The Leave Of Love

Chapter - 15

"Ab na fikr karna hum jee jayenge
Iss dard ko dheere dheere pee jayenge "

He stood in front of Ishu nd spoke very weakly "Beta...humara rishta dusre baap betiyo jaisa normal nahi he...ye mujhe pata he. Nd I'm responsible for it ...ye bhi mujhe pata he. Main tum logo ko kabhi waqt hi nahi de paya. Apne beti ke saath kabhi baap hone ka rishta nahi nibha paya."

He paused nd a tear twinkled in the corner of his eyes.

"Par beta...shayad bin jane hi tum log bhi kahi na kahi zimmedar the is ghatte rishte ke liye. Tum logo ne bhi mujhe kabhi samajhne ki kosish nahi ki. Aur shayad maine bhi kabhi wo mauka hi nahi diya."

"Par main to akhir hu ek 'baap' hi na? Aur chahe kuch bhi ho jaye, ek 'baap' kabhi apni beti se nafrat nahi kar sakta. Jab tum paida hui thi, tab tumhare liye mere dil me jitna pyaar tha aj bhi utna hi pyaar he. Bas samajhne me itne saal lag gaye jab meri beti mujhe chhod ke jaane wali he."

He placed his hands on her head nd said in a broken yet proud voice "Aj tumhari shaadi he aur isi pyaar ke khatir main tumhe duaa deta hu ki tum humesha khush raho apni zindagi me."

Ishu couldn't say anything. She was just quitely listening to him. All her emotions regarding him since her childhood were brimming across her throat making her silent.

He held her hands with his weak, shaking hands.
"Beta...ho sake to apne iss burhe baap ko maaf kar dena."
He broke down into tears.

"Papa.." Ishu whispered unclearly nd broke down.
She hugged him.

"I'm sorry papa...aap bhi mujhe maaf kar dena." She mumbled while weeping.
Her papa too hugged her back nd patted her back.
Ishu's 'maa' nd 'bhai' were standing behind listening to them all the while.
They too came nd hugged them.
All four of them broke down in tears of joy, happiness, satisfaction, nd in a joy of getting back the lost relationships.

A wide smile got spread over the lips of Aku nd Anju as they stood there witnessing the 'happy family moment' in front of their eyes.

After a while Ishu's cousins entered the room exclaiming "Bor ese geche!! (Baraat aa gayi)"

Hence everyone left with them leaving Ishu alone in the room.

She closed the door nd opened her study's drawer. After rummaging for a while she finally took out her diary from it.
She opened it nd took out Rohan's photo from it which she hadn't touched since these last 3 yrs.

She caressed that photo with her mehndi dyed fingers.
A drop of tear rolled down her cheek nd landed on the photo. That tear drop was saying everything. It was expressing every storm as well as every calmness which was thriving throughout her mind.

And just like she did it for the previous two times, this time too she didn't wiped that drop from his photo.
Finally she whispered "Mere aansu tere photo me tab hi girti he jab humari mulakat hoti he. 3 saal baad aj ye aansu phir se giri. Kya aaj bhi tere saath meri mulakat hogi?"

She grabbed that photo close to her heart nd asked it as if she was asking him "Teri Ishita ki shaadi hone wali he.... teri Ishita aaj kisi aur ki hone wali he Rohan! Tu nahi ayega?"

She slowly closed her eyes nd gently wiped the silent tears from her eyes. She whispered "Main aj bhi tujhse nafrat nahi kar payi!"

* * *

Shivam was dashing in maroon shehrwani nd cream coloured dhoti wrapped in bengali style.
He was sitting in the groom's place in 'mandap' searching for Aku nd Anju coz he was restless about Rohan.

He was thinking only about him since the morning. The main reason is that he was having a strange sense of guilt of stealing Ishu from Rohan.
He was thinking that maybe he was stealing the place of her heart where only Rohan was allowed to stay.

He was being restless with all these thoughts when Aku nd Anju slowly came towards him nd Aku whispered in his ears "I called Rohan this morning but Ayan picked it. He said that uska tabiyat aaj bigad gaya he. Hospitalize bhi karna pad sakta he."

His eyebrows frowned in tension.

"Abhi kaisa he wo?" He asked.

"I don't know. Uska call nahi jaa raha he." Aku replied.

He looked down nd said in a heavy voice "Maine bhi call kiya tha usko baraat me nikalne ke pehle. Par kisi ne call nahi uthaya. I don't know abhi kis haal me hoga wo."

Meanwhile pandit ji asked to bring the bride in the mandap.

After a while Ishu entered the mandap being carried by her brothers, covering her face with 'paan' leaves as per Bengali ritual.

One by one all the rituals were getting done while pandit ji chanted hymns.

Ishu's papa completed the 'kanyadan' procedure.
And as the final ritual, Shivam applied the vermilion (sindur) on Ishu's maang as she closed her eyes.

A tear with many reasons nd consequences dropped from her eyes as her maang got red with the vermilion.

Pandit ji declared the completion of the marriage.
After taking the blessings from the elders, Ishu nd Shivam were sitting in the guest room for another ritual called 'bashar raat'. (a ritual where the bride nd groom along with their cousins spends the whole night gossiping, singing nd dancing. )

Aku nd Anju were also exhausted more mentally than physically.
Anju grabbed her lehanga nd entered the guest room to sit comfortably beside Ishu nd Shivam. It was a hectic day.
Aku was too tired. She was feeling restless.
She was about to enter the room when her phone rang.
She picked the call.
It was Ayan's call.
He said something to her.
And after listening it, she froze.

She looked at newly married Ishu who was happily sitting there beside Shivam gossiping with her cousins nd Anju.

She released a long breathe nd ended the call.
Very calmly nd solemnly, she walked towards Ishu with heavy steps nd tears already flowing down her cheeks.

She kneeled down in front of Ishu nd looked deep in her eyes.

"ROHAN IS TAKING HIS LAST BREATH...ILS HOSPITAL!"

She said loud enough which made everyone in the room to hear that.