So dearies, here is the next part as promised. Please do read and looking forward to your comments!

Part 28

"Yeh un dinon ki baat hai jab log fursat se farvary ki sardiyon mein subah ki dhoop senk rahe the. Background mein sama khoobsurat tha aur Maine Pyar Kiya ke gaane use aur khushnuma bana rahe the jab ek solah saal ki deewani danadan cycle pe pedal maarti hui school ja rahi thi. Aaj exam ka result aanewala tha aur hamesha ki tarah use yakeen tha ki wo top karegi. Apni padhayi ko lekar use itna atmavishvas tha ki koi usse ek number bhi zyaada le le yeh ho hi nahi sakta tha. Par uss deewani ko kya pataa tha ki aaj uski zindagi badalne wali thi hamesha ke liye. Ganeet ke sawal chutakiyon mein hal karnewali ko yeh ehsaas hi nahi hua ki school ke corridor mein hui ek takkar ne uski ab tak ki aur aanewali poori zindagi ka hisaab ulat pulat kar diya.

Wo anjaana bilkul mujhse ulat vyaktitva wala tha. Naak pe gussa, chehre pe rosh, aur apni jaan ko hatheli pe leke chalnewala tha. Par uski aankhen...isse pehle kabhi samundar nahi dekha tha...par uski aankhen samundar se bhi gehri thi. Unmein ek bholapan, ek masoomiyat thi. Sabne use ladaku aur shararti samjha par main unn kaali gehri aakhon mein khudko doobne se ronk hi nahi paayi. Maine toh kabhi "Prem" ke bhi sapne nahi dekhe the jitna wo mere dil dimaag pe chaa gaya tha. Jab wo class mein meri bagal wali seat par aakar baitha, toh kuch palon ke liye main saans lena bhool gayi. Aisa laga jaise aas paas aur kuch nahi, sirf main aur woh, ek dusre mein khoye hue, sirf ek dusre ke liye. Kuch samajh hi nahi pa rahi thi ki kya hua, 16 saalon mein kabhi aisa anubhav nahi kiya par dil se uski tasveer ja hi nahi rahi thi. Wo samne ho ya na ho, aankhen bandh karti toh uska hi chehra samne aa jata. Saari duniya achanak khoobsurat ho gayi aur uss budhdhu si jhalli deewani ko uss anjane se pyar ho gaya. Pehli nazar ka pehla pyar".

Sameer paused it here and was dumbstruck. He knew their first meet but never had Naina voiced it in so many words. He knew she cared for him always but their repeated fights and accusations hurled at him by her Papa had never allowed him to know her feelings for him on day one. He knew he too had been lost for a moment in those deep orbs and his world had come to a standstill but he had jerked out of it and run behind Pankaj to make him pay for his abusive language towards his mom. And later, the turn of events had let him think of Naina as a khadoos and teacher's pet until he had got to know her in true sense after trying to come close to her to fulfill his bet. He had then realised the genuine pure soul she was and that she had already fallen for him while for him it was a gradual process when her each gesture made him fall for her a bit more. And now he was madly and irrevocably in love with her.

He had a gleeful smile plastered on his face. He absolutely loved that she narrated their story as her first written venture and he was the first audience. Now he was eager to know the entire allegory from her perspective and how she had defined their relationship, especially after what happened recently and what was the climax. With a newfound zeal, he doned the headphones back and restarted the cassette and got lost reminiscing all the lovely moments that he had unknowingly spent with her in school, library, ground, classroom, water tap, and the most important part of his life, the Mt. Abu trip when he realized his true feelings for her. She had described everything from her perspective, even the difficult times he faced in school but how the destiny had played Cupid to her and made her to believe that he was in love with her too.

It again pained his heart to hear the bet revealation when she described her feeling of hurt and betrayal. How he wished all over again that it was the one thing he so desperately wanted to change if he could turn back the time. But, while he was waiting eagerly to know the next, the narrative ended abruptly stating that some relationships are not meant to be and that fate is a cruel  tease.

He waited and waited but the cassette ultimately stopped rolling and he felt bereft. He quickly reversed to the B side in hopes of hearing further. The B side was blank even after his repeated attempts at FFing and scanning the whole side.

He didn't know what to make of it as a lot had happened after that day and while now just when he had started feeling the blossoming of their relationship again, she had shown a cold an indifferent attitude. Just a few moments ago, she had smiled when he had inadvertently predicted their future together. She neither seemed hurt nor angry. He couldn't fathom what had caused her to end it so abruptly. Why hadn't she described further? What was she thinking about them? Was all that pretext of friendship just a facade as he had proposed friendship for the competition? Did it mean that she still wanted only to work in harmony for winning and only avoid undercurrents? Did he still not hold any place in her heart? Then why had she trusted him to be with her at the clinic? Why had she herself seated in the front seat? Why was she thankful that he took a stand for her in front of her father?

A number of such thoughts kept cruising through his mind but not one definite answer. For the first time he had self-doubt if at all he was highly mistaken in gauging her emotions, feelings, and expressions. He was mystified as to what to do next. No, he wasn't ready to let her go if she didn't want him back in her life but at the same time, he didn't want to force her to do something her heart didn't desire. There were enough people around her who didn't give two hoots about her wishes and feelings, he didn't want to add himself to that list.

He closed his eyes and folded his hands with fingers pressing the opposite knuckles "Bhagwanji, please koi raasta dikhao. Main Naina ke bina nahi reh sakta par main sirf uski khushi chahta hoon. Naina ki wajah se main bhi aap par vishvas karne laga hoon, please raasta dikhao".

The notebook, which Naina had given him exclusively for writing the stories fell from his lap with a small thud on the floor. His eyes fell on it and he bent to pick it up when he saw some paper jutting out from between the book. He pulled put the folded letter, which was slightly crumpled. He was perplexed and unfolded to make sure it wasn't anything important before discarding it.

His eyes fell on the writing and immediately lit as he could recognise Naina's neat handwriting anywhere, it was like pearls drawn on paper. The sizes of all letters in same proportion, and since it was in Hindi, all words were dashed overhead without missing out any.

He started to read and was awestruck as it was her first love letter to him. She had written it to him when she thought she was leaving for Vanasthali and that she wouldn't be able to tutor him for the headboy competition.

"Sameer,
Tum mera pehla pyar ho. Jis din se tum mile ho kisi na kisi tarah meri madad karte aaye ho. Lekin jab tumne meri madad maangi hai, tab main zindagi bhar ke liye tumse durr ja rahi hoon. Tumne hi dou baar mere jute bhi lautaye. Lekin main tumhare liye yeh formulas ke notes chodke ja rahi hoon. Shayad yahi tumhe meri yaad dilaye". (Verbatim from SonyLiv episode)

She had never given this letter to him, in fact he recalled how she had tried to regain her formulas notebook from his bag and in the attempt, everything fell out of his bag on the floor. He was sure, she had sneaked it back then along with the notebook. He hugged the letter to his heart as his eyes misted recalling those lovely moments they had spent while she was teaching him. His accidental last finger brush had made her shiver and she was flushed. While he wasn't much affected at that time, thinking about it made his heart flutter and a blushy smile crept up his face.

"Thank you Bhagwanji, mujhe ishara dene ke liye ki Naina ka dil kya chahta hai". With more determination now, he decided to continue on his love-embarked journey. He was completely resolute that nothing and no one could separate them, not even Naina herself.

With renewed vigor, he jotted down the entire narrative verbatim. He already knew how he wanted it to progress after the dreadful day but he wanted Naina to accept and acknowledge it first. After all, till now she had never uttered the three magical words. In fact he himself had stopped her eventhough at numerous occassions he had felt that she was ready to confess. But he didn't want to hurt her and hence had decided to confess himself first, assure her of his undying declaration before she took her step. But now it was time and though he was impatient to hear it since she had already silently acknowledged his efforts, he didn't want it to be rushed or forced. But rather, make her realise what her heart yearned and soothe away her worries. He knew that when Naina trusted, it was completely and wholly. He knew she loved him and had mostly forgiven him and also trusted him now but was hesitant in accepting it that he wouldn't betray her again.

So he had to make her believe in him, in them and let her accept it on her own accordance. He pulled out the light blue sweater that Naina had woven for him and hugged it along with her first letter declaring her love and lied down lost in the happy memories. Soon exhaustion took over and he fell into peaceful slumber.

Next day in school, when he entered the class with Naina, his eyes gestured Swati who was seated at their usual bench waiting for Naina. He eye-gestured her from the doorway to exchange seats and he rightfully claimed his place next to her as was already directed by the teachers for the competition that pairs would sit and work together. At first, Naina gave a confused expression but as realisation dawned on her, she didn't object, rather looked away and got busy with the books. As usual, he was diligent in class, painstakingly noting everything down that was taught or instructed. Even in the most difficult and boring classes of maths and physics, not once his attention diverted.

To be absolutely honest with herself, Naina was highly impressed that it wasn't a pretense but he was assiduous when it came to their victory and her reputation of a topper.

This continued for a couple of days, when one day during recess, she handed him another cassette "Sameer, ismein maine baaki dou kahaniyan bhi record kar di hai. Kaash main khud likh pati toh tumhe itni takleef nahi karni padti".

"Mujhe koi takleef nahi hai Naina, yaad hai na, hume sab kuch saath milkar karna hai. Main apna Walkman saath laya hoon toh hum na ek kaam karte hai, main kaan mein laga ke ek baar sun leta hoon aur hum khana bhi kha lete hai". She nodded and pulled out two lunch boxes from her bag.

When Chachiji realised that every day Naina asked to pack extra food, which she shared with Sameer, she had started packing three tiffins, for the girls and Sameer so that even he could have hearty home-cooked meals. First time when Sameer saw a whole separate lunch box for himself that Naina gave him, he thanked Chachiji in the evening for her gesture and the extra trouble she went through. "Chachiji, aapne mere liye bhi tiffin pack kiya. Thank you so much par please aap itni takleef mat kijiye. Mujhe aadat hai bahar ka khane ki". In response "mujhe pataa hai beta. Naina ne bataya tha ki tum bachpan se hi hastel mein rahe ho. Ghar ka khana toh shayad hi kabhi mila hoga na. Issliye jab tak yahan ho, jaise baaki bachche ghar ka khana khate hai, tum bhi khaoge. Aur ismein mujhe koi takleef nahi hoti. Par haan, tumhe tinde bhi khane padenge". She smiled and jibed to lighten his emotional overwhelm. He gave a wide smile as eyes misted thinking that Chachiji was a true mother in every sense unlike his who hardly even acknowledged his existence.

Sameer doned his headphones, inserted the cassette and started listening to the new narrative while feeding her and eating simultaneously. Chachiji usually made it a point to pack things like Pulav etc. that could be eaten with spoon and without much difficulty with the left hand. But Naina was now accustomed to being fed by him in solitude irrespective of the type of food.

Who said guys cant multitask, while his hand and eyes were focused on the feeding and eating tasks, his mind was registering the story Naina had weaved so beautifully. One was a psychological thriller about a girl whose lover dies in an accident but his body wasn't found. So, she couldn't believe in his death. Gradually, her mental health started deteriorating and she started hallucinating and seeing him around her every where. The doctors said that she was too far gone to the point of no return as now she was a complete schizophrenic and might need to be admitted to an asylum for treatment. Her best friend since childhood stepped in and whisked her away to a new land trying to coax her on the pretext of their friendship. But her mental state did not stabilise and he had to take a major step for the survival of his best friend-cum love. Only she had never known or seen him more than a friend but he always cared for her and had let her go when she found happiness with someone else. He decided to step in his shoes and underwent cosmetic surgery to transform his face into that of her boyfriend. Things were getting too out of control when he stepped in front of her and saved her. After several years of treatment and counselling, and his patient support and love, she was finally cured and realized what her best friend had done for her and that she had loved the genuine person behind that face (the story idea borrowed from movie Madhoshi. Concept was great but bad treatment of script).

"Wow Naina, kya kahani hai! Tumhe aise dhansu ideas aate kahan se hai. Matlab kya schizophrenia sach mein koi bimari hai?"

"Haan Sameer, kuch waqt pehle jab hum kark rog par research kar rahe the, maine schizophrenia ke baare mein thoda padha tha. Interesting laga toh achchi tarah detail mein padha aur ghar ke samne Doctor uncle hai na, unse bhi baat ki thi janakari ke liye. Buss kahani sochte samay, yeh idea dimaag mein aa gaya aur kahani bunn li. Tumhe theek lagi?"

"Theek? Arre Naina, tum toh ekdum kamaal ho kamaal. Maine pehle bhi kaha tha, aaj fir kehta hoon, tumhare andar sach much ek bahut gehra lekhak hai jo likhne se pehle apni kahani ko jeeta hai aur fir itni sachayi se pesh karta hai ki padhnewala bhi use jeene lagta hai. Main toh tumhari writing ka fan ho gaya".

She smiled that reached her eyes at his wholehearted appreciation devoid of any ego or psyche. The bell rang indicating the end of recess "Ab cassette andar rakho, dusri baad mein sun lena".

He happily nodded and gathered the things and cleared the desk, ready for the next class. The only witness to their friendly exchange in the classroom was another Agrawal who found it all very surreal seeing Naina this happy.