*Life is really short, it's the journey that's so long..

If only I had you with me, it would be like a song..

The rhythm of our heartbeats, the lyrics of our love

Together we will sail through - all rights and wrong!

Alas, it wasn't meant to be with Purvi and Rajat who were miserable in this self imposed separation. Purvi leaves for Delhi and joins a hospital trying to settle herself in a new environment. After the incident and the slow recovery Purvi was very emotionally dependent on Rajat. She lost her self confidence and her ability to take on problems without help. She needed to get out of her shell, be away from the very place that destroyed her. Rajat had realized that till the time she is with him, she would probably never recover, and never discover what she was truly capable of. He takes help of Sister Fernandes and through her convinces Purvi to try to live on her own, fulfill her dreams. No one knows this but Rajat was the happiest and the saddest person at the same time when Purvi gets through her MD admission.

On the other hand, Purvi knows with all her heart that it was Sister Fernandes speaking but they were Rajat's words. She is proud of him to have given her the chance to rediscover herself. She also knows how much it pained him to see Purvi suffering and she couldn't see him so miserable. With a stone in heart she has taken this decision to separate so that he is spared further trauma. She wants to succeed in life, fulfill both their dreams for she knows this will be the greatest joy and gift she could ever give to Rajat.

CID bureau:

Abhijit is walking around talking on a phone.

Abhijit: ek minute abhi puch leta hoon..

Abhijit comes next to Rajat and asks him about a file and casually asks him did he have lunch.

Rajat: Yes Sir abhi Pankaj aur Freddy ke saath gaya tha

Abhijit smiles and moves away speaking into the phone in low tones..

Abhijit: Sun liya..usne khaana kha liya..ab main phone rakhoon?

At the other end of the call, Purvi says Bye and disconnects the call.

Rajat has immersed himself in work so much that he practically lives in the bureau. The team is worried for him but also understand that he can never come out of the separation from Purvi and this was his way of coping. He goes on many dangerous missions and wins great accolades for his intelligence and bravery. His name and photo gets published in newspapers and Purvi safely saves newspaper cuttings and cries tears of joy.

Purvi still has panic attacks and nightmares about the rape and tries very hard to cope on her own. She attends several counseling sessions, therapy and groups where she meets other survivors too. It's very difficult and painful but she has to do this for her good.

They still are in touch but their conversations are very brief and they often do not disturb each other for long periods of time. Without knowing, they both use Tarika and Abhijit to know about the well being of each other.

Some months later:

Tarika (on phone): Hmm…nahi..sab theekh hai baba..

Tarika: haan main pata karti hoon..tum apna khayal rakhna….bye..

Abhijit looks at her. She is messaging someone.

Abhijit: kiska phone tha tarika?

Tarika: aapke jijaji ka..

Abhijit: mera jija? Yeh kaun hai bhai?

Tarika: wahi jo aapka saala bhi hai….

Abhijit: ohhh… Sr Insp Rajat ka phone tha….kya kaha tumse..meri subah baat huyi thi..

Tarika comes and settles on Abhijit's arms.

Tarika: kuch nahi..Purvi ke exams kaise gaye yeh puch raha tha…who pareshan toh nahi hai…use tension toh nahi hai…

Abhijit: yaar..yeh acha hum dono ko postman bana diya hai…Purvi mujhse puchti hai..aur Rajat tumse…

Tarika hugs him and he caresses her curly hairs. Both are quiet.

Abhijit: kya hua…tum bhi wahi soch rahi ho?

Tarika: haan Abhijit..hum dono jaante hai who bilkul khush nahi hai aise..kyun zidd pe ade hai..un dono ko ek doosre ki zaroorat hai…kabhi abhi unke pyaar ko dekhkar mujhe jalan hoti hai..shayad main aapse itna pyaar nahi karti Abhijit..

Abhijit: yeh dono zaroor ek doosre se milenge. Dekhna yeh judaai inka pyaar aur vishwaas sirf badhayegi….

Both pray to god for a miracle to get these two souls together, give them their right share of happiness in life.

High court case:

After much deliberation, Purvi decides to file case in high court. She is determined to pursue and get justice for herself. She has many discussions with her lawyers, some of them involving Rajat. Finally the day comes when she has to come to Mumbai for final legal consultation and to file her case.

The plane lands in Mumbai and Purvi's heartbeats increase, with the expectation of meeting Rajat after many long months. She steps out with a mixture of many emotions – anticipation, joy, fear. She slowly and nervously makes her way out, clutching her bag tightly, breathing heavily. She stops, sits on a bench for some moments, takes deep breaths and later feeling a bit calm walks to the gate scanning the crowd to see him. She franctically searches for his tall frame but instead finds Abhijit's smiling face. Her heart stops and she forces a small smile waving at him.

Abhijit: welcome back Purvi. Kitne din ho gaye..kaisi ho tum?

Purvi: Main theekh hoon sir…aap kaise hai? Tarika kaise hai? Aur…she stops herself and still searches the crowd for someone

Abhijit: Rajat Pune me hai Purvi..woh theekh hai…on the way hai…

Purvi smiles and bows her head down, realizing that Abhijit understood she was expecting to meet Rajat. They both make way to Abhijit's house for lunch. Rajat is running a bit late, Purvi takes this opportunity and decides to leave for the lawyer's office on her own. She feels it's better to meet at a setting where there is minimum personal interaction. She prepares to leave and opens the door to find him standing there to ring the house bell. They both freeze in their spots, their eyes giving away their true feelings – of longing and love.

Abhijit quickly diffuses the situation and calls Rajat inside for a tea. Tarika and Abhijit leave them in the drawing room alone. They both sit at a distance from each other, each wanting the other to speak first.

Rajat: Hi Purvi..kaisi ho?

Purvi: main theekh hoon..aap Rajat?

Rajat: main bhi theekh hoon..

They both fall silent, but look at each other intermittently and smile. Their eyes speak with each other.

Abhijit and Tarika are sad at this situation. Purvi and Rajat leave the house to meet the lawyer.

They both sit silently in the auto for sometime, each framing questions to ask each other. Both speak at the same time..

Rajat: padhai kaisi chal rahi hai? Tumhari tabiyat toh theekh hai na..aur counseling….he stops feeling awkward..

Purvi: padhai achi chal rahi hai…next week bhi ek counseling session hai…

After a few moments of silence..

Purvi: Rajat aapki tabiyat toh theekh hia na..aap duble ho gaye ho….aankho ke neeche kale…she falls silent…

Rajat: who..ah..kaam bahut hai..main theekh hoon

Rajat gets a call from Pankaj regarding a case and he gets busy discussing that. Purvi looks out of the auto, there is unusual heavy traffic due to some construction work in the city. There is a diversion on the road and the driver takes the turn and within sometime Purvi becomes alert looking at the surroundings. They are approaching the hospital, the place where she was kidnapped, she feels her breathing getting uneasy, beads of sweat appear on her face. She closes her eyes and tries breathing slowly to calm herself. Purvi tries all the relaxing techniques that she has learnt from her counseling sessions. Usually they work for her but today as she is at the exact same place and in depressingly familiar surroundings, the methods are proving ineffective. Still she has her eyes shut and then without warning the disturbing images appear in front of her eyes.

At the same time, Rajat finishes his call and glances to see Purvi at the verge of a panic attack. Rajat immediately holds her by shoulders, his touch makes her open her eyes she looks at him in great fear. Rajat tries to calm her down by talking to her, asking her to take deep breaths and to look at him. Purvi slowly fixes her gaze on his face; she sees his lips moving, gets distracted and feels the images go away. She feels slightly dizzy and holds her head. Rajat asks the autodriver to stop the auto at side. Purvi feels weak and Rajat helps her out of the auto.

He makes her sit at a nearby bench, opens her bag and gives her tablet and water. Purvi takes it and in some time starts feeling better. She is touched that he still has so much concern for her. Rajat is proud of her for she tried hard to control the attack herself.

The lawyer calls Purvi and informs her that he is running late from a prior appointment and pushes their meeting by an hour. They now have an hour of time to spend. Rajat is fiddling with his phone checking messages, when Purvi spots something at a distance. She pats Rajat on his shoulders:

Purvi: Rajat..dekho..beach..chale kya? Maine isse pehle sirf ek baar samandar dekha hai..

Rajat smiles and agrees. They both walk together towards the vast expanse of sea in front…

Happy that they are together even if its for an hour..its a start at least..After all the emotional moments and the downs, next chapter will be Rajvi sweet moments..a beginning ...Read on..

* my original poem