✔️Tale as Old as Time (Kunwar Pratap/Ajabde [Praja])

24//~vanar~

"I was starting to recover but then you looked at me again,"

After about an hour of just talking, we were both very hungry. I looked around for something to eat and only found a bit of rice and potatoes along with the spice box.

I left the rice to cook and began peeling the potatoes and chopping them.

"Hum saheta kare?" Kunwar Pratap asked sitting beside the stove.

"Nahi nahi, aap rehne dijiye," I said. I could only imagine how he would cook.

"Aap hume kya samajhti hain?" he asked taking a knife and the potatoes I had just peeled. He began 'chopping' said potato by attempting to stab it. He did it a few times and ended up injuring himself.

"ah!" he yelled putting the finger in his mouth.

"Kya karte hain aap," I said taking the finger and running it under a bit of water before pressing some turmeric on it.

"Hey Eklingji, aapke veh saare ghav to abhi tak nahi bhare honge," I said. "Hum is sab mein bhul gaye, aur khudet jayenge-"

"Ajabde, aap chinit na ho. Humne pati kar di hain. Jab kapde badal rahe the to lagga di pati," he said.

"Pucca?" I asked him. "Ghav ko thik se dhoke pati lagai hain na?"

"Ab uh- barsat mein dhool hi gaye honge na," he said. "Aur ab, chhoti moti kharoche hain,"

"Aap kurta nikaliye," I said in an authoratarian tone.

"Kya?" he asked.

"Jaldi kijiye aur aapki pati par hume radi bhar bharosa nahi hain," I said. "Hum yeh sabzi chule pe chadha kar lep laga dete hain,"

He left and I chopped the potatoes and put the pot on the stove to let it cook. I then took a bit of turmeric and warm water, I didn't have a better option right now.

I turned around to see him laying on the bed in the corner without his kurta. He hadn't taken his bandages off and they were pitiful.

"Yeh pati ke naam par kya lagaya hain aapne?" I asked him. They came off with a small tug, they were so loose. What's the point of bandages if they were going to be so loose?

"Humare pass samay nahi tha na," he said. "Aapko kab tak aankhein band rakhva ta,"

"Achha," I said. I took a  bit of water and poured it on his wound. The rain had cleaned out most of it but there was still a bit of dried blood. Then, I applied the paste gently. A small hiss escaped his mouth.

"Ksham kijiye," I said. "Thoda dard hoga,"

I re-wrapped it using the pieces of cloth he had used but tighter this time so it actually provided support. He fixed the small wounds himself and I just had to tie the bandage around it. He slid back into his kurta.

Then, after the food had been cooked we ate rice and potato sabzi. It tasted quite good if I said so myself.

"Aap aiyi kyun waha pe?" he asked me finally.

"Yeh prashan puchh ne kitni pratiksha ki aapne?" I asked smiling. "Heer ki dasi Lajwanti sandesha layi thi. HUme kaha aapne bulaya hain. Hum maane nahi pehle parantu phir unhone kaha ki hum tark vitark nahi kar sakte aur aapki baat hume maanni hi hogi,"

"Yeh shurt ki baat ko keval hum dono ke beech thi," he said. "Uss Mughal ko kaise pata chala?"

"Lajwanti," I explained. "Aur koi ho hi nahi sakta. Hume pehle se chhubh ti thi veh. Aur phir jabse veh aiyi hain tabse voh daku lootero ka humla aur phir aap par pranghatak akraman hua tha. Unhone avashya humari baatein sunn li hongi aur hume vishwas dilane bol diya hoga,"