Fifteen days passed by.

Shaahid sat on his bed folding his legs in padmasana.

Time was a beautiful healer. And time was what he took to execute his plan.

Sakina had already drifted apart a lot from Salman. Yet, at times he returned to her thoughts and speeches, though mostly as a negative vibe.

Shaahid counted. He might take just a few more days to revive the accident in her mind allover again.

She might be shocked, once more, but this double impact, would reverse the illusive world she had created. In all probabilities she would herself remember that this one's fake, Salman had actually died eight months back.
And also, Salman was not the right being for her.

Shaahid breathed deep.
In his life, he had impacted many with his strange skills and words, but healing someone was a completely different feeling altogether.
And if he did succeed, he would be grateful to Saajid bhai for allowing him to play with her mind..

Someone coughed at the door.

" Who's there? "

Someone now peeped in.

" Who's that?

Murshid!!!? " , Shaahid exclaimed.

Murshid walked in with a ear to ear smile.

" So good to have you back after so many days. Did you find your wife? "

Murshid grinned, and then beckoned someone from outside the door.

Someone walked in again. Clad in burkha, with only the eyes visible.

" Here is my extremely beautiful wife, back to me. "

Shaahid smiled wide.
Though he could not cherish an ounce of the beauty of the beautiful wife, he said,
" Thanks to Allah that you got back such a beautiful wife in intact piece. "

She coughed.

Murshid chuckled.
" She was forced to run away by that 'dhongi' baba. Otherwise she loves me a lot. "

She coughed again.

" Seems so. " , Shaahid said.
" My dear lady! Will you ever run away again? "

She coughed louder.

" No no, she won't ever. That baba is behind the bars now for cheating on so many people. Whom will she run away with? " , Murshid spoke for her.

She coughed faintly.

" Looks like she needs cough syrup. " , Shaahid said.

Murshid made an indifferent face.
" No no. She has a bad habit of coughing. "

" Ohkay....
Have a nice life ahead, Murshid.
Keep her charming. " , Shaahid grinned.

Murshid and his wife walked away.
While leaving she coughed the loudest.
And Shaahid very well noticed that she dropped something at the door.

He went and picked it up.

A note,

' Ya Allah! You are so handsome.
I can stay with you all my life.
*Cough cough*
I am severely beautiful. But this terrible horrible old husband of mine keeps me undercover.
*Cough cough*
I am all willing to open up for you.
This is my number. Don't tell that creep I have a phone. '

Shaahid kept standing, scratching his stubble.

____

Peeping inside the room for one last time, Shaahid finally stepped in.

The woman who sat at the desk with a huge spectacle on, surprisingly smiled.

Shaahid very confidently took seat.
" Actually I was thinking, where is Adnan Sami Sir for the last fifteen days. Then I came to know he's typhoid struck. And you are the acting principal. But you look so serious from outside the room that I couldn't gather courage much to ask you his whereabouts. "

The woman kept smiling.
" I look serious from outside. Not anymore once you step inside. I'm friendlier than even the cutest dog on earth. "

" Thank god. Anyways, any chance of him returning soon? I had some work with him. "

" Work? Who on earth has work with Adnan Sami? " , the smile that still crept on her lips made her look like a saint unaffected by anything.

" Ehh... I know.
But I do have. Maybe I'm awkward. "
Shaahid shrugged.

" You can visit his home. Because most of the other teachers don't want him to return any sooner. " , she chuckled.

" Ohh... No one including you likes him right? " , Shaahid asked.

" No one on earth. He is dirty, ugly, and most probably a criminal who can kill for money. " , strangely she was still smiling.
Shaahid didn't gather if her facial muscles had suddenly paralysed in that position.

But his head banged with the last part of the statement.
" Kill for money?
No.
Is it? " , he tried to act.

" We have no proof. But seeing how he snatched the uncle's property as soon as his cousin, who was our colleague too, died and the uncle got paralysed, makes us much confident about our doubt.
Also, one of us has seen a man coming to his chamber who did not look good at all, a few months back. Maybe to settle money of contract killing. " , Shaahid now felt so irritated at her smile while such serious discussions that he felt like forcing her face back to normal.

Instead, he said calmly,
" Really? But if you all are so confident, why didn't you go to the police? "

" Everyone deserves a peaceful life and shuns unnecessary drama.
He has no idea that we doubt him. If he does, we can be fired. We are middle aged people and love our jobs.
Here's his address. " , the woman ended the conversation on a smiling note.

Shaahid got up, putting the note in his pocket.

" Is this his house, or his uncle's? "

" He sold his uncle's house for a lot of money and is now expanding his own house to the size of an airport. "

" Thanks. Now that I'm exiting, you may stop smiling. Your cheeks seem to hurt. " , Shaahid walked out of the room.

_____

Sakina lovingly stared at the tall man standing at the ticket counter for a long time.

A smile automatically appeared on her face.

She unmindfully tip topped herself, doing her hair right, pressing her lips to merge the lipstick, properly pleating the dupatta.

He returned.

" Just two tickets left in the last row.
I don't think it was a good idea watching a movie. "

" So what?
Last seats are the best. Is it a corner? " , she glowed.

Shaahid rolled his eyes.
" No. Corner seats are for couples. Though we look like one now, we ain't. Your Salman is still very much alive in the Himalayas. "

" Shut up.

By the way, this movie is surely gonna be exciting. What a name,
'Mad Woman'. ", she drooled.

" Yeah, it surely is a biopic of you. " , Shaahid grinned.

Sakina threw an angry look at him.
They then went inside and took seat.

Shaahid sat with a gourd face.

" What happened? Are you not happy? " , Sakina asked.

"Not really. I don't like watching movies in a dark closed space. The idea is so bad. " , he said.

" So, where do we watch movies?
In the field, on a white Saree with a projector? Like those bad old days? " , she made faces.

" Exactly! Old is gold. " , Shaahid chuckled.

" Salman hates going to the movies. I too could not come to the theatre for so many years. " , she suddenly said.

Shaahid now stared at her unblinking.
" You changed everything of your choice for Salman? "

She nodded as if she was very disappointed with herself now.

Shaahid then murmured,
" Then how come, it's only he who choked in this relationship, and not you as well?

Though I've seen your extreme demands on the night of my fever, but it should have been vice versa.

Such a weird couple. "

" Did you say something? " , Sakina asked.

" Nothing. Just that, since you couldn't fulfil your wishes with him, you are doing those with me. And I have to fulfil them against my own wish.
Difference is, you did because you loved him. Why am I being forced to do? "

Shaahid as if told those to himself and concentrated on the movie that had started.

While Sakina, kept staring at him, forgetting everything else.
A smile slowly crawling from the lips to her cheeks, to her eyes.

Shaahid, didn't you just almost say, that you love me? 
So, since I love Salman, you cannot say that you love me.
Wow, two men on earth love me now.

I am important!
I am.....important!!!! 
I am....on top of the world!!!! 

Sakina felt like screaming. But all she did was stare at the man beside her.

Just return , Salman!!!
You'll see, how a wonderful man has already fallen for me. You will then fight for me. I know.

But whom will I choose after the battle?
Let's see.