Opposite Poles

“That’s it! Gentlemen, Thank you!” ASR concluded the presentation by deleting the last couple of slides apologizing for the oversight.  

“Why was that removed?” one of then asked knowing the prime location of that building. 

“That was inserted as a place holder.  In fact a new acquisition of old building has been made and soon will take the place of the last two slides...!” ASR gave a lame excuse.  

“Umm.. may be we can take it further next week.” He was in a hurry to conclude the session.  Khushi was inside waiting for him.  A person opened his mouth to mouth out his doubts, but ASR cut him off.

“I will address all your issues and doubts in the next meeting.. This is it, for now! Thank you!” He concluded abruptly not paying any attention to the murmur.  He switched on the lights and the people filed out of the conference room.  He waited stiffly till the last person went out and dashed to his private room.

He froze at the door.  For a moment he thought, he had done that! It looked the same when he shattered everything in anguish! His room was shattered completely and he screamed looking for Khushi.  The lights were put off.  Her white dress and sky blue dupatta with twinkling stars on it glittered reflecting the light coming from the ajar curtains. He switched on the lights.  She was holding a jagged piece of shattered mirror with both her hands, up at eye level.  “Khushi!” He ran forward to snatch it away from her.

“What the hell!” he managed to snatch it from her in time.  “Looking at my shattered fate!” she said in a hollow voice.  “Khushi..!” he tried to hold her hand.  

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled pacing backwards stepping on the shattered mirror shards and tripping over the scattered books all over.

“Khu..!” he tried to hold her but she pushed him away.  “No!” she said raising her finger. He looked at it but she didn’t bother to take it back.  He gaped at her.  She looked around and at the open door.

“Thank you for everything..!” she blurted moving towards the open door.

“No, Khushi..!” he leapt forward and grabbed her shoulder stopping her desperately. 

“Let me explain..!” he said under his breath looking at her expressionless face.  She had closed her mind.  He shook her.  “Khushi, listen to me! It is by oversight.  I forgot to remove the slide..!” he told her the truth.  She gaped at him.  

“I prepared those slides...!” she looked up at him.  “Yes!” he admitted tightening his grip on her shoulders.

“These slides were not there, when I prepared the presentation...!” she said standing expressionless.  Only her lips spoke.  “Yes..!” he said searching for some trust in her eyes.  “You inserted the slides..”

“Yes..! But..” he admitted again.  He saw nothing in her eyes.  “And you say you forgot to remove..!” He felt trapped.  

“Khushi.. trust me! I forgot!” he said trying to close the gap between them. 

“You bought my house from the bank!” she looked like a ghost.  “Y..Yes!” he knew he was digging his grave.  He could feel that she was drained out of all her energy and collapsed on the floor.  He sat down holding her.  

“Khushi, Trust me! I have no intention to touch the building..!” he urged desperately.

“You inserted those slides.. why? Why do you want to remove them now?” she asked stabbing his heart.  He had no answer.

“As a big favour to me?” she asked getting up.  He didn’t even remember when exactly he had inserted those slides.  She stood back dropping her shoulders hanging her head. 

“Its over! Everything is over!” she blurted turning her back on him completely dejected.

“No Khushi!” he came around to face her.  He couldn’t bear her dejection.  “Khushi..!” he pulled her in a tight embrace. “I am sorry..!” he buried his face on her shoulder.  She didn’t react.  His hands slid down after a while when he felt he was hugging a stone sculpture.  He stepped back, looked at Khushi’s face.

“Khushi..!” he cupped her face in anguish.  “You got to believe me, I have no intention to do anything with your house.... in fact it is ...!” he couldn’t complete

“When did you buy the house?” she asked in a whisper looking somewhere unfocused. 

“I know.. after the fashion show... to take revenge ... for what I did to your show..!” she herself gave the answer.   “The kill is complete now! Khushi is killed! She  lost to Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada! A complete defeat! I surrender..” she blurted kneeling down on the floor.

“No! Khushi..!” he pulled her up again, as if trying to pump in some life in her lifeless body! He had no explanation for buying her house.

“Khushi, I promise.. I will not touch that building... I will protect it..!” he said trying to hug her again.  She raised her hand.

“Protect it? By demolishing? Erecting a skyscraper in that place?” she asked him remembering the elevations shown in the slide.  She turned dejected. “Stop it ASR sir! Whom are you kidding?” she raised her voice for the first time.  

“Stop it Khushi! I told you! It was a mistake...I forgot!” he said grabbing her little forcefully, not knowing how to convince her.  She looked up. He fell short of words...

“I have seen you doing your homework thoroughly before even a small meeting..!” she  rendered him speechless.  Silence prevailed.

“It is ok, Arnav ji! I again ended up in a mess.  Had I not come here,  everything would have gone smoothly... you wouldn’t be explaining anything to anyone!” she said for the first time with quivering voice.  She was heartbroken.  

“Babuji ko pataa chalega to woh to mar jayenge! What if babuji comes to know about this?” she lost her heart collapsing under the pressure.  The quiver turned into uncontrollable tremble.  She couldn’t stop her sobs.  He stood there speechless gaping at her outburst.  

“No, Khushi... stop! He know...!” but before he could complete,  she blurted out hysterically, losing her senses.  He couldn’t speak straight and she couldn’t think straight! They both were losing the battle.  

“Nothing is left now! Buwaji is right! I am a bad omen! I have to be blamed for whatever happens around me! I..I should go away... from everyone...” she had reached the door blurting incoherently.  He stood in her way.  She didn’t even resist standing  like a statue.

“Damn it, Khushi! Listen to me!” he ordered grabbing her shoulders and pushing her in again.  She didn’t retaliate.  But before he could speak anything..

“I had come here to request you to write my.... huh.. huh...”she sobbed in between.  “But you did that already.. you sealed my fate.. wrote my destiny... !” she was incoherent in anguish, pressing her chest to breathe.  He embraced her with moist eyes.  She broke away from him...

“I think, devi mayya sent me here for this...to know the reality..!” she said.  He held her hand.

“Khushi, sit here! I can explain!” he tried to pacify her making her sit on the bed with torn bed spread on it.  She went ahead blurting.  “I.. I thought I know you... but I was wrong... completely wrong.  Zero marks..! “ she sobbed.  He sat by her side putting his hand around her shoulder.  She shook her head with a doomed feeling.  

“Khushi, listen to me! Trust me!” he again tried to explain in vain.  “Did you? When I was shouting my heart out that i came onto the ramp by mistake, that My Jiji’s marriage was at stake? That I was not the thief, that I don’t do everything for money?” she asked him stabbing his heart deeply.  He realized what he had done to her and what she must have felt when trapped her every time.  This time, he was right, but had no explanation.  

She stood up, “No use!” she said standing in that scattered room like a white, put out candle.  “I should be going..!” she said in a bear whisper.

“Damn Khushi.. I am telling you to listen to me! damn it!” he could do nothing but yell at her at the top of his voice.  The trapped feeling tormented him.  She shuddered with the yell and hung her head.  All her fighting spirit was buried under the elevation of the proposed building in place of Gomti Niwas!

“I promise.. I will keep the building intact!” he could only do that.   She looked up in disbelief.  “You want me to believe you?” she asked.  He gaped at her.  “Why will you do that, Mr Businessman?”  she asked.  He again had no answer.  She walked away.

“We are on opposite poles... we can never...!” she sobbed hard trapping her breath in her chest.

“Khushi...!” he put his hand on back rubbing it to sooth her.  “No!” she paced backwards. 

“We can never understand each other... We are opposites... we are to turn our backs on each other... We can never leave our poles... cannot ... !!” she blurted taking a step out of his door.  He stood there like a statue.  He had nothing to explain; she was not ready for any explanation.  He clenched his fists in dejection.  “Khushi!” he gritted his teeth.  

He looked up and froze. She had come back... he went ahead to hold her thinking she has returned to listen to him, but she had not finished yet.

She rummaged in the bag in vain.  Frustrated she started pulling out her things from her bag on the only intact table.  He gaped with open mouth shocked to the core.

“What..?” he couldn’t comprehend.   Finally she poured everything from her bag pulling the insides out and it fell on the table with a reverberating clatter.  He looked at it with utter bewilderment.  She picked it up and pulling his hand kept the Mannat Key on his palm.

“I think this was the reason, why we kept meeting.  It’s over.  Our small world is shattered.. where only two of us shared some moments...everything is gone... I don’t want to keep it!” she looked into his eyes for the first time and said like a death declaration repeating his words at Mazaar..”Keep it, throw it or swallow it! I don’t care!” she turned and went away with an empty bag forgetting to collect even her money pouch, her dupatta stuck in the door knob!! She didn’t bother to extricate!

“Khushi..!” he floundered clutching his mannat ki chabi.  The connection was broken.  Their secret world where only the two were together had shattered completely... The key was repossessed by mighty ASR!  His vault like heart was locked forever.  No one had the key now!  He wouldn’t open it for anyone!

Khushi had gone...!

*************    **********   ********

“Chamakili...” Lavanya screamed over the phone, in the evening when Khushi had returned home and was in the kitchen making Jilebees..!

“Khushi... congratulate me...We are getting engaged... ASR agreed finally!” Lavanya screamed in euphoria.  Khushi froze.  The jilebees from the ladle fell down in the frying pan again splashing the oil.  Khushi jumped back in fright.

“Khushi..?” came a call and she came back to her senses.  “Congratulations Lavanya ji.. I am very very happy for you!” Khushi said forcing a smile on her face. She disconnected to see Sham leaning against the door.  Her last ray of hope was snatched away.  She was ready to sacrifice herself now.

“We are on opposite poles... I can’t even dream about him now!” she turned her back hanging her head.

They both didn’t know... They were not ‘on’ opposite poles..But... they were the opposite poles! They were magnets!.. bound to attract each other... and once they met.... never to part away!! Devi Mayya was still smiling on them.  On him for  being her ladlaa... and on Khushi for being her own child..!!

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The End

Opposite poles .... They need to be separated to face each other to experience the same attraction and stick together forever....!

Thank you!!

Please please write your comments on this post as well as the story.

I know you all are disappointed.  Si here is some respite for you.  My 31st December, a sequel to Opposite poles is here in a revamped state with new writing...! 

There is a tab for the story after Home on this blog as 31st December Night! The first part is put up there.  Please let me know about the new template also.  We can revert back to our old golden template anytime.  

Let me know your feed back.

Do you want it as separate story as 31st dec. or should i continue with opposite poles incorporating 31st dec.  Please give your opinion.. Your opinion counts...!

A big thank you for now

I am writing a separate post thanking you all individually.  Please don't abandon this blog.  I will be posting re written 31st december here everyday with longer updates...

Thank you