Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Ye~An Aryaani Story

Part 1

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒚".
_______

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout
as she climbed down the stairs into the hall,
quickly but carefully not to trip over her saree.
A pair of tiny silver jhumkas dangled in her ears as she came and stood in the puja room.
She joined her hands in front of the idol.
Today her tinkling bangles had been replaced by a black analogue watch.
Her hair was neatly braided and the partition of her forehead had a pinch of vermillion revealing that she is married.

She glanced at her watch once and hurried towards the exit.

"Dhaani!"

Someone called her from behind just when she was about to cross the threshold of the house.

"Ji?", She replied turning back towards the person.
It was her father in law, Kashinath Pandey.

KP: Kahan jaa rahi ho?

Dhaani: Interview ke liye jaa rahi hu. Maine aapko bataya thha na...

KP: arey haan haan.. hum hi bhul gaye thhe. Thik hai tum jao. All the best.

She smiled and bend down to take his blessings.

KP: waise tumhe interview ke liye jaana kahan hai? Hum driver ko bol dete hai, vo tumhe chhor aayega.

Dhaani: nahi papa, gaari ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Hum aese hi chale jayenge.

KP: par--

But Kashinath couldn't object anymore as Dhaani had already started to walk away.
________

The heatwave sweeping over India is so intense that even ACs have failed to provide the much needed coolth.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead he now started to fasten the buttons of his shirt. As soon as he was done, he put on his shades and walked out of his room.

"Aryan!"

He stopped midway while crossing the living room, hearing his mother call him.

"Beta tum bina breakfast kiye kahan jaa rahe ho?", Narmada asked as she came and stood near Aryan.

Aryan: maa mujhe already boht late hogaya hai--

Narmada: par aese bina kuch khaye-piye--

Aryan: maa aap fikr mt kijiye mai baad mai kuch kha lunga.

Narmada: accha...

He smiled, then went to his car and sat inside.

But the smile on his face didn't last long.

Since a long time he was thinking and thinking about his revenge.
Time was running and he still wasn't able to avenge his brother-in-law's death.
He won’t be sparing Aditya even if his own life gets destroyed in order to take revenge.

Aryan was already driving harshly and the thoughts distracted him so much that he did not even notice the girl crossing the road in front.

She too glanced at the car, horrified and  covered her ears with her palms.

He however managed to take a 360 degree turn at the eleventh hour.

Thankfully she was safe, so was he and his car.

Aryan came out of the car, adjusted his coat and walked towards the girl.

Aryan: aap andhi hai ya pagal? Itni badi car dikhai nahi di aapko?

He asked angrily.

"Dekhiye bhaisab--", the girl replied while trying to gather her scattered files.

Aryan: I'm not your bhaisaab. I'm Aryan Singh Rathore.

The girl now stood face to face with him.

"Dekhiye Mr. Aryan Singh Rathore, na to mai andhi hu na to mai pagal. Zara signboard pe gaur kijiye, ynaha speed limit 40 hai aur aap gaari chala rhe thhe 70 pe. To bataiye galti kiski hai?"

Aryan: aapke inn faltu sawalo k jawab dene ka time nahi hai mere paas...

He turned to leave.

"Mujhe bhi koi shauk nahi hai tum jaise logo k muh lgne ki.. (to herself) khud galti karte hai or dusro ko---"

Aryan couldn't hear the rest of her words. His attention was drawn towards a paper falling on the ground.
He picked it up.

"Dhaani Chaubey", he read the name written on the paper and the picture beside the name indicated that it belonged to the same girl he just ran into.

Aryan: (turning back) Excuse me! Rukiye!

Dhaani stopped.

Dhaani: ab kya hai?

Aryan: isse pakdiye. Neeche gira hua thha.

He walked up till her and handed back the paper.

Dhaani: Th-thankyou...

Dhaani quickly grabbed the paper.
It was her curriculum vitae.

Aryan now observed her from top to toe.
He could easily guess that she was going for some interview.

He has always been respectful towards women who have the will to step out of their households and stand on their feet. Afterall women are not meant for just 'chulha-chauka'. They too deserve to lead an independent life.

Aryan: Kahan jana hai aapko?

He asked as his heart had softened a bit for this stranger.

Dhaani hesitated a bit but answered.

Dhaani: mujhe Udyog Nagar jaana hai.

Aryan became thoughtful for few seconds.

Aryan: aaj strike ki wajah se buses available nahi hai.  Agr aap chahe to mai aap ko drop kr skta hu. Mujhe ussi taraf jaana hai.

Dhaani's eyes widened.

The idea doesn't seem too good.
She didn't even know who this man was.
A few minutes back he was about to almost crush her. How was she supposed to trust him?

But the idea wasn't bad either.
She'd already wasted several minutes by waiting for the bus but not even one bus showed up.
Maybe he's right about the buses being on strike.
If she keeps standing here she would be late, no doubt. Since it was her second interview and there was high chances of her getting the job, it was mandatory for her to reach on time.
So won't it be wise to accept the lift?

Aryan: Agar aapko jana hai to bataiye varna mai ynaha se jaa raha hu...mujhe late horaha hai.

Dhaani gulped.

Dhaani: umm...thik hai, chaliye.

Aryan nodded and approached his car followed by Dhaani.
He opened the gate for her and went to the driver's seat.

Dhaani sighed and sat inside.

Soon the car headed off taking the two strangers on a journey that was going to last much longer than they could think.

*********