"You know, Farhan... Isiliye main Samrat ko nahi batana chahti thi apni feelings. Lekin ab usse pata chal gaya toh, look at how it turned into a big mess. Tum hi socho na. Agar usey pata nahi chalta, agar main apni secret ko secret rakh paati toh kya aaj ka yeh din aata?"

Tanvi says packing away her things in her apartment. Sunday morning, Farhan doesn't have a day off but has put in a request and got it accepted for her sake. It wasn't her request that he come to see her off. It wasn't something she could casually ask, though she wanted. She messaged him last night that she was leaving the air base.

It was a shock that he couldn't sleep all night. He couldn't tell Samrat either, as she made him swear. He didn't want to argue, and can't argue now either. She will surely say, pehle hum dost bane, fir Samrat se dosti hui.

He sighs heavily and murmurs to himself, "Sach mein kya din aa gaya?"

He knows he cannot convince Tanvi once she decided, but he tries,

"Tanvi, are you sure about this?"

"Haan, Farhan!" Tanvi responds without looking at him, "Yahi achcha hai humare liye. Hum soldiers ko desh se pyar karna chahie sabse zyada. "

Farhan sighs, hearing those words. "Come on, Tanvi. Tum aur Samrat! Tum dono, aur yahan tak ki humare Hawks team ke har member. Sab itne bhavuk hai! Emotions per kaam karna galat hai yeh ham jante hain. Lekin jab khud ki baat aayi toh yahi karte hain!"

Isha, who's been silently sitting on Tanvi's bed, clears her throat. "Farhan. She has made her decision."

Sameera, who's helping Tanvi pack, grunts. "Haan toh! It can be changed. Mujhe bhi nahi lagta this is the right thing to do. Abhi ko bhi yahi lagta hai!"

Tanvi looks on in anguish. Sameera stops folding Tanvi's clothes and says,

"This morning he was shocked. Ki jo transfer ho rahi thi woh tumhari hai. Sam ki transfer bhi reject ho gayi aur tumhari accept hui. Tumhe pata usne kya kaha? Usne kaha ki usey nahi pata, aur usne iss dusre transfer per utna dhyan nahi diya, as he minds his own business. But he says he regrets it now. He regrets it so much ki woh aaj kaam ke wajah se yahan par nahi aa paya."

Tanvi smiles a bit weekly. "I know yaar. Mere faisle se koi khush nahi hai. Par main tum logon ko humesha ke liye chhod kar toh nahi ja rahi na. Hum hamesha dost rahenge. Aur waise bhi, to be honest, mujhe khushi hai ki Abhimanyu ko pata nahi chala. Agar pata chalta toh meri transfer nahin hone deta."

Sameera shakes her head. "Tum aise chali jaaogi to Abhi bahut gussa ho jayega!"

"Main usse mana lungi, Sam."

"Huh. Iss ladki ka main kya karun?" Sameera, who was trying one last time to convince Tanvi not to leave, now gives up.

"Kuch nahi. Abhimanyu ko maine samjha diya hai. Subah message kar diya," Tanvi says reluctantly. "Haan, usne nahi padha ab tak par... he will come around."

Sameera rolls her eyes. "Do you really think he will be okay with all this so easily? Aur Samrat ka kya? Hum sabko to pata hai lekin Sam ko toh pata bhi nahin ki tum ja rahi ho!"

"Sameera! Bas bahut hua yaar." Tanvi shakes her head. "Ab chodo bhi yeh baatein, come on help me pack!"

Sameera sighs and resumes packing clothes into Tanvi's suitcase. There are four of them. Tanvi puts her art journals and larger items into another.

"Yeh toh galat hai yaar!" Farhan sits on the bed next to Isha and speaks after a pause.

Tanvi rushes to his side to give him a light head pat.

"Come on, Farhan. It's okay! Maana ki yeh transfer iss bar meri zid hai. Lekin hum logon ki kabhi bhi transfer ho sakti hai. Aisa job hai humara. Aur chahe hum jahan bhi rahe, hum hamesha dost rahenge na yaar. Aur touch mein bhi rahenge. Toh tum aise udaas kyun ho rahe ho?"

"Kyun ki..." Farhan shakes his head, at a loss for words to explain. "You know the reason, Tanz! Aisa jana sahi nahi hai! You're also running away from Sam."

"It's for the best... I'm sorry..."

Tanvi murmurs and summons a cheerful smile to encourage her friends, but none of them smile back. Farhan looks the most annoyed. Simple logic. When she feels like crying, how can she make anyone smile?

She can see she upset all her friends. Undoubtedly, Samrat will be upset too. Isha, even the logical one, is emotional today. The girl hasn't said "tum galat kar rahi, Tanvi," like the others did, but Tanvi can read the same message on her face.

Even so, I cannot change my decision. Aur ab meri transfer accept bhi ho gai toh aur kya kar sakte hain....  Tanvi swallows her anguish. Farhan rises to his feet.

"Tanz, Main tujhe jaate hue nahi dekh sakta. Toh main yahan se sabse pehle nikal raha hoon. Alvida meri dost... Teri bahut yaad aayegi. Midnight coffee mere sath kaun batega ab? Sam? Haan, batega lekin uski sujhi hui surat dekhni hogi mujhe. I will miss your smiling face. Tum kahin bhi ho, ummed hai mujhe yaad rakhogi. At least jab zarurat pade, iss dost ki zikr karna. Khuda hafiz."

Farhan quickly makes it to the door. Tanvi calls after him. "Khuda hafiz? Farhan? This isn't goodbye and I can never forget you or any of my friends! Air force jabse join kiya hai tab se tum sab mere pakke yaar ho. Meri aakhri request before I go, Farhan. I don't know where you are going. Aaj tumhara off hai na? Agar tum Samrat se mile mere jane se pehle toh... Don't tell him I'm leaving. Usey kal pata chalega hi."

Farhan reluctantly nods. But Tanvi makes him swear. Agitated, he leaves her quarters in a hurry. Though disappointed, Tanvi makes the girls swear too, who promise they will keep her secret and hang out with her until sunset, the time when she will leave. This Sunday is melancholy for all of them.

***

At sector 53, the officers are preparing for Harjot ma'am's comeback. It's Sunday. But they are going about their regular aircraft checks and drills under Samrat's instructions.

Samrat is in his flying suit, ready for takeoff. The engineering team looked over his aircraft, led by Vivek.

"Tanvi kaam par kyu nahi aayi? She knows Sunday isn't a day off. We're flying and carrying on the momentum..."

Samrat asks Vivek if he knows about Tanvi. The guy shrugs and says Tanvi just said she was running late. The engineering girls and flying squad members urge Samrat to go ahead with the trials without waiting for their missing member.

I hope she is fine. It is odd for her to be late... Samrat thinks but still goes ahead with his duties. As he flies in formation with his comrades, the skies are clear, but his mind is far from it. His expertise and experience helps him maintain his jet stable. No pilot can fly right with his mind elsewhere. Just what is wrong with him? Why cannot he keep a calm mind?

He lands as the sun sets, feeling slightly exhausted after several rounds of flying around the desert. The temperature is slightly cooler with the monsoon approaching in the surrounding areas, but that doesn't make flying all day any easier.

He proclaims before the officers gathered before him in the hangar. "With this, we are officially finished! Well, until Harjot ma'am returns!"

Sector 53 errupts in cheers. Samrat knows the reason behind their rejoicing. They will get two days off before Harjot returns. Harjot ma'am is running late with her mission.

Huh, life in the air force is unpredictable. But challenging and fun. Every day, interesting. Samrat chuckles, almost forgetting all his personal worries and mingles with his squad members and other officers as they exchange firm handshakes.

The thought strikes him. If only Tanvi was here, if only everything between them was as before, she would have been the first to high-five him. Who knows? He'd have hugged her in his euphoria.

Ugh, why is his mind muddled with these thoughts? He lets out a heavy sigh and calls for everyone to disperse. That's when someone dressed in civilian clothes drives into the hangar. Farhan!

Farhan hops off of his jeep and brushes his hair out of relief. "Ha! Made it! Somehow made it because Abhimanyu intervened! Hadh hai yaar! Yahan ke security log! Mujhe rok rahe, even though they know I'm an air force officer working in the same air base."

Samrat chuckles, approaching his buddy. He's still in his flying suit and hasn't put away his helmet. Now, though, he carefully takes off his gloves and pockets them.

"That's because you are not involved in the Shakti aircraft project, Farhan."

"Haan, but... Ya Khuda... I almost forgot why I came here..."

Samrat frowns. His smile drops. Farhan's cheerful attitude also made him forget his initial thoughts. Farhan wouldn't be here for no reason.

"Kya hua?" Before Samrat can ask, Farhan yells,

"Tanvi! She's leaving the airbase!"

"Kya?" Samrat frowns. Farhan continues in a frantic voice,

"She's leaving dude! On transfer! Uski transfer accept hui... You'll probably never see her again. She never plans to return. Are you okay with that?"

Samrat's eyes widen. Conflicting emotions rise in his chest. Tanvi... is leaving. The thought of not seeing her is suddenly unbearable... Wait, it's not sudden. It's how it is... it's time to accept.

"This means the transfer that Abhi was speaking of that got accepted... that was Tanvi's. Isliye Mera transfer reject hua tha?" Samrat mumbles to himself. Farhan stares at him in disbelief.

"Abhi ko nahi pata tha dusri transfer kisi... Wait! What? Tumne bhi transfer ke liye apply kiya, Samrat? Tumne mujhe iske bare mein bataya bhi nahin? "

"Accept hota toh batata na..."

"You idiot!" Farhan shakes his head exasperatedly. "You and Tanvi are both idiots! Ugh, we don't have time. Tanvi must already be near the air base gates. The girls are seeing her off. She wanted me to be there while she boarded the bus, lekin maine usse chakma dekar yahan aa gaya... I mean main subah se yahan aane ki koshish kar raha tha lekin hua nahi. And you were flying your jet. Let me check. Oh, you have 15 minutes to get there. Tumhari duty khatm ho gayi?"

Samrat pulls out his jeep keys in a hurry. "Khatm na hui toh bhi mujhe jana hoga!"

He doesn't wait for Farhan to finish what he's saying. He is already running, helmet in hand towards his jeep, not bothering that the other officers are viewing him weirdly. Remembering he gave his jeep to Vivek and the keys with him are spare ones, he runs like a maniac on the runway. Farhan drives up to his side.

"Idiot, jeep mein aao! Jaldi pahunch sakte hain!"

Samrat lightly chuckles and gets in the jeep. What's he about to do? Stop Tanvi? Oh yes, and after that? He's not sure. His emotions are a mess. Abhimanyu's recent advice pops into his head. Ugh... Abhi, you are right. I can't let my self-hatred ruin everything. I hope I'm not too late...

Perhaps Farhan notices his mood. He jokes, "see, main kitna mahan hoon. You owe me for this. Main nahin hota toh tumhe pata bhi nahin chalta na, Sam, ki Tanvi ja rahi hai. Waise she made me swear, lekin I broke it..."

"Oh my god she will surely get mad at you. At both of us maybe..." Samrat laughs, imagining all the possibilities lying ahead, and they speed towards the airbase.

***

❤️TBC❤️

❤️Up next: Samrat finds Tanvi and makes one desperate attempt to stop her. Will he confess? Will she agree? What happens exactly?❤️🫣

Read on☺️🫠

V & C🫠