Arz kiya he...mulayaza farmayiye..

Kahne ko to khali baithi hu Us Shaam se..

Par kitne kaam yaad aa jate he Mujhe mohbbat ke naam se...

Yu to meri kasak panno par utar jati he har subah

Par man nii lagta mera share shaam se...

Kalam aur kitab hamsaaye ho liye he is tanhai me..

Phir bhi kuch talluk he mere benaam se...

Kabhi naaz tha apne bhikhare huye ashko par...

Aaj khud ke katre lagte he badnaam se..

he is fixing her a plate while she is yawning badly. This night has been her sixteen hours long shift. She has no strength left for moving an inch. She cant.

He signs her to eat. She has no appetite but fatigue. She shakes her head and attempts to get up.

'Khana khakar bhi neend aati he.naina.'

She stares at him. Has something changed when she was at pooja'. Or her icy walls have melt down. She shuts her mind up and digs in. When she is done she attempts to get up to put the plate in sink. He beats her and does the chore himself. All she can do is glare.

There is nothing to be said and done. The truth is as the days have passed she is coming in terms with his nice behavior. His extra efforts are doing the deed and she is suddenly gawking at him. Her third arrival in this house has been a land mark. Naushad has been changed so much. He is trying to thaw her. She can swear to god......she feels melting time to time.

The anger the complaints the complex everything is decreasing slowly. Because......
She is a woman with heart. She may ignore him but her heart beats when he does something for her. It does..and why wouldn't it.... He makes sure of it.

Naina stands up and washes her hand. Naushad is washing the plate. She wants to stay. She wants to observe him. But work has taken a toll over her. She is worn out. She leaves for bedroom. The moment her body touches mattress she is passed out.

**************

Naushad puts her black tea on her side table. She is stirring right now. He looks at her. And keeps on looking..

There had been unnecessary drama but it'd be a lie if he didnt feel guilty for a second. And now trying to work things out he feels what she had been through. Its not about making amends. It is about making it work. He has got this.

She gets up and first thing she looks for is saira. His lips curve into a smile. The next moment her eyes stop at him. His breath is hitched. He points towards her table. She nods and picks the cup. He tries to go out but stops when she smiles to herself after tasting tea.

It surely is the best morning ever. Naushad suddenly feels like a ten year old kid who has just got the bicycle he had been asking for. He cant jump like that kid but he'd have been if he were that young.

He sighs. Isn't it getting twisted and attractive at the same time! Phantom but genuine.

*********
Naina watches her leaving. Pooja had told her to cut him some slack. Like he has been trying really hard. She should not be heartless. She should give in...blah blah blah.

She sees him returning and passing an awkward smile as he spots her looking at him.

if someone asks her about her feelings right now she has nothing to say. pooja is right. she has announced that day that everything here would be professional. she would not cross her line. so she did. she didnt cross her line. but what about him? he is not crossing the line but he is erasing them. what she is supposed to do! she has no idea. she is scared kitten. she has been hurt before. and once bitten twice shy.

but again this man is mystery.....as he was eleven months ago.

she tries to stop her tears. but they spill. they flow and wet her cheeks. her neck. she is sitting in a corner holding picture frame of naveen. today is his first death anniversary.

death and naveen...she is unable to combine these two words. it is hard. just few days ago he was with her. poking her. teasing her. doing every nonsense stunt and making her laugh.

and now here he is. in the frame. he has left her alone. he has broken his promise. he had promised her to be there for her whenever she would need him. and now....she is here, all alone. and he is no more. was this how he had decided to fulfill his promise! was this how he had decided to do his duty of brother!

she cries harder and harder. she can not forget him. she can not move past him. she can not. he was not only her brother but her everything. he had looked after her. he had made her ponytails. he had done her hair. he had made her coffee late night when she was burning her midnight oil. she were not able to stand if it would not have been for him. every hard time in her life and he was there...visible or virtual. he was there. it is not about support and care. he was her friend too. All in one person he was for her. it hurt. it broke her when he left her. his departure broke her because he had left her alone....lonely in the huge world.

she looks at the photo frame. her tears drop on the picture. one by one. wetting the glass and then rolling down. she can see him smiling in pic. she can still hear his voice in her ears....gudiya, itna royegi to bandariya lagegi. ..she would accept to look like clown only if her tears could bring him back. only if...

she remembers the day she was informed about his death. she was unable to come out of shock for days. she had not cried. but the moment she did, she wept an ocean. her sorrow crushed her. lost dream left broken pieces and they injured her. time to time because the pieces were within her. they kept on scratching and scathing her. soon she was all bloody and limp. she had no one. no one to ask for even for a piece of cloth to atleast wind her bound and stop bleeding. she was alone. and it started to kill her.

she gets startled when she feels someone next to her.

naushad rizvi. the man whom her brother handed her to... saying he would take care of her. yes he does. he gives her food and a roof to live under. two people and helps. and there is nothing legal between them except this.

she goes back to naveen. she has still no idea why her brother trusted this man so much! he is so closed man. he barely talks with her. and when he does it is always some rules or protocol she has to follow in his house.

she wants to ask her brother if he was an idiot to believe such hideous person so much. she doesn't see him open up. she barely sees him. in house. in kitchen. anywhere...

she wonders when she started worrying about this guy next to her instead of mourning for her brother. but she did. and it just annoys her. you cant shut yourself with your grief in one room. one nook or cranny will always give you more things to ponder and wonder. a room without escape has not been there... and for naina she has been free and chirpy. her spirits used to be high. and such people are meant to live again...and again...to define life....to symbolize human.

she is sobbing silently. and in farthest corner she is wondering why mr. rizvi is sitting with her. she is little bit scared of him. she doesnt know him but his persona is heavy. his aura is dark. she feels scared.

'pani pi lijiye.' he offers her water. she stares at him. she is asking herself who is this guy. are there two people of same face in this house? is he a doppelganger? what happened to i-hate-womenkind-rizvi?

she accepts the glass. suddenly she feels light. it seems like her burden is shifted. something has been off her chest. even an ounce but it has now.

'naveen sirf dost nahi tha hamara. jaan basti thi usme hamari. wo tha hi aisa. jo bhi us se milta bina pyaar kiye nahi rah pata. phir chahe wo uske batchmates ho ya junior officers. har mahfil ki jaan huya karta tha...naveen.'

'bhaiya the hi aise. jindadil. bolte the jindagi ek baar milti he..khul ke jiyo.' she is unable to stop herself from speaking.

'hmm. usko rona manjoor nahi tha...bolta tha ki rone wale log bujdil hote he. bina roye bhi jindagi jee ja sakti he.'

'lekin....kuch rasto me aankhe nam ho jati he. aap waha kuch nahi kar sakte.'

'hum rasta badal sakte he, naina. jaruri nahi ki gam me gamgeen hokar hi gam ka pata chalta he. hasi me bhi log dard chhipaye phirte he.

aur dard ke bina khushi ka pata nahi chalta. agar thokar nahi lagti he to rasta dikhai nahi deta he.'

she stares at him.....this is first for him...and her too. his words unlike him does magic.

she is now calm.

It happened. Her tears stopped. Her mind got bit relaxed. With few words of consolation she stood up....

she is sad but not grieved. she stares at naveen...hoping one day he'll tell her indirectly why he married her off to him. why he wished her to choose mr. rizvi? but that'll be someday. someday there will be her questions to him...her brother who got the best in the end. he lived for his nation and died for the same. he just fulfilled his promise.

she is proud of her brother. late captain naveen singh ahaluwalia...

the one who created life with his death.

the one who made stories with his end.

the one who taught others how to live by dying himself...

she keeps on sitting there. and the place next to her is also occupied.

after one and half hour they get up. he serves her dinner. then keeps her company at the dinner table. he leaves her to her bedroom. she shuts her door and he is still there gauging her.

it is still somewhere same. she has some problem, some issues and she is heart broken. the way she was that day. and she can see him sitting next to her today too. silent yet resonate.

she goes back to her room. checks some files and makes reports. she cant put an end to things herself...not she cant.