ShiVi - Redemption

Chapter 6

Trying to maintain the essence of Raavi and Shiva as characters is the toughest part of writing this. There are a million ways of getting carried away with the stories and then half the time I am like, will Raavi do this? can Shiva react like this? Buzzing with too many questions. But here's the next part, hope you guys enjoy it!

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—————————At Hardik Bhai's house——————
Curious and concerned as to who might be knocking and wondering if Shiva actually showed up because she didn't respond to his text, she slowly goes and opens the door, only to find Hardik at the door.
"Hardik Bhai, aap? Kuch chahiye tha aapko?" asked Raavi with a hint of relief.
"Arrey nahi Raavi main bas tujhse kuch baat karne aaya hoon" said Hardik with a serious tone.
"Ji boliye" said Raavi curiously.

Taking a deep breath, Hardik starts with "Woh mujhe achanak se kaam ke silsile mein Rajkot jaana padega, kal subah, aur agar urgent nahi hota toh main bilkul nahi jaata".

"Haan toh iss mein kaunsi badi baat hai Hardik Bhai" said Raavi casually.

"Woh main tujhe akele iss ghar mein chod ke nahi jaana chahta, pichle kuch dinon jo bhi hua, uske baad tujhe akele aise chod ke jaana theek nahi lag raha" Hardik finished with a voice of concern.

"Arrey Hardik Bhai, itni si baat, aap stress mat lo aur bindaas jaake aao, main manage kar loongi, waise bhi abhi nahi toh aage jaake mujhe inn sab ki aadat daalni padega na, aap befikr hoke jaaiye, waise kal kitne baje jaa rahe ho aur kab wapas aaoge" said Raavi smiling at him. A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Subah ke 9 baje nikalna hoga, bas 2-3 din ka kaam" said Hardik.

"Haan toh main subah aapko Chai nashta de doongi, aur safar ke liye bhi kuch khaana pack kar doongi" announced Raavi.

Hardik refused saying "Iski koi zaroorat nahi hai Raavi, main manage kar loonga, tu apne college ka dekh le" 

"Arrey kal Saturday hai Hardik Bhai, kal college ki chutti hai, main kal aapko nashta khilaake, bye bol ke hi rahoongi, abhi aap jaao jaake soo jaao, kal ke safar se pehle acche se rest karo, chalo" pushing him out the door.

After he leaves, she locks her room door and starts worrying "Hardik Bhai se keh toh diya, ki main akele reh loongi, par main iss ghar mein akele kaise rahoongi, agar ghar mein chor wor guss gaya toh", she thought scared.

Flashback to when a thief had broken into PN and when they had all retired to their rooms to sleep

Raavi - "Shiva, sun na aaj idhar muh kar ke soo jaana please"

Shiva - "Kyun?"

Raavi- "Pankha, yahan pankhe ki hawa acchi aati hai, tune hi toh bola na ki tujhe garmi lagi hai, aaj idhar hi so jaana"

Shiva - "Tujhse bada Shechu aaj tak nahi dekha"

Raavi - "Shechu?"

Shiva - "Haan Shechu, jo Sher banta phire, par asal mein hota hai bohut bada Chuha, Gadhedhi"

She thinks about how his presence used to make her feel safe and secure, despite all their differences and arguments.

She continues to get flashbacks of all their past moments and thinks, "Ek baar tere khatir maine apni diary bhi jalaa di thi, kyun ki mere likhe hue unn pannon se tujhe takleef hui thi, par bachpan se leke aaj tak, jo bhi main sochti thi, samjhti thi, khul ke uss diary mein likh deti thi, mere sukh, mere dukh, mere khushiyaan, ab aisa lag raha hai ki dobara iss diary ka sahara lena padega, kab tak main apne feelings ko dabake rakhoongi".

She picks up a diary and starts writing, "Sab kuch kitna sahi jaa raha tha, aur ek pal mein hi sab kuch bikar gaya, mujhe toh laga tha tere berang zindagi mein maine rang bhar diye, aur mere zindagi ke rangon ko tune aur khila khila bana diya, par ab aisa lag raha jaise saare rang dhul gaye and it's all a clean slate"

"Mujhe humesha aisa laga ki meri khushiyaan, apne pariwar se judi hai, tujhse judi hai, par main galat thi, ab main apni life ke priorities change karna chahti hoon, aur main khud hi apni priority banana chahti hoon, kal se main woh sab kuch karoongi jisse mujhe khushi mile, ummeed karti hoon, ki waqt ke saath yeh dard bhi kam ho jaayega, aur jab nayi yaadein ban jaayegi, toh purani yaadein kab dhundhli ho jaayegi, pata bhi nahi chalega, it's time to fill up the slate with new colors", she shuts down her diary determinedly and goes to lie on her bed.
Reminiscing all her moments with him, she doesn't know when sleep takes over.

—————————At Pandya Store——————
The next morning, Shiva is seen transferring some boris from the trucks into the store. A car stops in front of the store and Hardik Bhai comes out asking for Gaumbi. 

"Hardik Bhai, Gaumbi toh abhi kuch kaam ke silsile mein bahar gaye hai, aapko kuch kaam ho toh mujhe bata dijiye" Shiva answered.

"Nahi, main 2-3 din ke liye Rajkot jaa raha hoon, toh yeh baat mujhe Gaumbi aur Dhara ko batana tha" Hardik responded.

"Rajkot!?" retorted Shiva instantly thinking about his chipkali being alone, immediately realizing his reaction he covered up with "Achanak, Rajkot kyun?" in a normal tone.

Hardik explained to him about his urgency and lack of choice in the matter.

"Acha, aap befikr jaaiye, main Gaumbi aur Bhabhi ko bata doonga" refraining himself so hard to avoid asking about Raavi.

Hardik left saying "Theek hai, main nikalta hoon, Jai Somnath"

"Jai Somnath" says Shiva while thinking "Yeh Chipkali itni jaldi kaise maan gayi, woh bhi 2-3 din akele rehne ke liye" confused while continuing picking up boris.

—————————At Hardik's house——————
Raavi is seen making a list of things she wants to try or achieve in life. She starts recalling how she used to live life to the fullest and be so happy.

She remembers Krish's words in the haveli
"Kya hogaya Raavi bhabhi aapko, aap haste hue, dhoom machate hue, pehli waali Raavi bano na, jise har time sirf masti soojti thi, kitni cool thi yaar aap, woh Raavi kidhar gayi, kahan chod aaye usko aap, wapas bulaao na usko, Aap yeh sad mood off karo, aur killer mode on karo, agar aap khud ki izzat nahi karoge na toh koi aapki izzat nahi karega"

"Krish, sahi keh raha tha, life mein khud ki izzat aur khud se pyaar nahi karoge toh, doosron se kya hi ummeed kar sakte hai, mujhe apni life mein khud ko importance dena seekhna padega, mujhe khush rehna seekhna hoga" decided Raavi firmly.

She finishes all her chores for the day. She spent the whole of her morning, spring cleaning the house. And sat to wrap up some of the work for her college. And next thing she knows, it's seven in the evening. She wonders how time flew so fast and is happy that she was so occupied and focused and got so much of her work done. This adds as a boost to her confidence, that with sheer determination, she can achieve anything. She thought about how old Raavi would call this 'a moment to celebrate'. She rushes to her room and gets her favorite music speaker in the aangan and blasts off the music and starts dancing to the tunes of her favorite playlist.

As she's busy grooving and feeling sheer bliss, there's a knock on the door. She's taken aback wondering who has come at this hour of time since she wasn't expecting anyone.

Worried, she picks up a danda and thinks, "Agar chor nikla toh" and instantly chides herself "Kya pagalon jaise baat kar rahi, chor knock kar ke thodi na ghar mein ghustha hai".
Nevertheless, she holds the stick in her hand just in case and slowly opens the door only to find....

To be continued.......
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Who do you think has arrived at Hardik's place?

I feel like everyone should face their fears head-on. It's an important part of being independent. Dealing with various unknown situations and managing yourself is something I thought Raavi should try out. A very "SheChu Bani Sherni" take. Let me know what you guys think about Raavi's thinking.