Apple of your eye- Part 27

He was gone! It was a bitter truth. Accepting it was the only option. But she didn't want to do this. She still had hope that he would come back. Love could do miracles, they say. Did this magic work even in real world?

How much ever she would try imagining that he would come back, this was not going to be possible. Nanda felt miserable , looking at her plight. He wished that he hadn't told her. " I am sorry", he whispered , handing her a piece of paper that looked like a bus ticket. It was from Amritsar to Delhi.

She was startled and asked " What is this?" " Lieutnant Saab wanted us to escort you to Delhi where he enrolled you into one of the  Delhi school so you could complete your studies snd achieve your dreams. He also wanted to come with you. Due to serious conditions, he couldn't make it.", he replied.

She cried out loud. Memories of the time when he had said that her dreams were important to him played in her mind. She kneeled down due to hopelessness and weakness. For the first time, she understood the importance of his love in her life. She didn't know that when he was there.

" Can you Atleast tell me the reason that he had to leave me ?",she asked out of blue. Nanda wasn't sure whether she was brave enough to hear his account of Abhinav's death. He looked at her soft eyes. They needed answer and he couldn't say no. " We had an emergency. Mohi- ud-deen had struck again and Abhinav didn't want to lose this battle. He fought him single handedly. He died ... Fighting for you, your family, your sister and every single country men.", he said , remembering the final moments of Abhinav where he had walked bravely into Mohi- ud-deen's house and shot him point blank. But he couldn't survive the attack from Mohi-ud-deen's men.


Nanda left her safetly in custody of his widowed aunty. His aunt was the only family he was left with. However things had turned haphazard at the army base when he had come back. Nanda was arrested for the crime he hadn't done. He was charged for being the mascot of Mohi-ud-deen and Abhinav wasn't given the name for his heroic action. Abhinav's name was blacklisted and held as the shame of the army. Nanda stared at the Major. He was surprised at him. He had served the country only to be deceived by it's own people. Major dialled a number. It was Anish Khan. " Your work is done.  Nanda is arrested and now we will get the girl.", Major said. " Leave the girl! I just wanted Mohi- ud- deen dead and the balance between fear and life maintained . My work is done and you will get your money soon.", Anish smirked. It was ironical that people had to be very careful of people around them.

                       **** the end*****

Apple of your eye - part 26

Soon! He said he would come soon. Days passed by like hours and there was no sign of him. She would ask Nanda about him to only hear that there was no message for her from him. She was wrecked but she never lost hope.

Nightmares and fear that he would be in grave danger would always trouble. However her faith never let her lose the fight against the disappointments. She knew he would come now. He's only stuck up somewhere.

She saw the branches of the tree swaying to the music of wind. It seemed happy , enjoying the music. Everything or everyone  around her looked happy except her. How could she be happy when the only source of her life was lost?

 She had lost everything - her family, her dreams and happy memories. He was the only one whom she could call her own. If he was lost, she had nothing. Her life would be void. There would be no source or hope to stay alive.

She was in her own world when Nanda walked upto her and placed his hand on her shoulder gently. " Aafreen.. I have.. something to tell you", he said softly.  She looked at him with pale eyes begging for good news. Unfortunately his face said something else .. Something that she wouldn't want to hear.

" He .. He's no more!", he said with lot of  emotions and grief. She didn't want to hear this! He cannot be gone. Nanda was lieing. "No!!! I know he isn't gone." , she cried loudly. Nanda knew that she was not going to believe him. But he had to tell her somehow .. the truth that he had kept for many weeks.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 25

Love is not easy. It has been widely mistaken for other expressions. He only wanted her to know that his love wasn't fake. It was real and he was always there for her.

The words weren't coming out. She was here. Everything was perfect. His heart beat faster than the time. There was something things to say. But he didn't know where to start. He wiped the sweat from his forehead though weather was cold.

" ummm... Aafreen!! I .. I know you have been through a lot these days. And I don't want to burden...", he couldn't complete his sentence when a four wheeler stopped in front of them. Nanda came out of the vehicle with two other officers.

Something looked wrong. Nanda's face never lied. It was written clearly on his face that something had gone terribly wrong. " What happened?", Abhinav asked. " Mohi-ud-deen has striked again. He has attacked the busy market in Srinagar. Hundred civilians have lost their lives. We have sent our troops but it was too late.", one of the officers replied.

Abhinav was furious. He folded his fist tightly and raised and then dropped it again in anger. " Why were we not there on time? I don't understand! We had planned that there will enough troops so that we could strike back.", Abhinav said angrily. After moving like a wounded lion, he shot back, " We will not lose any more lives. Take Aafreen back to the quarters, Nanda. And you guys (looking at the two officers) are coming with me." He kissed Aafreen on her forehead and promised her that he will be back soon.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eyes - Part 24

She was in state of agony for days. She hadn't slept or eaten. She constantly blamed herself for everything. She worried about her parents. Did they know about her death? She was sure that her uncle had woven some story over her death to her family.

Safina's death had caused emotional breakdown in the house. Her parents had locked themselves and didn't face the society due to fear of their wrath. They couldn't face Mohi-ud-deen.

Mohi-ud-deen had to bring things under control. His niece's mistake had caused a lot of loss to him. He made sure that he would punish her so that no one would ever think of betraying him. He had washed out her family in cold blood. Her sister's death and public mockery was more than enough for destroying her family.




 Eventually she would come back to see her family one last time and then he could kill her. He smiled at the thought of slashing her in cold blood. Then her love would follow her and get trapped in his own death trap.

Abhinav couldn't bear her pain anymore. He had taken her for drive to clear her mind. He had been doing this for quite sometime. But he failed every time. Then Nanda's idea of proposing her for marriage was the only option. He had kept that aside for long time. Now it was time to use when nothing worked.

The sunset was perfect. The orange sky set the mood of romance even during the time of crisis. The weather was freezing cold and the cold wind blowing time to time had dipped the temperature. She hadn't even looked at him even for  a minute during the whole journey. He had stopped his jeep at the end of road , thinking of words that would bring out his true feelings. He wanted her to smile again..the one that he had seen when he first met her and fell in love with her.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- part 23

She was surprised at how her sister was being treated. Did uncle know about this? She had to find uncle soon. She was about to get up and stop this nonsense. But he stopped her and whispered, " Don't go! They might see you."

She blinked at him with disbelief. " My sister is in danger. How can I stand and watch and do nothing? Let me go!", she said , resisting his hold . His grip became tighter with every second. She felt the pain but she couldn't do anything and simply watch her sister being tortured.

Then few minutes of relief came in form of her uncle. At last she was convinced that her sister was no longer in danger. But that was only for few minutes. She saw him grab her sister by her hair and point the revolver on her head.



Her sister saw the last ray of light when she was put to rest forever by her uncle. Her uncle wasn't even moved by her sister death. She wanted to scream which she couldn't do. She was helpless for the first time. The emotions were bursting out and Abhinav knew she would break down any moment.

He rushed her to the army base. They stayed in the jeep for sometime.  " I am sorry! I shouldn't have taken you out. I.. It's okay to cry and I am there for you.", he tried best to consoled her. He was bad at consoling people.. sympathising was something he hadn't learnt to do in life.

She started crying slowly though she didn't want to. She was angry and furious at her uncle but crying only made her feel vulnerable. All that love and respect for her Uncle felt nothing and she wished that she hadn't seen this side of her uncle. "How could he kill his own niece? I hate him!", she cried out her feelings. He held her in his arms and was guilty for showing the real face of her uncle to her.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 22

His eyes were wide open at hearing her say Anish Khan's name . “ ANISH KHAN!! They were getting you married to that guy. Unbelievable!!", he said in astonishment. He couldn't believe his eyes that a man like Mohi- ud- deen could go to an extent of marrying his beloved niece to a man who had grandchildren of her age.

" Why? What is so unbelievable ? Do you know Anish Khan? ", she asked with confusion. She didn't understand about the expression of disbelief used by him. “ Do you know Anish Khan? He is the most wanted man in the world. Didn’t your uncle say anything about him to you?”, he said dryly. She still stared at him with disbelief.

“ No I don’t! Can you be clear? What do you mean my uncle didn’t say anything ? Are you accusing him of keeping something about Anish Khan? Then why don’t you tell me what you know about him?”, she argued. He took deep breath and searched words to disclose the secret world of her uncle to her. He felt guilty of breaking the nice picture she had carried about him.





" (Sigh!) What I am going to say may be heartbreaking to you and I am not asking to believe me totally. But this is a bitter truth. I ... Your uncle and Anish had made a deal to each other that he will provide Anish with everything for power and that included you too. Anish wanted you in exchange of creating a relationship with him. So your uncle shamelessly offered you for marriage to Anish who is three times older than you. This is not enough. There are great tales of your uncle that would change your perspective about him forever.", he said with deep sorrow

She slapped him hard which reddened his fair cheeks. "How dare you speak about my uncle? You have no rights to insult my uncle like that. Whatever you have heard is all false rumours about him. " , she cried. " I knew you wouldn't believe me ! Ok ! I will take you to your uncle  so that you can see the proofs by yourself.", he said.

He dragged her to the stationed jeep where he drove towards her uncle's house. Mohi- ud-deen's men guarded his place with all their eyes watchful over any impending danger. Aafreen and Abhinav hid , making sure that they weren't visible to Mohi- ud-deen's men. Suddenly she saw her sister with Shaukeen. She was overwhelmed for few seconds but it changed into shock instantly when she saw her being dragged and beaten by Shaukeen.

( To be continued

Apple of your eye- Part 21

The letter read-

Dear Uncle

I am sorry for disappointing you. But this is not where my heart belongs. I had given my heart to a man you wouldn’t approve due to him being jawan. I feel guilty of telling you my true feelings now. Trust me, I wasn’t aware of my true feeling until I realised that I wasn’t happy.

I know I have destroyed the family name and everything you made by your sheer hard work. But if I had married the man you chose, no one would ever be happy. You had always thought me to do what your heart says. And my heart says that I would be doing injustice to everyone around me. Thus I am leaving you and everyone without confronting you in person. I wanted to confront you but this is not right time. Don’t worry about me, he will take good care of me.

Please forgive me for being a coward. I will surely come to take your blessings once you approve us with open arms.

Love

Apple of your eye- Aafreen

Her uncle was furious with her sudden disappearance. Her letter was of no help to calm down his raising fury. He tore the letter into multitude of pieces. The apple of his eyes became the cause of his broken dreams. The wedding was called off and so was the deal. It didn’t end there. Her uncle used her sister ( Safina) as a bait to bring her back. “ Bring her sister!”, he ordered one of his man. They bought her to him and he slapped her tight. His eyes were red and his voice was heavy. “ Your sister has no idea of how much insult she has caused to me. I did so much to her and in the end this is the way she shows her gratitude. Now I will show who really I am..”, he spoke loud and clear,

He was having heated discussion with the Major on their plans to bring down Mohi-ud-deen. A lower  rankl official knocked the door , informing him about someone waiting for him. He was confused. Who could it be? Was it one of his informers who had some new information about the enemies? He rushed out to see that his angel was standing in bridal wear. She looked stunning in the red dress though with minimal makeup. She wore a long red salwar that covered her legs completely. Her eyes sparkled with love for him.

He hugged her and asked, “ I am so delighted that you are here. I knew you would come.”. He hugged her once more. This time, he didn’t want to leave her. He wasn’t ashamed of the gaping army officials. The only thing he cared about was her. “ I am sorry for disapproving your love. I was… not sure.. But today I realised that what big mistake I would have made if I married Anish Khan” He looked at her with bewilderment. She stared back at him with the same confusion and fear if she had said something wrong.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye - Part 20

There was celebration everywhere Everyday till the day of wedding was a celebration for her family. Everyone from the close relatives to unknown family members had gathered for the occasion. There was no traditional Thap ceremony where the groom and bride meet each other before the official wedding.  Anis Khan had already accepted Aafreen as the bride. But no one ever cared to see deep inside Aafreen’s heart including Aafreen herself.

She was not happy about this union. She tried to involve herself in the occasion. But it made her heart pain so badly even though her family’s happiness mattered more. She hadn’t seen Safina for a very long time. Since that incident, her sister had distanced from her. Why didn’t her sister understand? She needed her more at this time. She needed her to make her feel better. Where was she?

Few days had taken toll on her and her family. Still they seemed so happy except her. She had seen them preparing ‘vazvan’ delicacies for the groom’s family. In return she received exquisite jewellery and dresses. The traditional rituals of marriage didn’t happen. Only important one was followed. It was ironic that Mohi-ud-deen..the same uncle was in hurry to marry his niece off. Aafreen couldn’t understand her uncle’s real face. She misunderstood his trick of gaining more by sacrificing her as his happiness of getting her married.

“ Either she was naive or dumb”, Safina thought. She secretly hid behind the curtains that separated the main hall from other rooms. She had seen how disappointed and heartbroken the Jawan was. She wanted to slap her sister hard for letting go the love of her life. She had asked ‘ What she knew about the jawan?’ Well! What did she know about the groom she was getting married? She didn’t even check anything about the man she was going to share her life.

The three days had gone with the groom’s family coming and applying the mehendi where the little girl who happened to be the groom’s granddaughter apply mehendi to the bride. When Safina heard about this, her anger raised to highest degree of insanity. She calmed herself , waiting for the baraat and the time to do what she needed to do.

The nikah was to happen within few hours. Thinking about his dreams coming true, Mohi-ud-deen couldn’t stay on the floor.. he was flying!!  He made sure everyone in the groom’s side was happy and everything goes smoothly. He had financed for all the preparation for groom’s side.  Everything was fine. The guests were served with good food and treated well. The songs were sung by the ladies of the bride family which was headed by his own wife. However even in the calmest place known to mankind,there are absolute chances of cyclone blowing everything human cared about. One of a relative came to his side to give him a shocking news that turned everything upside down- The bride had run away and left a letter for him..

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye-Part 19

He looked at her with begging eyes. “ Khor!! Tell him yes!”, her sister pleaded her. Aafreen stared at her sister with her eyes wide open. “ Stop talking nonsense!! You know my marriage is fixed.”, she said angrily. “ Why are you getting hyper? I didn’t say anything wrong. He loves you!! I can clearly see that. You are making mistake of shutting him out of your life.”, her sister explained, trying her best to change her mind.

Aafreen looked at her sister with intense curiosity. She still didn’t understand why her sister was supporting the stranger. “ Why?? Why shouldn’t I? How do you know he is the right one.? I know nothing about him. I… I don’t know where he belongs. And he is Jawan.. our enemy…”, she tried to put her point.  She couldn’t think about betraying her parents for someone she barely knew.

“ Khor!  Not all humans we think are good or evil. It’s only our perception…”, her sister said but she couldn’t complete it. “ What! What do you know about this person? Why are you supporting him?”, Aafreen asked bitterly. Her face had changed from the warm and bubbly one to cold and unfriendly one. Anger could turn even sweet angel into a demonic person.

“ I… I know I should.. be.. What do I say… How do I make you understand? I .. had followed you.. on .. that.. day when you had gone for walks secretly… I wasn’t snooping.. at you. But I saw.. you kiss and I was sure .. you love him..”, her sister stammered, finding a way to explain Aafreen the truth. Tears was in it’s verge of dropping from her face. How could she make her sister understand that her life will only revolve around her sacrificing.

The best possible option  for her was to run away from the situation. She has always done that.. whenever she couldn’t handle any situation, she would run away. So she ran as fast as she could away from her sister… away from the man she loved but wasn’t sure about.  She hadn’t realised that she had walked out of her own house.

She stopped until her feet hurt. She cried until even tears became scarce resource. After sunset , when birds flew to their nest and the sky turned from blue to orange and then to violet, she walked towards her house. Her parents were waiting with mixture of anxiousness and anger. “ Where were you? How many times should I tell you not to go out without our approval and someone accompanying you?”, her father scolded her. “ Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you… I wanted to tell you that I am ready to get married to anyone you want me to.”, she cried. Everyone except her sister was happy to hear the news. Her sister shot her expression that was filled with anger. But Aafreen didn’t meet her sister’s eyes.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 18

There was tension between them. He had loads to say but didn't know how to begin. Why was it so challenging to speak out those special world? It was all there .. Alas!!  His voice didn't support him. She was there and he was there too. Situation was perfect. No one was there ...except her little sister.

Wait! What was she doing here? She was supposed to go to school based on his sources. Ah!!  How could he forget? Sometimes sources could also go wrong. He smiled nervously. “ Hhhh..helllooo!! “, he stammered , feeling every inch of his pulse beating. He tried his best to look confident in front of her. Whenever he looked at her eyes, he would forget everything.

She wanted to shut the door. But the fear of banging the door at a Jawan left her standing next to the door. “ Who is it, khor?”, her sister asked with genuine curiosity. “ Noone..”, she said but her sister was already by her side. “ Hello! I am Safina ! I am Aafreen’s sister.”, Safina greeted him politely. He simply nodded while his eyes were focused on Aafreen.


                           
Aafreen nudged her sister’s hand for greeting him. She mustered all the courage and said furiously, “ Why are you here?” Her sister was shocked at seeing her rage. Aafreen had never lost her calm. She was always the calm and composed one...the person who would go to any extent to bring peace. She was always against the violence.

He was stunned by sudden rage and this resulted into him blurting out the words that he had hidden in his heart, " I love you and I know you are scared to disclose the same feeling for me. I wiill promise to stay with you always. Your dreams will be mine. I will do anything for your happiness. I have to told you before and wiill tell you again - your welfare will always be mine."

She was angry and confused at him. She did love him and she loved her parents too. And her family was more important than anything else to her. " I ... I am marrying someone. I am sorry.", she cried, breaking his heart into pieces. He gave a wry smile. He wanted to leave but not without one last try. Everyone gets a second chance. Why not him?

( To be continued

Apple of your eye- Part 17

“ I love you and I know you do.You don’t have to be scared about your feelings. What happened yesterday was not anyone’s mistake. It was only an expression of love.”, he said “ Oh my darling! I was waiting to hear those words.”. Nanda gave a female voice over, sounding obnoxious. Abhinav turned and gave him weird stare. “ Don’t be so serious! I was just make the atmosphere around you lighter. You have been practicing this for long time and I bet it will go good. Just relax!”, Nanda said.

That was right! Abhinav had been practicing his words for quite long time. It was hundredth time he had looked at his reflection, imagining that to be her and speaking his heart out. It was easy hundred times but will it be easy for him to express the same to her actual self? That was a question he had no answer. Love can make a person weak and strong at the same time. However many people tend to be timid in front of their loved ones during the confession time.

“ So when are you going to do the final act, Lieutenant saab”,  Nanda said , diverting Abhinav from the cluster of thoughts. Abhinav didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure whether he was ready. Everytime he thought about it made him feel that he wasn’t ready yet. “ Did you think about the day when you will tell her?” Nanda continued with his irritating habit of interfering into people’s matters.

Abhinav continued to ignore him. Though he couldn’t stop himself thinking about it. Day… none of the days were perfect enough to express one’s feeling. He knew what he would tell her. But he didn’t know how she would take it or her reactions to him. He was still not good in her eyes. He wanted to change that perception in her.

Aafreen was doing her chores as usual. She was still in delusion about her feelings. What did she do was shock to her. She didn’t expect that she .. the one who avoided all these drama fall for it. No ! It was a mistake! She was never into him. Or did she fall in love just like the other girls of her age. She always thought she was different and she would never commit such mistake. She had to control her emotions. She was good at it.

Her parents weren’t there. But they made sure she wasn’t alone. Her sister was at home as there was leave at school. The doorbell rang. Aafreen was surprised. Her parent said it would be long . Fifteen minutes had passed since they left. “ Who could it be ?”, she thought and walked towards the door to calm herself down. Unfortunately opening the door was a mistake which she regretted afterwards. It was him - Abhinav standing, nervously staring at her.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 16a

Their bodies were too close for each of them to feel the movement. A mixed bag full of emotions flowed between them. Was it lust or love or something more deeper than any of such emotions? It was difficult for them to understand what they felt for each other. She stared into those thin almond shaped eyes. They were deep and filled with misery and longingness. She studied his features with great interest.

She had never studied someone’s movement with great vigour. He looked much better. She hadn’t noticed that there was a light scar near his forehead. His face was toned and rough. But there was a pinch of humanity in them. He was a typical jawan with aggressive looks. However when he smiled or looked at her with intensity, he looked more like an innocent boy.

The unexpected freezing weather didn’t bother them. They were so engrossed by each other’s presence. Suddenly he pressed his lip unto her lips. It sent shivers into her body. She never had a man touch her like that. Ironically she was enjoying it when she really wanted to leave before things went out of control. She kissed him back.

But the kiss was quick one. She didn’t let him speak and ran as fast as she could. When she reached home, she found her parents waiting for her. They looked very furious. “ Where did you go? We were looking out for you.”, her mother asked. “ Sorry muoj ( mother)! I had gone out to pluck vegetables in garden. Do you know there are better grown vegetable in this area which is few distance away from home? I was there.”, she lied. Her parents were relieved to see her safe. “ Don’t you ever do this? We are worried about your safety,dear!”, her father said.

She walked towards the bedroom with thoughts about the jawan. She was stunned, guilty and bit excited about what had happened. Why? Was she falling into love? Was it just a distraction from harsh realities? She wished it was just a distraction. She knew it wasn’t love. How can anyone fall in love in few meetings. But it didn’t end there. She was surprised that she had kissed him back. Why ? Why did she do that? She had no answer for that.

He was convinced that she loved him back. The only thing bothered him that she wasn’t aware of the fact - she was in love with him. He smiled though it wasn’t happy one. He smiled because he understood the truth at last. He wanted to jump in triumph. However he couldn’t do that because she still had to express it through words. Love wasn’t complete when the person in the other end expressed their feelings with help of this three words- I Love You.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 16

She had gone out for a walk. It had become a secret pastime.. a pastime which she couldn’t do freely. But there was no way she could stay at home and sulk all day. So she had observed the hours when her parents would go out for some work. When she would find herself alone, she would take the opportunity to walk out for sometime. Fortunately she was never caught for his misendeavor

Every day she would finish her walk for an hour and reach home on time to greet her parents. But the news of her marriage had her consumed that she didn’t see either time or the route she had taken. When problems consume your life , you sort of shut yourself from the whole world. However people like her couldn’t do that because of her traditional mindset family. As she walked with mind full of thoughts, she didn’t notice a person arriving from opposite direction.

She almost hit the person. She looked at him to apologize. And there he was.. the cause of her losing her freedom. Fumes of fury raised her blood pressure. If she had any sharp object, she would hurt him without even thinking. She didn’t feel remorse for thinking evil about a person she didn’t know. Instead of expressing her anger,she chose to move on from the place.

However that didn’t happen. Abhinav spoke before she could think of leaving, “ Hey! It been long time since I met you. I didn’t have any contact with you so I am really sorry that I couldn’t reach you. Since you had already made it clear not to come around the house because of your family, I respected that. Can you.. forgive me?” Her temper was uncontrollable. Before it could erupt, she walked away.

He was surprised by her sudden action. Instead of waiting there, he followed her.  She noticed him following her and stopped suddenly. “ Stop following me ! I don’t need your apology and I don’t care about you not making it up. It’s fine! I knew that from the beginning … you are not good to be trusted.”, she spoke dryly. His heart had become vulnerable to her indifferent behavior.

“ Sorry for whatever you think I have done. I really didn’t mean that! But you are also not being clear about what wrong I have done to you. Why are you so furious at me?”, he asked politely. She was quiet. How could he ever say that he doesn’t know the reason for making her life miserable?  “I had made it clear then! Don’t you dare act innocent? What more should I say? Anyway, I am leaving! It’s no use speaking to you.”, she growled. He grabbed her hand and pushed her closer towards him until she felt his body heat. She could almost feel the his heart beat. Or was it her heart pounding due to fear? Why was she trembling against him? What was he going to do to her?

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye - Part 15

The light shades of blue and green coloured wall became blurry. Everything suddenly turned dark in front of her eyes. Within few seconds, everyone around her realised that she had fainted. Her father firmly held her in his arms and put her on the bed. Her mother sprinkled water over her face. She didn’t respond for few minutes. After constant sprinkling of water on her face and rubbing her palms, she woke up to the hard reality.

She wanted to forget this as some bad nightmare. But it wasn’t. She couldn’t believe her uncle could ever come up with marriage for her. Wasn’t preventing her from going to school more than enough as a punishment? What she did was not a big sin? It was just a curious expedition to the wilderness. She didn’t expect her uncle to be like everyone else at her family.

“ Are you fine, child? I know the news might have had some influence over you. Look at you! You are still shivering. But you don’t have to be scared. Marriage is something that you cannot avoid. And you should be lucky that you are marrying a powerful personality.”, he said. She looked stunned at the words of her uncle… the same person in her life who always wanted her to strive and carve a niche for herself.  Her heart ached with disappointment and grief. She wanted to run away from everything for the first time.

Her eyes swelled up with continuous flow of tears. “ Why do you cry? Your uncle is right. How long will you remain with us? We cannot depend on your uncle always? Be grateful to your uncle who has bought good marriage proposal for you.”, her father supported uncle. Her temper was rising and she wanted to scream. But that was not expected from perfect daughter. A perfect daughter never raises voice even if some decision made was against her well being.

“ I .. need… time…!!”, she stammered. Her uncle was quick to respond, “ Take your time, child! I know you will choose what your family has chosen for you. You know that your family only thinks about your welfare.”  Her father looked at her sternly. “ Why do you need time? It is decided that you are going to marry.”, her father said. Her mother didn’t speak any word and in her family, only men had a say in all family decisions.

“ Give her some time, brother! I will come later to know her decision. She will never let us down.”, he said, walking out. ‘ Never let us down’  echoed in her ears. Yes! That was expected from her by her family. She was expected to accept the fate of her life blindly. She was expected to forget the dreams she had grown up dreaming. But the big question was - Will she let her family down?

( To be continued)

Apple of your eyes- Part 14

Mohi- ud-deen and Anish Khan were discussing their so called plan in soft voices. “ Ok! Isn’t my profit margin too small? Sir, what will I get out of this arrangement?” Mohi-ud-deen whispered. Anish smirked and said in cold voice,” Well! Don’t underestimate the  output of this deal. I will marry your niece and in return you will get a part of my wealth.”

Mohi-ud-deen was astonished at the offer. He knew Anish Khan had many wives and was too old to get one. But the revenue he would get out of this alliance was going to double the money he was getting now. He thought about the power , status and numerous projects he would get if he would marry his beloved niece to Anish.

Would his family accept this marriage proposal? Why not? They had no choice in front of him. He was the head of the family. He made all the decisions. “ What is there to think so much? You have wealth that could fulfill your family’s necessities for decades. And I heard that you wanted to leave this petty activities and try something big. I would like to advise you that even to do big things in life, you need money. And I can be your source to all activities you dreamt of.”, Anish said, tempting Mohi-ud-deen to do unspeakable… sacrifice his beloved niece to the devil.

As expected, Mohi-ud-deen sold his niece for the greed of power. “ I accept your offer!”, he said with smile and shook Anish’s hand. Mohi-ud-deen bid Anish with promises and hopes of bright prospect of future ahead of him. After few minutes, he was all alone in blue room, planning to share this news to the family. He was aware of the hidden revolt that would take place behind him. But he knew how to bring down the voices against him.

Aafreen was helping her sister with her homework. This had become a routine. After household chores, she would help her sister with homework for an hour. This hour was blissful for her. The books … the abdunace of knowledge in them gave her peace for sometime. As she was indulging herself into the moments of peace, the presence of her uncle at her home disrupted her moments of peace.

She couldn’t meet her eyes with her uncle. She simply left the room and hid herself.  Her uncle was discussing something serious with her parents. What was it now? What did she do again? Did he get to know about her meeting the jawan ?  She saw her father coming towards her and bought her to her uncle. Her eyes were still bent. Her uncle lifted her face with both his hands and said, “ You are the apple of my eye. I know you will not say no. There is a man who wants to marry you. He will keep you happy…”. Her ears became deaf to his words after she heard the word ‘ marry’. Her life came to standstill.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eyes - Part 14

There was deep silence between both of them. They were seated at small coffee shop with her books on the table. The books were heavy and thick. There were some notes folded inside the book which was handwritten by her. Both were hesitant to speak first. She stared at him eagerly , waiting impatiently for him to start. He only wanted to look at her wide eyes. He searched for words to say something with no luck over controlling his fear to disclose his true emotions.

They displayed momentarily smiles at each other. “Hmmm…”, he said but before he could say something, Nanda appeared from nowhere. He rolled his eyes in anger and disappointment. “ He had to come to spoil everything”, Abhinav thought. Nanda smiled sheepishly at Aafreen. When he turned to Abhinav, he was tensed. “ I am sorry but could you spare few minutes.”, he said nervously.

Nanda took him to the corner where Aafreen couldn’t hear their voices. “ This is ridiculous! Why are you here? Don’t you understand that I was trying to make the situation better between her and me. You spoiled it!!”, Abhinav said angrily. “ Don’t accuse me!  Your so called girlfriend’s uncle has struck it again. Sources have quoted him discussing about some deal with Anish Khan ( fanatic leader).”, Nanda whispered trying to control himself from raising his voice. He knew very well that there were spies everywhere.

“ Ok! If you want me leave you with the nation’s wanted man’s niece. I will make some excuse to Major who needs you badly.”, Nanda added. “ Stop blackmailing me ! You know what nation’s security is to me. I wouldn’t let anything come in front of my country. So chill! Let’s go!”, Abhinav said. He bid goodbye with apologising at the same time. She simply smiled and asked him to carry on. There was pinch of disappointment which she had hidden it with smile. But when you are in love, you can make out the slight disappointment or happiness on your beloved’s face. And indeed Abhinav saw that clearly on her face.

During the whole journey, he thought about her and Mohi-ud-deen. He wondered about how could two persons belonging to same family and bloodline be so different. He also thought about whether Aafreen knew about her uncle’s double face. Mohi-ud-deen was master of manipulation.  He was manipulating not only the society in general but his favorite niece too. He had heard from secret sources that she looked upon her uncle with pride and respect.

She knew that she shouldn’t have believed him too soon. She walked to her house with gloomy face. She did expect that her dreams would become reality now. But she was wrong. She felt guilty for accepting his offer. Sometimes risk taking never worked for her. She decided that when he would call her next day, she would say no- a word that she had never known existed in her life.

(To be continued)