SS : Tere Ishq Mein updt 20.9.12 pg-6 last part - Page 2

SS : Tere Ishq Mein

 

I watched him how easily he brought the spoonful of rice and lentils to his mouth without dropping any, there were times when barely anything reached his mouth as most of it fell down before meeting his lips but they say practice makes a man perfect and he was a fine example of that, the way he'd started taking care of himself and doing all his chores on his own had left people around him pleasantly surprised and me proud of him.

" tayi ..aur chawal de na." sethji my younger brother whined bringing me out of my thoughts. After serving sethji I moved towards him and asked," aap aur loge?" he raised his palm indicating that he was done, lifting his empty plate he got up and turned around taking just the right amount of steps then bent down to keep it in the sink and left the room slowly feeling the surroundings with his hands.

After washing the dishes I stood in front of the mirror to comb my hair, lifting the thick cloud of hair from the left side of my cheek , my gaze fell on that long and deep scar bringing back the memories of that fateful day which changed not only mine but also his life forever.

I was walking down the street to reach the hospital on time where I am a nurse when I noticed a cute little puppy with a bleeding leg, lying on the middle of the road, fearing that he might get crushed by any moving vehicle I rushed to pick him up unaware that a speeding car was approaching me, to save me the driver took a sharp turn and I too ran hurriedly as honking vehicles were coming in my direction. In my hurry I tripped and fell on the pavement which was still under construction, the sharp bricks and stones pierced through the left side of my face, I screamed in pain and just then I heard a loud crash, turning my head I saw that car which was trying to save me banged against the tree. I moved towards the car which was now surrounded by useless spectators doing nothing to help the driver who was bleeding profusely with glass pieces of the wind screen pricking his eyes. I urged some of them to help me in admitting him to the nearby hospital. He was at once taken to the OT to get operated while an attendant stitched by cut. A couple of hours later the doctors informed me that he was safe but had lost his eye sight. I gasped and covered my open mouth with my hand, someone had turned blind just to save my life? His whole world had fallen into darkness only because of me and for that I could never forgive myself. I was totally dumbstruck.

He was shifted to his ward with bandage wrapped around his eyes and tears pricked my eyes seeing him in that state. He lay helpless and quiet on the bed when a young girl came to meet him.

" dutta ..dutta tum theekh toh ho ..ye sab kya ho gaya?" she asked worriedly

"seema." His lips whispered and he raised his hand in the air to hold her, she held his hand and sat next to him when he replied in pain," main toh kaam par jaa raha tha ki achanak ek ladki beech sadak mein aa gayi ..usko bachane ke chakkar mein gadi pedh se takra gayi ..aur phir." He couldn't continue further, she pressed his hand to reassure him and said," dutta tum chinta mat karo sab sahi hoga." Then glanced at me with hopeful eyes, I gestured her to come out and have a word with me. I told her that in the accident he had lost his visibility, her eyes widened in shock, I pressed her shoulder and added further that there was still hope, by undergoing a surgery his lost eye sight could be retrieved but the surgery was a bit costly. Her face fell on hearing about the expected expenditure of the surgery and she said," dutta toh mamooli sa driver aur part time mechani hai..humare pass itne paise kahan se aayenge..jo the woh toh isi operation aur aage ke kharchon mein nikal jayenge." I sighed deeply and cursed myself, my one act of carelessness had destroyed someone's life, nevertheless I pointed towards the idol of bappa indicating her to have faith in Him, He will set things right and he did set things right but in his own ways. For some days Seema came to visit him regularly then her visits became less frequent ,by then his bandage had been removed, he would frantically gaze at the ceiling above, his lost eyes searching for something desperately but his search came to a stand still when seema informed him that she was marrying some rich man, who was none other than his employer. His eyes were shell shocked, he hardly spoke and that day he didn't utter a word, didn't react, didn't attempt to stop her as if something had gone dead within him. I lifted his eye lid to put eye drops when all of a sudden he held my wrist firmly to prevent me from doing so and my heart skipped a beat seeing his unexpected reaction.

" kya faida in sab ka?" he said curling his lips in frustration.

" waqt lagega par aap zaroor theekh honge..bappa par vishwas rakhiye." I said hopefully but he smirked on hearing me and replied bitterly," ek haadsa ..ek haadse ne meri zindagi barbaad kar di." His words pierced through my heart, he was right that accident had indeed destroyed his life but I still wished he didn't lose hope, till yesterday he was strong but seema leaving his side made him grow more weak, she was her only support system and I think he even loved her but he'd lost her as well, I didn't know how to make him feel better , still managed to say softly," ek insaan ke chale jaane se ..zindagi toh nahin ruk jaati." He flared his nostrils and answered back in rage," haan ek insaan ke chale jaane se zindagi nahin rukti ..par kisi ke  aa jaane se pal bhar mein zindagi badal zaroor jaati hai ..us ladk..." He gritted his teeth as  he continued," us ladki ne ek pal mein mujhse mera sab kuch cheen liya." I shuddered and closed my eyes as hatred swept all over his face for me which I certainly deserved.

A week later the doctors informed me as I was the one who got him admitted here that soon he would be discharged. He had no one to take care of him and in his present condition he couldn't be left alone he needed both physical and emotional support to come out of this painful accident, the only solution which popped in my mind was to take him to my house but for that I had to convince my father and him. Mustering all the courage I told everything to baba, he raised his head from the clay pots which he was painting, that was his work to make pots, decorative items out of clay and sell them in the nearby market. His intense gaze fell on my scar, I brushed my fingers through my hair in an attempt to cover that scar, how could a father forget that in that accident his daughter had also got scarred, somewhere baba held him responsible for my condition and in such a case how could he allow me to bring him here but I showed him the bigger picture, my state could have been worse, I could have been physically challenged for life, I could have even died had he not acted on time. Today I was alive only because of him and today he was in this state only because of me, " baba main unko aisi halat mein nahin chod sakti." I said making my stand absolutely clear, he nodded his head reluctantly as I hadn't left any option for him.

My next task was to make him agree, so the following morning as usual I went to give him his medicines, he took them silently, after his outburst he'd gone all quiet and his eyes always remained lost and

lonely. Looking at him I said," aaj apko discharge mil raha hai." He didn't move, " aur aap mere ghar chale rahe hain." I added. He sat up immediately and I went near him fearing he might lose his balance and fall off the bed.

" kya matlab?" he asked creasing his brows.

" apka koi hai nahin jo apki dekh bhal kar sake aur akele aap abhi reh nahin sakte ..toh." It pained me to speak so directly with him but I'd to for his sake.

" toh." He said hearing me stop in the middle.

" toh ..main nurse hoon..apka khayal rakh sakti hoon aur mere gharwalon ko koi dikat nahin hai apka humare ghar mein rehne se." I answered calmly making this issue appear smaller than actually it was.

" main kisi ke ghar nahin jaa rahaa hoon." He said rejecting my offer completely, I knew this was coming but I couldn't give up on him so walked to his side and said softly," humesha ke liye nahin ..sirf thode din ki baat hai..jab aap behtar mehsoos karne lagein tab chale jaiyega." He shook his head in negation like a stubborn child, I sighed deeply and this time spoke firmly," dekhiye is waqt main hi apki doctor hoon aur main hi apki nurse bhi toh apko meri baat maan ni padegi." Picking up his packed bag, I held his arm with my other hand and said," chaliye."

" lekin."

" lekin ..wekin kuch nahin."

Entering the house with him I found baba kneading the clay and said," baba..yeh" in an attempt to introduce him to baba but baba gave him a cold stare, there was hostility in the air which I hoped he didn't sense it. Walking in further I took him to the room where sethji was busy completing his home work, he looked up in surprise when I told him," seth ji aaj se main nahin..ye tere saath soyenge ..tu khayal rakhega na inka?" he nodded his head instantly and asked in excitement," tayi ..iska matlab raat ko teri jagah ye mujhe kahani sunayenge?" I turned to look at him and pressed my lips thinking, this isn't a good idea," arey seth ji kahani toh main hi sunayegi ..tu bus inke saath rahiyo." Sethji smiled broadly then got up from the bed and started pulling him by his hand taking him towards the chair to sit. I left the room when seth ji began chattering with him, he was replying but in not more than one or two words, nevertheless I was relieved at least there was someone who welcomed him happily, baba would also come around soon, I was quite sure and it all happened within a week when we were having dinner and he suddenly spoke up," main aise bekaar nahin baith sakta ..mujhe koi kaam karna hai." Baba raised his brow and glanced at me, even I was surprised but felt nice that he wanted to work. Baba chewed on his morsel and asked dryly," kaam ..tum kya kaam karoge?" he replied immediately," koi bhi kaam ..par mein muft ki rotiyaan nahin toad sakta." His voice had that will and face that determination which made me suggest with pleading eyes," baba ..aap inko apne saath kaam par kyun nahin le lete ..apki bhi madad ho jayegi." Baba thought for a while, then said," theekh hai."

Though it was extremely difficult for him to make clay pots on the wheel without having been able to see anything as a result the clay would often crumble when he applied more pressure or it would turn shapeless when he applied less pressure, still he didn't give up. He used his fingers and his sense of touch to their optimum capacity and slowly began making pots which were close to perfect. His sincerity and determination impressed not only me but also baba and he started interacting with him freely, helping him whenever he needed assistance, thank fully the ice was melting between them.

Knowing that he could still do something brought a sense of contentment and calmness on his face, his scattering eyes became less restless with the passage of time as he began leading his life as normally as possible. Slowly he started coming out of his shell, he would interact with people around and would often repair their vehicles being a driver he was aware of different parts of machinery. He grew really close to seth ji who found a friend and elder brother in him now he didn't need me to tell him bed time stories, he would chat happily with his new found 'bhau' who would in turn tell him about cars and all. There were times when he even used to smile and those moments would warm up my heart, I don't know why.

 Life was getting back on track, thanks to Bappa.