2:The Devastation

"Bitiya , little bitiya ...Don't cry , your Amma shall be home soon, my dear don't cry." Nani spoke tearfully to her 6 month old great grand daughter ,Anshika consoling her little wails, holding her tightly to her chest .Anshika on the other hand , let out even more tears hearing the word referring to her mother.

Manorama ran her hand on Anshika 's little head tearfully trying to make her asleep.

" Haye re Nandkishore , Bitiya so jaao , so jaao " Buaji rubbed Anshika's back in attempt to make her fall asleep. Instead she ended up making her cry even more.

"Raani Sahiba ...!" Shyam let out a slight wail as he yet was sitting on his knees in front of the door since Arnav had left. Like if the news of Anjali being missing had struck him like thunder.

"Where are you Rani saahiba ? Please come back ..." he covered his face in his palms. Akash, Mama ji and NK went forward towards him to console him.

"Bituwa , everything shall be fine , Anjali bitiya shall be back soon,she shall be found safe and sane.." Mama ji kept a hand on Shyam's shoulder, trying his best to not let the tears welling in his eyes to flow down his cheeks.

"Raani Saahiba ...please come back ...I am sorry for every mistake I might have ever committed ...Please come back ..." he cried hysterically trying to gain some sympathy from Garima and Bua ji, which he successfully did. Their soft hearts felt pity for this man whose wife was now untraceable , leaving him with a little child of six months. They felt like they were seeing history repeating in front of them.

Bua ji went back in  time , when her heart had ached badly  ,seeing her dear brother devastated as his wife , Gauri left for the heavenly abode leaving him with a 3 month old Payal, crying for the warmth of her mother.

Garima remembered how her husband was a broken soul for the countless initial months of her marriage, how much she had felt bad for him. She could see that same expression on Shyam's face and she felt equally bad for him too.

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

"Did you find my Di?"Arnav turned towards the inspector , expecting a ray of hope.

"We might have, Mr. Raizada "

"What do you mean by might, inspector?"

The constable brought forward a wet blue cloth of embroidery .

"Do you identify this?"

"Yes , this is Anjali ji's saree !I remember complimenting her about this beautiful colour today , where is she ,inspector saab?" Khushi clutched the wet piece of cloth and ran her hand on it.

"We found this cloth floating on the surface near the marshes.Our divers have spotted some body entangled deep in the sea weed there but we cant extract it .It is so dark now we cant see anything the pressure there is too much our divers might lose their lives in the process of reaching there itself. Also we fear by now breathing would also have stopped , the body might have filled up with water( more than twelve hours have gone by.) ...Sorry to say Mr. Raizada but 99% your sister is no ..."

"NO!" Arnav screamed looking up towards the dark sky while Khushi looked down tearfully hearing the indigestible bitter truth.

Once again his loved one was taken away from him.

Once again the person with whom he shared blood had disappeared from his sight.

Once again Arnav felt very alone and hollow just like he had felt 14 years ago.

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

The huge hall echoed with the music of wedding Shehnais. The wedding procession had already arrived for 22year old Anjali's wedding .

Anjali was one of the most beautiful girls in Lucknow at that time. Being the heiress to the majestic Malik dynasty had been a cherry on top when she had become of marriageable age. Rich influential people had flocked from all over India and even overseas seeking her hand. But the most beautiful fish is not an easy catch. Mr. Alankrit Malik was looking for a profitable alliance, someone who could save him from drowning in debt due to his mindless investments.

At last he found Manoj Rathode, an affluent hotelier from Rajasthan who was in search for a bride for his son, Anuj. As this family had a princely background, Anuj was an inheritor to a lot of regal property. He had found Anjali to be quite impressive at the first sight itself and was ready to marry her as she was a full package indeed.

Beautiful girl= Beautiful offspring.

Rich girl= Regal lineage.

Lots of property = Great investment.

Thus Anjali was the best choice for Anuj and similarly Anuj was the best choice for Alankrit. The marriage was fixed and the Mandap was decorated. Anjali was going to be martially bound to Anuj forever. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately that never happened.

14 Year old Arnav was in his elder sister's room , chiding her to send a camel from Rajasthan for keeping in his stable. He loved collecting animals, he had lots of horses , dogs , birds and cats of all type of breeds in his farmhouse .He would play with them all day whenever he would visit the farmhouse.

"Accha baba thike bhijwa denge ek unth humare ullu ke liye( I will send a camel for my owl (Arnav) okay) "Anjali said as she pulled Arnav's nose.

Adorned with various jewels and exquisite silk clothes Anjali looked no less than a princess in her bridal costume. She was looking really beautiful , Arnav observed. He was just about to compliment her when they heard a gunshot tearing though the corridor , reaching their ears.

They both ran across the corridor at once only to be met with the most horrifying sight ever. That day changed everything for both of them.

****
Now time for something important !
For continuing this story, I need lots and lots of support! I know I am being greedy but I have never published this type of story ever before and I swear these type of stories are what I am best at - tragedies.

Tragedy in genre means a story with a sad ending while comedy represents a story with a happy ending (however it might not be funny ). This was the classification of dramas during Shakespeare.
However I beg to differ,
Tragedy doesn't necessary mean that I am going to give a sad ending. It means, for me, that my story shall have a tragic setting, not a tragic ending.

I need you guys to tag, with every comment, people who might be interested in reading this story. Let's gather together all Arshians😊

It is a sincere request, please. I know this is very demanding but I am not having inspiration enough to write this 🤷‍♀️