Anirudh was standing there stunned, his heart, his mind was freeze after that familiar voice hits his ear. He looks at the body in Saurabh's hand and tears falls off his eyes.
A gasp can be heard, he wanted to look, but his body wasn't supporting him. His body was freezed.
The sound of footsteps, ghungroo started nearing him and he wasn't getting what to do. His eyes were fixed on burnt dead body, should he turn around or not. Is this all true? Is she really alive? What if it's only a hallucination and she will disappear once he turns around.
His mind was running in all those thoughts.
Finally she passed through him, he can sense it, that warmth, that sense of her being around, that smell, it's all of her. He can feel it, still he didn't look at her.
"Saare paise humare paas h" Neeya says gaining everyone's attention. There was sharpness, anger in her voice. Her saree was lil bit torn, blood on her head. Her whole body was covered in dust with her hair messy.
Neeya stands infront of the officer.
Anirudh finally looks up, at her back, making his heart shattered.
Again, he was questioning himself,' is she for real? Is she really here?'
His eyes were just moving from the burnt body to her back. Her voice was ringing in his ears.
"Apke saare kishto ke paise mere paas h. Agar aap chahe to wo saare paise mai apko isi waqt de skti hu lekin ussey pehle apko meri kuch sharte maan ni hogi."
The chaprasi converts and tells him in his native language.
"How can we trust you that you have all those money?"
The chaprasi translates for her.
"Mausi!" Neeya calls out and the widow who was at Kamal's walks to her with a potli in her hand.
Neeya takes that potli and opens it so the officer can have a proper look. There was coins in the potli and now officer was convinced.
"Baaki paise apko meri shart maan ne ke baad miljaega. Balki, jitne kisht h, ussey jyada mil jaenge apko."
"Fine. What do you want?"
Again chaprasi translates all of this.
"Pehli, Kamal ne jitni bhi ladkiya apko bheji h, ya apne unhe London mai bech dia h, unko shi salamat waapis laya jae."
The villagers looks at her in shock. Afterall they didn't knew their daughter were sold off.
"Doosri, apki tanashahi band ho. Kisi se bhi unki ajaadi ka hak cheen ne ka apko koi adhikar nhi h."
"Aakhri, apne jinlogo ko bhi bandi banaya h, unsab ko riha kijie. Agar h manjoor, to le jaie saare paise."
As his peon was translating, Neeya takes a look at Trilochan who was looking at her in pride. There was this kind of happiness glowing in his eyes.
"Fine. Am ready." Then he whispers something in his peon's ear and he walks in.
Neeya then glance at Anirudh, who wasn't looking at her, but the burnt body beside him. She can sense the pain on him. His eyes were glooming with tears. She wanted to run to him, wipe off his tears, hug him. She felt a pang of pain in her heart, but kept it deep inside.
After waiting for God knows how long, few motor vehicle stops there and few men, women, and girls comes out of it with their handcuffed, officers behind them.
"Remaining girls will be back by this week, by ship." The British officer speak and signals his men to Kamal, who takes him with them.
There, as they remove the handcuffs, the victims starts running to their known and loving ones.
Someone was hugging their wives, sisters, mother, children, husband and father; checking each other for any wound, their eyes teary. No one was able to utter a word but actions were enough, caressing face, hair, hugging each other. The view was just so emotional.
That's when, finally, Neeya eyes fell on a dark brown teary eyes. She was yet again lost in its beauty. It's been so long but those eyes never fails to trap her heart.
A tear fell off from hers too.
She smiles lightly and now she just want to run and hug him tightly, give all the love to him she has for him, just gave herself over to him.
But then she realised, there was no happiness on his face, no sadness, no calmness, no anger nothing. It was empty. His face, his eyes, everything was shouting emptiness to her.
Her heart broke at this. She can't see him like this.
And then her eyes fell on the burnt body which was lying beside him. Everything made sense to her now.
She starts walking to him when Anirudh too backs away slowly, moving his head in "no" making her stop. She kept her eyes on his, but slowly, he disappeared. Those eyes disappeared.
The only thoughts running around her head was 'what did she do and why. Why this happened? What will happen now? How she will face him?'
"Neeya." A manly voice break her thoughts and she wipes off the tears looking back at Trilochan and Binoy.
Seeing at them, a sudden emotion ran in her body and she runs into Trilochan's arm, giving him daughterly hug and starts weeping.
"Kaka ji..."
Trilochan too gets emotional and fatherly caress her back while Binoy too emotionally pats her head.
"Meri bacchi wapis aagai...humari ghar ki durga wapis aagai......saari khushiya aagai..." Neeya nods in his embrace.
"Ab...kabhi aise mat jana..huh.." Neeya again nods sobbing. "Ab..kabhi nhi jaungi..aap sab ko chodh ke...." She pulls herself back looking at both her father. "Nhi to aaplog ko tang kaun karega...daantega kaun."at this three of them chuckles, but Neeya was saddened deep inside, remembering Anirudh's face.
"Kaka ji...mujhe maaf kar dijie...maine hi mana kia tha Anirudh ji, Saurabh ko aap log ko kuch batane ke lie....maaf kar dijie.." Neeya says joining her hand.
Trilochan holds her hand,"tu waapis aagai na...humare lie whi kaafi h...tu khush reh, Salaamat rhe, aur kya chahie hume." Neeya nods, that's when she felt a pair of arms around her waist from back.
She turns and quickly smile at her lil brother in laws and hugs them back.
"Baudi..humne apko bahut yaad kia..."
"Ha Baudi. Aapke bina kuch bhi accha nhi lag rha tha. Aap ab kabhi hume chodh ke mat jana." Neeya's heart melt at this and she cups both Batuk and Somnath's face.
"Pakka. Ab nhi jaungi. Hm..chalo ab hasdo." Saying this she starts tickling them making them laugh.
"Neeya!"
Sampoorna comes and hugs her tightly. "Hume laga ki humne tujhe kho dia h....pagli....aisa koi karta h kya....." Neeya smiles lightly and wipes her tears away,"maaf karde Sampoorna...-" "-Neeya." Saurabh walks to her. "Tumhe abhi is waqt Anirudh babu ke saath hona chahie. Tum jao." Sampoorna and others too nods at him.
"Par wo paise-" "-mai dekh lunga. Tum jao. Wo bahut toote hue h is waqt. Usey tumhari jarurat h. Jao."
Neeya nods and runs towards Roy Chowdhury Haveli...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Anirudh Ji!".......
She runs around the hall screaming out his name.
"Anirudh Jiiii...."
"Anirudh ji kaha h aap...."
She runs to their room, then study room and the balcony but he was nowhere to be founded.
"Dekhie na, aapki Neeya aagai....aapke paas, apne pati ke paas...."
She feels sudden anxious running in her body, making her more scared. She looks around screaming his name again and again, a guilt forming in her heart.
"Anirudh ji!!....."
No answer.....
Whole house was secluded, her voice traveling the atmosphere but no clue of her husband.
She felt lost.
Alone.
Dead.
Numb.
Pain.
"Mujhe maaf kar dijie Anirudh ji.....maaf kar dijie.....laut aaie na....."
She kept sobbing, pouring her heart out, sitting in the hall of the house, empty house.
That's when something hits her mind and her heart lights up in hope.
"Anirudh ji.."
And she gets up stumbling and starts running and running, no matter what comes on way, she just kept running and running, her feet acing cuz of rough surface, but she kept running, her body, heart, mind, eyes, nerves, soul screaming only his name.
Then she stops.....
At the riverside...
Riverside where they fell for each other...
Where they shared their sorrow with each other....
Where they got almost intimated...
Their riverside, where they love to spend time.
And her eyes fell on same white kurta, dhoti, same black hair. Her nose smelling same scent. Her heart beating with same rythm, tickling in her stomach, giving her goosebumps yet again.
Tears flow off her eyes.
How will she face him after what happened. What she will say... How will she calm him, make him "him" again?...
Inhaling deeply, she walks slowly towards him and stands beside him. His back to hers. He seems to be lost as he didn't react or felt her presence.
Anirudh, on other hand wasn't able to consume all those incidents. Seeing his wife dead and then alive. His heart, mind both were numb now. He was so empty now that neither tears were flowing off his eyes, nor a smile was there.... nothing.
He was confused, broken.
And then suddenly he felt something familiar, again, that warmth, that smell, that presence...
And a hand trails around his waist, with a body pressing at his back. He felt liquid thing, tears, on his back. And now all those emptiness starts draining off slowly replacing with emotion of hurt, broken, pain. He closed his eyes letting tears flowing off his eyes, which he suppressed for long time.
Neeya hugged her husband from back but he didn't react. But she felt a warm liquid dropping on her hands. He was crying.
"Mujhe...mujhe maaf kar dijie Anirudh ji....mujhe nhi pata tha aisa hone wala h.....mujhe maaf kar dijie.....".
Anirudh's chest tightens making him clutch his hand. He can feel pain in her voice.
"Aur jab..mujhe pata chala...to maine hi mausi ko mana kia tha batane se.....sorry...mujhe maaf kar dijie...mai gunehgaar hu apki...apke dil ko thens pahunchaya....."
More tears started flowing off their eyes, staying In same position, but somewhere, there was an urge to hug each other, feel each other...
"Mai apse bahut pyaar karti hu Anirudh ji....bahut jyada......"
His throat was now filled with lump, making him cry more and more. That moment when he found the body, when he cried whole night for losing his life, when he felt dead, kept running in his mind.
"Mujhe maaf kar dijie na.....mai...mai waapis aagai....aur vada karti hu kabhi nhi jaungi....."
Yet again the fight between his mind and heart started. Mind screaming to burst out on her, but his heart, was screaming to hug her, to give all the love to her, to take her in his arm and confirm her presence to himself, to feel her.
"Maine...maine bahut galat kia....bahut....aur aap...jo saja denge mujhe manjoor h.....par...mujhse ruthiye mat....aap Ruth te h to....bahut khaalipan sa lagta h.....maine bahut galat kia bahut galat.....aap mujhe maaf mat Karie par naraz bhi mat hoie....."
Sobbing badly, her legs gave up and she kneels down her hands around his torso. Her heart, mind gave up, making her cry more and more....
Still fighting for what to chose....his anger, his fear, his sentiment, his hurted feeling, or her, her arms around him, her closeness, her warmth....what will he chose...
"Anirudh ji..... please.... Anirudh ji...."she kept sobbing repeating his name, feeling hurt, broken, pain.
When suddenly she felt a pair of arms embracing her, her face colliding with a tight chest, a tight embrace around her, and a face on her crook of neck.
He gave up. His heart won this time..
He hugged her.
Now, the two body became one, one soul that's what they are, that's why we call them Neeyarudh.
Neeya's hand find his hair while other his back. They both were crying, sobbing, but not their emotions of pain were replaced by the emotions of love, alive.
The smell, scent of each other hitting their nose, the feeling of warmth of each other body, the proximity, the closeness of each other, was enough to melt their tension, anger, pain. Being in each other arms was everything they crave for and now here they are, in each other arms, in each other souls.
And then she heard a mumbling, which she heard clearly, making her heart flutter, her heart warm. Something that made her more close to him.
Pressing his face to crook of her neck, kissing it lightly, he mumbled his feeling out, making his heart win....
"I love you.."
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