Meant To Be

Kalank: Part 1

A/N: Alright, my first venture on Wattpad. What am I supposed to say? Happy reading? Well- sorry not sorry, go ahead. 😭👍🏻
(all flashbacks in italics)

| Kalank |

tw// violence, threats

1951 - Delhi, India

“Ye mar jaana radio chalta kyun nahi! Whacking the radio furiously, Vashma muttered to herself and sauntered over to the table. Mindlessly circling her fingers over the lid of the delicacy steaming beneath, she sighed, absorbed in thought, “Pata nahi Uday ke match mein kya hua hoga...”

Picking up the lid randomly, she took in a deep breath, till all the spices tingled her senses and she did a little dance in her head at the success of a matar pulao in front of her, mentally patting her back. She couldn't wait to see that smile of his when he'd discover his surprise.

...

Slinging the hockey bag loosely over his shoulder, he stopped at the doorstep with a little smile, awaiting the much familiar call from behind.
"Oye!"
There she was! And, he turned around.
Her lips curved up in a crescent, so did his.
"Goal mat hone dena." She let out a chuckle and cupped her hands over her mouth. Something she didn't do very often.
It had been five years, yet everytime he went out for a match, this had been their ritual or... 'their thing'?
As she waved at him, a sudden rush of emotions took over him. She stood right there, in front of his eyes, very much existing and smiling, yet his heart seemed to be at war with his senses. Yet, something seemed to twist in the pit of his stomach. Someth- when the trail of his thoughts running haywire, was interrupted by her excited chirp.
"Aaj tere liye kuch khaas banaungi. Jaldi aana!"
He nodded in response, mentally facepalming at all his thoughts that had been tearing his head apart a minute before. His Vashma was right there... always, as she assured him with her excited smile. Yes, she was! His face pulled into a smile again.

...

Aaj to Uday khush ho jaega!" She chuckled. Nothing could match the way his eyes shone like the happiest kid in town when he was with his matar pulao. She smiled to herself, content with her effort as she loosely hovered the lid over the bowl, "Aaj to Kabir ke bina ghar kitna soona lag-" when a loud scream from outside made her jump up and the glass lid came crashing down against the floor.

She stood for a minute, two, three... unable to move or even flinch away from the little bits of glass that now surrounded her like a stinging memory of her little happy dream that she was living in, just a few moments ago.
She took a step back, stumbling against the table, constantly murmuring indistinct words to herself to snap herself out of her daze.

The wailing cries of familiar voices morphed with terror and noisy metals clanging against each other- and against a lot more. Something she couldn't imagine or rather, her heart refused to imagine.
"N-nahi, nahi, nahi. Aisa nahi ho sakta. Nahi", she said feebly to no one in particular, holding on to a last hope that all of this was a nightmare, a fickle nightmare that would end in a snap. Yes, it would. It wou- her head snapped in the direction of the terrace at a deafening crack of thunder that sounded outside as a gun went off.

It was everything about a nightmare and yet everything not. It was dark and cruel and horrifying but... most importantly, she could not wake up from her slumber anytime she chose to. Her nightmare was her living reality.

The sound of another long round of firing - way more violent than before pierced through her ears, as she shot out her hands up to her ears immediately, in a failed attempt to maintain her composure. The lights, flickering for a moment or two, finally dimmed out. Unable to keep herself up any longer, her legs faltered as she crumbled down in a heap by the table. Hiccuping all the while with little beads of tears rolling down her cheek, she pulled her knees closer to her chest. All she wanted was just hold herself so close into the littlest ball ever and just somehow disappear into the dark.

A rather loud scream from outside knocked her back into her senses and somehow pulling up, she dragged herself to the telephone. But, before her trembling fingers had even made their way to the dial, the receiver chimed up.
“Vashma, t-tu theek hai na?” asked a quivery voice from the other end.
“A-Amrit...-Uday a-abhi tak nahi lauta aur... bahar se d-dangaiyo ki aawaz aa rahi hai. Mujhe kuch samajh mein nahi aa raha, Amrit. Main-”, she choked on her sobs as all the tears long held back, streamed down her cheeks.
“Vashma, tu ghabrana nahi. Randheer ne veerji ke liye inspector sahab se baat ki hai, wo jald hi sahi-salamat yaha pahuch jaenge. Aur, Kabir bhi yaha bilkul theek hai. Bas, tu apna dhyaan rakh, haan?” said Amrit, consoling her with her comforting words.
“Am-,” she had just started when a loud thump on the door took her by a startle.

“Kon hai andar? Darwaza khol!”

| to be continued |

Alright, mentally patting my back cuz I finally did it lol. This AU idea had been crying in the corner of my mind since weeks and finally, we're here.
851 words phew.
How was it? I am literally dying to hear your reviews. They'd mean THE WORLD to me. Also, pardon any mistakes. :)
Can't bore you any longer so, by your leave. I'll go sob into my pillow now.

xoxo,
Aditi. 🤍