Chapter-4
Previously- Medical student, Aradhya waiting for her follow inmates [ apprising model and her cousin Poova and classmate Aryan] in their rented flat at night. Aryan came bloodied and bruised and lost conscious at doorway. Aradhya treated his wound and get worried that Poorva not coming home. Later get call from police station about Poorva’s accidental death and the news of her horrible death left aradhya broken. Later she confront Aryan about his injury. Aryan said he was in love with poorva and also they were dating. Aradhya came to know that Aryan and poorva had a date, the night poorva died and came in conclusion that Aryan knows about the incident of poorva’s death and asked him to speak out about it.
“you loved her.” Aradhya laughed humourlessly “she said she was going to propose her boyfriend today… and he was you.. Aryan.” Dam of tears broke from her eyes. She furiously rubbed the tears “so you were there when all of it happened. You know everything. Tell me Aryan how my cousin died.” Aradhya asked.
Aryan looked blankly at Aradhya for some second and looked at other side “ I don’t know about poorva.”
“what do you mean by you don’t know? She went to meet you and never came back home and you are saying you don’t know!… Aryan speak to me.” Aradhya was frustrated then. “ok fine, leave poorva. What happened to you? You came back bloodied and bruised with a f**king bullet stuck in your shoulder and don’t you dare to tell me you don’t know about this also?” still Aryan was silent and Aradhya patience running off.
“fine you are not going to open your mouth right?” aradhya got up and turned her back.
“aru…!” she held. “poorva… she didn’t came.” Aradhya turned back towards him and proceed to sit down again. “i..i… was waiting for her.. but..but ..she never came. I got upset and I was returning home. And there I saw a group of thugs were teasing a girl… no ..not teasing.. they were literally harassing her s*xually. The girl was pleading for help. I went to help her. Told them to leave her alone but they started trashing me. In self-defence I took a knife from them and unknowingly stuck in a thug’s eyes. I don’t remember what happened after that.. I just heard a trigger going off and then a piercing pain shoot out through my shoulder and back… I thought I will die but after sometime I managed to pick myself up. There was no one. May be they left me thinking I was dead. … I am sorry I don’t know anything about poorva.” Aryan finished and looked expectedly to Aradhya for any kind of reaction.
Aryan felt like Aradhya’s eyes pierce into his very soul. He could not looked into her eyes for long. He lowered his eyes and bowed his head. Few drops of tears fell from his eyes.
A soft hand landed and stroked his injured shoulder. “I trust you. You are my Aryan.” Aradhya said in a broken voice and Aryan closed his eyes dropping few more tears and gritted his teeth in subsiding anger.
Aradhya splashed water on her face again and again. She looked at mirror and recalled everything that happened in past few hours. She could not believe the boy she is in love with, loves her sister and her sister is no more in the world. She splashed water on her face again then grabed a towel to dry her face. She held her unruly hair and tied it all up with a hair clip. She straitened her dress and got out of the bathroom to find Poorva’s and her parents were sitting in the lounge. Her aunty was crying her heart out and her mother trying her best to console her. Poorva’s father, her uncle was sitting brokenly on a seat staring blankly at the door waiting for arrival of her daughter’s dead body. Aryan and her father went to finish formalities to bring her body back.
After post mortem all went to identify the body. It was indeed her cousin’s body. The body was so familiar yet Aradhya thought it was the first time she was seeing that girl on the stretcher. Her face was nothing like her cousin. Her cousin’s face was so pretty but the girl on the stretcher had an ashen face. Totally darken and void from any warmth. Her face had multiple bruises and her body too along with scratch marks. A green plastic covered her back of the head. They were informed there is nothing left in her back of the head. Doctors tried hard to make it look like an actual head by putting large amount of cottons and gauges to fill up the space . Aradhya didn’t dared to remove that cover from her body to see full extend of her injury.
Post-mortem report says Poorva Deshmukh died from severe head injury in the back of her head. They said her brain splashed out of her skull on the spot. Multiple bones broken along with spine. There are some evidence of force on her body like hand prints and nails scratches but on medical examination it has been proved that no intercourse took place.
“ring.” The sound of doorbell brought aradhya out of her musing. Her uncle went to open the door. Aryan and Aradhya’s dad entered the room followed by hospital staffs carrying a covered body on a stretcher. They put the body down on the awaiting bed as carefully as they can and left with the stretcher followed by Heart-breaking screeches from the mother who just lost her child.
After cremation Aradhya’s whole family got back in their small flat. A gloomy aura was lingering in the air. Everything was unnaturally silent and Aradhya was hating this silent. Aradhya looked around in the house. Everyone was doing their own work or just sitting brokenly with tears in their eyes but Aradhya could not see Aryan anywhere. She restlessly looked around for him. She didn’t even realise when Aryan just sneaked out from there. A heart-breaking fact hit her like stone. Yes, everyone is sad because they lost one of their loved ones and Aryan also fall in that category. Yes, he is not family by blood but he was connected by heart. He just lost the girl he loved. Just thinking about the fact that the person she is in love with is in love with someone else making her heart bleed, she can’t imagine how much pain her love is going through by losing his love.
She got up to look around for him. When she was about to open the front door her father stopped her. “You are going out now? It dark outside. We already lost a child. Can’t let that happen again.”
“Dad, just because we lost one of our loved ones it doesn’t mean we will stop living. If I have to stay here I have to go out from the house. The thing which happened and will happen in future is destiny. I can’t just stay inside home fearing destiny because it will catch up someway or other.” Aradhya know her father’s pain and fear but she can’t let the fear engulf her family.
“I am going out to search Aryan, he must be upset and also feeling left out in front of family.” Aradhya said softly.
“ok, my child… just be safe and careful.” Shaswat said.
Aradhya smiled sadly and left.
Searching lead Aradhya to a park. Aryan was sitting inside the park on a bench. A post lamp was flickering on and off. Aradhya proceed there holding two cups of coffee, she just bought. She sat beside him and put those cups between them. Aryan looked at her. So many emotions playing together in his eyes. Aradhya always appreciated his eyes. They were the most expressive eyes aradhya ever saw. She could reach his soul by those eyes. Today also these expressive eyes expressing enormous beauty. The light from the lamp making his glistening eyes shinier. They were painfully beautiful.
“Aradhya.. I was about to leave.. why you came down? I just came for some fresh air… I was…I was feeling..” Aryan started “…suffocated.” Aradhya finished.
“no.. no suffocated.. I don’t know what is it.. its like millions of emotions playing together. A strange lump stuck in my throat.. I can’t swallow it. Its burning my throat and it feels like a big stone on my chest. It’s becoming so difficult to breath.” Aryan tried to make understand.
“I understand you. I know what you are feeling.” Aradhya said. “you lost your love and I lost my sister. But the pain is not any less because… I came to know my sister left this world talking my share of heart with her.” Aradhya looked at her folding hands on her lap and smiled sadly. .. “What a bad sister I am! I envy my dead sister… ha..ha..haha.” Aradhya laughed humourlessly. She looked up to see a shock face of Aryan staring at her disbelievingly. Those eyes piercing her soul.
Aryan swallowed an invisible lump and looked other way. He then looked back agan. He was about to say something but nothing came out of his mouth. “heh…” a mocking sound of laughter escaped his lip. He smiled and shake his head in disbelieve and looked at sky. He stood up abruptly without looking at Aradhya.
Out of urgency Aradhya pulled his hand stopping him from leaving. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. But what can I do… I can’t help it. I ..am.. Aryan… I am sorry, I couldn’t bottle it up anymore. I had to take it out.. I am sorry Aryan but I love you.”
Aryan looked at her and pulled his hand away from her clutch. “Why now? You know, its not the right time, right?” he said brokenly.
“Aryan, I know its not right time to say it. I know how vulnerable you are right now.. please don’t get me wrong. I am not taking advantage of your vulnerability. I have always loved you..always ..but couldn’t say it. But now when I heard that before me someone else loved you and you loved her back.. I couldn’t bottle it up anymore. … think me selfish or anything but I just cannot lose you… please… not again.” Aradhya pour out her heart.
“But Aradhya that someone is your sister and now that someone is dead… your road must be clear now.” Aryan said blankly and left leaving Aradhya in her own misery.
A/N- So sorry for the late update. Was very busy these days… wow I created such drama,. Can’t belive it. And again cliff hanger.. yaay.