BALH2 FF: Hum Tum Kitne Paas Hain

Chapter 1-Thank You Ajnabee

Man: Jaan? Hey.

Priya's mood had been awful since last night. First she got a huge order of 800 cupcakes at the bakery, and then she had to see the godawful face of Neeraj at home. Today was no better. She had lost a bet to Sandy and Sara, who had made her go on this blind date. Things were already pretty bad, and they turned worse when her father spew hate on her in the middle of the restaurant. She was now standing in the washroom of the same restaurant, crying her heart out. She was brought out of her thoughts as the stranger's voice fell on her ears.

Man: aise kisi ke bolne se kya farq padta hai yaar. Koi tere looks ke baare mein kuch bhi kahe, tu royegi kya aise?

His voice was husky. It was full of concern. Priya already felt a little calmer under the effect of his voice. "Main koi Manish Malhotra ki model nahi hoon. I know I am average, and I am happy to be average." She knew she wasn't pretty. She knew people around her considered her to be khadoos. Then why was it that it hurt so much, listening to what her father had to say about her? It wasn't as if this was the first time it was happening. Since childhood, all she had ever heard from her father was that she was a curse, a burden. He would leave no opportunity to hurl abuses towards her. Leech. Fraud. She had heard those words from his mouth just earlier that night, when she had gone to his house to ask him to pay the EMI for the bakery. But he had straight up refused. Not only that, he had also reminded her that she meant nothing to him. That she had no right over his property or his house. Not that she wanted anything to do with him or his property. But his words made her feel insignificant, unwanted and small. She had left from his house crying.

Man: Tu toh mera sher hai naa, hmm? Mera rockstar? Aise nahi rote yaar. Arey inn gadhe logon ki baaton mein mat aa, okay? Duniya ka kaam hi yeh hi hai. Motaape ka mazaak udaate hain, koi zyada patla hota hai, uska bhi mazaak udaate hain. Kisi ko naa, apne andar ki khoobsurati nahi dikhti. Lekin mujhe dikhti hai.

"Agar uss ladke ko sirf mere looks mein interest hai naa, toh mujhe uss mein interest nahi hai", she had said to Sara just about an hour back, when she was pestering her to wear jhumkis. Still she found herself crying because of the words of that guy. Raman. Her blind date. He had told her that she needs to work on herself. That she needs to put in efforts to maintain her body, since she was way past her marriage age. What kind of a shallow man says such things? Just as she had decided not to put up with the shit of this man anymore and was about to leave, her father appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of her. He reminded her once again, that she is nothing. That she is undesirable. He passed comments upon her looks, financial status, and even her mother. How vile does a man have to be, to utter such words to his own daughter?

Man: Main jaanta hoon Bri tu bohot khaas hai yaar. Kisi aur ke wajah se naa, main tujhe rone nahi dunga, tu-tu sunn rhi hai main kya keh rha hoon naa? Tere aur zamaane ke beech khada ho jaunga main. Kisi ko taane nahi maarne dunga main.

Bri. Probably the girl this man standing outside was mistaking her for. Maybe his girlfriend? Or wife? Or maybe just a friend. These soothing words were for Bri. Not for her. Nobody had ever said such words to her. Probably she doesn't even deserve to hear these words. Yet she couldn't bring herself to open the door and tell the man that she wasn't the one he was looking for.

Man: Tumhare aas paas koi mirror hai? Uske saamne jao.

Her feet moved automatically towards the washroom mirrors. It was as if this man had her under some kind of a spell.

Man: Okay just-Bri, just look at yourself haan. Jab bhi tum roti ho naa, tumhare chehre ke saamne bohot saare baal aa jaate hain. Unhein hataogi?

She did as she was asked to.

Man: Bass bass bass bass, utne rehne do. Bade achhe lagte hain. Ab batao kya dikhayi de rha hai tumhein?

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her sorry state brought a fresh set of tears in her eyes. The brave, strong, independent Priya that she would pretend to be in front of the world, was nowhere to be seen. "Mujhe koi farq nahi padta koi kya sochta hai", she would tell herself often. Yet here she was, crying over the words of two men who did not matter to her. Whom she would never like to meet ever again in her life. "Mujhe kisi ki zaroorat nahi hai", she would repeatedly tell her sisters. Yet here she was, seeking solace from the words of an unknown man. Was she this big a hypocrite? Would she ever find a person who could understand her inner turmoils? Would she ever find someone who would see her for who she was?

Man: Yes, ek drop dead, gorgeous beauty. Inside out. Tumhari soul se bhi, aur tumhari body se bhi. Please yaar, uss gadhe ko naa, ignore karo. Aur yaad rakho, tum andar se aur bahar se, dono jagah se bohot khoobsurat ho, yeah? You deserve all the love in the world. Never forget that. Tu bhoolne ki koshish bhi karegi naa, toh bhi main yeh baat tujhe bhoolne nahi dunga.

Love. Something Priya thought wasn't for her. "Yeh pyaar, baarish, mohabbat, yeh sab chonchle mere liye nahi hai" she had said to Akki. She had convinced herself that she had no love left inside of her, nor was worthy of receiving love from anybody else. Which was why she had not even married anyone till now. "Yeh shaadi waadi naa, it's all over rated. Yeh koi khushiyon ki chaabi nahi hoti hai. Main khush nahi hoon kya? I'm very happy. Apni family ke liye, apne liye jeeti hoon. And apne balboote pe kahin naa kahin pohonch hi jaungi," she tried convincing herself once again.

Man: Bri? Tu sunn rhi hai naa? Kuch toh bol.

Priya looked towards the door. She had a sudden urge to see the face of the man who had managed to make her feel okay within minutes with his words. "Chot kamzor logon ko lagti hai. Main khud ko kuch lagne nahi de sakti. Humein khush rehne ke liye kisi ki zaroorat nahi hoti. I don't need anyone. I'm fine", she told herself as she wiped her tears, straightened her clothes, picked up her bags and walked towards the door.

She opened the door, to find a very concerned looking face staring at her. A man, probably in his late thirties-early forties. He had a thick beard and curly, black hair. He was wearing an all black suit. With...mustard coloured shoes? It suited him though. He definitely was a good looking man. But what had caught Priya's attention, was his eyes. His blue-blue-green-green coloured eyes. Wow. They were deep, and held a shine. But behind the shine, she could see...sadness?

"Aap....?" the man questioned.

"Woh...andar main hi thi. Aap jisse dhoondh rhe hain, woh yahan nahi hai" she spoke softly, finally finding her voice. Her head was down as she spoke.

The man was closely observing her. She could feel his gaze on her.

"Judge kar rhe hain. Soch rhe honge ki mujh jaisi ladki aise fancy restaurant mein kya kar rhi hai. I am an alien here", Priya thought.

"Could I get you some water?"

Priya looked up at the man with shock. His voice still held concern. For her? That was new. No man had ever spoken to her in this manner, with such concern. Except Akki. Otherwise, every man around her had constantly taunted her, spoken rudely to her or broken her trust. She couldn't get herself to trust men again now, which is probably why she would talk to them coldly. She would reject them, before they could reject her. How could she trust men, when her own father refused to consider her as his daughter? When Neeraj, whom she had dated for four years, eventually left her to marry her younger sister?

But then, what was it about this man, that she felt so at ease? That she did not have an urge to yell at him and tell him how pathetic all men are? She had never seen him before, never met him before. Then what was it about him, that gave her such comfort?

"Excuse me? Aap theek toh hain naa?"

His voice broke her chain of thoughts.

"Yes."

"Thanks" she quickly added.

"Kis liye?" the man asked, tilting his head, raising an eyebrow.

"Woh sab kehne ke liye jo abhi aapne kaha. Mujhe pata hai woh shabd mere liye nahi the, phir bhi. Kabhi kabhi ajnabee ki kahi huyi baat zyada sukoon de jaati hai. Thank you, ajnabee."

The man's eyes were still fixed on her. His eyes showed a myriad of emotions. What was his eyes conveying? Shock? Gratefulness? Admiration? Sympathy? Pain? She couldn't figure out. But she couldn't get herself to stop looking at his eyes. Those blue-blue-green-green eyes. They were truly captivating.

"Ram Kapoor" the man introduced himself, forwarding his hand with a larger than life smile.

"Priya Sood" she said, hesitantly shaking his hand. With a little smile.

This is so different from what I have written till now. I saw a clip of this scene from Episode 3 and instantly felt like doing something with it.

Watched the first three episodes to write this, and oh man! What beautiful characters, what lovely dialogues, and what gorgeous frames. Are we watching the same show? I feel so robbed.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Do let me know your thoughts! Lots of love! xx