"Hey come on,come on!! Hurry up..." Kapil was leading his friends through the airport of MUMBAI,to board the flight to Punjab..he was very excited to meet his family,old friends and visit his fav spots in his hometown in Punjab...and show it all to his friends. Mainly Sumona,Ali and Kiku who were new there..ok who was he kidding,he was excited to show it especially to sumona,who he knew to be new there. "Whoa,easy there! U r not the one who has to carry the luggage!" Chandan and Ali retorted. They all laughed. "Of course I don't have to carry the luggage..itne acche pyare pyare dost ho aap log..mera kitna dhyan rakhte ho.."he said sweetly and hugged them both. "Chal chal,zyada senti hone ki zarurat nai hai..dur hut" they both said. Kapil pretended to be wounded and all collapsed into fits of laughter. They then went through all the procedures and boarded the flight. Kapil was seated between sumona and ginni,while the others too sat at their respective seats. Sumona was very excited..for reasons only she knew,no one else. She smiled to herself and looked out of the window,ready to go to the place which was like home to her. Because of one man..
Govind. Just the name was enough to bring a huge smile to her face. He was her best friend since the 9th std. 8 months ago, he had left to serve one year for an NGO. They were in college together for 5 years. While there,they were offered to do two years of social service in punjab,attend classes in different colleges and give the university exams there.Attendance was taken care of and they wud get the degree. They had agreed as both valued practical knowledge more. And boy..those years were pure heaven. Govind was a tornado,a whirlwind. Always bursting with energy. He drove her and everyone in a 10 mile radius insane,totally insane with laughter effortlessly,ceaselessly. He had a golden heart. He helped anyone and everyone. He had a golden voice,and just hearing it made ppl swoon. He played all instruments and was an excellent dancer. He was a genius and truly intelligent. He was gentle,caring and loving towards animals. He was smart and innocent at the same time. He was endearing like a child. He also teased her like hell. But most importantly,he took care of her deeply and was always there. He was also mad,totally mad. Ridiculous. He never cared abt what ppl thought. Be weird,let the world go to hell was his motto. The stories of their escapades in Punjab were too many and too funny. She was sure they wud come back to her as they went to all the places in Punjab which she already knew and loved. Every place. They hadn't left any out. He was the person who had told her that all ppl are basically gud at heart..
She came out of that world when Kapil waved his hand in front of her face. "Uh hi.." She said. "What were u thinking about?" He asked. "Nothing,absolutely nothing!" She replied. She hadn't told anyone about govind..she wanted to keep it to herself only. But she noticed kapil's suspicious gaze. He then let it go and turned to ginni to flirt. She swallowed and realised that govind meant the same to her as ginni did to Kapil,and she really wanted to deny the fact that one of the main reasons she was remembering him was to get rid of her jealousy of ginni. But she cudnt deny it,bcoz it was the truth.
Their flight was about to land in 40 mins. Sumona felt a hand on hers. She turned to face Kapil.
"Can I talk to u for a few mins?" He asked. She nodded. He excused themselves frm the others and grabbing her hand,led her to the back of the luxurious business class flight. When they stopped,he was still holding her hand. She did not have the heart to pull it back and he was in no mood of releasing it. He gently drew circles on her hand with his thumb casually. He then said "I um..I just wanted to make sure u r comfortable..I mean wid all of us punjabis..our camaraderie..I don't want u to feel left out. You r like family to me. Remember that,always." He finished nervously,waiting for her reaction. She was stunned. He was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. "Aww,Kapil..." Saying so,she launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly,trying to really believe that such a masterpiece was real. He was surprised but pleased as well. He hugged her back,wrapping his arms tightly around her. After a while,when both realised how long they had been holding each other,they pulled back finally,reluctantly. Sumona then said " Don't worry,Kapil.. I don't feel out of place or uncomfortable AT ALL. U guys r my best friends..and u r not like family to me,u r exactly like family to me." She smiled. His answering smile was so dazzling that it melted her insides. "Ok.then. Come on.. Flight about to land." He said,she was abt to return to their seats when he surprised her by pulling her in for yet another hug. Then he released her,and ignoring her stunned face grabbed her hand and they returned to their seats. Ginni asked Kapil sweetly "where were u guys?" He grinned at her and said "just making sure sumona is comfortable wid us mad ppl." Everyone laughed at that. Sumona grinned and thought that she was made for keeping mad ppl company..first govind and then Kapil and their team.. She loved all of them..the thought of govind made her smile again,and she earned yet another suspicious glance from Kapil. She gave him a thumbs up. He shook his head and pointed to her head,indicating she was the craziest among them all. She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned back.
Finally,their flight landed. They all climbed out,and were pleasantly surprised wid the pure fresh air after the polluted air of mumbai. They hurried through the airport,enjoying themselves..Sumona was happy,in her second home,as she called it,coz of govind. She wished he was here...but then shook her head and thought his social responsibilities shud come first. The suspicious glances from Kapil had not stopped,and she decided to try to quit behaving that way,lest he decided to have her admitted at the centre for mentally unstable ppl in Amritsar! They checked into their hotel rooms. Kapil had booked separate luxurious rooms for all of them. She was again touched by his caring nature. It was late in the night. They were in the hotel lobby,hanging out. But most of them had begun to yawn. Preeti knew that no one wud go to bed unless ordered to. So she commanded them "our real trip begins tmrw. So go to bed now,all of u so u r energised..if not ,I will make u go to hell!" They were all scared. Preeti cud be real strict when she wanted to! Kapil laughed and said "U will definitely never win any prize for politeness,that's for sure,preetz!" They all grinned. But preeti glared at them and all of them promptly fled to bed. Ha,she thought. Teach me politeness! Then she herself went to bed. All the lights were switched off in the hotel,everyone was dead tired and immediately went to sleep. Tomorrow wud be the beginning of a roller coaster ride,they knew.
Love u all đđ
