Chapter 6- The Storm Warning
It was still dark outside ..as they got up to leave ...
They went about their business of getting ready in silence ...
Karuna came to their room with Awara in tow holding a tray with Tea and toast.[BR"]Shaurya is it necessary for you to go in this weather" ..Karuna sounded worried
"Yes Ma ..I have committed and I intend to keep my commitments .
And you know Jaipur Highway , hotels and resorts are dime a dozen ...if the weather really deteriorates we will halt somewhere ..."
"Ok Beta ..please take care .."
Shaurya went ahead to get the car out of the garage ..Mehak bent over to touch feet of Karuna .."Ma khayal rakhiyega .." ( take care Ma)
"Haan bilkul beta ..today is the Baby Shower ..so I will go there ..."
Mehak saw Dolly too coming towards them ... she had dark circles under her eyes ..
Seemed she had not slept well.. Mehak hoped she had sorted out the problem with Nani
"Maasi aap theek hain..."
"Hmmm..haan main theek hoon.."
Mehak bent over to take Dolly's blessings too ..
"Jeeti Raho Bahuraani ..."said Dolly ..
As Mehak straigtened .. Maasi lovingly brushed her hand on her face ..."May God drive away all unhappiness from your life..."
Dolly looked wistful ..as if she was about to cry ...
Maasi ?? Mehak was about to ask whether the situation with Nani had settled ...
Shaurya honked...
"Jaldi karo bahurani ..Shaurya is waiting for you ," Maasi urged her towards the SUV...
With a final look at Maasi ..Mehak went and sat in the vehicle.
SHaurya eased the SUV out of the gate .
It was windy .. the sky was still light ..but one could smell the rain ..even though the clouds were still not there . Driving required concentration and silence spread in the SUV ...
He gave her a glance .
She sat stiffly , motionless .
They had moved about five kilometers .
He stopped the vehicle ..and turned towards her ...
Do you know how far we have to go ?
She looked at him ...question evident in her wide eyes...
"330 Km ..and I am just talking today ..."
"Mehak ..the fact is we are partners in this journey ...so we need to accept that the person sitting in the next seat is going to be there for the whole journey ..
We cannot wish ourselves away Mehak..
You should not make yorself suffer more than what is required ...we will take it as it comes ...just fasten your seat belt .. and relax... I am no longer the 14 year old ..I am a safe driver ..".
"But haan seat belt to phir bhi lagani padegi..." He smiled at her ...
A tiny smile broke on her face ...before she lowered her eyes and fumbled with the seatbelt ..
He held her hand and fastened her seatbelt ..
Their eyes met ..as she tried to remove her hand ...
His reflex was to grip it even harder ...
There were a thousand emotions in her eyes .. matched by the myriad expressions in his ...
".Mehak" ,..his voice was a hoarse whisper..." don't "... his voice refused to cooperate further .
The moment froze..
The tear did betray her eyes ..she had tried to reign it in ...
He used his other hand to wipe it ... She turned her face towards the window ...
He slowly released her hand ..and put the vehicle back in motion...
She turned back to look ahead ...the silence was stifling and deafening ..
She reached out to the audio system ...and started tuning in the radio
"Sun raha hai na tu ...Ro raha hoon main " Ankit Tiwari's mellifluous voice crooned ...
"Mujhko Iraade de
Kasame De Waade de ...
Meri Duaaon ke Ishaaron ko Sahaare De..
Dil Ko Thikaane De
Naye Bahaane De
Khwabon Ki baarishon ko
Mausam ke Paimaane De
Apne Karam ki kar Aadayein
Kar de idhar bhi tu Nighaahein
Sun raha na tu
Ro raha hoon main
Sun Raha hai na Tu , Kyun Ro raha hoon main
Shaurya looked at her , Mehak Changed the channel ..Arijit singh wanted to show why he is the best amongst the current crop ...
Muskuraane ki wajah tum ho
Gungunane ki wajah tum ho
Jiya Jaaye na , jaaye na jaaye na
O re , piya re
Jiya Jaaye na , jaaye na jaaye na
O re lamhe tu kahin mat jaa
Ho sake to umar bahr tham jaa
iya Jaaye na , jaaye na jaaye na
O re , piya re
Mehak wanted to change the channel again,
Shaurya held her Hand ..".stop fighting it Mehak ...
If you see us everywhere , in those lyrics , in those words ...we are probably everywhere , we have loved
And probably we have lost , we have shared the laughter and dreams now that the dreams are shattered and laughter all gone , we are bound to carry the corpse of our past everywhere , but the first step is acceptance Mehak ..you and I cannot be forever in denial with what happened..."
There was silence ... broken by honking of trucks on NH-8, the scenery had changed as they left Gurgaon and then Manesar behind...the high-rises gave way to gently undulating low hills ..all covered in green thanks to the rains in the past week ...
The dense patches of green were remainder of the time when nature had held sway , now human greed led to eyesores in between those greens , thanks to all the illegal mining ...
Traffic was largely smooth , thanks to the fact that it had still not started raining and more flyovers had been constructed on NH-8
However their luck ran out just before Shahpura ..a massive lines of crawling trucks meant they were going to be stuck for atleast 30-45 minutes ...
Shaurya rolled down his window and called out to a middle aged woman sitting on a rock on the side of the road . She had a kind face and seemed to be just passively observing the scene in front of him.
She did look out of place in that scene . Maybe she was one of the passengers in the buses ahead ..she would know what is wrong ...
"Kyun Ma ji ..kuch pata hai ..yeh itna jam kyun laga hai ..". ( Ma ji do you know why we have such a big jam)
The woman laughed ..".arrey beta ...kissi ko jyaada jaldi thi ...ab sab ko der kara di...
Waqt ki kimat zandagi nahi ..waqt gujar jaayega to wapis na aayega ..arrey zindagi phisal gayi to kaun sa aa jaayegi ..
Arrey huss khel ke bitaa lo char pal..warna khud rote raho ...aur doosro ko rulate raho .."
( Son, Somebody was in a hurry ...now they got everyone delayed ... the price of time is not life ...
if time once passed never comes back ...so would life ...when you lose it ..it never comes..back
smile and spend these brief moments we have ..else the option is to keep crying and make others cry ...)
Shaurya was getting impatient ..."arrey maine ek seedha sawaal poocha tha "..( hey I asked you a simple question...)
"Agar jawaab seedhe ho ..to sawaal bane hi kyun ..."( if the answers were so simple ...there would never have been a question) the woman replied ,,,
Shaurya was close to losing his temper ..he banged his fist on the steering ...
"You "...he started aggressively ...
Mehak squeezed his shoulder from behind...
He turned back ..electrified by that touch ...
She gently said ."..seems there is an accident ahead... Calm down ..".
Shaurya turned back with folded hands ..".thankyou Ma..ji ..".
The woman was nowhere to be seen ...
Mehak and Shaurya looked at each other in bewilderment ...
Shaurya was the first one to speak .."Maybe she wandered off in the milieu behind..".
Mehak nodded...
The jam was growing , the honking was increasing , people were losing patience and the tempers were getting frayed...
He continued ...This will take time ... irony is , we got caught in the jam just as were to leave NH-8.. I have to take a right turn just maybe 2 kms from here ...
The whole plan gets delayed, now I do not know whether we will be able to reach back home by evening " ...he was clearly frustrated ...
Mehak said quietly ... "we are delayed anyways ...can we have a quick cup of tea...I also need to use the ladies..."
"Hmmm let us see ...
Shaurya got down from the car and walked to the side of the road to climb a small rock ... He surveyed the scene filled with vehicles of all size ...
The clouds above were getting darker ... Rain was threatening ...
He came back to the his SUV ...the vehicle behind him honked impatiently ...
He showed them the finger ...
"We are in luck .." he said getting inside ..."that I brought this baby" ...he patted his vehicle affectionately ...
"She loves off roading ...there is a resort ...just about a km ahead ..".
"Now we just have to get down from the road and drive there ." .he pointed Mehak towards the rocky terrain on side of the road ...
"Aarre you sure ??" Mehak sounded nervous ...
Ofcourse ...trust me ...Shaurya patted her hands ...
She looked in his eyes ...he noticed she made no attempts to pull back her hands ...
He got the vehicle off the road with care , as hundred of eyes looked at their vehicle with curiosity and drove toward the " King's Abode " the nearest resort ...
He parked near the side wall , as the main gate on the highway was still inaccessible thanks to the Jam and walked inside ..
Mehak went to the ladies ..while Shaurya ordered some tea and sandwiches ... and the brought out his phone to call somebody .
"Kashyap Sahab ...sorry we are caught in a real bad jam ..we will be an hour late ...let us start at 11".
The manager of the resort suggested them to sit in the back lawn , as that was more peaceful ..
He was right , they sat there quietly sipping tea , the birds were chirping and the black clouds seemed almost peaceful, hanging over the hill marking the periphery of the resort...
"Shaurya .. Mehak's hoarse voice broke him out of his reverie ...
He looked up ..
"Shaurya ..why did this happen to us ..
"I do not know Mehak ... He looked away ...not wanting Mehak, to see the sadness in his eyes
Are we bad people .Shaurya ??"... she continued ...
I have always prayed to Matarani ...I kept my faith in her even when my parents were snatched away from me ...
"And then our relationship has gone through enough ups and downs Shaurya ..it was Matarani who helped me get through that phase...just when I felt all my trials and tribulations were over ..I have been mercilessly thrown in midst the biggest trial of my life ..."
"Why me Shaurya ...why me ??" She broke down "..why should I have to choose between my parents and you ..".
Shaurya leaned over and grabbed her hands
"Don't choose Mehak ...don't choose ..."
"Be loyal enough to your parents to demand justice for them ..and punishment for me ... but do not hate me Mehak ..don't ...I did not do it on purpose ...I did not even know that two people died that day .".
"I am selfish enough to demand you by my side ..as I walk this long road to redemption ..
I cannot do this without you ..you distancing yourself from me is like my life force sucked out of me ..I need that courage and energy to go through this ...
When all this is over ..I need to come back home ..come back home to you ...Mehak...call me a self-centered jerk if you will...but this is the truth Mehak.. nothing in my life has meaning without you ...not even penance for my sins ..."
"I...I ..will think about it ... She said quietly
...He smiled" ...Let's go ...else we will get too late ..".
The manager informed them that the traffic was still not moving as some villagers were now sitting on a dharna protesting lax road safety and demanding compensation ...
Shaurya was exasperated .. "We have to reach Ajeetgarh in the next hour ...we have a lot of people waiting for us ..."
"If you need to go to Ajeetgarh ...then it is not a problem ...because it is away from the highway ..".The manager said ..
"Where is your vehicle ..?". he asked
Near the side wall of the resort .. Shaurya replied ...
"Oh ok ..if you can continue off the road and get to the otherside of the hill , you can get to Ajeetgarh ..."
" Come I will show you .."
The manager pointed to a rocky trail leading to the hill and beyond ...[BR"]Are you ok with this Mehak??..".Shaurya Asked ..
Mehak nodded ...
"If it is important and people are waiting for us then let us go..".
Shaurya expertly steered the vehicle through the expectedly bumpy ride ..Mehak screamed a couple of times as they crossed a mini rivulet interspersed with rocks
She gripped Shaurya's shoulder..her nails almost digging into them as they went almost 90 degrees on a tricky piece of rock...
She hid her face in her hands ...as Shaurya stablised the vehicle ..they were finally on the other side of the hill ...safe
"Mehak ..".he used his thumb and forefinger below her chin to make her look up ...we are here... the worst is over ...
She looked upto him...and gently held his hand ...
"Yes the worst is over ..."
He drove back onto a metaled road and punched in the GPS for directions ..
The GPS finally indicated ..."your destination is on the right ..."
Mehak looked out of the window ..by now she was really curious ...
Where had they come and who was waiting for them ...
A huge semicircular board on top of the entrance gate indiacted ...
Meera Sharma Chartiable Trust Welcomes Mrs Mehak Khanna...
Mehak's expressions changed to shock...
Shaurya ??
" I will explain ... Let us first go inside ..."
Shaurya parked the SUV and helped Mehak deboard ..
A group of people stood with garlands ,...
Namskaar Kashyap ji..Shaurya greeted a short thin man with a balding pate , clad in a kurta pyjaama
Kashyap ji came forward "..Khanna sahib aap Bhabhi ji ko le hi aaye ..."
"Bhabhiji ... we were all so eager to meet you ...what you have done for us is nothing short of a miracle .."
"Getting us both the school and the dispensary infrastructure ready in just 2 months ...
Had you and Khanna Sahib not taken that amount of interest and created the trust fund ...we were just lost ..."
Mehak kept hearing all this ..surprise was evident on her face ...but she kept mum...
A young girl walking with the help of crutches came forward and garlanded both of them ..
"Aayiye Bhaiyya Bhabhi... "she said
"All the kids are eagerly waiting for the inauguration of the new school block...
They all walked to a small building which was quite evident was recently constructed ..at the entrance of it was a red ribbon ...
A small girl cutely clad in a saree walked in ..carrying a beautiful decorated thali with scissors ..
Bhabhi ..please do the honors ..she said softly ...
Mehak looked at Shaurya ..who urged her with his eyes ...
Mehak cut the ribbon and they walked in...
Much later after the a beautiful cultural program that the kids had put together ... and Mehak had spent the whole afternoon and early evening talking to and playing with many kids ...,
Shaurya explained , while they were sitting alone in a room waiting for others to join them., .." Mehak I met Kashyap ji two months ago .. he was running a small NGO ..dedicated towards education of kids who have either become disabled or orphaned due to road accidents ...some of them are not orphans , but having lost the earning members of the family, their families have become destitute .."
"The day I met Kashyap ji ...I knew this was the sign I was searching for ...coming to me right form the skies ...I knew you would want to contribute to a noble cause like this ..".
"I believe in the capacity of the chief trustee for this trust you will ensure that we always fight for these kids ... that we give them back a little something .. a little sliver of hope..."
Mehak kept quite ...
Shaurya grew worried
"Will you Mehak ? I know I was presumptuous ..I should have asked you first ... did I reopen your wounds..??
"Mehak for God's sake ..say something ... "Mehak he grabbed her shoulders ..
"Oh ...Shaurya "...she sobbed ...before hugging him firmly .
They jumped apart as they heard the others joining them ..
It was soon time for them to leave ...it was getting dark outside ...
They got back in the car and started back ...Mehak took out her phone ..
Shaurya got impatient ..." who do you need to call now ? I feel I have met you after ages and you want to talk to somebody else .".
"Buss ek minute ...Shaurya ...it is urgent ..."
She opened the messanger ..and messaged KK..
"You never replied to my yesterday's message ...but I think I discovered my differing perspective today ...My truth shifted shape ..."
She send the message ...Shaurya's phone dinged ...
Mehak looked at Shaurya ...he looked distinctly uncomfortable ...
"Shaurya Khanna ..May I have your phone ..".she said coldly ...
Edited by tibs09 - 8 years ago
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