Chapter 37 - The Most Awaited Reunion Part-I

Shivaay and Annika stared at the girl lying unconscious in the trunk of Shivaay's car.

The girl didn't look that old, she was probably 15-16 years old.

"Yeh kaun hai ?" ("Who's she ?") Annika coaxed out slowly.

"Mujhe nahi pata." ("I don't know.") Shivaay replied honestly.

Annika bent over and turned the girl a bit to get a better look.

The girl had a gash on her forehead, some blood was there around it and Annika assumed that it was the reason which had made the girl pass out.

"Hum issey ghar leke chalte hai." ("We shall take her home.") Shivaay said. "Isey hosh aane pr hum isey iske ghar chhod denge." ("Once she regains her consciousness, we'll drop her to her home.")

Annika nodded.

Shivaay picked up the girl bridal style and carefully layed her on the backseat of his car before climbing into the driver seat himself and driving back home.

The ride back home was filled with tension. Both Annika and Shivaay were confused as to where that girl had came from in the trunk.

As soon as they reached Oberoi villa, Shivaay picked up the girl in his arms and carried her inside.

"Bhai, aap ? Aur yeh kaun hai ?" ("Bhai, you're home ? And who's she ?") Om asked as he looked up from his iPad and saw Shivaay walking inside with a girl in his arms.

"Om, mein tumhe sab samjhata hu, pehle mujhe isey guest room tak le jane do." ("Om, I'll tell you everything just let me take her to guest room first.") Shivaay replied.

Om nodded and quietly followed Shivaay and Annika to the spare guest room.

Shivaay laid the girl down on the bed in guest room and watched silently as Annika checked her up and dressed the girl's forehead wound.

"She's fine." Annika said after a while. "Jaldi hi isey hosh bhi aa jayega." ("She'll wake up soon.")

Ruvya entered the guest room too and started asking millions of questions about the girl. As it was some event in their college, they had given a day off.

Shivaay honestly answered OmRuvya's questions.

"Hume iske hosh mein aane ka intezar karna hoga, tabhi pata chalega ki yeh kaun hai." ("We'll have to wait until she wakes up to know who she is.") Shivaay said, making OmRuvya nod in agreement.

Just then Khanna walked inside the room and told Shivaay that he had a call waiting for him in the study.

Shivaay followed Khanna in the study after telling Annika to take care of that girl and call him as soon as she regains her consciousness.

♠

"Ek pura mahina ho gaya Khanna, abhi tak tum kuch bhi pata nahi kar paye." ("It's been a month, Khanna, and you still haven't found a clue.") Shivaay said in annoyance.

"I'm sorry sir, mein puri koshish kar raha hu Pinky Oberoi aur Janvi Oberoi ko dhundne ki lekin mujhe abhi tak sahi Pinky aur Janvi Oberoi nahi mile." ("I'm sorry sir, I'm trying my best to find Janvi and Pinky Oberoi but I'm unable to find the ones you wanna see.") Khanna said as he hung his head low.

Shivaay's mind was occupied by his mother and aunt's thoughts ever since he had regained his consciousness in the hospital, a month back.

He was very certain that he wasn't hallucinating when he had seen Pinky and Janvi in his half-conscious state.

Just for the sake of his doubts and maybe in a lil bit of hope of getting his family back, Shivaay had ordered Khanna to find them, a month ago.

It was a secret work and neither Om nor Rudy knew about it.

"I want results Khanna, I give you a week at most, find them at any cost." Shivaay said hotly as he dismissed Khanna.

Shivaay sighed and rubbed his face to get rid of the frustration he was feeling.

Just then Rudy came running inside and said in between his breaths, "Uss ladki ko hosh aa raha hai." ("That girl is waking up.") He said and ran back towards the guest room again.

Shivaay sprung up to his feet and followed Rudy out of the room and in the guest room where he saw the girl stirring in her sleep.

Shivaay occupied a seat beside the girl while Annika was on the other side of her.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and groaned due to harsh light. Soon she got accustomed to the light and registered her unfamiliar surroundings.

She sat up abruptly in her bed and grunted again.

"Aaram se." ("Be careful.") Shivaay said softly and added some pillows behind her before making her sit comfortably against them.

"Kaisa lag raha hai ab ? Tumhe yaad hai yeh chot tumhe kaise lagi ?" ("How are you feeling now ? Do you remember how you got this gash ?") Annika questioned in a doctor's tone.

The girl nodded and it was like an avalanche came crashing down on her as she recalled how she had got the wound.

The girl's breathing sped up and she quickly hugged Annika as tears rolled down her eyes.

"It's okay. You're safe." Annika whispered soothing words in the girl's ear while comfortingly rubbing her back.

A while later the girl was calmed down and was convinced that she was safe.

Just then Gauri walked in with a bowl of soup. Bhavya had called her in the meanwhile and informed her about the girl.

"Beta, kya naam hai apka ?" ("Dear, what's your name ?") Shivaay asked softly, as he took the bowl from Gauri and passed it on to the girl.

"Priyanka Sehgal." The girl replied as she happily munched on her soup.

"Priyanka aapke mumma papa ka number de do hume, hum unhe call karke bula lete hai." ("Priyanka give us your parents cell number so that we can call them here to pick you up.") Annika smiled as she tucked a loose strand of Priyanka's hair behind her ear.

"Mere mumma papa phone nahi use karte, woh dangerous hai iss liye. Mein apko address de du ?" ("My parents don't use phones, it's dangerous that's why. Can I give you my address ?") Priyanaka asked innocently as she stared at Shivaay with her big brown cheerful yet sad eyes.

Shivaay nodded and texted the address to Khanna and ordered him to bring Priyanaka's parents home.

ShivOmRu and AniRiVya felt a bit weird when they heard that Priyanaka's parents don't use phone but let it slide for the time being.

"Apko yeh chot kaise lagi ?" ("How did you get the wound ?") Om asked after Priyanaka was done with the soup.

Priyanaka visibly tensed.

"Woh mein ghar mein bore ho rahi thi, lekin maa aur badi maa mujhe ghar se bahar nahi jaane deti isiliye mein unhe bina bataye chup chap ghar se bahar aayi, bas park mein ghumke ghar hi jaane wali thi ki kuch log aaye aur mujhe jabardasti ek van mein kahi le jaa rahe the." ("I was getting bored at home, but my mom and aunt won't let me go out so I sneaked out to take a stroll in the park when some people kidnapped me and tried to take me somewhere in a van.") Priyanaka recalled with a dreadful look on her face. "Meine ek admi ko kata aur van se kud gayi, wahi pass mein Shivaay bhaiya ki gadi thi toh mein usme chhup gayi." ("I bit one of those nasty man and jumped out of the van, nearby I found Shivaay bhaiya's car and I hid in it.")

The sound of 'Shivaay bhaiya' felt so homely and familiar to Shivaay, though he couldn't put a finger on the reason behind this feeling.

Priyanka looked down at her lap, feeling stupid as ever to disobey her mothers.

"It's okay." Om assured. "Tum thik ho ab, aur humare hote hue koi tumhe chu bhi nahi sakta." ("You're fine now, and don't worry, we won't let anyone touch you.")

"Exactly !" Rudy interjected. "Yeh dekho mere muscles, 10 - 12 logo ko ek sath hara sakta hu mein." ("Look at my muscles, I'll easily trash 10-12 people together.") He boasted as he flexed his biceps.

Priyanaka giggled.

"Pata hai maa batati hai ki mere bhi 3 bade bhai hai." ("You know, my mom tells me that I've 3 elder brothers.") Priyanka shared. "Lekin meine unhe kabhi nahi dekha, lekin shayad woh bilkul apki tarah hi honge. Mujhe unse milne ka bada dil karta hai, lekin hume nahi pata woh kaha hai." ("But I've never seen them, but I think they must be just like you 3. I wish to see them, but we don't know where they're right now.")

"Tumhe nahi pata ?" ("You don't know your brothers' whereabouts ?") Shivaay asked.

Priyanaka shook her head. "Woh bachpan mein hi humse se bichad gaye the, mere paida hone se bhi pehle." ("No, they had been separated from us, even before I was born.")

"Oh." ShivOmRu muttered gloomily.

They knew exactly what Priyanka's brothers must've been through, after all, their story wasn't much different from theirs.

"Bhaiya." Bhavya came inside the guest room. "Priyanaka ke parents aa gaye, Gauri didi ne unhe living room mein bithaya hai. Chaliye." ("Priyanka's parents are here, Gauri didi has made them sit in the living room. Let's go.")

Shivaay nodded and went downstairs in the living room followed by OmRu.

"Sorry apko-" ("Sorry for-") Shivaay cut himself off when he saw who was waiting for him in the living room.

Standing in his living room, scanning the big photo frame of kid ShivOmRu and Kaka, was none other than the man who used to play with him, who used to protect him and teach him new things...It was none other than his father, Shakti Singh Oberoi.

Shivaay's eyes got clouded with tears.

It had been 16 years ! 16 long years ! Since he had seen him.

"Kaha hai meri bacchi ? Thik hai na woh ?" ("Where's my precious daughter ? Is she alright ?") Pinky stormed up to Shivaay with tear stained and fear strickened face.

Shivaay stared at Pinky through teary eyes and straight face, noting her presence for the first time.

He had a whirlwind of emotions running inside his mind.

Was he hallucinating ?

Was he dreaming ?
Or...
Were his parents really standing before him, in his house ?

"Tum ?" ("You ?") Pinky blinked as her face slowly changed. "Tum toh woh ho na jisey kuch dino pehle humne hospital pohnchaya tha ?" ("Ain't you the one whom we had taken to the hospital that day ?")

Shivaay couldn't move a muscle and still stared at her, trying his best to keep his tears caged inside his eyes.

"Kya naam bataya tha uss doctor ne ?" ("What name did that doctor had told us that day ?") Pinky rambled to herself. "Haan ! Shivaay !" ("Yes ! Shivaay !")

Shivaay felt a sob coming up in the back of his throat but he managed to swallow it down before it could escape.

Shivaay sighed inaudibly in order to steady his voice.

"Woh thik hai." ("She's fine.") He choked out sternly with a straight face and looked away quickly.

Shivaay didn't mean to be rude or anything...He was just dazed and a bit confused. He wanted to embrace his mother and sob like a baby and complain and be mad at his parents for leaving him all alone and scared.. but he just couldn't.

"Pinky..." The man aka Shakti Singh Oberoi, who was adoring the picture of Kaka with little ShivOmRu, called his wife and Shivaay's eyes averted to him.

Pinky turned to face him and her eyes caught the same picture frame.

"Yeh..." ("This...") Pinky's eyes widened as she scanned the picture and her hand flew to her mouth and a couple of more tears escaped down her eyes. "Yeh toh..." ("This is...")

"...Yeh humari tasveer hai." ("...That's our family picture.") Rudy smiled as he descended the stairs from behind Shivaay.

A few tears escaped down Shivaay's eyes but he quickly wiped those away before anyone could see them.

"Acchi hai na ?" ("Isn't it beautiful ?") Rudy boasted as he walked upto the picture on the wall and beside Shakti. "Yeh humare baba hai, yeh mein, yeh O aur yeh bhaiya. Kitne cute the na hum ?" ("This is our baba, that's me, that's O and that's bhaiya. Weren't we cute ?") Rudy rambled without looking at anyone but the picture.

Shakti and Pinky shared a look. Their eyes held numerous different emotions, but the prominent one was happiness. Limitless happiness.

Pinky turned to Shivaay with fresh tears in her eyes. "Shivaay." She mumbled softly, her voice full of emotions, before pulling him in a tight hug.

Shivaay closed his eyes, just feeling the warmth of his mother's arms and a few tears slipped down his eyes.

He didn't reciprocate the hug, though, he just stood there like a statue with his hands on his sides, it was partly due to inability to move and partly...due to the slight anger he had on them for abandoning him and his brothers in such a tender age.

"Mera baccha." ("My child.") Pinky spluttered as she pulled apart and caressed Shivaay's cheek.

Shivaay looked away to hide his tears.

"Aap jaanti ho bhaiya ko ?" ("You know him ?") Rudy interrupted.

Pinky turned to him. "Tum Rudra ho na ? Om kaha hai ?" ("Ain't you Rudra ? Where's Om ?") She asked, she looked as happy as ever.

"Arey waah ! Aap toh hum sab ko jaanti hai." ("Wow ! You know us all.") Rudy amused with a grin.

"Pinky, kaha hai Prinku ? Thik hai na woh ?" ("Pinky, where's Prinku ? Is she alright ?")

Everyone in the room turned to the entrance and saw Janvi and Tej walking inside with Khanna, at the same time Om descended down the stairs and got the biggest shock of his life.

Om wordlessly stared at Pinky and then Shakti but his eyes widened even more when he saw Janvi and Tej.

"Wahi rukiye !" ("Stop right there !") Om growled at Janvi and Tej, his parents.

"Om." Pinky mumbled softly catching Tej and Janvi's attention.

"Om ?" Janvi repeated.

"Haan, jethani ji, yeh humare bacche hai Shivaay, Omkara aur Rudra." ("Yes, Janvi, these are our kids Shivaay, Omkara and Rudra.") Pinky grinned as she pointed at each one of them.

Tej and Janvi were surprised but when they saw the picture they both were convinced that they had finally found their children.

"Ho gaya aapka ? Ab niklo humare ghar se." ("Are you done with your drama ? Now get out of our house.") Om growled again.

"Om." Shivaay warned but got ignored by Om.

"Om, beta aise kyu baat kar rahe ho tum ?" ("Om, son, why are you talking so rudely with us ?") Janvi asked with teary eyes and she came forward to hug Om but he stepped away angrily.

"Aapko ab yaad aya ki mein apka beta hu ?" ("Now you remembered that I'm your 'son' ?") Om snarled with a scoff.

"Beta aisa-" ("Son it's not-") Janvi was cut off by Rudy.

"Beta ?" ("Son ?") Rudy amused. "Matlab yeh..." ("You mean this our...")

"...badkismati se, humari maa hai." ("... unfortunately, she's our mother.") Om completed for Rudy. "Wahi maa jisne hume 16 saal pehle orphanage ke pass akela chhod diya tha aur fir kabhi wapas nahi aayi." ("The same one who had left us all outside the orphanage 16 years ago and never came back.")

Rudy's lips parted in shock and tears brimmed his eyes.

Om turned to elders again. "Kyu aaye ho aap sab yaha ?" ("Why have you lot came here ?") He asked harshly.

"Om." Shivaay warned again, this time a bit more sternly and a bit more louder.

"Nahi bhai." ("No Bhai.") Om said. "Mein janna chahta hu ki yeh log tab kaha gaye the jab hume inki jarurat thi ? Tab kaha the yeh log jab aapne humari jimmedari uthai ? Tab kaha the yeh log jab aap khelne ki umar mein humare mata-pitah bane ?" ("I wanna know, where these people were when we needed them the most ? Where were they when you accepted our responsibility single handedly ? Where were they when you became our parent in a age where you yourself needed a parent ?")

Shakti, Pinky and Janvi hung their head low while Tej looked away.

Om scoffed again. "Nahi hai na jawab aap logo ke pass ?" ("You don't have any answer, do you ?") He asked and no one said anything so he added angrily. "Waise hi, humare ghar mein criminals ke liye koi jagah nahi hai !" ("Similarly, there's no place in our house for criminals !")

"Om ! Enough !" Shivaay said out loud and placed a comforting hand on Om's shoulder in order to calm him down.

"Maa ?" ("Mom ?")

Everyone in the room looked up to see Priyanaka standing with Annika on the top of the stairs.

"Maa !" Priyanka cheered and ran into Pinky giving her a tight hug.

"Maa ?" Shivaay repeated softly.

"Haan, yeh meri maa hai." ("Yup, she's my mother.") Priyanaka pulled apart and smiled at Shivaay.

Shivaay looked at Pinky, silently asking her if Priyanaka was really her daughter...and his baby sister.

Pinky nodded with a small smile, sensing his question.

OmRu looked equally amused.

Om calmed down a bit as he adored his only sister with teary eyes while Ru just froze unable to find a right way to react.

Shivaay smiled with teary eyes as he took slow steps towards Priyanaka and embraced her with utmost love and kissed the crown of her head.

It took a minute or so for OmRu to join the hug but they did, making it a group hug.

ShivOmRu took their own turns in kissing and hugging their baby sister, they all had big smiles littering their faces as happy tears streamed down their eyes.

In that moment, they even forgot the presence of their parents and their anger on them.

All they had on their minds was...

They were brothers to a sister !

They had a baby sister !

And they were going to spoil her with their love !

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Hey bubblies !

It's only the half part, other half is yet to be written and will be published next week.

I know you all want to read what happens next eagerly but I couldn't make this chapter anymore longer.

So... you'll have to wait... *smiles apologetically*

Until the next update
Have a safe and great life 😇