YRHPK: One-shots and Short Stories

MishBir: Tumhare Bin

"Mishti! Mishti! Mishti!"

Silence greeted his cries.

Abir felt a chocking fear clawing at his throat. He had been searching for more than fifteen minutes now, and he hadn't found anything. The panic that had threatened to engulf him since he had found Mishti missing from their car and her broken sandal on the ground nearby was rising, clouding all thoughts of calm and reason. Abir felt like he couldn't breathe. If something happened to Mishti-

Abir shut his eyes tight and forced himself to take several deep breaths and shut down that line of thought. Shut up! Shut up and calm down. She'll be fine, and you'll find her. You will. Now focus!

He opened his eyes then and tried to think clearly. There was a village nearby. He could go there, take help from the villagers or call the police. Yes, he would do that. He would search this area one last time, and if he still came up with nothing, he would go to the village for help.

Okay. Okay. You got this. You'll find your Mishti. You'll find her, and everything will be fine.

With that, Abir turned around and began to backtrack, resuming calling for Mishti.

Ten minutes later, he hadn't found anything and had decided to go to the village for help. As he began to walk toward the path that would lead to the village, he felt the panic rising again and tried to force himself to not give in to it.

Stay calm. Maybe Mishti is at the village only. Maybe she got lost and-

"Abir?"

He stopped, then whirled around.

Standing a few feet away, was Mishti. Her appearance was disheveled, a few twigs sticking out of her ruffled hair, and she had a small cut on her cheek. Her dress was torn and she was wearing only one sandal.

To Abir, she had never looked more beautiful.

"Abir, I'm so sorry mein tumhe bina bataye chali gayi. Maine ek bachche ki awaaz suni, aur tum dikh nahi rahen the aur-oh!"

Mishti was cut off as Abir crossed the distance between them in few quick strides and took her in his arms, holding her tight.

She's here. She's here. She's right here in your arms. Abir repeated those words to himself as he held her firmly against him and repeatedly kissed her head, never wanting to let go.

"Abir," he heard Mishti's muffled voice. "Abir, I can't breathe."

Abir immediately pulled back. "Sorry! Sorry!"he said, then planted his hands on her shoulders and began looking her up and down. "Tum theek to ho? Kuch hua tumhe? Are you hurt?" His eyes fell on the cut on her cheek and he touched it gingerly. "Chalo mere saath, main-"

"Abir," Mishti said, stopping his rambling as she brought her hand up to cover his own that rested on her cheek. She gave him a loving and reassuring smile. "It's okay. Main theek Hoon. Main bas jaldi jaldi mein bhaag rahi thi isliye aisi lag rahi hoon. Aur kuch nahi. I'm fine."

Abir stared at her for a moment.

She's okay. She's not hurt. She's okay and she's with you. Abir allowed those words to sink in and make his world whole again.
He hugged her again, this time more gently. His heart soared with love and contentment as he felt her melt into him, her arms encircling him and her head resting on his chest.

"I love you," he whispered. "I love you so much, Mishti."

"I love you too, Abir," he heard her say. He smiled, laying his cheek on her head. He felt like he could stay like this forever, with Mishti safe and with him.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he told her after a few minutes of silence, remembering the overwhelming panic and fear he had felt when he couldn't find her and had thought she had been forcibly taken or something when he'd seen that broken sandal. "Mujhe chodke kabhi kahi mat jaana, Mishti. Kabhi nahi. Tumhare bin main..."

"Main nahi jaungi, Abir," Mishti replied as they pulled back, leaving their hands intertwined. "Main car mein thi jab meine ek bachche ki awaaz suni. Wo bohot zor se aur bohot buri tarike se chilla raha tha...."

"Wo obviously koi badi mushkil mein tha. Mujhe us bachche ke paas pahunchna tha. Tum kahi dikh nahi rahe the aur main wait nahi kar sakti thi." She stopped and brought her hands up to caress his face, stepping closer to him.

"Main tumhe chod ke kabhi nahi jaungi, mere Ajeeb Rajvansh," she said gently. "I promise you. Chaahe kuch bhi ho, I'll always come back to you."

Abir smiled at her, before leaning down to kiss her forehead. As he stood back, something else clicked in his mind.

"Tumne kisi bachche ki cheeke suni?" he asked her. "Kya hua? Kahan hain bachcha?"

"Wo ek bade hole mein gir gaya tha aur use bohot buri chot aayi thi," Mishti said. "Maine use bahar nikalne main madad ki aur use patti bandhi. Phir uske parents aaye aur use le gaye. Hes fine now."

"Bachcha aaya Kahan se tha?"Abir asked.

"Paas ke village se. Khelte khelte yahan jungle mein bhaag aaya tha," Mishti replied.

Abir nodded, then gave Mishti a teasing smile and dramatically said, "My brave heroin!"

"Oh, please," Mishti replied with a smile, playfully swatting at his srm. Abir thanked God once again that that smile was intact.

"Ab chale?" he asked her, holding out his hand.

"Chalo," Mishti replied, taking his hand.

****

Author's Note:
Hi Everyone! Hope you're doing well.
If you've enjoyed this, please do vote and add this book to your reading list. There's definitely more to come! And let me know what you think in the comments!
Take care.