Veera was playing with her breakfast for the umpteenth time. Two days had passed since her confrontation with Baldev. She had cried her heart out that day when she came back home. Though she was not able to understand why it affected her so much that Baldev was ignoring her. Luckily the pain in her fingers had subsided but the pain she felt at her heart was too much for her to withstand. She had maintained a chirpy mood in front of the family members but had avoided venturing out of the house in fear of encountering Baldev. But today she had to go out. There was no escaping. She left out a sigh as she thought about it.
"Ki hoya Veerakdi, paranthe thande ho rahe hai. Khana kyun nahi kha rahi hain? Teri tabiyat to thik hai? Tujhe kuch aur chahiye, main la deta hoon." Ranvi uttered seeing Veera staring at her plate blankly.
("What happened sister? Your breakfast is turning cold. Why aren't you eating? You are alright? Do you want something else? ")
"Nahi nahi Veerji. Kuch nahi huya hain menu. Aap chinta na karo. Mainu na bhook nahi lag rahi hain.Main na seher main kuch kha lungi".
("No brother. I am fine. Don't worry about me. I am not feeling hungry. I will have something in the city")
"Thik hai Veera man nahi kar raha hai to rehna de. Tu akeli ja payegi na Veerakdi, mujhe sarparnch ki office jana hain isliye main tere saath nahi a sakta."
("Okay Veera don't force yourself. You will be able to manage everything alone right? I have to go to the Sarparnch office so I cannot accompany you.")
"Arrey Veerji. Aap chinta na karo..Aapki Veerakdi ab bari ho gayi hain. Mujhe koi dikkat nahi hogi. Main apne aap nu sambhal lungi."
("Don't worry brother. Your Veera is now grown up. She can handle herself.")
"Woh to mujhe bhi pata hain Veerakdi ki tu bari ho gayi hai, par mere liye to choti bacchi hi rahegi na". He placed his hand on her head caringly. "Changa phir main nikalta hoon. mainu kheto wich bhi kuch kaam hai."
("I know that Veera that you have grown up but for me you are still a kid. Ok fine then I will leave. I have some work in the fields as well')
Ranvi got up from his chair and was leaving when Gunjan came running to hand him his handkerchief.
"Ranvi, yeh le maine ne tere liye tera naam likha huya rumaal banaya hai." Gunjan blushed expecting Ranvi to praise her for her concern and also her craft.
("Ranvi, I have stitched your name in the handkerchief. Take this.")
Ranvi smiled sweetly at her and looked at her with admiration. He nodded his head and looked back at Veera and said, "Veera, tennu koi pareshani hogi seher wich to mainu call kar lena. Aur sambhal ke bike chalana."
("Veera, if you face any problems in the city give me a call.)"
"Thik hai Veerji". Veera smiled back as Ranvi left for his work. ("Ok Brother")
Gunjan stood fuming at him. " Isse sirf apne behen ki pari hain, maine itna mehnat karke rumaal banaya par kuch kaha hi nahi. Agar Veera banati to tarifo ka pool band deta." She thought to herself and left for the kitchen making faces. ("He cares only for his sister. I worked so hard to get it stitched but he didn't even say anything about it. If Veera had done it he would keep on praising her.")
Veera got up from the table and collected the bike keys and drove off to the city. She had a lot of work to do today. She had to meet the lawyer to follow up on the case details, had to visit a clinic to get a x-ray of her finger done and finally she had promised to meet up with her college friend Gurleen who was visiting her aunt in the city. As she drove out of the village outskirts she thanked her stars that Baldev was nowhere in sight.
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It was dark when Veera started her journey back home from her friends place. She looked up at the sky throwing signal of an impending storm. She looked at her watch and sighed,
" Hayoo Rabba! Main ki kara. Is Gurleen ke saath baat karte karte itni der ho gayi, Beeji aur Veerji kitne pareshan honge."
("Oh God! What will I do? I got so late talking to Gurleen. Mom and brother would be worried for me")
She had driven out of the city outskirts and took the highway that led to her village. She was only half way through when her bike broke down. She removed her helmet and started examining what was wrong. Suddenly she realized how secluded the highway was. Other than a few trucks passing by at intermittent intervals, there were no signs of life. She looked up at the sky and felt frustrated.
"Hayoo Rabba! Yeh tune mujhe kis musibat main daal di...is andhere raat main ghar kaise pahuchinggi?"
("Oh God! You have placed me in such a trouble. How will I reach home?")
She knew it wouldn't be safe to ask for a lift on a secluded highway but still she hoped somehow she could repair her bike. Suddenly a car passed by. A group of ruffians totally drunk were shouting at the top of their voice. Veera's heartbeat increased and she kept on working on her bike and wished that they did not see her. The car passed by and the ruffians whistled and passed lewd comments when they saw her bike parked the side of the road. The car screeched to a halt a few meters away from the bike and the ruffians got off from the car and walked towards the bike laughing and cracking vulgar jokes at the top of their voice. Veera's hand began to tremble and she did not know what to do. She closed her eyes and kept working on her bike.
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Baldev was returning from the city after having a meeting with a goods supplier that Surjeet Singh had recommended. He was lost in his thoughts and was driving the jeep mechanically. Though he had tried so hard he was not able to dismiss Veera's thoughts from his mind. He had not seen her for the last two days, he felt worried whether her finger had healed. Many times in these two days he had thought of sneaking into her room and checking out whether she is fine but something in him stopped him from doing so. Suddenly while driving he saw few kilometers ahead a bike parked at the side of the road and a girl was sitting beside it. As it was a bit far, he could not see the girl clearly. He knew the highway was not safe for girls at this hour and this girl was inviting trouble by parking her bike in the middle.
"Yeh seher ki kudiyon ko kuch samajh hi nahi ata.Itni raat ko koi sadak ke baju main thade hoke hawa khati hain kya? Pata nahi seher main jananiyo ko ki sikhate hai. Mainu madad karna chahiye iski".
("This city girls do not have any sense. She has parked her bike beside the highway at this time of the night. I don't know what they teach the girls in the cities. I should help her.")
He turned his jeep in the direction of the bike and as he neared it he saw the girl and was stunned. He knew it. Who could have been more foolish than Veera to do such an irresponsible thing? He was about to get down and give her a piece of his mind when he clenched his fists and decided otherwise. No he could not go in front of her. He had clearly told her that he is least bothered about her. So if he now went to help her, she would take advantage of his soft side again. He banged the wheel in frustration thinking how helpless he had become and decided to keep a watch from distance. Then suddenly he saw the hooligans approaching her bike. There were about seven of them and all of them were drunk. Though his blood boiled at their comments he knew it was better not to get into a fight with them. He started his jeep and screeched to a halt in front of the bike blocking the way between Veera and the hooligans. He turned towards a puzzled Veera and gave her an angry look and looked away. The hooligans were confused as to what Baldev was up to. They looked at each other. Baldev blew his horn and started his ignition. Veera who had frozen to death with fear came out of her trance at the sound of the horns and when she realized that it was Baldev who was in the jeep, she quickly jumped into his jeep without even thinking twice. Baldev drove off as soon as Veera was seated leaving the puzzled bunch of hooligans behind.
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It was only when the jeep had gone some distance that the realization dawned on Veera that she had accepted Baldev's help and the person she had been trying to avoid for the last two days was sitting a few inches away from her. Her eyes widened at the thought and she began fiddling nervously with the fingers as she was clueless how she would handle this awkward situation. Baldev nervously kept looking everywhere other than her as he did not want her to think that he still cared her and so had helped her. He thought the best thing to do was to concentrate on the road. Finally Veera gulped her awkwardness and began stammering "Baldev..ermm..tune mainu..."
" Koi ashaan nahi kiya hain maine tere upar. Agar koi bhi aur ladki hoti to bhi yehi karta. Samajh le kisi ajnabi ne teri maddad ki hai." Baldev stopped Veera before she could even complete her sentence. ("I have not done any favor to you. I would have helped even if any other girl would be in the same situation")
Veera kept stating at him with her mouth half open. And then finally heaved a sigh and looked out of the window. This guy will never change. I just wanted to thank him and all he could do was talk rudely to me. How does it matter to me? Veera thought in her mind. Baldev continued driving and kept giving cursory glances at Veera from the corner of his eyes when she was not looking. Just look at her. She is not even cared that I am ignoring her. She went away to enjoy her life in the city and here I was worried whether she was fine. She will always remain selfish. Why am I even thinking about her when there are better things to do in life? He nodded his head in disapproval. The awkward silence was making matters worse. So he decide to turn on the radio so that he will stop thinking about her.
"Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai Magar Chupke Chupke" flowed from the radio making the situation more awkward between them.
Baldev changed the channel immediately. "Pyar pyar karte karte tum pe marte marte dil de diya dil de diya o sanam" Baldev cursed and changed the channel again. "Tune mari entriyan dil main baji ghantiyan."
This is was the final nail on the coffin. Baldev slammed the radio off. The song reminded Veera how Baldev had tried to impress her by hijacking a priest and making him sing this song. Unknown to her a faint smile appeared on her lips. Baldev on the other hand felt the pangs of his unrequited love and all the events that had led to his loss in the elections flashed before his eyes. He lost control of his jeep and had to apply the break to avoid a clash with a milestone making them fall forward. Veera looked at him questioningly after recovering from the sudden impact of the fall only to find him staring at her with the anger and fury in his eyes which she had witnessed a few days back and which made her tremble in fear.
Suddenly the sky burst open and rain gods began showering their blessing as if trying to soothe the pain and fire ignited in Baldev's heart. Baldev cursed again and reverse geared his jeep and began driving on the highway in full speed. It was a still a couple of kilometers for them to reach their village and he knew the rain would make matters worse in his open jeep. He needed to find a shelter quickly for the time being. Luckily he found a small eatery name " Dilraj da dhaba" a few blocks away from the main road and headed towards there.
"Baldev ei ki kar raha hai? Ja kahan raha hai? Raasta to ithe hai" ( "Baldev, what are doing? Where are you going? The road is on this side")
"Mainu koi shauk nahi hain tere saath ghumne ka. Kabhi to apni dimag lagaya kar. Baarish zyada ho rahi hai Isliye hume thodi der ke liye is dhaba wich rukna padega". ("I am least interested in travelling with you. Sometimes do use your brains. It is raining heavily and so we need to take shelter for some time in the dhaba.")
Baldev parked his jeep in front of the dhaba which was about to close. "Praaji thodi der ke liye rukne ki jagah milegi? Barish khatam hote hi hum chale jayenge". Baldev asked the shop owner.
("Brother can we get some shelter for some time? We will leave as soon as the rain stops.")
The shop owner looked at the fully drenched Baldev and then at Veera and said "Oji fikar na karo ji. Aap aapke voti wich yahan ruk jayo. Waise to main is baarish ke wajah se dhaba band karne wala tha par aap log andhar baith jao ji bhabhiji ko bhi koi pareshani nahi hogi"
("Don't worry you stay here with your wife. I was about to close shop due to the rains but you can sit inside. Sister-in-law will not have any problem here")
"Hain??? Ki bakwaas kar raha hai? Kaun Bhabhiji ? Chal chad ab bata mennu jeep rakhne ke waste garage hai ki?"
("What are you taking about? Who sister-in-law? Leave it tell me do you have a garage when I can park my jeep")
"Hanji hain na. Picche garage hai ji. Aap apni gaddi wohi ghusa do".
("Yes we do have in the back side. You can park your vehicle there.")
Baldev motioned Veera to enter the dhaba and wait while he parked his jeep in the garage. Veera went and sat in a corner of one of the tables set across the dhaba. There were hardly any people there. All the tables were empty barring one in which a fat dark complexioned guy was munching on his dinner and staring at the full drenched Veera. Veera felt awkward at his glance and looked elsewhere and wondered when Baldev will be back. She always felt secure with him. A small boy came up to her and said, " Didi aap ko kuch chahiye? Thanda garam? Hum log dukaan band karne wale hain Isliye chahiye to jaldi batado".
("Didi do you want something? Cold or hot? We are about to close our shop so tell me quickly")
Veera smiled at the little boy and said "Nahi mujhe kuch nahi chahiye." ("I don't want anything")
The fat guy finished his dinner and came and sat two tables across from Veera. He kept smiling at her and looked outside at the rain and began humming " Tip tip barsa pani...pani ne aag lagayi". Baldev entered from the door and heard the guy and felt like punching him.
But he controlled his emotions and came to Veera and said " Baarish rukte hi hum yahan se chale jayenge". (" We will leave as soon as the rain stops")
He went and sat a bit far from her from where he could keep a watch on her. The fat guy realized that Veera was not alone and decide not to bother her and so got up and went to his previous seat. Almost an hour passed yet the storm had no signs of subsiding. Veera impatiently looked at her watch and was frustrated thinking everybody would be worried at home. So she decided to call Ranvi and let him know that she had stayed back at her friend's place. At least they would not be worried for her then. She could not have said that she was with Baldev because given the current circumstances between Ranvi and Baldev, Ranvi would still be tensed for her. So she thought it was best to lie to him and later apologize for the same. She had full faith on Baldev that he would drop her home safely. Ranvi was a bit tensed at first but later hang up asking her to take care of herself.
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Back in Pritampura, Ranvi hang up his phone and looked at an inquisitive Gunjan. "Veera ne kaha ki who aaj raat Gurleen ke ghar rukne wali hai. Par saamjh main nahi a raha hai, Veera agar rukne wali thi to itni deer baad kyuin bataya. Woh to bahut hi zimmedar hain pehle hi bata deti. Mera man keh raha hai woh mujhse kuch chupa rahi hai".
("Veera said that she will be staying at her friends place. But I don't understand why she informed so late. She is a responsible girl so she should have informed us earlier.I feel she is trying to hide something from us.")
"Arrey Ranvi. Tu na khamakha hi pareshan ho raha hai. Woh dost se baat karte karte bhool gayi hogi. Ab bata diya na usne" Gunjan tried to console him. ("Ranvi, you can worrying without any reason. She went to her friends place and it is quite natural that it became catching up with old friends. She has informed you now.")
"Sayed tu thik keh rahi hai. Main Beeji aur Chaiji nu batake ata hoon". ("Maybe you are right. Let me inform mom and Chaiji.")
Ranvi left the room leaving an ecstatic Gunjan jumping in joy.
" Chalo Raabji aapne akhir us Veera ko Ranvi se thodi der ke liye to dur kiya. Bhala to us dost ka jisne Veera ka rukne pe majboor kar diya. Kuch der ke liye Ranvi aur mere beech Veera nahi a payegi."
("Oh God you have finally managed to keep Veera away from her brother. God bless that friend of hers who has forced her to stay away. At least I will be able to spend some lone time with Ranvi now.")
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The person who Gunjan had unknowingly thanked sat sipping tea and kept watching Veera as she sat shivering with cold due to her wet dress. He was about to take off his jacket and give it to her but decided otherwise. He called the small boy and asked him to get a cup of tea for Veera and gave him a twenty rupee note. The boy happily accepted it and came back with a hot glass of tea for Veera. Veera thanked the boy and looked at Baldev. She knew he had sent it for her. She could see the love and care in his eyes but why was Baldev trying to hide it from her and pretend that he doesn't care. Baldev realized that Veera would read the hidden emotions in his eyes and so looked away staring at the pouring rains. Veera lowered her eyes and kept sipping the warm tea which made her feel better. She was confused whether it was the tea or the hidden love in Baldev's gesture which was making her feel better. But she knew whatever it was she felt a lot relieved and a smile came to her lips. Even the annoying noise of the constant heavy rains on the asbestos roof of the shop seemed like music to her. She kept gazing at the outpour and kept smiling in her mind.
Precap: Both are stuck in a jungle 😕😕
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Originally posted by: sarah333Wonderful Update! Loved it... ur updates are a treat 😳 Can't wait for the next part
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