Rahul: "Veer!"

Veer and madhura broke apart and now Rahul could see that she was sobbing. Rahul was really curious now.

Rahul: "Baat kya hain Madhu? Tum ro kyun rahi ho? Veer kya hua?"

Veer: "Wo bas thori der pehle Madhu ko call aaya tha uski mom ki. Uski aunt ki death ho gayi hain. She was so upset and crying. So I was just consoling her."

Rahul: "oh! I'm so sorry madhu. Please don't cry. Samhalo apne aap ko. "

Madhu wiped off her tears : "Thanx for being there guys. I'm okay."

Veer nodded and then turned towards Rahul : "Yeh sab gaye kaha? Aur Ananya kaha hain?"

Rahul: "Sab toh canteen mein hain aur Ananya aur Riya ka pata nehi. Shayad dono saath hi honge."

Veer was worried now: "Shayad ka kya matlab hota hain? Pata nehi wo kaha hogi aur upar se usko andhere se darr bhi lagta hain! Main dekhta hu."

However before he could make a move his phone buzzed. Veer took out the phone and he was relieved seeing Riya's name flashed on the screen. He answered the call.

Veer: "Riya! Kaha ho tum? Anu tumhare saath hain kya?"

Riya: "haan Veer wo mere saath hain. Umm'Veer aaj raat Anu mere saath mere ghar mein rahegi. Toh tum ghar laut sakte ho. Okay!"

Veer was surprised to know that: "Par achanak?"

Riya: "Haan bas aise hi."

Veer: "Thik hain. Par kya wo wahan hain? Agar haan toh meri baat karwana usse."

Riya was confused whether or not to give her the call. So she covered the phone and mouthed the question to Ananya who was crying beside her. Ananya joined her palms and shook her head vigorously as fresh tears rolled down her cheek. She pleaded through her eyes not to give her the call. Riya sighed and nodded as she realized that it would be wise not to give her the call as Ananya wouldn't be able to control herself once she heard Veer's voice.

Riya: "Nehi Veer. Wo washroom gayi hain. Aur uska cell ka bhi battery low hain toh wo switched off hain."

Veer replied in a low tone: "Okay! Take care of her and you too take care of yourself."

Riya cut the call and then looked up to see Ananya. She got up and helped Ananya to get up. She slowly escorted a shattered Ananya to her car with her hand wound protectively around Ananya's shoulders. Ananya sat on the passenger's seat and leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes tiredly, few tears rolled down. Riya got into the driver's seat. She was really feeling bad seeing the usually chirpy and bubbly Ananya so broken, so lifeless. Riya turned on the engine and soon the car joomed away from the place.

*******************************************************************

Veer was upset as Ananya suddenly decided to stay over at Riya's place and never bothered to inform him. He was also worried as she never stayed out of the house at night without him since past 15 years.

Veer asked himself while driving the car: "kya ab hum itna dur ho gaye ek dusre se Pari ke ab tum mujhe batana bhi jaruri nehi samajhti ki tum kaha jaa rahi ho? Shayad tum sahi ho. Yeh tumhari jindagi hain aur mujhe ab interfare karne ka koi haq nehi hain. Waise maine bhi toh yehi chaha tha. Subah maine bhi toh aisa hi kiya. fir bhi itni takleef kyun ho rahi hain mujhe? Shayad isliye ki tumse yeh duri bardast nehi ho raha hain mujhse. Par mujhe bardast karna sikhna hoga tumhare khushi ke liye."

Saying this he wiped off the lone tear that escaped his eye. By that time he had reached home. He stepped out of the car and walked away.

As Veer opened the front door leading to their living room he found Abhimanyu and nikita sitting there, chatting and laughing. They looked up as he entered and smiled at him. He forced a smile which didn't go unnoticed by his parents. Nikita got up from the couch.

Nikita: "Veer tum akele? Anu kaha hain?"

Veer replied in a gloomy voice: "Wo mom wo riya ke saath uske ghar pe ruk gayi. Kal aayegi shayad."

Now Abhimanyu thought of interfering in the conversation: "Veer sab thik hain na? U r looking so upset. Tumhari Anu se larai toh nehi hui na?"

Veer: (in his mind) Nehi dad shayad ab yeh haq bhi main kho chuka hu. (Aloud) Nehi dad. Aisi koi baat nehi hain. Main fresh hoke aata hu."

Saying this he walked away without waiting for their response as it was time and again reminding him of his helplessness, his pain.

However, it was clear to nikita and Abhimanyu that there was something surely wrong. They couldn't pinpoint what but they knew something was seriously wrong.

******************************************************************

Both Ananya and Riya came out of riya's car. Riya came to Ananya's side and clasping her hand with her own she walked towards her house. Riya unlocked the door and took Ananya inside. She made Ananya sit on the couch in the living room. Ananya sat there like a lifeless body with tears rolling down silently.

Riya : "Anu tum yaha baitho humare dinner ka intezam kari hu main."

Ananya : "mujhe bhook nehi hain riya. Main bas thori der akeli rehna chahti hu. You go ahead."

Riya: "thik hain tum mere room ke paas wale room mein raho. Jab tak tum nehi kahogi main andar nehi aaoungi. Par jab bhi tumhe meri jarurat ho toh bula lena."

Ananya smiled through tears: "You are such a sweetheart. Thanx so much yaar for being there for me."

Riya smiled back: "You are always welcome sweety. Chalein ab!"

Ananya nodded and followed her. They reached the room and after bidding goodbye to Riya, Ananya locked the door. As soon as she locked the door and was left alone all the pain, all the pent up emotions came rushing back to her and she slumped down on the floor, sobbing bitterly. Her hair flew backwards due to the breeze coming through the window revealing an incredibly beautiful, tear stained face, etched with utmost face.

Mujhse hui bas yeh khata

Maine tujhe chaha sanam

(She recalled the moment when she for the first time realized her love for Veer)

Chup chup ke roti rahi

Tune diye kaise ye gham

(She recalled the moment when her world came crashing down as she saw Madhura in Veer's embrace and how much she cried after realizing that she had lost her love, her life forever.)

O bekhabar berahem karle chahe kitne sitam

(Fresh tears rolled down her eyes as she recalled Veer's aloofness and the way he took back all her rights over him just in a matter of moments.)

Na chahat kabhie hogi kam

Mujhe in aansuon ki kasam

Maine kiya hain tujhse saccha pyar

Maine kiya hain tujhse saccha pyar.

(She knew now that she had always loved Veer and that he was her true love. She promised herself that no matter what she would always love him and only him and she would never let her love falter even if he didn't love her back. She would detach herself from his life if that would be required for his happiness.)

Ananya kept on sobbing and even she didn't know when getting exhausted of crying she felt drowsy and slept on the floor in the same sitting position with her head leaned back on the door.

Soon the night paved the way for the approaching dawn and soon the golden rays of the sun peeped through the curtains. Ananya was sleeping like a sweet innocent angel. She woke up with the knock at the door. She slowly got up and wiped off her tears and then opened the door. Riya was standing in front of her with a bit tensed expression. Ananya forced a smile.

Riya: "Yeh jhoothi muskurahat tum mujhe na hi dikhao toh thik rahega. Tum kis dard se gujar rahi ho mujhe acche se pata hain. Go and freshen up. Then come down. We'll have breakfast toghether."

Ananya nodded silently and walked away to the washroom. Riya sighed looking at her retreating figure and went back. Breakfast was a quiet affair as none spoke much and soon it was time for Ananya to return to the house directly as from that day a vacation of one week started.

As soon as Riya and Ananya reached Singhania mansion, they were surprised to see their friends' cars parked in the parking area. They looked at each other as they were clueless about what was going on. They walked towards the house and as they entered the living room, they were even more surprised to see their gang standing there with excited faces and smiles playing on their lips. Veer was standing behind the couch on which his parents were sitting, but for a change he was silent. Nikita looked up as she heard footsteps and she smiled happily seeing Ananya and got up and walked towards Ananya who hugged her.

Nikita: "Kaisa hain mera baccha? Tumhara chehra itna utra hua kyun lag raha hain?"

Ananya forced a smile: "Kuch nehi mom. Wo kal raat thik se neend nehi aayi na isliye."

Her forced smile didn't go unnoticed by Nikita who was now sure that something was bothering both of her children. However she decided to act normal so that Ananya didn't feel awkward.

Nikita smiled: "Neend kaise aayegi? Apne ghar se dur rehne par neend thore hi na aati hain. Waise tumhara mood thik karne wala news hain mere paas."

Ananya was confused and clueless about what exactly she was talking about: "Kaun sa news mom?"

Nikita smiled: " As your vacations have already started and will last for a whole week, so you guys are gonna spend your holidays in Goa in our farmhouse."

All except Veer and Ananya cheered.

Abhimanyu: "So guys pack your stuffs. You are gonna leave tomorrow."

Cheering and chatting happily their friends walked out of the mansion while Veer and Ananya went to their respective rooms.

*******************************************************************

That night was a sleepless night for both Veer and Ananya. Both were engrossed in their own world of thoughts. They recalled how their life and world came upside down in a matter of few days. They recalled their happy days, the moments they spent toghether and how they used to be there for each other in all painful and solitary moments. Then the realization came to them with an excruciating pain that no matter how much they try they could not go to the other one as everything had changed so much and they had drifted apart so much from each other. Tears rolled down the eyes of both of them as they pondered upon the prospect of life without each other. They both knew that they had to live alone as they could never even think of accepting anyone else in their life as they define life for each other, though they both were ignorant that the other one was thinking on the same line. Even they didn't know when they drifted into slumber while thinking about each other.

*************************************************************

(Next morning)

Riya, Rahul, Sonia, Soham, Arnav, Abhinav and Madhura had already reached Singhania mansion and were chatting with Veer's parents when they saw Veer and Ananya on the top of the staircase. Both of them were carrying their respective luggages. They looked at each other and wer trying really hard to control and conceal the pain in their eyes and turned their gaze away again. Veer wordlessly almost snatched away Ananya's luggage from her hands started descending the stairs followed by a surprised Ananya.

Ananya (in her mind): "Kya maine Veer ke aankhon mein wohi dard dekha jisse main hokar gujar rahi hu? Lekin aisa kaise ho sakta hain? Usko toh uska pyar mil gaya hain. Fir wo itna chup kyun hain? Itna gumshum kyun hain? Kya yeh sirf meri imagination hain ya aisa kuch hain jo main dekh nehi pa rahi?"

Unknown to her, the same thing was going on in Veer's mind.

Veer (in his mind): "Agar Ananya ko uska pyar mil gaya hain toh fir uski aankhon mein wo dard kaise tha? Kis liye ya fir yun kahu kiske liye tha? Mujhe uski aankhon mein apne jaisa dard kyun dikha? Agar wo khush hain toh fir wo khushi humesha ki tarah mujhe uski aankhon mein kyun nehi dikhti? Kahan hain meri Pari? Kahan hain wo hasti khelti larki jise main janta tha? Wo itni gumsum kyun hain? Kya yeh sirf mera behem hain ya fir koi aisa sach jo mujhe dikh nehi raha?"

Engrossed in all these thoughts Veer reached the living room and put down the bags while Ananya, who too was engrossed in her own thoughts was walking just behind him. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even looked up where she was walking and tripped over the bags and was about to fell down when two strong arms wrapped around her waist. She looked up only to find two blue eyes looking at her and lost herself in that intense gaze. Veer, on the other hand, also lost himself in the green eyes. They were unaware of anything else, of the whole world around them and were lost in each other, in each other's arms. The others present there were ecstatic to see the couple made in heaven and were praying that they come toghether except one. Abhi was restless to see Veer and Ananya so close. His mind was working pretty fast. He couldn't let this happen, not after all that he had done to separate them and to get close to Ananya. He knew that they both love each other but still he would do anything to get his love back as he didn't want to accept defeat.

Abhi took steady steps towards the enchanting duo who were totally lost in each other and with the sole purpose of breaking the trance of the moment, he called out: "Anu tum thik toh ho na?"

As expected this was enough to bring Veer and Ananya out of their trance. One look at Abhi's face reminded Veer the reason for which he decided to stay away from Ananya and realizing what he was doing, he immediately straightened up. Ananya too was feeling guilty as she saw madhu as she knew, according to her, that Veer loved Madhura. Both of them immediately stepped away from each other and turned away their gaze. However, the others were cursing Abhi for interrupting at the wrong time. Nikita and Abhimanyu who were smiling just a moment ago seeing both of their children so close to each other frowned and prayed and hoped that this journey brought them toghether again and would return their same old Veer and Ananya as it was their dream to make Ananya their daughter in law.

Veer, however, soon composed himself: "Lets go buddies. We are getting late."

Taking the blessings of Veer's parents they came out and reached the car which they would take for the trip. Veer got into the driver's seat alongwith Rahul beside him. Sonia, Riya, Ananya and Madhura got into the middle row while Abhinav, Arnav and Soham got into the last row. Veer started the engine and soon the car joomed out of the boundaries of Singhania mansion and thus began the journey to Goa.

Their car had left the outskirts of the city. There was complete silence in the car.

Sonia: "Arey yaar hum log ghumne jaa rahe hain ya funeral pe ja rahe hain? Sab udaas devdaas ki tarah muh latkake kyun baithe hain? Come on guys n gals lets rock."

Soham: "ya baby bilkul sahi kaha tumne."

Veer: "Haan toh wo galat kab hoti hain tere liye mere bhai!"

All except Ananya broke into fits of giggle. Veer who was driving adjusted the rear view mirror so as to get a clear view of Ananya as he didn't hear her laughing and was shocked to see the pain again in her eyes though she was looking out of the window.

Veer (in his mind): "Yeh kya ho raha hain? Kya Pari khush nehi hain? Par kyun? Fir se uski aankhon mein wohi dard dikh raha hain? Mera usse dur jaane ka faisla galat toh nehi hain? Kahin mujhse koi galti toh nehi ho rahi hain?"

His flow of thoughts broke with Sonia's cheerfull voice.

Sonia: "Shut up Veer. Okay lets play a game. Sab apne apne pasand ka song gayenge. Isse timepass bhi ho jayega. What say buddies?"

All agreed though Veer and Ananya remained quiet.

Sonia: "Okay first its your turn Abhi."

Abhi grinned: "Sure. I would love to start the game."

Abhi started to sing while looking at Ananya who was looking out of the window and was lost somewhere:

Aankhon mein chupa ke rahu sanson mein basake rahu

Seene se lagake rakhu palkon mein bithake rahu

Main tujhe chahunga is tarah is tarah

Mere jeevansathi [3]

Tere bina meri jindagi kuch bhi nehi

Mere jeevansathi [3]

Tere bina meri jindagi kuch bhi nehi

Dekha bas dekha tujhe

Chaha bas chaha tujhe

Manga bas manga tujhe

Sab mere paas hain bas teri hain kami

Mere jeevansathi [3]

Tere bina meri jindagi kuch bhi nehi

Toofan ka bhi rukh mor du

Tumse naata main jor lu

Saari rasme tor du

Tere liye jag chor du

Mang le tu agar jaan de du abhi

Mere jeevansathi [3]

Tere bina mere jindagi kuch bhi nehi.

Though the song was not at all acknowledged by the person for whom it was actually sung but it didn't went unnoticed by someone else. Veer gripped the stearing wheel harder than ever as he tried to calm down the anger surging through him. He looked up at the rear mirror to see Ananya's reaction to Abhi's song and was taken aback to find no reaction at all on her face, not even a glint of happiness in her eyes where the same pain was still dwelling. It seemed she was not at all affected by the song. The thought that somewhere something was terribly wrong grew even more concrete in Veer's mind. Ananya, on the other hand, was shook out of her thoughts by Sonia.

Sonia: "Anu kya hua? Kaha khoi hui thi?"

Ananya forced a smile: "Kuch nehi bas bahar ka nazara dekh rahi thi."

Sonia: "Ab landscape dekhna bandh karo aur game mein concentrate karo."

Ananya smiled and nodded.

Sonia: "Okay Madhu ab tumhari baari."

Madhu smiled and nodded:

Mere dil ko yeh kya ho gaya

Main na janu kaha kho gaya

Kyun lage din mein bhi raat hain

Dhup mein jaise barshaat hain

Aisa kyun hota hain baar baar

Kya isko hi kehte hain pyar

Sapne naye sajne lage

Duniya nayi lagne lagi

Pehle kabhie aisa na hua

Kya pyas yeh jagne lagi

Madhosiyon ka hain sama

Wo jhukne laga aasmaan

Khamoshi bani hain juban

Chere hain koi dastan

Dharkan pe bhi chaya hain khumar

Aisa kyun hota hain baarbaar

Ananya clentched her hands into tight fist in an attempt to control the immense pain. A lone tears escaped her eye as she looked away and without getting into anyone's notice she quickly wiped off the tear. However, this didn't went unnoticed by Riya who was sitting beside her. Riya squeezed her hand assuredly. Ananya turned to her and smiled in an attempt to convince her that she was okay but Riya knew that she was not as she knew how much pain her friend had locked in her heart. They were brought back to reality by Soham's voice.

Soham: "Okay now its Anu's turn. We all know you are a good singer Anu. So come on sing for us."

Ananya: "Sorry guys lekin aaj nehi. Aaj mera mann nehi hain."

Arnav: "Anu please sing for us na."

Ananya: "Please yaar jidd mat karo."

Abhi: "Anu please gao na mere liye."

Ananya: "Abhi please mera mann nehi hain."

Soniya: "Veer tum bolo varna Anu nehi manegi. Ek tum hi usko mana sakte ho."

Rahul and Veer looked at each other and then turned away. Had it been a while before Veer wouldn't have said anything. But now he was having the feeling that something was wrong and everything wasn't as simple as they seem to be. Therefore he decided to find out.

Veer turning back to face Ananya caught her eyes and then nodded and smiled. Ananya too smiled back and nodded.

Arnav: "finally. Pata tha humein Veer kahega toh Anu mana nehi kar payegi."

Both Veer and Ananya turned away from each other.

Ananya lowered her head for a moment and then again looked up:

Use hasna bhi hoga

Use rona bhi hoga

Use paana bhi hoga

Use khona bhi hoga

Subahshaam tanhayi mein aahein bharega

Har dil jo pyar karega

Leke hasi hoto pe

Aankhon mein bharke paani

Sacchi mohabbat wo hain jo

Haske de de qurbani

Use rukna bhi hoga

Use chalna bhi hoga

Use bujhna bhi hoga use jalna bhi hoga

Peer parayi bhi wo chupke sahega

Peron ki har daali pe phool kaha koi khilta hain

Sabko yahan man chaha pyar kahan kab milta hain

Tanhai mein hoga

Sehnai mein hoga

Kabhi apno mein hoga

Parchayi mein hoga

Kaanton ke rahon mein bhi haske chalega.

Har dil jo pyar karega

Veer was totally confused now listening to her choice of song as he knew that her songs always reflect her mood and at the moment her song told him how much upset she was and if he had to go with the words of the song it meant that she was not only upset but also heartbroken as he could sense the pain in her voice. Now he was sure that something was wrong. But he couldn't pinpont what. He was confused whether she loved Abhi at all or not. His flow of thoughts was broken by Arnav's voice.

Arnav: "Veer ab tumhari baari."

Veer: "Par.."

Soniya: "Oye itna bhav kyun kha rahe ho. Gao na please."

Veer turned back to the windscreen and kept quite for a moment and then he started humming the music.

Charon taraf tanhayi hain

Ek udasi chayi hain

Sochke uski baaton ko aankh meri bhar aayi hain

Bechaini hain sanson mein

Dard utha hain seene mein

Bicharke apne dilbar se aaye maja na jeene mein

Kitna mujhe tarpati hain

Wo larki bahut yaad aati hain [2]

Kabhie mujh hasaye kabhi mujhko rulaye

Mujhhe kitna satati hain [2]

Wo larki bahut yaad aati hain [4]

Ananya was totally shocked to hear the song as she too knew that Veer's choice of songs always reflected his mood.

Ananya (in his mind): " yeh kya ho raha hain? Yeh gaana. Mujhe aisa kyun lag raha hain ki Veer bahut upset hain, dard mein hain? Kya sirf mera imagination hain? Lekin yeh gaana toh kuch aur hi keh rahi hain."

Amidst the fun and enjoyments, they finally reached Goa.