chintha math karo meri.. sab theek ho jayega.
Raman : main apne aapko kabhi maaf nahi kar paoongamadrasan. Gussa hone ki wajah theek tha par hamesha iss rishthe main tumne sabkuch saha hain. mere past ki wajah se, mere gusse ki wajah se.. I just hope ki tumtheek ho jao.
Ishitha presses his hand to assure him.
They are called in and Rajeev is happy to see them comingtogether.
Rajeev : ishitha tumhare reports aur counselor ke reports aagaye hain. kaafi improvement hain. main tumhare tablets ke dosage reduce karraha hoon. Par main chahtha hoon ki tum aur koshish karo. Tumhe kush rehna hainishitha. Past ko bhoolna hoga. Tumhe present mein rehna hain. Tumhe bacchon kebaare mein sochna hoga..they are craving for your attention.
Ishitha : samaj sakthi hoon Rajeev. Par jab bhi aage badneki sochthi hoon tab dil gabra jaatha hain. darr lagtha hain. mein phir se sabkuch khona nahi chathi. Agar khona hi hain to main kuch waapis paana hi nahinchahthi hoon.
Raman is shocked at her answer. He holds her hands she justgives a blank look to him.
Rajeev : ishitha, leap of faith ke baare mein suna hain naa.Tumhe wo lena hai baba. Iska aur koisolution nahin hain ishita. Tumhari family ne poori koshish ki hai ki tum theekho jao. Bas yehi kahoonga ki sab bhool jao aur aage bado.
Ishitha nods her head and they both leave after buying themedicines.
Raman is driving the car . He is very disturbed with Ishitha’stalk. She is scared of history repeating itself. She was scared to come back asshe does not want to be blamed again. She is scared of being thrown out again. Hefeels miserable that as a husband he could not make his wife feel secured inhis love, in his home. The feeling of having a home, having children, being awife. Yes he loves her but has never proved his love to her and to the world.
He is lost, he wants her to understand and feel that she ishis world. But he is not sure how to go about it.
Lost in thoughts he drives and they reach home. As ishitha is getting down, Raman holds herwrists. His eyes are downcasted and she can feel that he is about to cry. She quicklysits back in the car and holds his face. He hugs her tightly and she is shocked.She holds him back and says : Raman, kya huwa? Kya ho gaya ? aise ro kyun raheho aap. Please tell me baba. Kya huwa? Kahi lag gayi kya. Kahi dard ho gaya?
Raman takes her hand and keeps it near his heart and says :yahan ishitha, yahan dard ho raha hain.
9