Here is the next update.
Within the hint of a second
"So this one is your favorite?" She whispered.
"Yes till now. But..."
"But?"
"Not here. Come with me."
I put my brushes, paint tubes and jars into a bag.
"Let's go." Holding her hand into mine, I almost ran towards my rooftop.
"Chad pe?"
"No, there." I pointed at small balcony which was covered with some unknown but beautiful parasitic plant.
"Wahan?! Wahan Kahan?" She asked craning her neck.
Holding up the branches I nodded, "Here."
And she gasped. It was not a small place, the balcony was connected to the other side of the rooftop.
"Yeh sab...aapne? It's beautiful!"
"Murals. One of my favorites." I smiled. The insides of the parapets were filled with drawings.
"I can clearly see that." She went around, and my heart skipped a beat. This was me, my world, and somehow I felt more vulnerable.
"Sumo do you mind if I draw you?" I pointed at one of the corner, where the parapet was still clean.
"Sit, and try not to move much." I made her sit on a mat.
I dipped a brush into the paint and paused mid-air, looking at her. Her eyes were closed, a small smile playing on her lips and her hair...it was almost red due to first rays of Sun.
My personal Sun. It was always fascinating, to look at her,and the way the whole universe was chasing her.
And I love her...
It took me almost four hours to complete. I sighed looking at the outcome. Then only I realised, suman was not sitting on her said place. I turned around only to bump into her.
And...
And there she was standing with eyes full of tears.
"Suman kya hua? Why are you crying?" I panicked.
"It's...it's ...just... beautiful" And she burst into loud sobs.
Every muscle of my body relaxed. I laughed so hard, that I collapsed backwards.
"It's not funny!" She patted her tears away.
And I doubled up even harder.
"Fine I am going."
"No no Suman" still trying to catch my breath, "thank you." I paused, "this is the best compliment anyone can get, for anything."
"Let me see again." She shoved me aside.
The whole mural was about her, it was a tree with big branches, and between the leaves, there were mock-up of a plane, where we met for the first time, then every other times we had spent together. And the most prominent one was she sitting in a black room, smiling her million dollars smile, and an open window behind her from where a straight bright ray of sun playing with her hair, making it look like a flame.
"You are truly a gem Mr Malhotra. It's just...just...so you." She mumbled.
"Me?"
"Yes, this bright colours, strong bold strokes of brushes, it shows how strong you are. It shows how you look at the world, it's beautiful Mr Malhotra, just like your soul, just like you."
"Strong and me!"
"Yes, you may have your insecurities, you may have your fears, but I don't know, there must be something, in you, that makes you a great lawyer and a great artist."
Suddenly she held my hands "aapne Jo yeh alag dunia banayi haina, yeh aapko bahar lana hoga, you should show the world, the real Shravan Malhotra. The things you can do, people just dream about it. You have to come out of your shell, you just have to."
.
.
.
A night and day to remember, Suman sitting infront of me, and me talking absolute gibberish. Wasn't it the dream I dreamt, to have a companion, to have a friend, one who would be able to understand me in and out.
"Mr Malhotra, sirf baatein hi karni hai ya coffee bhi pilani hai it's already 9!?" she smiled.
"Oh! Yes, sure." I rang kamal via intercom.
"Aise phone pe?" amused she asked.
"Haan kyun?"
"Nahin, actually thoda ajeeb hai na, I mean, it just we tend to compare others with ourselves, and mere ghar pe aisa nahin hota na, to... You can understand!"
"Hmm I can. But my life isn't normal no Suman, I have always craved to have a normal family, but of course mine is nothing close to normal." I sighed. It felt better, now I didn't need to pretend in front of her. She knew, how broken I was, how devastated I was.
"Mr Malhotra, ek baat bolun, don't be angry okay? Agar aapke parents ghalat the, to aap bhi to sahi nahin haina!"
"Matlab?" though it felt a little weird, but still her baffling mind process was somehow very intriguing.
"I agree, whatever they have done to you, isn't right. But why didn't you protest? Why did you let it go? Why couldn't you stand in front of them and say you want justification of everything? Why couldn't you say, you want to draw, but those weren't for sale, those were here because you like to draw? Why couldn't you stand by what you believe in?"
"It's not that easy Suman."
"I know it's not. But you can try...as I said, you are not weak, par kuch rok raha hai aapko. Try Mr Malhotra try. Can't you? Won't you?"
Again the wrong questions. What's with this girl? Why she had to ask all those questions, of which I was trying to get answers?
.
.
.
Suman and I had become inseparable by then. She was the friend I never had, she was the confidant I never had, she was that particular person who I never had. It had become a ritual, that every Sunday I would spend the whole day with her.
Today was one of those days.
I pressed the calling Bell for the third time.
She never takes this much time, hope she is fine.
After fifth attempt, she opened the door.
And there she was holding a jhadu and for some reasons she was angry.
"Kya baat hai, aaj jhadu se pitne ka irada hai kya?!"
"Please...dimag kharab ho rakkha hai."
"Kyun ab kisne kya kar dala?" I entered shoving her playfully.
Yikes!
"Yeh tornado kab aya?" I laughed looking at the drawing room. The floor was covered with books, cloths, cushions, curtains and what not!
"Makdi!" she whispered.
"Kya?"
"Makdi...spider." she whisper-shouted.
"Toh?"
"Toh matlab?! Spider...there..." she pointed towards the pile of books which sat on the floor.
"Okay. To tum aise jhadu leke?"
"Areyyy it was there na. Then I shouted, aur phir wall se gir gaya n pata nahin kahan gaya."
"Gir gaya tumhare chillane se? Kya baat hai Suman tumhare chillane se spider ko heart attack?" I tried not to laugh, as her eyes widened.
"Pagal ho aap? Yahan pe main mari jaa rahi hoon!" She said dramatically.
"Achcha achcha okay, let me see." Taking the jhadu from her hand, me and Suman, okay practically suman directing me that too standing on and shouting from the sofa, and me Shravan Malhotra, DPhil in criminology from Oxford University, was trying to find that silly spider that too for half an hour, which seemed to be not fruitful.
What love makes us do.
"So Suman Tiwari, karate jaanti hai, but spider se darrti hai." I laughed.
"Darr sabko lagta hai Mr Malhotra, aap bhi to darrte ho."
"Main kisse?"
"Apne aap se pucho. Mujhse behetar aap jante ho." She smirked at me. "But now have to set all these again." She sighed. "But usse pehele music."
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel.
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life for me yeah
And I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
And I'm feeling good
"Chalo ab shuru karte hai!" She started arranging books, humming all along.
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world for me
I kept looking at her, the song, so apt for her, she was the new world for me, she was my peace, truly a bold world for me which I kept hiding from.
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good
And I'm feeling good
Now it was my time, to face the world.
And I had already decided to confess my feelings to her.
"Suman ek baat puchu?"
"Hmmm" she hummed, putting cushions back to theirs places.
"What do you feel, kisi ladki ko propose kaise kiya jaa sakta hai?"
"Propose?" She wiggled her eyebrows, "kisko propose karne wale ho?"
"Nahin, aise hi randomly pucha. Tell me na kisi ladki ko kaise propose Kar sakte hai, jisse woh na hi na bol sake!"
"I don't know." She mumbled.
"No I mean socho koi tumse propose karne wala hai, how do you want it to be done? Like sabke samne down on the knee aisa kuch?"
"Mujhse kaun kyun karega?"
"Socho na kisine kiya to?"
"Simple sa I love you, kuch extravagant sa mujhe nahin chahiye. So no sabke samne and down on the knee. But haan, proposal dil se hona chahiye. But aap kyun puch rahe ho? Koi hai Kya?"
"Nahin aise hi."
"Aise hi? Hmmm...waise aapko to koi bhi ladki Haan kahegi"
"Koi bhi?"
"Koi bhi. Look at you Mr Malhotra, you are so good looking, and more over you are such a good man. Aap jisse pyaar karenge na, bahut lucky hogi."
I looked at her, so oblivious of everything, she didn't even know what she had said just now, but it lingered in my brain through my ear, making me content all of a sudden.
.
.
.
"Kabhi humare sath bhi waqt guzara karo."
I turned to look at the tall silhouette, standing at the base of the staircase.
"You are still awake?"
"Hmm, ab beta raat ko 12 baje ghar aata hai chupke se, woh bhi har Sunday, to neend kaise ayegi?" He came towards me, slowly and deliberately, making me nervous all along.
"Dost k sath tha main." I tried to dodge any kind of conversation with him, when I could feel he was a bit high.
"Suman Tiwari?"
"Suman Tiwari k sath the na tum?" He asked again, when I did not answer.
"Yes."
"Pasand karte ho?" He asked making me edgy, this was not the time to continue this conversation.
"Pasand karte ho?" He asked again.
"Ji."
"Aur woh?"
"Patah nahin."
"Hmmm. To patah karo. I'll be waiting to know." He smiled and turned to leave.
Something is not right. But what?
.
.
.
"Where are you?"
"In a meeting."
"Okay, call me when it's over."
This was not Suman, she never called or messaged me during office period, but from her message I could clearly sense, she was either excited or something had happened.
"What Suman?" I rang her, desperately to hear her voice.
"Yeh kya baat hui, what Suman, kamse kam hello hi bol dete." She chirped.
"Kya?!"
"Kuch nahin, milna hai kaam hai kab mil sakte hai?"
"Jab bhi bolo."
"Okay, to abhi. Aapke office k paas wale coffee shop pe wait kar rahi hoon."
.
.
.
"What happened?" I took a seat in front of her.
"Yeh" she placed an envelope on the table.
I opened it, and it was the invite from Malhotra and Associates for a party. With a personalized note, from my father.
Looking forward to meet you.
"Papa ne tumhe invite bheja hai!" It was something so hard to believe.
"Tabhi to. What did you tell him? Jo mujhe..." She looked at me,"don't be offended, but kuch gadbad ki hai kya aapne?" She arched her eyebrows.
Should I tell her? Or should I wait?
"Oh Mr Malhotra, aapke yeh monologues na...irritate karti hai." She tapped her fingers on the table. Clearly she was impatient to know.
"I have no idea Suman, may be we are spending so much time together that's why."
"So you want me to come?" Hesitation was clear in her eyes.
"If you want to."
She nodded, "everything will be fine, don't worry."
But...
It was so unlike Papa, I didn't understand suddenly why he was so interested in my life, he asked me about Suman, now this invitation.
No Papa not this time. I am not going to stay quiet. This time I'll fight. I am not going to let go off the girl I love.
The day had come, making me more and more anxious. Anxious in both good and bad way.
Good, because firstly, I was going to see Suman, and this party would not be that boring, and secondly, I had gifted her a gown for today. I had lost sleep for past two days, just imagining her in that.
And bad, as I could never trust the man behind all this. My father. He was certainly up to something, which I couldn't find or understand.
"Yeh barbar aap kya sochne lag jaate hai?" A light tap on my shoulder.
And there she was, all in her glory, looking like a dream. The navy blue gown fitted her perfectly. She was looking like a princess, revealing the perfect collar bones a way, which triggered some inappropriate thoughts in me.
" You are looking beautiful." I whispered.
"Well thanks to you." She smiled.
"Here you are." My father's voice boomed from my side. "Finally I am meeting the friend, Shravan talks about."
"Hello uncle." Suman smiled.
"Well hello, I am Ramnath Malhotra, Shravan's father. It's really nice to meet you."
He looked at me earning a frown from me.
"So can I borrow your friend? Just for few minutes." He said in his honey coated voice.
I nodded, knowing there wasn't any escape.
Papa introduced her to every possible guests out here. Suman seemed to be little stiff, meeting all these big shots, wasn't any easy task to do. After all most half an hour she came back to me with a smile.
A smile which didn't reach to her eyes.
"All okay?"
"Yes." She answered.
"Suman tell me the truth. Kya hua? Papane kuch kaha?"
"Nahin to... actually I am not feeling well, may I just..." She didn't even complete her sentence and ran towards the door.
"Suman?!" I followed her "Suman wait please, kya hua batao to!" I tried to hold her hand.
"Kuch nahin Mr Malhotra, let me go. And please stop following me." She flinched from my touch and hurried towards the gate.
All I could was stand and look at her retreating back.
And at this part of the story, I was the one who died...
Within the hint of a second.
************************************
So here it is. Sorry for updating late. And that too a long boring one. It's kinda filler chapter. Next chapter will be the blasted one.
PS sorry for all the typos. Not proof read.
The song I have used is feeling good by Avicii, as I thought it would be more apt for suman.
Edited by Itssanjh - 8 years ago
Chat Clubs
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
