SS - Teri Baahon Mein..COMPLETE all parts pg-1 - Page 9

                                            Sixth step

He stormed out of the room and ran down screaming " NAKKU .. NAKKU" the whole family gathered in the hall and a worried baaji asked him what had happened but he ignored his question. He was blazing with anger and shouted for the guards who came running on being called out " nakku kahan hai ? tum logon ne dekha usey ?" AS confused about the whole thing interrupted " nakku toh dophar se apne kamre mein thi." Dutta turned towards AS " nahin hai woh kamre mein ..woh ghar chod kar chali gayi hai." AS covered her mouth in shock and dutta continued " itne log ghar mein hain lekin kisiko uske baarein mein kuch pata nahin? Aap sab milkar ek insaan ka khayal nahin rakh sakte?" one of the guards replied " bhau humne toh vaheni ko kahin jaate hue nahin dekha." This angered him more " main kya tum logon ko sone ke liye paise deta hoon? Agar nakku ko kuch bhi hua toh yaad rakhna tum mein se koi nahin bachega." Baaji took out his cell and started dialing some numbers " bhau tu chinta mat kar sab theekh ho jayega." Dutta narrowed his eyes and growled " kaise chinta na karoon ? tu janta nahin uski dimaagi haalat ? aise mein KAHAN DHOONDHOON USEY ????"before baaji could reply dutta left the house and took his jeep to find nakku.

He was driving recklessly, images of his scolding nakku and her crying flashed in front of his eyes and he stepped on the accelerator. The fear that something bad might happen to her sent chills down his spine. He just couldnt lose her and with that he increased the speed of the jeep further. He was about to hit a small boy crossing the road but he applied the brakes just in time thereby bringing the jeep to a halt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he needed to calm himself down to think straight. A thought came to his mind, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and took a u turn. If his heart was guiding him right then she should be there. He stopped the jeep at the beach where he had brought her two days back. He scanned the whole area when his gaze fell on her. She was sitting a little far away playing with the sand. He sighed in relief and ran to her.

He stood in front of her and asked " nakku tu yahan kya kar rahi hai? Pata hai main kitna pareshan ho gaya tha ? yeh kaisa bachpana hai?" she lifted her head, looked at him for a second then dropped her gaze. He realized his tone was still on the harsher side which would not work with her this time. He sat down next to her, after examining her for a few minutes he asked softly " yeh kya kar rahi hai?" she without looking at him replied " apne liye ghar bana rahi hoon." He frowned " kyun kya zaroorat hai? Patil niwas tera bhi toh ghar hai." She continued to make a small boundary around the sand house she had made " main yahan rahegi..akele khana banayegi ..akele khayegi." And blew away the tendril of hair that was blocking her view but it fell back on her face, dutta raised his hand to move it back but she pushed his hand away and warned " masti nahin karni mere saath" dutta a little taken aback by her gesture bit the inside of his cheek and said " uff itna gussa?" she glared at him " kyun ?? aap kitna dant te ho mujhe..kal raat ko bhi gussa kiya..aaj bhi gussa kiya." Dutta was already feeling guilty about his past behavior tried to defend himself " tu hi bata main kya karta ? agar kal kisi ko goli lag jaati aur aaj agar tujhe aag mein kuch ho jata toh? Main kitna darr gaya tha ..phir.." she stood on her knees and cut him in " main bhi toh kitna darr gayi thi..par apne mujhe sambhalene ki jagah mujhe kitni zor se daant diya..aisa koi karta hai kya? Ab aap mujhe pehle jaisa pyar nahin karte..nahin rahegi main apke saath." His heart broke into a million pieces on realizing the extent of hurt he had inflicted on her " main tujhe bahut pyar karta hoon nakku isliye tere saath kuch bhi bura hote hue nahin dekh sakta."he waited for her to respnd when she didn't he continued"jis tarah phool ko khushboo se dil ko dhadkan se juda karne par woh bejaan ho jaate hain usi tarah agar dutta ko nakku se alag kar diya toh yeh dutta toh mar hi.." she pressed her fingers on his mouth and didn't let him complete his sentence " chee aisi gandi baat nahin karni agar phir kabhi ki toh main sach mein gussa ho jayegi." She moved her hand back and he smiled " nahin jee sakta main tere bina." She was elated to hear that and lowered her head in shyness while he suggested " chal main tera ghar banane main teri madad karta hoon." She held his wrist to stop him, he looked at her in confusion " kya hua abhi bhi naraaz hai mujhse." She left his, placed both her hands on her waist and with her chin held high replied " main thodi rahegi is mitthi ke ghar mein, main patil niwas rahegi." And gave him a sideways glance while biting her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling then slowly turned her head towards him to look at his reaction. He was all smiles and opened his arms for her. She without any hesitation threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He was relieved and happy to have his life back.

Next morning he took her to the hospital for a complete medical checkup. The doctor wrote some tests to be carried out. Later in the evening duji went together to collect the reports and have a word with the doctor. After examining the reports the doctor stated that due to the accident where nakku had fallen and injured her head she lost her memory and was suffering from partial amnesia also the whole incident off dutta being kidnapped in front of her left a deep impact on her mind as a result her mental and hormonal balance got affected because of which she was behaving like a child. So in order to get her back to a normal state her lost memory needed to be retrieved as well as her mental and hormonal imbalance needed to be corrected. Worried dutta asked about the future course of action. The doctor replied hesitantly that if the whole scene where he was taken away in the van is replayed again in front of her eyes she might regain her lost memory. Duji looked at each other and thought that it wasn't a bad idea but the expressions of the doctor said something else so dutta asked " kya hua ? ismein kya koi risk hai?" the doctor nodded his head and replied " jee risk toh hai , ho sakta hai aisa karne ke baad bhi unhein kuch yaad na aye .. ya woh apna hormonal aur mansik santulan ( hormonal and mental balance) puri tarah kho de aur sab kuch bhool jayein..aap soch samajhkar faisla lijiye."

 Just a minute back dutta had seen a ray of hope that nakku would be fine once again but after hearing about the risks involved he was left in a dilemma whether to pursue such a huge step or not. On the way back he just couldn't stop thinking about what doctor had said but at the same time he couldn't ignore nakkus unpredictable behavior as well. He didn't know what she would end up doing to herself and people around her through her innocent callous actions. He couldn't endanger her life and of the others cause of her mental instability but what if she lost her memory fully? Baaji interrupted his thoughts " bhau main janta hai tu doctor ki baat sunkar pareshan hai, par bhau humare paas aur koi rasta bhi nahin hai, jis tarah ki nakku ki halat hai woh kab kya kar baithe hum nahin jante..ek pal wohh theekh hoti hai aur dusre hi pal woh kuch aisa kar deti hai jiska usey khudh pata nahin hota." Dutta rubbed his forehead and replied " tu theekh keh raha hai lekin agar in sabse kuch nahin hua aur uski halat aur bigad gayi toh?" baaji stopped the jeep in front of the house " nakku ke liye ab itna bada risk toh uthana hi padega .. jo humare haath mein hai woh toh humein karna hi chaiye baaki bappa." Dutta still not convinced remained quiet, baaji kept his hand on his shoulder " tujhe bhale hi bappa par na ho par apne pyar par toh bharosa hai nah..apne pyar ki khatir, nakku ki khatir yeh kadam utha le ..kya pata yeh kadam tum dono ko aur kareeb le aye." Dutta closed his eyes and imagined nakku smiling at him " theekh hai baaji, tu karle saara intezaam ..hum kal devi maa ke mandir jaayega jahan yeh sab hua tha."

Dutta wasn't hungry but forcefully pushed a few morsels down his throat which didn't go unnoticed by nakku. He went back to his room after informing AS what doctor had said when nakku wasn't around. He sat down near the window and leaned his back on the wall. She came, kneeled down in front of him and pressed his hand lightly " kya hua koi pareshani hai ? apne khana bhi nahin khaya." He nodded his head "nahin aisa kuch nahin hai mujhe bas bhookh nahin thi." She agreed and with a sleepy face said " chalo phir sone chalo ..mujhe bahut neend aa rahi hai." He looked into her eyes and replied " nakku thodi der baith nah yahan mere saath." She smiled and sat in between his legs with her back pressing his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. He brought his arms around her waist and inter wined his fingers with hers " nakku tu kabhi mujhe bhool toh nahin jayegi nah?" with closed eyes she replied "kabhi nahin." He brought her closer "aur mujhse kabhi door toh nahin jayegi." She opened her eyes and thought about her earlier action of leaving the house in anger, she felt bad for making him go through all this she tightened his grip around her " kabhi bhi nahin." He was scared to lose her, scared to think about what tomorrow held for them. He so wished that time stood still and he could spend the rest of his life just like this with her close to him in his arms " kya tu hamesha mere har faisle mein mera saath degi..agar mujhse kabhi koi galti ho jaye toh?" now she could feel his tension clearly, surely there was something bothering him, ever since he had returned from visiting the doctor he seemed lost, she turned around in his arms and asked " kuch hua kya ? doctor ne kuch kaha kya..jawab kyun nahin dete?" his silence was killing her, with tears in her eyes and in a shaky voice she asked again " kya hua ? kya doctor ne yeh kaha ki main kabhi theekh nahin hogi ..humesha aise hi rahegi." Hearing this made his eyes watery too and he pulled her to himself " kisne kaha tu theekh nahin hogi ..tu bahut jald theekh hogi." Her one question had dispelled all his doubts he had whether to take that step or not. Now he was absolutely sure that he would take her to the temple once again. He had to do it for her sake, she deserved that chance that could cure her. Earlier he was acting selfish by just thinking about his insecurities and not what she must be going through. She was entitled to a normal life and he would do everything that was possible, that was in his hands to give it to her and even if things went wrong he would be there for her. If he could support her now then he could do so in the future as well. Everything was crystal clear now, he looked down and saw that she had already dozed off in his arms, he kissed her temple and tucked her head under his chin. He hugged her tightly relishing the moment without worrying about the next day.

                       " aane wali subha jaane ..rang kya laye deewani..meri chahat ko rakh lena..jaise koi nishani"