"Sameer...," Naina spoke softly. "Hmmm?" he asked softly. The sea waves crashed at the shore, breaking the stillness of the evening air. While the rest of Bandra was busy with their lives, Sameer and Naina had settled themselves on the shore on Bandstand, hoping that the peace there would help calm their chaotic minds too. Sameer had come back from Ahemdabad this afternoon, after an overdose of business related work with his Nanu, and his spare time spent trying to counter Munna and Pandit's allegations of him and Naina being in love. Naina and Sameer had decided to meet the same evening.

Sameer's eyes darted to her and overcome by impulse, he kissed her softly on her lips. Naina couldn't help but smile. And then, she took in a deep breath and reprimanded herself, "Naina! Sambhal khud ko!" She couldn't let herself be blown away by emotions again- not today. Shefali was right. She had to do it- for their sake, for her sake. She was head over heels in love with him. She could not probably even imagine a second of her life when he wasn't there. But then she needed to find out if he too felt the same.

Naina sighed and then opened her purse. She took out a photograph and bracing herself, showed it to Sameer. "Ye kaun hai?" he asked casually. "Arvind!" replied Naina slowly. "Arvind kaun?" Sameer was nonplussed. "Mere liye rishta aaya hai Arvind ka...US mein scientist hai yeh...biotechnologist...family bahot achi hai...ghar wale bol rahe hain chat mangni pat byaah kar dete hain!" Naina blurted out, in what she hoped was a confident one, but what she knew was a voice laced with pain.

Sameer couldn't believe it. She was sitting in his arms and showing him a picture of a man she was mulling over to marry. He felt a surge of loathing rise inside him, wrenching his heart, twisting his gut, and warping his mind. "So she wanted to marry this rich, respectable US bio whatever...of course...great, decent, respectable family! What does he have? Nothing! Not even a mother to call his own. No spectacular profession. He's just there for a bit of fun in life right? And here he was trying to contemplate on her feelings for him!" Sameer was fuming on the inside, though he maintained a calm composure afront. He slid his hand away from her shoulders and curved his arms around his knees, peering at the sea, into the distance. Naina was waiting for his reply, hoping, against hope that he would tell her that he loved her. That he couldn't see her being married off to someone else. She longed for him to kiss her fair and square, take her to his room, make passionate love to her all night and repeat that she only belonged to him and he belonged to her. But minutes passed by in silence. Nothing like that happened. Sameer never spoke.

"Sameer...?" Naina prompted again. "Kya hai?" he hissed, the hint of arrogance back in his voice. "Arvind...wo...," she started. "Kya Arvind Arvind laga rakha hai...shaadi karni hai to kar lo na...maine kaunsa roka hai tumhe...pyaar karte hain hum ek dusre se kya? Dekho tum shaadi kar rahi ho to bata do, main koi aur dhundh lunga apne time-pass ke liye. Bas please ye Arvind Varvind ki rat lagana band karo!" Sameer snapped at her in anger. Tears crept out of Naina's eyes at Sameer's words, "kaunsa pyaar karte hain hum...koi aur dhundh lunga time pass ke liye...". The words echoed in her mind for another two minutes, as her face took on a sudden pale, strained appearance. Then she finally got up, unable to take it anymore. Without a word to Sameer, Naina turned and walked away from there. Seconds later, Sameer turned to look at her retreating form, feeling terrible at having shouted at her like that, and even more terrible at the fact that she was contemplating marriage to that Arvind- whatever. He wanted to stop her and pull her back into his arms- plead to her to reject that proposal and stay with him- forever. But he did nothing of that sort. Instead he saw her board an auto and leave.

That whole night Naina wept as she remembered Shefali's words, Sameer's words, and pondered on where did she go wrong? She'd loved him with all her heart- with her mind, body and soul. And Sameer! Sameer till now, had considered it just a casual dalliance- a fling! He did not have a hint of regret in his voice that she was going to marry someone else. Deep down, a part of Naina had always known she was in for a heart-break, but it would be so shattering, she couldn't have imagined. The pain was much more than she could have believed it to be. Sameer did not love her, had never loved her. She had just been an object of physical pleasure for him. And he wasn't at fault, was he? It was Naina who'd led him, encouraged him too. What was she thinking? Is she some Madhuri Dixit that he'll fall for her charm and her beauty, which she decided now that she obviously did not have! How could she even have hoped for a guy like him to like her, to love her the way she loved him? So the story had finally come to an end, Naina thought, as tears gushed out of her eyes again.

Yet, a part of her hoped for all of it to be a bad dream, as she waited and waited for the phone in warden's office to ring; for Sameer's two horn bike signal to sound through her window, and to see him standing below her room, his hands shooting up to his ears in apology- and then when she ran down to him, him telling her that he loved her and wanted her to marry him. Naina's wait was endless, for none of her imagined scenarios played out. The clock struck 9 pm, but there was no sign of Sameer. Maybe he'd actually meant what he said? Struggling to wipe the tears from her eyes, Naina dragged herself out of her room to the warden's office and requested for a personal phone call. As soon as the receiver was picked, Naina croaked, "Hello...Shefali...!" That was all she could manage before she broke down again.

It was pretty late in the night, past 10 pm, when Sameer finally came back to his room. The conversation at Bandstand had taken a toll on his thinking faculties. He switched on the room lights and his eyes fell upon the bed he and Naina had shared dozens of times. His face livid, he yanked the bedsheet from the bed, and threw the mattress onto the floor, followed by the pillows. He plunked down on the bed and his eyes scampered to the bedside table onto his collection of cassettes he and Naina used to listen to sometimes. He picked up the cassette of "Maine Pyaar Kiya" and "Darr", her favourites and rage surged through him again. How thick-skinned was this woman? Even he, Sameer Maheshwari, who never got attached to anyone would have thought twice before popping a photograph of a girl that he was going to marry after all that was there between them, no? But she! She acted as if Sameer had never existed, as if all their night-long encounters had never happened.

"Clank!" the cassettes hit the floor as well as all other items on the table. "Bio jo-bhi-ho hai US mein...bas kaafi hai life set karne ke liye na...," Sameer didn't even know why was he feeling so upset. He had never given her any commitment, and now college was about to get over in a few days. They had to move on with their lives! Yet, the only thing Sameer wanted to do right now was to snatch that Arvind's photo from her hand, tear it into pieces and throw it away and then undress her and make love to her. Why? It took that one sleepless night for Sameer to realize that.

The exams were done and dusted. Tomorrow the results would be out and then their lives would separate forever. Naina would go away! Sameer shuddered at the thought. Why did he want her close by him all the time? Why didn't he want the college to finish? Why was it that this girl, who he thought he hated, had made him feel completely opposite now? Till now, he had been convincing himself that it was just a fling. It won't last more than two weeks. But two weeks had turned into almost two years. Yet the night that had been triggered by alcohol had been repeated several times without the effect of alcohol. They had started to feel extremely comfortable together. They had started sharing their sorrows, their pains, their happiness, their childhood with each other. And this coming from the reclusive Sameer, was a highly improbable phenomenon. How come a girl had started to make him so involved? How was it, that he was always lost when he looked into her eyes? Why was it that he had never been able to bear any other guy even remotely looking at her? Her breakup with Tibrewal had made him happy, hadn't it? And then he had beat up that guy who had passed an inappropriate comment at her that day in the market! He couldn't even bear to see the sight of Rahul after that Holi afternoon. And then this Arvind recently- why hadn't he wanted her to marry him? And...and he had to admit...he did find Naina extremely attractive! She could arouse him as soon as her heavy-lidded, doe-shaped eyes turned to him.

Sameer was lost in these thought as he fumbled in his drawer and took out a cigarette, from a packet he'd stowed away long back. But as he was about to light it, a smile crept across his lips, his cheeks turned red as he finally discerned it. He was in love. Obviously! And he couldn't deny it any longer! He'd been in love with her from the past 5 years. This is why she felt different! This is why he couldn't take his eyes off her. This is why he'd turned absolutely possessive for her. This is why he never got bored of her or thought about any woman since he was with her. He looked at the cigarette. Munna and Pandit had been absolutely correct in their assumptions. How rarely he smoked these days! And he hadn't touched alcohol apart from the New Year's eve. All because she'd asked him to keep a tab over his drinking and smoking. He had been in some different world till now, where his brain and his heart had refused to coordinate. But now, they both shrieked in unison, as they clamoured to be heard.

Naina was driving him mad- mad in love. The question had never been whether she was in love with him. He should've asked himself if he was in love with her all along. Sameer threw the cigarette away and decided he would ask her to be his for the rest of his life. She was anyways going to go away. What if she agrees to marry him instead of that Arvind? He might be able to persuade her. He could work hard to give her a good, respectable and comfortable life. They already had great tandem in bed, they could pour their hearts out to each other without any qualms. After all she was a nice girl and she definitely liked him, even if it was as a friend. Many great couples started as the best of friends, didn't they? And even if she did say no, he would still have the satisfaction of having told her what he felt for her. Sameer Maheshwari was in love with Naina Agarwal- he'd finally realized. He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall, its hands indicating it was almost 4 am now. And he couldn't wait for the day to begin.

***

Sameer had been waiting since 6 am outside the college. He'd dressed up in a pale striped shirt, paired with black trousers. He'd combed his hair about 15 times to be precise. He'd sprinkled an overdose of her favourite musk perfume all over him. A classic wrist watch adorned his left wrist. The copious amount of aftershave he'd dabbed on his cheeks, emanated a soft frangrance and had left his face feeling even softer than it already was. She'd always liked to see him clean shaven. And today, his face was spectacularly radiant- with joy, brimming with love. He'd even worn his formal, black shoes, polished to the extent that he could see his reflection in them. "Koi dekhega to sochega shaadi mein jaa raha hun kisi ki!" he mused and then grinned to himself, "kya pata meri hi ho?" He lovingly eyed the exquisite bouqet of fresh, red roses, in his hand and smelt them, "Naina! Jaldi aa jao na!"

The exam results were displayed on the board. He'd already checked both their results. Naina had topped the year as usual with a stunning 87%, and he too had done decently with a 68%. Naina should be here at any moment, he thought as he saw the time in his watch. He mused happily, that she would be fidgeting, praying to God, to help her pass, while the rest of the class knew, 'even when she had not studied' or 'could not write as much as she'd wanted to', or 'when she thought she'd fail', she would end up scoring above 80% to say the least!

Sameer was waiting for her, leaning onto his bike, when he realized the Sun had started shining fiercely. A majority of the students had rushed in to check their results by now and there was a big commotion in the gallery. He checked his watch. It was almost 11am, but there was no sign of Naina. "Did he miss seeing her?" he thought, fidgeting with the bouqet in his hand. As it is, he was feeling jittery about having to propose her, and not knowing her response was driving him crazy. Butterflies were erupting in his stomach- he was in love! Love with her! The flagrant boy in love with the most docile, studious girl he'd ever met in his life. Sameer kept imagining her face when he told her how he felt about her, how she made him complete. He would envision Naina's face blushing and then she throwing her arms around his neck happily and in one of these deserted corridors, they would be kissing hard. And later they could move to a room to celebrate. But what if her reaction was contrite? What if she felt sorry for him that he'd fallen in love with her? What if she told him that she didn't feel quite the same? What if, Sameer thought, his temper rising at the name, she felt Arvind was best suited for her? No, he's not going to think about all that. For the first time in his life, he would hope for something positive. He would hope that Naina would say yes. But yet here, she was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, Sameer noticed Tibrewal rushing to the scoreboard. He seemed extremely nervous. Sameer saw his fingers scan the sheets for his name expectantly. And then he also saw his face fall as he spotted the percentage listed in front of that other name. Naina had again topped and Tibrewal had stood second. Tibrewal seemed as if he'd been flogged publicly, his face drooping with misery, as Naina outdid him again. He turned to walk off, when he spotted Sameer leaning on his bike in the distance. "Ye yahan khada kyun hai?" he thought, but then his eyes darted over to the bunch of red roses in his hand. "Phool? Wo bhi Roses? Sameer ke haath mein?" Tibrewal stared disbelievingly. Sameer noticed Tibrewal's gaze on him and promptly hid the roses behind his back.

Tibrewal walked over to him, but Sameer continued to look the other way. "Kya hua chewing gum...firse doosra number?" Sameer muttered airily. "Mera to doosra number hai...lekin tu to gadha hi raha...fail hote hote bacha tu life ke exam mein...Itna time kis idiot ko lagta hai pyaar samajhne mein?" Tibrewal averred. Sameer turned to look at him in surprise, "Kya?" "2 saal pehle bol deta Naina ko ki tu usse pyaar karta hai...pure college ko pata hai tujhe chod ke!" Tibrewal exclaimed, enjoying seeing the bewilderment on Sameer's face. Sameer spoke dumb-founded, "pure college ko pata hai...?" "Haan! Toh sab tere jaise moti buddhi ke nahi hai...by the way Good choice...nahi best choice...wo hamesha se hi best thi...!" Tibrewal hesitantly patted Sameer's shoulder and then left, as Sameer stared incredulously after him.

It was afternoon now and soon dusk fell. The corridors were almost empty now. Almost everyone had come and checked their results and left, but Naina had still not come. The college emptied and Sameer saw the last person, one of Naina's hostel buddies come out of the college. "Kritika...Naina kahan hai? Wo aayi nahi hai kya? Mujhe dikhi nahi!" he queried desperately. Kritika's eyes too fell upon the bouquet of red roses in his hand, which he immediately hid behind again. "Wo Sameer...kal shaam ko wo bahot upset thi kyunki uski bua dadi ki tabyat achanak se bigad gayi hai...to wo unke ghar gayi hai...shayad abhi tak aayi nahi hai....," Kritika told him. "Tabyat theek nahi hai...?" Sameer's voice was worried, "lekin aaj to result hai na...usne result bhi nahi dekha...kal se to college ki chuttiyaan hain....". "Haan...result usne phone karke puch liya hoga...tum kyun fikr kar rahe ho...aur vaise tum use dhundh kyun rahe ho...," Kritika asked deliberately, though by now she'd understood Sameer's motive fully well. "Aise hi...," Sameer managed a lame smile and then turned and left, the bouquet hanging loosely from his hand. That whole night, he waited for her call. And with each passing minute, his trepidation kept escalating and his anger started creeping back- but this time, the rage was directed at himself. The next day dawned. And there was still no news of Naina!

***

Sameer was extremely desperate by next evening. The hostels had begun to empty, but Naina hadn't called him even once. "Was dadi bua serious?"Sameeer thought as he half-tried to pack his stuff into his trunk. He knew Naina would be upset by the way he'd behaved that evening, and again with her bua dadi unwell, but now that he wanted to make it upto her, she was not traceable. Sameer did not know where to find her. He did not have a phone number to talk to her, he did not know her bua dadi's address. All he knew was that she lived in Worli. Sameer looked up from his suitcase and thought, "should he go and try to search for her there?" He looked out of the window. The sky was overcast since morning, which was uncanny at this time of the year. He grabbed his umbrella and wallet, and ushered out of his room. "Raju!" he called out to the peon in the Warden's office. Raju shook his head. Since yesterday evening, Sameer had asked him almost 20 times if someone had called him. Sameer saw the way Raju shook his head and sighed. "Main bahar jaa raha hun kisi kaam se...agar is dauraan mere liye koi bhi phone aata hai to mere aate hi turant mujhe inform karna...urgent hai!" he requested as he whizzed out of the hostel.

The clouds had darkened overhead. The blistering heat of Bombay had suddenly been subdued. It seemed like it was another day of unpredictable rain. Sameer took his bike to the train station to catch the next train to Worli. "If dadi-bua is really that serious, and admitted in a hospital, he might try to enquire in the city's prominent hospitals nearby. With any luck, he might find Naina in one of them!" he tried to formulate a plan. After the next 5 hours of futile search, Sameer felt incredibly helpless. Naina might need his support now and he wasn't there besides her. She was facing all this alone, only because he'd been a git to snap at her rudely and say all those things he'd never meant to utter. Sameer had even tried asking people on the streets if they knew her or her bua-dadi, but failed miserably. The fact that he knew only her name, "Mrs. Kamla Gupta" was not of much help. On top of that, the towering buildings and the multitude of flats had rendered it impossible.

As Sameer exited out of another train station, he did not feel the soft drops of rain falling on his shoulders. He was lost in thoughts of Naina. Where had she gone? Why wasn't she calling him? He walked like a zombie as he crossed the throng of people entering and exiting the stations, some just trying to take shelter from the rain which was increasing in intensity. But Sameer was still oblivious to it. The rain started falling harder. Sameer descended the steps of the staircase leading him out of the station, the umbrella trying to sheath him against the downpour, but his mind entirely focused upon Naina.

He could not trace the waft of freshly fried Vada Pavs around him as the roadside stalls swarmed with people eating the snack and warming themselves with tea in the rain. Sameer hadn't eaten anything since last night, but hunger was the last thing on his mind. Angst was sweeping inside him. He tried to placate himself, "she would be back in a few days as she'd to vacate her hostel and get her no dues cleared. He could talk to her then and apologize and explain his situation." But the wait was unbearable for Sameer.

He stood near the sea shore, watching the rain falling in sheets around him, onto the stormy blue sea. "Sameer! Baarish mein bheegta hua samandar kitna khubsurat lagta hai na?" her voice chimed in his ears, as if she was standing just besides him, crunching on the roasted bhutta with relish. He turned in surprise, but to his dismay found himself alone. She was nowhere in sight. Sameer recalled how they used to come to the sea sides in the monsoons, and enjoyed getting drenched in the rain. Naina loved rains and she loved the sea. He recalled how the rains had played cupid before, inadvertently breaking their promise of staying apart, and forced them in each other's arm again on that fateful night at Bandra. "Kahaan ho tum Naina?" he shrieked out to the skies, as if only they could answer his question. He fought to kept his tears in control, fought to keep the fear of losing the one he'd come to love so ardently, at bay.

Rains continued to batter hard onto the city, throughout the day, and all through the evening. But Sameer did not bother to find any shelter. His umbrella lay forgotten at his side as he let himself be drenched in the downpour. Somehow his insides were churning about and he was feeling extremely uneasy. There was something amiss. He couldn't help but feel a strange sense of dread creep onto him. "Please Naina! I'm sorry! I love you Naina! Please aa jao! Please!" he pleaded, as tears gushed out of his eyes, unable to be restrained anymore. His tears mingled with the drops of rain, as he poured his heart out. He cried and cried, hoping for a miracle, hoping to get an idea of her whereabouts. Tibrewal was right! How could he have taken so much time to realize he'd been in love with her? And now that he knew, he was afraid if God planned to snatch her from him too. "Not this time...please! Let me have her! I promise I won't ask for anything else in life! Please!" Sameer prayed internally. And then, he spotted a small temple nearby. Never had he entered a temple without being forced to, by his mother or Nanu or recently Naina. But now, he silently took off his shoes outside as he climbed up the steps. The temple was completely deserted and a strange tranquil silence prevailed there. Sameer looked at the Shiv Linga inside and chimed the bell, but the reverberating sound could not lessen the desolation throbbing inside him. The scent of agarbattis, mingled with jasmine and dhoop was penetrating his senses, as he helplessly tried to wave off the sense of foreboding.

Sameer slumped to the ground in front of Lord Shiva, his hands folded in prayer, his eyes closed in veneration. "All he could ask for was the love of his life...he pleaded to see Naina again...even if she didn't love him...even if she didn't care for him...he wanted to let her know how he felt for her...he wanted to see her once- see her safe, sound and happy!" Sameer did not realize till when he sat there in the temple. It was almost 7 in the evening, when he decided to make a move. He hoped she would be back in the hostel, or that if she'd called. Trying to reassure himself that she was fine, and was probably waiting for him at the hostel, he moved to the nearest train station.

The locals were already jammed because of the heavy rains lashing Mumbai. Seemed like the effect of some cyclonic disturbance, and he hoped the cyclone would not have a catastrophic impact on his own life. After around two hours, he finally exited the train station and made his way back to his hostel. As he entered the corridor, he heard the peon's voice, as he came panting upto him. "Sameer bhaiya...aapke liye subah se kayi baar phone aaya hai...wo har ghante phone kar rahe hain- aapko puch rahe hain....abhi firse karne wale honge...!" "Phone? Kiska?" Sameer uttered, but didn't wait for an answer as he rushed to the warden's room, waiting with bated breath for the phone to ring again. "Naina please...call karo jaldi...main hun yahaan...Naina...Naina please...," Sameer was mumbling under his breath.

All of a sudden, the phone gave a shrill ring, and Sameer picked up the receiver immediately, "Naina...kahaan ho tum...main kabse dhund raha hun tumhe...," Sameer started, worried, with tears streaming down his eyes again.