"Purvi, tum...."
Both their angry voices softened immediately on seeing her open eyes. Dushyant and Ishita rushed towards her with concern writ large on their faces.
"Purvi tum theek ho?"
"Haan bhaiya. Main toh tip-top!", Purvi responded in her own style attempting to lighten the situation and soften the blow for them.
"Mujhe tumse zara bhi baat nahin karni hai Purvi,", Ishita said turning her face away.
"Shayad tumhaari yeh ichcha bahut jaldi puri hone waali hai".
"Kya bole ja rahi hai tu Purvi. Thappad khayegi na tu mujhse? Apne bhai se door jaane ki baatein karti hai?", Dushyant gently chided her as Ishita's eyes became slightly moist. She quickly wiped them off and hugged Purvi.
"Tujhe pata hai mera yeh matlab nahin tha!"
"Haan Ishu. Mujhe sab pata hai. Bhaiya, Pihu ko lene jaana tha? Vaise kitne baje hain abhi?"
"Tum chinta mat karo Purvi. Megha ko bhej diya hai maine. Abhi dopahar ke teen baj rahe hain. Pihu khaana kha kar aati hogi".
"Thank you bhai. Vaise Megha ka bhi jitna thank you karun utna kam hai. Usne in che mahino mein meri bahut madad ki".
"Vaise, Megha hai kaun?", Dushyant asked.
"Bhai hamaare school mein teacher hai. School housing flats mein mere saamne waale ghar mein rehti thi. Hum bahut achche dost ban gaye aur Pihu bhi Megha ke saath kaafi ghul-mil gayi. Do mahine pehle uske flat ki chat leak karne lagi. Toh maine use apne saath rehne ke liye invite kar liya. Tab se hamaare saath rehti hai. Par in cheh mahino mein jab bhi meri tabiyat kharaab hui tab usne meri aur Pihu ki hamesha madad ki".
"Yeh toh achcha hua ki Megha tumhaare pass thi. Par tumhara dimaag kharaab hai kya? Tum aise bina kisi ko bataaye kyun chali aayi? Itna paraaya kar diya hum dono ko tune?", Ishita asked.
"Nahin Ishu. Aisa nahin hai. Tumhe toh sab pata hai main kyun vahaan se aayi", Purvi responded contritely.
"Abhi tak lagta tha pata hai. Par ab lagta hai ki hum bhi galat the ki tumhaari baaton ko aise face value pe le liya. Khair chodo, tumhe isse kya? Haina?", Dushyant responded in kind even more contritely.
Purvi looked directly at the wall in front and did not respond to her but said,
"Woh mujhe puchna tha ki...ki.."
"Kya Purvi? Aise hakla kyun rahi ho?", Ishita asked, pretending not to know.
"Woh..Ishita..woh..."
"Seedhe seedhe kyun nahin kehti? Yeh puchna chaahti ho na ki Rohan aur Kavin kaise hain?", Dushyant asked bluntly.
Purvi looked sideways abashedly.
"Woh dono theek hai bilkul".
"Aur woh...", Ishita began to tell her but then stopped midway when Dushyant indicated a slight no.
"Aur woh kya Ishu?"
As she was about to answer she yelped suddenly when a pair of arms grabbed her legs from behind. The little girl almost screamed, "Maami!Aap yahaan kab aayin?"
"Pihu!Mera bachcha!", Ishita wasted no time in bending down and hugging her tightly to her chest.
"Pasta bachche, Maamu ko toh bhul gaye aap!"
"Aisa nahin ho sakta Maamu. Pihu loves you", she said. Her arms extended, she pointed to be taken into Dush's hug now. Dushyant really loved his Pihu jaan and he had tears in his eyes on seeing her after six whole months. Ishita meanwhile greeted Megha.
As Dushyant put her down, his heart went to his mouth when Pihu's smile vanished on seeing her mother's condition. She visibly trembled when going towards her bed.
"Aap theek ho mumma? Kya hua aapko?"
"Mumma toh bilkul theek hai. Dekho smile bhi kar rahi hai, hai na?"
She opened her arms wide while saying this. Pihu looked at Ishita and when she nodded slightly, rushed into her mother's embrace. Purvi comforted her and hugged her while maintaining a strong hold on herself.
Dushyant came forward and gently disengaged them.
"Bachcha, mumma abhi puri tarah se theek nahin huye na. Toh ab hum unhe thoda aaram karne dein?"
"Bhaiya koi baat nahin. Main..."
Purvi stopped mid-sentence because the door had opened suddenly. As everyone looked in their direction, Rohan rushed in followed by Kavin.
"Kavin uncle! Ro bhaiya!", Pihu exclaimed loudly as she ran towards them. Kavin bent down and hugged her tightly.
"Pihu! Aapko toh itne mahine meri yaad nahin aayi na. Isi liye toh aap mujhse video call bhi nahin karte the na?".
"Nahin Kavin uncle. Main aapko roz yaad karti thi. Woh toh mumma ne kaha ki aap disturb honge aur mujhse promise liya ki main aapse video call nahin karungi. Bus is liye maine video call nahin kiya!", Pihu explained all innocently.
Kavin looked at Purvi, a little accusingly but more remorsefully as she refused to meet his eyes. While he stepped forward, Rohan and Pihu hugged each other, both crying softly.
"Maine aapko bahut miss kiya Ro bhaiya".
Rohan pointed towards her and kept his hand on his heart as if saying "me too". He brought out a small chocolate bar that he meant to share with her. Dush and Ishi moved towards them.
"Rohan beta, yahaan andar kuch khaana nahin la sakte, bahut saare medical devices pade hain na. Hum baahar le chalte hain tum dono ko".
Rohan nodded. Kavin had reached near Purvi's bed and was just about to say something when the room's door opened yet again.
"Pihu beta, yeh lijiye aapka paani."
As the lady looked up at Pihu, the glass dropped on the floor with a loud clatter. Rohan stiffened and looked over at Kavin. Kavin meanwhile, was staring blankly at the new arrival.
"Tum...?"
"Aap..?"
~To be continued~
Who do you think is the lady? Tell me in your comments!
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TERI MERI KAHAANI
FanfictionFirsts are always special! This is a republishing of my first ever story... Now that I have re-joined, I would really like your support and acknowledgement. You will also see previous chapters with the amount of views, votes etc. included. Hope you...
