Chapter 2

Teaser page 1

He missed her!

....and she missed him too!

Of course she did and how could she not, when all she could think of is him...his ways, his face and everything about him....

every time she held the keys to her house, it reminded her of his untiring support and heartening gestures...

when she cooked halwa, it took her back to the time they made halwa together in his kitchen...

the times she went to the mandir it made her think of their visit together and how easily he shared his feelings and made her share hers, without any pretensions...she never felt the need to pose as something when with him...she only and always felt a sense of comfort and understanding, the kind she never felt with anyone before.

when she danced, she thought of their dance at the reunion, at navratri and the night they danced with the kids..only he could bring forth the childlike carefree quality in her...

she looked at the empty chair in his cabin and thought of the countless times he motivated her and appreciated her passion to make a difference and even called her a rockstar which made her believe that she was one...

every time she took an auto, she would think of all the times he joked and lightened her mood with his silly banter and wisecracks.

Every single thing reminded her of him...

******

Sitting on the sofa in her house, she longingly shuffled the snow in the snow-globe he had gifted her...though it represented the belief that she alone was enough to take on the world by herself, she felt something was missing...she felt incomplete...yes she could take on the struggles of life by herself but there was a part of her that yearned a sense of belonging, a part of her that wanted to share and be complete...and it was him she wanted to share it with...

Could this be that dreaded feeling they call ‘love’? perhaps yes, but she didn't feel the need to give it a name...she’d rather call it togetherness if she had to call it something...cause by now she knew it was more than just friendship...and she had to let him know!

“JSK Kaka” she answered her phone

“JSK beta, maine teri kal subah ki tickets karwa di hai, tujhe akele jaane mein koi dikkat toh nahi hogi?” asked GK rhetorically.

“nahi Kaka Anuj ne mujhe sab sikha diya” she replied boasting with pride and gratitude.

“Anupama beta, mai kuch kahoon bura toh nahi maanogi? “ GK was sure she wouldn’t mind him saying anything but wanted to give her a heads up on what he was about to say...

“ nahin Kaka aap toh mere aur Anuj ke bade hain, aapko haq hai” she loved taking his name over and over again, it made her feel close to him...

“ beta, ye toh tum bhi jaanti ho aur mai bhi ke Anuj aise Mumbai kyun chala gaya, mai bas itna kehna chahta hoon ke tu usey galat mat samajhna, Anuj bada hi emotional aur sensitive hai, usey ye guilt...” and she stopped him right there to save her further embarrassment...

“Kaka aapko koi safai dene ki zaroorat nahin hai, mai hamesha se jaanti thi ki Anuj ka mann saaf hai aur jo hua usmein unka koi kusoor nahi” a quick flashback of the Diwali night played in her head...

“ main bas wahan jaakar ye baat Anuj ko khud batana chahti hoon” she cheered thinking of the moment she will be able to see him again...

“ thanks  beta, sada sukhi reh” said GK and ended the call with his blessings 

A huge smile crept up her face as she packed her bag and tucked in a box of halwa just for him. 

*****

Blankly staring at the projector screen he flicked between slides...

“Sir aapse koi madam milne aayi hain” informed the office attendant.

“huh? kaun madam? matlab kuch  naam bataya unhone” he asked curiously thinking he had no scheduled appointments that morning.

“nahin Sir naam toh nahi bataya unhone, kehdoon ke aap busy hai?” he asked looking at how uninterested the boss looked.

“haan kehdo ke kuch important baat ho toh mujhe email kar de” said Anuj and sent him off.

A short while later his phone beeped with an email notification, but he didn't bother checking and randomly flicked through the slides again.

And when he was bored of that too he got up to leave the room and checked his phone as he was passing the reception lobby....he stopped in his tracks and traced back when he saw through the frosted glass, a blurred image of a saree clad lady sitting on sofa...the image matched hers entirely but ‘it can’t be her’ he muttered and tapped his head to brush off the thought and walked to the elevator....while waiting, he checked his phone again to find an email with a subject title that read ‘Anuj’....and he knew it was her in the lobby...

chalo aaj ke liye itna hi, kal milte hai with another part, might have to post a few cause I have a lot to say please please please post a comment to let me know what you thought and if you are as excited as I am to see this play out on screen if we are lucky enough

the song I had in mind while writing this part was Samjhawan, feel free to use you own or may be you dont need one, whatever floats your boat