'Daaru piyegi?'

Naina takes a turn.

'Chai tujhe pina nahi..coffee tujhe acchi nahi lagti to kya pilau?'

naina makes face and turns. pooja holds holds her hand.

'have something. aise devdas banke ghoomne ki koi jarurat nahi he.' she looks in her eyes. pooja takes a deep breath.

'naina...it was your decision, wasn't it! then why the hell you are wandering like a lost soul, your shoulders down, your eyes so dull. what the hell has happened to you?

naina frees her hand and shakes her head. yes, it was her decision but she forgot she was a human too.

'ok. abhi half an hour ka break he. come with me. we, no actually you need talk. no woman. i am not at all interested in your love story. but you need lossen up. you do. so you are coming with me.'

naina shakes her head but pooja being insisting insane inmate pulls her along.

both are sipping their tea.

'bina chai ke me jee nahi sakti. ek bar ki ali ke bagair to neend aa jati he lekin is kambhakht chai ke bina aankh nahi khulti. tujhko chai ki lat kyu nahi lagi?'

'me chai piti to hu lekin chai ki tarah..teri tarh nahi ki pya lagne par bhi chai.'

'see. who is talking! the woman who drank four cup of coffee in one hour yesterday. dont blame me ha. you cant question my love for tea. if i stop taking tea so religiously the tea export can go down.'

naina looks at her in disbelief.

'you know sometimes i wonder how poor soul ali puts up with you! you go bonkers time to time. every second you remind me that your insane.'

'ali is also no angel himself. once he saw me with my ex, he stopped talking to me. in fact it was our break up phase, and he is the same man we are talking about. ali the goody two shoes. he is good as long as i am good. it is always the same. it is not fairy tale naina. he has flaws. every one has. and when you have to live in this world, compromise. i used to smoke. ali never approved but he never stopped me either. and so did i. he still attends army ball with his fellow juniors when i am not around. it just burns me but i know he has his reasons. i cant go and claim that i deserve a god. i cant.'

she stares at her....

'look naina. relation is real. very much real. you have to have put your complains aside for a moment. if you love chocolate but your partner brings you vanilla, try giving it a shot. it'll not hurt you. relation is phenomenal thing not visionary.

you know we've had fair share of leanings. ali and i had huge misunderstanding. instead of sitting and talking like matures we put ourselves off and broke up. he went to his first posting and i returned to my medical college. but in six months i was dialing every damn contact i had to get an info about him. fortunately he came to my college after three months. and we knew that time that we had to patch up. we had to. and since then its been done. we learnt our lesson. we got that if we want to survive we need to compromise with each other. so we do.

it is simple. if i know he is keeping up with me, he deserves a chance. he does. i am not going to compalin every damn second. and yes i am going to ignore his past mistakes. its present which decides what our future will be. past just teaches us to handle our present better. why are you running naina? you have liking for naushad. and the way i have seen him he wants to talk wit you. at least talk with him. give him a chance. you can talk about being alone but in real you cant be.

if i miss ali, i miss my in laws more. instead of being with them i am here doing my job that too all alone. yes, i wanted all this but now i want my mother-in-law with me. i want ali's family with me. i want to celebrate eid. i want to celebrate holi together. i want that feeling of belonging and togetherness. i know it is difficult. but i want to. sooner or later i'll have a transfer to lucknow.

you too naina.. you too deserve a family. now real or lame but naushad is your family. khala, his daughter saira. you dont know but your world revolves around them. why dont you give up for once? just once...'

'i did. i did. i gave up. and i lost.' she sobs...

'pooja.....this time i have only two things with me, my heart and soul. nothing more. if this time i give in and lose once agian, do you think i'll be able to stand up again? i dont think so. i am happy with my empty room and cold bed. i dont want to start over.'

'naina....you are scared, you know!'

'yes. and i'd be. a woman's heart is like petal. once crumpled it cant blossom once again.'

'but, you can't lose your fragrance. once a flower always a flower. stop running woman. go and face him. for once play for losing...aur wese bhi Pierre said....

The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete.'

'i.....I dont know. i dont know a thing now. i want to run away. i want to shut myself from every damn person. i want an escape. i am tired now. first my parents then brother and then i made a fool of myself. i dont want all this. i am tired....really tired.'

'then suicide. yes. suicide. be a coward and kill yourself. if you want to live, you have to fight.

see....give yourself time. it doesnt matter whether you lose or win but stand still. atleast there will be no regrets later.

so much of life lessons now...dusri chai ke liye bol. and please this time....pay. i am not your sponsor.' naina smiles..

second tray of tea arrives and both chucks the cup down.

'accha naina...tune kabhi naushad ko mera ganda sa description diya tha?'

'nahi to...kya huya?' naina asks worriedly.

'paa nahi. parso jab base par gayi thi...ajeeb hi ghoor raha tha. i mean...mujhe laga. aur jab mene hello bola to bhag gaya. is there something i should worry about?' pooja asks suspiciously. this makes naina halt and then she bursts into laughter.

'hahahaha.....yaad he saira ko jo bola tha! word to word dictate kiya he madam ne apne abbu ko!!' and she goes on laughing leaving a sour pooja.

'teri beti ekumber ki chugalkhor he. kitna pyaar karke bheja tha. aadhi raat ko biryaani banayi thi. aur uski hakate dekh. Naina...kaisi maa he! baccho ko manners nahi sikhaa rahi!'

'shut up. i am the best mom. it was your fault. shukra kar teri bedroom life nahi kholi usne...warna...'

'warna kya! tere miyan ko kuch lessons milte. apni bacchi ke muh se dusre ki happy sex life ke baare me sunta to khud ko sharm aati aur apni jindagi rangeen karne ka sochta. uska bhi man wild hota and you'd have gotten a good fuck.'

'i'll kill you!!!!' naina runs after an eloping pooja...

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

khala is making kullu trout fish. saira is sitting on the table as usual watching khala doing her stuff.

'khala. aaap isko nahla kyu rahe ho?'

'ise nahlana nahi saaf karna kahte he. ek kaam karo..apne abbu ke paas jaao. unke pass aapke sare sawalo ke jawab he.'

before the little girl can complain aforesaid man appears and picks saira up.

'abbu..aapko pata he ki abhi ye fish boli! jaise hi khala ne isko pakda ye boli. abbu ye kya boli?'

naushad is smiling. khala just shakes her head. silenece was not at all bearable but this girl is all set to bring earth quake with her questions.

'beta. inki jubaan hum nahi samajh sakte.'

'kyu? ye school me nahi padayi jaati! aap to army me ho. khala ne kaha ki aapko sab maalum he. aap batao..inki juban kaise boli jati he. saira ko sikhna he.' she urges...

khala is laughing now and naushad has no escape. he tries to shift her attention but poor girl doesnt budge.

'khala....humko shayad aane me der ho jaaye. aap wait mat kijiyega. khakar so jayiyega..' naina shouts from hall.

khala looks at naushad accusingly. he turns his eyes.

'hum sab dekh rahe he naushad. aur ye mat sochiyega ki hum aapse jawab chahte he. ye ab aapka sawal he. jawab aap khud ko denge.' and she gets busy in chopping fish. the moment she scales fish, saira cries. naushad takes her away.

naushad looks at door....

hasnt he been trying! hasnt he been approaching! hasnt he been making efforts! and still khala blames him. when she has straightforwardly denied to keep it simple what he can do! he apologised many times. he tried many times but she ran away. even after being on same bed she barely talks. she'd go silent the moemnt he enters. she is busy in her reports, her cases, her files, her every nonsense stuff but does she spare him second glance? even not a glance she spares him. she rejects his presence. she refuses to acknowledge him. now what he is supposed to do?

he makes saira do her homework and himself goes to window...

when arwa left him, he has a reason to cry. but when naina is aloof he doesn't know why he a reason to feel bad. last time he checked he was not at all interested in women and their dramas, what changed now!

there should be someone whom he could consult. he cant visit a relationship expert or adviser. because he doesnt know any. about friends if he talks about it with his colleagues many can die. moreover the only person he has talked much or less is captain amardeep. and that guy is lecher. he will first ask about sex then move to his problems...

perks of being strict rule abiding senior.

he returns to his daughter.

it has just started now....

________________________

around 2 in night naina' shift ends. she is thinking whether to go home alone or stay with pooja. before she can ask pooja she herself comes with a huge grin..

'what!"

'not what, ask who!'

naina looks at her..

'your husband. he is standing outside. poor guy called four hours ago when you'll leave. and all this questionnaire was done on receptionist desk. is this new protocol signed between you two that we'll not talk personally?'

naina glares...

'go. and kiss him. two from my side and make out with him in his jeep. because this hospital has so many thirsty women who'd go and claim your trophy. so better to flash some news. go woman and mark him. kassh ki mera wala bhi yaha hota. usko to jung ladni he biwi ko akela chhodkar. ullu kahi ka.' pooja goes leaving her alone..

with heavy steps she comes out. yes he is there. standing staring somewhere else. alight with street lamps...

she comes to him. an inaudible thanks is muttered by her. he goes to driving seat. and soon both takes off.

there is still a thick wall between them. and both in order has their own reasons to keep it that way.

and they learn lessons of compromise.......the hell they do!