Gaon ka naam tha Devpur.
Chhota sa gaon, jahan subah murge ki awaaz alarm hoti thi aur raat ko bijli se zyada khamoshi chamakti thi.
Isi gaon ke kone me ek purana sa ghar tha — mitti ki deewarein, tin ki chhat aur andar ek ladki…
Aarohi.
Aarohi 16 saal ki thi, par uski aankhon me umar se zyada sawaal the.
Aur un sawaalon ke peeche chhupa tha ek sapna —
"Mujhe kuch bada karna hai."
Lekin Devpur jaise gaon me "bada" shabd sirf shaadi ya naukri tak hi simat jaata tha.
Aarohi subah 5 baje uth jaati.
Paani bharna, jhaadu-pocha, maa ke liye chai — aur phir school.
Uski maa, Savitri, aksar kehti,
"Padh likh ke kya karegi? Aakhir me to sasural hi jaana hai."
Aur pitaji…
Woh zyada bolte nahi the.
Bas thakaan ke saath shaam ko aate, khamoshi se khaana khate aur so jaate.
Par Aarohi ki duniya school ke ek kone me basi thi —
Library.
Wahan purani books thi, jinke pages pe zindagi ki khushboo basi hoti thi.
Wahi pe Aarohi ne pehli baar padha tha:
"Dreams don't have limits."
Us din usne decide kiya —
"Main apni zindagi sirf circumstances pe nahi chhodungi."
Ek Din Jo Sab Badal Gaya
Us din school me announcement hui:
District level scholarship exam.
Winner ko:
Free coaching
City school admission
Hostel facility
Aarohi ka dil zor se dhadka 💓
Yeh sirf exam nahi tha…
Yeh escape route tha.
Par problem thi —
Uske paas:
Guide books nahi
Coaching nahi
Support nahi
Sirf ek cheez thi —
Zidd.
Raat ko jab sab so jaate, Aarohi diya jala ke padhne baithti.
Kabhi maths, kabhi English words, kabhi science ke diagrams.
Kabhi-kabhi aansu bhi gir jaate.
Par woh khud se kehti:
"Agar main bhi haar maan gayi, to meri kahani kaun likhega?"
Ek Ajeeb Diary 📔
Ek shaam library me safai ho rahi thi.
Old shelves hatayi ja rahi thi.
Tab Aarohi ko ek purani diary mili.
Cover phata hua, pages peeli si roshni jaise.
First page pe likha tha:
"Agar tum yeh padh rahi ho, to shayad tum bhi wahi ho… jo main thi."
Aarohi ke haath kaanp gaye.
Yeh diary kisi Shreya naam ki ladki ki thi —
Jo 10 saal pehle Devpur se gayab ho gayi thi.
Log kehte the:
"She failed in life"
"She ran away"
"She was weak"
Par diary ke shabd kuch aur hi keh rahe the…
Chapter 1 ka End
Aarohi ne diary bag me rakhi aur aasman ki taraf dekha.
Taare chup the…
Par uske sapne shor macha rahe the.
Usne dheere se kaha:
"Shayad yeh kahani sirf meri nahi hai."