𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙵𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚃𝚘 𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚔𝚢

9. 𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌!

A middle-aged man and lady sat on a sofa, with a gurl in front of them.

Man: Shreya beta....hum..Hume kuch baat karni hai terese isiliye tujhe yahaan Bulaya hai...

Shreya was the girl, her father Kamlesh Singh was the man, and her mother Kavita Singh was the lady.
Shreya: Haan papa boliye.... *she said without looking, as she was heading for work, Shreya was arranging her belongings in her purse*
Kavita: Beta...dekh...tu please mana mat karna...
Shreya: Maa, jaldi bolo, aaplogon ko pata hai mujhe office Jaana Hai.
Kamlesh: Beta, dekh humne tere liye ek acha sa ladka dhunda hai, ab teri Shaadi ki bhi umra hogayi hai...Hume lagta hai yahi sahi waqt hai.
Shreya: Ye...yeh..aap sab kya keh rahe hain? Shaa...Shaadi.. ladka...
Kavita: Tere papa bilkul sahi keh rahe hain beta...
Shreya: Maa...tum..ye kya keh rahi ho...shaadi...mujhe abhi bohot kuch karna hai...aise kaise.. *she fumbled*
Kavita: Beta, sun..
Kamlesh: Bas!! *he shouted* bohot hua Shreya, jitna padhna likhna tha tune karliya. Humne teri baat maani, ab tu hamari baat Maan. Yeh le ladke ki photo *He flung the photo onto the table.* bohot acha ladka hai, acha khaasa kamata bhi hai aur isi se teri shaadi hogi. Bas baat khatam.

Shreya was on the verge of bursting into tears. She rushed into her room, slammed the door shut, and sat down beside the bed. She was crying bitterly.

Kavita: Shreya... beta darwaaza khol, baat toh sun... *her mother was banging the door and shouting*
Shreya gathered herself, wiped her tears away, and pushed open the door. Her mother entered the room and forced her to sit on the bed. Shreya grabbed her in a tight hug and cried.

Kavita: Shhh....bachcha rote nahi hain, dekh mujhe pata hai yeh sab tere liye bohot kathin hai, par beta..sun...baat sun..

Shreya broke the hug and wiped her tears.

Kavita: Beta dekh, hum middle class log hain, tujhe Pata hi hai tere papa ki haalat, unki tabiyat kharab rehti hai, Kab kya hojaye kya pata...mujhe pata hai tere sapne..par beta, jitna hosakta tha usse zyada ache se tujhe padhaya likhaya sab kiya..par ab apne papa ki haalat dekh beta, vo aur kuch nahi karpayenge tere liye...isiliye ki tu uss ladke se shaadi karle, vo bohot acha hai beta, hamesha khush rakhega tujhe...
Shreya: Par maa....... Ru...Rudra...main...main usse pyaar...karti hun....*she said between her sobs*
Rudra was a special friend of hers; he always went out of his way to help her family, and her family knew him well. However, Shreya loved him but never confessed since she thought she had no place in his life.
Kavita: Pyaar? Tu...tu usse pyaar karti hai? Beta...dekh sach kadwa hota hai, par vo ek Don hai, uski aur hamari duniya bohot alag hai. Vo logon ko maarta hai, darata hai aur ...yahi Kaam hai uska... aur humlog ek aam aadmi hai beta, kya...kya pata kisi din vo apne Kaam ke liye...Teri....tere saath kuch galat karde.....beta, hosakta hai vo acha ho par uska Kaam toh yahi hai na...
Shreya looked at her mother with teary eyes as she was requesting her.
Kavita: Beta.... zindagi me jo Sabse kathin faisale hote hain na, wahi faisale aapki zindagi ke liye sabse ache hotee hain.....beta ek baar apne papa ko dekh...bas unke liye..beta, main...main haath..jodti-
Shreya jerked off her mother's hands.
Shreya: Maa, yeh kya kar rahi ho...*she looked at her father who was sitting on the sofa taking his meds, she took a deep breath* aaplog jab jisse kahoge main usse shaadi karungi *she said with a expressionless face*
Kavita: Hey bhagwaan, meri bachhii!!!!. She kissed her forehead and hugged her out of happiness.

Kavita: ay ji suniye, taiyyariyan shuru kariye. She left the room saying.

Here, Shreya sat shattered and lost.
Shreya: I'm sorry Rudra...mujhe...mujhe ye karna padega... *she said sobbing*

*********

Karan was sitting in his room, his head resting on the bed's headrest. His eyes were shut. Monami waited outside the door, staring at him.