RK' bday treat.

'Why have you brought me here?' Her question just makes him chuckle.

He himself has been wondering that. Not for today but for so long. Why he has been doing what he is not supposed to do. When the idea of letting her go from this poisonous marriage popped in his head, all his selfish issues had teamed up against his sane side. Naina could have gone and fought for her brother alone and be better than she was in this relation and in this house. But....Naina was an addiction. Perhaps the same way as he was for her. Cause he has been observing her falling next to him...after hanging loose between her sanity and berserk side.

Marriage sure was poisonous. Life sure was bullshit. But the peace this all acting lame relation had given for a second...everyday was the only end that kept it holding. And it had led Sujal to act like a responsible companion. If they were roommate or bedmate or even nothing to each other He had this in him to atleast take care of her. Too many months Naina didnt matter. Too many months He had his own paradigms to look out for. The idea of having a wife was tedious. But the idea of not having naina was not at all good. Not at all...

'Taki tumhe is pahadi se dhakka de saku!' His bitter mouth does its duty. Bringing her Sick and crazy ass here...out after she had shut herself in that room for whole seven days was a handful task. His pleas never did good so only way left was pick her up and unload in car like a sack. Naina is Naina.....and he is sujal. So His reply doesn't shut her mouth. Instead she challenges him to do so. Sujal leaves her in car and goes out. Staring at that setting sun. This place is strange. When standing on this cliff you look down you see sun. But when you look above you see moon. The places being switched between two celestial bodies. When it should be sun above moon later beats former and scores a sight for himself. Moon. That small satellite of earth..without light here at this place seems to be threatening sun. Sujal wonders how is this possible or if this is his insane mind trying absurd explanations!

He pulls his box of cigarettes out and lits one.

He has started smoking. But In very controlled way. He smokes when he feels like which is actual after every encounter with Naina.

Naina..a tsunami in his already ransacked life. She has no idea what she has done to his life! Sujal laughs with his thought. Naina Singh Ahaluwalia must be knowing she is a disaster not to herself but to every one. A strange disaster..

Suddenly he sees her spreading her palm. He is puzzled.

'Mujhe bhi pini he!' He stops hearing her.

'Its not good for women' health.'

'Cigarettes dont discriminate. Smoking me mard aurat nahi hota.'

He sees no option. Its better to hand her that burning stick than arguing. He can not win. She knows her facts very well and her replies are almost to the point. He cant fight back.

She smokes two times. Sujal goes ahead and sits on the brink of cliff hanging his feet in open air.

Strange world.

Strange life and..strange people.

His mind has no thought because there are so many running in every direction he has no idea what to think. His life has entagled itself with more distraught person. And yhe mustery she is makes him curiois and tired at the same time. He sighs in defeat. Soon Naina comes and joins him. Both sits in silence.

After three cigarettes he feels light.

Its about to be dark. He knows after few minutes whole city will be twinkling with lights. Just now some people has already lighten up their houses.

His eyes stop at a house...

'Mujhe wo ghar lena tha..' he points to a house almost isolated and not at much distance from the cliff where they are sitting.

Naina hums. Sujal suddenly is surprised. Naina and he. Both have come long way and it just has hit him that Naina is not that old Naina for him. The escape from Kashish. Instead its something different now.

May be it is because they have been living together for so long. And its a saying that living together makes you grow habitual of even a chair in your rokm. Naina is still a human. And he has been in different paradigm with her lately. Physical intimacy. And somewhere that silence which was way more better than tiring themselves for solace.

But this paradigm was not included. This sitting here and telling her that he wanted to buy a house away from people of his home. Sujal had seen Naina in different light. That light being dim red...full of ecstasy and jumping hormones, an excuse of escape, a need of wrapping himself to her...but here Sitting with her he without even glancing at her sees in yellowish hue.

'Piyush ke dost ka tower he wo. He owns that building.' He points to a random building among those burning cityscrappers. Naina hums again. He relishes her silence. Enjoying her closeness. No matter how shattered she is her tiny piece makes him calm. Looks like poison cures poison has come true. Her head slightly collides with his shoulders and it gives him a sweet feeling. The sense of belonging.

After some time..

'Hum yaha rat bhar ruk sakte he?' Naina asks him

'Hmm. Lekin khane ko kuch nahi he.'

'Niche jaa kar la sakte he na.'

'Do ghante ki drive he. May be kuch snacks honge. Main check karta hu.'

He runs back to car. Finds few packets of chips and two cokes. There are three water bottles too.

Naina sips water and hands him over. He quenches himself too. He watches her playing with one water bottle.

One week ago she had cried in his arms. And he could not let her go. Because she had been living with him and she had nowhere to go.

A voice echoes..Stop lying Sujal. And he has to. Naina being a loner and pitiful creature was never in picture...

He knows how badly broken Naina is and a part of him could not let her go and break even more. Though the idea was there to set her free. But he never acted on it. Why! Doesn't matter. He sees no need to naming every thing...answering every question.

In real Naina has been his escape the way he has been hers. There are too many similarities between them. Like they married for their own motives. They both had a cause to run. They both had been and perhps are going after a fantasy. They were so selfish and perhaps are. They both could not tell themselves truth of their own escape and sought in each other.

Suddenly He finds Naina drowsy. He holds her and takes her back to where their car is parked. The place is deserted. People barely comes here. He makes her lie against hood of car. And himself sits next to her. Sipping his coke....and he has no idea when darkness engulfes him along with her. The last though in his mind is that the black hole through which he is being sucked has also swallowed Her. It seems like they will arrive at their doom together.

His eyes opens when Naina' head falls in his lap. And it has hurt. She is not a tiny weak thin woman. She is an army officer. The slap she placed on his cheek hurt for days. It was luck that his teeth were right at place otherwise they would have gone out.

He closes her eyes. A calm is there..strange one. Which has no connection to this situation. But it is here. The bit cold night and cricket cracking at some distance. A though of snake or some poisonous creature coming to him crosses his mind.but when an army officer is sitting next to him she must be knowing geography of this place. He holds her back which is against his hand. She has fallen into his lap already. He adjusts her...her hair spread everywhere and he carefully makes a way to adjust his legs. They are numb. After some time he falls asleep again and wakes up when she pats his cheek. They share those packets pf wafers and rest of coke. And rest of night no sentence is exchanged. Both sits silently or sleeps. Once or twice she has gotten up and walked few steps and then back to where she has been.

When first ray of sun breaks Sujal finds both of them spread horizontally to each other. He pucks wrappers and wakes Up Naina. The time is for going back to that chaotic life.

When both enters in aforementioned doom of theirs...first one to run away is Sujal. He however pulls Naina along him to his room. When both inside he could see her.. again with some questions. Not huge but tiny. His insides wants to kiss her luscious mouth. For this dimension can never hide. Can never be ignored. His lips are itching. Naina' condition kept him dry for almost two weeks. Not that he is complaining but he wants to kiss her. Something dark in him...sinister in him wants to have her. He carefully takes few steps....and is surprised when she herself holds his face and kisses him squarely. And there it is....

His peace. On her lips.....and going down in him...slowly slowly...when she hugs his back and go loose like she has no hesitation in her left. A strange kind of trust...

He picks her up and puts on bed. Not breaking away from her lips...both fall on mattress. A sloppy kiss start after a sensual one ends. And when she looks up at him...Sujal can swear he has one more reason to pull her back along himself in this hell.