It's Just You And Me

Chapter 47

"Chup karke usse mafi mang le.... aaj yaha se shati se nikal jana hai, pehle hi apna sab kuch ja chuka hai agar uske pati ka demag ghum gaya toh bacha kucha bhi ny rahe ga apne pass, uska bas chale toh humme jail bhi bhej sakta hai" Chacha ji pulled his wife towards Shehnaaz's room. "Apka kuch samjh ny aata, kabhi khud uss ladki par chidte ho kabhi khud mujhe mafi mangne ke liye bolte ho" Chachi retorted but went quite when she saw Chacha ji glaring at her. Sidharth was lost in her and whatever happened last night when the knock on the door pulled him out of his trace and also made her wake up with a jerk, she was breathing heavily, she got scared even with a simple knock on the door, he wondered if she's the same girl who had given the word back to her Chachi few hours ago. "Kuch ny hai Shehnaaz bas kisi ne knock kiya hai ...... ruk mai dekh kar aata hu" he went to open the door but not before hugging her to calm her down. Last night's dream had affected her mentally again, she hated it so much but this dream were like inevitable.
"Beta humme jaane se pehle bas ek bar Shehnaaz se baat karni hai, maafi mangna hai phir hum kabhi usse pareshan ny kare ge" Sidharth was standing as a barrier for his wife holding the door not letting them in. He didn't wanted her to start her day after seeing these two disgusting faces and also she was still recovering from last night's dream. "Behtar hoga ap log aise hi chale jaye usne aise hi bohot kuch jhela hai.... aur abhi toh aplog soch bhi ny sakte agar mera demag ghuma toh mai kya kar sakta hu" he scoffed, Chachi ji inwardly was even ready to leave. "Humme Usse bas mafi mangi hai warna saari zindagi humme yeh baat khati rahe ge" Chacha ji requested politely. Shehnaaz who was listening everything from behind pulled Sidharth and came in sight of them, her face was filled with nothingness, no emotions at all which somewhere scared Sidharth. "Kis-kis chiz ki maafi mange ge ap dono? Uski jab ap dono ne Abhay se shadi ke liye haan bol di thi paiso ke liye ya uske liye jab mujhe vo 3 saal apne ghar par rakh kar mere sath naukaron se bhi bura behave kiya sirf mere papa ki property ke liye ya phir sabse bura jiske liye shayad apko Baba ji bhi maaf ny kare ge..... jab apne mujhe paiso ke liye unn ghatiyan logo ko baech diya tha? sirf 18 saal ki thi mai.... ek bar bhi ny socha ap dono ne, paise dekhe aur utha kar de diya Sana ko unn anjaan logo ko.....isme se kis chiz ki maafi mangne aaye hai pehle yeh bataye....." her voice chocked with her brimming eyes but her face was still the same, empty!
Sidharth's feet felt no ground when he heard the last line, he took the support of the near by table to stand still, what was she talking about? why was he not aware about any of that? His head felt like it would just burst out any moment.
Both of them were standing quiet with absolutely no answer. Chacha ji was standing there with his head bowed down and Chachi had absolutely no shame visible on her face.
"Nahi hai na koi jawab? Chachi apko toh kuch bolna hi bekar hai ap jaisi aurat maine aaj tak ny dekhi.... apne jo bola vo chup chap kiya but mujhe kya pata tha ap itni matlabi hai....(sob) Meri jagah koi aur hota toh kab ka apke torture se thak kar khud ko maar hi leta par baba ji hamesha meri himmat bane rahe......(sob) apki hi meherbani hai ki aaj tak mai uss din ko ny bhula paye jab ap dono ne mujhe..... choro kya hi bolu mai (disgusted look)........ Chacha apke bhai ki hi beti hu mai.... mere papa ji apko sabse zada mante thi sabse zada pyar karte thi par apne unka bharosa tod diya....." her sobs now slowly converting into cry. "Beta humme bilkul ny pata tha ki vo log...." Shehnaaz cuts off chacha ji in between "Ki vo log human trafficking karte thi..... nahi pata tha apko maan liya par aplog kon sa unn se kam thi, bina soche de diya mujhe unn Jaanwaron ke hathon..... mai kya hi apko maaf karu ge mai hoti hi kon hi..... apko toh Baba ji maaf kar sakte hai..... bohot seh liya hai maine ab mai zindagi mei aage badh chuki hu aur mai bohot khush hu Sidharth ke sath isliye please ab aplog mujhe maaf karye aur jaaye yaha...... please.... please jaye yaha se" she broke down falling on her knees folding her hands in front of them, Sidharth immediate help her arms and pulled her up, seeing her in this miserable condition was breaking him apart. "Aplog please Yaha se jaaye isse pehle mai kuch ulta sidha kar baithu" Sidharth gritted his teeth. Chacha ji folded his hand, his head was down out of sham and they both left, Chachi ji was still not affected. They met with the rest of the family and Chacha ji apologized to them too but he only received a cold look in response.

"Shehnaaz" that's all he could manage to say while she was crying in his arms. She very well knew he wanted answers and she was now ready to share this terrifying part of her life with him, she had to let it out and she would do it in front of him because he deserves to know. "Maine tujhse ek baat share ny kari hai aaj tak kyuki mai uss bare mei kabhi baat ny karna chahti thi par aaj karu ge kyuki zaruri hai...... tujhe janne ka pura haq hai" she spoke in her muffled voice from his chest. She took a deep breath wiping her face, Sidharth has spontaneously brought the glass of water in front of her lips, she sipped a little water and nodded as she was done. Sidharth sat there quietly and let her speak up all that she had kept inside her for so long.

Flashback to when Shehnaaz had just turned 18. She was living with her Chacha Chachi since she was 15, She had decided she would run away to her Grandma once she turns 18 as her schooling will be done by then and legally she can make her own decisions after that and can also claim for whatever money or property her parents had left for her. Well the money even if she doesn't get will be ok for once but freedom was something she was seeking for. "Oyeee Shehnaaz Gill kidhar mari padi hai.... mera Assignment teri mari hue maa banai gi ya tera baap?" Mayera said entering the storeroom which was supposedly Shehnaaz's bedroom. "Vo mare hue mere maa baap tumhare Bade papa aur badi mummy thi" she back answered her in a low voice while writing her notes in her notebook, unbothered to even look at her. "Bohot muh chal raha hai na tumhara..... ruko mai mummy ko bata kar aati hu wahi tumhara muh band karwae ge" she left to complain to her mother and now Shehnaaz was sure she'll be getting another set of abuses and beating by her Chachi ji. She was so used to this that it hardly used to hurt her anymore, the mental pain was more than the physical one. "Shehnaaaaz!! Shehnaaaaz!!" chachi ji entered the room yelling her name, she flinched in fear, "Yeh pehen aur 5 min mei hath muh dho kar bahar aa samjhi..... ek min bhi late kiya na toh tujhe raat ko khana ny dungi mai" she threatened and left. That's very strange, instead of beating she gave her new clothes and asked her to get dressed. She decided not to waste her time on thinking and get changed. After exactly 5 mins Chachi came and took her outside in the living area, there were this man and woman seated who looked like they belong from a well-to-do family, they looked like a couple. "Yeh hai Shehnaaz..... kya batao jab bhabhi aur bhaisahab guzar gai toh iss bichari ko toh mai aise akele dekh hi ny saki..... ek min ny socha aur le aayi usse yaha" she had those crocodile tears in her eyes. Such a lier, Shehnaaz thought. In reality this woman was not at all ready to keep her here for her studies but after knowing the money her parents had left for her they couldn't deny and bring her home with them. "Humme ladki pasand hai, umer se humme koi problem ny humne bola hi hai.... isse padhna hai toh shadi ke baad hum isse padha denge..... aur hum shadi bhi apne gaon mei karana chahate hai toh....." That elegant looking lady spoke giving an earth shattering shock to Shehnaaz. "Khul kar boliye isme itna sochna kya hai" Chacha ji said. "Vo kal hum wapes nikal rahe hai toh Shehnaaz ko bhi sath le jana chahate hai.... waha iski aur mere bete ki shadi karwa denge aplog shadi mei aa jayega hum address bhej denge tab tak yeh bhi apne hone wale pariwar se ghul mil legi" That lady continued, Shehnaaz looked at Chacha and Chachi with her pleading eyes but all in vain. "Mujhe koi dikkat ny hai bas vo jo maine apse baat ki thi....." Chachi ji tried to remind her about something who others couldn't understand. "Uske ap bilkul tention mat kijiye" The lady assured. Chachi ji had demanded a good amount from them lying about their poor financial condition in order to let Shehnaaz marry their son and they agreed. Chacha ji honestly had no idea what his wife had done behind his back and was also sceptical about the whole thing and was having second thoughts about letting Shehnaaz go with them but he also wanted to get rid of her so he kept quiet. She was shattered with all these things, was she such a burden even after working for hours like a slave and never demanding anything from them?
Present time.
"Sidharth mai bohot darr gai thi mujhe bohot ganda feel hua tha bohot negative vibes aa rahi thi..... raat mei maine chacha chachi ko khush dekha ...... vo log mere jaane se khush thi, kya mai itni buri hu Sidharth? itna kuch karne ke baad bhi vo log mujhe ek bojh se zada kuch ny samjhte thi..... manhus bolte thi mujhe..... kya mai manhus hu Sidharth?" her every lines were feeling like a knife stabbing his heart. " Pagal aise kyu bakwas kar rahi hai tu toh sabse pyari hai Shehnaaz, meri jaan hai tu" he whispered which was audible to her. He pulled her in a hug seeing her eyes tearing up again, he rubbed her back pecking her head in order to give her strength to speak further.