Chapter 7
Aman reaches the graveyard only to find an angry mob in place of grief stricken men. They spot him and rush to him, "You were the one who brought Paro bhaisa in the morning aren't you? Why have you come back? Enough damage have been done by you devils? Go away from here, leave the dead in peace"
Aman tries to reason with them, "I'm not here to cause any trouble, I just want to find Parvati. She is in danger." They tell him he shouldn't talklike that as he is a BSD officer who are always ruin families. He pleads with them. Finally they admit that she had come here wrapping herself with a dark blanket which did not hide her or her dark heart. They chased her away and don't know where she went.
Aman thinks of the shy bride from Birpur who never looked him in the eye when he saw her in the shop. He recollected how she trusted him so easily, simply because his sister shared her name. Why didn't she ask him to take her to the funeral? He would have gone with her, kept her safe. He is lost in his own thoughts and trips and falls over something. In the bleak morning light, he sees it's a dark blanket, soaked with blood. This is not a good sign.
Aman informs Rudra. Both officers search for Paro all night but there is no trace of Paro. It's close to dawn and Rudra remembers the first time he saw her in the desert. How she was pleading helplessly to those men? How she was so scared and unable to fight for herself? How she clung to him believing that he will keep her safe from harm? How she was terrified when she saw the fire? This last question made him uneasy, if she was scared of fire how could she set his Father's room ablaze? She loved him as her own father, her battle was with him. He needed to talk to her. But he needed to find her first.
Meanwhile, Paro keeps walking as long as her tired feet take her. She doesn't know where or to whom. She can no longer go back home. Home, where her mamisa is no more. Home, where her protector shuns her presence. She holds her rudraksh and prays for guidance. She sees his and asks for forgiveness, from him who now hates her. She can no longer expect him to stand between her and danger, the rudraksh will have to do.
Paro sees a tamarind tree. It brings back memories of Bindi and Nandini jeeja and happier times when her people loved her, trusted her, cared about her. What changed? Why did the arms which were always raised to bless her beat her? Why did the lips that always smiled at her curse her now? She was one of them, why was she outcast, when she did the right thing. She understood why nobody spoke up for her when Rudra wanted them to identify her. But now when Tejawat's treachery has been revealed and the truth is out why are they still shunning her? The questions were making her dizzy, her legs no longer supported her, she collapsed on the road.
A few hours later, a car pulls over. The driver tells his mistress that somebody is wounded. The lady gets down and checks for herself. The girl looks familiar, but hurt very badly. She decides to take her along. The driver is hesitant, he wants to inform the police. The lady stops him and says her husband will take care of everything, not to worry.
At the lady's home, Paro is made comfortable, her wounds are dressed, but she remains unconscious. She starts to mumble in her sleep, "I'm innocent. I did not betray you. I wanted you to be safe". The doctor is summoned. He tells the lady that the young girl has undergone a lot of stress, her mind needs time to heal and gives her a sedative.
A few hours later, her husband returns home and finds her with the unconscious Paro. "Where did you find Parvati?", he asks.
Originally posted by: KhushiParoWow! So Mr.VK.Singh's wife Geetanjali found Paro. That's so relief.
You have a nice talent.I want to keep on read without stopping but your suspenses also good.Waiting... for next
Originally posted by: rupao21YES!! RUDRA FINALLY QUESTIONS HIMSELF!!! This is going so well.. Yaay! Loved this chapter truly. Geetanjli found her?! This keeps getting better and better yo. Glad to have come across this post in the first place. Update soon! :D
Chapter 8
At the hospital, Dilsher regains consciousness and Rudra rushes to be by his Father's bedside. The doctors confirm that he is now stable. Danveer wants to go to the temple and offer thanks for sparing his brother's life. Mohini refuses to come along, says she has to go home to make wholesome food so that her brother-in-law doesn't have to eat hospital food. She leaves with Sumer. Inwardly, she is seething for her misfortune. Her son asks her to look at the bright side, Paro is not staying with them anymore and Rudra is too busy fighting with her to worry about the Haveli. If they take good care of his uncle, he will leave everything to them as Rudra is the last of the family. Mohini is pacified and agrees that sooner or later the stubborn camel of her nephew will make a fatal mistake in his anger and his helpless father will be stuck with them along with the family.
Maithili didn't want to see her father-in-law so distraught. She offered to go to the temple instead. As she leaves, Rudra finally shows up. He is glad that his father is going to be alright and thanks the doctors profusely for their service. He is told that his father can be discharged in a couple days' time. "Go home, Kakosa, get some sleep. I'll stay here with Bapusa", he told his uncle. His uncle was reluctant, but knew that this was important to Rudra, so he left.
"If I had known that once you are married, you will call me Bapusa, I would done the needful long back", Dilsher's voice boomed as he entered the room. The voice belied the pale looking man propped up on pillows. "Runaway, you scared me, don't ever do this to me again", he yelled at his father. "I missed you too, my son", he smiled and pinched his grown son's cheek. Rudra glared back at him, giving his moustache a twirl. Dilsher asks "Where is Paro? My child must be worried too".
Rudra grew angry at that and told him that his child was the one who tried to kill him, so she should be worried that she is caught. Dilsher tells him he has lost his mind, that girl can't kill a fly let alone kill someone and if he doesn't use his brains, BSD will kick him out. Rudra argues that she managed to knock him out so she can definitely kill flies very successfully. He adds that, he was too busy worrying about him that he never went home to investigate the fire. But will focus on that now. Dilsher asks him to go ahead, even the gods can't convince him of Paro's hand in this. Hearing raised voices, a nurse comes in and admonishes Rudra. She tells him that the patient has to be stress free to regain his health fast. Father and Son end their argument.
Rudra is asked to report to headquarters where Aman and General Singh are waiting for him. "How is your father, Major Ranavat?" the General asks him. "His condition is stable. The doctors are confident of a full recovery, Sir", he replies. Then the general turned to Aman and asked how Parfait coping as she had a stressful day too. Aman replies that she was fine, but there is a problem. General Singh asks to be escorted to her tent so that he is comfortable or not. Aman exchanges looks with Rudra and admits, " She is not there, sir. " The General asks what going on. Aman confesses all that happened yesterday when they went to Birpur and how she left for the graveyard and was hurt. The general was furious with both of them for their negligence. "She told me she felt safe only with you, Rudra. But I let you delegate your duty to Aman only because you assured me that she will be alright. But now you have lost her. Have you forgotten that she is the prime witness in a cross border smuggling case. Have forgotten about the number of people who want her dead." the general blasts them. "Sir, she left on her own, the guards can confirm to this. Was Aman expected her handcuff her?" Rudra defends his right hand man. "You knew her better than Aman as she was in your custody, you could have guided your junior to take the necessary precautions or you could have done it yourself" the general was not ready to let him off the hook.
Something happened. Rudra was not the kind of officer who will delegate. He loves playing the hero and tackling enemies single handedly. He enjoys it when the odds are against him. He would never use his personal life as an excuse to shrink from his duty. Both officers were hiding something, he needed to know what. He needed to know why the brave girl who exposed Tejawat, lay broken in his guestroom.
The general ordered both men to find Paro within 24 hours. Aman leaves immediately but Rudra doesn't follow. The general requests him to spend some time on the case as his father is on the bend. "No Sir. For Paro's sake, I must stay away from her. She tried to kill my father. I may not be able to spare her", he says, leaving his senior flabbergasted.
Chapter 9
Paro wakes up as a gentle breeze rustles through lacy curtains. The smell of roses fills the air as she looks around the unfamiliar room. The cheerful voice of Geethanjali ordering her servants about offers a strange sort of comfort. She follows the voice to a drawing room where she meets her hostess. "Parvati come in. How are you feeling?" she greets her pleasantly. She introduces herself as the general's wife and recounts the previous day's tale.
Paro's heart is in pain as she recollects all that happened, Rudra's accusation and hatred, Dilsher's precarious health, Mamisa's death, the villagers' ire. Her knees feel weak and she grabs a chair for support. Geethanjali is worried, "We can talk about what happened later, let's get you back to bed" she says. As she guides Paro back, she instructs the maid to bring up dinner.
Paro doesn't have the stomach to eat. "I feel like I have done something terrible. All the people who matter to me are hurting because of me. I don't know how to fix it. Food is the last thing on my mind", she tells the older woman. Geethanjali smiles and tells her that she needs strength to stand on her feet first before setting out to fix things. Paro relents.
After a while the general returns home and is happy to see that Paro is fine and on the mend. It was important to him that the girl is taken care of, she deserves better than what fate has given her. "It's good to see you up and about, Parvati. You gave us quite a scare yesterday", he tells her. Paro feels guilty for another mistake she had committed. "I never meant to cause trouble. I just wanted to see my mamisa for the last time" she explained. The general laughed, "Your Jallad guessed correctly. He and Aman went looking for you". Paro was surprised, "Why would Rudra do that? He is very angry with me. He thinks I tried to kill his father". The general replies that he is still angry, so I let them continue their search till he cools off. Geethanjali scolds him gently, "Rudra is going to be even more angry for the wild goose chase you have set him on". But her husband is confident that his junior needs to spend his rage if he can't channel it in a productive way.
On seeing Paro's bent head, he tells her, "Cheer up, his father is recovering well. So he won't be angry with you anymore". Paro is happy to hear that. Now if only she could convince Rudra of her innocence.
Meanwhile, Maithili finds the temple closed and a vendor nearby tells him the pundit had left to his village and will be back after a few days. She turns to leave when she hears a wailing sound. On closer inspection, she finds a baby wrapped in a bundle and left near the temple door. She picks up the child and looks for the mother, nobody is around. She asks the vendor if he saw someone leave the child, he replies that he never noticed anything. The child grabs her necklace and tugs, Maithili looks down and feels her heart tug. The child snuggles into her warmth and drifts into peaceful slumber. She decides to take the baby home.
On reaching home, Maithili meets her mother-in-law at the door. Seeing the bundle Mohini asks her, "Looks like you have brought Prasad for the entire hospital not just for your uncle." Maithili gets scared as the child slowly wakes up and starts to mewl. Mohini notices and erupts in rage, "Where did you pick up this thing and what is it doing here? Have you lost your mind? The parents will be looking for it. The police will come to the Haveli. Oh, the shame! It's bad enough that I have to tolerate a barren woman for a daughter-in-law, but now she is become a criminal by kidnapping some child." Maithili tries to explain, "No, maajisa, this little girl was abandoned at the temple. Neither the parents nor the pundit were not around. I couldn't leave her there." Mohini roared that children are abandoned only if something is wrong with them, maybe the child is cursed or her birth is under questionable circumstances. The entire household gathers around them, the scared child starts to scream. Danveer asks his wife to calm down. Mohini asks if she is so desperate to be a mother that she will bring any child home. It would be make more sense for Samrat to remarry and have children with someone else instead.
Maithili pleads with them, "I never thought of keeping the child for myself, I just wanted to keep her safe till we find her parents". Mohini laughs, "If the parents wanted to keep the child they would never have left it at the temple. Samrat ask your wife to get rid of the brat", she commands her firstborn. He doesn't know what to do he hates being put in situations where he has to choose between his mother and his wife. "You are incapable of tackling your wife. No wonder, the gods have decided not to give you children of your own to tackle" Mohini shouted as she stepped up to grab the child herself.
"Bas", a roar was heard as Rudra returned home.
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