Pehli Mulaqaat

Prologue

"Nahi! Tu kahi nahi jayegi! Tu yahi Somnath mein reh kar apni NEET exam ke liye taiyari karegi," Prafulla declared with a stern voice. The truth was that she hated acting firm with Raavi but she couldn't bear being separated from her.

"Maasi maa please mujhe jaane do Surat! Waha ek bahot aacha coaching centre hai... Somnath mein door door tak itna accha coaching institution nahi hai,'' Raavi retorted in a pleading tone.

"Teri maasi sahi keh rahi hai beta! Aur tu Surat mein rahegi toh tu humse bahot durr hojayegi bacche," Jagat insisted.

"Sirf six months ki toh baat hai! Uske baad toh mein Somnath aa jaungi." Raavi's eyebrows lowered while the corner of her mouth was drawn downwards.

Jaagat knew her well and from his understanding of Raavi, he recognised that this child will not change her mind, thus he decided to give in. "Theek hai tu jaa sakti hai, par meri ek shart hai."

Raavi's eyes widened with excitement as she jumped to hug Jagat. "SACHI?? KYA SHART HAI?" She screamed.

"Tu waha Surat mein aakeli nahi reh sakti, kyunki mera mann nahi manta... isliye tu Surat mein rahegi toh tujhe Suman behen ke ghar mein rehna hoga." He finally replied while trying to remove himself from Raavi's tight embrace.

"Su baat kareche? Tamari Suman ben meri Raavi ko waha apne saath nahi rakhegi," Prafulla exclaimed.

"Mein Hardik se Dhara ka number le lunga aur usse baat karunga. Woh meri baat nahi talegi. Bado ka bahot samaan karti hai woh bacchi." A warm smile spread over his face at the memory of his sister and her family. Deep down, Jagat always felt the heavy burden of betraying his beloved sister and putting her family through hell; this was a wound that even time couldn't heal.

"Mujhe koi problem nahi hai Suman kaki ke ghar mein rehne se!" Raavi squealed. She loved the Pandya's as a child. Pandya Niwas was her second home and her Dhara di and Gaumbi were like a second set of parents. After they left Somnath eight years back, a strange emptiness gripped her heart, the streets of Somnath no longer looked inviting to the twelve-year-old Raavi. Over the years she found out that the Pandya's had started another store at Surat and were doing well for themselves, making her heart fill with joy at their achievement.

Although, her only concern was Shiva. Raavi still remembered how they bickered as kids and the silly fights that would occur between them. The last memory she had of him was when she went to their house to say goodbye but he pushed her off, growling that Chudail's weren't allowed in his house.

***
Pandya Niwas

"Khanna lag gaya hai! Jaldi aao gadhedo!" Dhara yelled for the third time. She shook her head in annoyance, wondering about the day when her devar's would arrive at the breakfast table after one call.

"Agaye hum babhi!" Both Krish and Dev cheered.

"Gaumbi, Shiva kab aaraha hai Jamnagar se?" Dhara questioned while handing out another aloo paratha to Suman.

"Woh toh 4-5 days mein wapas aaraha hai," Gaumbi replied.

*Tring Tring Tring*

Dhara got startled by the sound of the landline ringing. Seeing that everyone was busy eating their breakfast, she got up and picked up the telephone.

Jagat nervously mumbled his greetings, "hello..."

"Hello, app kaun?" Dhara couldn't recognise Jagat's voice since she hadn't talked to him for years. In fact, the Pandya's had cut all of their relations from Somnath, except with Kanta kaki.

"Dhara beta mein Jagat bol raha hoon," he murmured.

"Mama ji app! Aaj kaise yaad kiya?" Dhara was surprised to know it was Jagat.