EPISODE-21

 

 

"I am Pregnant......... Raj maine abhi tak yeh baat kisi ko nahin batayi hai....... Raj please do something........ I need him Raj......... Please kisi se is waqt kuch mat kehna................. You'll have to bring him back to me Raj.... at any cost....I m counting on you completely............."

 

"Raj...Kahan kho gaye?" He jerked out of his thoughts when Naina called his name. Neetika's voice was still reiterating in his ears. They were in train on their way back to Delhi.

"Kuch nahin."

"Tum theek ho na Raj."

"Of Course Naina...I am absolutely fine." He said forcing a fake smile on his face.

 

They reached Delhi late at night. Rajveer dropped Naina at her place and left for his own apartment. Next day he went to Army Headquarters for making enquiries about Navin. He came back disappointed...there was no news about Navin. The rescue teams have returned without any success.

 

Rajveer was sitting in his room in dark. He didn't even switch on the lights. He could not stop thinking about Neetika and Naina who have pinned up all their hopes to him. Those teary eyes of Naina and Neetika didn't fade from his eyes even for a second. Besides he himself was worried about Navin. He wished he knew what should be done next.....but he was absolutely clueless. He went to meet Naina.

 

An hour later he was sitting with Naina in her house. Both of them were quiet. Naina's mother has had a minor stroke. Rajveer could feel the difference that Navin's absence had made......to so many lives. So many things had changed. For one last week atleast Naina had barely smiled. She wasn't the same Naina he knew, the brat who would always get into silly arguments... who was immature and would hardly be serious. Naina was more responsible and mature. She was slowly getting a grip over herself. Though she was still worried and scared she had started to hide her feelings from others now. She took over the entire responsibility of her parents.

 

"Tumhara haath kaisa hai?" Naina finally broke the silence.

"Absolutely fine now."

"Naina….rescue teams…"

"I know….woh bhi khaali haath wapas aa gaye hain….Still no news of Bhaiyya.Isnt it?"

Rajveer looked at her in surprise.

"Don't look so surprised Raj....I am saying what is written on your face…Anyways, leave it……Coffee loge?" She asked him forcing a faint smile on her face.

Rajveer could not believe what he just heard… "Leave it". How could Naina say something like that about Navin? Naina's behaviour was unusual and weird. Rajveer could not understand what was going on in her mind.

"RAJJ??? I asked you for coffee….loge?"

"Yeah"

5 minutes later Naina came back with two cups of coffee.

"Kya soch rahe ho Raj?"

"Nothing."

"Liar…Tum yahi soch rahe ho na ki mujhe kya hua hai."

"Haan..." He answered after a small pause.

"Kuch nahin hua hai mujhe. It's just that Maa ko doctor ne stress lene se mana kiya hai so I thought……….." She continued after a pause "Aur waise bhi kitne din ho gaye na is tarah se saath baith ke baat kiye hue."

"You have grown up Naina."

"Hmmmm…. Bhaiyya hamesha yahi to chahte the. Bahut achcha tareeka nikala hai apni baat manwane ka." Her eyes were moist as she said this. She quickly tried to change the topic.

"Raj tumhe yaad hai jab tum pehli baar ghar aaye the and maine coffee banayi thi Bhaiyya aur Simi ke liye… You know Simi ne to uske baad se mere ghar mein coffee peena hi chod diya." A smile came on their faces as they remembered those days……the days when they became friends.

 

They talked about their fond memories without realizing the time. Their smiles grew bigger with the passing time and eventually they ended up laughing on their own mischieves. For a while they managed to distant themselves from their pain….. They needed a break and more than that they needed a smile…. A genuine one.

 

Around midnight Rajveer realized that it was getting late. So he got up to leave.

"Raj it's late…itni raat ko jaane ki kya zaroorat hai. Stay back."

"Nahin Naina I have to go….Main kal ek week ke liye out of town jaa raha hoon. I'll have to leave early in the morning."

"Out of town? Why and where?"

"Hamare saath front pe jo doosre officers the unse milne.May be any of them know something about Navin."

"Okay but you take care Raj."

"Hmmmmm…. You too take care……Aunty ka dhyaan rakhna aur…"

"Raj….Dont worry about here….I will take care of everything."

"I know….I'll see you Naina….Bye."

"Bye Raj."

 

Rajveer had hardly stepped out of door when he suddenly stopped and came back to Naina. He kept his hand over her head and putting a smile over his face said,

"It's good to see you smile Naina."

Naina tried to force a smile in an attempt to hide her tears without much success. She clung to him…….crying.Rajveer was holding her tightly and tears were flowing out of his eyes.