Seeing the Light

Trust and Hope

"Di.. Aap teek hai na?" (Di you are okay right?) Arnav asked in a voice choking with tears, as he came out of the hug. He bent his head a little to check for any visible injuries on Anjali's neck, and let out a breath of relief on finding none. Anjali looked shaken, both Akash and Arnav slowly lead her to the sofa and made her sit, "please koi inke liye thoda paani laaiye" (Please someone get her some water) Arnav addressed the room in general and one of the neighbours rushed into the house to do his bidding.

Anjali had a sip of water, she could feel the cold liquid go down her throat sending chills through her body. Her body shook involuntarily, "Di??" she turned to her brother, her eyes completely empty, it shattered his already broken heart into even smaller pieces. His throat bobbed as he looked away, unable to hold the tears that were threatening to fall out. Akash controlled his tears and turned away in an effort to hide the drops that managed to roll down. His gaze fell on the bedroom door which was closed, he had seen Payal rush into the room during the whole commotion, he wanted to check on her and on Khushi, all of this must be a lot for them to handle as well. As if an answer to a prayer he didn't make, he heard his sister speak "Khushiji kahan hai Chote?" (Where is Khushiji Chote?)

Arnav looked at his sister's face, he couldn't make out the expressions on it, her eyes still seemed so empty.. His mind went to the most absurd conclusions and before he could stop himself, words stumbled out of his mouth "Di.. Iss sab mai Khushi ki koi ghalti nahi hai.. Don't misunderstand her.." (Di.. Khushi is blameless in all this..) He saw a flash of life in his sister's eyes, he didn't know what to make of it "hume Khushiji ke baare mai pata hai Chote..." (I know about Khushiji Chote) Arnav let go of the breath he didn't realise he was holding "Hum unhe kabhi ghalat nahi samjhenge.. Hum bas unse milna chahte hai.." (I will never misunderstand her.. I just want to meet her) Arnav rubbed his palms over his face and took a deep breath "Di.. Shayad woh abhi tak uti nahi hai.. Doctor ne usse injection lagvaya tha" (Di.. maybe she is still asleep.. the doctor had given her an injection) saying so, he turned towards the room.

Akash saw this as an opportunity and immediately offered to go check with Payal. Though both Arnav and Anjali knew he would have had ulterior motives, they weren't in a jovial mood to tease him regarding it. Arnav watched his brother intently as he took measured steps towards Khushi's room, he saw his brother hesitate for a milli second before he raised his hands and knocked on the door. After what seemed like hours, they heard Payal's voice on the other side of the door.

***

Payal had run into the room, shut the door behind her and locked it for an extra measure when she saw Shyam pick up the knife and hold it against Anjali, she had been scared out of her wits, tears started streaming down her cheeks. A monster in the guise of a decent man had been living in their midst and they had absolutely no idea. The more she thought about everything, the more her anger spiked up against her aunt who had practically forced them to get Khushi engaged to that man. She stood in front of Devi Maiyya's statue and prayed for everyone's safety, her body shaking as she silently wept, she could hear the commotion outside, her heart wanted to open the door and see for herself what was happening, lend her support to the Raizada, one in particular, but her brain warned her to stay in the room and make sure Khushi was safe.

Payal walked over to the bed and sat next to Khushi, she saw her little sister being disturbed by the noise, but the injection hadn't completely worn off, she was somewhere between deep slumber and consciousness. Payal placed her hand on Khushi's head and caressed her hair gently, it it took a few minutes, but Khushi's body relaxed, her breathing became even and once again she was sleeping peacefully, which brought a smile on Payal's face. She jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock on the door, she picked up a heavy object from the bedside table and gingerly made her way to the door, "Kaun hai?" (Who is it?) she couldn't keep the trembles out of her voice "Payalji"