all my stars lead to you

chapter 13

Dushyant just ogled at purvi, unable to believe what she did.

"purvi, yeh tumne...."

"dushyant i was so scared, mujhe neend hi nahi uss pure mahine. Aur jab dusre din pata chala ki shivani aunty wapas nahi aayi, mujhe laga woh mere kaaran phas gayi hai....i felt so guilty, aur tum kitne upset the, main nahi reh paati thi tumhare aas paas. I thought i didn't deserve to have a normal life, i, isolated myself completely....main tumhe akela nahi chodna chahti thi...." confessed purvi, as she started to choke.

"so you think mom itno saalon se..." signalled dushyant, as purvi shook her head in no.

"nahi, jab woh kaafi din ghar nahi aayi, mom ne unhe phone kiya tha, she told she was in pune..." explained purvi.

"toh hua kya phir uss raat?" questioned dushyant.

"isiliye, i think, tumhe apni maa se baat karni chahiye....i might have been a bad friend at that time, i don't want to be that now." Clarified purvi.

"it takes two to ruin a friendship. I should have known ki something is going on with you, especially jab tum itni admant thi poonam ko avoid karne mein..." commented dushyant.

"she was right dushyant, woh gaadi uski thi, phasti toh woh hi....i should have been more careful that night."repented purvi.

"you know i never liked her, right?" confirmed dushyant.

"tum bahaut often mention karte the ki agar meri friend na hoti toh tum usse kabhi na jhelte..." recounted purvi.

"but, tumhare bina, main itna lonely ho gaya tha uss waqt, i would even go to her parties, just cause..." confessed dushyant.

"yeh joh hum gaadi chala rahe the, uski party se hi peekar aake chala rahe the...and you don't need to say it, i know you warned me to not go." said purvi, as they both shared a chuckle.

"tumhe daaru, mujhe cigarette, iska bada sahi business chala hum dono se..." remarked dushyant.

"i am really sorry yaar...." apologised purvi.

"arre, it's ok....you thought you had murdered someone, i think maine apna acceptable naraaz hone ka period already cross kar diya hai..." joked dushyant, as purvi chuckled.

Suddenly, kavin entered the house, and was shocked at the sight of them sitting together, and laughing.

"yeh muskura raha hai, tum hass rahi ho, jab tum dono ek hi chat ki neeche ho." Noted kavin, in an attempt to comprehend the situation.

"main kaunse alternate universe mein aa gaya hoon?" questioned kavin, as he looked around.

"abe tu koi ekta kapoor ke serial mein nahi hai, nautanki band kar." Scolded dushyant.

"dekha, ab main reality mein waapas aa gaya hoon." Remarked kavin, as purvi chuckled.

                                                                                ***

Shivani and dushyant sat across the opposite ends of the dinning table in his house.

"i am glad, aaj tumne mujhe bulaya hai." Remarked shivani.

"aap kyun chahti hain main aapko kuch ulta seedha bolo?" replied dushyant.

"oh toh, tumhe bura lagta hai mujhe waise kuch kehne mein..." noted shivani, as dushyant rolled his eyes.

"purvi ne mujhe sab bata diya..." he revealed, as she was shocked at first, but slowly calmed down.

"toh, tum jaana chahte ho, ki maine usse chodne ke baad kya kiya?" confirmed shivani as dushyant nodded in agreement.

"well, the first thing i did was check his pulse again...." narrated shivani as she recounted that night.

Shivani finds out that Anil is dead. She is made to question her steps all over again, as her plan might be threatening now. She traced back all she did right now, and when she remembered mentioning city hospital, she remembered someone she could ask for help.

She drove to the city hospital, and after anil being taken to a stretcher, she came into notice of the attending doctor and it was just the face she was expecting.

"i worked for a really high-profile lawyer, shaadi se pehle. I collected evidence, prepared case files, kabhi-kabhi unke liye court mein fill-in karti thi, aur sabse pehli baar maine yeh Dr. Mandira ke liye kiya tha. Medical negligence ka case tha, as usual, lawyer se zyada time case aur unhe main diya karti thi, and she was really thankful to me. Yeh job important thi unke liye, she was a single mother, so that day, she returned me the favour." Explained shivani.

Dr. Mandira is eager to know what has led shivani to come here and more importantly, if she could help.
"arre woh, meri mother, she is really unwell aur main unhe dekhne ke liye Chandigarh jaane waale thi aaj. Airport jaane se pehle i was getting some medicines she said she needed, aur wahan market mein hi he was lying there. I think it was a hit and run. I thought iss bechare ko hospital le aao, paas mein hi hai, par yeh toh raste mein hi mar gaye. Ab police aayegi and i will be stuck here..." made up shivani a story at the last minute.

"well, you are just in luck. MLA ke bete aur uske friends ne ek prostitute ko maar diya hai, uski body toh koi claim karne aane waala hai nahi, aur humein iss maamle ko ek accident dekhana hai. We'll just replace them." Suggested mandira.

"police ne bhi bas NOC file ki, news mein kahi bhi yeh khabar nahi aayi. Purvi ka ab door-door tak koi connection nahi tha isse, yeh confirm karne ke baad main poona chale gayi, as i had planned. Wahan meri ek friend thi, i started out by helping her out in minor cases with a tiny commission, but now i'm a partner." Explained shivani, as she leant forward, placing her elbows on the table.

"i did love you dushyant, and i did love your dad, i just needed my independence to be happy. I honestly didn't want to leave you, aur mujhe uss din bhagne ka bas isiliye regret hota hai. But knowing you were doing fine, gave me peace, so when i found out you didn't, i came back." clarified shivani in a straightforward way.

"mujhe useless feel hota tha as a housewife, aur tum bhi bade ho gaye the, tumhari apni life thi. i had no purpose after that, ek ajeeb sa khalipan tha, joh door karna zaroori tha...so i left. Tumhare saath aisa nahi karna chahiye tha, and you can be mad at me, but please, don't do this to yourself. You were this sweet and loving child....and now you are just, full of hate!" explained shivani, as dushyant glanced at his mom, feeling this weird sense of closure, and wanting to forgive her and still be mad at her at the same time.

                                                            ****

author's note: so, now that it is clear what happened that night, how will lives of purvi, dushyant and kavin change? keep reading to find out.