Avneil ff: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Chapter 5

Next day morning.
Neela was working in the kitchen preparing Poha, Avni's favourite dish of all. She knew her daughter would be sad today, remembering someone and some haunting memories of the past. And so she was trying her best to lighten her mood, make her smile, by these small gestures. She knew she couldn't take her pain away, cause deep scars cannot be erased easily from one's mind. But she would never give up. Neela was presenting poha in a dish and then saw the time. It was 9 am and still Avni was not out of her room. Avni was an early riser. She would usually wake up at 6 in the morning and then do her workout in the lawn. After that, she would take shower and by 9, she would be ready at the breakfast table. But today was a different day. She climbed up the stairs and went towards her room. She opened the door and saw her, awake, lying in her bed and sobbing.
Avni was crying but not letting a single moan out of her mouth. Her eyes had become red. Tears were flowing down her cheeks making her cushion wet. Just then, she heard someone's footsteps and looked towards the door and saw Neela. She sat up on her bed and called out "Maa!!" wiping the tears from her face. "What happened Maa, is there anything you need? You could have called me naa" she said, trying to sound normal. "Yes, I need something which is very dear to me, my daughter's smile..." Neela replied and walked towards her bed. Avni couldn't control herself and hugged Neela tightly, sobbing. Neela hugged her back and consoled her. "It's ok baccha....cry it out. You don't need to hide your pain from me" she said.
"Maa....today it's Maamu's (uncle) birthday!! But he's not here with me to celebrate it. He is not in this world anymore. He was such a jolly person Maa, and ambitious too. Moreover, he loved and cared for his family, friends with all his heart and could do anything for them. He loved me so much. And he had to pay the price of loving me.... he lost his life because of me. I am the one responsible for his death. If I would not have been there in his life, he would have been alive, happily married with Shriya Aunty. They loved each other so much. I am sorry Maamu......' she cried out. Seeing her so broken, even Neela had tears in her eyes. She knew Avni is a strong girl and has been a fighter all her life. And she would never shed a tear in front of the world, standing strong. But from inside, she was a broken soul, broken by her past incidents.
"No baccha, don't blame yourself for it. It was never your fault. Whatever happened with him was bad. But his culprits won't be able to live a happy life baccha....what goes around comes back.....and their karma will lead to their downfall. The culprits will get punished.""It's been 7 years since that incident, and I still don't have any proofs against them."she said. "Have patience baccha....determination is the one that leads to success. And I know that soon everything will fall in place. I believe in you, you will get them, all of them justice. Today is your Maamu's birthday, you should celebrate instead. He's not here, but he's looking at you from above and he wouldn't like his pyaari bhaanji to shed tears on his special day, right?" Neela said trying to cheer her up. Avni smiled a little, wiping her face and getting up from the bed. "Come now, let's eat Poha, kitni mehnat se banaaya hai maine pata hai?!" Neela said dramatically. Avni laughed at her antics. Then both of them went down and had their breakfast. After that, Avni freshened up and got ready. "Maa, I'll come in a while " she said hurrying out of the house before Neela starts interrogating her.
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9.30am in the morning
Khanna Mansion
"Mom jaldi mujhe breakfast do, main late horaha hu" Neil said while walking down the stairs. "Your breakfast is already there on the table, Tillu" Neil's mom Shweta replied. Neil sat on the breakfast table making weird faces. "Don't call me that mom, Tillu....it sounds like ulluuu" he says rolling his eyes. "Why would you keep such a nick name? And you always embarrass me in front of my friends by calling me Tillu" he added. "Oye chupkar....kitna pyaara naam hai Tillu, ab tujhe pasand aaye naa aaye, maine toh tujhe yehi bulaana hai" Shweta replied while spreading jam on slices of bread and then puts them in Neil's plate. "K mom k😏" Neil replied. Shweta laughs. Then Neil looked in his plate. " Uff maa, kaha hai mera Upmaa?!! " he said being dramatic. "Ha ye le, zyada drama mat kar, ab late nai horaha tujhe?" Suddenly he realises that he's already late so he picks up the slice of bread and walks out of the house saying "Bye mom" leaving Shweta confused who blabbers something in a high tone but Neil doesn't listen to her and drives off in his car.
Neil was out driving to a place which is far away from the city. That area was very less populated and hence, a favourite spot for the criminals to plan and carry out their crimes. In the past few months, the crimes in that area had increased and Neil was going there for investigation related to a case. There were very less people and vehicles seen on the road and Neil knew the reason too. Nowadays people are much aware of their surroundings and many of them must have heard about these crimes from news too, Neil thought. He kept on driving on the road looking here and there, keeping his police instincts on.
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Avni drove off to an unknown area, parked her car on the roadside and started walking towards an unknown point. The area was filled with silence with hardly anyone visible on the road. Avni was sad and in her own trance to notice any of her surroundings. She started walking on the bridge which was wide enough for four wheelers and trucks to pass. She went towards the railing and sat on the railing, with her face towards the riverside and legs outwards. Remembering something, tears fell from her eyes.
Flashback
7 years ago
Same place
"Avni, listen to me beta....your mom and dad's death.....it was not an accident Avni, they were murdered!!" Ayaan exclaimed. Ayaan was Avni's Maamu, her mother's brother. "They murdered them. You know who I am talking about right? I never knew they will stoop to such level. You are too small to understand these things, but you aren't safe here. They have sent some men behind us and they are following us since a long time. I managed to distract them but I still fear they'll find us" Ayaan said with a panic stricken face. "Maamu, but why would they kill mom and dad?" Avni asked crying. "We don't have time for this beta, we must hurry and leave this place forever." he said increasing his speed. "They are very dangerous beta and if I tell you to do something, don't refuse and question me back. Promise me, you'll never disobey me" he said worryingly. Avni could see in his eyes fear, sadness and the tears that had formed in his eyes, but not falling down. Avni knew he was trying to be strong for her, not crying in front of her. "I'll always listen to you Maamu, I promise" she said in a low tone. Ayaan saw in his rear view mirror and he could see that a truck had started following them from nowhere. "How did they find us in such less time?" he thought and accelerated his car to the maximum speed. They were nearing a bridge and Ayaan tried to apply brakes and damn! The brakes were failed and he guessed it whose doing it was. He saw the truck nearing. Avni, on the other hand, was totally confused about the things going on in her life. A child, merely of age 15, couldn't take so much. "Avni, take my phone, I don't know what the future has held for us, if you don't find me, call Neela, she'll help you. Don't contact anyone else. Now, when I say jump, you'll jump out of the car, run for your life and won't look back. Is that clear?" he said. " But why Maamu? I'll come with you, I'll not leave you" Avni said. " You promised me Avni, just do as I say!!" Ayaan said in a high tone.
And as the bridge was about to start, Ayaan shouted, "Jump Avni, jump!!!!get out of the car" He opened her side of the car door and pushed her out. Avni fell down from the car into the bushes, bruising her hands and legs. Just then, she heard a deafening sound. She got up and saw a horrible scene in front of her eyes. The truck that was following them, crushed Ayaan's car from behind. The impact was such that the car blew up in the air and fell into the river. "Maamu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Avni yelled. She was terrified. Tears brimmed up in her eyes. She saw her world falling apart. Ayaan had taken promise from her, to not to look back. But how could she leave him. She still had hope that maybe, maybe he jumped out of the car at the right time, or maybe he survived the accident. She ran towards the bridge, not noticing that the truck which caused the accident was still there. She leaned over the railing looking for her Maamu. "Ye ladki kon hai? Isne murder hote hue dekh liya hai, Shit!!" Ab Kya karu?? Agar isne apna muh khola, toh woh gaadi wale dono logo ke murder ke ilzaam mein andar jaana padega. Boss ne kaha tha koi saboot mat chodna. Ab ek hi chaara bachta hai, ise bhi maarna padega." He slowly went forward towards Avni. All this while, Avni was too lost in grief to notice the stranger approaching her. He reached and stood behind her, forwarded his hands and pushed her with such force that Avni fell into the into the river. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.........." her yells could be heard. The driver, assuming her to have drown in the river, sped off before anyone could notice.
Flashback over.

Remembering this scene, tears had welled up in her eyes. She still was sitting on the railing of the bridge, exactly the same place where this incident had taken place. Suddenly, she started feeling dizzy, mainly due to stress and the horror scenes of her past. A car was passing by on the bridge when the person in the car noticed a girl sitting on the railing. The person in the car was Neil.
Neil was driving on the lonely road in search of some clues he could get related to the crimes. He saw the bridge and was driving towards it. Just before the bridge started, he noticed a car parked on the right side of the road. He found something weird, so he stopped his car and parked it on the side to get down and inspect the abandoned car. Just as he stepped out of his car, he noticed a girl sitting on the bridge's railing. He found it strange and started walking towards the girl.
Here, Avni, on the other hand, decided to step off the railing as she was feeling dizzy. She was getting down from the railing but was feeling too giddy. Here, it seemed to Neil that the girl was about to jump from the bridge, about to commit suicide. He couldn't see her face but ran towards her in order to stop her from taking such a drastic step. Avni was getting down but due to drowsiness, couldn't find the right steps and slipped. Just then, at the right time, Neil caught her hand from behind and pulled her, saving her from falling. Due to the force, both Neil and Avni fell down, on the road, with Neil's back flat on the ground and Avni on top of him. Neil was holding Avni from her shoulders.
"Oyee.... paagal ho kyaa????" he shouted and looked up to the girl who was above him, resting on his body. And he was surprised as hell!! The same girl from the park, who had irritated him to the core. But she wasn't replying. Then, he noticed, that her eyes were closed. And now her face fell and rested on his chest. Avni had fallen unconscious when Neil had pulled her. Neil could not take in whatever was happening. He had saved her from falling, then why was she unconscious. She hadn't even hit the ground as he held her above him, Neil thought. Neil tried to wake her up by shaking her shoulders but to no avail. He was feeling something, something weird, different, he couldn't exactly say what it was. The proximity between them was sending chills down his spine. Letting his thoughts and feelings aside, he again tried to wake her up but failed.
"Kahaan fass gaya yaar?!!!" Neil wondered and rolled his eyes.

So I decided to add a new character which never existed in the show. It was a bit emotional chapter as I had to show how attached Avni was with her family and their importance in her life. Hope you'll like it. Please do tell me how was it. 😉