Not proofread.

~•~

"...to tujhe Prachi se shaadi karni hogi.", Ranbir's vicious words entered her ears. The hand that had been holding the door slipped. As a result, her bangles clanged, grabbing everyone's attention.

Everyone had different reactions. Pallavi and Vikram looked away nonchalantly, (beeps) smirked, Siddharth and Dida looked at her pitifully, while Ranbir gazed at her with a peculiar expression. She tried to speak something, but words refused to come out of her mouth. She felt heavy. She scanned everyone, until finally reaching his eyes. And that was when she lost all her hopes. Her face turned expressionless. Giving up, she turned around, walking towards her room. Shahana tried to follow her, but she simply raised her hand once and she knew she had to leave her alone.

She walked and walked, recalling the whole of her life. Her Maa, her Shahana, her Sarita Aunty, her Mehra Sir, her Vikram Sir, her Pallavi aunty, her Dida, her friend Aryan, her college, her office. Every moment of happiness as well sadness began to swirl around her. And then, him. Those moments spent with him, the promises, the ... love ... their ... chil-Enough!

Her feet seized as she realised thay she had reached her room. Entering inside, she locked the door behind her and proceeded to lock the windows as well, drawing all the curtains, leaving no way to peep into her room. Silently, she took off her jewellery and put them lazily on the dressing table. She was about to take off the bangles, but stopped. Contemplating something, she scanned the room once and let them surround her wrist. She then changed into a peacock coloured kurti.

Meandering for while in the room itself, she took a piece of paper and a pen. Looking at it for a while, she wrote something on it, lazily, as if there was no strength inside her being. Clutching it as tighly as she could, mustering up all the little strength that she had, she broke her bangles and began to write something. Those words hurt. But she wrote, she wrote those words. And as she finished, no strength was left inside her. She felt numb, empty. She panted heavily, her eyes began to close, and finally, deep sleep engulfed her.

~•~

"Maa?", She called out.

A figure, draped in a white saree turned around, smiling her peaceful, heartwarming smile at her. And then, then those tears, which had been bursting to come out, rushed down her cheeks.

"Maa!", She exclaimed, her voice filled with relief, not pain, as she ran into her arms. Pragya hugged her tightly, caressing her back, pecking her head lovingly, as her Prachi cried her heart out in her embrace.

Pulling away, she kissed her forehead, pouring all the love and affection she had in her heart. Cupping her face, she exclaimed, "Mera sher baccha hain tu! Ladti rahi, haar nahi maani. Main...", she wiped her tears, unable to speak any further. Prachi intervened, "Hum kisi bhi baare mein koi baat nahi karenge Maa. Aap bas mujhe apni godi mein sulao."

Pulling her cheeks at her cute antics, she laughed between her sobs. Holding her shoulder securely, she led her towards a beautiful white swing, adorned with pretty flowers and let her sleep on her lap.

She caressed her head lovingly, placing a small kiss on her head and began to sing a lullaby for her, until she fell into a deep slumber.

Prachi was at peace.

~•~

Shahana, sat on the edge of the sofa, weeping inaudibly. Why her? Why that pure soul? Whenever it seemed as though everything would be alright, someone or the other killed their happiness. Who the hell were those two to decide anything about Prachi's life? And why the devil was HE so ... ? Tears of pain, fury and helplessness endlessly flew down her cheeks.

Clang!

She heard the sound of something breaking. Maybe a glass. Frowning in confusion, she got up and began to search for the source of it. As she reached the guest room where Ranbir was sleeping, she stopped.

Ofc! He must be drinking. She had no doubt that he loved her. But his trust, his faith...she better not think about it again. He must be crying now obviously. Huh!

She angrily stormed away to Dida's room to sleep. As she was about to doze off, something struck her mind. The sound seemed to be low to come from Ranbir's room. Was it ... ? No. Prachi maybe heartbroken, but she would never do something insane, for she knew that she was carrying a baby. Brushing off the thought, she pulled on her blanket and went off to sleep, making a mental note to check on Prachi the first thing the next day.

~•~

"Good morning Buji!", (***) greeted, extra sweetly.

"Good morning sWeEtHeArT!", She greeted back.

Vikram, who had been munching down his breakfast called out to Ranbir as he saw him coming, "Ranbir? Aa ja jaldi nashta karne."

Buttoning up his peacock coloured suit, that he had borrowed from Aryan, he answered nonchalantly, "Yes Dad."

As he walked towards the kitchen, his feet seized in front of Prachi's room. Stealthily, she glanced at it and was surprised to find the doors and windows still locked. Strange. Normally she would be awake by now. But something else was already there to bother him, a tiny ache in his chest along with an uneasy feeling. Shaking his head in order to brush off the thought, he went towards the fridge to gulp down some water.

"Dida, Shahana Ma'am ka nashta unke room mein deke aaun?", Mahua asked.

Pallavi spat, "Kyun? Koi khas mehmaan hain vo? Vahan khake saara room ganda kar degi. Khud aane do usko yahan. So rahi hain abhi tak."

"Pallavi jab tujhe kuch pata na ho to chup hi raha kar. Samjhi?", Dida scolded. "Thak gayi hain vo bohot. Pareshan hain, dukhi hain. Ro roke soyi hain. Vaise bhi tujhe usse koi farak nahi padta na? To uske baare mein kuch na hi bolegi to behtar hain. Khamakha subah subah mahaul kharab karna hain bas. Chup chap baithke khao sab."

Aryan was rather angry as his slippers had gone missing. Fussing in anger, he was heading towards the kitchen when he suddenly slipped. However, he held the door of the room near him and stopped himself from falling. Frowning in anger, he looked down to check what it was.

And as his eyes landed on the liquid spread on the floor, they widened to their fullest, his anger turning into shock. Shocked, he knelt down and ran his fingers through the liquid. Fear rising inside his entire body, he ran towards the kitchen so fast that he hit the table and fell down.

"Aryan?" "Aryan??", Shocked voices rose up. Ranbir too ran towards to pull him up.

"Aise kaise gir gaya tu? Aur ye...ye khoon aa raha hain! Shit yaar itni zor se kai-", his concerned voice was cut as Aryan nodded vigorously in negation. He tried to speak, but couldn't. Seeing him actually shaking with fear, he asked him, "Kya hua Aryan? Tu ... itna ghabraya hua kyun hain?"

Mustering up all his energy, he tried to tell, "Vo...room...khoon..."

"What?!", Everyone exclaimed.

"Kaisa khoon Aryan?", Aliya asked.

"Kh-khoon...va-han...", He stammered.

"Kahan Aryan? Kiska khoon? Kya bol raha hain tu?", Ranbir asked him fearfully, shocked at the state he was in.

"Khoon...khoon...room s-se...vahan...Prachi..."

Ranbir's eyes widened with immense fear. Leaving him, he ran towards Prachi's room, his heart drumming at an uncontrollable speed. And as he reached there, his eyes fell on the liquid spread on the ground, the blood, coming from under the door of Prachi's room.

No!

His lips trembled, while his whole body shivered with an unmeasurable fear. Unable to contemplate anything, he simply stared at the blood spread in front of him.

Loud shrieks could be heard as the others reached there, along with Shahana, who had just gotten up, only to hear Aryan telling the tale.

She shouted out Prachi's name and ran towards her room, frantically knocking the door, trying to find out a way to get inside. Finding none, she went towards Ranbir and shook him, "Ranbir! RANBIR KUCH KARO!! DARWAZA KHOLO! HUME ANDAR JAANA HOGA RANBIR!!!"

Coming out of his trance, he looked at her once and immediately rushed towards the door, trying to open it. Everyone tried their best. But as all of their plans failed, he finally kicked the door with all his might and broke it down only to meet the most horrific and dreadful sight!

"PRACHIIII!!!!!", Shahana screamed, followed by everyone except Ranbir, who seemed to have paralysed.

There laid Prachi, sitting beside the bed, one of her hands lying on her lap, while the other, along with her head lying on the bed. The one on the bed clutched a piece of paper, while a pen was found lying a few palms away from her knee on which her other, free hand lay. The pen seemed to have rolled out of it. Her bangles were broken onto her hand itself, dripping out blood from them. However, her other hand that lay on the bed clutching the paper had two words carved on it with a broken piece of bangle, TRUST ME. The note read, I GIVE UP. And her eyes stared into nothingness...

Ranbir felt his body being pushed as the others ran into the room towards her, trying to wake her up. He simply looked at them, numb. And the tiny ray of hope that was still inside him extinguished as he saw body falling easily as Shahana simply shook her.

"SHE IS DEAD!", (***) cried out, out of extreme happiness.

"Oh my god I can't believe this! She's dead! She's actually dead Buji! Vo mere raaste se finally door ho gayi Buji! SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S DEA-"

Before she could complete, she felt a jab on the cheek so hard that she was thrown onto the ground. Shocked, she looked up to find Ranbir, who had slapped her lazily with the back of his hand, still not shifting his gaze from Prachi, his mouth slightly open with shock. Everyone looked at him, except Shahana who cried out loud, refusing to believe what had happened. Siddharth called a doctor for her.

Ranbir knelt down and gently touched Prachi's fingers of the hand which had the carvings. Caressing it for a while, he entangled his palm with hers and kept staring at her.

The doctor arrived and injected Shahana with a sleeping medicine, while Aryan carried her out. Sid, guilty and furious, dragged (***) outside, while Aliya followed him, trying to come up with a plan to save her from Sid's anger. While Vikram consoled Dida, Pallavi too stared at Prachi. Had she been wrong all along then?

The doctor checked her letter. "Suicide.", he told.

"Par Doctor, meri Prachi to bohot strong thi. Aur...aur pregnant bhi thi. Vo aisa kaise...?", Dida asked, crying.

"Dekhiye, jab situation aapke control se bahar chali jaati hain aur insaan hadd se zyada depress ho jaata hain, tab aakhir mein, ek aisi stage aa jaati hain, where the person loses his/her sanity. Vo sab kuch bhool jaate hain, rishte, naate, vo saari cheezein jo unki jaan se bhi zyada zaroori hain, in fact, vo khudko tak bhool jaate hain. Unhe jo yaad rehta hain, vo hain sirf unka dukh. And this inevitably leads to suicide. Prachi was a strong girl, yes. But she lost all her hopes, her trust. She just gave up, she left you.", The doctor explained.

Ranbir's heart, that had already broken into two pieces, crushed further, revealing a bright, glowing bulb, that softly uttered, Prachi...

Aryan reached there after successfully making Shahana sleep. All of them who stood there watched Ranbir pitifully as he bent down to touch her carved arm to his forehead, spilling some tears that simply dropped out of his eyes. He then silently straightened her. He himself sat down, resting his back on the sides of the bed and pulled her into his embrace. One of his hands went under her back, while he placed her head onto his broken heart; he removed the hand from her head and lifted her legs, placing them properly on his criss crossed ones. And she was in his lap.

He then softly caressed the carvings on her right arm. TRUST ME, they said. So the whole night, she had been carving this on her skin, eh? The blood that had been oozing out of the wound had dried up now. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, trying to restrain the tears that were forming in his eyes. And then he opened them, leaning towards the drawer, pulling it open and taking out tha first aid kit.

Pallavi tried to stop him, but Dida stopped her and nodded a firm, authorative 'NO'.

Ranbir took out his jacket first and kept in on the bed, holding her carefully. He then took some cotton and began to dab on her wound.

"Dard ho raha hain?", were the first words he uttered, looking at her, while she remained silent. Her open eyes pricked the broken pieces of his heart. After closing his eyes for a few seconds, he looked at her again and said, "Agar dar lag raha hain to...aankhein band kar lo. Thik hain?", He muttered softly and ran his palm over her eyes, closing them.

"Agar dar lag raha hain to...aankhein band kar lo. Thik hain? 1,...2,...3!", He recalled the bank robbery incident when he had realised his love for her, how she had bandaged his wound, marking the beginning of his new life, that was now snatch-NO!

Blinking a few times, he counted, "1,...2,...3!", and began to treat her wound. Aryan cried, while Vikram too sobbed. All of them watched him helplessly.

"Meri galati ki saza tumne khudko kyun di? Bolo?", He complained, while applying ointment.

"Main bhi pata nahi kaun ban gaya tha?", He laughed sarcastically and blew gently. "Warning deti, dhamki deti mujhe. Aise...ye sab...nahi karna chahiye tha tumhe."

He rolled the bandage on her arm, "Mujhe ab...maafi bhi...nahi milegi." He knew. He knew that he had crossed all the limits and that she'd forgive him now.

He finished bandaging and stared at her.

Tere bin jee na paaunga, sach much mar hi jaaunga, ye tay hain... Ye tay hain...

He felt empty, he felt unwanted, he felt guilty, he felt disgusted, he felt pathetic, he felt helpless, he felt...DEAD.

Hasna rona tujhse hi, mera hona tujhse hi, tay hain... Ye tay hain...

He recalled their moments. Everything that he felt was due to her, FOR HER. The immense love that he felt, the extreme fear and insecurity that he felt, all FOR HER. She was the sole reason why he existed when his parents banished him from their house. What was he without her? Without HER? Tears brimmed into his eyes.

Maujud hain har saans mein, tu har dafa, ye tay hain...

And he broke down! "PRACHIIII!!!", he yelled loudly, shivering every single thing present there, even the stones outside the house. Would she never talk to him again?

Tu hain dawa, ya dard hain, par hain mera, ye tay hain...

Why was he alive? Those endless memories haunted him. She was no more. He broke to such an extent that she...

Tere bin jee na paaunga, sach much mar hi jaaunga ye tay hain... Ye tay hain..

He cried, he cried bitterly, continuously, loudly; tried to wake her up. He picked up a piece of her bangle from amongst the many scattered around him and pricked it hard on his hand, hoping it to turn out to be a dream. But it hurt, it hurt, and he screamed in pain, for the fact that it was the HARSHEST REALITY and that HE was the reason for it.

What would he say? Sorry? Would he simply present a plain apology and promise to not repeat the same mistake again, for the umpteenth time? Why did he allow his brain to overpower the dictates of his heart? Why, how did he do this to her?

What did he to HIS Chikchiki? The crime was definitely NOT Bakluish. He felt heavily guilty and unwanted. He couldn't breathe. He knew it would come and he accepted it, in fact he chose it. He did not want to live, he hated himself for crying into his so called mother's lap, spitting rubbish. And his Prachi was DEAD. He couldn't...he couldn't live...

And he cut off his nerve with the broken bangle piece, embracing death, both as a punishment, as well as a teensiest hope to apologise to her, not at all expecting an acception in return.

Na sochne ka time mila, na kuch aur karne ka. It all went so quick! It ... it just happened...THEY DIED.

~•~

Not a happy ending. He had said, "Main tumse vo adhoora vala pyaar karunga." The difference was just that, she left him before he could.

~•~

Dehavar korlya, janm khuna...

The torture, carved on the skin...

~•~

An OS. Well, no need to worry, I'm all good. I knew this would happen. So it doesn't matter. I'm sorry if it hurt anyone's feelings. Just thought to pen it down so that I could sleep peacefully. Don't overthink. Just go with the flow. Distract. And most importantly... WAIT FOR 4th SEPTEMBER!

Love love! ❤️

#Pranbir.