Thikaana

Seventy Three

A week today. It had been seven whole days since she had come to Punjab. Since her heart, her soul, her everything had been pulled out of her body and left behind in Mumbai. Sana had been the same. These four five days were just the same as the first two days of her being here. Her parents demeaning, belittling, crushing her every single moment as they went up to Akshay's house every single day without fail and begged them to take their daughter in. every time they refused, or asked for more time to think, they came back home even harsher and gave Sana hell. She, however was no different. The same, lifeless, dull, hollow girl that had returned to Punjab. The only time her eyes turned red and shed tears was when she tried calling him, reaching out to him, every time she remembered his eyes, that was the only time she cried heartbreakingly.

She didn't even know how these four five days had passed by. All her moments were only about him, thinking of him, crying for the pain she had caused him, missing his arms, his warm hold. She had no idea how many days had gone by, for her, it felt like years and years had passed by. Her days, they were all the same. Every single moment was just the same. She had literally shrunken down so much, her face, her eyes, her skin, they were all so dull, so pale, so lifeless. She was barely eating or drinking. She constantly felt like her energies were running out.

Her parents were not leaving any moment to torture her. Her father was so blinded by his rage and ego that despite Akshay calling it off and walking out of their house five days ago, he was still not giving up. he went to their house every single day to beg them and ask for their forgiveness, he would tell everyone to keep the wedding preparations going on. he was adamant to get her married to him.

Sidharth was no different. He had missed another domestic flight the he had to take for a day. His mother would desperately feed him and after three or four bites, he would just push her hand away. The circles under his eyes were so dark at this point, his eyes always o red, so bloodshot, it scared his mother. He wouldn't shave, his hair always a mess. He was finding it so hard to even fall asleep because every single time he shut his eyes, he would hear her laughter ringing through his ears, her sweet voice calling his name, the feeling of her body wrapped up in his arms and he would hysterically wake up and then cry. He had snatched the phone away from his mother's hand twice when she had tried calling Sana on her own.

He was just being extremely stubborn and blinded by rage, and his mother knew. He was just tearing himself apart in the process.

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"Iss larki ne tou koi kasar nahi chori meri poore pind mai naak katwaane aur izzat dubaane ki. Mai isko chorunga nahi. Kuch mahine Mumbai ki hawa kya lag gayi hai, samajhne lag pari hai k khudi sab karegi aur hum tou kuch hain hi nahi iski zindagi mai. Ye jaanti nahi hai phir apne baap ko. Mai bhi AKSHAY SE HI iski shaadi karwa k rahunga. Roz jaunga unke ghar, jab tak wo maan nahi jatay, jaata rahunga. Unke kitne ehsaan hain hum pe. Shuru k waqt pe unho ne mere kaam ko kitna sahara diya, kitne paise daale mere kaam ko chalaane mai. Iss larki ne Kisi bhi cheez ka maan nahi rakha. Mai chorunga nahi isko"  her father spat angrily in the lounge after coming back from Akshay's house.

His father had said such derogatory things for Sana and had blamed her parents for bringing her up like this.

They had ridiculed her, splashed dirt on her character, but her father, he had silently taken it all in and in fact even agreed to some of the things. Just so that they forgive her and form this alliance back. Akshay's father was an influential man in the village, so was Sana's own father, but not more than Akshay's and so he didn't want to leave any stone unturned to get Sana married in to the family so that he can always be on the good side of Akshay's father, for his own benefits.

"Theek keh rahay ho jee aap, iss kuddi ne tey koi kasar nahi chaddi..ajeeb zidd laga k bethi hai. Usko humara, humari izzat ka, kisi cheez ka koi khayal hi nahi" her mother too added up.