Somebody please suggest a title, I haven't been able to come up with one ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is time pe toh Sumo apne room me hi hogi.Kahin woh mujhe phir se avoid to nahi kar rahi hai" he thought to himself. Shravan's impatience gave away to anger. He messaged her.
"Call me back right now Sumo, bohout important baat karni hai"
First he did not know why she was avoiding him. Now she wasn't picking his calls or returning his messages.
But this guy Adithya was getting on his nerves. Who was he to dance with his Sumo like that, to apply haldi in front of everybody ? He was beyond irritating. There was something fake about him, his plastered smile, his trying to be nice and happy all the time. He silently cursed him and picked up his car keys. No matter what,Sumo needs to know he thought and drove to Tiwari killa.
It was late in the evening, Delhi traffic had slowed down a bit and he reached Tiwari killa soon.Sumo's room light was on. So she is awake he thought, then why not pick up the phone ? He knocked the door using the secret code. She would come to the door he knew. Once , twice and then thrice. No sign of Sumo. He called her again, no response.
Thats it ! Main tumhe phir kabhi bhi call nahi karoong our baat bhi nahi karoonga, he thought.But one question was eating him from inside, why ? Why was the sudden change ? Did he say anything to hurt her ? Sumo wouldn't run away from him, she would ask him if that was the case. He instinctively walked towards the park near Tiwari killa. Lalaji's words kept echoing in his ears"Yeh to tumhara khel hai puttar, dil se kheloge to tumhe koi bhi hara nahi payega"
The park was open and almost empty. A few couples were seated in the benches, thats when he saw her. There was no doubt, it was Sumo. He could only see her from behind. She was sitting near some steps, in the same place where they met during the Khosla case. She had been really upset that day. May be thats why she was here now.
There was a light behind her.It looked like she was just staring at her own shadow.He walked upto her. His tall shadow fell next to hers. Sumo did not look up. She knew. He sat down beside her and looked at her. There was a small gap between their shadows. She was still looking down.Her eyes were blank, in so much pain that couldn't be expressed. He wanted to hug her and take away all the pain, instead he just looked at her and decided to just hold her hands. Thats when he noticed that there was something in her hands. Her fist was closed, she was holding it so tightly that he could see the strain on her wrist.He moved closer to her, she said nothing and she leaned on his shoulder.
Shravan smiled. He had wanted this. He wanted an assurance that nothing had changed between them. He put his right arm over her shoulder and opened her fist with his left arm. He couldn't recognize it at first, it looked like a small arm band. He held it up in front of the light, it was a friendship band with his name written on it. He remembered how they had writtern their names and tied it on each other's wrist on friendship day in school.
"Sumo, tum mujhe miss kar rahi thi ?" he asked continuing to hold her hands and squeezed them.
He needed no answer. A small drop fell on his hands and all the pain in Sumo's eyes started coming out, one tear at a time. He held her and let her cry.
He would tell her about Adithya, but later.
He would tell her how angry and worried he had been, but later.
He would tell her how much he had missed her, but later.
He would tell her that he had spoken to his father about them, but later.
Nothing mattered now.His Sumo was by his side. How blind he had been ? How could he even have thought that his Sumo could be someone else's ? Shravan smiled, content, that what was his, was his only. He kissed her hair,softly and felt her smile through the tears.
Miljaane de jo dil bane
Ek Duje kevaaste "