They reached the temple, the only one at Pagdandiya within 10 mins. A sense of calmness and devotion felt ingrained in the very air surrounding the temple, as if bestowing divine grace on the visitors and onlookers even from far. Seeking blessings from the Goddess, they were about to take some sindoor when Aditya lost his balance due to being pushed by a man behind and his hand hit the plate of sindoor in the priest's hands which had been kept at the foot of the Goddess and which was considered the most blessed. The plate flung up a bit, all its contents spilling on the one standing next to him - Imlie!
Shock would be an understatement at what she felt! Her hands went to the parting of her hair even as tears filled her eyes. As she brought down her hand covered with the sindoor of her parting, terror filled her eyes. A fear of a different sort took over her being.
Aditya on the other hand had just recovered from the push and cursing the man under his breath, looked around only to find her covered in sindoor. The sight did not affect him much but what he saw in her eyes did! Terror, pure terror could be read in her eyes. She stood completely frozen at her spot.
"May Her divine grace be upon your pair like this always" the priest said, his words shocking both of them and snapping her out of her frozen form.
"W-what are you telling Panditji?" Imlie asked stuttering.
"This sindoor is thought to be the most blessed one which shall only go to the ones who are destined to its grace. Since it's fallen on you both and has filled her parting, it means Sita Maiyya has made your pair and has blessed it also." the priest said, not realising the discomfort and disbelief in their eyes. He blessed them and left from there.
Imlie wordlessly and literally ran from there, snapping Aditya out of his shock.
"Imlie!" he called out and ran behind her, the sindoor and her cycle forgotten.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry, uncaring and unaware of where she was heading. Her mind was all over the place, fear gripping her heart. The words of the priest kept ringing in her head. Aditya ran behind her, extremely worried for her. She was running out of the boundaries of Pagdandiya and it was turning dark. He couldn't leave her. What if something were to happen to her? He shuddered at the thought, trying to push it back in his mind even as he rushed behind her.
___________________________________________
"Imlie!" he called out, worried like hell. Where had she disappeared? He was now well into the forest at the outskirts of Pagdandiya but hadn't found her anywhere. The sky had turned dark, it being the onset of night. The rainy atmosphere added to it, the light of his torch being the only source of brightness. He was glad he had carried his bag with him despite her refusal.
He kept walking, shouting for her but he got no response. As if this much wasn't enough, it started to rain heavily that instant! Drenched, worried, annoyed and lost, Aditya dint know what to do. He halted beneath a tree, completely blank for the first time in his life.
The branch sheltering him provided no effective cover from the strong rains, rendering him drenched completely and shivering. But despite all this, he wasn't worried or even aware of his state. All he was worried about was her! The sight infront started getting black as his body was losing consciousness due to the physical and emotional stress combined.
Just as he was about to collapse, he was held by somebody and all heard before blacking out completely was
"Babusaheb!"
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Holding his unconscious form in her grip, she gently lowered him down as she couldn't handle his weight. Worry and fear for his health gripped her harder than the fear she had experienced sometime back over the sindoor. She looked around but found nothing which could provide shelter. She could stay the whole time getting drenched but he couldn't, she knew. His state would worsen if it were left like that. Cursing herself for her mindless action which had risked his life, she tried to revive him but remained unsuccessful. With worry clouding her senses, she couldn't even think straight. Not knowing what else to do, she prayed to her Sita Maiyya to provide some sort of help to them.
As if listening to her plea, the branch above them snapped pouring water on him with a loud splash, jerking him awake.
"Babusaheb!" Imlie called out and helped him up as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings
"Imlie" he tiredly whispered.
"I'm right here Babusaheb" she said
"Come on, let's go from here. Try to stand up Babusaheb. We need to find some shelter or else your health will worsen"
Aditya weakly nodded. He managed to stand up after some efforts, with her help and they moved opposite to the direction they had come, hoping to find some shelter.
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Iss saath me kaisi tanhaai hain
Iss rishte me dard ki hi kyun gehrai hain
Aaj barson baad bhi
Khamoshi hi chaayi hain
Anjaan nahi hain hum
Ghum aaj bhi hamare dil me maujood hain
Aakhir apne kaleje ke tukde ko humne bhi gavai hain
Yun toh barson beet gaye hain
Yeh dil na uss gam se ubhar paaya hain
Zakhm uske na hone ka aaj tak nahi bhar paaya hain
Par inn faaslon me zindagi thehra sa hain
Aage badhte hue bhi usi mod pe thama sa hain
Iss khamoshi me umeed ghutne lagi hain
Aapke saath aur prem ke liye phir tarasne lagi hain
Ab toh bas khamoshi hain aapke dil ki karvaton me
Jahan kabhi hamare naam ki shenai bajti thi
Aapke dil ki inn khamosh galiyon me hum musafir aate-jaate hain
Par phir bhi anjaanon se paraya mehsoos karte hain
Kya kabhi yeh pehchaani raahein hume phir apnayegi
Ya isi khamoshi me dubi iss zindagi ki raahein katengi?
She closed her diary after penning down her feelings and wiped the tears in her eyes. Glancing at her husband, she swallowed the lump in her throat and placed her diary back. Switching off the bed lamp, she settled beside him for yet another restless night.
Love,
Pratyusha
YOU ARE READING
Lakeerein - Ties That Bind Us
Fanfiction------ 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...
