“And when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.”

~ Ruskin Bond

--------------------- 

Soon enough, the carriage was parked in the backyard of Hamill’s Villa. Praying for Dave’s well being and escaping everyone’s eyes, Gayarti sneaked out and reached the back door where one of the chefs of Hamill’s kitchen had already been waiting for her. The chef, a loyal person of Prof. Bhimsen Roy, was one of the several patients who was once treated by Doctor Dave Harrison. When Prof. Roy asked him for help, he was more than happy to oblige saying that he owed his life to them and more than anything else it was about his motherland. It was a lifetime opportunity for him.

Seeing him, Gayarti gave him a knowing smile, to which he returned the favor with a smirk of his own.

Dave entered the villa as the Navy Commander Arthur Williams. Soon enough a man approached him and asked him to wait outside Hamill’s chamber as he was having an important discussion with some of his officials.

"Commander Williams, General Hamill is in an important meeting. Please wait here for a while, he will be meeting you soon." Giving him a humble smile, he left from there. Dave sighed deeply and sat on a nearby sofa in the living room waiting for General Hamill as he prayed for their plan to work. It had to and he just wished that Gayatri had some success.

------------------- 

Gayatri took a deep breath and moved inside the villa with the chef. He helped her sneaking in through the back door. Giving him a grave look, she asked, "Has anything unusual happened in here in past couple of months?"

The chef gave it a little thought and finally nodded his head, “Yes, my lady! I’m not sure whether it’s useful for you or not… but something has been going on recently. I don’t know what it is but I am sure there is something happening in that abandoned chamber. We are not allowed to go there but there’s a chamber in the basement and it is secured by guards all the time."

A feeling deep down in her heart told Gayatri that this was what they needed. Most possibly a clue to whatever had happened and that made her decide to give that place a look.

Gayatri asked him, "Can you show me the way?"

The chef nodded and said, "As I already said it is guarded all the time, but the guards change their shifts around 4 o’clock in the evening. We can enter in there at that time."

Taking a deep breath Gayatri looked at her watch and said, "It’s 3:50 right now. That means we have only ten minutes. Come on, we should leave for the basement."

Agreeing to her, the chef guided her to the basement without anyone’s notice. They both reached near that abandoned chamber and hid behind a pillar as the guards were still standing there. They couldn’t afford being seen even by a single soul.

The chef whispered to Gayatri, "You're very lucky! There are only three guards right now, usually there are more. Let's wait for five more minutes, the shift will be changing soon."

Gayatri nodded her head and both of them anxiously waited for the shift to change. It was now or never and Gayatri was determined to get her task done at any cost.

-------------------

Dave was waiting in the living room and was hell tensed and frazzled. His heart thumped crazily as if ready to leap out of his body any next moment and his nerves were straining with constriction. He was continuously tapping his right foot on the ground and was drumming his fingers on the table nervously. He didn’t know how he was supposed to confront that wicked man, if he had to. He rubbed his forehead to calm his nerves and anxiety. He just wished he could do it. He needed answers and he would have them. There was no second chance!

The clock struck at four and alarmed the guards that it was time to change their shifts. They saw each other and nodded their heads before leaving from there, so that the other guards could take their places. Grabbing the opportunity, Gayatri rushed towards the chamber with the chef following right after her. They both entered in and Gayatri gashed out the breath she had been suppressing in her throat for so long and took a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes and slacked her restraining nerves.

The chamber was pitch-dark. A small flickering bulb was the only source of light in that murky room. No window, no ventilation, nothing was in there. Gayatri threw a quick glance around the place hoping to get some clue. But to her dismay nothing was easily visible to her eyes. She let out a frustrated grunt asking the chef if he could see anything. But on receiving a negative response, she moved forward and searched around.

And that was when her eyes caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the corner. On moving a little closer, Gayatri sucked in a deep breath on finding a man tied to a chair. She moved towards him and scanned him keenly. He was already unconscious, completely unaware of their arrival.

He was beaten-up brutally and blood was oozing out of his forehead and corner of his mouth. Even few of his fingernails were mercilessly detached from his skin. Many bruises could be found on his face, hands and legs. Some fresh bruises were telling that he had been beaten just a few hours ago. His clothes were torn, grimy and blood-stained. His hands and legs were tied to the chair so tightly that even scars of ropes were easily visible. His condition was totally devastated and miserable.

Gayatri's eyes brimmed with tears seeing his desolated condition. Even the chef was taken by complete shock on seeing the man’s condition. He knew there was something going on in here but he had never expected to witness something so horrendous as this. Both of them untied the man and Gayatri took out her handkerchief to clean his wounds. She looked at him with eyes full of pity and patted his cheeks trying to bring him back to consciousness, whereas the chef rubbed his palms continuously. But nothing seemed to work. The chef looked around to find something that could help and found an earthen-pot in the another corner.

He stormed towards it and took out some water in the glass which was kept nearby. He passed the glass of water to Gayatri. She grabbed it quickly and sprinkled a few drops on his face. As they waited anxiously, the man came to senses in a few minutes. He looked at both of them with frightened eyes and started blabbering.

"I don’t know-anything! Please help me out. I am begging you. Please let me go." Saying this he started leaving from there but the chef caught him and made him sit back on the chair.

"Shh! We're here to help you only," saying this the chef looked at Gayatri to which she nodded and asked, "Who are you? Who has held you as a captive here?"

"M-My name is Suresh Mahatre. General Hamill has confined me in here. Please help me!" The man fumbled with words and few tears drops rolled down from his eyes in fear as he took that wicked man’s name.

"But why has he captivated you here?", Gayatri asked as her confusion reached to an altogether different level.

Suresh started crying badly in grief, "Because I deserve it." As Gayatri and the chef gave each other confused looks, he hiccupped and continued, "Because I deserve it. I deserve it, for betraying my friends. Just for some money, I betrayed everyone." He wiped off his tears and continued, "We were working on a higher quality explosive. We did many experiment but the result was zero. I don’t know from where the Britishers came to know about our research. One day, when I was going to the market General Hamill caught me and threatened me to tell him everything about the research. At first, I refused but then he threw a bunch of 10 rupees notes and I became greedy. I told him about the place where the research was going. He made a deal with me that he will arrest the scientists and I trusted him." His voice change into anger and disgust, "But that wicked man burned the outhouse."

Gayatri interrupted him asking, "Are you talking about the outhouse near the Calcutta Medical College?"

And Suresh nodded his head. Gayatri fisted her palms to her sides realizing that this is exactly what they were looking for. It all happened because of him. Or should she say money… the root cause of all the evils.

Suresh looked at her in confusion and asked, "But how did you know?" Gayatri replied, "Will tell you that later. But what happened after fire? Do you know anything else?”

Suresh continued, "As soon as I came to know what Hamill had done, I ran up to the outhouse and reached there before anyone else. There I saw Doctor Iqbal's dead body lying near the locker and I understood that the formula and documents were kept in there. I opened the locker and read all the documents, but before I could keep it back in the locker safely, the British soldiers rushed in and destroyed all the documents and the formula. They threw it in the flames and everything brunt into ashes. They captured me and have kept me in here for last three months. They tortured me a lot and asked me about the research but I didn't tell them anything. I never wanted them to be killed, they were my friends but he betrayed me, the same way I betrayed them." Saying this Suresh started crying badly.

Gayatri felt hopeless that after so much struggle they came to know that the formula was also burnt in the fire. Tears brimmed her eyes and she murmured to herself, "That means everything is finished. Everything was burnt in the fire. Our every hope, our hard work, everything."

Listening to her words, Suresh said, "Everything has not finished, my lady," Gayatri looked at him in confusion and he continued, "They destroyed the thing which was written on the paper, but not which is written in here," he said that last part of his sentence pointing at his head.

-------------------

Dave was still outside Hamill's chamber, when a man came and informed him that the meeting was going to finish very soon and General Hamill would meet him in a few seconds. Dave became more uneasy and jittery now. As per their plan, meeting was supposed to go for long enough to give Gayatri the time to search for the clue. But here there were no signs of her. He started sweating and prayed for her well being. He stood up and looked here and there. He noticed a window on the other side of the room and he moved towards it. Maybe looking out could help him in easing himself a bit.

And that was when he saw Gayatri, the chef and a man sneaking out from back door. Seeing that she was pretty much fine, he took a sigh of relief and stormed out of there.

And when Hamill’s attendant came to call him, Commander William was not where he was supposed to be. He was gone!

As everyone settled down in the carriage, it ran out heading towards its destination.

-------------------

It was night by the time they reached Calcutta Medical College. Gayatri and Dave came out of the carriage and headed towards the outhouse with Suresh Mahatre, where Prof. Roy had been waiting for them.

Prof. Roy saw Suresh with disgust, his eyes were burning with pure rage on seeing the traitor in front of his eyes. He fisted his knuckles tightly and gritted his teeth in anger. He lunged forward towards Suresh and fisted his collar, showering his entire being with numerous questions, "Why did you do that? Just for few piece of useless paper, you sold your country's faith? How could you do that with us, with your colleagues, with your native motherland?" Grief stricken Suresh felt guilty and cried in grief for the loss he had done to his country.

Prof. Roy left his collar and spoke in soft tone, "Just because of you, we lost the most talented group of scientists? Due to you, we lost Manik, Pandit, Ramanand… everyone. And most importantly we lost Doctor Iqbal." Tears made their way out of Prof. Roy eyes as he mentioned the name of his dearest friend.

Suresh fell down on the ground in grief. He was regretting and cursing himself. He held Prof. Roy's feet with his trembling hands begging for forgiveness, "I am sorry, Professor. I am sorry... I never wanted this. I’m sorry."

Prof. Roy knelt down and placed in palm on his shoulder with concern and spoke, "Stop crying, Suresh. It’s good to see that you’ve realized your mistake and are regretting. I won’t say that it’s okay because I would be lying then. You and I, we both know what we have lost. I know that it won’t be easy to forgive you too but I promise I’ll try to." He passed him a smile, which Suresh obliged with gratitude.

Later, Suresh informed Prof. Roy about the formula and they decided to resume their research work. Dave and Gayatri also decided to join hands and said that they would also help them in every way they could. Prof. Roy agreed and everyone was all set to get their work done with a renewed energy.

And this time they were all determined to have success in their hands because by losing their dear ones they had already paid a huge cost.

-------------------

On their way back to the hostel, walking side by side, Dave and Gayatri wanted to say so much to each other but all of a sudden words seemed so less to them. So much had happened in just a few months, yet they failed to find something significant to talk about. An awkward silence prevailed in the surrounding. The cool breeze caressed her cheeks tenderly and Gayatri started rubbing her palms and arms, attempting to get some relief from the cold weather. Dave noticed her discomfort and his arms lifted up to hold her but he stopped just at the moment he was about to touch her and he decided to do otherwise. Removing his coat, he wrapped it around her shoulders. Touched by his care, Gayatri passed a content smile to him and he knew that his smile was mirroring hers exactly.

"Thank you, Dr. Harrison.”

“For the coat?” He was amused.

Gayatri nodded her head shyly. “And thank you for helping us in finding the clue. If it hadn’t been you then we couldn’t have..." And she was interrupted abruptly, as Dave had held her arm and pulled her closer gently. Placing his fingers on her lips, he kissed her cheek with the most tender caress and Gayatri couldn’t help but close her eyes feeling his love. No matter how much she tried but his feelings had always tugged at her heart.

"Never say thank you to me. Never. I love you and I can do anything for you." He pulled his finger away from her lips and caressed her cheeks. Pouring his heart into words, he continued, "I did what my heart asked me to. I will be there for you always, Gayatri… no matter whether you ask for it or not." Gayatri was all lost in his enticing eyes, his each word was playing a soothing melody in her heart.

Her breath hitched as he pulled her closer and she became aware of their close proximity. She closed her eyes as she saw him leaning towards her more. Dave leaned closer and she could feel his hot breath caressing her lips. But the next moment she felt a light touch on her forehead. With the most tender kiss she had ever felt, Gayatri heard him ask the same two words again, "Marry Me… Gaya-aa-tree."

And the words did their magic again as heat rushed up to her cheeks turning it crimson red. She blushed and breaking their little moment together, she ran into her room with a shy smile playing on her lips. Whereas, Dave was still standing there seeing her retreating figure with a smile gracing his features too.

Gayatri locked the door and leaned against it with her head resting on it. She was breathing heavily and she could still feel his lips lingering on her forehead. Placing her palm on her heart she could feel her heart thudding at a crazy rhythm. And she knew the magic had done its work this time like never before.

-------------------

Gayatri was in a deep slumber when she felt someone’s hot breath near her earlobe. A musk perfume flared her nostrils and she instantly knew who it was. It was Dave. HER DAVE. Wait… Did she call him ‘hers’ out loud? But…

As her mind tussled with her heart for her feelings for Dave, Gayatri heard him whispering her name near her ears with so much love that it overwhelmed her heart.

"Gaya-aa-tree... Gaya-aa-tree."

She instantly opened her eyes and found Dave sitting near her bed. Her hands moved on their own accord and the next moment she was caressing his right cheek. All of this was too good to be true. She called him softly, "Dave."

Dave nodded his head and leaned closer to her. And this time instead of retreating back, Gayatri too, leaned closer. Lost in each other's captivating eyes none of them realized when they had covered the least amount of distance between themselves and were closer than ever before. With their lips hardly a breath away, Gayatri attempted to lean even closer when a loud voice broke her trance.

And she sat up straight on the bed. Gayatri frowned thinking it was all nothing but a dream. She took a deep breath. When did she start having such dreams?

But she knew it all too well that Dave’s charm had finally worked. It finally made sense to her. All of it did. Why her heart did summersaults whenever he was close to her?! Why her heart started beating crazily every time he smiled at her?! Why she felt so secure and protected in his arms?! Why everything seemed so beautiful and pleasant whenever he was with her?!

Dave had always been on her mind like a never ending thought and no matter what her eyes always yearned to see him. Gayatri wasn’t very sure what this feeling was called but considering the way Dave always said, ‘it was love’ in his words. And if that was the case then… yes, she loved him. She really did!

And just like that Gayatri Joshi had finally accepted that she was in love with Dave Harrison… too deeply to be true.

And with this came another realization that she had to give him an answer. An answer to the question he had asked her innumerous times.

She was finally going to say ‘yes’. Yes, she was ready to marry the one she had fallen in love with and she had never been so sure of any of her decision before.

-------------------

Gayatri was running hysterically across the corridor in search of Dave. She was about to enter Dave's chamber when a peon called her.

"Miss Gayatri, Prof. Roy has been searching for you. "

She looked at Dave's chamber and then at the peon and finally sighed nodding her head at him.

"Okay, I am coming." Saying this, she left with the peon with a sad smile. And with one last glance at Dave’s chamber, she headed out towards Prof. Roy’s cabin.

-------------------

"Good morning, Professor. You asked for me?" She spoke standing at Prof. Roy’s office door as she noticed him looking intently at a notebook. Listening her voice, Prof. Roy tore his gaze away from the notebook and passed a smile to her before speaking, "Good morning, my dear. Come here, there is a letter for you from your village. It’s from your Annuradha Jiji."

Hearing those words from him, Gayatri had a huge smile across her face and her eyes sparkled with happiness. She rushed towards him, took the letter excitedly and ran back to her room delightfully wondering what all things her sister had written in there for her. Whereas Prof. Roy couldn’t help but chuckle at her childishness.

-------------------

Reaching her room, Gayatri opened the letter and started reading it.

Meri pyaari Gayatri, (My dearest Gayatri)

She touched the first line of letter emotionally and smiled a little before continuing.

Tohra ke eei jaan ke bahut dukh hoitayee ke pita ji gujar gayeelan hain. Haije ke kahar se unka naahi bacha paylee hum log. Ek hafta ho gayeelwa hai. Gayatri, tohar bahut yaad aite hawa. (You will be very hurt on knowing that father has passed away. We couldn’t save him from Cholera. It’s been a week already. Gayatri, we miss you so much.)

Tumhari Jiji, (Your sister,)
Anuradha.

Gayatri fell on the bed with a thud. The letter fell from her hand. She was sitting there like a statue with an emotionless face. Without blinking she kept staring continuously at somewhere into the oblivion. Her eyes started brimming with tears, but not a single tear rolled down her cheek.

At that time, Malobika entered the room to call her for the class and without looking at her, she spoke, "Gayatri, the class will start soon. Come…" And with one look at her, Malobika paused realizing something was wrong. She move toward her and called her softly, "Gayatri?"

But no response came from her side. She saw a paper lying on the floor and picked it up. She was stunned after reading it. She looked at Gayatri with concern and placed her palm on her shoulder and called her again, "Gayatri, are you fine?" This time her lips quivered and silent tears fell from her eyes. Malobika rubbed her back gently, to which Gayatri hugged her and broke into tears finally.

Malobika calmed her by rubbing her back and spoke, "Be strong Gayatri... Be strong… You're working on the cure, right? Everything will be alright one day and your father will be truly proud of you." She broke the hug and wiped her tears. "Now stop crying. Okay! Try to find the cure soon." To which Gayatri nodded and said, "You are right, Malobika. I will work very hard and I’ll surely protect my village and our country from this dreadful disease. You go to the class, I will be coming in few minutes."

"Are you sure?" Malobika asked, to which Gayatri nodded. Malobika left in a few minutes, Gayatri wiped off her tears and took a deep breath.

She had to be strong. She couldn’t break  like this. Her village and her country needed her more than anyone else. Not even Dave. And with that she realized that she had to suppress her feelings for Dave. Yes, she need him by her side! But her people wanted her more. She couldn’t let her personal feelings make her weak. She had to achieve her ultimate goal. And for that she had to be strong.

She was going to break his heart again and she was sorry for that. She really was.

Gayatri wiped off her tears and started writing something on a paper. With everything she wanted to say being written on the paper, she left for the college.

------------------- 

Walking through the corridor, Gayatri came across Dave. He smiled at her. Seeing his smiling face, all their moments came back to her. Tears filled her eyes, her lips quivered and she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her sobs. And without any word, she ran away crying. Whereas, Dave was left baffled with her actions.

Later in the evening, Dave came back to his room for some rest after the lecture. He sat on a chair with his hands resting on the table. He rubbed his temple to relax himself, when his eyes fell on the his novel, Romeo and Juliet. Seeing it, he remembered their particular small yet sweet moment and a beautiful smile came across his face. He took the novel and opened it, and that was when  he noticed a piece of paper peeking out of it.

He took out that paper and realized that it was a letter… from Gayatri. Taking a deep breath, he started reading it.

‘Dear Dave,

I’m really sorry. I really am. We can't be together. It's true that I like you. I want to be with you but I can't marry you. This time my country needs me more than you need me. If I say ‘yes’ to our marriage then what will happen to my people. I can’t let happen again, I can't let my people die, Dave. I can't. My people and my country need me. I’m sorry, Dave. Please, try to forget me and move on in your life. No matter how much I yearn for it, I can never be yours. I’m really sorry.

Gayatri Joshi.’

A lone tear escaped his eye as Dave finished the letter. He wiped away the tear and rested his head on the table but fresh tears made their way out of his eyes. After very long, he was realizing it all over again how it felt losing someone dear to you.

-------------------

Gayatri was sitting in the canteen waiting for her masala tea, when she saw Dave coming in her direction. His eyes were puffy and nose was red. He looked tired and a pang of pain hit her heart seeing his devastated condition. He came and sat beside her. Not able to bear the pain, Gayatri started to leave but was stopped the next moment when Dave called her back.

"Gaya-aa-tree." Hearing her name from his mouth brought tears to her eyes. Fighting back her tears, she looked back at him. Dave came to her and said, "Gaya-aa-tree, I read your letter." He took deep breath and continued," And I understand your point of view," a tear escaped from both of their eyes, he took her tear on his finger tip and continued, "Don't ever shed your tears again. These pearls are too precious to be wasted like that. From now on, I will never let my feelings across your path. I understand your pain. You like me back… that’s more than enough for me. If you need any help in future then know this that I will be always there for you.”

Saying that he left from there but Gayatri felt something was incomplete. Though her love was left incomplete, she never expressed what she felt for him. And she knew it was now or never. It was her only chance.

And before she could give it another thought, her feet were already running towards him.

“Dave!”, her voice brought his steps to a halt. He turned around only to feel her arms wrapped around his torso and she wept with her head resting on his chest. “I’m sorry. I know I have hurt you. I’m really sorry.”

“Shh! It’s okay, Gayatri. Please don’t cry.” His soothing voice had calmed her a bit but still her tears were nowhere stopping. Wiping off her tears, he smiled holding her shoulders.

No one spoke anything for the moment and then taking a deep breath Gayatri finally broke the silence, “I want to give you something.”

“What?” He was confused.

“A token of my feelings for you.” And with that being said she hitched herself up and kissed his forehead. A drop of tear rolling down both their cheeks marked the beautiful moment of the unsaid words of their feelings.

-------------------

Suresh paid off for his deeds and with the formula he gave, their idea of explosives of better quality and higher intensity was finally a success. Knowing that this wasn’t all he was supposed to do to repay for his deeds, Suresh headed for the outhouse. The least he could do was apologize to his friends, his colleagues who lost their lives owing to his covetousness.

Standing in front of the locker where Doctor Iqbal had hid the formula, he was reminded of their happy times together. How delightful everything was before his avarice destroyed it all!

Falling down to his knees, he wept again. He knew no matter what his tears could never undo what was already done, but still he couldn’t get this scorching guilt out of his heart. It was all his fault! He should have known that Hamill was not a person to be trusted, yet his greed blinded him so much that he couldn’t see anything.

He wanted to let his heart out and that was what he finally did. “I’m sorry, Doctor Iqbal. I failed. I failed all of us. I won’t ask for forgiveness because that would be too much to ask for. We lost it all because of me and no matter what I do, I can’t change it all. Trust me, I never knew that Hamill was planning on killing everyone. He said he would just arrest you all. But by the time I came to know what his actual plan was, it was already too late. You all were gone. Gone… too far and I was left behind to regret for all my life. Even though you all are not listening to me right now, I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I really am.”

And with that he broke into another round of hysterical cries. But little did he know that what he thought was wrong. There was someone who had heard it all and was not ready to let it go so easily.

-------------------

Hamill was beyond furious. This was the first time someone had defeated him. He had never expected someone to take away his captive right from under his nose. And that made him decide to make the night patrolling rounds himself. He was determined to find that person himself and then show him what Hamill’s wrath actually was.

But what he didn’t know was someone had already been waiting for him and it was something he was definitely not going to like.

“Drive fast, you fool. Are you driving some bullock cart?” He barked at his car’s driver but the next moment, he was deafened by a loud explosion and his car was sent rolling down the street.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES HAD ATTACKED HIM!! It was the first attack of their higher grade explosives and Hamill was their TARGET!

He had barely managed to crawl out of his car when the whole thing was engulfed by huge flames, making him stumble back. But even then he couldn’t save his legs that had several shards of glasses piercing his skin mercilessly. He looked around for help but everyone around him had already lost their lives in the blast.

And then his body started getting colder than usual. But it didn’t take too long for him to realize that it wasn’t just his body, it was the entire surrounding that had started growing too cold for the night. A strong smell of nicotine was what followed next and before he could realize what was happening, a gush of wind had knocked him down.

“Always so lucky. Aren’t you?” A shiver ran down his spine as he felt a chilling whisper next to his ears. Turning around he expected to see someone but the scene that met his eyes left him crawling away even further. In front of him was a rising green smoke and soon enough a pair of deadly looking hands made their way out of the smoke. A strangled cry escaped his throat. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream but he knew it all too well… it wasn’t.

He knew he had to run but he couldn’t. His legs had given up already, so, he did the best he could do. He crawled!

With the help of his hands, he dragged his body across the street in the middle of night. No one was there to help him as those two hands followed him and for the first time in his life, Hamill had felt what helplessness was. He knew he had no chance but he wasn’t ready to give up. Somewhere down his heart, he knew this was the end.

He turned back to look at those hands again but to his surprise they were not there and when he turned around again, his heart stopped. Those hands were right in front of him and were aiming at his neck. Before he could do anything else, the hands were on his throat and his eyes widened as Doctor Iqbal emerged completely out of the smoke. But this time with a charred, burnt and blistered body with an eye missing. That was impossible! It couldn’t happen! But it felt too real to be a dream and the increasing pressure on his neck was choking him with every passing moment. His pupils dilated as Iqbal leaned closer to him and whispered. “Did you really think you could get away that easily? Remember, we all have to pay for our deeds here only.”

And with those words, Hamill was gone… Forever!

Doctor Iqbal took a deep breath. His work was done here and it was finally his time to rest in peace. It was time for him to leave. He headed back to the Calcutta Medical College to bid farewell to those without whom this peace would have never been his.

------------------- 

Everyone was celebrating their first victory at the outhouse. Prof. Roy’s happiness was at peak. At last, he had taken revenge of his friends' death and saved his country from this cunning and wicked man.

Everyone was enjoying, when Gayatri moved out of the outhouse. Dave saw her moving out, so, he too followed her. She stood in the corridor, closed her eyes and smiled feeling the cool breeze touching her cheeks. Dave came and stood beside her and fake coughed to gain her attention. Gayatri opened her eyes, saw him and passed a content smile. She looked at the moon and spoke, "We won, Dave. We won." She tore her gaze away from the moon and looked at him, "After many months of our hard work, we have our first victory. I’m so happy today, Dave… I am so happy."

As she completed her sentence, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. A shudder passed down his spine, when her body touched his skin. Her rose perfume hit his nostrils and it did its usual magic again. Slowly, he raised his arms and hugged her back with equal force.

Oh, how much he missed having her in his arms!

They both were hugging each other passionately, forgetting about the world. The drizzling rain drops embraced the place with affectionately. Both were lost in each other when a thunder strike brought them back to their senses. Dave broke the hug awkwardly and left giving her a small smile. Whereas, Gayatri eyes brimmed with tears again realizing that her most beautiful moment had come to an end. She wiped away her tears, masked her face with fake smile and left from there.

------------------

Days changed into months, months into years.

It was said that the ‘Time is the best Healer’. But for Gayatri, it was this time that increased her pain million folds. Her Babuji’s demise had just shook her terribly and her attention got divested in work so much that she had refused to see through the distress of the man who would keep his eyes on her the whole day hoping for a single glance. Her heart tore between her people and him, but she could never erase off the thin line between the both. As if Dave was never meant to be in ‘Her Near And Dear Ones’.

Finally the day when Gayatri Joshi became Doctor Gayatri Joshi (MB). The unending sacrifices of her Anuradha Jiji and the valor of her decisions had come fruitful. The huge auditorium of  Calcutta Medical College echoed with humongous claps as Gayatri Joshi was felicitated with the year’s ‘Brightest Student’ award. The eyes that looked down upon her all these years reflected envy, the appreciative glances were filled with pride and Professor Roy was clapping hardest. His favorite student had done it!

Yes, along with her degree she also had fulfilled her long nurtured dream – INJECTIONS FOR CURING CHOLERA.

Her eyes shone with absolute happiness as she looked around in acknowledgement, but all she wanted was to see him. There he stood at one corner of the front row clapping, his gesture reflecting absolute pride and a beautiful smile playing on his lips. But she could decode him so easily. The pain in those hazel orbs, no matter how much hid to others were an open book to her. But she was helpless. It was always decided that once her work was over here, she would return. That was her plan and this had hurt Dave a lot.

And with the passage of hours, the parting moment too arrived…

She was lost in her thoughts walking slowly past the corridors after bidding  bye when  Prof. Roy stopped her on tracks. "Gayatri" he called out and she smiled. "Yes Professor!"

Prof. Roy smiled back at her. Truly, a student like  hers was so hard to find. Her zeal and ardor lead to the ultimate success in all works they had planned upon and she even helped in the revolutionary plans that were kept in utmost secrecy. He would be missing this student of his a lot, she was more like a daughter to him.

Keeping his hand on her head Roy  blessed her, "Always smile like this only," and he passed a gift wrapped, to which Gayatri looked at him in confusion. "There is an idol of Lord. Krishna inside it. May his mercy be upon you."

Gayatri was so touched by her mentor's gesture. Her eyes welled up as she nodded vigorously. "Don't forget to write me after you reach home. And I really hope you achieve what you dreamt of!"  Prof. Roy uttered softly and took leave after a few more words.

Gayatri smiled and kept the gift wrapped in her bag, safely. She had finally met everyone. Except him...

"Humra se milbo naahi karihe ka (Won't he even meet me)?!" , She uttered sadly and walked towards the gate of college. The building held so much memories for her and she wanted to carry each of them in her heart, but he was also an integral part of it. She had hurt him a lot and she knew the sensitive man Dave was, he would never turn up to bid her bye. Or else he would fall weak.

"Humra ke tohar bahot yaad aitewa, Brahmadev ji. (I'll miss you a lot, Brahmadev ji)." She muttered and his way of calling 'Gayatree' came into her thoughts. Truly he was one of a kind. When she had arrived her four years back , she had no absolute idea that someone would grow so close to her that leaving the person would give her a hollow feeling in chest.

Chuckling lightly and with wet eyes Gayatri Joshi walked away from her dream destination. It was time to fulfil her other dream.

Standing at a distance, behind one of the huge pillars, Dave Harrison wept silently. Seeing her walking away was something that Dave had never dreamt of. This was intolerable and the pain pierced his soul apart. He slowly walked away to the opposite direction, towards the grounds.

It had started drizzling lightly .

The rain drizzled poured fire in his lone soul. He faced the sky, his tears were beautifully hidden by the gentle drops of the downpour and he cried more... And some more.

The helpless soul drenched in a painful sorrow. His 'Gayatree' had left him forever. Alone.

------------------

"We don't want your medicines!"

"Women are better at their house. They shouldn’t try to do things like a men."

"First you ran away and now you want us to believe you?"

"Woman are for giving births not for studying!”

"You're a woman and you have no right to work!"

"Leave from here. You don't belong with us now!"

All these rants were running in her head. It had been a week ever since she returned back. But nothing had changed here, they were all still the same. They never left any chance to insult and disgrace her. She had never thought that they would not let her treat them and would refuse to take her medicine. They still believed in those pathetic and contemptible thinking. But still her mother and sisters were with her and were proud of her.

Today was the day, when her future would be decided by the Sarpanch of the village. She was sitting in panchayat, and the people were not letting go of a single chance to spill venom on her. They were dishonoring her and her medicines again. And all Gayatri did was sit there quietly and listen to their hateful and loathed allegation.

"After listening to you all, I came to the conclusion that", the Sarpanch paused for a while and everyone looked at him, anxiously. Whereas, Gayatri looked at him with hopeful eyes but everything shattered into pieces, when the Sarpanch completed his sentence.

"I’ve come to the conclusion that Gayatri has dishonored our custom and rules. So, she will have to leave our village. If she will not leave then, we will cut-off every contact with her family.”

And with that everything came to an end for Gayatri. Each and every word the Sarpanch spoke tore her heart apart and when she thought she had no hopes left everyone heard a booming voice. To everyone it was something strange but for Gayatri, it was the voice that she had been yearning to hear. It was him. And he was here for her!

"YOU ALL DON'T DESERVE HER!"

Everyone turned their heads to the source of voice and saw an old man. Gayatri smiled at him. Prof. Roy, too, smiled at her and moved aside. And there stood a man in his mid thirties, wearing a black suit with his hands in his pockets and a charming smile on his lips. He moved towards Gayatri and wrapped his finger around hers. Shooting daggers with his eyes at everyone else, he spoke, "You people don't deserved her. You all will never understand what she is worth and capable of."

Looking at his Gayatri, he continued, "She is the most precious gem that anyone could ever have. She is a tigress, who fought and spent her nights and days in finding cure for you people. The people who never attempted to understand her." He softened his voice and spoke to Gayatri, "Gaya-aa-tree, now I will not let you live you here."

He turned his gaze to Prof. Roy and asked, "Professor, can we take Gayatri with us?" Prof. Roy smiled and nodded in agreement. Dave held her palm more firmly and started to move towards his car. While, the villagers were standing there, with their heads dunked down, being ashamed.

------------------

Prof. Roy was sitting on the passenger seat. Whereas, Gayatri and Dave were sitting on the back seat together. Indeed it was a great start, yet something felt incomplete.

Gayatri was looking out through the window and tears were rolling down her cheeks continuously. She was still worried and concerned for her people. There was no denying in that. Dave noticed her and took her hand in his, which broke her trance.

Caressing the back of her hand gently with the strokes of his thumb, he spoke, "We will not leave our people, Gaya-aa-tree. We come back again for them. We will come back."

Saying this, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead, to which Gayatri closed her eyes letting the tenderness of his touch slowly seep in down to her heart. She was so touched by his words that she couldn’t help but feel how special he was and how special he considered her for himself. She knew that this man was exceptional. How easily he had made her people… HIS! He called them their own. A small smile crept on her face, to which he also obliged.

After a long, journey of about three hours, they were back at Calcutta Medical College. She was back to the place where she had given four golden years of her life. She was back to where she actually belonged. As three of them entered the premises, Prof. Roy left for his cabin, leaving Dave and Gayatri alone… together. Dave was moving ahead, and Gayatri was moving behind him, fidgeting with her saree’s pallu. And just at the doorstep of the guest house, she finally said what she had wanted to for so long.

“Thank you so much, Dave!”

“For what?” He was amused by her once again.

“For everything. For being there with me even when I didn’t ask you to.” She was more than grateful for whatever he had done for her.

“I already asked you not to thank me, Gayatri.”

“Um… Can I ask you for one more thing?”

“Sure, Gayatri. Anything!”

And she knew no moment could be any more perfect. This time there were no limitations. This time there was no holding back. This time she was going to follow her heart and she said what her heart was yearning to say the most at that time…

"Marry Me, Dave!"

And this time Ms. Gayatri Joshi had taken Doctor Dave Harrison by surprise! Just three words and he was flabbergasted. Just three words and his heart skipped several beats at the same time. Whereas, this time she kept waiting for his reply with a bated breath!

So, was this how everything ended? No! Not at all. It was just a new beginning!

Written by Angelic_ghoulish for the group story writing contest being hosted by freakswithus

We'll see you all on 4th of August with the epilogue of the story. We hope you enjoyed reading it.

With loads of love,
Team ARDUOUS SCRIBBLERS