Iniquity: a tale of guilt and love || Completed

12. consequences!

"tum rah jao jate jate toh sajde me jhuk jau"
(If you stay and not leave, I will prostrate and worship)

" Ek baar kah do, ruk jao, sau baar ruk jau"
( Just tell me to stay once, and I will stay a hundred times)

"Jis haq se roku, wo haq, kaha se lau?"
( The right to stop you, where shall I bring it from?)

"Tumhi bolo fir, kis rishte se ruk jau?"
( Then you only tell me, for which relation between us shall I stop?)

Suman woke up in the middle of night, horrified with her dream. It had been so real, the pain in his eyes and the desperation in his body language to stop and be with her forever. Suman gulped down an entire glass of water. Was it just a dream? Her mind went back to the day earlier, when Shravan had broken down in her arms. Even in his sobs, it felt like it was just the shallow shore, the deep ocean was still hidden beneath his stoic face, in his heavy heart! Suman couldn't sleep anymore, his words and his voice ringing in her ears again and again. Was he fine?

Finally, when her heart could not take it any more, she rang him up, waiting with baiting breaths for him to pick up. It didn't even strike her mind that it was freaking 3 am in the night. The first call went unanswered. Even the second one none picked up. Suman was about to throw her phone after the third call when it was finally picked up.

" Hello, shravan! Shravan?", Suman spoke hurriedly wanting to hear her voice, desperately.

" Sumo!", His voice came, but it sounded like a distant dream, like it was coming from a far fetched space.

" Shravan!", Suman let out an audible deep sigh, " please, tell me you are alright".

There was silence, haunting silence on the other end.

" Shravan!", Her voice begin to crack, " please talk to me".

Pal bhar thehar jao,
Dil ye sambhal jaye,
Kaise tumhe roka karu!
Meri taraf har gum fisal jaye,
Aankhon me tumko bharu!

His warm breaths could be heard, but he still didn't speak. Maybe he didn't trust his voice, he knew it wil betray him. The comfort that her arms had provided him on his breakdown, made him crave for more, because his heart was getting too heavy now. He could not take this sharp pain anymore.

Bin bole baatein tumse karu,
Agar tum saath ho!
Agar tum saath ho!

"Sharavan", suman was getting inpatient now. She wanted to hear his voice and make sure that he was okay, far but okay.

" Sumo", his voice sounded like honey to her sore throat. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sound, and even though it sounded like raspy, she was glad to hear it.

Behti rahti, nahar nadiyan si,
Tere duniya me,
Meri duniya h,
Teri chahto me, mai dhal jati hu,
Teri aadaton me,
Agar tum sath ho!

" Shravan! Please come back. Come back to me!", Suman could not help but plead him and in turn heard him sigh.

"I am fine Suman!", Sharvan finally spoke, one complete sentence but Suman felt like it pained him to say that.

"No! I don't believe you. And what is this Suman- Suman bullshit? I am sumo, call me sumo!", Suman cried like a child, trying to bicker with him.

Teri nazron me h tere sapne,
Tere sapno me h naraji,
Mujhe lagta h ki baatein dil ki,
Hoti lafzon ki dhokhebazi!
Tum sath ho ya na ho,
Kya fark h!
Bedard thi zindagi bedard h!
Agar tum sath ho!

" Suman, you only asked me to call you Suman na, that I don't have the right to call you sumo anymore!", Shravan answered, somehow maintaining the stoic voice.

" So? I tell you so many things but you oblige neither. Then why so hell bent to follow this? Call me sumo, that's it.", She retorted trying to make him fight her, argue with her, anything!

"Your closed ones call you sumo, Suman. I...I don't think I am that, anymore", Shravan said and Suman almost wanted to hit his head somewhere.

"Idiot! You are the closest one to me, today, tomorrow and forever. Do you get that?", She screamed into the phone, her own heart now feeling light as she said it to him aloud.

" Suman!", She could hear him gasp, and she could even imagine him opening his mouth to speak and then closing it again, unable to speak.

Palke jhapakate hi, din ye nikal jaye,
Baithi baithi fangi firu,
Meri taraf aata har gum fisal jaye,
Aankhon me tumko bharu!
Bin bole baatein tumse karu,
Agar tum saath ho!
Agar tum saath ho!

"Sleep sumo, it's late!", Shravan sighed and hung up. Suman felt irritated out of her wits. What was with him and these sighs, like he was tired of life or something? She again tried to sleep, which didn't come to her unless she decided to book her flight the next day and go to him. The decision made her feel a little easy and she finally fell asleep.

Next morning, Suman was lost as she served breakfast. Her heart was still on that phone conversation with Shravan. Did he have breakfast?

" Suman?", Pushkar's voice broke her chain of thoughts and she looked up at him.

" Pushkar, book me flight or train ticket to Chandigarh, urgently", Suman said taking everyone by surprise. Ramnath malhotra was startled.

"Suman, is Shravan alright?", He asked clearly worried.

" Yes, I think so. But I want to go to him", Suman didn't meet his eyes.

" But you can't go to Chandigarh now Suman!", Pushkar spoke, fiddling with his fingers. Suman raised her eyebrows at him as she noticed Preeti gulping in fear. What the hell was going on?

"Why can't I go?", Suman asked and Pushkar gulped.

"Because you have your flight to Amsterdam tonight!", Pushkar spit it out and Suman's eyes widened in shock. But before she could react she heard everyone gasp.

Because at the door, Nirmala Sharma was standing with misty eyes.