Rab Rakha

Chapter 9

Shehnaaz's ringing phone caught their attention, she told them it was her mother and excused herself.

"Ha Mummy?" She answered the call.

"Kaisi rahi shopping? Teri dress ki photo dekhi maine, badi sundar hai!" Madhu, her mother, told her.

"Badhiya rahi mummy. Lekin aap abhi call back kar rahe ho? Kal raat ko call kiya tha maine! Aap bole busy the." Shehnaaz asked her mum.

"Beta.. gussa mat karna. Tere Papa ko doctor ke pass check up ke liye lekar gayi thi. Unki khasi badhti ja rahi hai." Madhu replied.

"Arey!? Mujhe pehle kyu nahi bataya!?" Shehnaaz got worried. Her father was asthmatic and winters didn't suit him, his condition would generally be like that every December-January.

"Tere Papa ne mana kiya, kehne lage humesha iss mausam me tabiyat kharab hoti hai. Wohi medicines likhwa kar le ayenge doctor se." Madhu answered and her daughter remained silent. She knew her father did that and hid stuff  from her because he didn't want anybody to worry and they really disliked that habit.

"Lekin Sana, iss baar doctor ne bohot sare tests likhe hain. Bola reports dekh kar dawai batayega. Mujhe thodi tension hone lagi, tabhi tera call aaya toh inhone mana kiya batane se. Kehte hai bina test huye hi pareshan hone lagoge." Madhu added. How could she not worry about her husband who was a heart patient and had developed asthma over the years. But he was a tough nut to crack, he would never admit that he was in pain and not let anybody console and sympathize with him.

"Mummy, mai aa rahi hu. Aap tension na lo, thik hai? Mai aati hu." Shehnaaz replied, deciding to make a quick trip to her place. After she hung up, she began to look for flights from Mumbai to her home town. It was just 5 now, she was hoping if she could catch a flight tonight.

"Chalein?" Preeti asked everybody.

"Um, didi. I'm sorry, mujhe ghar jana hai. Papa ki tabiyat thodi thik nahi hai, Mummy se baat hui abhi." Shehnaaz was straight to her point.

"Kya hua uncle ko?" Sheena worriedly asked, she knew a little about her friend's father.

"Wohi cold and cough, lekin iss baar doctor ne kuch zyada tests karwane ko kaha. Mummy tension me hai." Shehnaaz replied.

"What are you planning to do now?" Sidharth asked her.

"Luckily, aaj raat 8 baje ki direct flight hai. Mai usi ki booking kar rahi thi." She answered, feeling bad about ruining the movie plans they were having tonight.

"Okay, let's get you going." Preeti nodded and all of them got into the car, making their way towards the hotel so that she could pack her bags.

Then they went to the Shukla's. Shehnaaz wanted to talk to Anju and Rajiv about it in person. The two were her guardians and she didn't want to leave without seeing them. She even apologized to Rita Ma for leaving so suddenly.

Sidharth could see why Sheena's family loved her so much. Even when she was worried about her father's health but she didn't fail to inform everybody about her situation, thank his family for their hospitality and apologize for the sudden change in her plans.

"Arey yaar! No!" She said, opening her backpack immediately in the car.

"Kya hua beta?" Rajiv asked her. Sidharth looked at her through the mirror, he was driving them towards the airport.