An Aesthetic Love: A Collection Of Shivika Short Stories

38.2| support in the worst. [Part 3]

"Rudra tu mujhe batayega hum jaa kahan rahe hain?" Annika asked him, as he helped her settle down in the car, and sat on the driver's seat himself.

"Bhabhi, abhi Bhavya ka phone aaya tha na... Usne humein bulaya hai. Hum wahi jaa rahe hain." He told her, starting the car.

Annika looked at him with a glint in her eyes.

"Usse kuch pata chala kya?" She asked with excitement, making Rudra smile. It had been so long since he saw this side of her.

He looked back at her.

"Usne aisa kuch kaha toh nahi. But ab usne hume bulaya hai toh usse zarur kuch pata hai." He told her.

Annika closed her eyes. She just hoped Bhavya knew something.

After a while, they finally reached, and upon spotting Bhavya, Rudra stepped out of the car. So did Annika.

Rudra went forward and hugged her, making Annika smile at them. Both of them were a little emotional, too, and she felt so bad that they hadn't seen each other for a whole 15 days.

After they parted, Annika went to her.

"Kaisi ho tum, Bhavya? Theek ho na?" She asked her, and she smiled at him.

"Mai toh bilkul theek hoon, bhabhi. Aap theek hain na?" She asked her. It was important for her to be okay.

"Mujhe kya ho sakta hai? Mai theek hoon." She told her.

"Accha bhabhi, mere paas aapke liye ek news hai. Pata nahi aap isse kaise interpret karengi lekin... Abhi thodi der pehle jab mai yahan pahunchi toh yahan kuch log the. Maine unhe interrogation ke liye police station bhej diya hai, lekin unhone ne bataya ki un sabne ek aadmi ko yahan band kar rakha tha...jo aaj subah bhaag gaya." She told her everything.

"Bhaag...bhaag gaye matlab? Yeh log ek kaam theek se nahi kar sakte? Atleast woh hume yahan mil jaate..." Annika said with a deep sigh. She didn't know how to react to what Bhavya said.

"Lekin bhabhi...ek baat hai." She said, "yahan se aage ek jungle hai. Wahan jaana risky hai, but hum try kar sakte hain...agar bhaiya wahan honge bhi toh shayad hi zyada aage jaa payenge."

"Sahi keh rahi ho, Bhavya." Rudra said, "humein chalna chaiye. Hume nahi pata bhaiya wahan honge ya nahi, but it's worth the risk. Kyuki agar woh wahan hue toh atleast hum unhe bacha lenge."

Bhavya nodded, and Annika looked at Rudra.

"Theek keh rahe ho tum Rudra.... humein chalna chaiye." She said, and looked back at Bhavya, who in turned looked at her police car.

"Aap isme baith jaiye. Hum isme hi chalenge." She told Annika, and when she settled down, Bhavya sat beside her, and Rudra took the driver's seat.

They sped into the deep forest. It was hard mainly because they already knew they were at grave risk.

But the urge to find Shivaay was greater than the consequences of the risk for each of them. They were willing to risk it all just to get that result.

They were still driving through the forest when Annika felt that sensation, again.

"Shivaay..." She said slowly, closing her eyes, "mujhe lag raha hai jaise Shivaay humare aas paas hi hain." She said, "woh pakka yahi hain." She said, and only opened her eyes when she her the commotion beside her.

"Rudra gaadi rokiye!" Bhavya screamed suddenly, and he stopped the car so abruptly that almost all of them jumped out.

"Kya hua, Bhavya? Aise kyu chillayi tum?" Annika asked her, catching her breath.