Now and always, Yours - A ShivAnya OS | Ek Deewana Tha | Sharanya | Shiv | Vyom | EDT

Sharanya had been surrounded by noises  all day. Questions about wedding details,  calls from Vyom, her family leaving no chance of teasing her and at the same time picking at her trying to ease her worries. But much more than any of these, what kept her mind pre-occupied was the thought of 'him' coming back. Off late, Sharanya hadn't felt him closer. The fragrance of the stargazers had begun to fade and the chilly winds seemed to have gone away. But much to her shock, what should have made her feel at peace had left her feel more restless. She could not put a finger on what exactly felt wrong with her not being able to feel him around. But something wasn't really right. Did that spirit really leave her and if yes, why was he even there in the first place...She had no answers.

"Sharanya..." Chandni kept a hand on her shoulder trying to pull her back out of her chain of thoughts. "What happened darling? Vyom is waiting to put that ring on your finger and you are lost in your own world" she taunted.

Collecting her thoughts Sharanya looked at her, trying to appear as normal as she could but as soon as her eyes met that of Vyom, she could not help but feel a pang of guilt grip her heart. This wasn't what this man standing in front of her deserved. He deserved to be loved equally and as passionately as he loved, and she knew that was the only thing she could not give to him, how hard she tried. She could not fathom if in the process of protecting Vyom it was correct to break his heart for ever.

While Sharanya was still lost in her reverie, Rajan who had been witnessing both Chandni's scheming as well as Sharanya's hesitation from a distance, made his way to the stage.

"Well Chandni you should not be worrying about Sharanya so much,  I am sure she is as excited to marry my son as him" Rajan said with a toothy smile making Sharanya flash a forceful smile at him. She could not understand what made her feel so uneasy but it surely had something to do with her past. It felt as if something within her stopped her from going ahead with this proposal.

+++

Vyom approached Sharanya sometime later as he saw her standing in a corner totally lost. The two had exchanged rings by now but the happiness which Vyom wished to see on her face was totally non-existent.

"Sharanya are you ok?" the voice from behind pulled her out of her daze.

"Yeah I am fine Vyom...why are you asking like that?" she flushed.

"Nothing you just seem so lost...aren't you happy?" Vyom asked slightly furious.

Sharanya's face lost color as soon as she heard his words. "It's not like that Vyom...Why are you saying that!! I am very happy" she fumbled.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Ofcourse" she tried to look away.

"OK then come over dad has a surprise for you" he took her by the hand and walked towards the main hall of the Bedi mansion.

"But Vyom mujhe batao to sahi kya hai..." she kept on asking but all he had was a smile on his face. As soon as they reached the main hall Sharanya was surprised to see a diamond studded necklace kept in the middle of the table. There was a look of resentment in Chandni's eyes and a tint of disapproval on Madhavi's face. Sharanya did not want to accept such an expensive gift but she knew she will be having no choice.

"Vyom now do I really have to tell what to do next?" Rajan teased making Vyom blush.

"Sharanya's mom gestured her to move ahead as Vyom lifted the necklace but Sharanya hesitated.."But uncle, Vyom iski kya zaroorat hai?" her voice trailed.

"Zaroorat nahin Sharanya, this is your right now and even your duty" Rajan flashed a smile.

She would be left with no route to escape, she had a clear idea of that. Still hesitant she moved around facing her back towards Vyom and pulled all her hair to one side to give him access but as soon as she bared the back of her neck, waves of shock flickered on the faces of one and all from the Bedi family.

On her neck was a tattoo, with two S's intertwined into each other.

"OMG what is this Sharanya...this tattoo?" chandni asked still looking at her tattoo with broad eyes and a shrewd smirk spread across her face. Rajan and Madhavi's face had drained color by now. Rajan had his fists balled at his sides. 

Sharanya slowly turned her face to answer Chandni, but what her eyes met this time left her totally stunned. Everyone who stood in that hall had quite literally frozen at their spots seeing that tattoo. She could not fathom what had gone wrong with them.

"Chandni aunty I don't know from where this came from but I noticed this when nurse was giving me sponge bath the day I came out from coma. She told me my tattoo was beautiful...I don't even remember when I got this"  was all she could say.

+++

Next day Sharanya stood helplessly at her spot as her mom scolded her for the hiatus from last night.

"But ma ismein di ki kya galti" Aditya tried to interrupt seeing a drop of tear trickle down his sister's face.

"Tu chupkar Adi...Sharanya tune dekha na Vyom aur Rajan bhaisahab uss incident ke baad kitna upset tha. Itni mushkil se tumhara rishta hua hai. Tujhe dhyaan rakhna chahiye tha ki koi woh tattoo na dekhe" as her mom spoke, Sharanya could not believe her words. 

"Really Ma? Aapko bas Vyom ki taqleef dikhi aur main jis taqleef se guzar rahi hoon woh koi kyun nahin dekhta? Aisa lagta hai jaise aap sabko meri memory wapas aane se kahi zyaada sirf Vyom ki padi hai. Un teen saalon mein mere saath kya hua mujhe kuch yaad nahin and all you care about is that Bedi family" she fumed.

"Enough Sharanya...agar humein teri fikar na hoti to kya teri shaadi uss ladke se karwate jisse tu teen saal se pyaar karti thi? Aur ab jab tujhe tera pyaar mil raha hai to tu aise react kar rahi hai. This is not right aur behtar hoga ab tu Vyom aur uski family ka bhi apni family ki tarah khayal rakhe. " her mom scolded and walked out of the room leaving her in tears. Adi tried to console Sharanya as she sat on her bed helpless. He noticed there were 23 missed calls from Vyom on Sharanya's mobile.

"Di ek baat puchun apse?" Aditya spoke after a pause.

"Yahi na ki main tere favourite Vyom bhaiya ke saath aisa kyun kar rahi hoon...bol le tujhe bhi jo bolna hai Adi...bas teri hi kami hai" she sobbed.

"Nahin di...It's not about Vyom bhaiya. I want to ask ki aap jaise ho,  apko kya lagta hai agar apko tattoo banwana hota to aap kahan se banwate?"

Aditya's question suddenly left Sharanya surprised for a second. Her mind replayed his words and she tried to concentrate.

"Sirf city ke best tattoo artist se...someone who is certified and most popular" she spoke wiping her tears.

"Exactly! Because you are so finicky and particular" Aditya squealed impatiently.

 "Aur aisa sirf ek hi tattoo studio hai Mussorie mein, the one just next to your college. That's the best in town. Ho na ho di I am 200% sure usi ne ye tattoo banaya hai" as Aditya said, Sharanya's eyes glittered with hope. A little smile finally spread on her face realizing she had got some clue to unravel the mystery her own past had become. Now even she was sure only the tattoo shop had some answers to her umpteenth questions about what happened in her past.

+++

While Mr. and Mrs Bisht went to seek their family priests blessings, Sharanya decided to drive down to the tattoo studio next to her college. She rode her scootie at an insane speed without caring about anything else. Reaching the place she walked inside to find a stunning tattoo and piercing studio. She was totally impressed even two years back she had such classy choice. And much to her surprise the place felt eerily familiar and cheerful. As she sighed taking in the warmth of that place a smile made it's way to Sharanya's  lips when she saw a couple getting inked together. The girl smilingly affirmed as her boyfriend freted the needle making Sharanya giggle.

"I am sure this reminded you of your time mam" a man spoke from behind leaving her little surprised. She turned to face the guy and couldn't recognize him but from his smile it seemed that he remembered her well.

"I am sorry do I know you" she said in an embarrassed tone.

"Mam really you don't remember the one who did your first tattoo?" as he spoke, Sharanya's face beamed with an ecstatic smile.

"So it were you!!!" she exhaled noisily.

"Yeah Ms. Bisht I was the one who did your couple tattoo and I can never forget it as it was my first in this place. It was my dream job to work here and you my first client " the guy exclaimed.

"Couple tattoo? You mean I got this tattoo with Vyom?" Sharanya was totally confused now. Did Vyom know about her tattoo and if yes why was he so upset? What made him so shocked if he himself got this tattoo with her in college??

"Is his name Vyom? I don't know mam but you two got  intertwined S's...I thought his name also started from S"

"What are you saying? It's my name that starts from S. And his starts from V...the famous guitarist Vyom Bedi" baffled, Sharanya flashed at the guy a picture of Vyom from her phone. He took the phone from Sharanya's hands and squinted his eyes trying to recognize his first client.

"But mam he is not the one who came with you...He is not your boyfriend" Sharanya felt her world blur before her eyes as the tattoo artists words echoed in her ears. She tried to speak but coherent words refused to come out of her mouth. She tried to focus her vision, but all she could see were blurry shapes. Standing up was almost impossible; it felt like she was stuck in gelatin. 

"Mam are you ok?" the guy asked concerned. When she didn't answe he tried to shake her slightly.

"Can you please tell me what exactly happened that day" there was a bone chilling tremble in Sharanya's voice and her eyes had turned blood red. Despite feeling absolutely stunned at her query, the tattoo artist nodded at her, trying to recall the proceedings of the fateful day.

"Mam you two had come to my studio at around noon. I was very excited as well as nervous because you were my first client here. But both of you were really supportive. You two were very happy and excited for the tattoo but yes he was a little scared. I think he didn't like needles. You requested him to let you do this alone as this was your dream but he wasnt ready. He wanted to do it for you. He wanted to it together with you. You got it on your neck and he got it on his chest. But the tattoo was exactly the same...Two S's"

Streams of tears rolled down Sharanya's face as the guy's words formed black and white pictures in front of her eyes. She could not recall anything despite how hard she tried. Her head throbbed as her imagination failed to transform those blurry pictures into concrete moments.

"Do you know who was he?" Sharanya asked after a pause, her voice still shaky. 

The guy was more than stunned this time but did not dare to ask why she behaved so weird.

"No mam but we generally have the contact details of all our clients. If you want I can give that to you"

After moments of searching which actually felt no less than centuries, Sharanya got hold of two numbers from the studio's database. To her disappointment one of them had turned out to be her own number but the other looked unfamiliar.

Taking in sharp breath, she slowly dialed the number and waited for someone to answer from the other end. Each time there was a dial tone, her heart sank a little deeper into the pit of her chest.

Not hearing any response from the other end of the phone Sharanya finally decided to hang up in frustration when the sudden sound of a heavy breath echoed from the other end of the receiver. Her heart had stopped beating for that one second.

"Hi" a throaty masculine baritone resonated from the other end of the receiver leaving Sharanya frozen at her place. His voice passed through her body like a thousand  undercurrents charging up each miniscule particle of her existence. She suddenly felt afloat and buoyant. The water swirled around her suddenly, pushing against her skin like it had come alive, sliding over her arms and legs in a watery caress. She could no longer comprehend what she heard from the other end of the phone but just the virile voice that was making her go insane. His voice played havoc with her senses as if every bone in her body had turned into jelly.

"I'm currently either away from my desk or on the other line. Please leave your name, telephone number, and a short message after the beep,... and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I'm available. " the voice reached Sharanya only as haunting resonating echoes. She had no strength in her her to make out where she was and what was happening to her. Hearing that voice seemed as ecstatic as floating in clouds but at the same time as painful as the feeling of hiraeth.It was a mixture of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness and the most intense forms of pain all striking her at the same time. 

" ... And well, if it's you Ms. Bisht,  I know you feel like punching me hard but work beckons darling. Till then don't forget I LOVE YOU!!...NOW AND ALWAYS YOURS...Shiv"

Malika