AN UNEXPECTED EVIL

CH-28

"Hello Sir? Can I come to meet Raj umm Raj Malhotra?", Saavi asked the Police officer on the phone. 

"And who are you miss?, he asked. "I am Saavi Malhotra, his sister.", she replied.

"Okay, You can visit him.", he said. "Thanks."

Saavi was excited to meet Raj after a week. She was emotional,  but she was happy. Sonia and Chandan were happy too. They had even hired Ranjeet as a lawyer for the case in Raj's favour.

It was the night time. Sonia was at Ranjeet's house. She was sitting alone, thinking about something deeply.

"What are you thinking about?", Ranjeet asked, coming to sit beside her. "Raj. I was thinking about Raj.", she replied. "Are you going to visit him tomorrow?", he asked. "I am. But.. it's been so long. We've not talked for years. We've ignored each other and I don't know how to initiate a conversation.", she replied, looking worried. 

Ranjeet was also finding a solution for it. "You know what, I think, everything will be natural. You both will talk to each other without any hesitation.", he said. Sonia's expressions showed that Ranjeet impressed her with his knowledge about human behavior. She nodded.

MORNING

Saavi, Chandan, Ranjeet and Sonia were at the Police station. Sonia and Ranjeet were talking to the police officer. While, Saavi and Chandan were heading to talk with Raj. 

"Hi Raj!", greeted Chandan, who was looking more mature with his new clothing style. Beside him, stood Saavi who looked cute in white floral long top with jeans. 

Raj was sitting on the floor. He looked up and saw them. He stood up, he looked weak. "Hi guys!", he exclaimed as he moved towards them. "How are you doing?", Saavi asked. "I am doing great!", he said forcing a smile. "Don't lie! You look so weak.", she said, tears in her eyes were visible. Raj didn't want to cry. He changed the topic. "Chandan, you look so different! Tell me, are you Chandan?", he joked. Chandan laughed. Saavi's tears turned into laughs. "You don't know Raj. Your sister changed me. She forced me to shave and wear all this formal dress.", Chandan said, in a light hearted way. "And Raj! You won't believe that he didn't drink or smoke all this week!", she played along. They were laughing and making fun of each other.

Sonia and Ranjeet were happy looking at them from distance.

"How's Mom?", Raj asked. "She's fine. She thinks about you a lot.", Saavi replied. Then they told Raj about hiring Ranjeet as Raj's lawyer for the case. He felt guilty as he had made fun of Ranjeet earlier infront of Sonia. Even he talked so rudely with Sonia. After some time, Saavi and Chandan went back and Sonia approached to talk with Raj. The smile on her face came naturally, seeing Raj. 

"Hello Raj!", she greeted him, her kind smile shining on her face. "Sonia- um hi!", he greeted back. He felt bad that he was mean to her when she came to help him. For a moment, they didn't talk at all. They were silent, speaking through each others eyes. Their friendship was strong. It was unbreakable. It never broke, it was just resumed for some time. 

Suddenly, Sonia felt that she should speak, she spoke-  "It's been so long, Raj....",.

Raj nodded. "And I missed you, Raj.", she continued. A smile on her face broke and she started to cry. No one had seen her cry. But then, Raj started to cry. She had seen him crying, but this was special, because both of them were crying together.

"Sonia, I am so sorry. I was rude to you. I was so selfish. I ignored you the whole time.", he said and broke into sobs. "Raj, I am also sorry for everything. I was not there with you. I never understood you. Every time, I ignored you, I felt a burden on my chest.", she spoke. Their cries were not stopping.

"Sonia, can you forgive me?", he asked. "And can you forgive me?", she asked back. A smile came to their faces, a beautiful one. This showed that they had forgiven each other. They wanted to hug each other but the prison bars were restricting them to do so.

"Sonia, I promise, after everything gets okay, we'll work at the hospital together and will be friends again.", he promised. "We were always friends, Raj. It was the time which put us against each other.", she corrected him. He nodded.

"So how are your parents?", he asked. Sonia kept quiet. "They are no more', she spoke, her voice trailed off.