ishita, stood in the graveyard, surrounded by a few mourning relatives, as she watched riaan burn with a stoic face. suddenly, meera came, tip-toeing, looking for ishita. she stood in the corner, away from all those people, hoping ishita sees her.
ishita's looked on her right side, as one tear escaped her, which she immediately brush off. she knew it wasn't grief, it was what led to this. she noticed meera, as she signalled with her eyes, 'aap, yahan?' . meera pointed to a paper in her hand, as ishita looked behind at the relatives standing there, and quietly moved to meera.
"sorry, woh, cause of death ka certificate ready ho gaya tha, and mujhe laga jitna jaldi dedo, utna acha hai...." informed meera, as she handed the document to her.
"nahi, nahi, sorry mat kahiye, thank you so much, really..." obliged ishita.
"it's ok....thik ho tum?" asked meera, as ishita nodded in agreement.
"araam karo huh, thode din..." advised meera, which ishita acknowledged.
"chalo, main bhi adhe ghante ka kehke aayi thi hospital mein, i should go..." said meera before she exited.
ishita meanwhile went back to the cremation with her arms crossed, as she hid the certificate.
***
kavin was driving the car, as purvi was seated on the passenger's seat, and dushyant at at the back. no words were exchanged, and a vaccum of silence had occupied the air.
"guys, thik kiya na maine?" questioned purvi.
"kyun puch rahi ho yeh?" questioned kavin back.
"i mean, she's an orphan now....how will that ever be, good?" contemplated purvi.
"hmm, that comes with its own problems, huh?" remarked dushyant.
"i mean, itna bura bhi nahi hoga....haan thode kharche kam karne padenge, but uske paas ek ghar hai, insurance bhi theek-thaak mil hi jaayega, aur kuch paise toh maa baap ne chode hi honge...baaki, wasn't she on scholarship?" defended kavin.
"just imagine the toll all of this will take on her, though..." pointed dushyant.
"haan yaar, maybe she isn't sad or grieving, but she's disturbed for sure...." agreed purvi.
"i don't know man, after everything that happened last night, she still got up the next morning, apna samaan pack kiya, nikli wahan se, aur uss aadmi ka phir bhi respectfully antim sanskar kar diya...and she's ready to come back to college after like, tomorrow. i think, she'll be fine." concluded kavin.
"she never expresses things, yaar....she just pretends, everything is, normal...fine...that's what makes me more worried,you know?" expressed concern dushyant.
"dekho, it's not like uski life ki saari problems solve ho gayi hain, ya koi khushi ki gurantee mil gayi hai usse....but think about it, now she'll know that her mother loved her, i mean, she can finally just be someone she wants to be, there's no more pressure now. " explained kavin.
"and purvi, trust me, by killing her father, you saved her...not just for that night, but for her whole life. sometimes, a bad thing, can bring good." adressed kavin to purvi, as she might have gotten the best possible assurance.
today she knew, she had nothing left, to be guilty of for her life now.
***
ishita was about to start the car, when she was approached by a few relatives.
"arre, beta, ek second, ruko..." said a man in his late forties.
"khlo..." he said as he handed over to ishita some cash.
"iski, koi zaroorat nahi hai..." obliged ishita.
"nahi beta, kaam aayega, rakhlo...." he insisted, as ishita accepted reluctantly.
she forced a smile of gratitude, very well aware of the role she'll be playing for now, a sad, orphan girl...
***
ishita opened the door to her home, as she sighed in relief to be there. she walked around, after resting her bags on the floor. it was bittersweet, to be in this place where she had the worst of her life'd memories take place, but it was still the place she came back at this time when she needed comfort.
her glance fell on a family photo hanging on the wall, she reminisced the time with her mother, and her father's prescence reminded exactly what the house needed to be clean of.
***
"yahi waala hai na?" asked kavin, as stopped the car in front of ishita's house.
"haan-haan, bas yahan hi lagade gaadi." responded dushyant, from the back seat.
"ok....here we go." said purvi, as she took her seatbelt.
kavin locked the car, as they all stood now in front of her house. dushyant ringed the bell from his right hand, as kavin noticed that his left hand was occupied too.
"yeh kya hai?" he asked, pointing to a bunch of notebooks.
"woh, poonam se notes diye hain, ishita ke liye..." replied dushyant.
"usse bhi bula lete..." stated purvi.
"just because i have become tolerant to her, doesn't mean i like her. aur waise bhi, usko kahin jaana tha apni maa ke saath." retorted dushyant, when ishita opened the door.
"tum log?" she questioned in surprise.
"bahar se toh ghar bura nahi lag raha hai..." remarked dushyant.
"oh right, uhhm, please, come inside..." she said as she got aside, to let them in.
"i see, bags ab tak nahi khole..." pointed kavin to the bags on the sofa in the living room.
"nahi, woh, papa ka samaan hai.....for charity..." replied ishita.
"zyada samaan nahi tha, huh?" remarked purvi.
"nahi, aur samaan tha, par woh maine jalaa diya...dustbin mein bhi halki si aag lag gayi thi..." quipped ishita.
"you, you are, serious?" flustered dushyant, as she nodded in agreement, as kavin was amused, while purvi's mouth formed an 'oh.'
"so, you are, enjoying to be, home...." guessed dushyant.
"yeah, the enjoyment did start when i tore apart every single family photo..." stated ishita bluntly.
"uhh, meri maa ne curry bheji hai, she thought you must be too exhausted to cook." offered purvi.
"thanks..." accepted ishita, as she walked to the kitchen.
"oh wait, kuch loge, chaye, coffee, thanda..." asked ishita, as they all looked at each other.
"uhh, nahi, thik hai hum..." declined dushyant, as she got inside the kitchen.
"you know what, we'll just take off...you, you should stay..." remarked kavin, as he grabbed purvi, who like any other person in this situation would, agreed.
"arre, but...." protested dushyant.
"apna pyaar nibhao dushyant....yahi tumhara mauka hai..." said kavin before he left with purvi.
meanwhile, this got more awkward for dushyant, when ishita came out.
YOU ARE READING
all my stars lead to you
同人小說ishita is forced to confront after her mother's death, that she has nothing good to remember her by, only to find that everything she knew about her was completely false. dushyant and kavin are forced into the same home together, after their parent...
