ShiVi: A Collection Of Short Stories.

one last time

Dil ka dariya beh hi gaya,
Raahon me yun jo, tu mil gaya.
Mushkil se me, sambhala tha, haan
Toot gaya hoon, phir ek dafa

"Aankhen khuli rakh. Raavi, dekh meri taraf." Shiva struggled under the fallen pieces of ceiling.

"Shiva, aaj pohonch jaungi na?" Raavi whispered.

The building was collapsing over them, as they both struggled to breathe. For the last 20 minutes, they were stuck under the rocks but no one had come to rescue them. Did anyone even know they were here?

"Kuch nahi hoga tujhe, mai tujhe kuch hone nahi dunga." Shiva squeaked, as more broken pieces fell onto his back.

"Tu mujhse itni nafrat kyu karta hai? Iska jawaab sune bina mai nahi marne waali" Raavi chuckled in pain.

Shiva looked at her. Dirt smeared all over her face, body struggling to stay alive, and she wanted to know why he hated her?

"Kyuki tu mami ki behen ki beti hai" Shiva joked back.

"Jhootha. Mami aur Anita di ke wajah se na" Raavi cried under the increasing weight of debris.

"Haa. Unhone humare pariwar ko toda. Aur uska gussa mai tujhpe nikaalta tha. I'm sorry, chipkali." Shiva said.

"Aa gaya na sach bahar. Matlab tune mujhse nafrat nahi ki hai. Mai buri insaan nahi hu na"

"Nahi. Tu sabse acchi hai. Aur mere hisse me kaise aa gayi, mai nahi jaanta." Shiva let a tear slip. Was it due to pain or because his was truth almost out?

"Shiva, tu mere hisse me pehle se likha hai. Mai hi kabhi samajh nahi paayi" Raavi said, slowly shutting her eyes.

"Ae. Uth, thodi der bas. Uth na please. Mai nahi dekh paunga tujhe aise, please." Shiva cried, as his tears fell on her face.

She fluttered her eyes open again. "Meri itni parwah hai tujhe? Mere jaane se pehle ek sach batau?"

"Kahi nahi jaa rahi hai tu, samjhi?!" Shiva yelled. He couldn't see her die in front of him. Again.

"Sunna hai ki nahi?" Raavi groaned.

Shiva nodded his head. "Mujhe na, tujhse pyaar ho gaya Shiva."

Baat bigdi, hai iss kadar.
Dil hai toota, toote hai hum

For a moment, nothing mattered. It didn't matter that they were stuck under rocks. It didn't matter that their lives were being slowly taken away from them.

All that mattered to Shiva was his chipkali.

"Pyaar karti hu tujhse. Lekin hum dono ko kabhi woh time milega hi nahi. Kaisi kismat hai na meri? Pehla pyaar mila nahi, aur dusra pyaar milke bhi nahi mila"

Shiva caressed her head with his free hand.

"Meri chipkali. Shiva ko apni Gauri se alag sirf bhagwaan kar sakta hai" Shiva blurted out. He would regret it if he didn't say it now.

Even though her eyes were shutting, she managed to keep them open to hear Shiva. "Ek sach batau?" Shiva repeated her words only.

Raavi smiled weakly and nodded. "Mujhe bhi tujhse pyaar ho gaya. I love you." Shiva said, kissing her cheek.

Who knows when he'll get to do that again.

Waqt ne hai kiya, humpe kaisa sitam.
Tum bhi bezaar ho, barbaad hai hum.

Raavi turned her head, ever so slightly, and kissed his nose "I love you, Shiva. I love you very much. Ye 3 mahine mere life ke sabse haseen pal the."

"Mere bhi." Shiva whispered back, voice trembling in fear.

Tears streamed down their face. Tears of happiness. regret. fear. sorrow. and peace.

The entire ceiling and pillars collapsed over Shiva and Raavi, as they both cried out and gasped for air.

Their eyes found each other, and they just knew. Not once did they take their eyes off each other. This moment was all they had.

They looked at each other, and joined their foreheads together.

This was it.

As their hearts beat one last time together, somewhere, in a much peaceful world, they found each other.

Tere bin ab na lenge ek bhi dum,
Tujhe kitna chahe aur hum.
Tere saath ho jaayenge khatam,
Tujhe kitna chahe aur hum