Warning, not many would like this story. Many would find that it pretty much sucks.
Haven't proofread it.
"Papa... stop the car here. There is a pharmacy, I'll get my chocolate there." Gauri tells her father as she pointed at the pharmacy.
Harshvardhan parks the car to the side. "Don't eat too many chocolates." He tells her.
"Just one a day." Gauri tells him and quickly opens the car door and runs out.
"Your mouth will be full of cavities." Harshvardhan shouts after her.
Giggling at her father, she runs to the pharmacy.
Gauri stops near the counter as the salesman was busy with a customer.
"584." The salesman tells the customer.
"I am sorry, I don't have the money now."
Gauri looks at the customer in surprise. He looked to be about 16-17 years old.
"What?" the salesman asks him confused.
"My mother is in a serious condition. I need the medicines urgently. I am really sorry; I don't have the money to pay you. I'll pay you as soon as I can."
"I can't give you the medicine without the money."
"Please... I promise I will pay you. My mother..." he starts begging.
Gauri's heart went out to him and turning to look at her father, she sees him engrossed with his phone. She quickly runs to the car and opens the passenger side door.
"Let's go?" her father asks her.
"Papa... can you give me an advance on my pocket money?"
"Why?"
"I need it. Please Papa... give... how many months advance can you give?"
"Why do you need it?" he asks confused.
"It is urgent. I will explain later."
"What urgency a 11-year-old have?"
"PAPA!" Gauri calls him in a stern tone.
"Okay... 1 month?" he asks as he took out his wallet.
Gauri makes puppy faces.
"2 months!" he says frustrated.
Gauri continues to make puppy faces.
"3 months and no more!"
Gauri turns back to look at the boy and sees him leaving the store. "Okay. Give fast."
"What is the hurry??" he asks exasperated.
Gauri hurriedly snatches the 3 500 rupees notes and runs towards the boy.
"Stop! Stop!" Gauri shouts as she came to a stop in front of him.
He stops and looks at her confused.
Gauri takes the money her father had given her and keeps the 500 she had been holding together and offers it to him. "Here, buy the medicines for your mother."
He looks at her then at the money she held out for him then he looks at her as he eyes filled with fresh tears. "This?" he gulps in shock.
"Take it."
"Thank you." He whispers as he took one note from her hand.
"Take it all."
"I need only 584."
"You'll need for other expenses. Take it." Gauri tells him. "Sorry, Papa would give me only 3 months pocket money advance."
"How can I take your pocket money like that?"
"I would use it to buy chocolates and toys. Those I can buy later also. You need this money now."
"Thank you." He whispers as he tried his best not to cry out loud. "I'll pay you back." He promises as he took the money.
"It's okay. You don't have to." Gauri tells him smiling.
"I can't take it if I can't pay you back." He tells her as he started to return the money.
"Okay... then you pay me back."
"Thank you so much." He says as he started fumbling in his pocket and takes out a piece of paper and a pen. "Can you please give me your name and address?"
"Yes." Gauri replies and takes the paper and writes down her name and address.
She hands him the piece of paper and he takes it. He looks at it and then looking up at her, he says with fresh tears in his eyes, "I'll never forget this, Gauri Kumari Sharma."
"I hope your mother will get well soon. I'll pray for her." Gauri tells him smiling.
"Please do. Thanks a lot."
"You are welcome."
"I've to hurry back. My mother is alone."
"Okay."
He turns around and runs back to the pharmacy.
Since she promised to pray for his mother, Gauri joins her hand and starts praying for his mother.
Gauri finishes her prayer and curiously looks at him to see if he got the medicine and sees him watching her as he waited at the counter. She smiles and waves at him. He waves back at her.
Gauri walks back to her car and sees her father watching her curiously.
********
"You could have just got him the medicines." Harshvardhan tells her.
"You are the one who always says how expensive the hospitals are. He will need money for more expenses, right?"
Harshvardhan sighs and turns to look at his daughter. He tells her in a gentle tone. "Did you stop to consider that he might be just lying? That he is a con artist?"
"He sounded really sad."
"He could be acting also."
"He asked me for my name and address so he could pay me back."
"You gave a random stranger your full details!"
Gauri looks down sadly hearing that.
"Bacha... I am not scolding you." Harshvardhan tells her gently. "Just don't be heartbroken if he doesn't pay you back."
"I told him that it is okay even if he doesn't pay me back."
Harshvardhan nods, "By the way, you could have just asked me for the money. Why did you have to take it out of your pocket money?"
"You only say that if we want to do something then we should take full responsibility of it."
Her father smile at her lovingly, "I am very proud of you."
Gauri smiles at him and then tells her, "I hope his mother gets well soon."
********
One month later
"Here is your pocket money, Gauri." Harshvardhan offers her 500 rupees.
"You forgot, Papa? I took an advance last month. To give that boy."
"You did a good deed, so I want to give you your pocket money."
"No, Papa... He said he will pay me back."
"You forget that... maybe he won't pay you back."
"Then also it is okay because I told him he didn't have to pay me back."
"But you keep this money."
"If I take it then it would mean that I believe him to be a liar." Gauri tells him sadly.
Realizing that Gauri would remain stubborn, Harshvardhan gives up. "Okay. But if you want anything tell me, I'll buy it for you."
Gauri nods.
********
Few months later
Harshvardhan was going through his mails when he sees a letter for Gauri.
"GAURI!" he calls out to her as he kept her letter aside and went through the remaining letters.
"Yes, Papa?" Gauri comes running out of her room.
"You have a letter." He tells her as he pointed at the letter on the table.
"Letter for me?" Gauri asks confused as she took the letter.
Sitting next to her father, she excitedly opens the letter. She has never got a letter. The rare mails that her friends send were on email.
She sees a neatly folded piece of paper and she opens it to find 4 500 rupees notes. She gasps in surprise.
"Papa! Money." Gauri tells him happily surprised.
Harshvardhan looks at her curiously and then instantly remembering he says, "You gave that boy money! I forgot about it."
Gauri excitedly smiles then noticing that he had written a letter for her, Gauri keeps the money aside and reads the letter. "See what he wrote, Papa."
Hello, Gauri Kumari Sharma,
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and happiness.
I am very sorry for taking so long to return your money. I wanted to send your money sooner, but I wasn't able to do it. I wanted to send you at least Rs. 500 every month so you could have your pocket money, but I wasn't able to save up enough to send it. I am sorry for that.
Thank you for praying for my mother. It took her a while to get back on her feet but now is recovering well. After my father passed away, she is all I have. My mother always said that we are never alone, and that God is always watching over us. I never truly believed it after my father's death but that day, I was alone and helpless, you had come like a farishta and helped me. You restored my faith in God. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and I'll always be indebted to you.
My board exams are starting next month, I hope you would keep my mother and me in your prayers.
May your life be filled with laughter and happiness.
Yours Sincerely.
Gauri curiously turns the page around and looks at her father in confusion, "He didn't write his name. there is no return address."
"It's okay. He might have forgot." Harshvardhan says. "He is a sweet boy. I am sorry I misunderstood him."
Gauri smiles at him, "I told you so." Gauri jumps up and starts to run to her room.
"Where are you going?"
"He asked me to pray for them, so I am going to pray for them."
********
Couple of months later
"Gauri! You got a letter." Harshvardhan calls out to Gauri.
"Letter?" Gauri asks surprised as she runs to her father. "For me?"
"Yeah. I think it is him." Harshvardhan says as he flipped the letter to check for a return address. "No from address."
"Show me." Gauri tells him as she extended her hand to him and sat next to him.
He looks at her suspiciously and asks her, "You didn't ask him for interest, right?"
"Of course not, Papa!" Gauri says offended.
"Oh! I guess that privilege is reserved for poor old father." He mutters as he handed her the letter.
Gauri opens the letter curiously.
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health.
I really thought about it before writing this letter. I just could not help it. I was just curious. My board results are out and usually I come second in my class and this time I topped. I had requested you to pray for me and I believe it was because of your prayers that I topped. If that is true, then I want to thank you for that.
I have been preparing for my medicine entrance exam. I hope you would keep my mother and me in your prayers.
You and your family are always in my prayers.
Take care.
"Looks like he is going to give you assignments regularly." Harshvardhan jokes.
"No name!" Gauri tells him pissed.
Harshvardhan shrugs in reply.
"He asks me if I prayed for him and he doesn't give his address, how do I reply to him?" Gauri asks her father upset.
"Maybe he thinks that you won't be interested in replying."
Gauri makes a face upset.
"I like him." Harshvardhan tells her as he took the letter from her.
"Why?"
"He is determined and focused. See, how he prepared for his exams and all."
"Hmmm."
"What do you want to be?"
Gauri looks at him a little sad as she got lost in thoughts, "I don't know."
He smiles seeing her sad, "Don't worry, you have time before you make your decision. But we know it is not going to be medicine."
"I hate science."
"I know, baby." He chuckles.
"Okay, I am going. I've to go pray for him."
Harshvardhan watches his daughter run off and wonders what kind of relation was that this boy believed that Gauri's prayers made his life better and Gauri would pray for him every time he asks her to. Yet neither knew much about each other.
********
"Letter for you, Gauri." Harshvardhan informs her.
"Is there a from address?" Gauri asks him.
"No."
"Then I don't want to read it!" Gauri says stubbornly.
Harshvardhan could not help smiling, "Can I read?"
"Read!" Gauri says tying her hand at her chest and as she stared at her father angrily.
He opens the letter and reads it while Gauri watched in uncontrollable curiosity.
He finishes reading the letter and folding it, he puts it back in the envelop. Then he keeps it to the side and starts going through the bills that had come in the mail.
"Well?" Gauri asks.
"Sorry... what?"
"what did he say?"
"I thought you didn't want to read it." he tells her cheekily.
"I don't want to read it."
"Okay." He nods and gets back to the bills.
"You can tell me what is in it." Gauri tells him shrugging.
"That would be just like you reading it." He points out.
"He could have asked me to pray." Gauri points out.
"He could have."
"Did he pass his entrance exam?"
"He could have."
"You are being just like him!" Gauri accuses him angrily.
He couldn't help smiling at her, "Bachcha... come here."
Gauri drags her feet to him disinterestedly. "What?"
"He might have some reason not to write his from address. If it is causing you so much problem, then you just ignore his letters."
"He could at least write his name." Gauri points out to her father sadly.
"He could." He agrees. "I know you feel that he is taking you for granted. You always have the option of not reading his letters."
"I feel nice when he asks me to pray for him." Gauri confesses.
"If it makes you feel nice then..." he offers her the letter.
Gauri takes the letter and opens it.
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
I hope this letter finds you well and fine.
Thank you for your prayers. I am in the merit list and I would be getting full scholarship for my course. I will be starting my college soon. Please keep my mother and me in your prayers, studying medicine is not easy, so I hope you would pray for me.
You and your family are always in my prayers.
Your faithfully.
"No name!" Gauri turns to glare at her father.
Her father shrugs in reply. "There is nothing I can do."
"Hmph!"
"So, Mowgli got into medicine." He tells her smiling. "Congrats to him."
"Mowgli?" Gauri asks confused.
"Well, he doesn't tell us his name, and we need a name to call him."
"I won't call him that. I will only call him by his name." Gauri says stubbornly.
"Sure. I will call him Mowgli and you can continue to call him 'he' and 'him'."
Gauri scowls at her father then getting up she walks off to her room to pay for him.
********
A couple of years later
"I want to do CA." Gauri informs her father.
He smiles at her in reply. "Good choice."
"I want to get rank for my board exams." Gauri tells her father.
"All the best." He tells her smiling. Once Gauri started her 11th and she had dropped science, her grades had improved amazingly.
"Thank you." Gauri tells him happily as she held the letter in her hand. "Can you believe that once his exams are over, he would be a doctor?"
"Doctor Mowgli." He jokes.
Gauri laughs hearing that. Then getting up, she walks off to her room.
She walks to her study table, in one corner she had kept a open box, the size of a shoe box, it was filled with the letters, she puts the latest letter at the very end. Running her hand over all the letters as if in a caress, Gauri sighs. Then remembering that he had asked her to pray for his exams, she quickly joins her hands and starts praying for him.
********
Gauri and her father had been partying straight for the last few days. The first few days they were partying with their family and their friends. Finally, it was just them both. They had gone for a road trip for the weekend and finally tired, they reach home.
"Have you decided where to tomorrow?"
Gauri groans loudly hearing him, then she tells him, "Can't we stay home tomorrow?"
"Why?" her father asks disappointed.
"I am just too tired, Papa."
"How can you be tired?" he asks as he followed her into the house.
Noticing the letters lying on the floor he starts picking it up.
"Because I haven't slept properly in months! We can have a Pizza party and get a latest movie CD and watch it."
"Okay!" he gives in as he sifted through the letters. "Mowgli sent a letter."
"Where?" Gauri asks turning around excitedly. Taking the letter, she disappointedly looks at her father, "Still no return address."
"I am surprised that after all these years, you expect him to write his address."
"I wanted to tell him." Gauri tells him sadly as she opened the letter.
She opens the paper and gets surprised seeing a newspaper cutting slip down. Curiously she picks it up.
She gasps loudly seeing that it was the paper where her picture had come when she scored third rank for her board exams.
"What is it?" Harshvardhan asks her curiously.
"Papa, see this." Gauri hands him the newspaper article then moving towards him, so even he can read the letter with her, she starts reading the letter.
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
Isn't that you?
When I saw the photo, at first, I felt you looked familiar then I saw your name and I realized that it was you. Isn't it?
Congratulations on your achievement. I pray that you achieve all that you set out to do. May all your dreams come true. You and your family are always in my prayers.
Best of luck for your future.
Gauri looks at her father guiltily and confesses, "I don't even remember his face."
He nods thoughtfully.
"He remembers my face."
"Yes, he does."
"Does that make me bad?"
"Of course not, bachcha. How old were you when you met him? And he was just a random stranger. Then he sent his first letter after 6 months when you were already forgetting him. But for him, you were the one who helped him when he had nobody. He is bound to remember you."
Gauri smiles at him, then she hugs. As she rested her head on his chest, she confesses. "I wanted to get rank because he is so studious, and you were always praising him."
"Why are you competing with him?" he asks surprised.
"I am not competing." Gauri tells him as she looked up at her father. "You said you liked him, and he is ambitious and all. Then you asked me what I wanted to be."
"I did?" he asks a little surprised.
"Yes. All my friends say that their parents are always comparing them with the studious student, and you had never done that. That day you did, and I felt a little upset."
"I am sorry if you felt like that. I was not comparing you both. I would never do that. I might have just been curious."
Gauri nods. "I am sorry that I felt like that."
"Don't ever feel like that. You are not less than anyone." He tells her then cupping her face lovingly, he adds, "Even if all your friends conquer the whole world they won't have a heart as pure as yours."
Gauri smiles happily and hugs him.
"Didn't you notice something?" he asks her.
"What?"
"First time, Mowgli didn't write to you for your prayers."
"Yes." Gauri says surprised.
Gauri chuckles softly then she hugs her father happily while her father hugged her back, his thoughts on this strange boy and his weird connection to Gauri.
********
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
How are you? I hope this letter finds you in the best of your health and happiness.
I am finishing my house surgency. I have started preparing for my entrance exam for MS, I am hoping to get a scholarship for my course. I need your prayers more than ever now. Please don't forget to keep us in your prayers, Gauri as you and your family are always in mine.
Yours faithfully.
********
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
I hope this letter finds you well and happy.
I got full scholarship for my MS. It's all because of your prayers.
And I always pray that you get all that you set out for. You deserve the whole world, Gauri.
Yours truly.
********
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
How are you? I hope this letter finds you hale and hearty.
My exams start tomorrow, and I don't know why, but I am really worried. Please keep my mother and me in your prayers.
I pray that you are happy and healthy.
Yours truly.
********
Hello Gauri Kumari Sharma,
How are you? I hope this letter finds you happy and well.
Next week, I am performing my first surgery as a lead. I need your prayers, Gauri. So does my patient. Please pray for us all.
Yours sincerely.
********
Harshvardhan and Gauri had decided that it was time that Gauri got married. They registered her profile in a matrimony site and got busy shortlisting prospective grooms. Finally, they had found an interesting profile.
Very soon, Gauri met the prospective groom, and both had agreed to the proposal.
Gauri was getting ready when her father knocks on the door.
"It's open."
Harshvardhan slowly opens the door and walks to her.
"You are happy, right?" he asks her as he held her shoulders.
Gauri thoughtfully smiles and nods, "Yeah. You are happy about Ajay, right? So I am."
He smiles at her and kisses her on her forehead. "They are here."
"Remember, Papa. You can fix any wedding date. But I want a night wedding."
"Yes." He promises her with a chuckle. "You come fast."
Gauri nods. She watches her father leave. Taking a deep breath, she starts to leave her room when her eyes catches the letter box. With a smile, she walks to the table and gently caress it.
********
Gauri was sitting next to her father, as Ajay and his family discussed about possible wedding dates. As they threw about dates trying to figure out which was convenient for both the families, they hear the doorbell.
"Excuse me." Harshvardhan says as he stood up and walked to the door.
Gauri watched as her father walked to the door, then notices that everyone was curiously watching her father. Few seconds later, she walks back in.
"Letter for you, Gauri." Harshvardhan informs her as he kept the letter on the table.
"Give me the letter." Gauri says excitedly. "I want to know how the surgery went."
"Maybe later?" her father asks as he pointed looked at the guests.
"oops. Yes sure." Gauri says smiling as she looked back at them.
"Surgery? Is someone in the hospital?" Ajay's mother asks.
"No... nothing like that." Her father tells them as he walked to them.
"But letters?" Ajay asks with a chuckle. "Who sends letters these days?"
Harshvardhan smiles, "That is a cute story."
********
"13 years one man has been sending her letters and you just let it go on?" Ajay asks in exasperation.
"These kinds of things are not done." Ajay's father tells them.
"How can you possibly let this go? A stranger sending her letters. Don't know what kind of a man he is, and you know how dangerous these kinds of people are." Ajay's mother says worriedly. Then turning to Harshvardhan she asks, "What were you thinking?"
"If he hasn't done anything dangerous in these 13 years, I don't think he is going to do now." Gauri says offended.
"You can see how defensive she is getting for this stranger." Ajay's mother tells Harshvardhan.
"I consider him my friend."
"And all he did ever was ask for her prayers, nothing else." Harshvardhan interjects.
"He is a stalker." Ajay corrects her. "Do you know anything about him?"
"He is a Surgeon. He has a mother."
"And?"
Gauri looks at her father worriedly.
"I don't know why we are talking about this." Harshvardhan interjects seeing Gauri looking at him.
Ajay looks at him parents thoughtfully. Finally, his father says, "It is late actually. We will decide on a date later."
Gauri was surprised at that while Harshvardhan calmly nods, "Okay."
********
Gauri was lying on the bed lost in thoughts. She was still reeling from the insult on him. How dare they talk about him like that? They didn't know him! Granted that she didn't know much about him but that didn't mean she didn't know him at all.
Hearing her father walk in, she looks at him. He gets on her bed and lies next to her. she doesn't say anything.
"Ajay called."
"Hmmm."
"He said that if you promise to cut all ties with Mowgli then we can decide on a wedding date."
"How am I to cut ties?" Gauri asks in exasperation.
"they said that you shouldn't read any more letters from him. Anyways, I think you are asking the wrong question."
"What is the question that I should ask?" Gauri asks curiously as she looked at him.
"Do you really want to marry someone who is making demands and wants to decide who you be friends with?"
"No." Gauri replies softly. "I thought you were happy with this proposal."
"Not anymore."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then call him and tell him we are not interested." Gauri says feeling relieved and happy.
Nodding he calls Ajay.
"Hello Ajay... I spoke to Gauri."
"Okay great. So, when can we meet to set a wedding date?"
"Actually, I called to say that we are no longer interested in proceeding with this proposal."
"What?"
"I am looking for a life partner for my daughter not a boss. Sorry for wasting your time. Bye."
"Thank you." Gauri happily hugs him excitedly.
"I realized that he will not keep you happy."
"I love you, Papa. You are the best." Gauri tells him smiling.
"So, how did the surgery go?"
"It went well. Thank God. The patient is recovering well. Don't you want to read the letter?" Gauri asks him as she grabbed the letter, she had kept on the side table.
Harshvardhan takes it and reads it.
Gauri looks at him and asks him worriedly, "Do you think what they said about him is true?"
He looks at her in reply and then lightly shrugs.
"Do you regret that you never objected to it?"
He thinks for a few seconds then says, "To tell you the truth, if I knew that this would go on for all these years, I might have said something then."
"Oh why?"
"I don't know... being a father, maybe. If he had given his name or address, then I might have tried to find him and tried to know more about him. I would have even had a talk with him."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"What can I say? And his letters are innocent and decent. Not a single word of disrespect was there, so what could I say that would justify me behaving like that?"
"Do you want me to stop reading his letters from now on?"
He thinks for a while then says with a sigh, "I just don't know, bachcha. All I want is for you to be happy and I don't want you getting too attached to him. You should always remember that you might never meet him in your life."
"I care for him."
"Even I do. But you should realize that you have no control over this. All you can do is not read his letters other than that there is nothing you can do."
"I know." Gauri nods a little sadly.
"At the end of the day, it is you who should decide."
"Decide what?"
"Whether you can go on like this forever. Will these letters become a reason for your pain? Or you are going to be happy with just these letters. If you feel you are not, then I want you to stop reading his letters and forget him. I want you to be always happy."
"Why didn't you say all this before?" Gauri asks as she felt her heart breaking a little.
"You wouldn't have understood then. And to tell you the truth I was concerned but not worried. But now, I am starting to worry. Specially now when you are at this juncture of your life where you need to choose a partner for yourself."
Gauri thoughtfully looks down.
"You understand me, right?"
Gauri nods and asks a little softly, "Can I think about it?"
"Of course. take your time." He tells her with a smile. Then handing her the letter, he leaves.
********
Few days later
"Gauri... I was checking the matrimony site." Harshvardhan tells her one morning.
"Hmmm and?" Gauri asks curiously.
"Someone has sent an invite to connect."
"Show me." Gauri says as she moved towards him.
He passes her his mobile, and Gauri takes the mobile to check out the profile.
First, she checks out the photo and finds a very handsome man.
"Good looking, right?" her father asks her.
"Yes." Gauri agrees. She felt her heart stir a little.
Shaking her head at her stupidity, she turns to look at the details.
Dr. Omkara Singh Oberoi.
"Doctor?" Gauri asks a little surprised.
"He is a surgeon." Her father points out as he pointed at his career details.
For a second, Gauri wondered if Omkara Singh Oberoi was her stranger.
"All looks good. Should I talk to them?"
Gauri looks at Omkara Singh Oberoi's photo once more then turning to look at her father, she smiles "Okay."
********
Next couple of days went with Harshvardhan speaking to Omkara and his mother and making general enquiry regarding him and his family with the people they knew. Once he was convinced and satisfied with everything, they decided to meet in person. They decided to meet at a restaurant.
Gauri and Harshvardhan reaches the restaurant to find Omkara and his mother waiting for them.
"Are we late?" Harshvardhan asks as he walked towards them extending his hand.
Omkara stands up seeing them. He smiles as he shook hands with Harshvardhan, "We were early."
"This is my daughter, Gauri."
Omkara turns to look at her and smiles lovingly, "Hello."
"Hello." Gauri replies with a soft smile.
"My mother Jhanvi Oberoi."
"Namaste." Gauri says as she folded her hand.
"Namaste." Jhanvi replies smiling.
Harshvardhan curiously looks at Omkara as they took their seat.
Soon they got to talking. Harshvardhan and Jhanvi were talking while Omkara contributed once in a while, while Gauri remained silent.
"I think we should let them talk privately." Harshvardhan says.
"Yes, they should." Jhanvi agrees.
"You both sit in some other table and talk." Harshvardhan tells Gauri and Omkara.
Omkara nods and gets up, "Shall we?"
Gauri nods and stands up. They walk to table that was a little away from their parent's table but still close by.
They both sit down and Omkara smiles at her. Gauri smiles back at him.
"Hi." Omkara says making Gauri chuckle.
Omkara chuckles turning a little pink. "First time."
"Second time." Gauri tells him smiling.
"Ah... what happened there?"
"We said yes first then we said no later." Gauri tells him.
"Oh okay." Omkara says nodding.
They were silent for a while. Then Gauri says, "I want to work."
Omkara looks at her then he gently tells her, "My father passed away when I was 11 years old. After that I was raised by a working mother. I am here because of her hard work."
Gauri nods smiling.
"It is just Papa and me."
"It is just Ma and me." Omkara tells her.
"Would you be able to love and treat my father like you would love and treat your father?"
"I would like to believe that I am getting a father and you are getting a mother."
Gauri smiles hearing that.
********
They were on their way back in the car.
"What do you think?"
"I liked him." Gauri tells him smiling. "what about you?"
"I liked him. How did you feel talking to him?" he asks curiously.
"Felt nice." Gauri replies a little confused at the question.
"Hmmm okay."
********
The next day, Omkara had come to Gauri's house accepting Harshvardhan's invitation. Since he had come straight from the hospital, Jhanvi hadn't come. They talked for a while and then noticing that Gauri was sitting quietly, he suggests to them. "Gauri, why don't you show Omkara around the house. Show your room."
Gauri nods and stands up smiling at Omkara silently inviting him. Omkara smiles and gets up. Gauri takes him to her room. Opening the door, they walk in.
Seeing that they were alone, Omkara asks her, "Are you happy?"
Gauri smiles at him and nods. "Are you?" she asks him back.
In reply Omkara happily smiles at her.
Gauri happily smiles seeing that.
Omkara looks at her room curiously.
"I am not this neat." Gauri confesses. "The maid cleaned it up because you were coming."
Omkara smiles, "My room is pretty organized. Ma was very strict about it."
"Will she scream at me?" Gauri asks a little jokingly a little worried.
"Worse." Omkara tells her. "She will give you this disappointed look and start tidying up the place."
"Oh."
"She says you have no idea when a guest would decide to come so home should be very tidy always." Omkara tells her as he walked towards her table.
"Papa says if the house is too tidy then it wouldn't feel like home. Home should be a little messy." Gauri tells him.
Omkara looks at her and chuckles. Then he turns his attention back to the table and finds Gauri's letter box in the corner. He gently runs his hand over the letters.
Then he sees Gauri's finger as she ran her finger on one end of the letters.
"My friend sends me letters." Gauri informs him.
Gauri turns to look at him when he didn't reply. Sensing her eyes on him, Omkara gulps as he nodded his head.
"I'll show you around the house." Gauri tells him.
"Okay." Omkara replies as he nodded.
An hour later, Omkara was starting to leave when he turns to Harshvardhan and asks, "Tomorrow, I have off. So, it would be nice if Gauri and you could come home."
"I've some important calls tomorrow." Harshvardhan says a little disappointed. "But Gauri can come."
"I can come and pick her up." Omkara offers.
"That's okay. Our driver will bring her and he'll stay there and bring her back."
"Okay." Omkara smiles. "See you, Gauri."
"See you." Gauri smiles.
They were closing the door after Omkara left, Gauri curiously turns to her father and asks him, "Should I tell Omkara about him?"
"Mowgli?"
"Yes. He saw the letters today but didn't ask anything."
"What did he say about it?" he asks curiously.
"Nothing. I told him my friend sends them."
"He didn't say anything at all?"
"Yeah." Gauri nods. "Should I tell him?"
"Why do you feel like that?"
"Things broke off with Ajay because of this, right?"
"No." Harshvardhan tells her shaking his head. "We broke it off because of Ajay and his family's attitude."
"Hmmm. So, should I tell him?"
"Are you doing anything wrong, Gauri?"
"No."
"Then why are you scared of admitting it? Why you feel that you need to hide it?"
Gauri smiles though she felt a little guilty, though she had no idea why she was feeling guilty about it.
********
Next day, Gauri reaches Omkara's house. Omkara receives her at the door.
"Welcome." Omkara tells her with a smile.
Gauri smiles at him as she walked to him.
"How are you?" Omkara asks her lovingly.
"Good. You?" Gauri asks smiling, feeling a little shy.
"Good... come in."
As they were walking in, they hear Jhanvi's voice. "Did someone come, Omki?"
A second later, Jhanvi walks out and finds them. "Gauri!" Jhanvi says smiling. "I didn't know you were coming today."
Surprised, Gauri looks at Omkara. Omkara smiles and walks to his mother.
"Ma, I want you to meet Gauri Kumari Sharma."
Gauri looks at Omkara in confusion while Jhanvi also curiously looks at Gauri then turning to Omkara she says, "I know. I met her. what is wrong with you?"
Omkara smiles and tells her, "You always wanted to meet the girl who saved your life, right? My angel? That is her."
Hearing Omkara, Gauri looks at him in shock. She felt her world crash around her.
"that was Gauri?" Jhanvi asks Omkara happily as her eyes filled with tears.
"It was you?" Gauri asks in a soft whisper as she felt her eyes fill with tears.
"Yes." Omkara tells them both though his eyes were on Gauri.
Gauri felt like she would burst into tears and she turns around and runs out.
"Gauri!" Omkara calls after her as he chased her.
Gauri ignores him and gets into her car. "Go." She instructs her driver.
"What happened?" Driver asks worriedly seeing her condition.
"Gauri... please listen to me." Omkara says at the same time as he knocked on her window.
Gauri looks at him then turning to her driver, she says "Just go."
********
Harshvardhan sees Gauri running to her room crying and follows her. "Gauri... what happened?"
Gauri falls on her bed as she cried her heart out.
"Gauri, what happened?" Harshvardhan asks as he sat next to her. "Did something happen there?"
When Gauri continues to cry without replies, he leans towards her and lovingly keeping his hand on her shoulder he asks gently, "Is he... is he Mowgli?"
Hearing the question, Gauri stops in shock and turns to him, "How did you know?"
"I was suspicious." He confesses.
"Since when?" Gauri asks too shocked at what her father was saying.
"Since the first time we met him."
"Why didn't you say anything to me?" Gauri asks feeling hurt.
"I wasn't sure. So, I thought I would wait before I said anything. I thought of talking to him when the time was right."
"How did you know?"
"It was the way he was looking at you. He looked so deeply in love with you. then add to that he being a surgeon and all he has is his mother. The way he was looking at you made me feel that you meant a great deal to him."
"I felt special with the way he talked to me." Gauri tells him softly.
"Like how Mowgli made you feel." He asks her gently.
Gauri looks down as she admitted to herself and her father. "Yes."
"Is that why you decided to marry him?"
Gauri nods still looking down.
"So, aren't you happy that he and Mowgli are the same?"
Gauri finally looks up at her father and tells him as fresh tears fell from her eyes, "I feel betrayed."
"Hmmm."
"For years I have been wanting to meet him, talk to him or at least know his name. we met twice and he didn't say anything."
Harshvardhan nods understanding.
"Suddenly, it feels like he has been selfish all these years. He had been taking me for granted. Like what I thought and felt meant nothing to him."
"I can understand."
"It is like he would decide when we meet. He would decide when he would come out of hiding. Like I have no control over this. I have no say."
Seeing him silent she says, "You had asked me to think about reading his letters. I knew that I would have to decide on not to read his letters but I didn't want to take that decision, so I just kept procrastinating it. And all these days, he was talking to you, he met me, we decided to get married. He didn't say anything. It hurts, Papa."
Hearing his mobile ring, Harshvardhan takes it out of his pocket and sees that Omkara was calling him.
"Hello?" Harshvardhan answers the call as he watched Gauri. He listens to whatever Omkara was saying and then finally says, "Yes. You can come and meet her."
Saying that he hangs up the phone making Gauri angry, "Why did you ask him to come? I don't want to see him."
"You didn't spend the better part of your life wanting to meet him just to turn him away. You can get answers to all your questions, you are going to get them."
********
Sometime later, Gauri hears a knock at her door. She ignores it. A few seconds later, Harshvardhan opens the door. Omkara was standing behind him.
"Gauri, Omkara is here."
Gauri looks at Omkara as she got up from bed then she turns her face away.
Harshvardhan gestures Omkara to enter. Omkara walks in as he kept his eyes on Gauri then leaving the door slightly ajar Harshvardhan walks away.
Omkara walks to Gauri and stops nearby her.
"Gauri..."
Gauri looks even further away from him.
"I just didn't know how to tell you." Omkara confesses.
Gauri scoffs softly.
"I didn't know what you thought about me. I wasn't sure whether you thought I was a stalker... or as a nuisance... or whether you even read my letters or whether they did even matter to you."
"That didn't stop you from asking me to pray for you." Gauri tells him as she turned around to look at him.
"I felt secure in the belief that you were praying for me." Omkara confesses as his eyes filled with tears.
"Why you never wrote your name? Your address?"
"When we met you never asked me for my name. then after the first letter when I scored so high for my exams, I thought you were praying for me. but I was worried if I wrote my name or address then your parents would find me and make me stop writing."
Gauri thoughtfully looks at him as she remembered what her father had told her if he had known his name, then he might have tried to find more about him.
"When we met, you didn't recognize me. I did expect that but when you didn't recognize me, I started feeling that you might have completely forgot me. that is why I didn't say anything. Then after coming here, seeing that you had treasured all the letters, saw me as a friend." Omkara gulps as he tried to control his sob. "I had to tell you. I wanted you to know it was me more than anything in this world, but I was worried about what you had felt about the letters."
"Your letters meant the world to me. I used to wait for months for a letter from you. you were selfish."
"I was not selfish. I was insecure. It was my inferiority complex. You are my angel. I didn't think I deserved your friendship."
Gauri scoffs loudly hearing that.
"All these years, I have been trying to make myself worthy of you."
"Did it ever occur to you that it was my decision to make?"
"I would be lying if I said that I did." Omkara guiltily confesses. "I knew you deserved the best of everything and I was nothing."
Gauri looks away.
Recollecting, he says "After I saw your photo in the newspaper. I found your profile on facebook. I would visit it regularly to know what was happening in your life. One day, I saw you had posted a joke on matrimony sites and out of curiosity I checked all the matrimony sites and found your profile."
Gauri furiously turns to him and asks, "Did you know that I was almost engaged to another man?"
"Only when you told me when we met."
"What would you have done if I had been engaged? What would you have done if we hadn't replied to your invite on the matrimony site?"
"I was planning to get a marriage broker and contact your father when your father replied to me."
"And if I had been engaged to Ajay?"
"I don't know." Omkara honestly confesses.
"You would have just gone away from my life without even telling me who you were." Gauri accuses him.
"I might have." Omkara softly admits.
Gauri looks away feeling too hurt. "You have no idea, what those letters meant to me."
They remained silent for a while lost in thoughts.
"I love you, Gauri Kumari Sharma." Omkara tells her. "Nobody had shown me the kindness that you did before or after that. No one had touched my heart and soul like the way you did, that too in just one meeting. I have never loved anyone the way I love you but instead of having me in your life, if my letters give you more happiness then that's what you will have."
Gauri turns to him incredulously, "Are you so dense? Are you so stupid? How the hell did you become a doctor?"
Omkara looks at her in shock at her fury. "Gauri..."
"Your letters were you! I decided to marry because he was Papa's choice. Papa liked him. But I decided to marry you because you were my choice. When we met the way you smiled at me, the way you talked to me, the way you looked at me, made me feel special. Only those letters had made me feel like that ever! I was at a point in my life where I had to choose between those letters and my future. I thought if I couldn't have him then I could have someone who made me feel close to what he made me feel."
Seeing the shock on his face, Gauri lets her tears fall freely and confesses, "I guess, I fell in love with the stranger a long time ago."
Hearing her declaration, Omkara moves towards her and cupping her faces, he takes her lips in his. Feelings his lips on hers, Gauri cups his hands as she kissed him back.
"I am sorry." Omkara whispers as he hugged her.
"You are not forgiven." Gauri whispers as she hugs him.
"I know." Omkara hugs her tight. "Will you marry me, Gauri Kumari Sharma?"
Gauri looks at him and asks him with a smile, "You do know that we don't know each other at all, right?"
"But we love each other."
"And we have all our lives to know each other." Gauri tells him smiling.
Finally, they were walking out of the room when Omkara whispers to her, "Thank you for not marrying that Ajay."
"He said that I couldn't read your letters anymore."
"How dare he?" Omkara asks offended.
"Yeah, I know!" Gauri replies smiling.
"So?" Harshvardhan asks seeing them coming out.
Gauri smiles and runs to her father. Hugging him, she says happily "I love you, Papa."
He happily hugs her and looks at Jhanvi, "I guess we need to fix a wedding date then Jhanviji."
"Indeed."
Surprised Gauri turns around and finds Jhanvi sitting there.
"I didn't see you." Gauri tells her smiling as she walked to her.
Jhanvi happily hugs her, "I am so happy you both sorted out the issue."
"We did." Gauri happily tells her.
They sit down to discuss on a wedding date. Harshvardhan and Jhanvi were sitting opposite to each other while Omkara and Gauri were sitting next to each other.
"Gauri has only one demand." Harshvardhan informs them. "She wants a night wedding."
Omkara turns to Gauri in surprise, "Really?"
"Yes." Gauri tells him.
"You sure?" Omkara asks again.
"Omki, if that is what she likes then we will have a night wedding." Jhanvi tells Omkara.
Then in the pretense of looking at the wall behind them, Omkara softly whispers to her, "Suhag Raat will be late then."
Gauri gasps a little too loudly as she turns completely pink.
"What?" Harshvardhan asks curiously.
"Wha... what?" Omkara asks him back.
"I thought you said something."
"No." Omkara shakes his head.
Harshvardhan looks at Omkara and a blushing Gauri as she avoided eye contact, he suspiciously asks, "I don't think I want to hear what he said, right?"
Looking up at the ceiling Gauri tells him, "Date, Papa... we need to fix a date."
Sighing he tells Jhanvi, "Earliest date possible, I guess."
Jhanvi smiles as she looked at Omkara and Gauri.
"Had high expectations from you, Mowgli."
"Mowgli?" Omkara curiously turns to look at Gauri. "Is that your pet name?"
Giggling Gauri informs him, "No. that is your pet name."
"What?" Omkara asks surprised.
"Even Papa used to read your letters. He named you Mowgli."
Hearing the pet name Omkara smiles slightly blushing.
"Awww." Gauri says seeing him blush.
"Am I the only one who didn't know about these letters till today?" Jhanvi asks feeling left out.
"I didn't know how you would react, Ma." Omkara confesses. "Sorry."
"Hmmm."
They were discussing the possible dates when Gauri slightly pokes Omkara to get his attention. He turns to her.
She whispers to him, "Even though I love your letters, I would rather you talk to me more."
"Even I like talking to you more." Omkara whispers to her.
"But once in a while surprise me with a letter, okay?"
"I promise." Omkara promises with a smile.
**** The End ****
I always wanted to write a story where the hero or heroine only enters towards the end of the story. And this is what I came up with.
Please do comment and vote.
- Lazy