7| Afsana

🪞 Teri yaadon mei likhe jo, lavs dete hai sunai,

Beete lamhe puchte hai, kyu hue aise juda khuda🪞

~ 5 years later ~

"Abhijeet, papa bula rahe hai." Abhijeet heard his wife's voice follow a knock on the door of his study.

Abhijeet, dad is asking for you.

Looking up from the papers he was going through, he nodded his head and took off his reading glasses. As he spared a glance at the wall clock, he realised he's been in his study for the past 3 hours. He rubbed his hands against his face to relieve the stress in his face muscles.

"Chai bhijvau aapke liye? Aap kafi thak gaye lagte hai." Noticing the tiredness of her husband, Abhijeet's wife, Parthvi said.

Shall I send you some tea? You look very tired.

"Haa please. Papa kaha hai? Mai mil leta hu unse." He said as he got up from his chair.

Yes please. Where is dad? I'll meet him.

"Living room mai hai." Nodding his head at her reply, Abhijeet exited the room and walked towards where his father was.

He's in the living room.

"Papa?" He called his father out as he entered the room.

"Aap ne bulaya mujhe?" He said as he took his seat in front of his father.

You called for me?

"Haa. Woh apni nai factory mei jo supervisor appoint karna tha uske liye candidates tumne dekh liye hai?" His father asked.

Yes. Have you looked at the list of candidates we have for the position of supervisor at our new factory?

"Ji. Abhi unhi ke CV dekh raha tha. 2-3 acche candidates hai. Kal unge interview ke liye bulaya hai." Abhijeet replied.

Yes. I was going through their CVs just now. Couple of them are good. I've called them tomorrow for an interview.

Before her father-in-law could reply, Parthvi walked in with two cups of tea. After handing the first cup to him, she gave Abhijeet his.

"Parthvi beta, accha hua tum bhi yaha ho. Ek zaroori baat karni thi tum dono se. Baat kya, ek khabar deni thi." His father said.

Parthvi dear, good that you're here too. I have to talk to you two about something important. Scratch talk, I've some news.

"Ji papa boliye." Parthvi said.

Yes papa, go ahead.

"Betho beta pehle." Her father-in-law said.

First take a seat, dear.

Parthvi nodded and took her seat next to Abhijeet.

"Tumhe shayad yaad hoga, tumhari maa ki 13 vi pe Sharma parivar aya tha." Abhijeet's father said as he looked in his son's eyes.

You must recall, Sharma family attended the last rites of your mother.

Abhijeet clenched his jaws at the mention of Sharmas and averted his eyes from his father's.

"Ji." Parthvi replied softly as she noticed the changes in her husband's demeanour.

Yes.

"Beta hum pehle kabhi unke bahot acche dost hua karte the. Ek dusre ke ghar pe khana peena aur bahar ghumne jana laga hi rehta tha. Woh hamesha hamare sukh dukh mei saathe rehte the. Apno se zyada pyaar tha hamare beech." His father said as he reminisced the good old times that the two family spent together.

Dear, there was a time when we were very close to them. Eating at each other's place or going out was a frequent thing. They've always been there for us. We used to closer than any relatives could've been.

Doesn't matter what went down between them since last 5 years. The families were always there for each other and this truth still stands.

"Abhijeet aur unka bada beta Krishna, saath pale bade hai. Dono ki dosti itni gehri thi jaise lagta tha dost nahi bhai ho. Saath school college mei padhe aur phir karobar bhi saath mei hi seekha tha unhone." He continued.

Abhijeet and their elder son, Krishna, grew up together. The two boys were so close that it seemed as if they were brothers. Not only did the two go to the same school and college but they also learnt business together.

Parthvi who had no idea about the relation between the two families, was hearing his father-in-law's words with keen interest.

After 4 years of marriage, she could affirmatively say she knows all the who's-who of this family but she had never heard her husband or her father-in-law mention the Sharma family prior today.

"Saalon baad aapke muh se unka zikr hua hai. Mai aasha karta hu iske peeche koi karan ho." Abhijeet sternly said.

You've talked about them after years. I hope there's a good reason behind it.

"Beta mai bas yeh keh raha hu k jaise beeta kal bhula ke woh hamara dukh baatne aaye thi 3 saal pehle, tumhari maa ke nidhen par vaise hi hume bhi jana chahiye jab dukh ki badal unke parivar par chaye hai." His father carefully said.

Son, all I'm saying is that just how they forgot the past and were there for us at the time of your mother's death 3 years ago, similarly we should be there for them now that it's their family going through something similar.

"Kya matlab papa? Kya hua?" Parthvi asked.

What do you mean, dad? What's wrong?

"Beta unke ghar maut hui hai aur hume 13 vi per jana hai." He replied.

Dear, there's been a death in their family and we need to be there for the last rites.

"Kisiki maut papa?" Parthvi asked.

Whose last rites?

No sooner did the name left his father's mouth, the tea cup slipped from Abhijeet's hand and the sound of it breaking rang in his ears for what felt like an eternity.

"Kavya."

.

.

.

As soon as Abhijeet step his foot in the Sharma residence, the past came crashing down on him. The past that he thought he had forgotten returned in a moment to land a hard slap on his face. He still couldn't contemplate that the little Kavya who he had cared for ever since they were kids was no longer alive.

There were thousands of thoughts running through his mind but most of all, he was guilty.

"Krishna." Abhijeet said as he hugged his best friend.

Krishna couldn't help but shed a few tears on Abhijeet's shoulder as he accepted the familiar comfort of a life-long friendship.

"Bhai mere." Krishna said and took a deep breath.

My brother.

"Saalon ke baad aaj tujhe dekha. Socha nahi tha aise haalton mei mulakat hogi." Krishna said and let go of the hug.

I'm seeing you after years. Never had I imagined that we would be reuniting under such circumstance.

"K...kaise hua ye?" Abhijeet tried to conceal the shake in his voice but failed miserably.

H... how did this happen?

"Depression." Krishna said as fresh tears filled his eyes.

"Kya?" Abhijeet asked shell shocked as he heard his best friend's answer.

What?

"Baad mei baat karte hai." Krishna said as his eyes followed Parthvi who stood next to her husband.

We'll talk later.

"Yeh nanhi pari kaun hai?" Krishna said as his eyes followed the little girl who was holding Parthvi's hand.

Who is this little angel?

"Hamari beti." Abhijeet replied.

Our daughter.

"Namastey Krishna bhai." Parthvi politely said as she picked their daughter up in her arms.

"Beti?" Krishna looked at the girl and lovingly put his hand on her head.

Daughter?

"Bahot pyaari hai." He said and gave Abhijeet a smile.

She's adorable.

After a couple of hours once Abhijeet met with the rest of Sharma family, Krishna pulled him aside.

"Tu mera bhai hai Abhijeet aur mai bahot khush hu tere liye but dil manta nahi k tu itni aasani se aage badh gaya. Jitna pyaar maine apni behen ke aankon mei dekha tha usse zyada ulfat tere chehre par thi. Kya hua?" Krishna questioned.

You are my brother and I am very happy for you, but I cannot accept how easily you've moved on. The amount of love that I have seen in my sister's eyes for you, your face held way more than that for her. What happened?

"Ma. Unke jane ke baad ehsaas hua ke woh mujhe kis tarha apne mutabik chalne par majboor kiya aur mai socha raha faisle mere the. Jab sacchai pata chali toh bahot der ho chuki thi. Hamari beti 6 mahine ke thi jab maa guzar gayi. Kuch sochne samajhne ko baaki hi nahi tha." Abhijeet took a pause. Taking a deep breath, he continued with unshed tears in his eyes.

Mom. After she passed away, I realised how she manipulated me to do all that she wanted me to but I kept on thinking that it was I who made all those decisions. When I got to know the truth, it was just too late. Our daughter was six months young when she passed away. There was really nothing left to think about.

"Sach bataun toh mai teri behen ko kabhi deserve karta hi nahi thi. Mai toh apne liye awaz nahi utha pata kabhi, usse kya hi khush rakh pata. Sari zindagi apne maa baap ki ek bejaan katputli banke guzzar di aur aaj bhi kuch nahi badla. Roz sochta hu ke thoda zyada mana kiya hota toh Kavya aur mere maa baap dono maan jate. Aaj shayad kahani kuch aur hoti." He said as a tear rolled down his eyes.

If I'm being honest, I never really deserved your sister. I couldn't even raise my voice for myself. How would I had ever kept her happy. All my life has just been a voiceless poppet of my parents and even today nothing's  changed. Every day I think had I convinced my parents and your sister, a bit more, maybe our story would have been different today.

Krishna kept a hand on his shoulder.

"Tujhe pata hai na kavya kaisi hai, thi. Woh tujhe kabhi apne maa baap ko dukhi karke haasil nahi karti. Bhul mat ye rishta toda usine tha, 5 saal pehle." Krishna said.

You know how Kavya is, was. She would have never been with you knowing that it was hurting your parents. Do not forget that five years ago. She was the one who broke you guys up.

"Par saza hum dono ne kaati." Abhijeet said but Krishna disagreed.

Both of us suffered due to that.

"Tujhe pata hai uski maut kaise hui? Depression." Krishna asked.

You know how she died?

"Tujhe bichar ne ke baad uske liye kai rishte dekhe. Ek baar nahi mili wo kissi se. Sara din kamre mei bandh rehti. Koi dost se nahi mili kabhi. Radhika jo to roh hai waha, usne Kavya ko pichle 3 saal se dekha tak nahi tha." Krishna pointed at Radhika who was sitting next to his mother, by Kavya's photo frame.

After you guys separated, we saw a lot of boys for her. She didn't even meet anyone for once. All day she would lock herself up in her room. She never met any of her friends. Radhika, Who is crying there, she is seeing Kavya after 3 years today.

Abhijeet who was trying hard to control his tears previously, broke down completely when he heard hisbest friend's explanation.

He had no idea what all Kavya went through ever since that doomed day, five years ago. If only they would have been a little more courageous, if only would have taken a proper stand for their love, if only they would have stopped caring about the people around them, and for once looked after each other's needs.

The story would've been something else today.

"Papa." Came the voice of Abhijeet's daughter.

Dad.

He quickly wiped his tears away and put on a smile on his face before turning towards the little girl. Bending down, he picked her up in his arms.

"Hii baby." Krishna too blinked away his unshed tears and looked at the little girl.

"Say hi chacha." Abhijeet urged his daughter.

Uncle

"Are Abhijeet kamal karta hai yaar tu. Beti ka naam toh bataya hai nahi." Krishna said as he took her in his arms.

Abhijeet, you are just too much. You never told me your daughter's name.

The little girl started pulling at Krishna's hair and giggling at the weird faces he made to act like he's in pain.

When he heard Abhijeet's daughter's name, a fresh set of tears filled his eyes. Looking at the photo frame of his sister in the drawing room, he turned towards the little angel and kissed her head.

"Kavita."

- x -

🙂