Faint voices disturbed Ranbir.
"Panditji aa gaye hain.", Dida told someone, her voice sounding lifeless.
Vikram held her shoulders and made her sit down comfortably on the bed, "Main dekhke aata hoon. Aap baithiye."
He was about to go, but stopped. Turning around, he warned her in concern, "Aur kal ki tarah koi kadam nahi uthayengi aap. Aapko Prachi aur Ranbir ki kasam hain."
Ranbir rubbed his eyes amd woke up, only to find himself beside Dida, on her bed. However, his body seemed to be glowing. Surprised, he scanned himself and found himself wearing a simple white kurti. He looked at Dida and wondered what Vikram was talking about. Kal ki tarah? Kya? What step?
He opened his mouth to ask Dida about it, but stopped. She won't be able to hear him.
"Mujhe pata hain tu mere paas hain puttar.", Dida's sudden words startled Ranbir.
Shocked, he looked at her and asked, "K-kaise?"
Dida replied nonchalantly, staring ahead, "Main tum dono ko mehsoos kar sakti hoon."
"D-dono ko? Matlab aap...use bhi...?",
"Hmm.", She replied again, her voice void of any emotions.
"Kahan hain vo?", He asked immediately.
"Vahin jahan uska dil tha.", Dida told, without shifting her gaze in the entire conversation.
He looked down shamefully as she uttered the word, "tha". However, as he was about to ask further, she covered herself with her blanket and turned her back towards him.
Sighing, he got off the bed and went to pull the door. To his surprise, his hand simply went through it. Right. He was dead. Crossing it easily, he began to wander around the house.
Dark. Dark everywhere even though it was bright, sunny day. As he entered the hall, he found a Panditji discussing something with Vikram. A strange surge of anger passed through his being. Even he was one of the reasons for the chaotic life that he led the previous months. Frowning, he looked away and found Aryan and Shahana sitting beside each other, with Shahana's head on Aryan's shoulder, her face expressionless, while his face glazed with dried tear marks. He felt angry again. They should've helped. He looked away, trying to shake off the feeling of anger that kept rising inside him for every single reason.
He walked some distance and halted in front of Sid's room. The door was wide open. He entered inside only to find him crying bitterly in his sister, Mihika's arms. What was she doing here? He observed her carefully. Scratches covered her sleeveless arms, stains of dried blood on the either sides of her lips suggested that a cloth had been tied into her mouth for a long time, her feet displaying small injuries. What? His mind suddenly replayed the previous day's incident of how Sid had dragged both, *** and her Buji ruthlessly. So they had something to do with it. Maybe they had blackmailed him by kidnapping Mihika. This time, his not anger, but sharp arrows of guilt pierced his heart. Not once, but twice, he had accused his brother who had been caught in a tight spot. Restraining the tears that had filled his eyes, he moved away.
Automatically, his feet seized in front of Pallavi's room, who was seated on her bedpost, crying tears of guilt. And for the first time, he felt immense fury bubbling inside him. "Apne bete ki khushi se zyada pyaari aapko aapki ego ho gayi. Usse bhi mujhe koi fark nahi padta. Main aapki laadli *** jaisa nahi hoon ki har baat mein jealous ya insecure ho jaaun. Lekin aapke iss ego ki vajah se aapne gunah kar diye Mo-nope. Mrs. Pallavi. Aap meri Maa nahi hain.", He muttered and left.
