Meri Musibat [Tere Bin FF]

21. murtasimbakri - matchmaker extraordinaire

A/N: I had so much fun reading through your reactions to the last chapter, I am glad y'all liked it as much as you did. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the full u-turn we've made for Murtasim! We check in with Murtasimbakri this chapter, it's a fun one, I hope y'all enjoy it!

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Murtasimbakri was on a mission. The night was cool, the stars twinkled like scattered jewels in the sky, but her mind was fixed on something far more pressing. She had evaded the vigilant eyes of the one she dubbed Confused Aatma and had deftly made her way into Human Mom's room. It was a daring feat, but considering Confused Aatma was busy assisting the injured Bipolar Lawman, she had succeeded in her mission.

Life had taken a peculiar turn since her name had changed from Murtasimbakri to Rangeeli. She reminisced about the days when she was the queen of the Haveli and the village, roaming with an air of authority and grace, allowed to go wherever she wished. But now, confined to the cozy yet limiting boundaries of the backyard house Human Dad had lovingly constructed for her, she yearned for more. It was a quaint place, with the finest grass and a sense of privacy, yet it lacked the grandeur and warmth she once knew...and it lacked the thing she loved most of all.

Murtasimbakri was no ordinary goat. Spoiled by the affections of Human Dad, she had developed a peculiar addiction – an undying fascination for television. This mysterious flat box was a portal to myriad worlds, a window into the dramas of countless lives, and she couldn't resist its allure.

On this particular night, as she nestled quietly in the shadows of Human Mom's room, her eyes were glued to the flat screen. The movie playing was a tale of lost love and despair, a human man losing his beloved to another due to his own stupidity and succumbing to the depths of sorrow. He drowned his misery in a strange brown liquid, stumbled through life, and seemed on the brink of destruction. There was a beautiful woman by his side, yet his heart ached for the one he called Paro.

Murtasimbakri watched intently, her head tilted in contemplation. As the human man on the television wallowed in his heartbreak, she couldn't help but draw parallels to her own impending household tragedy. The thought of Human Dad turning into a replica of this desolate figure was more than her goat-heart could bear. She liked Human Dad best when he smiled and laughed, which was a rarity when Human Mom wasn't by his side...and it seemed that would be the case going forward.

Next week would herald the marriage of Human Mom to the Golden Retriever Man, as far as Murtasimbakri knew. The very idea filled her with an indescribable sorrow. She envisioned Human Dad, forlorn and lost, much like the man on the screen, perhaps even secretly nursing his sorrows with the mysterious brown liquid. She had never seen this potion in the Haveli, but a man of Human Dad's stature surely had access to such misery-mitigating concoctions.

In her mind's eye, she saw Human Dad wasting away, a shadow of his former self, abandoned and desolate without Human Mom. The scenario was unbearably tragic. Murtasimbakri let out a series of sorrowful bleats, much quieter than she wanted them to be. She couldn't risk being caught by Confused Aatma, who would promptly evict her from her coveted spot in front of the television.

As her bleats echoed softly in the quiet room, Murtasimbakri's thoughts turned to the village and Human Friend. Oh, how she missed those simpler times! Back then, love and happiness seemed so easy, so attainable. But everything was topsy-turvy since the divorce, she thought her human parents were sharing custody but Human Dad had been missing of late.

Human Mom was about to marry someone else, Human Dad was on the brink of a dramatic decline, and here she was, a mere goat, caught in the whirlwind of human drama too burdensome for her petite body. The world, Murtasimbakri lamented, was full of pyaar ke dushman. Why couldn't everyone just be happy and in love like in the old days? She wanted to run around the haveli and catch the loving looks exchanged between Human Mom and Human Dad. Human Dad had stood behind pillars or just outside doors, watching Human Mom like she was the very air that kept him alive, and she had been no different. When Human Dad wasn't around, all Human Mom ever talked about was Murtasim, Murtasim this, Murtasim that, but she didn't even say his name these days.