secrets woven in moonlight

chapter 12

The chug of the train had completely consumed the air of the railway station, as large crowds gathered around the platform to board the train. Nimrat and her husband stood by the gate of the train, as dushyant and ishita looked on sadly. 

"abhi toh aayi thi aap, didi...kuch din aur ruk jaati.." stated dushyant with melancholy simmering through his tone, as Nimrat only put on a tight lipped smile. 

"meri galti hai yaar, chutti hi nahi mili zyada...jaise taise toh aaye.." stated dushyant's brother in law, as dushyant sighed, shaking his head. 

"chalo, khayal rakhna apna..." stated dushyant, giving his sister a hug, as his brother in law makes a grumpy face. 

"bhai main bhi inke hi saath jaa raha hoon..mera koi dukh nahi?" questioned his brother in law jokingly, as dushyant chuckled, him and nimrat separating from the hug, before looking at him. 

"aap rakhna na khayal, inka..." said dushyant, pointing to nimrat, as his brother in law just shook his head in disbelief. 

"tum dono bhai behen saath hi mein raho..main akela jaa raha hoon wapas..." stated his brother in law, about to board the train alone, as nimrat just shook her head while chuckling. 

Ishita only stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do, due to a lack of bond created in the little time given to her to do so with her in laws. She had a tight lipped forcefully polite smile on her face, when nimrat walked over to her with a cordial smile, caressing her cheek lovingly. 

"tumhare saath joh bhi hua pehle, usse jitna hosake bhulne ki koshish karna, apnaa aaj mat khaajana uske peeche...mujhe sab pata tha tumhare baarein mein rishta karne se pehle, par maine apni raye tumhe dekh kar hi banayi...galti sudhari jaa sakti hai, woh sab kuch nahi hoti..." stated nimrat lovingly, leaving ishita shocked, before nimrat too left to board the train, after taking one last glimpse of dushyant, and it seemed like their eyes had exchanged all that needed to be said. 

Dushyant took one glance of ishita, but before she could look at him, she look at the train that had started to leave the station. 

                                                                     ***

Ishita was feeding Jia with milk using a baby bottle, as she rested her on her lap, seated on the bed. Dushyant entered the room, couldn't help but smile at them, as he walked  closer to them, and seated himself next to them on the bed. Ishita looked upto him, and gave him a genuine smile, before turning back to jia. Dushyant seemed to be reluctant to let out words he wanted to say, until he finally did. 

"ishita, abhi station pe didi ne joh kaha aapse..." alluded dushyant to what he wanted to talk about as ishita grew uncomfortable. 

"jaana chahte hai...kaunsi galtiyan thi woh..." remarked ishita, as she scoffed. 

"nahi woh...maine pehle itna dhyaan nahi diya par..humari shaadi ke din, aap, andar se bilkul toot chuki thi, aisa lag raha tha...bas aanso nahi the, par aap, andar se itna ro rahi thi aap..ab lag raha hai, ki, tha kuch...par pata nahi kya.." stated dushyant, as they both shared a glimpse. 

"main bas, isliye jaanna chahta tha...kyunki hamara joh rishta hai, usmein humare aaj se zyada humara past hai abhi ke liye..." remarked dushyant, looking down before gazing right into ishita's eyes, as she held onto the gaze too with her eyes. 

Ishita kept jia to her side, along with keeping the baby bottle away too, before she looked at dushyant again to confess. 

"main, pyaar karti thi kisi aur se...hum dono college mein mile the...hum shaadi bhi karna chahte the...main..main..main pregnant hogayi thi humari bache ke saath...humein bhaagna pada tha isiliye...but...main pakdi gayi...apna bacha bhi kho diya...mere maa-baap ne hi meri cok maari...main toh mahole mein badnaam hogayi..mere toh bhai ne keh diya tha ki kisi dusre sheher se koi dhoondna padega, joh mujhse shaadi karega...phir, ek din, didi aayi...kisi padosi ko jaanti thi, bataya tha unhone mere baarein mein...mujhe dekhne aaye phir, mujhe keh diya gaya ki ab main layak nahi hoon ek ladke ke...mujhe toh koi aisa hi mil sakta hai, joh dusri ya teesri shaadi kar raha hoon...bas, phir, aa gayi main yahan..." explained ishita, becoming vulnerable with her choked up voice, escaping eye contact as she felt her eyes moisten. 

Dushyant squeezed her hand for providing comfort, as ishita ended up meeting her glance with dushyant's, as a gentle smile from him, made her melt and she surprised him by hugging him. Her arms ended up being wrapped around his neck, and her head buried into his chest, as she let herself cry. 

Dushyant did not know what to do first, as he ended up putting his arms around her back, rubbing her back for comfort, and letting her in the embrace. 

"ishita, pata hai kya..." stated dushyant, as ishita looked up to face him, still remaining in the embrace at the time. 

"tumhara dil saaf hai...yeh duniya shayad tumhare kaabil nahi hai...gandi itni hai..." expressed dushyant his thoughts, as ishita couldn't help but smile through her tears, while dushyant reciprocated, brushing her tears off with his thumb. 

They deeply looked into the other's eyes, as the exchange no longer needed to be of words, but seemingly everything came through mere glances.