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โฆ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐ท๐๐
Banaras is beautiful.
The ghats, the temples, the evening aartis, the tiny streets filled with people and chaos everything looks like a postcard.
Unfortunately, I am not enjoying any of it,today was exhausting you know
The morning started with a pooja that lasted so long I genuinely started questioning the concept of time itself and before anyone says anything, yes, I know poojas are supposed to be peaceful and spiritual.
It's hard to achieve spiritual enlightenment when twenty-seven relatives keep asking the same questions.
"Beta, shaadi kab karogi?"
"Future plan kya hai?"
"Itni padhai karke kya karna hai?"
"Ladke dekh rahe hain ya nahi?"
Mam, I came here for blessings, not an interview also, one of my cousins showed up dressed like she was attending the Met Gala.
Girl this is a pooja not your wedding not even somebody else's wedding a pooja bro why are there sequins involved?
and who wears heels to a pooja?
I spent half the day smiling politely and pretending to be the sweet, shy girl everyone expects me to be.
Which is honestly one of the hardest roles I've ever played because apparently if I speak my mind, I'm "too modern."
If I stay quiet, I'm "too reserved."
If I read books, I'm "boring."
If I don't read books, I'll probably be asked why I've stopped reading books.
There is literally no winning ughhh anyway.
I have another piece of bad news,a very bad and horrifying one i have to stay here for almost two months because my chachi's daughter is getting married and apparently Indian weddings are no longer events.
They're government projects,the funniest part originally they wanted a destination wedding in Goa Like, full Goa vibes then reality entered the chat.
People saw the prices everyone remembered their bank accounts and suddenly Goa transformed into our ancestral haveli in Banaras.
Amazing truly inspiring right from destination wedding to destination courtyard and the bride?
She's only twenty yet she's perfectly happy getting married apparently the groom owns three restaurants in Delhi everyone keeps talking about it like it's a national achievement.
"Teen restaurants hain."
"Delhi mein business hai."
"Kitna settle hai."
Wonderful,good for him no doubt but what amazes me is her certainty she's ready to leave everything behind her own life and start over somewhere else.
Maybe I'm the strange one because I genuinely can't imagine doing that sometimes I look around and wonder if something is wrong with me.
Most girls here seem excited about marriage they dream about it like really they only dream about getting married so embarrassing Broo
Then there's me wondering if I'll survive two months in Mirzapur,forget marriage.let's focus on survival first especially because Aryan bhai is leaving in ten days due to his work the point is he's escaping and I'll be left here.
Pray for me actually no pray harder please i really need it.
The haveli was unusually quiet for once a rare miracle ofcourse
Most of the annoying relatives were busy discussing wedding preparations, decorations, guest lists, and approximately a thousand other things Sarah had absolutely no interest in.
So she escaped naturally sitting on the stone steps of the courtyard, she let out a content sigh and stretched her legs.
For the first time all day, nobody was asking her questions or discussing marriage,It was such a glorious peace.
It lasted exactly three minutes a flutter of wings caught her attention something landed nearby.
A small bird and Sarah arah tilted her head and smiled it hopped across the courtyard fearlessly before settling near her feet.
"What are you looking at?"the bird stared.
She stared back the bird won as usual.
a laugh escaped her as she carefully scooped it into her hands.
Its feathers were beautiful soft shades of brown and gold almost hazel
Hazel.
The thought arrived unexpectedly and with that -him
That stranger she'd never properly met the stranger who had appeared for barely a few moments and somehow refused to leave her mind.
Sarah groaned dramatically.
"No."
The bird blinked.
"Not him again."yet the memory had already begun unfolding.
The ghat scene, rickshaw and blur road scene ughh why such filmy flashbacks Sarah stop it!
Why the strange feeling of familiarity she'd felt around him as though she'd known him before.
Which made absolutely no sense because she hadn't she would remember meeting someone like that wouldn't she?
Her fingers absentmindedly brushed against the bird's feathers hazel those eyes had been hazel too at least she thought they were.
She couldn't even remember his face properly anymore just fragments his voice and pair of warm hazel eyes somehow that made it worse.
Because how was she supposed to forget someone she hadn't even truly met?
Sarah buried her face in one hand.
"Oh God."
The bird tilted its head.
"Don't look at me like that."
It continued looking at her judgmentally.
she was certain of it.
"This is ridiculous you little prani"She stood up and began pacing.
"I don't know his name."
The bird chirped.
"I don't know where he lives."nooo another chirp.
"I'll probably never see him again."
The bird fluttered its wings and somehow that felt suspiciously unsupportive.
Sarah pointed at it accusingly.
"Exactly."
Then realization struck to her kyuki jyada der delulu mein nahi rehne ka beta
Why was she defending herself to a bird?she closed her eyes this was getting embarrassing and the worst part?
The bird wasn't even the reason she'd thought about him one color and suddenly she was remembering hazel eyes and unfinished encounters again.
Sarah groaned loudly.
"Damn it."
A smile tugged at her lips despite herself because deep down she already knew the truth the stranger wasn't appearing in her thoughts because of the bird.
The bird had simply given her an excuse and that realization was far more dangerous because it meant she was thinking about him on her own again which was becoming a very annoying habit.
โฆ By late afternoon, everything was ready, operation had officially begun their uniforms were replaced with ordinary clothes and ranks were left behind.
For the next few weeks, Lieutenant Maahir, Captain Syra, Lieutenant Shaurya, and Captain Arjun would no longer exist now they were
๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐,๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐, ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐,๐จ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐
Four ordinary civilians or at least that was what the world was supposed to believe military vehicle dropped them a few kilometers away from Mirzapur.
From there, they continued in a rented jeep like any other travelers arriving in the village.
The closer they got, the narrower the roads became fields stretched endlessly on both sides children played near hand pumps farmers worked beneath the afternoon sun.
Everything looked normal yet every officer inside the vehicle knew better somewhere beneath that normalcy, they were searching for answers.
The jeep finally slowed near the property arranged for their stay,a modest but spacious ancestral house standing a short distance from the main village.
Far enough to avoid attention close enough to observe the driver unloaded their luggage before leaving for a moment, all four simply stood there.
Looking at the village and at the mission that had brought them here.
Shaurya was the first to break the silence "Well"
He adjusted the bag on his shoulder.
"Congratulations everyone."
Nobody responded so naturally he continued "We are officially villagers now."
Arjun sighed,syra rolled her eyes at him
and maahir simply walked past him.
"Nobody laughed, military has ruined you people"
That finally earned him a glare from all three.
"Fine," Shaurya muttered.
"Tough crowd."
The group entered the house together dust floated through the sunlight streaming from the windows furniture had already been arranged and basic supplies had been stocked.
Maps and communication equipment remained carefully hidden among ordinary belongings to anyone else, it looked like four people temporarily shifting into a village home exactly as planned.
Maahir set his bag down near one of the rooms and glanced out of the window.
From here, a large part of the village was visible including, somewhere beyond the trees and winding roads- the haveli.
The very place connected to their investigation,the very place where their answers might be waiting for now, however, there was nothing to do except settle in.
Tomorrow the real work would begin and somewhere in Mirzapur, completely unaware of the fact that four undercover officers had just arrived life continued as usual.
Now the evening sun cast a golden glow across Mirzapur as the four of them walked through the village.
Their first few hours had been exactly what undercover work usually was observation and conversations specially pretending to be ordinary people.
Which, according to Shaurya, was the hardest mission he'd ever received.
"You know what's funny?" he muttered.
"What?" Arjun asked.
"I spent years training to protect the country."
"We too , nothing new "Syra replied nonchalantly
"But now I'm introducing myself to strangers."nobody replied.
"Again tough crowd."
A few minutes later, they arrived near a large gathering beneath an old banyan tree several villagers were seated there.
Among them sat the village Mukhiya and a few elders the moment the newcomers approached, curious eyes turned toward them.
The Mukhiya greeted them warmly.
"Namaste to aap log aaye hai hamare gaon"
Maahir nodded politely.
"Ji"
"Kaha se aaye hai?"before anyone else could speak, Maan answered smoothly.
"Delhi se"
The Mukhiya's interest immediately increased.
"Delhi?"Maahir nodded.
"We are working on a longterm rural documentation project."Arjun continued
the lie came so naturally now.
"We're journalists,"Shaurya added
"We've been travelling through different villages documenting local culture, traditions, and development projects."
The elders exchanged impressed looks and the Mukhiya nodded slowly.
"Hmm."
"Yaha kab tak rahoge"
"Ji only few weeks."
The answer seemed satisfactory tea was offered to them and chairs appeared from nowhere just like that, the questioning began exactly as expected.
Then one of the older men suddenly pointed toward Syra
"Ek baat samajh nahi aa rhi"everyone looked at him the old man continued.
"Four young people."he pointed toward the three men.
"Three boys."then toward Syra
"One girl."his eyebrows lifted.
"Tum log ek sath reh rahe?"
The group froze internally shaurya nearly choked on his tea,arjun immediately looked away and syra's eyes narrowed.
The Mukhiya seemed curious too a few villagers leaned forward interested to know the answer
Maahir didn't even hesitate and blurted out "Shree is Shrey's wife."
Syra's eyes widened and to your surprise shaurya's eyes widened even more.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved then "Oh Acha gharwali hai uski"
The elders immediately relaxed and Mukhiya nodded as though everything suddenly made perfect sense.
"Yes, yes."arjun immediately agreed with them one problem solved nobody questioned it further mission accomplished.
Meanwhile shaurya sat completely frozen his tea halfway to his mouth.
His brain struggling to process what had just happened
Did Maahir just ?slowly, very slowly, he looked toward Maahir who remained perfectly calm as though he hadn't just handed Shaurya the greatest gift of his life.
Inside his head, however absolute celebration.
MY REAL BROTHER MY BLOOD.
MY FAMILY MY HERO.
MY FAVOURITE HUMAN BEING.
"Ye to dev manus nikla re" he thought
Shaurya wanted to hug him possibly lift him maybe write a thankyou letter perhaps name his future child after him the possibilities were endless unfortunately, he couldn't do any of those things.
Because Captain Syra-currently Shree-was staring at Maahir with murder in her eyes and if looks could kill Maan Thakur's undercover career would've ended right there.
So Shaurya lowered his head and hid his grin inside his teacup because for the first time in his life maahir had voluntarily advanced his love story and that miracle deserved to be remembered forever.
The moment they stepped inside the house, Shree turned around correction
Captain Syra turned around because right now she was definitely not feeling like Shree Rana, happy undercover civilian.
She was furious, Maahir and Arjun wisely disappeared in the opposite direction huh cowards.
Leaving Shaurya alone to face the consequences of his happiness.
"Syra"she didn't stop walking.
"Mam" again ignored
"Captain."that finally earned him a glare.
Shaurya immediately regretted existing.
"Don't."
"Okay."
"Not one word."
"Done."
"Not One Word."
"I haven't even said anything."
"Exactly."
The fact that he looked pleased wasn't helping at all.
Syra marched toward the courtyard while Shaurya followed behind her like an extremely determined puppy.
"Will you stop following me?"
"Nahi mam "
"Why?"
"Because you're angry"
"Very observant."
"Thank you."
She stopped so abruptly that he almost walked into her.
"Why are you thanking me?"
"I don't know i panic when you're angry."
That almost made her laugh then she remembered why she was angry.
"Your friend is insane."
"Which one?"
"Maahir."
"Fair."
"He literally told the entire village we're married."
Shaurya looked up at the sky trying very hard not to smile ughh poor boy failed attempt.
"Stop smiling."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm appreciating nature."
"There's a wall."
"Beautiful wall."
Before Syra could throw something at him, two elderly village aunties appeared from nowhere in the veranda of the house as village aunties often do.
One second empty space next second Aunties the women looked between them knowingly very knowingly one of them chuckled.
"Arey bahu, itna gussa kyun ho?"Syra froze shaurya immediately looked away to hide his grin.
The second auntie joined in.
"Pati patni mein chhoti moti ladai toh hoti rehti hai."Syra's eye twitched dangerously.
"Nahi, aunty ji "
"Arey hum sab samajhte hain."
The first auntie waved dramatically.
"Bete ne kuch galti kar di hogi."
"Haan haan, aadmi log aise hi hote hain."
The second auntie nodded.
"Par itna gussa nahi karte."
Shaurya was trying so hard not to laugh that his face was turning red syra noticed which somehow made everything worse.
"Aap has kyun rahe ho?"
Shaurya immediately straightened.
"Main nahi has raha."
"Jhooth."
"Bilkul sach."
One auntie patted Syra's shoulder.
"Dekho kitna seedha hai bichara"
That did it syra actually looked offended.
"Seedha?"
The word escaped before she could stop herself the aunties smiled warmly.
"Bilkul."
Shaurya almost choked seedha or main
The same man who had been flirting with her for weeks the universe was hilarious.
The first auntie continued.
"Jaao beta, maan jaao."
"Aur beta "
The second auntie pointed at Shaurya.
"Aaj raat bahu ko apne hath se bnake mithai khilana."
"Sab gussa nikal jayega."
The women left before either of them could respond leaving behind absolute chaos.
Syra slowly turned toward Shaurya.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes"
"Don't."
"Listen "
"Don't."
"It wasn't my fault."
"Don't."
"The aunties seemed lovely."
"Shaurya"and for the next ten minutes, half the village was treated to the sight of Syra chasing him around the courtyard while Shaurya ran for his life.
Meanwhile, from a nearby window, Maahir watched for exactly three seconds then calmly closed the curtain
some battles were not his responsibility.
"Sorry Shaurya bro"
โข The next morning, before the haveli had fully awakened, Sarah slipped out quietly ,the air was cool and streets were peaceful.
For once, nobody was discussing wedding decorations, guest lists, or her marriage prospects a blessing truly
The small temple was almost empty when she arrived and few diyas still flickered from the morning prayers the soft sound of bells echoed through the air sarah folded her hands before the idol and closed her eyes.
For a moment, she simply stood there.
breathing and thinking or probably trying to make sense of the chaos inside her head.
"Bhagwan ji," she whispered.
"I know people usually ask for success, happiness, good marks, money"
She paused "I just want answers."
The morning breeze brushed against her face"Sometimes I feel like I don't belong anywhere."
Her voice grew softer"Everyone around me seems so sure about life."
"Whether it's marriage,family or future
They know they want or what they don't want."she sighed
"Then there's me."a small laugh escaped her.
"I don't even know what I'm doing half the time."she opened one eye toward the idol.
"So if possible"she sighed dramatically.
"A little guidance would be appreciated."
Nothing happened sarah nodded.
"Fair ja rahi hu main"then suddenly a flower slipped from the idol and landed near her feet sarah froze.
The smile disappeared she looked at the flower then at the idol then back at the flower.
"No."the temple remained silent sarah narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Nooooo"she pointed at the idol.
"Don't do this."a breeze swept through the temple sarah immediately stepped back.
"Oh God this is exactly how Indian TV serials start."
Her imagination instantly betrayed her the heroine prays,flower falls wind blows dramatically background music starts and then soulmate entry.
Sarah groaned absolutely not she folded her hands again.
"Bhagwan ji, respectfully, I reject whatever plot twist you're planning."
The breeze continued a temple bell rang somewhere in the distance sarah looked around nervously.
"Now what a handsome stranger appears or clouds move divine signs or worse Background violins"
She shook her head "I've watched enough television to know where this is going."
Muttering to herself, she turned toward the temple stairs the temple stood slightly elevated above the ghat, connected by a long flight of stone steps.
Sarah's eyes lazily traveled downward She took four steps and then she stopped.
Her heart skipped not because violins played or because clouds parted or because bells rang.
None of those things happened but there walking up the stairs was him.
The stranger , the ghat stranger,the rickshaw stranger the one with the hazel eyes.
For a moment, Sarah forgot to breathe the same calm expression and same presence she somehow recognized despite barely knowing him.
He hadn't seen her he was looking elsewhere as he climbed the steps.
Completely unaware that someone above him had frozen sarah stared immediately remembered a conversation she'd once had with her friends.
The ridiculous soulmate theories the dramatic movie scenes.
"When you meet your soulmate, flowers will fall."
Well a flower had fallen sarah's eyes widened.
"Dimag khisak gya hai kya Sarah Sharma Behave"
"The wind will start blowing dramatically."
The wind chose that exact moment to brush through her hair.
Sarah pointed at the sky.
"Stop Indradev ji "
"Everything around you will feel magical."
"Magical don't know but it is surprising"
"Temple bells will ring."a bell echoed somewhere nearby sarah looked offended.
"You're doing this on purpose bhagwan ji"
Sarah placed a hand over her chest but wait no fireworks or violins just confusion lots and lots of confusion.
Relief immediately washed over her.
"Okay"
She nodded firmly.
"Good nothing happened."Perfect problem solved except why was she still staring?the realization made her groan internally because despite all her arguments despite all her logic and the incomplete lack of cinematic signs
Her eyes kept drifting back toward him and that was somehow far more concerning down below, the stranger continued climbing the steps.
Still unaware while above him, Sarah stood holding a fallen flower in one hand and questioning every life decision that had led her to this moment.
"Great."she sighed.
"Now I'm thinking about him again."somehow that felt like the bigger problem.
Sarah practically fled the temple not because anything had happened because nothing had happened that was worse tbh.
She hurried through the narrow lanes of Banaras, clutching the edge of her dupatta as her heartbeat refused to calm down.
"This is suspicious"She muttered the words to herself for what felt like the hundredth time yet her mind kept returning to him.
The stranger or one she'd met near the ghat in the rickshaw and now the one from the temple stairs.
Sarah slowed her pace a frown appearing on her face he looked familiar every time not familiar enough to know just enough to wonder and wasn't he in the army?
At least that's what she remembered then what was he doing here?why did they keep crossing paths?
Once could be fate twice could be coincidence But this?Three times?
Sarah groaned she shook her head firmly.
"Is this fate ughh no"because if this was fate, then fate seriously needed a hobby.
still the question refused to leave her.
Why did they keep meeting?Why did she keep noticing him and most importantly
Why was she thinking about him this much when she didn't even know his name?
By the time she reached the haveli gates, her thoughts had become an endless mess of questions no answers just ques
tions.
With one final frustrated sigh, Sarah stepped inside determined to stop thinking about the mysterious stranger.
Unfortunately the first thing she saw when she closed her eyes that evening wasn't the temple or Banaras yaahhh the wedding preparations.
It was a pair of hazel eyes and that annoyed her more than she would ever admit.
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