Ishqbaaz- The Future Is Here- By Shaoni- Episode 5

Link of the previous part- Episode 4

Note:- Mallika of this story is not Shivay’s ex. Mallika for now is just a name.
Gauri again is somewhat similar to the real track but only till the episode in which Om and Gauri had a fight over the removal of her shop. The fights occurred due to the negative character Thakur, is not present in this story and thus Chulbul is also absent. Gauri is just a girl from Bareily, who is still there in Bareily and lives with her mother (non-biological).

BACK IN OBEROI MANSION

“Seems like even the names doesn’t really help. I mean, we need to have some more information to find them, only the names will do nothing” Shivaay looked clearly frustrated.
Om was trying hard to stay in the reality. Ever since he heard the name ‘Gauri’ his mind reeled back to Bareily. The girl indeed had given him a hard time, she was extremely arrogant but then she did have something in her owing to which Om remembers her still today.
He jerked his head a bit as if that is going to throw the girl out of his mind and tried to focus
“Shivay, don’t worry we’ll find out a way. Right now I think you should be with Anika. Whatever you told me about your experience in Jindal Mansion (JM) seems quite odd. I mean Anika is not really someone who’ll live in illusions but then something must have really scared her. Shivay?”
Shivay looked up at Om guessing his next words
“Why don’t you ask Anika about it? I mean don’t force her but still if you could just talk it out of her. You can ask exactly what she saw in the room or…. Shivay?”
“Huh?”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes. Yes. I am listening to you. Actually you know what Om? I think instead of asking her about what SHE saw in the room, I should be asking about the thing I saw in the room.”
Om shot him a confused glance.
Shivay gave him an assuring smile and hurried towards his room.
Rudra and Prinyanka were sitting next to Anika and all three of them were smiling at each other. Shivay stood outside, not wanting to bring the tension with his presence.
Unfortunately the business in hand was important, so he reluctantly went inside and as expected the smiles faded a bit which were turned into more curious and questioning looks. He smiled at them warmly which made both Rudra and Priyanka to be again at ease and leave the room. Anika no doubt was relieved to see him but the morning’s traumatic and horrified expression still seemed to linger on her face.
Without a word Shivay sat beside Anika on the bed looking deep into her eyes, he kissed her. Wanting to drink away all her fear he pressed his body close to hers. She in return clenched him tight as if she was forcing herself to forget everything else and focus only on the most important man of her life.
Shivay could feel her cry. Embracing her in a more comfortable position he kissed her neck which made her shiver slightly. Making her lie down on bed he sat in front of her taking her hand in his and placed a few soft kisses. Soon Anika was asleep again bringing the fact in light how emotionally and mentally exhausted she was.

OM’S ROOM

“Mallika and Gauri? Now who the hell are they?”
“That is what we have to find out Rudra…”
“Come on O. Mallika and Gauri, both the names are extremely common. How on earth are we supposed to find them just by names?”

“Hmmm… I know Rudra. It’s too hard..”
“Hard? Are you kidding me? It’s impossible! If not for Shivaay Bhaiyya they possibly would have never found Anika bhabhi as well. She would have stayed that orphan Anika, all her life otherwise.”
Om looked up at Rudra instantly. Something clearly had striked him.
“What?” Rudra asked realizing the fact that something was surely going on in Om’s mind.
“Orphan!”
“What?”
“Rudra, Anika was an Orphan so she must have been brought up in an orphanage right?”
“mmm yeah. I guess yes”
“Then so must have Gauri and Mallika. I mean there are high chances.”
Rudra took some time to get the words and nodded at Om “Yeah maybe”
“Rudra, right now when we have nothing to start from, ‘ maybe’ is a better option”

SHIVAY:-

Anika was awake, and I had still no idea about how to ask her the things which I wanted to. She already looked extremely disturbed with the happenings. Still it had to be done, so I went to her with her cup of coffee and sat beside.
“Anika… mmm… that room. I mean the store room of JM. Since you were not comfortable to go inside, I checked that room myself”
She looked up at me out of shock as if I had committed a sin.
“Don’t worry. There was nothing as such inside. The room looked normal to me.”
I sounded more casual than I actually was and it amazed her more. Still avoiding the eye contact while she was intently looking at me, I continued… “except that… that…”
“That what Shivay?”
I looked up at her face filled with curiosity and a bit of horror
“Who’s Chutki Anika?”
It was her turn to avoid eye contact. She started drinking her coffee without answering.
“Anika?”
“I don’t know.”
“Anika please… there are already a very few known pieces to this puzzle. Don’t hide anymore of it…”
She sighed and took a few moments.
“You don’t understand… I seriously don’t know!!”
This time her ‘I don’t know’ meant something else
“What do you mean?” I asked
“I mean, I exactly don’t remember who Chutki is, all I remember is seeing her in my nightmares. The nightmares which will never leave me.”
She looked at me all teary eyed and started explaining her nightmare to me…
“There was another girl Shivay… another… I mean there are 2 girls always in that nightmare. One of them looks like me, most probably me, and the other one… other one looks younger than me. A lady drags me away from her and another lady takes her away… away from me. I keep screaming Chutki Chutki but in vain. We are moved apart and…”
She looked away from me.
“I call it a night mare because it scares me. It scares me because… because it doesn’t look like a dream… it…”
“What do you mean that it doesn’t look like a dream?”
“I mean it all looks real. Too real. As if I know exactly what I’m supposed to feel when something like that happens to me. As if I know the amount of pain. As if… as if I’ve been there. It looks too real”
She pressed her eyes close. The pain in her face told me that she meant her words. She exactly knew how it feels. It didn’t take me time to realize that whatever Anika was calling a ‘nightmare’ is not just a nightmare it’s a memory instead.
But if the other girl was Chutki, maybe it’s either Mallika or Gauri from the will paper but then who are those other two ladies? And why were they separated?

I went downstairs when Om called and briefed him about what I found
“We were having more names and less people in the picture, but now we have more people and less names.”
“Maybe Mr. Jindal did not want to give any part of his property to one of those from that dream…” Rudra explained.
“Maybe. But then who among them is Mallika? And who among them is Gauri?
Om, I think we need to have another chat with Mr. Chopra”

“Ha Ha, Hello Mr. Oberoi, you guys always appear sooner than I expect.”
“Mr. Chopra we need all the descriptions of the other two as…”
“I know. I know. I’ve already mailed it to you. I knew you’ll need it and of course I won’t be able to give it to you over the phone so…”
“Thanks. Good bye”

Shivay was in no mood of chit chatting.
He immediately asked for his lap top and opened the mail box to check. The descriptions he found did answer a few of his questions.
The age of Mallika was said to be five years less than that of Mr. Jindal and when he came across the given approx age of Gauri, he realized who chutki was…

Description of Anika and Gauri had no picture but beside Mallika’s description there was a passport size black and white photograph attached to it.
“So Gauri is Chutki and one of those aged ladies in Anika’s dream must be Mallika” Om summarized the facts.
Shivay sighed and leaned back on the sofa “Yes. Hopefully so. But the question is, how are we going to find them out?”
Om and Rudra exchanged looks and then spoke together
“We have a plan…”