Chaahat Episode 18

#rhituparnachakraborty

#RhituparnaChakraborty

A sequel to ‘Dosh’

#Lovestory

#Chaahat

#chaahat

#ChaahatEpisode18

#chaahatepisode18

For those who have not read ‘Dosh’, here are the links:

Link for previous chapter/chapters: #doshepisode1 , #DoshEpisode1, #DoshEpisode2, #DoshEpisode2, #DoshEpisode3, #doshepisode3, #DoshEpisode4, #doshepisode4, #DoshEpisode5, #doshepisode5, #DoshEpisode6, #doshepisode6, #DoshEpisode7, #doshepisode7, #DoshEpisode8, #doshepisode8, #DoshEpisodeBonus, #doshepisodebonus, #DoshEpisode9, #doshepisodebonus9, #DoshEpisode9, #DoshEpisode10

Link for previous chapter/chapters of ‘Chaahat’: #ChaahatEpisode1, #chaahatepisode1, #ChaahatEpisode2, #chaahatepisode2, #ChaahatEpisode3, #chaahatepisode3, #ChaahatEpisode4, #chaahatepisode4, #ChaahatEpisode5, #chaahatepisode5, #ChaahatEpisode6, #chaahatepisode6, #ChaahatEpisodeBonus, #chaahatepisodeBonus, #ChaahatEpisode7, #chaahatepisode7, #ChaahatEpisode8, #chaahatepisode8, #ChaahatEpisode9,#chaahatepisode9, #ChaahatEpisode10,#chaahatepisode10, #ChaahatEpisode11, #chaahatepisode11, #ChaahatEpisode12, #chaahatepisode12, #ChaahatEpisode13, #chaahatepisode13, #ChaahatEpisode14, #chaahatepisode14, #ChaahatEpisode15, #chaahatepisode15, #ChaahatEpisode16, #chaahatepisode16, #ChaahatEpisode17, #chaahatepisode17

#Author: #RhituparnaChakraborty

#Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction with no relation to any person/organism living or dead. Every episode, every character is a work of imagination. Any resemblance to any person, organism, place or character is purely coincidental. There is no intention to hurt or rebuke anyone through this work. This story/episode cannot be copied, published or reproduced without the permission of the author RhituparnaChakraborty.

Characters:

1. Hiren Kothari, Lata Kothari (Hiren Kothari passed away. Lata Kothari (Passed away)
2. Sumedh Kothari (55 years old), Sumitra Kothari(53 years old)(Eldest son and daughter in law of Hiren and Lata)
3. Anurag(30), Aavish (27), Aanya(24) ( Children of Sumedh and Sumitra)
4. Subhash Kothari(52) and Naina Kothari(50) (Second son and daughter in law of Hiren and Lata)
5. Saanya(22) and Sanmit(25) (Subhash and Naina’s children)
6. Sumit Kothari(49) and Tripti Kothari(46) ( 3rd son and daughter in law of Hiren and Lata)
7. Vedant(20), Vishaka(17) and Varun(14) ( Sumit and Tripti’s children)
8. Som Kothari(46) and Urmi Kothari(40) (Youngest son and daughter in law of Lata and Hiren)
9. Dviti(15) (Som and Urmi’s only child)
10. Kashish (21) (Gardener Sanjay’s daughter. Sanjay and his wife are no more in this world. Kashish is an orphan)
11. Kaamini (50) (Distant aunt of Kashish who lives with Kashish in the outhouse of Kothari Mansion)
12. Rajesh Verma (54) (Business Partner and friend of Sumedh Kothari)
13. Tanaya Verma (27) (Rajesh Verma’s daughter)
14. Chaitanya Guruji (Passed away)(He was the family’s Guruji)
15. Lakshya Guruji (53)(Chaitanya Guruji’s son who is now the family’s Guruji).
16. Mushtaque Khan: Cop and Anurag’s friend.
17. Saanchi: Mushtaque’s wife
18. Mehek: Mushtaque’s daughter
19. Abhay: Mushtaque’s team member
20. Sofia: Mushtaque’s team member
21. Latika: Househelp
22. Sara Khanna: Employee at Kothari Industries/Enterprise
23. Nihaar Jagtap: Employee at Kothari Industries/Enterprise
24. Akshit Puri: Friend of Kashish/Classmate
25. Nishi Sharma: Friend of Kashish/Classmate
26. Santosh: Househelp at Kotharis
27. Namit : Cook at the guesthouse
28. Inspector Sohum : Mushtaque’s team member in Shankarnagar
29. Anand Makhija: Sara’s alleged partner in crime
30. Inspector Kusum: Female officer from Mushtaque’s team

Nishi looked out from the window of the car and said casually, ‘Seems it’s going to rain heavily.’ Aavish smiled to himself and murmured, ‘God is with me today.’ Nishi looked at Aavish and asked puzzled, ‘Did you say something?’ Aavish cleared his voice and said, ‘No, I just said, you are right. It’s going to rain heavily today.’ Nishi again looked out of the window and said, ‘Hmm’, she then continued in her friendly chirpy happy tone, ‘You know, I love rains because they give us water. We are blessed to have rains. They are a boon to our farmers. I am always thankful and grateful for these life savior rains. But, I don’t like getting drenched in rain.’ With his eyes fixed on the road, Aavish said, ‘Really? You don’t like getting drenched in rain? Why? It’s so beautiful. I love it.’ Nishi looked ahead at the road and said with a tone of disappointment, ‘Hmm. I know. Kashish also loves rains. She finds me super boring when I say I don’t want to get drenched in the rain. But what to do! I find wet clothes very irritating.’ Aavish could listen to Nishi forever. He wanted this drive to never end. But then he knew he would be spending more time with her at the river front. Nishi then told with concern, ‘But Aavish, what if it rains very heavily and we get stuck somewhere?’ Aavish mumbled, ‘All the more better’. Nishi asked, ‘Did you say something?’ Aavish said, ‘I said, that won’t be a problem. The place we are going to is safe and nice. Even if it rains bad, we would get shelter there. Don’t worry.’ Nishi then said worried, ‘But, Kashish will be worried. I will need to tell her that I am with you. But if I tell her that, she would know that we planned this to bring her and Anurag Bhai together.’ Aavish said, ‘Well, I think you should tell her that you are with me. And, you can tell her that you had come to Kothari mansion to get the books and I was there. I told you that Anurag Bhai already took the books and hence I offered to drop you home. Amidst that it rained heavily and hence you were stuck and got late.’ Nishi thought for a while and said, ‘Wow! You are a master planner. Good idea. In case she asks me, I will tell her that.’ Nishi then looked at Aavish with super curious eyes. Aavish felt the stare although his focus was on the road. He quickly looked at Nishi and asked, ‘Why are you looking at me like this?’ He then looked back at the road. Nishi said with suspicion, ‘Wait! It seems you are adept in planning things when it comes to love stories. How come? You must have had a lot of girl friends haan?’ Aavish laughed out loudly and said, ‘What makes you think that I can have a lot of girlfriends?’ Nishi thought for a while and said nonchalantly, ‘Well, why not? You are smart, you look good, you work well and most importantly, you seem like a safe guy. Girls like safe guys, you know.’ Aavish could not stop laughing, ‘What does it mean by safe guy?’ Nishi said in a knowledgeable tone, ‘Well safe guy means someone with whom a girl feels safe. You know I know people well by instinct, specifically boys. By looking at their eyes I can feel if they are lecherous or gentleman.’ Aavish laughed again and said, ‘And what did you find out about me?’ Nishi said with an air of knowledge and confidence, ‘Gentleman. You, your brother Anurag and that handsome cop Mushtaque Khan, all of you are gentlemen. That idiot classmate of mine Akshit, he is a super @$$#@#$. He should rot in jail. The way he eyed Kashish. I could feel that. Rascal.’ Aavish said, ‘Whoa!! You swear too?’ Nishi looked at Aavish and said sarcastically, ‘Why? Only boys can swear? Girls can’t?’ Aavish could not stop laughing. Nishi was fun to be with. He replied, ‘Well of course they can. I was just saying.’ Nishi then looked at Aavish and asked in an investigative tone, ‘You don’t swear?’ Aavish was taken aback. Well what does he say now. He replied hesitatingly, ‘Well, if I get super angry…..I….’ Nishi added, ‘You do swear. Right?’ Aavish said, ‘Well….yes….’ Nishi then sat straight and said, ‘Cool! I like honest replies.’ Aavish was enjoying every moment with Nishi. She was not only intelligent and smart, but also kind and honest with principles. Aavish then asked Nishi, ‘By the way, does Kashish have a phone?’ Nishi replied, ‘No not yet. I have a spare one. I will give it to her. Getting a sim ready. I will call her on the landline number.’

Mushtaque was in the porch waiting for Saanchi. The car was all ready. Mushtaque wore a blue collared T-Shirt and a pair of beige chinos. Just then Saanchi came out. She was wearing a blue chiffon knee length dress with pearl accessories. The dress had a slightly low neck line. Saanchi let her silky hair down. She side swept her hair and made it voluminous with a hair dryer. She wore a pink shade of lipstick. Her stilettoes complimented her dress. Mushtaque looked at her and murmured to himself, ‘This girl leaves no stone unturned to make me feel blessed.’ Saanchi smiled and said, ‘So where are we going?’ Mushtaque said in his baritone voice, ‘To the finest restaurant in town.’ Saying that, he extended his hand and said, ‘My love, shall we?’ Saanchi giggled and said, ‘Yes sweetheart.’

Kashish took the cups and was about to put them in the sink when thunder rumbled. She was startled and a cup fell down and broke. Hearing the noise Anurag came to the kitchen. Kashish was picking up the broken pieces when Anurag said, ‘You step aside, I will clean it.’ Kashish replied, ‘No no. It’s okay. Please go outside. You may end up getting hurt.’ Picking up some broken pieces, Anurag said nonchalantly, ‘This won’t hurt much. These will just pierce my skin, not my heart.’ Kashish kept quiet. She picked up some of the pieces and got up and threw them in the dustbin. Anurag picked up the rest and threw them. Kashish then got a broom and swept and cleaned that spot. Just then it started raining. It was heavy. The rain lashed out on the window panes. Kashish quickly opened the door and rushed upstairs to the terrace to get the clothes. Anurag followed her. As Kashish picked up some clothes she was thoroughly drenched. Kashish loved rains. She felt as if rains wash away all the pain. Anurag kept on looking at Kashish. Dusk had set in. It was getting dark. The street lights were on. Anurag wanted to go closer to Kashish and hug her. He wanted to feel her. He wanted to take her home. She belonged there. That’s where her home was. She lived in his heart. Just then there was a deafening thunder and the lights went out. Anurag immediately switched on the flash light of his phone and was about to help Kashish see the way when, Kashish tripped on a tiny stone on the terrace and fell. Anurag rushed to her. Anurag was drenched. Anurag knelt down to pick her up. The moment he touched her arms, to help her get up, Kashish felt a breeze of happiness flowing in her veins. That touch. She could feel all the love under the sun in that touch. She knew if she came closer to Anurag now she won’t be able to push herself back. And if she stays in his world, his world may end up in doom. Whosoever she loved, was snatched away from her. Her parents, her Lata Grandma, and now, if she stayed close to Anurag destiny might snatch him away and she won’t let that happen. She gently held Anurag’s hand and tried to put it away from her arm. Anurag realised what Kashish was doing. He held his grip tighter in Kashish’s arm, looked at Kashish with his painful and angry eyes and said, ‘Why Kashish? Why are you doing this to me?’ Kashish tried to set her arm free from Anurag’s grasp and said, ‘ This has nothing to do with you. It is all about me.’ Anurag went closer to Kashish and said bitterly, ‘How can anything be only about you now Kashish? Do you know how it is to live a life without you? Do you know every moment, every second seems like a never ending pain without you? Do you know I can never ever feel the same without you? Do you know……….living without you is as good as death for me?’ Kashish immediately interrupted and said, ‘Don’t utter such words.’ Anurag smiled sarcastically and said, ‘Do you even care Kashish?’ Kashish forced herself away from Anurag, and said, ‘I care…..I care……and hence I want you to go away from me.’ Saying that she covered her face and cried. Anurag was in a fit of rage. The rains became all the more harsh, drenching every bit of them. Anurag went closer to Kashish, held her shoulders, looked into her eyes and said, ‘Kashish, you want me to go away. I will. In fact I did respect your decision and did stay away from you. It was your books that brought me here otherwise I would never think of disrespecting your decision. And trust me Kashish, I came here only this once and I had decided once I give you the books, I will never ever meet you again. And I will be true to my words. However, just once tell me that you don’t love me and you will be happy without me. I will go right away and will never disturb you again. And you know I never go back on my promise.’ The rains lashed at their skin. Tears and rain made Kashish make her world fall apart. She knew how much she loved Anurag. But even once, if she said that she did not love him, he would go away for ever. And she knew Anurag very well. He was a man of words. If he said that he won’t meet her again, he would do that. He will go away from her even if it hurt. Anurag stared at Kashish and said, ‘I am waiting Kashish……’

Nishi and Aavish could not get out of the car because of the downpour. Nishi said, ‘Now we are trapped. The rains won’t stop. And we can’t get out and walk in the walkway.’ Aavish looked at Nishi and said, ‘Well we can if you are willing to get drenched.’ Nishi said, ‘No no. I hate getting drenched. In fact, you too should not get drenched. You will catch a cold.’ Aavish said, ‘But Nishi, there is a cozy restaurant nearby. We might get drenched a little but we can sit in the restaurant. It will be nice. Let’s go.’ Nishi asked, ‘Do you have an umbrella?’ Aavish did have an umbrella at the trunk of the car, but he replied, ‘N…no. But then it’s okay. We can manage. Let’s go. I will help you.’ Nishi looked at Aavish and said, ‘Now tell me, how will you help me? Can you stop the rains?’ Aavish laughed and said, ‘No, I can’t do that. But I can give you company in getting drenched.’ Nishi looked at Aavish and replied sarcastically, ‘Well I don’t need that help. I will sit in the car till the rain stops.’ Aavish said, ‘Well okay then. Sit here. I am going.’ Aavish opened the door and walked ahead. It was dark. Nishi was scared of sitting in the car alone. When she realised, Aavish wouldn’t stop, she screamed, ‘WAIT AAVISH. I AM COMING TOO.’ Aavish smiled to himself. He walked back to the car and opened Nishi’s door. Nishi got off the car. The pavement was slippery. Nishi told Aavish, ‘I had sprained my ankle already once. Now if I fall on this slippery pavement again, I am dead meat.’ Aavish extended his hand, looked at Nishi’s hand and said, ‘Hold my hand Nishi. I won’t let you fall.’ Nishi smiled and said, ‘Yay. Thank you.’ Saying that she held his hand but suddenly her thoughts went to his words. ‘ Were they metaphors? What did he mean?’

Anurag told Kashish, ‘Kashish, I think I know your answer. These questions don’t need time to answer. Let’s go inside or you will fall sick.’ Kashish did not say anything. She walked back to the house. Ensuring the flash light was on, Anurag followed her. Kashish got a towel and gave it to Anurag. Anurag said, ‘That’s fine Kashish. I am leaving anyway. I got your answer.’ Kashish said, ‘Please dry yourself. You will catch a cold otherwise.’ Anurag smiled and said, ‘Now that I know, you won’t be there in my life, I will teach myself to take care of myself. Don’t worry.’ Before Kashish could say anything, the power resumed and then the phone rang. Anurag said, ‘You answer the call. I will take your leave now.’ Kashish was in a dilemma. By the time she goes to answer the phone, Anurag would leave. But the call might be from Nishi. She had to receive it. Deep in her heart she wanted to stop Anurag. She went to answer the phone. It was from Nishi.

Nishi: Kashish, listen, I am stuck in the rains, but I am fine. Please don’t worry. I will be home soon.

Kashish(concerned): But, how will you come?

Nishi: Actually, I had gone to Kothari mansion to collect your books. Aavish told me that his brother already took the books to our place, hence Aavish said he will drop me home.

Kashish: Oh okay. Then it’s absolutely fine. Aavish will drop you home. Yes, I got my books.

Nishi: And Anurag is still there?

Kashish: Hmm…..but….he is leaving now…….maybe…..he won’t meet me again.

Nishi(Trying to make Kashish feel what a blunder it will be if she let’s Anurag go): Oh okay! Cool! That’s what you always wanted. Now ‘Anurag Kothari’ will disappear from your life and you will be happy.

Kashish(almost in tears): But…..

Nishi: What but? You always wanted that, right? See Kashish, if you fall weak this time, he will never go. Let him go.

Kashish (weeping)

Nishi: Stop crying Kashish. Be strong and tell Anurag that you have nothing to do with him and you don’t love him anymore. That’s it. Finish this episode here.

Kashish (sobbing): But….I love Anurag…..how will I stop loving him, how will I live without him……………….He must have left by now.

Nishi: So let him go. That’s fine. Stop crying. It’s fine.

Kashish: Will he never meet me again?

Nishi(confidently): You yourself had told me, he never goes back on his words. He won’t meet you ever again. You are done with this episode. I will be back soon. Don’t worry about me. Eat your dinner. In fact, let me order something for you.

Kashish: No, don’t order anything.

Nishi: Come on Kashish. You are letting someone go because you don’t want that person in your life. Don’t starve now.

Kashish(in rage): NISHI, ‘THAT PERSON?’ THAT PERSON IS ANURAG KOTHARI. I LOVE HIM. HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR ME. AND YOU ARE TELLING ME AS IF IT IS SO EASY TO LET HIM GO.

Nishi(smiling, but trying to hide that smile in her voice): Well, you decide that. I am sending you food. Eat it. Bye now.

Kashish hung up the phone and wiped her tears. She lost Anurag. He would never meet her again. It’s all over. Well, maybe that was was her destiny. She deserved that. After all the hurt and pain she gave Anurag, she deserved all of it. She turned around and she was startled. Anurag stood there smiling. He said, ‘If you love the person named Anurag Kothari, why are you distancing yourself from him? You do know Anurag Kothari loves you, don’t you?’

To be continued…………………………………