#12 - Birla House
8:30 PM
Abhi tapped his fingers impatiently on the dinner table. His eyes were glued to the door of his room upstairs. Abhimanyu had almost sprinted back home after his surgery and OPD duty to be there for dinner, giving Manjiri a pleasant shock in ages. And while all the family members one-by-one filled the dining table, the one person Abhimanyu was desperately waiting for, was nowhere to be found.
Manjiri noticed Abhimanyu's eyes waiting for Akshara, but had her hands full. She nudged Nishtha to go and call Akshara for dinner.
Abhi found himself tapping his feet.
"Lekar aaon usey?" Abhi whispered to himself, rolling his Mahadev's locket between his fingers, and then tapped his forehead. 'Stupid. Baith gaya seedhe dinner table pe. Saath hi lekar aana chahiye tha.'
Abhimanyu immediately stood up from the dinner table to bring Akshara when Nishtha came back with a dejected face.
"Chachi, Akshara Bhabhi ne kaha ke woh dinner pe nahi aayengi. Unhe... bhook nahi hai."
Manjiri's heart dropped to her stomach at Abhimanyu's sight. Blinking his tears back, Abhi plastered a small smile on his face and excused himself from the table.
One by one, everybody finished their dinner and left, but Manjiri stood where she was, defeated. Nishtha told her how Akshara's first reaction was an eager step forward, but then something struck her, and she immediately stepped back in hesitation. The scars were too deep, Manjiri had started to realise, and it was going to take a lot for Abhimanyu to win Akshara over her fear of abandonment.
Away from all the noise of the house, Akshara sat on a bench at the terrace, with her guitar lying beside. Lost in the starry sky enough to not notice Manjiri coming up, Akshara got startled when Manjiri placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry beta, woh tu dinner ke liye nahi aayi," Manjiri sat next to her, "main samajh sakti hoon. Lekin doodh toh peena padega."
Akshara hummed in response, but her eyes kept on staring at the sky with a longingness that stirred something in Manjiri's heart.
She placed the glass on the table and caressed Akshara's hair.
"Kya soch rahi hai beta?"
Akshara's trance broke. She looked at Manjiri and immediately pried her eyes away, "Kuch nahi, aunty, bas yun hi..."
"Aunty?" Manjiri's heart pricked, "Kya tu.. kabhi humein maaf nahi karegi?"
Akshara sat silent.
"Main ab bhi teri maa hoon." Manjiri touched her chin, "Lekin aunty? Ek shabd, apne se seedha paraya kar deta hai Akshu!"
"Aisi hi..." Akshara stared at the sky, and spoke up in the softest voice possible, "Aisi hi.. kisi aadhe Chand ki Karwa Chauth wali raat thi," tears shimmered in her eyes, "aap ne... humare beech rishte ka naam na milne par, mujhe apne se paraya kar diya tha." She looked at Manjiri with hurt in her eyes, "Divorce par sign toh Abhimanyu aur maine kiye the, lekin woh rishta tootne se pehle ek maa ne apni beti se rishta tod diya tha," her voice cracked, "yaad dilaya tha ki... paraya toh, paraya hi hota hai. Meri ma," she pointed to the sky, "wahan hai."
Manjiri felt her heart breaking at Akshara's words.
"I'm sorry," Akshara cleared her throat and composed herself, "maine aapka dil dukhane ke liye nahi kaha yeh sab." She sighed and glanced up. "Lekin jaise, yeh chand... kam hote hote Amavas ki raat aa jayegi, waise hi din ghat-te ghat-te... ek raat woh bhi ayegi jab main yahan se chali jaungi," she looked at Manjiri, "hamesha ke liye. Isliye keh rahi hoon, umeed mat rakhiye."
YOU ARE READING
Socha Na Tha - Abhira SS
Fanfiction"Ek din aap yun, humko mil jayenge, Phool hi phool raahon mein khil jayenge, Maine socha na tha!" Akshara's giggles echoed in the hall of the Birla Mansion through the speaker as Abhi paused, twirled her around and lifted her high up in his arms. He...
