Delhi, 9.00 A.M:
"Maaa..." Sanyukta's teary voice rang through the Agarwal mansion. She was running with all her energy towards her mother's abode- the mother who meant everything for her, her best friend, her guardian, her savior, her sole pillar of support against the rest of her family. Just as she reached the front door of her home, a strong pair of hands blocked her way. Sanyukta stumbled back due to the force of the blockade.
As she looked up, she saw that those hands belonged to her brother. She couldn't fail to notice the tears brimming on his face. And then the indelible truth dawned upon her...
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Flashback:
"PICK UP THE PHONE!" Vardhan sir shouted at her for the 2nd time. With trembling hands she pulled out the phone from her bag, and saw the no flashing on it saying " Kanika".
Her mind was blaring angry insults at her best friend for calling at such a time, even though she knew that she would be in class- "Hey bhagwwaan, yeh ladki pitwayegi mujhe aaj to" and she received the call. But hardly had she any idea that her friend was going to give her the worst news her ears could have ever heard.
"San..n..yu...Aunty...aun...ty!!!" and Sanyukta froze.
"Kya hua maa ko? Kanika bolll!!!" Sanyukta tried to shout, but only a feeble voice came out of her mouth.
"Aun...ty...ne...suicide attempt kiya hai...!"
BANG!
The phone fell from her hand. No this cant possibly be true. This wasn't damn going to be true!!!!!!!!...She ran with all her energy towards the door of the class, shouting a weak " I need to go!" to Prof. Vardhan.
She herself didn't exactly know how she managed to reach Delhi to her mom in such a condition.
FB ends...
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" Sanyukta, andar jaane ki himmat mat karna."
"Par bhai, maa kaisi hai?"
"Bhai?? Mai nahin hun tera bhai...aur nahi wo teri maa hai...dafaa hoja yahaan se!!"
Sanyukta's eyes followed the direction, her brother's hand pointed!! As soon as she saw the white shroud on a fragile woman's body, she fainted...
She woke up in the cold winter streets of Delhi, right in front of her house. No! wrong- Mr. Agarwal's house. The events that took place some hours ago came rushing to her. And like the outflow of tears, the inflow of flashbacks wasn't also ready to stop:
A five year old Sanyukta cuddling her teddy and being cuddled by her mom...
A twelve year old Sanyu, shopping with her mom...
Sanyu's mom praising her for getting first rank in boards...
Her mom asking Sanyu to go to FITE and live her dreams...
And the latest one: Sanyu's maa asking her to never give up till the last moment...
The reality came crashing down on her, but she wasn't ready to accept that her mother had left her hand forever...and then she made up her mind.. She would go to her mother. Without her, there wasn't any point for Sanyukta to live on, atleast that's what she thought. But not here. She would undertake her final journey at the place where her mother wanted her to fulfill both of their dreams: F.I.T.E.
FITE. 7.30 PM:
Randheer collided with someone.
"Ouch! Kya hua Raghu kaka! Itni jaldi me kyun daud rahe ho?" He spoke irritably.
" Randheer baba, ye ek parcel aaya hai, pls pahuncha do naa. Meri maa ki tabiyat kharab hai!" and without waiting for his reply he handed him the envelope and ran away.
"Hmm! Maa...nafrat hai mujhe iss shabd se...nafrat"Randheer's eyes brimmed over with tears, but her didn't allow them to fall, reserving them, as usual, for his solitary nights, when no one was there to watch THE RANDHIR SINGH SHEKHAWAT, RANK NO 1, become, Randheer, a lonely and forlorn neglect man.
He reached his room, and looked up at the envelope:
To,
Sanyu.
From,
Maa
And then he understood who the letter was addressed to. The Farzi engineer -Sanyukta Agarwal. He was among the very few to know what she was called by her family. And the usual unhappiness and anger covered him which usually happened whenever she, or her mention, was anywhere near him.
F.I.T.E, 1.30 PM:
He tossed in his bed, unable to sleep. He didn't know why but the day's events and the arrival of the letter made him wonder where possibly on earth was Sanyukta? He rebuked himself for thinking about his arch enemy at the time which he usually kept for his own tragedies. But he was assured that it was not concern for her, just curiosity, which made his hands automatically hitch towards the letter, which now rested by the side of his bed on the table, everytime he looked up at it.
And with a final jerk he decided to open it up and read the letter. Not to know why her mother wrote her a letter instead of giving a call, but to find out some deep hidden secret which he could exploit to taunt her further. That's it, isn't it?? Well Randheer himself did not know the answer.
He unfolded the letter and started reading it by the light of his bed lamp:
Sanyu,
Beta jab tak tujhe ye chitthi milegi, shayad mai upar pahunchkar tujhe taara banker dekh paungi. Agar nahin to hospital me hi sahi uss lamhe ka intezaar karungi. Na na beta, rona nahin. Mai janti hun tu chahti thi ki teri maa tujh jaise hi strong aur himmat waali bane, par kya karun beta iss samaaj ne tere papa aur tere bhai ko jo adhikaar de rakha hai, shayad usne tere adhikaar ko, tere sapne ko maar daala...
Ye to mai khud bhi nahin jaanti ki mai ye karke theek kar rahi hun ya nahin. Par itna yaad rakhna ki, maa humesha tujhe dekh rahi hai. Apna khayaal rakhna aur apne papa aur bhaiya ka bhi. Par agar wo mere jaane ki wajah tujhe maanein, to beta tujhe meri kasam hai, uss ghar me dobaara kadam bhi mat rakhna. Aur haan khabardaar jo tu mere paas aane ki zidd kare to, mai tujhe kabhi maaf nahin karungi. Yaad hai maine bachpan me sikhaya tha na Sanyu, ache bache zidd nhi krte.
Teri maa.
A tear drop fell on the ink blotched paper. But it did not belong to whom Anju Agarwal had expected it to. The pearl drop gained its identity from one Randheer Singh Shekhawat, possibly someone she didn't even know!
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