Tarika's point of view:
"Abhijeet," I could feel my voice shake, "You have to move on too."
For a moment he just stared at me, as though he hadn't heard me. Then it sunk into his head – the words I had just said.
It sunk in my head too – the fact that I had actually done it. I had been preparing myself to say this for months now. And I was finally done. As much as I wanted this day to come, I wished it didn't come soon.
I looked at him carefully. Never had I imagined that we would have to face such a day. I leaned towards him, hoping that he wouldn't notice. After my body briefly touched, I turned to leave. It wasn't my place to stay. As I stepped forward, I felt him grab my wrist. Before I could react he spun me around.
His eyes bloodshot, his face revealed both anger and agony.
"So you have moved on…"
I stared at him, my mind going blank. And he looked into my eyes – he was trying to read them.
"eh?" he added, waiting for my affirmation.
My throat felt numb.
I swallowed and tried to speak again.
I nodded, unable to utter any word.
To this he grabbed my other wrist and pinned me against the wall. He then leaned towards me, closing the space between us.
"Tum iss café mein baithi ho…hum jaha humesha baithte the – wahi pe…and you say you moved on."
I didn't know what to say. I had no answer to his sentences.
"Tum black tea pi rahi thi – jo tumhe bilkul pasand nahi thi but meri favourite thi…and you say you moved on…haan?"
My vision started becoming blurred. I realized that my eyes were brimming with tears. I turned my face to the side, so that he wouldn't see my tears falling. I felt my cheeks burn from heat of passion.
"Ye baal tumne khulle rakhein hain…aur tumhe humesha tie karna pasand hai – and you say you moved on…"
His grip on my wrists became tighter. His voice, his demeanour was scaring me now.
"Kuch bolti kyu nahi tum?"
He pressed me harder against the wall.
"Abhijeet please…. I am carrying a baby."
He left me immediately and stepped back. He then looked at my stomach. There was about half an arm's distance between us now, literally. But metaphorically, we were probably miles apart.
"I'm sorry," he said before walking out of the café.
I stood there, watching him leave. I don't know for how long I stood there before doctor Salunkhe came in.
"Sir," I almost broke down.
"Beta…"
He was probably at a loss of words.
"Sir aap…aap please aaj raat Abhijeet ke saath rukh jayenge?"
"Tum abhi bhi uss se – "
"Sir," I said, avoiding his question, "wo bahot pareshan hai – aap rukenge na uske paas?"
He nodded and patted my shoulder.
I felt a little easy – at least he wouldn't be alone now. I sat there, in the café hoping to see him every time he entered and exited the bureau.
I saw him making a few visits and when he didn't return after leaving at 10pm, I concluded that he must have gone home. Yet, I waited for half an hour before leaving.
Neutral point of view:
ABHIJEET'S HOUSE:
He entered the house and collapsed into the sofa, pushing his shoes beneath it.
"uff ho Abhijeet," her voice echoed in his ears, "sofa ke neeche mat pheka karo – nikalne mein kitni dikkat hoti hai….shoe rack pe hi rakh diya karo na – kitna time lagega?"
He almost bent to pick up his shoes but he stopped in between. Instead of picking them up, he laid down on the sofa, with his head on the armrest when he heard the doorbell.
"Ab iss waqt kaun ho sakta hai," he murmured.
Wiping his eyes, he unlocked the door.
"Arrey Salunkhe sahab aap?"
"Kyun bhai? Mein nahi aa sakta ?...toh theek hai wapas chala jaata hu."
"Arrey nahi nahi….kaisi baat kar rahein hain aap. Andar aayiye na please."
The doctor walked in and settled himself on the sofa. He switched the TV on, leaving poor Abhijeet stunned. He was comfortable in Abhijeet's house, as though it was his own.
He was a little eccentric but a nice guy, Abhijeet thought.
"Aao Abhijeet," he tapped the sofa next to him, "news dekhte hai bhai."
"Ji sir."
He went and sat next to Dr. salunkhe. His eyes were on the TV but his mind was somewhere else. He was not processing the news – instead, he was thinking about Tarika.
He realized that Tarika must have sent the old doctor to him. Why did all this happen if she cared so much for him?
"Sir aapko Tarika ne bheja na?"
"Haan bache…usne hi bola tha mujhe aane ke liye."
Abhijeet was unable to sleep the entire night. When Dr. Salunkhe woke up for a mid-night snack, he found the senior inspector pacing back and forth in the living room.
"Tum soye nahi?" the doctor spoke, stuffing his mouth with biscuits.
"Nahi sir wo."
Dr. Salunkhe recollected the nights he used to work with Tarika in the lab when the cases were particularly urgent. He remembered how Tarika used to be worried for him – how she used to walk to and fro in the lab, trying to call him whenever possible. He smiled – he had seen many a couples in his life…he knew what love was and he knew that true love survived.
He knew that their love was true. That was why he liked troubling them sometimes. True that it irked him when Abhijeet turned the lab into a courtship bureau, yet a part of him liked to see love bloom. Sure he didn't approve of many things they did, but whenever it counted, he always stood by them and supported them.
"Abhijeet…sab theek ho jayega bache. Tum aise himmat mat haaro."
"Par sir – "
"inn aankho ne bahot kuch dekha hai…kuch toh bharosa kar lo."
"Sir bharosa toh hai – "
"Toh phir araam se so jao jaakar…meri baat maano."
Abhijeet nodded. He hoped the doctor as right about relationships as he was about dead bodies.
A/N : want to see happy times?
But there is no joy without a little pain, no rainbows without a little rain…right?
Review please, guys : )