AN: Hi friends, this is my new Shraman One Shot.
It is based on an old fic I wrote for The Mentalist.
GENRE :Psychological Alternate universe.
Also this story is a little tricky… There is a MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH in this story which is supposed to make it a tragedy… but yet it isn’t. Confused? Well what are you waiting for, read till the very end to know why!!
And yeah this story happens before Shravan’s mom’s entry.
NOT PROOF READ. Kindly excuse the errors. 🙂
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Premise:
Shravan loved his Suman and that fact was known by everyone except the lady in question. Similarly Suman loved her Shravan and the whole world, including her little nephew knew it except her buddhu’ childhood best friend. Everybody else around them , especially Pushkar and Preethi were so frustrated thinking how can the otherwise very sane and intelligent people behave like utter dumbheads when it comes to something so obvious! But they themselves being quite wise decided that it was better their two best friends to sort out their issues by themselves and come to that utterly obvious realization themselves than being forced into look into the mirror called reality by others. So the status quo continued.
Their family members especially Ramnath had whole heartedly wanted to fix their marriage as Ramnath had realised Suman was the best his son could ever get as he thought that she would never betray his son like his wife did. Similarly Nanaji too realised Shravan was perfect for his lovely granddaughter. But then these two rejected the proposal saying they were not interested in the other in such a romantic fashion fearing of course of the other person’s rejection. Suman thought Shravan didn’t love her, so it was better she rejected the proposal first instead of being heartbroken by his rejection and Shravan on his end thought the same and refused the proposal.
Family members, especially Pushkar and Preethi were deeply disappointed by the stubborn behaviour and when one day Pushkar’s old friend, Lucky short of Lakshmi came to his office for a case, he thought he got the answer to his and Preethi’s sibling woes. He decided that making Suman jealous of Lucky would prompt her into action because it was easier to convince Suman than Shravan who still had his mother’s betrayal issues to deal with. But as they say human is to err, their plan turned into a total disaster, when the simple sweet Lucky turned out to be an obsessed lover!
Lucky had a history of mental illness and her main problem was not able to accept rejection. Daughter of divorced couple who had fought day in and day out, the little Lakshmi was always blamed as the reason for the divorce of her parents. Her father wanted a son and he could never accept his daughter which led to constant fights between her parents. Her dad’s mom, her own grandmom had even called her unlucky’. But her mom and her parents had supported the little girl throughout but in doing so they pampered her even unreasonable demands. They never realized that she was getting obsessed with the things like dolls and clothes she liked. She was even obsessed with her mom and grandparents and disliked anybody who tried to spend time with them. She wanted everybody for herself.
So that fateful day when Pushkar innocently introduced Lucky to Shravan, he didn’t know he was giving Lucky, her new object of obsession! Lucky had fallen in love with Shravan at the first sight. She was mesmerized by his looks and don’t care and don’t ever dare’ attitude. And Pushkar and Preeti unknowingly flared her desire as they had arranged many chance meetings between Shravan, Suman and Lucky. They thought that Lucky’s presence would instigate Suman and she would claim her stake on Shravan but what happened was the straight opposite!
On the day of Shravan’s birthday party, Lucky decided to confess her feelings to Shravan. Shravan who was embarrassed by her frank proposal in front of everybody including Suman, had politely rejected her saying he never felt that way about her. But Lucky’s obsessed mind just registered the No’ as No yet’, meaning she just thought he would eventually fall for her anyway. But her apple cart was toppled when she saw Shravan glaring possessively at Suman who was dancing with one of their mutual friends when he was actually dancing with her! She saw the flare of burning love in his eyes and couldn’t bare it. She just pulled his face towards her and kissed him!
Sharavan was too stunned at first but later he tried to push her away but she instead of going away tried to deepen her kiss! His anger flared and pushed her down! She then shouted, ” You are doing this , rejecting me the most beautiful Lucky for that ugly third rate b**ch! What does she have that I don’t have? How can you say No to this!” Saying she flaunted her figure! She then went towards Suman who was shocked by the proceedings and slapped her!
Shravan who would never raise a hand against any lady had lost his senses when he saw his Suman hurt and pulled Lucky away from Suman and slapped her and said that she was a crazed lady whose heart was the ugliest he had ever seen! He said that not only him but no one would ever love her! She would be always unlucky in love!
The word unlucky’ triggered her obsession. She vowed infront of everybody that he would regret the words he had uttered just then. She will see to that he will never get his love just like she didn’t get hers! ” Mark my words Shravan Malhotra, you would forever regret ditching me for that b**ch. You would cry tears of blood!”
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Present:
He rang the doorbell impatiently; he knew none of her family members were at her home at that moment because they were all at his house helping him with some last minute decorations. Today was her birthday and he had decided to plan a surprise party for her along with his and her family. He had decided that he would propose to her in the party in a grand way because he realised that if he did not have the guts to confess his love for her even today may be a coward like him didn’t deserve her at all. His Suman was the bravest and he needed to be brave too.
One more time he rang the bell and then he decided he was just going to break the blo*dy door! If it was some other time, he would have been cocky about this… but now he barely registered what he was doing. He was in a hurry. He was in so much of a hurry that it clouded his all other senses. He didn’t even bother to inform the others about the letter he received from her, his new friend turned enemy, Lucky! He had just ran from his house in a mad dash because just then his primal need was to see her safe, to see her alive!
He rushed inside and ran upstairs yelling her name with all the hope that his heart ever possessed. He pushed open the door to her bedroom and there he stood motionless as if he had always been nothing more than a statue all his life.
The sight in front of him was the worst anyone had ever seen. She was bathed in her own blood and the sinister red smiley face drawn on the wall with her blood. The sight would have made every sane person nauseous. But after few seconds, he regained his human form and moved towards her. He knelt beside her and started to wipe the blood of her face, when suddenly a voice spoke behind him.
“Shravan… it’s so good to see that at last you have come on time for something for once in your life; well even though she is anything but alive.” The voice changed into an insane sadistic laugh for few seconds and then continued with the same tone, ” Hmm so what do you think of my handiwork? This is the culmination of all the works of art I have created till now and it is dedicated to you Shravan…only to you. So if you have regained your senses lets get to the more interesting part; the part where you want to torture me to death like I did to the person you so dearly loved… the part where you foolishly think you will achieve what you ever dreamt of.” And that laugh again… only this time it’s mixed with a mocking tone turning it into the most sinister sound anyone could ever have heard in their lifetime… a dangerously crazed laugh…
The silence was chilling. It extended for several minutes only to be broken by a small chuckle. Lucky, for first time in her life was confused. She glared at the form of her enemy to check out what he found so amusing about this situation; as to how dare he mock at her masterpiece. But her thoughts were broken when she heard him talking, no almost whispering…
” Aww… sweet heart, now who did this to you? ” the same chuckle again followed by,” you know somebody has put red color water all over your face. Now I promise I didn’t do this but I guess I know who it might be…hmm…If I’m right…It must be little Dabbu. You know how much she likes messing with her Suman didi. I really should tell him not to mess with your face and hair like this for I know you won’t even say a word to him even after all this. You really love kids don’t you?” He smiled conspiratorially and whispered ” we really should plan for a few you know… you will be an awesome mother.” He spoke as if he did not want to wake her up from her blissful sleep.
He was talking to his wife, his Suman… for in his world she was his wife and they were living happily in a small house; small because she did not prefer huge mansions which of course he could easily afford but she had always felt too lost in those things. She preferred their small house in their quiet and friendly neighbourhood which had lots of children. And all those children loved their Suman didi and Shravan Bhaiyya. He still was the successful lawyer and she still ran her catering service. . The only difference was that that he didn’t have a depressing past and she never had that troubled childhood. And Lucky aka Lakshmi never existed in it.
Meanwhile, the lady with the sinister voice who stood baffled watching this whole scene unfold in front of her felt deceived…deceived of her victory. She wanted Shravan to suffer the loss of his beloved Sumo just like she had lost him. She knew how very important she was to him. She had waited these 3 months after the birthday party, just for that… for them to become closer than ever. He actually wanted to do this after they were romantically involved in some way or married would have been even better. But even after 3 months these two were too stubborn to do anything of that sort and her patience was waning, until she came to know that he was planning for a grand proposal on her birthday! She had decided that she would give him too a surprise which he would never ever dare to forget in this life! She decided this would be the day she would get to see the pain she very badly wanted to see in the eyes of Shravan Malhotra.
She had bribed a small kid to deliver a letter to Shravan which simple said ” SUMO” written in Sumo’s own blood of course! She very badly wanted to see the pain in his eyes when he would see his Sumo in this state. After all he was her obsession… Somehow everything she did in her life these days was about him… First she was obsessed in love and now she was obsessed in hate… He had happily forgotten about her after he spurned her love so she thought she would give him something by which he would always remember her.
But now suddenly all those months of waiting seemed to have gone into drain. She couldn’t even cherish her victory. She had spared his life because she needed him for her sick little game… to show him that he was a fool to let her go for some stupid little girl… to show she would always win… to show him how losing in love feels… But now he himself was gone… her enemy was gone… There was nobody to whom she could gloat her victory to, for victory wasn’t victory if she could not gloat about it to his fallen enemy. And now it did not even seem like victory at all. There he was, her enemy smiling happily leaning on the corpse as if she, Lucky didn’t even exist! There never can be worse insult than that… it was worse than the insult he had meted to her at that birthday party! She wanted him to remember her forever and here he looked like he didn’t even acknowledge her very existence! This was completely unacceptable! She would not be defeated and that too by that Suman! Even in death she had won!
Just when she was contemplating how to deal with her life’s greatest defeat, the police and family arrived barging through those wretched doors. She was so unsure of herself that the only thing which came to her mind was to finish this game before they caught her. So she shot him. And there was that deafening silence again which was broken only by the blaring sirens of the ambulance.
There were two lifeless bodies on the floor and one severely wounded person. Preethi and Pushkar stood there in some abnormal daze staring at the two lifeless forms and a blood drenched back of the wounded person. But what brought them out of it was the slow whispering noise coming from the person with blood drenched shirt. His face wasn’t visible. And they could barely hear his whispers but what they could decipher in their current mind set was something like,” Hmm now what do you want for breakfast today? I think blueberry pancakes with your favourite scrambled eggs and yeah… not to forget you divine but oh so unhealthy elixir you call coffee to go with it. So what say darling? ” a small pause and it continued, “Oh OK I will let you sleep till I finish it… now no need to frown in your sleep” he chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.
Tujh bin jogan meri raatein
Tujh bin mere din banjaare
Mera jeevan jalati dhooni
Bujhe-bujhe mere sapne saare
O sathi re.. tere bina bhi kya jeena
Everyone stood shell shocked unable to believe today was anything but real. The whole day had been so unrealistic… Yet the sense that it was all nothing but the brutal reality set in when they could hear Shravan shouting and fighting wildly with the paramedics who were trying to pry him away from the lifeless body of his Suman, without even a small recognition about not only that he had a severe wound which seemed potentially fatal, looking at all the blood loss but also that his Suman was not just sleeping for the time being but was probably sleeping forever now…
They at last took him away after they gave him a shot of sedatives and then after the Police sealed the crime scene, the bodies of the victim and the perpetrator were both zipped up and taken away.
Everything seemed surreal to Pushkar and Preethi… everything just about everything seemed like it was just a scene out of their worst nightmares. One of their best friends, their lovely Sumo, their sister was dead, killed by the physco they introduced them to and who in turn was killed by the cops and their other best friend, their loving brother was fatally wounded…
They realized woefully that reality of it all hadn’t even begun to set in fully and it all seemed so hopeless…what would happen if they really started to feel it? They didn’t even bother to imagine. Their guilt was about to kill them…
One week later:
Two remaining friends were driving to a place where they normally would never have. It had been 2 weeks since their dearest Sumo was laid to rest in her permanent resting place, amid a huge crowd of people who were touched by her during her brief but productive life. All but one important person was missing in that crowd of tearful faces that bid her a last adieu. He, Shravan Malhotra was nowhere to be seen but no one questioned his absence either.
The two now arrived at their destination. It was a huge and spacious building surrounded by many trees but there was an air of sadness surrounding it, at least for the people who came there to visit. They were now in front of the ‘ National Institute of mental health and research’ building.
They inquired in the reception and then set to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator; they needed time to prepare themselves to the sight what they were about to witness. They know it can never be easy…not now and not ever.
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He had woken up in the hospital shouting for his Suman, who for some reason whom he claimed was his wife. He was trying to pull out all the IV lines and tubes connected to him. His wound was not as fatal as it seemed, the bullet had not hit any of the vital structures as it passed through the back of his neck narrowly missing his carotid artery and the jugular vein and the blood loss was to the deep laceration in the flesh, nothing too grave. But still it was substantial enough to keep him on IV fluids considering his already weakened state of the mind.
They had tried to calm him and even tried to tell him the truth that she was no more, but he wouldn’t take a word of it and almost slapped the nurse who dared to tell him that his Suman was not alive in this world. They had then kept him on sedatives for few more days hoping that when he wakes up he would be calm enough to face the reality. But all their hopes were destroyed when he woke up on the fourth day; two days after she was laid to rest…because this time he seemed to be different; he was calm none the less but just too calm and composed for comfort. He said he was waiting for her to wake up from her slumber as she was tired after her last major catering order. And almost after 2 hours of this unnatural calm state he started talking to his wife again, but only this time there was nobody next to him, not alive nor dead…
Phoolon mein, kaliyon mein
Sapnon ki galiyon mein
Phoolon mein, kaliyon mein
Sapnon ki galiyon mein
Tere bina kuchh kahin na
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
O sathi re.. tere bina bhi kya jeena
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
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The friends arrived at the third floor of the monotonous white building in search of one of their own, their dearest friend and brother.
The sight they saw was nothing like they expected which was too see a sad, unhappy…broken Shravan. But instead there he was, even though not in his usual tailor made two piece suit he looked happier than they had ever seen him! May be this was how Shravan would have been if Sumo would have agreed to his romantic and heartfelt proposal… one which their beloved Sumo never got to hear in her lifetime.
They then approached Shravan carefully as if either he would break or maybe they would, they didn’t know… And in some part they dreaded that in his alternate universe there might be no place for them, they might not even exist there. And that thought hurt. But they needn’t have worried for Shravan and his wife would never forget them, they were always his beloved friends for him, no matter where they were.
Shravan spoke,” Ahh there they are Suman, weren’t you just asking me as to where they had gone without informing you, now you can scold them to your heart’s content.” Looking at them now he said in a low conspiratory tone,” you guys should have at least told me where you were going, now she is really mad. We made this awesome dish in the kitchen and wanted to share it to you guys but now Sumo madam is angry!” He almost chucked as if he saw her rolling her eyes at his comments. And he turned back and continued his conversation with his Sumo about something which the friends assumed was some sort of imaginary theory about an imaginary case which he was supposed to be handling. They stood there speechless looking at him. They were back to the state they were when they heard him talk to her first at the crime scene.
Jaane kaise anjaane hi
Aan basa koi pyase man mein
Apna sab kuchh kho baithe hum
Pagal man ke pagalpan mein
Dil ke afsaane, main jaanoo tu jaane
Aur yeh jaane koi na
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
Just then a doctor came towards them and said she wanted to talk to them and motioned them silently towards a room. The three of them moved into what seemed like an empty room with few chairs and benches rather than an proper office.
“I presume you are Preethi and Pushkar? Hi, I’m Dr. Lalita Raj, a junior doctor here and I’m incharge of Mr. Shravan’s case.” They nodded in approval wondering how she knew their names but they unspoken question was answered as she continued again, “Mr. Shravan keeps speaking about you all to his wife… Oh I’m sorry I mean late Suman Tiwari who I believe was his friend and if I presume right, yours too?”
They nodded again in approval and she continued. “He now lives in a world where he has hallucinated versions of each one of you. In his world he is happily married to his friend and they still still fight for silly things. He still wins his cases and discusses his theories with her and she still experiments and makes new recipes for her catering business along with you guys who belong to their team. And the rest of us here at the hospital are almost non-existent to him; we are all like the people who just come and go by your office or passer-by on the street. His mind has blocked out all the sad memories of his life including his past and present.”
She paused for a moment, her reactions almost indecipherable and then continued in a more clinical tone. ” We are giving him medicines which we believe will cure his disease but to say frankly we have little hope regarding his condition, as it seems he really doesn’t have any reason to come back out of his imaginary world. ”
The two then came back to see Shravan… but it dint seem he missed them as he was busily talking to the imaginary version of their friend. They stood there… sadness etched on their face…with all the poignant memories of their good times together flooding Preethi’s and Pushkar’s minds.
Then suddenly they heard him laugh… a truly genuine laugh which they were sure they had never heard from Shravan for all the years they had known him. This then had them wondering whether hoping him to come back to reality where everything is dark, gloomy and completely filled with loneliness for him was a good thing at all… Because here it looked like he was happy…truly happy… Here he could still be with his Suman… He could still joke around and believe nothing bad had ever happened at all. What did reality hold in comparison to this happiness he possessed? Nothing… nothing at all and that was the truth. And they thought, what right did any of them, the so called sane people have, to call Shravan insane? Because the reason that they couldn’t see what he saw was too feeble for that. For no one knows what happens to the soul after life… they may never know… but there could be a possibility that they may exist. Well at least in Shravan’s case, whatever the truth may or may not be… the imaginary world he seemed to have created for himself seemed far better than their sad reality.
Tere bina meri, mere bina teri
Yeh zindagi zindagi na
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
O sathi re.. tere bina bhi kya jeena
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
Just when they were about to turn and leave him to his own blissful world… two of them saw something which neither of them would ever say it aloud, even to each other… They saw their Suman standing with an arm around her Shravan’s shoulder, talking to him happily. And then she slightly turned back and gave them a wink accompanied by a truly happy smile as if to convey a point and then she vanished away, now to exist only through her beloved Shravan’s eyes…
If they had any doubt remaining … it was dispelled and a small smile came on each of their lips. Now Preethi and Pushkar were convinced. After all everyone…everyone including their two oldest friends deserved a ‘happily ever after’, regardless of which ever world they were in… And according to them no deserved it more than these two.
Har dhadkan mein pyaas hai teri
Saanson mein teri khushboo hai
Is dharti se us ambar tak
Meri nazar mein tu hi tu hai
Pyaar yeh toote na…
Pyaar yeh toote na…
Tu mujhse roothe na
Saath yeh chhoote kabhi na
Tere bina bhi kya jeena
Oh saathi re…
Tere bina bhi kya jeena…
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AN: Would love to know ur thoughts regarding this piece. Do take a minute to review… ☺☺
O Saathi Re (song) – Muqaddar ka Sikandar (Movie)