Isha went into her room and locked it. Then sat there only. She trued to control her tears but soon it became out of control. She started crying...
— Ahhhhhhhh! Mujhse nahi horaha... Mujhse nahi horaha. Mujhe jaana hai uske paas bappa, mujhe woh chahiye. Kuch nahi chahiye or... Mujhe mera Shantanu wapas de do. Plzzzz... Sat saal maine usse duri rakhi, uske liye usko choda, apne naam ko ek or mard ke saath joda. Abb nahi horaha, mujhe uske paas jana hai. Mujhe uske paas jaana hai!
She started scratching her own hand. She just want peace. And she knew, her Peace stay in Shantanu only. She felt breathless for heavy crying. Still, she was unable control her tears. She started rubbing her chest. A pain started on her chest. She started whispering,
— Na... Nahi horaha... Mu... Mujhse nahi horaha. Mu... Mujhe Shantanu chahiye. Mujhe Shantanu chahiye. Saans nahi aaraha. K... Kya karu!
She went near the table and took the glass in her trembling hand and tried to pour some water in it. But as tears streamed down her face, her trembling hands lost their grip, and the glass fell, crashing to the floor, a poignant reminder of her shattered dreams.
With tears streaming down her face, she sat amidst the shattered remnants of the glass, her heart as broken as the fragments she gathered. And then, in a moment of unbearable sorrow, she began to scratch her own hand with a jagged shard, as if trying to etch her pain onto her skin. After moments she saw her left hand bleeding like hell. But now, she just doesn't care. She sat there and again started sobbing. Her hand was bleeding just like her heart.
It was late night. Ishaan was sitting in his room. He had to tell everything to Savi so he called her. Savi picked up the call soon.
— Kya hua hai Ishaan? Itni raat ko kyu call kiya?
— Kuch baat thi...
— Bolo...
— Isha Mam ko kuch hua hai.
— Kya matlab?
— Ajj Shaam ko woh or iss homestay ki malkin didi kahi gayi thi... Koi Sir ji naam ke insaan ke paas. Or waha se aane ke baad se mam ajeeb behave karne lagi. Woh darwaja bandh karke bohot der baithi rahi, raat ko khana khane bulaya to bhi bahar nahi aayi. Boli ki woh khana nahi khayegi. Kya hua kuch samajh nahi aaraha mujhe...
Savi thought something, then said,
— Ishaan, yeah Sir ji koi jaana pehechana insaan to nahi hai?
— Matlab, yeah Sir ji Shantanu sir to nahi hai?
— My god! Woh agar mile to mein...
— Tumko chodo. Bohot kuch ulta hua hai Ishaan. Pehelibaat Shantanu Sir and Mam mein kuch to tha. They were very much in love. Phir bhi yeah Atul Sir se kaise Shaadi kar liya mam ne! Shantanu sir aise ghar, kaam saab chodh ke kyu chale gaye? Kaha gaye? Isha mam kyu chupchup reheti hai? Kyu woh itni badal gayi! Bohot sawaal hai, paar jawaab nahi hai.
— Mein kya karu abb?
— Mam ko bulao, kuch khilao. Mera maan bol rhaa hai ki woh kuch nahi khayi hai. Pehele yeah karo, phir dekhte hai.
— Accha, bye.
— Bye.
Ishaan went to Isha's room and knocked the door.
— Mam, mam bahar aayiye... Mam!
The door opened. But he found noone. The door was temporarily closed.
— Itni raat ko Mam kaha chali gayi!
**************************
In a daze of desperation, Isha walked, her feet tracing a path that led nowhere, her soul searching for a refuge that never existed. With each step, she felt the weight of her hopelessness, her tears falling like rain upon the pavement, as she succumbed to the abyss of her own despair.
Isha's mind was a maze of her own making, so consumed by her inner turmoil that she failed to notice the danger hurtling towards her, a truck barreling down on her like a harbinger of doom.
Just as the truck was about to hit her, Isha realized someone was pulling her away from the path of certain death, saving her from the jaws of fate!
Isha grabbed that person's shirt with all her strength and closed her eyes. After some moment she opened her eyes only to see Shantanu staring towards her bleeding hand. She said,
— Tu... Tum agar nahi hote to ajj...
— Yeah kaise hua?
Shantanu was lost in the blood of Isha. Everything became blur infront of him. He screamed in the middle of the road,
— Apna khayal rakhna kyu nahi sikhata tumhe koi? Mujhse nahi sikhi, Atul se nahi sikhi... Kyu Isha? Saabka khayal hota hai tumhe, apne alwah. Ekbar bhi nahi sochti ho ki tumhara dard kisi dusre ko bhi dard de sakta hai!
Isha felt peace after decades. The man standing infront of her was her Shantanu, her caring man...
— Kya hua bolo...
Isha said at last,
— Glass uthate waqt kat gaya...
— Or tumne dawai lagana sahi nahi samjha... Or itni raat ko aise pagalo ki tarah kon raaste mein chalta hai? Kya ho gaya hai tumhe Isha?
Isha wanted to hug give tightly. She felt the greed to touch Shantanu and feel Shantanu's touch. But soon she understood the circumstances. She can't take any risk. She said,
— Mein ghar jaati hu. Thank you.
And as soon as she tried to walk she felt pain in her legs. A stone made its way into her shoe and the harshness of it made a cut on her skin. Shantanu was silently watching this. He can't watch this anymore. He immediately took her into his arms, but like the past days.
Isha's heart wanted this only. She silently enjoyed the closeness. At this moment, she forgot everything. She just forgot akka Saheb, Atul, Society, her identity... She is now Shantanu's love. The only identity she had for now was Shantanu's life...
_____________________________________
To be continued...
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Author ❤️
