Karan - Dad, aapne mujhe urgently kyu office bulaya? Koi emergency hai kya?

Sooraj then realized that in all the fuss about the mission, he forgot about the 'main thing'. He bit his tongue internally & adjusted his posture a bit. Sooraj stood up from his chair and along with him, Karan was also about to stand but keep seated as Sooraj signed him. Sooraj came towards him and dragged his chair near his. Sooraj took a breath to calm down his thumping heart and spilled the beans.

Sooraj - Beta, aaj tumhare liye ek rishta aaya hai!

As soon as Sooraj's words fell into Karan's ears, the lines of confusion on his forehead straightened and his face reflected that he's absolutely shocked. 

Karan - You mean Shaadi? (Sooraj nodded) Magar itni jaldi!

Sooraj - Beta, you are already 27 and tum apna dream bhi achieve kar chuke ho. Karan, I know tumne humesha iss desh ki sewa karne ka aur ek jabaaz sipaahi banne ka sapna dekha hai and I can say it very proudly ki tum apna sapna pura kar rahe ho. You're one of the very best & trustworthy commandos our country has! Tum professionally setled ho, personally bhi ho jao!

Karan was not able to process that why all of a sudden this 'shaadi' thing started. He just lowered his gaze and fidgeted with his fingers as he was not able to decide how he should reply or even react. Sooraj kept his hand on Karan's shoulder comforting him. He knows how Karan must be feeling right now as he himself has experienced this young phase. 

Sooraj - Kya hua beta?

Karan - Dad, achanak se aapne meri sh..shaadi ke baare mein kyu socha?

Sooraj - Karan, aaj Col. Batra aaye thhe ghar par. Unke koi jaanewale rehte hain Mumbai mein. Col. Batra ne ek ladki suggest ki hai tumhare liye, vo...

Karan (interrupting him) - Kaun hai vo ladki, dad?!

Sooraj (jokingly) - Itna desperate hona bhi sahi nahi hai beta!

Karan being embarrassed again lowered his head making Sooraj laugh.

Sooraj - Dr. Monami Mahajan naam hai uss ladki ka, apne chacha-chachi ke saath rehti hai kyuki parents nahi hain uske. Col. Batra ne bataya ki she's a well-known and brilliant doctor of Life Care Hospital. Col. Batra ne ye bhi bataya ki kafi achhi family hai unki!

While Sooraj was telling about the Mahajan family, Karan was lost in his own thoughts. When he heard Monami's name from Sooraj's mouth, he felt some sort of vibrations in his chest which were very unknown to him. Sooraj saw Karan lost in his thoughts and not paying any attention to his words. Sooraj shook Karan a little bit by his shoulder, bringing him back on earth.

Sooraj - Kya hua? Kaha kho gaye?

Karan - A..ka..kahi nahi dad!

Sooraj - Beta, itni hichki-chahat kyu? Kya koi aur ladki hai jo tumhe pasand hai?

Karan (immediately) - Na..Nahi dad! Aisa kuchh nahi hai! Bus dad vo..thoda...

Sooraj (standing up) - Chalo beta, let's have a walk!

Sooraj accompanied by Karan went on the terrace area of their office building. It was a great vast verandah with a much-ventilated environment and easy to breath, especially when you're in a situation like Karan's. ;⁠)

Sooraj - Beta, mera manna to ye hai ki iss umar mein ek dusre ka ho jana, ek dusre ko samajh paana aur ek grahasthi basana kafi aasan ho jata hai. Param ki bhi to shaadi isi umar mein ho gayi thi!

Sooraj glanced at Karan to ensure whether any of his word is having any effect on him or he's just blabbering everything to himself. As he looked towards Karan, he found him leaning to boundary of the terrace, again lost in his own thoughts.

Sooraj - Karan, tum mujhse share kar sakte ho jo bhi tumhare man mein hai.

Karan - Dad, kisi ladki se milne mein ya shaadi karne mein koi harz nahi hai. But... it's just that.. I'm a commando! Meri jaan ka koi bharosa nahi hai. Aaj hoon, kal nahi! What if main kisi mission par gaya aur kabhi lauta hi nahi to? Uss ladki ki zindagi to barabad ho jaega na! Aur ye bhi chhodiye, ab khud jaante hain ki ek commando ke kadam-kadam par dushman hote hain. What if they tried to harm her just because she's my wife? Tab kya karunga main dad?!

Sooraj chuckled hearing to his thoughts of overthinking.

Sooraj (jokingly) - Abhi to ladki ko dekha bhi nahi aur abhi se 'my wife'. Not bad, bete!

Karan (whining) - Dad!

Sooraj - Ok ok, let's solve your stupid queries. Beta, jab hum kisi se shaadi karte hain na to hum 7 janamon ke liye ek pavitr bandhan mein bandh jate hain. Aur uss bandhan ko pata hai kya jode rakhta hai? Love, understanding and trust! That's what makes a bond strong and a marriage work! I agree ki tumhari chinta bhi sahi hai. But beta, agar ye nahi to koi aur hi sahi, magar tumhari shaadi hogi zaroor. Aur usko bhi to tumhare kaam or duty ko samajhna padega and you also have to protect her and respect her!

Karan - I agree, Dad! Lekin kya mom se shaadi karte waqt aapke mann mein aise koi sawaal nahi thhe?

This question of Karan made Sooraj laugh sadly, and he looked away for a moment to hide his tears.

Sooraj - Thhe beta, same aise hi sawaal thhe. Nervousness mujhe bhi thi ki kya tumhari mom ko protect kar paunga? Kya tumhari mom ko time or love de paunga? But beta...now I'm a proud father of two sons and see, we had a long and lovely marriage!

Karan smiled hearing about his parents and his eyes started glistening due to some unshed tears.

Sooraj - Karan, main uss ladki ki photo yaha rakh kar ja raha hoon. Mann ho to dekh lena.

Sooraj pulled out Monami's picture from his pocket and kept it in front of Karan. As Sooraj left, Karan hesitantly picked up the envelope and pulled out Monami's photo from the it. For a moment, he was stunned by her simplicity and beauty. Unknowingly, his lips curved into a small, soft smile. He stared at the photo for a moment and kept it in his pocket securely.

At night, Sooraj, Param and Karan were already back at home and had enjoyed a good dinner together. None of them pulled out the topic of Karan's marriage on the dining table as Sooraj already informed them about Karan's hesitation and some obvious doubts and turmoil he had in his heart regarding his profession. Barkha and Param understood his turmoil very well and decided to talk to him at night.

Right now, Karan and Baby were in ParKha's room as Baby had asked Karan to accompany her in playing video games. But only Baby was busy in playing video games because Karan's brain and heart was still stuck on Monami's photo. He was just staring at her photo as if she's going to appear from the photo itself. 

Param and Barkha entered their room and found Karan laying in a very uncomfortable position and looking at something very intensely. Param just shook his head on his brother's antics and went to the table and picked up some newspapers. While Barkha smiled and climbed on the bed and snatched Monami's photo from his hand, making him surprised. 

Barkha - Ladki to kaafi sundar hai, Devarji!

Karan just nodded shyly, and Barkha chuckled hard looking at him. The conversation seemed interesting to Baby and she climbed on Karan's back to listen everything. 

Baby - Chachu, aap inse shaadi karne wale ho kya?

Karan - Ah..am...

This question of the little kiddo got the commando's words stuck in his throat as he was still not sure about what to decide. 

Baby - Agar aap inse shaadi karoge to kya ye bhi aapko 'good night kissy' dengi jaise mumma papa ko deti hain?!

Everyone's eyes went wide on what Baby said and Param & Barkha were hell embarrassed. They started to laugh awkwardly to cover up the mess their daughter created, and Karan laughed looking at ParKha's faces.

Param - Baby, bahot late ho gaya hai. Chalo sone!

Baby - But papa, it's just 9 O' clock!

Param - No bahana, chalo!

Param held Baby's hand and took her to her bed and was trying to make her sleep.

Barkha - Karan, mujhe Monami bahot pasand hai! Maanti hoon tumhari aur uski lifestyle bahot alag hai, tumhara aur uska behaviour bhi bahot alag hai magar tum dono mein ek similiarity hai...

Karan - Kya Bhabhi?

Barkha - Yahi ki tum dono apni-apni duties ko dil se nibhate ho! 

Karan immediately looked up at Barkha with a jolt and gave a thought to Barkha's words. Yes! She was absolutely right. Karan being a commando & Monami being a doctor, never compromise with their respective duties. 

Karan laid his head on Barkha's lap and Barkha started caressing his hair. He closed his eyes feeling the motherly love Barkha provides him with and thought to blabber out the main question.

Karan - Bhabhi, main kal usse kya baat karunga?

Barkha (smiling) - Devarji, kal jab aap usse milenge to shabd sochne nahi padenge. Aapke sawal apne-aap bahar aa jayenge!

With this, the Shergills went to sleep as they had a very important meeting tomorrow. A meeting with the Mahajans! Everyone in the Shergill mansion was having a peaceful sleep but someone was still awake due to millions of thoughts roaming in his mind. 

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

Thanks for reading!

DO VOTE & COMMENT! INLINE COMMENTS ARE <33

Updates will be much slower!