" Calm down Maya!! Why are you behaving like a maniac?? " , Farhan shouted.

Maya shivered, but her eyes continued pouring.

" You don't know my dad. He has threatened me that I'll be kept under house arrest....and he'll arrange for my exams from home, if I don't break up with you today. "

" That bastard Khurana!! I always told you he's a threat, but all you did was shut me up!! " , Farhan murmured.

" I never knew he'd do this, or he's this much involved into my life without me knowing the extent!! " , Maya sobbed.

Farhan placed his hand on her cheek.
" Maya, our finals start in a month. We'll graduate soon. And as soon as we do, both of us will start jobs, and complete MBA alongside as well. We had planned all these, isn't it? "

" Yes we had, but....
You really don't know my dad, Farhan. He'll never accept our relationship. Whatever we do or however successful we both are in life. His problem lies only in your religion. Nothing else!!! " , Maya's lips curved in pain.

" Okay. Fine. What do you want to do right now? End this? Like your father wants? " , Farhan said.

" No!!!!!
For god's sake, I cannot afford to lose you till I'm alive.
Trust me...... " , Maya broke down completely.

" Maya!! This is not you!! What's wrong with you?? You are my strong warrior!  " , Farhan cupped her face.

" I'm not strong anymore. I'm the weakest before you Farhan. I cannot lose you Farhan... For god's sake, I cannot lose you.... " , she was getting hiccups.

Farhan hugged her as tightly as he could.

" Maya. Go home. Tell your father it's over between us, only if he asks.
Remain in touch with me. At around 6:30 pm, there's an extremely auspicious moment.
I'll text you. Come out of your house by any means. Meanwhile I'll talk to Ammi.
We'll read Nikah at Mallick Bazaar dargah today.

Done? "

" Farhan..... " , Maya's voice choked.

Farhan held her close to his chest.

" Shh... I love you. We will win. "

_____

Raghav Raichand sat in the living room, gulping in bunches of liquor.

Siddhi Raichand sat at a distance. Her chest felt heavy, her brain on the verge of exploding. She swallowed a pain killer. And cursed her life.

Raghav made a disgusted face and checked the watch. It was four, and Maya wasn't home yet.

He suddenly threw the glass on the ground, shattering it to pieces. Siddhi let out a shriek.

" Kill me, someone kill me instead!!
I'm a complete failure as a father, and my daughter, my dearest daughter did not take a second to prove that!!

Siddhi, can you tell me, what have I not done for her? 

Yet, she could not fulfil the tiniest desire of her father!!!! 

7 billion people on earth, and she found a Muslim to love!!! 

Not her fault, everything's mine. I should die instead. "

Like a maniac he hovered onto a broken piece of glass.
Siddhi ran over like a lightning flash and threw the piece away.

" Raghav!!! Are you out of your mind???? What are you doing even??? " , she screamed.

Thumping back, he took seat on the couch, losing balance. And then, his eyes fell on Maya standing at the door with a horrified expression.

Raghav stared at her for a long moment. Siddhi too did. She slowly moved towards them. Kept the bag on the sofa.

" I.... I... I am no longer in the....relation. " , Maya whispered.
Though her insides shouted,
'When on earth were you this afraid of your father? Why don't you just tell the truth??'

But she couldn't. Something stopped her big time. Something called fear, of losing her one love.

Siddhi heaved a sigh.
" I told you Raghav, she won't go against your wish. "

Raghav however did not shift his gaze.
" Good. I expect only this from my children.
However, you are not going to anywhere till your finals. I'll talk to your Dean regarding every procedure. "

Maya didn't say a word, only breathed heavily. And soon followed the stair case. She knew the eyes of her parents were glued to her.

•

At six in the evening, Maya received a text.

' I will be in a few minutes, at the bus stop nearest to your house. If your father's at home, make some excuse and come out. Everything's perfect out here. '

Maya sat like a ghost for sometime on the bed.

Why were things so inconvenient suddenly?
Why did she have to take every step now as if she was on a burning stove?
Why was love this difficult?
Why did humans have different religions, even when they all were structurally the same?

She took baby steps down the sraircase.

Raghav still sat in the living room, deeply engrossed in a book.

Maya took a deep breath, mustered every drop of courage in her body, and said,

" Dad.... I...need a few stuffs for the exams. I'll just go get them. " , she knew everything sounded extremely lame. But she could not think of anything better as an excuse.

Raghav looked up at her.
" Stuffs? Tell the servants. They'll get them for you. You don't need to go out. "

Maya shut her eyes tight.
" What's this Dad? You have got to trust me!! I won't remain in this house arrest. I'm sorry!!! "

" Trust you, is it?
I cannot. Go back to your room. " , Raghav said in the coldest possible voice.

Maya suddenly felt a strong desire to break every barrier.
" I won't. I will go out. Right now. "

" Don't test my patience Maya. I won't like to slap a twenty two year old daughter. " , Raghav bored through her.

" Fine. Slap me. But I'll go out. Go hell with your bullshit ideals. " , Maya screamed.

Siddhi stormed in from somewhere.
" Maya!!! Stay in your limits!!! "

Meanwhile, Raghav Raichand got up. The alcohol in his veins mixed with tremendous rage, did not let him remain calm anymore.

" Stay back Siddhi. I'm not that old to not be able to handle her."

With this, he pulled Maya by her hand up through the staircase.
Siddhi ran behind.

" Dad!!! Leave me!!!! Stop it... just leave me I said!! " , Maya kept on screaming.

Raghav finally reached her room and pushed her inside.
He raised his finger and said,
" Maya, I love you more than my life. I don't want you to ruin it yourself. Muslims are murderers. Muslims are inhuman. Muslims have made a hell out of my life!! You know everything, yet you betrayed with me.
Doesn't matter. But I, as a father, won't let a scratch come to you.
Stay here. "

He closed the door, with Siddhi standing like a statue beside him.

" Dad, open the door!!! Dad please, Farhan isn't what you think he's!!! You just meet him once Dad!! Please, please Dad...I love him!! " , Maya kept banging the door.

Silence on the other side.

Maya ran towards her phone.

" Farhan, Dad won't let me come out of the house. He... " , Maya stopped.

Because the door banged open behind her again.

Raghav stood with a face oozing disgust.

" Ask him to come over. Lemme see, how far he can go to get you. " , he hissed.

The phone dropped from Maya's hand.

•

Farhan time and again looked up at the banging door across the staircase.

Raghav Raichand stood before him, checking him from head to toe.

" You cannot do that to her. She's twenty two. She can choose anyone she wants. " , Farhan talked as calmly as he could.

Raghav smiled. Siddhi stood a distance away. In the living room. The loud bangs from Maya's room hit her chest so hard that she felt like puking. But, not a step could she take in any direction.

" You are right. She's only twenty two.
And Mr Farhan, I had not sent her to the most prestigious college of business, to get married and have kids. That too, to someone like you.

I know what I'm doing. And why. Perhaps you too are a kid. Get a Muslim wife if you are so in a hurry to get married." , Raghav hissed.

" First of all, we were in no hurry to marry. You intervened. We had to secure ourselves. Next, what's in our fate, is a different thing altogether. Right now, at least open the door to her room. Look like parents, and not like keepers of circus animals. " , Farhan hissed, throwing the last couple of words at Siddhi.

She freezed. And Raghav's eyes oozed fire.

•

Maya, after a gazillion tries, managed to open the door with the help of a hairpin, and ran out like a free lion, down the stairs.

She immediately took a position beside Farhan. He held her.

Siddhi did not move an inch.
Neither did Raghav. He stared into their eyes coldly.

" I'll go with Farhan right now. You cannot stop me. " , Maya whimpered.

" Security!!!!!!  " , Raghav Raichand roared.

Immediately, the guards from the gate were informed and they ran in.

Maya knew they would overpower Farhan. His eyes too displayed terror for a moment.

" I don't want more drama in my house. Guide him out respectfully. " , Raghav gestured the guards.

Maya immediately ran towards Siddhi, holding her hands.
" Mom, mom, I love him.
More than a Muslim, he's a beautiful human. Please mom, don't break your daughter this way, please!!! "

Siddhi did not utter a word. She only stared at the ground, with streams flowing down her eyes.

" Maya.... Stop begging. " , Farhan uttered.
" This is no end. I'll take you away from this hell. I promise. Give me a day. Just a day. " , he was pushed by a guard already.

Farhan glared at Raghav Raichand, who glared back.

" Farhan......

Take me along, please!!!! " , Maya shrieked.

Farhan stopped, but was immediately forced out by the securities.

And here, Siddhi held Maya's hand.
" Don't do this Maya!! Don't ruin everyone's life. Forget him, for god's sake. "

Maya could not believe her mother. She stared at her once, then at the main door which was slammed close by the securities from outside.

She immediately began running to the door, in vain.

Raghav Raichand held her yet again, and pulled her up with almost no effort, this time throwing her into his own room.

" Maya, thank me later for saving your life. I promise, Farhan Khan cannot step back into this house. I won't let him kill you one day. "

Maya crashed on the bed.

The man before her, looked like a monster.

•

Driven out of the gate like a stray dog, Farhan sat pressing his temple on the bike.

No, he couldn't lose this way.
What better could he do tomorrow, that he couldn't do today?

He would have to take Maya out of here, right now, at any cost.
This house was toxic. She was choking, he knew.

He got down the bike, returned to the gate, and began banging it.

His phone rang.

Ammi.

" Ammi....things have gone all wrong. I'm trying to... "

" Farhan, beta, things are inauspicious. Just as we were about to step out of the house for the dargah, a huge box fell on Bitti's hand. It's bleeding like hell. Please come over beta!! Bring Maya along. But come home right now. "

Farhan held his head after dropping the call.

" Yaaaaahhhh!!!
Allah!!!! Kill me!!!!!!! "

He speeded his bike as fast as he could.

•

Maya sat hugging her knees on the bed of her parents' room. For almost half an hour now.

Raghav Raichand had left, closing the door behind from outside. She hadn't even cared to check if it was locked.

With every passing second, the urge of running away to Farhan increased. Her phone had been confiscated. But she knew, Farhan would come back for her, and take her away from this house that looked nothing less than a prison now.

The intercom was ringing beside the bed.

Unmindfully, she picked it up.

However it had already been answered downstairs.

But she couldn't put down the receiver as well.

' Raghav Sir?
Dr Ravi here. At present I'm at emergency duty in Lilavati hospital. Just now a young man has been brought in by pedestrians. His bike was hit by a truck.
His condition's bad. His G.C.S is low. His phone has been completely ruined and nothing else has been recovered.
But I am sure few days back he came to the outdoor for something minor with your daughter. And now too, deliriously he's calling some Maya, Raghav Raichand, Ammi etc...
Thought, if you knew him by any chance... You know, such cases need.. '

'What's he wearing?'

'A cream tee and cargo trousers.' "

~

Maya was screaming and frantically banging the door to her room, she felt she was choking, she would die anytime.

She heard footsteps running towards the door.

Raghav and Siddhi opened the door.
Maya almost hovered onto them.

" You killed him!!! You killed him!!! You..." , Maya choked.

Raghav somehow held her tight. Siddhi was whimpering.

" Maya calm down. It's an accident. He's being treated. He'll be fine. I'm going to the hospital. I will....bring him back, I promise. " , Raghav uttered in a single breath.

" I'll go. I'll go. " , Maya deliriously murmured.

In vain. Raghav Raichand instructed his wife to hold her, and he ran down the stairs.

Siddhi closed the door behind, and held a half conscious Maya.

" You killed him. You people killed him. " , Maya kept on with her delirium.

Siddhi, unable to bear anymore, held her daughter close to her chest, and sobbed.

A moment later she realised, Maya had lost senses in her arms.

____

Writing this in bits and pieces since yesterday. Don't know how it turned out.

Next update on 5th June. Hope Saaho releases its teaser that day on the auspicious Eid.