Ishqana Dil

Part 14

She closed her eyes when her mother uttered those last words. She had known something terrible would happen for the past few days... but she could never have imagined it would be so bad... She did not know what to think, how to feel... She had gone numb all over... What could Rachi Di be going through? With an aching heart, she looked at her older sister and found Jazz doing the same, whereas their mother had fallen to the ground, sobbing at her helplessness.

Rachi Di's face was blank. She was staring straight ahead, without really seeing anything. "No," she finally whispered. "No."

Amaya felt a tear run down her cheeks, then another, and another... Her heart was torn in two... Once again, she had an inkling of what was going to happen and the more she refused to trust it, the more assertive it became...

Rachita got to her feet and walked to their mother to stand above her. "Mamma... Please, tell me this is a joke. A very disgusting joke. Please. I am Dad's daughter, right? Like Amu and Jazz? Please, Mamma... Don't do this to me..." She crouched and held Sneha by the shoulders to force her to stand up again. "Mamma! You cannot say something like that to me! I am Dad's daughter! I am Rishi Mathur's daughter!"

"I am sorry, Rachu... Please, forgive me..."

She let go of her mother. Sneha staggered, then fell down once more, crying. Rachita's body slackened. Amaya wanted to do something but her body was locked with shock. She could not move at all. Her sister tried to move away, walk out of the room but her mother caught her foot.

"Rachu, I am begging you, Rachu, please... Try to understand, I was helpless... But Rishi never considered you any different from Amu and Jazz... Rachu, please..."

Emotionless, Rachita simply extricated her foot out of Sneha's hold and walked out. Jazz sprung out too after her but she was too late. Rachita had already locked herself in her room.

***

"Sab so gaye, ka?" Rudra wanted to know as he peered around the house.

Amaya nodded, fighting to be normal. "You can have your dinner too and then go to sleep. I'm having a headache so I will go now."

As she went, she heard Kaushalya mutter, "Ajeeb hai, she didn't even ask how the houses were or if we like any of them."

Any other time, she would have asked but not tonight... She went up straight to her room where Jazz would be sleeping, since Rachi Di was not reacting to them. At least the muffled sounds of her sobs that you could hear only in absolute silence, if you strained your ears, gave her the relief that her sister had not taken a dangerous step.

"Amu..." She looked at Jazz and her heart broke even more. Her baby sister looked so broken... Trying not to cry, she went and hugged Jasmine tight. "Why did all of this have to happen to us, Amu?" Jazz asked her.

Amaya tucked Jazz's head under her chin and smoothed her hair. "I don't know, Jazz... I don't know... But we have to be strong, the two of us... For mom and Rachi Di... We have to keep our family together, like Dad wanted. I can count on you, right?"

Jazz nodded. "Always, Amu... Always..."

***

She sat up, unable to sleep. Her heart was frighteningly unsettled. She cast a look at Jazz to make sure she was there and sleeping, then got up and went to her mother's room first. She had finally fallen asleep too after hours of crying. With a bated breath, Amaya dragged herself to the room her sisters usually shared. The door was still locked when she pushed. She knocked softly.

"Rachi Di."

For a long time, silence was her answer. She was going to leave when she heard the lock move. She pushed the door open. His sister stood there, with her back to her. Biting her lip, Amaya gently placed her hand on Rachita's shoulder, so afraid to break her even more, but Rachita turned around briskly and wrapped her arms around Amaya, hugging her fiercely as she cried her heart out.