"Masterji pranam.kaise hain aap?Kahin bahar gaye the kya?"A man asked Anubhav stopping him on his track. "Jii ji Murariji..paas k gaon Tak gye the..kuch kitaabe laane."He replied showing the man an old bag filled with books.
"Accha accha...ab aap thahere pade likhe aadmi upar se kitabe likhte bhi hain..humare toh palle kuch nahi padhta..isiliye aathvi mein 4 baar fail hone k baad baba ne dukaan par baitha diya..(he chuckled.)Thik hain chalte hain masterji..Ram Ram."
Author's POV
Anubhav Singh...better know as Masterji..is the Hindi teacher of the only school of Mandola village.His passion is writing.Loved by his students and other villagers for his sweet and polite behaviour.Lives alone in his little cottage near forest area.
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------ It was around 8pm.Anubhav was strolling outside his house.It has been raining cats and dogs since morning.The downpour has just subsided.The cold breeze felt soothing.Anubhav inhaled deeply to take in the smell of moist soil..that's when he heard foot steps approaching him.
"Yeh pairon ki awaz..Jungle ki taraf se aarahe hain shayad.Par itni raat ko waha kon jayega." He started taking small steps towards the direction of the sound...It was all dark,the moon was hidden behind the clouds..there was occassional lightening.
"Shyad humara bhram tha..isse pahele baarish shuru ho hume Ghar chale jana chahiye." He started walking back towards his house..when he again heard the footsteps..As soon as he turned someone collided with him..The lightning bolt made the person visible to him..
The girl had a deep cut on her forehead which was bleeding..the corner of her lips was bruised...She was clearly looking exhausted which he assumed was due to running for a long time.The light pink saree that she was wearing was dirty and completed drenched in water.
"Kon hain aap?Itni raat ko yaha.."but before he could finish the girl fainted.He immediately covered her in his arms..It started drizzling again..Anubhav picked her up and went towards his house. ------ Anubhav laid her down on his bed and brought a clean cloth and warm water and started cleaning her wound.He noticed some wounds on her arm and cleaned them too and bandaged them.
"Suniye..aankhein kholiye.."He slowly patted her cheeks.The girl's eyelids fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes.. Seeing Anubhav beside her she sat up with a jerk but immediately groaned as her head hurt.She touched her neck to and sighed after feeling the gold chain there.She noticed the bandage on her arm and looked at Anubhav who forwarded her a glass of water.After she drank the water Anubhav asked " Kon hain aap?Aur itni raat ko Jungle k paas kya kar rahi thi?"
"Humara naam hain Haseena...kuch log humara picha karrahe the hum unse bachke jungle k raaste se bhaag rahe the aur yaha aa pounche.."Cold wind blew through the window making her shiver.
"Aapke vastra gile hain aapko thand lag jayegi." "Humare paas dusre kapde nahi hain" "ek minute."He went and opened the steel almirah kept at one corner of the room..took out a saree and handed it to her. "Snaanaghar uss taraf hain."Haseena silently took the saree from him and went to bathroom.
Anubhav sighed changed the bedsheet and went to his kitchen,a small area separated by a curtain..
After Haseena came out he forwarded her a cup of ginger tea and two rotis." Ise pijiye accha lagega..aur khane mein humare paas filhal sirf yahi hain." "Shukriya.."she smiled and started eating the rotis dipping them into the tea.
"Aur koi nahi hain aapke ghar mein?" She asked."Nahi..hum akele rahete hain. "Phir yeh saree." She enquired. "Darasal ek vivah mein bhent Dene k liye ise kharida tha par kisi Karanvarsh hum waha Jaa nahi paye."she nodded.."Aap kin logo se bhaag Rahi hain?"he asked.. She stayed silent for a moment then spoke. "Humare chachaji k bete se..woh humse nikah Karna chahta tha humare mahroom Abbu ki jaidad ki laalach ki wajah se..humne mana kar diya toh ab woh humari Jaan ke pichhe pada hua hain..Hume qaid karke rakkha tha hum jaise taise bhaag aayein..par pata nahi kab tak bach payenge uske gundo se."she said fearfully.
"Chinta mat kijiye ap yaha surakshit hain." He assured her.."so jaiye aap..aapko vishram ki avashyakta hain." "Hum yaha soyenge toh aap?" "Ji hum bhi yahi soyenge..humare ghar mein ek hi kamra hain." He noticed the look of discomfort on her face.."asahaj hone ki avashyakta nahi hain.."he went out and came back after a few minutes with a charpoy.He took another bedsheet spread it on the charpoy,placed a pillow and lied down. "Raat adhik ho chuki hain..so jaiye." She silently obeyed his words and lied down covering herself with a blanket."Apka bohot bohot shukriya...umm.." "Anubhav"he told his name "Anubhav,aapka bohot bohot shukriya humari madad karne k liye." Anubhav smiled in response and turned off the oil lantern letting darkness take over the room.
Haseena's POV:
Aaj ki raat toh hum Bach Gaye..par kal subha jaldi yaha se nikalna padega..kuch bhi ho jaye hum unlogo k haath nahi aasakte..agar aisa hua toh Qayamat aajayegi...ya Allah humari madat karna.(she tightly clutched the pendant that she was wearing and closed her eyes.)
To be continued... Do vote and comment if you liked the chapter. Thank You.
