The
Hometown
Ssandeep B Teraiya
DEDICATION
I am dedicating this book to my lovely parents and my whole family.
Thank you so much for your support.
Love you all.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Heartfelt Thanks to my wife Poonam, for keeping me motivated.
And
Thank you Dr. Sushma Gupta, for all your support.
सर्वतीर्थमयी माता सर्वदेवमयः पिता ..!!मातरं पितरं तस्मात् सर्वयत्नेन पूजयेत्..!!
To get the same virtues as one would, on visiting all holy places, all he has to do is, revere his mother.
Father is an embodiment of all the deities themselves.
They are the sole cause of us being here in this world today. It is hard to imagine one's life without them, their nurture and care. Parents constantly strive to provide the best that they could possibly give, for their children at all times.
There is no well wisher better than parents!
Chapter 16: Gift
Manali tried to hold Sagar and made him sit in his chair again.
“Please kill me. I have done everything wrong with my family. I lost my mother because of me, and now I am not able to find my dad. I don’t know where he is. How is he? Is he alive or not? I am so bad. I want to kill myself now,” Karan said.
Karan stood up to go outside, but he could not keep his balance and fell to the floor, unconscious.
Sagar and Manali brought him to the hospital.
After a few reports, they came to know that both of Karan’s kidneys had failed. Karan is still in deep sleep at the hospital. Sagar and Manali were worried and sitting in the hospital waiting area.
“We should go to Ahmedabad, there maybe we will get a donor for Karan’s kidney,” Manali said.
“Yes, we will leave tomorrow morning with the doctor’s permission,” Sagar agreed.
“Sagar, I am feeling very sad for Karan. I mean, look at his life. He always tried to be good for all, but situations made him so bad. I now hate Neeta. She was a bitch,” Manali said.
“Shut up, Neeta was not such girl; there is still something which we do not know,” Sagar said.
“I do not think Karan was lying,” Manali said.
“Yes, he was not lying, but still there may be something we still do not know,” Sagar said.
“What are you talking about?” Manali said.
“Yes, listen, do you think after the murder of a girl in a flat, in a city like Ahmedabad, police wouldn’t reach Karan even after a couple of months?”
"Karan left that place after stabbing her with the bottle, but how can he be sure that Neeta is dead?" Sagar asked.
“Yes, there is a possibility. Maybe that’s why the police are not searching for Karan,” Manali said. “We can read the newspapers about the 30th November in the next few days online; there will be news if it was murder,” Manali said.
They checked through the night all the newspapers for those dates. There was no news in any Ahmedabad newspaper of such a murder.
“I am sure, Neeta is alive,” Manali said. “But why did Neeta cheat on Karan? That only Neeta can tell us. Only she knows the truth.”
“Yes, Only Neeta can tell us. Or..." Sagar said and paused.
“Or?” Manali asked.
“Or that letter can tell us something,” Sagar said.
“Oh my god, yes. You are right. There will be something in that letter regarding her life,” Manali said.
“Yes, you stay here; I’ll go to the home and come back with that letter,” Sagar said and went.
.
Neeta’s Letter
“ Dear Karan,
First of all “Happy Birthday. “
May God give you all the luck of life, and may you achieve everything you wish and all you deserve.
I do not know why I am writing this letter to you.
You must be thinking that all this I could tell you at the birthday party.
But there are many things I want to share with you. And that was not possible on your birthday.
Karan, maybe you will find this a bit weird, actually it is weird. I do not know how to tell you all this, but I am trying my best.
Karan you know what? Sometime, somewhere we meet some people whom we can’t afford to lose and at the same time we can’t even get them.
Sometimes we can’t even tell them about our feelings.
Karan you are one of them for me. From the very first day I found something different in you. That different thing kept me thinking of you. And that thinking brought me here where I am writing letters to you.
Yes, it was the morning when I saw you dancing near Ganapti pandal. For a while, I forgot all my pain. For a while, I was able to forget why I came here with my dad. For a while, I forgot what happened to me in Vadodra. That day, I felt what was so special in you which made me happy for some time, and made me dance from inside.
From that day, every time I started to meet you, I was feeling happy like nothing happened to me. When you came with the newspaper for the first time, my heart started beating like running horses on a race course. I started liking you from the day when you talked about your dreams and your responsibilities at the boat. And I do not even know when I started to love you. Yes, Karan I think “I LOVE YOU.”
When you were going to the sea for Visarjan, my heart was paining like hell. And you did that drama with Sagar, which made me angry at you first, but when I left that place, in the auto, I cried like a baby. That day I came to know that was how much I loved you.
I felt young again when I danced with you. I danced after so long a time with you at Dhol beat. That day I was feeling like hugging you and kissing you. I never knew why and when I fell in love with you, maybe it is your innocent nature, maybe when you respected my open thoughts, maybe when I saw you serious about your responsibility to your parents. Maybe it was when I saw you doing Arti in the temple every day in the morning. Or maybe it was your mature thoughts. I like your hard work. I like your Desi styles. I like your talks and I like your company. I forgot everything in these few days here in Porbandar.
Karan “I love you.”
You are the one about whom I always dreamt about as my life partner, but my bad luck is that I met you way after...
Yes, Karan, life is not that easy. Somewhere I know that even you, like me, or maybe you have also feelings for me, but when you come to know about me, maybe you will not love me. So first I thought I would not tell you about my feelings, and we will be best friends. But when I came to know that I have to go to Vadodra again, I thought I am not sure I will meet you again or not, so I decided to tell you how much I love you.
Yes, so finally I am going back to Vadodra, to my in-laws home.
Karan, I am married and a mother of a baby girl.
I did not tell all this to you or Sagar because my dad wanted me to be happy till I get the solution to my married life. I too thought that I would forget that I am married. As my married life was not going well, I faced many problems there. My mother-in-law does not like me because I gave birth to a girl child. From that day, she started to torture me. My dad brought me here for a change and now my in-laws want me back. So finally I am going back to my real world, but I will not forget this few months I passed here with you. These months will be very special for me, with beautiful memories of you at Ohm.
Good Luck on your Job, your dreams and again Happy Birthday.
Lots of hugs and kisses.
“Shit… what the..!” Sagar said.
“Oh my god. This is the reason why she asked him about the letter. If Karan could have read this letter on that day, maybe today's scene would be very different. I can’t believe how two lovers got to this stage without anyone’s fault,” Manali said.
“It is Karan’s fault in a way,” Sagar said.
“Yes, but situations made all of this. We can’t blame anyone for all of them,” Manali said.
“What happened was meant to. Now we need to focus on what we can do for both of them,” Sagar said.
“Yes, at least we both know everything now. What should be our priority now?” Manali asked.
“First, we need to go to Ahmedabad for a kidney transplant. Hopefully, we will get a donor there. Second, we need to check where Neeta is. And meanwhile we need to give this letter to Karan,” Sagar said.
Yes, he should know that how much Neeta loves her. Manali said.
All three of them left for Ahmedabad from Porbandar. Karan was feeling good because of medicines, and he was reading the letter on the way to Ahmedabad. His tears were saying everything while he was reading the letter. He read that letter many times in between Porbandar to Ahmedabad, and his health was getting worse now after travelling 8 hours on the road. Maybe he was not well from the inside as well, after reading that letter. He kept saying that he does not need to be alive now all the way there.
He kept saying “I killed all who loved me. My mother died because of me. I lost my dad, and I murdered Neeta. Please don’t take me to the hospital.” After all that crying and shouting he became unconscious. Sagar drove fast to one of the biggest hospitals on the S. G. Highway and admitted Karan.
The doctor checked the reports and asked Sagar if he could get a donor by tomorrow as Karan did not have much time now.
Sagar put advertisements in every newspaper for a donor, and he was ready to spend any amount of money. They called many hospitals too, but didn't have success. They tried to check up if it is possible to match anyone with Karan's kidney, but reports were negative.
Karan forced them not to try; “I have no right to live anyway. Let me die. Be with me for my last few days. That will be enough.”
They shifted him to the ICU.
Sagar thought he could arrange a last meeting with Neeta at least.
Sagar and Manali took the address of Neeta’s flat from Kaalubhai and they went to check if she was there or not.
Both reached her flat and they found her friend Kavya there. She told everything about what happened after that night.
“When I reached our flat, I found Neeta was crying loudly in pain, lying on the floor with blood. I took her to the nearest doctor. She told me everything, but she requested me not to tell anyone that this was done by Karan. I told her that I was going to call the police, but she denied. She said there was something wrong in his mind. Karan needs help. Do not call the police.”
“After a few days in the hospital, her wound was getting better. She tried all the contacts with Karan and his friend Kaalubhai, but no one was answering. We tried to check all the flats of his, but we could not find them. Finally, we thought to go to Porbandar, but he was not there either.”
“Ok, he is with us now. He is not well, maybe he will not live long now,” Manali started crying.
“He deserves it. Let him die,” Kavya said.
“Please, you do not know both of them yet, so do not say anything. We came here to know if Neeta is okay or not. Thanks for your help. If you can please tell us where we can meet her, then that will be so grateful to you,” Sagar said.
“She shifted to another place with her daughter. This is her number, and you can call her and meet her wherever she is,” Kavya said.
“Thank you,” Sagar said.
***
Chapter 17: Dying Karan
“Hello, am I talking with Neeta?” Sagar asked.
“Yes, this is Neeta here. Who is this?” Neeta asked.
“This is Sagar here, your friend from Porbandar,” Sagar said.
“What? S.. A… G… A.. R... Hey, how are you? Long time. Where are you?” Neeta asked.
“Hey Neeta, we need to meet as soon as possible. Can we please? I am in Ahmedabad. If possible, let’s meet at the hospital on S. G. Highway,” Sagar said.
“Sure, I am not far from there,” Neeta said.
“Thanks. See you there,” Sagar said.
At Hospital
Neeta was waiting on the sofa near the cash counter. Sagar and Manali met her and after a small introduction and other formal talk Neeta asked “Why are we meeting here?”
“Neeta, actually we came to know about you and Karan,” Sagar said.
“Ya... leave it anyway. It’s all over now,” Neeta said.
“May I ask you something, Neeta?” Manali asked.
“Sure, please ask,” Neeta said.
On that particular day when all that happened to you at your flat, before you saw Karan, whom you were talking on the phone with?” Manali asked.
“What does this question mean? Why are you asking?” Neeta asked.
“Please,” Manali requested.
“I was talking with my daughter. I was about to meet her the next day, and from that day she was going to live with me as we have won the case from my ex-husband. In fact, I was waiting for Karan that day to tell him that now I can marry him, but I do not know what happened that day. I am still wondering.”
Manali held her head and yell... “Shit.”
“But what’s wrong with it?” Neeta said.
Sagar told her the whole story as Karan told them. He said to Neeta “Your talk on the phone was the main reason that Karan did that to you.”
“Oh my god! Why is Karan so impatient? Oh. God, I tried to find him in almost every possible place, but could not find him. I wanted to ask him why he did this to me,” Neeta said.
“Yes, we know. Kavya told us everything,” Sagar said.
“Do you know where Karan is?” Neeta asked.
“Yes,” Sagar said.
“Where?” Neeta asked.
“He is in room number 101, here in the hospital,” Sagar said.
“What? What happen now? Is he alright?” Neeta asked worriedly.
“No, he is not okay. He might not have much time, but we are trying to find a donor for his kidney transplant. The doctor said that if we cannot find one by tomorrow, they will be not able to keep him alive for a long time. They did dialysis today,” Sagar said.
Neeta started crying, “I want to see him now. Why is God doing all this to him? Please take me to him Sagar.”
Room 101
Karan was asleep, on a white bed. Neeta controlled her tears and reached near to his bed. She sat on a chair near the bed and looked at Karan closely. Then she left the room.
“Neeta, please control yourself. Don’t cry. And Manali, you do not cry. We need to find a solution, focus on the solution, please,” Sagar said.
“Sagar I cannot see this end with these two great people. I am wondering why god messed up with these two innocent souls. I am amazed with their love and their end,” Manali said.
Manali hugged Neeta and said she was sorry about everything she thought of her.
"It's ok," Neeta said.
“Sagar, I am ready to donate my kidney,” Neeta said.
“Are you sure? We both tried, but our reports were negative,” Sagar said.
“Damn sure. Let’s go to the doctor to check if it’s possible,” Neeta said.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ssandeep B Teraiya is a Bcom LLB by education, a wedding planner by profession and now an author by passion. Born and raised in Porbandar, Gujarat and now settled in Rajkot.
Email: Thessandeep@gmail.com
