Rikara Scribblings by Savina

Phir Milenge : Part 4A

Part Four (A)

Omkara looked everywhere, but did not see Gauri at the wedding. He knew she was staying in the same hotel as he was; Shivaay and Annika had made arrangements in the very same hotel for all the wedding guests; the wedding ceremonies and the reception was to take place on the open terrace of the same place. Omkara stood in the corner near a table, watching every single guest walking into the area, keeping all his senses alert to see if he could spot Gauri in the crowd, while Shivaay and Annika were already seated at the mandap for the ceremonies, which were to run for a really long time. It was then finally that Omkara saw a familiar face; the face of the one whom he had met a few years ago.

"Hi..." he said in a soft tone, and the woman, dressed in an orange and silver lehenga, turned around, and took a whole minute to react to his presence. "Hi!" she said, and Omkara returned the smile. "How are you, Saumya? When did you come here?" Saumya nodded, "I'm good, how about you? I reached yesterday morning with Rudra..." she said, as she smiled shyly. Omkara grinned, "So finally that duffer realised your worth, eh?" Saumya looked at Omkara and with a small smile, she said, "Yes. Finally he realised that love was worth chasing after and fighting for. He learnt that it was worth crossing all those hurdles to finally be with his one true love!" Omkara's smile dimmed when he realised she wasn't referring to just her and Rudy. Omkara heaved a sigh and knew that if he couldn't get answers, he had all the right to dig for them. It was now or never, and knowing from Rudy how straight-forward Saumya's nature was, something that he was actually thankful for, he believed she was the right person to seek some answers to his questions. And so, he asked her, "Saumya, I need to ask you something. Can you answer me without being diplomatic, or confusing me with twisted answers?" She smiled with a nod, knowing what was to come. "Why did Gauri not wait for me, when I had asked her to give me a year's time?" She sighed, "I promise to answer you, Omkara, only if you tell me what prompted you to ask this today, after four long years? I mean, you never seemed to be interested in knowing anything about Gauri Di earlier?" He looked thoughtful, as he absently twisted his engagement ring in his finger saying, "It's not like I wasn't interested, Saumya. Gauri just vanished from my life. But today, after all these years, I met her. And until now I didn't think it was necessary for me to know those answers. I had almost made peace with the fact that she had chosen someone else to spend her life with. But today, when I saw her, it all came back to me. The memories, the pain the promises, the betrayal... Everything. And now, I, somehow, just need to know her reasons for not having fought for the love which I had promised her!"

Saumya shook her head, "It won't be fair on my part to give you her reasons, Omkara. You will have to look for those answers from her alone. Because only Di knows her reasons best. But i can definitely tell you that she fought for you; fought for your love. My father, her Bade Papa, had fallen very sick; he'd had a heart attack when he saw that Gauri Di was ready to elope from her wedding, thus running away from Ashwin. And Di couldn't bear to see how frail he had become because of her." Omkara looked at her in shock, "Gauri was ready to elope from that wedding? And she married that man only because your Dad was sick?" Saumya chuckled, "You and I may find it weird, that Gauri Di would take such a decision only for the sake of her Bade Papa; you see, Omkara, you and I, both took our respective parents for granted, and never understood their value, until it was late. But Di was never like that. She always kept saying how grateful she was to her Bade Papa, for looking after her, when she could very well be staying in an orphanage after her parents death. And that is why she did what she did, only for her Bade Papa's happiness."

Saumya looked at Omkara, "Di never learnt to complain, Omkara. Always trying to be happy with whatever scraps of happiness that were thrown her way. She never complained when Paa tried to forcefully marry her off; she never complained when Ashwin left her; she never complained when she was struggling to make ends meet for her and for Karu! She tried to be a good daughter, and a good wife, only to helplessly fail and strangle her own happiness in the process."