.......
In the corner.... Jiya blowing her nose...... Her eyes puffed...... From crying too much.....

Naina hugged her and started to weep......jiya... Got startled.... As it was the first time she has seen her mother cry.....

"mamma aap kyu ro rahe ho...." she kept asking... But she kept breathing..... In and out .... Her heart thumping.. Which she had presumed to be frozen and dead years before ....she could feel its rhythm .... And its palpitations against the chest .....

"mamma... Me kabhi nai jaungi friend se milne.. Aap plsh... Ro mat" an innocent voice...... Bringing her back...
"mai aap ko tang b nai karunga... Accha baccha banungi " she said ..

"tu to mera sab se accha baccha he.....meri jaan ka tukda.... Sorry mumma bohot buri he na.... Chillaya na jiya pe mumma ne...... " she kissed her cheek..countless times...
She giggled all of sudden...

"kya hua.." naina asked...

"friend bhi ese hi baar baar rote he.... Mene to teen teen hanky de diya unko" she said...

Naina got amused for a moment.. Although... It didn't mean anything ..yet she couldn't help wonder a bit.. At the fact that he does have a heart too

"mamma us din... Me frnd ke seat ke. Neeche chip gai thi... Mujhe picnic par jana tha na.... Aap please unpe gussa mat karo"
She smiled.... And nodded.....

..
. Days passed by... But tears kept flowing every now and then..... Like the toxic venom... Being sucked slowly from her body

They.... kept on flowing ..... Like water gushes out of a rivulet shunted by rocks.... Which have now shifted.... But only slightly..due to tremors of an earthquake.... ....

She has started to feel something.... And often she gets overwhelmed..... And in those moments... To seek some normalcy she gulps down some more of those antidepressants..... She had kept safe for times like these

----------

"is baat ka zikr... Kabhi kisis se mat karna..... Warna logon ka shaadi par se bhoarosa uth jaega..... Iske baare me mere bhaiyya ko mat batana.... Wo bardasht nahi. Kar payenge..."..... Her voice dead as a door nail...... Her eyes blank... As if life had left her body far before... And she stands there like a corpse..... Waiting to be buried......

" she is pregnant.... 3 months... Congratulations... "dr had greeted him.. As he sat by the bed looking blankly at her resting body..... Getting colder...... As if there was still some life left in it... Pleading for a little mercy.... A little warmth......

But he had been brutal...and merciless..... In the act of slaying her in pieces........

............

That day...as she appeared..... With a swollen belly..... Carrying a life in her womb.....
That was yet another moment...... Some last fragments of her heart beating.... Despite of the brutal attacks... They had managed to save themselves.... With a hope....

She had lost everything that day.....her brother... Her marriage..... Empty-handed and vulnerable with nowhere to go.... No one to rely on... Carrying a little peice of his soul in her womb......

She would have turned to him... Had he called her name....
With a little affection and warmth..... For the frozen souls need nothing else.....
Just some warmth.....
But....
He had been a coward....
A selfish coward...... Whose voice choked in his own throat.. At the sight of massacre.... He caused.. All by himself....

How was she responsible... For all that happened....
What on earth did she do to deserve what she has got...
Betrayal..... Abandonment..... Grief... And in return of what.....
Trying to love him.... To comfort him.... With everything she had.......

.....
"uska... Apna dil behlane ke liye istemaal nahi kar sakte aap...."

"aap wo insaan ho.... Jisne uske paida hone se pehle hi... Uske wajood ko andekha kar diya ".
..
.........

His ears ringing......
He is unable to breathe.....
Unable to swallow his own reality.. As its dawned upon him....

He shuts his eyes.... And tries to breathe.....
And come back to present......
His mind trying to defend him.... As his heart lays all those accusations......

As he shuts his eyes.....
There was yet another revelation....
Of the oblivion of ruthlessness he had reached...

And an image... Of a person looking accusingly at him.....
"kyun kiya tune aisa raaj....wo chahti thi tujhe. Paglon ki tarha..... Kyun...,"
He opened his eyes in terror....... It was naveen..... His late friend who had perhaps bestowed his life to him with a hope that he would keep her safe and sound......

Sweating profusely.....

His hands shivering........ But he has to put an end to this....
There is no way back..... There is no way back....
He doesn't deserve to be back.....

He points a gun..... On his forehead ......

Sweat beads gathered around his brow.......

he has fisted it tightly.... Just so it doesn't escape..... ...... Summed up all courage he could.......

And as he was about to pull the trigger.....a warm feathery feeling..... On his palm.....

His fingers... Entwined with that of those ....... Softer ..... Against his callous ones.....

And a voice.....

To be continued