Imlie examined his injured foot, concern writ across her face. Her concern moved him and he involuntarily felt his being calm down, soothed by just the concern in her eyes.
"Is it paining too much Babusaheb?" she asked, gently holding the injured part.
"No, not that much" he said softly and she just nodded ignorantly, her complete focus on whether the wound was deep or not.
Satyakam bent down to hold Aditya's shoulder to usher him back on his feet, while Imlie held from the other side. They managed to stand up and moved to the bike. Helping Aditya onto Satyakam's bike, Imlie came behind them, pushing the bike while Satyakam drove slow.
After what seemed like ages, they finally reached Imlie's home. By then, his wounded leg had started to pain a lot. Imlie and Satyakam both noticed this and requested him to stay back here itself till his leg heals. Left with no other option, Aditya agreed to stay back while Satyakam sent his man to bring Aditya's belongings from the lodge.
Making him sit on the cot, Imlie rushed inside to make some lep (balm) for him, while Meethi brought some hot water to clean the wound. Just as Meethi was done cleaning the wound, Imlie came with the lep (balm) and kneeling down, applied it gently on his injured part, while simultaneously blowing softly to relieve the burning sensation. Unknown to her, her own face twisted slightly as if in pain as she continued to apply the lep (balm) but Aditya was too lost in her to comprehend pain. He just kept looking at her face, not even registering it himself that he was lost in her! The slight breeze caused her jhumka to move, making a slightly jingling sound, creating a soothing tune.
After she was done applying the lep (balm), Imlie wrapped a cloth around his wound, the slightly sharp movement causing him to snap out of his trance.
For a moment or two, he just looked around to make sense of the surroundings and then it dawned upon him what he was actually doing. He immediately averted his eyes from her, berating himself internally for shamelessly staring at her like that.
But as she began helping him with placing the injured foot on the cot, his eyes went back to her alluring face. She lifted her eyes to meet his once the work was done and that was the moment time stilled. Both kept looking at each other unblinkingly. It felt as if something held them in that moment, not allowing them to look away.
The loud clang of utensils brought them out of reverie and they immediately looked away. She immediately stood up and went inside the hut to bring him some food while he squeezed his eyes shut, taken aback by what he was doing.
"What the hell Aditya? Why the hell were you staring at her like that? She must have felt so..... weird.. Look, this isn't right. You have the love of your life waiting for you back home. Just wind up things here and get going. There is no need to pay heed to these feelings. Under..." Aditya's internal monologue was disturbed by Imlie calling out to him with a plate of food. He took it from her silently and started eating, after which he called it a night. The last sight his droopy eyes registered before closing was a concerned Imlie looking if everything was alright!
The next two days were spent in giving rest to his injured leg and interviewing Satyakam. This was when he learnt the reason behind Satyakam becoming what he is today.
"Satyakam the rebel wasn't this 20 years ago. He was just an ordinary farmer. He dint have any dreams. All he wanted was to work hard and become capable, for her because she had dreams gleaming in her eyes. Her dreams were nothing unreasonable but I wanted her to have everything she deserved and more. All I ever wanted was her love. But unfortunately, she fell in love with a guy who had come from the city 20 years ago. She was naive and genuinely loved him but he just used her to satisfy his lust. In the name of love, he spent a night with her and ran away like a coward. She was devastated and utterly broken. Had it not been for the child in her womb, she would have given up on her life as well. The child within her gave her the strength to face everything, right from people's taunts to her Amma's abuses. The mother within her had come to the fore, pushing behind the heartbroken lover who deserved justice. That was the day I pledged revenge but....."
"But?"
"Nothing! That was how Satyakam became a rebel. I became a rebel so that I could get justice for her and others like her. I became a rebel so that I could protect her as much as I can. It started out with that but then turned bigger for a better cause. We are ready to move behind the city, but we aren't ready to get crumpled by the city. 20 years I have harboured hate for the city people because all that they know is cheating and betrayal. But I am not that blind in hate to not know that everybody is not the same." he said and just patted Aditya's back while he smiled back.
"She gave birth to a daughter, a daughter many here termed as a sin but for me and her, she has been a blessing. That girl holds immense dreams in her eyes and for her, her Amma is her world. I'm grateful that I could be the fatherly figure in her life. I'm proud of her"
"Satyakam, whom are you talking about? Is it...."
"Imlie" Satyakam said. Aditya sighed.
"This is my story. But to know more, you can meet Chandu. Imlie will take you to his house. Anyways by tomorrow your leg would be completely alright." Aditya nodded.
Love,
Pratyusha
YOU ARE READING
Lakeerein - Ties That Bind Us
Fanfic------ Can Be Read As General Fiction ------ One night. One event. Lives of two people altered completely. When Aditya Kumar Tripathi, Chief Executive Reporter at Bhaskar times stepped into Pagdandiya and met Imlie, he did not know how his life woul...
