A Right Turn

17.

The same day, in the morning, in Maheswari's house, everyone sat down for breakfast when Annapurna asked Durga Prasad to forgive Lakshya and call him home and not repeat the same mistake did at the time of Sanskar. This angered him and he left without having breakfast. He never wanted that to happen to Sanskar. It was the biggest miscalculation he ever made. It would have been better if he just waited for them to eventually break up, he thought. Ram also went after him without eating and Aadarsh also to his friends.

Downstairs, Annapurna was inconsolable but Parineeta and Sujata managed to make her eat something as she had not eaten anything since last night. Uttara promised to take her to Lakshya.

Lakshya had come out of the badi to get some air. When he was near a park, a car stopped in front of him. Uttara and Annapurna had come to meet him.

"Maa," Lakshya said happily and hugged her.

"Lakshya, hum tumhare pass hin aarahe the" Annapurna said. She then looked at his appearance and asked, "Ye sab kya hai Lakshya?"

"Maa, ye Shekhar uncle ke kapde hai aur waise bhi aaj toh holi toh main odd one out bhi nahi dikh raha," he replied. Annapurna could not take that her son who was brought up like a prince, now had to live on other people's mercy. That too, someone whom her husband did not like. Even if, Lakshya and Sanskar's cases were so dissimilar, she had an irrational fear that Lakshya will also be lost to them just as Sanskar.

"Lakshya meri baat mano aur ghar chalo. Tum ghar chalke aapne papa se maafi mang lo. Tum maafi mangoge toh woh maaf bhi kar denge. Biti baaton ko bhula dona."  Annapurna pleaded in front of him.

"Main toh maafi mang bhi lunga par kya papa badlenge?" Lakshya asked and both Annapurna and Uttara remained silent.

"I got my answer," Lakshya said. "Main maafi nahi manguga, kyunki maine koi galati nahi ki, bas sach kaha hai. Woh chahate hai ki unka pariwar samaj ke niyamo ke hisaab se rahe aur main chahata hun ki mera pariwar, ek pariwar ki tarah rahe, jahan sab ki baaten samjhi jaati ho nahi aapna faisla thopa jata ho. Uss ghar main ek pita nahi samaj ke adhyask rehte hai." Lakshya continued. Annapurna was in tears till then as she understood that Lakshya will not return home with her. "Maa, jis din woh mujhe ek pita ban ke bulayege na, main aajaunga." Lakshya said and hugged Annapurna. He then turned to Uttara and instructed her to take Annapurna home and to take care of her. He then went towards the ghat to clear his mind.

When Sanskar entered baadi, he was frantically searching for Swara. He bumped into Swara in the angan.

"Sanskar kya hua? Tum itne disturbed lag rahe ho." Swara commented on his condition.

"Kya hum kahi akele main baat kar sakte hain?" he asked. She nodded and took him to the terrace so that they could talk uninterrupted.

"Ab batau, kya hua?"

"Swara, I don't know what to do. Aaj subhe office ke pass maine Aadarsh bhai ko dekha."

"Kuch baat hua kya unse?"

"Nahi. Main wahan se bhag aaya kayaron ki tarah. Himmat hin nahi hai apne pariwar ko face karne ki. Abhi jab main araha tha toh maine Lakshya, badi Maa aur Uttara ko bahar dekha."

"Sanskar, hum kab tak ese hin bhagte rahege? Panch saal pehle bhi hum bhage the, aaj bhi bhag rahe hai. Esa hum bhala kitne time tak kar sakte hai?"

"Hmm. Maybe it's time to face the music. Mere karan tum apni family se alag ho gaye. Abhi bahut time bhi hogaya hai kya pata woh hume accept kar le."

"Accept! Lakshya, unka ladla beta toh khud yaha baadi main reh raha hai."

"Lakshya ke ghar chod ne ka karan aur tumhare ghar chodne ke karan se bahut alag hai. Aur waise bhi tumhe koi kuch nahi bolega I am sure. Arre, ghar ka beta panch saal baad ghar lauta hai, sab toh khush hin honge. Han, phele thoda gussa toh karenge hin but I am sure tumhe khush dekhke unka gussa shant hojayega." Swara explained to him and he hugged her in return. He was thinking about everything Swara said while on the other hand, she was thinking about the reception she would get from his family. She was the one who was new in their equation with Sanskar. She didn't want to say to Sanskar just then. She grew up in a dysfunctional family and she always felt guilty that Sanskar got separated from his family because of her. She needed to stop with her negative thoughts, she decided. She had never met them nor they had ever met her, so she would cross the bridge when she reached it.