Rab Rakha

Chapter 6

"Aap ke bolne se kya hota hai? Andar Sana Chandigarh jane ki packing kar rahi hai." Sheena informed her mother.

"Kya?!" Anju was taken aback, she immediately went to her daughter's bedroom to talk to Shehnaaz.

"Beta, tu kaha ja rahi hai?" Anju asked.

"Aunty, Bua ko acha nahi lagega. Rehne do na. Mai bhi Mummy Papa se mil aungi isi bahane." Shehnaaz replied in a consoling manner.

The bad aunt, had only questioned why they were tagging her along because there were already so many people, it would only increase Rajiv's expenses. Not that Shehnaaz was hurt about it, the bad aunt didn't really matter to her but she did realise that Rajiv's expenses would ultimately increase because he was going to make arrangements for so many people. She thought if she wouldn't go then she could help them save a little amount of money.

"Lekin tujhe toh Mumbai se lehenga lena hai na?" Anju asked.

That was another thing Shehnaaz had realized, even if she protested, Rajiv wouldn't let her pay for her dress. That man had always considered her as his own and was definitely going to pay for her lehenga and everything she was planning to buy for her best friend's wedding.

"Aunty- wo- rehne do na. Kyu mere liye aap Bua ki baat nahi maan rahe ho? Wo rishtedar hai aapki, aapne sari zindagi unke sath bana ke chalna hai." Shehnaaz tried to justify her actions.

"Badi aayi, dadi Amma! Tere dimag me kya chal raha hai, sab samajhti hu mai. Tere liye 2-4 kapde lene se hume koi financial crisis nahi hogi!" Anju replied as she walked closer and held the girl's hand.

"Aunty-" Shehnaaz tried to speak.

"Sana, tujhe aise hi beti nahi mante hum. Kabhi tere aur Mickey me farak kiya hai humne?" Anju asked. It was clear that this woman wasn't going to back off.

"Nahi aunty, aap aise mat bolo. Chalungi mai Mumbai." Shehnaaz sighed.

"Meherbani!" Anju sarcastically thanked her for agreeing, the ladies chuckled and shared a group hug before they got back to their final packing.

"Sare bags count karti hu mai, tu laptop nikal rakh. Netflix dekhte dekhte jayenge." Sheena suggested her friend as soon as they boarded their train the other day.

Since it was going to be a good 22 hour or so journey, the girls had planned how they were going to just stay up in their berths and binge watch some series.

"Anju, ye sabzi toh badi achi banai hai! Kafi time ke baad tumhare hath ka bana khaya." The bad aunt complimented while they were having dinner from their tiffin.

"Thank you didi, lekin sabzi Sana ne banai hai." Anju replied proudly, pointing at the girl sitting right above Sarita's berth.

"Hm." The bad aunt nodded dismissively, focusing on her food. While the others silently shared smiles.

It was so cold at night, the constantly moving train, AC coach and the lack of space was a little not comfortable. They stacked themselves up with tea, chips and biscuits the salesmen brought every now and then. That's the train journey for you!

"Hello? Babu mai train me hu, awaz clear nahi aayegi." Sheena was talking to Gurjot late at night.

"Abe, yaha toh baat na karo." Shehnaaz rolled her eyes at her friends who wouldn't leave behind any chance to talk over the phone. She climbed out of her berth and walked towards the gate, to spend some time with herself because she didn't feel like sleeping that night. Sheena and Gurjot were so madly in love! She was starting to feel like she should date someone just to keep herself busy!

But then she didn't want to date anybody just like that. For her the dating criteria were so easy yet so complicated. Sometimes she wanted to be in a romantic relationship just because her best friend was in one while sometimes she didn't want a relationship because she feared it might make her suffer like their parents'.