The Exchange

Broken Pieces

"Akshu tum wahi raho...neeche mat aana...tumhe lag jayi gi.." Abhi said, looking at the broken pieces of glass that surrounded him, realizing what he had done. 

But she was in no state to listen to him, blaming herself for the chaos that had ensued...blaming herself for creating yet another rift between her Abhi and his family...but she would not let him leave this house...she would not let him spend a single more day away from his mom...she had kept him away for long enough...

"Akshu...tum kabhi bhi meri baat kyun nahi sunti ho?" he asked softly as he started walking up the stairs, tossing the bat behind him. 

She walked right past him, going directly to Mahima, folding her hands in front of her. "Taiji...yahan pe jo kuch bhi huya, us kilye mein maafi mangti hoon...liken is mein Abhi ki bhi koi galti nahi hai....galti hai toh siraf waqt ki...kismat ki...mein samaj sakti hoon ke aap ke pas bohut sare sawal honge...aur mein un sab ke jawab dene kilye ready hoon...liken taiji...jo kuch bhi mein ne kiya, woh siraf aur siraf Abhi kilye kiya...Abhi kilye mein kuch bhi karsakti hoon...aap meri jaan bhi maang lengi na, woh bhi mein khushi khushi aap ko dedoon gi..." 

"Akshara, aapna drama baand karo aur jao yahan se...joh kuch bhi kenha tha, woh tumhara Abhi kehe chuka hai." Mahima responded harshly, gesturing for Akshu to go back upstairs. And as she stood a step backwards, she felt a shard of glass pierce through the bottom of her foot...

"Ouch", she gasped in pain, grabbing onto the railing of the staircase for support. 

"Akshu!", Abhi ran towards her, grabbing her arm. "Akshu dekha..mein ne kaha tha na upar raro...dekho ab tumhe lag gayi...woh bhi meri waje se...I'm so sorry Akshu...please ab tum idhar aao." He said, picking her up with one arm and setting her down on the sofa, lifting her foot onto his lap, shouting for a first aid kit immediately. 

Harsh and Manjari stared over his shoulder with concern filling their eyes, Manjari telling him to be gentle and take the glass out right now. Akshu said not a single word, staring at the worry on Abhi's face, in awe of how anyone could love her this much. She clutched his shirt as hard as she could as he pulled the piece out, trying her best not to scream, trying her best to keep calm, trying her best not to worry him. But she did not have to speak for him to know how much pain she was in...."I know, I know Akshu bas ek minute aur...I'm sorry..." he said through clenched teeth, unable to see her like this. When the dressing was finally done, he gently let go of her foot, telling her that he would take her upstairs, that she would not come back down until this mess had been cleaned up. 

"Abhi meri baat taiji se abhi khatham nahi huyi hai..." 

"Akshu tumhe aur kuch bolne ki koi bhi zarurat nahi hai...aur sorry toh bilkul bhi mat bolna...na toh tum inke koi bhi sawal ka jawab dogi..." 

"Abhi..." 

"Akshu, hum kal subha jaa rahen hai yaha se. Bas boldiya hai mein ne. I'm sorry Akshu. I'm really sorry. Liken hum yahan aise insaan ke saath bilkul bhi nahi rahe sakte." 

Before Akshu could resist, telling him that she would not let him leave his family again, that she would not be the reason for his suffering any longer, Harsh walked up towards Mahima and said words that left everyone in pure astonishment. 

"Agar mere bache is ghar se jaa rahe hain toh mein bhi is ghar mein aaj ke baad kabhi nahi aayunga..." 

"Sorry didi...aur mein bhi ja rahi hoon..." Manajri added softly, with all of the courage she could muster. 

Admist the chaos, they had not realized that Shefali and Neil had just returned from work and were standing by the door. 

"Mein bhi bhai, bhabhi ke saath hi chala jaoon ga..." Neil said, walking towards where Abhi and Akshu were standing. 

Shefali looked at Parth who had been silently watching from the kitchen this entire time and once he nodded at her, "Hum bhi." they said in sync. 

Akshu looked around, tears filling her eyes. Never had she imagined that she would get this much support, this much love from this family...she had made them her own, doing everything in her power to win them over, but the roads of the past had been so tough that she had almost given up...she stared into Abhi's eyes and he smiled at her softly, squeezing her hand. He knew how much family meant to her...and he knew that she deserved the love of each and every single person in this house...he knew that she deserved all of this and so much more too...finally she was getting the respect he had always wanted for her....

He turned around and spoke only to Mahima. "Yeh dekhiye aap..." gesturing around the house pointing to everyone who was standing in support of his wife. "Yeh hai meri Akshu ka pyaar. Jo sab ko dikhta hai, liken aap ko nahi. Ab kya karengi aap? Aap akele is ghar mein rahengi?" He said with a snark in his voice, a slight smirk on his face. 

With that Mahima stormed upstairs, Anand following behind her. Everyone else stood in silence, taking in the gravity of the moment...unsure what the next day would hold, but entirely sure that they would be in it together...