Droplets (Rajeev FF) New LINK Page-155 - Page 22

Part # 5

As Adil-Ashna reach office'.every1 was firstly a bit surprised'..becoz Adil was never late'..and then he was wid his wife'.so they naturally expected sumthing!! And as expected, they got to hear the announcement of Ashna joining them from today onwards'.

Adil: As u all knw'.this is Ashna'(wid a pause) Raichand'.(as he says this Ashna looks at him and then looks away) She will be joining us from today'.I want u all to co-operate wid her and help her wid anything and everything!!! And now'.Shekhar'.wud u pls introduce her to the staff'.(and Adil left as Shekhar came forward'..he was always sum1 who wud speak less)

Shekhar: Hello'.I'm Shekhar Kapoor'..iss company ka financial head '.welcome to RGI'.ma'm?? (he adds ma'm'.as if asking her if he needs to address her like that)

Ashna: Hey pls'.dont bother to address me like that'.pls do wid Ashna!!

Shekhar: (smiles) Sure'chaliye main aapko bakiyon se milata hu'.

Ashna: Yeah'.but before that'.mujhe 'aap' kehna bandh karoge'pls?? See'I'm not making u feel old by calling u 'aap''.to phir tumhe bhi aisa nahi karna chahiye na??

Shekhar: (laughs) Sorry'.actually maine tumhare bare me kuch alag hi suna tha'.so didn't want to take a chance'.anyways'.we'll talk abt that later'.pehle introductions khatam kar lete hai'.(and they proceeded wid the intros)

After a while'.Shekhar cums to Adil'.

Shekhar: Tumne to mujhe bataya hi nahi tha ki Ashna office join karne wali hai!!

Adil: Bata dene se kuch fark padhta kya??

Shekhar: Nope'.its just mujhe almost heart attack aa gaya tha'..tumhe itna late office ate dekh kar'..wo bhi ek ladki k saath'.wo to baad me strike kiya'ye to aapki biwi hi hai!!

Adil: To phir pehle kya laga tha??

Shekhar: Ahh'nothing!! Pehle to mujhse kuch socha hi nahi jaa raha tha'..

Adil: Sabse introduce kara diya?? All went well??

Shekhar: Yeah'.all gud!! Pehle to main usse respectfully baat kar raha tha'.ma'm aur aap kaha'.but then she was gud enough to get me rid of that'

Adil: U never called ME'.sir or aap'.aaj usse kaise keh diya??

Shekhar: Wo to isliye kyunki mujhe Uncle ki (Mr. Sehgal) kahin hui baat yaad aa gayi'.ki unki beti kaafi gussewali hai'.mujhe laga bura maan gayi'.to main to gaya!! But thankfully'.she was gud!!

Adil: That's becoz'.wo har kisise gussa nahi karti'.in fact she is very sweet wid ppl she likes'.

Shekhar: Tum usse itni achhi tarah samajhte ho'.ye dekh kar achha laga!! (he comments wid a smile)

Adil: (gives him a sharp look) Stop smiling and meri baat dhyan se suno'.Ashna iss project me kaam karegi'.(he says handing him a file) and u'll help her wid this'.make sure usse koi problem na ho'.u see she has got no experience'..but haan'.she is very smart as well'.isliye iss baat ka dhyan rakhna ki'.usse jitna pata hona chahiye usse zyada usse kuch pata na chale'..and haan'.pls double check her work!!

Shekhar felt a lil odd at the instuctions'..Adil seemed to be extra alert abt his wife'.and wanted him to be alert as well'.he suddenly remembers his pause while taking her name'.and then Ashna's looking at him'..he had noticed it all as he was keenly looking at both'.mostly admiring the perfect couple'..but these things had just caught his eyes'.which he had forgotten for a moment after talking to Ashna!! And now'.he suddenly remembers taking away all the important documents from the office'.specially anything related to Sehgal Industries''he remembers Adil not really interested in any merger'..Shekhar didn't feel everything was alright..'.but then as always'.he wud not ask Adil abt anything!!! He just cudnt question his commands!!!

Adil: Kya hua Shekhar?? Any doubts??

Shekhar: No Adil'.bas laga ki shayad mujhe kuch sawalo ke jawab mil gaye hai'.

Adil: (looks up in his eyes) In that case'.kuch naye sawal aa gaye honge mann me'hai na?? (and Shekhar nods in a yes) Zindagi hamesha ek sawal chhor jati hai Shekhar'.so dont run behind the answers'..just go wid the flow!!

Shekhar: Hmm'.as you say!! (and he leaves wid a smile)

Though Shekhar did have many unanswered questions'.nothing mattered more than Adil's wish and command'.which he had always tried to fulfill. He has knwn Adil for quite a long tym now''in fact he might be the only one who has been able to knw Adil this much'..and so he cared a lot for this one guy'.who never seemed to care for himself''he doesn't exactly knw wat all disturbs Adil so much'.but he does knw sum facts abt him which are already quite disturbing'.and he knws there is more to him'..he might not knw wat all Adil thinks all the while'.but he understands when Adil is in distress'.and so he always tries to be wid him in anything and everything'..as he always knws Adil has to be right'..after all in his own words'.thats the least he can do for his frnd!!

Here Ashna is in her cabin'..which was next to Adil's'.he cud be seen from here'..but only if he wanted'.because the curtains were only from his side'.she cud not help thinking how tactful he was as he wanted to keep an eye on her literally!!! She then shook her head wid a mere smirk'..and went on to her chair'.but as she was abt to sit on it'.sum memories came rushing bak to her mind.

MS (Mr. Sehgal): Arre beta'.tum aur office me??

Ashna: Kyun?? Main nahi aa sakti kya??

MS: Of course aa sakti ho'.in fact I want u to be here only'.

Ashna: Jee nahi'.utni meherbaani nahi karne wali main'.mujhe to bas kuch paise chahiye the'.isliye ayi hu'.

MS: (sighs) Main bhi sochu'.meri utni achhi kismat kaha jo tumhe kisi cabin me baith kar iss tarah kaam karte dekhu'..chalo ye lo'.tumhare paise'.waise kaha jaa rahi ho??

Ashna: Mere frnd ki birthday par'..actually uske liye gift lena hai na'.isiliye paise mange'..

MS: Kaha hai ye party??

Ashna: Uske ghar pe hi hai'..

MS: Okay then'.u go and enjoy'.and haan'.take care!!

Kitni ajeeb baat hai na Papa'.aap mujhe kuch aise hi dekhna chahte the'.lekin maine kabhi apka wo sapna pura nahi kiya'..shayad main kabhi ek achhi beti nahi ban payi Papa'..but haan'.Adil se shaadi karne se at least ye ek fayda to hua'..maine apki ek khwaish to puri kar dii'.

There is a knock on the door'.

Shekhar: Am I disrupting sum thoughts??

Ashna: (quickly wipes her moistened eyes) No'not at all!!

Shekhar: Actually'..Adil ne ye file diya hai'.he says'.tum issi pe kaam karogi'.and u can consider urself to be very lucky Mrs. Raichand'.coz I'm going to help u wid this project!!

Ashna didn't really catch wat he said at the end'.coz she was simply stuck on to the addressing'. "Mrs. Raichand"'..it was sumthing'..new!!!

Shekhar: Hey'.are u listening??

Ashna: Huh'.kya?? Wat did u say??

Shekhar: I said'.I wud be helping u wid this project Ashna!!

Ashna: Oh yeah'.thats gud!! So I guess'.we shud start working from now only'.wo kya hai ki'.I may take some time to adapt myself to this office work'.

Shekhar: I knw'.Adil told me u r new'.but don't worry'.we'll manage well!!

A few days pass by'..and everything was going quite smoothly'.not for Ashna though'.because'.she was not really allowed to find out anything at all!! Again'.Shekhar wud always be there wid all the files and documents necessary'.all she wud do was to chalk out plans and discuss the probabilities wid him'..she cud hardly be out of her cabin as well'.so it seemed quite impossible on her part to get any useful information!!!

Today Shekhar had been busy wid Adil on sumthing very important'.in fact Adil seemed to be in a hurry as he left the office'..and Shekhar was taking care of many things'..so for Ashna it was a gud news that Shekhar was not constantly wid her'..even Adil was not watching her!! So Ashna decided to go to the store-room where all the files were kept'..she thought'.perhaps she cud find sumthing there!!

Reaching the room'..Ashna begins to search'.but it was hard for her as she didn't really knw wat she was searching!! But however she keeps going thru the files'..when suddenly the light goes off!!!

Ashna was dam scared'..firstly becoz she was actually scared of darkness'. And secondly becoz this room was on the ground floor''..not many ppl were here'.just the guards at the gates'.which was not very near!!'..So she was worried abt the fact that if she screamed'..may be none will hear her'..

Uff'kahan phas gayi!! Yaha itna andhera hai'..aur to aur'.ye store-room itni separated hai'..agar kisi wajah se cheekhi bhi'..to bhi kisiko sunayi nahi dega'..waise itna bada office hai'.light kaise chali gayi?? Aur generator chalu kyun nahi ho raha?? Ab kab tak yaha w8 karu'.lets see'.bahar jane ki koshish karti hu'.

And she starts to hold onto things that came her way'.so that she can sumhow make her way outside!!

Here Adil parked his car at the parking lot'.and was entering the building'.as he was cuming thru the inner way'.he had to pass along the store-room'..and as he saw the lights being off and the generator not being started as yet'..he decided to take a look himself'..The switch box'.was in the store-room only!!! [Hehehe]

So Adil entered the store-room'.but clashed with sumone!!! That person was abt to fall'.when he held 'her' by the waist'.steadied her'.and quickly left her!!

Adil: Kaun??

Ashna: (gulping hard as her throat was already dry by then) Wo'main hu!!

Adil: Ashna!!!

They had been quite close to each other due to the fact that he was holding her few moments bak and none was so conscious to move away!! But as Adil realizes its Ashna he takes a step bak while taking her name in a mere whisper "Ashna"''and here Ashna looks up trying to see his face''he had never taken her name this softly nor had she felt the warmth of his breath before!! It felt different'.but she however composed herself!!

Ashna: Tum yaha??

Adil: Haan'bas switch board yaha hai to check karne aya tha'.tum nikal jao'.main dekhke ata hu!! (and he takes out his mobile to get sum light)

Ashna: Main kaise niklu?? Kitna andhera hai!! Main akeli kahin nahi jaa rahi hu!!

Adil: Okay then'.mere saath aao'.switch board thoda andar hai'.(and he gives her his hand'.which she takes unmindfully'.not really thinking abt anything else'.she follows his ways) Ek kaam karo'.ye mobile lo'.aur yaha zara roshni daalo'

She does as he says'.but she cudnt really focus the light on the perfect spot everytym'..so he just held her hand wid his'.shifting the focus on the correct place'.Here Ashna suddenly feels conscious of his warm touch'.but at the same tym'.she feels sumthing else too'.sumthing crawling on her feet!! As she shakes her leg a bit'.she sees the cockroach'..and begins to scream'while clinging onto Adil!!

Here Adil was concentrating on the wires'.as he felt one wire must be loose'.and that's y the generator was not working'.but suddenly he feels Ashna screaming and then clutching his coat tightly'.his hands automatically move towards her waist to balance himself'..and then he looks at her face'..which was now very much visible as his eyes had adjusted to the darkness''.he cud see her panicked face'..with her eyes on the ground'..and also he cud notice the sweat drops on her forehead'..she had been in here for quite long'..unmindfully his left hand raised itself to wipe away those sweat drops from her forehead'.along wid the wrinkles!!

But in the midway'..Ashna held his hands firmly'.out of panic'.and he finally gave sum attention to wat she was screaming'..she was saying "Cockroach" '..'.With that realization Adil came to his senses''and covered her mouth with his other hand''saying "Stop screaming Ashna"''and as if his words did the wonders'..and Ashna immediately stopped screaming or even panicking'.coz the wrinkles on her forehead were gone'.while she stared into his 'emotionless' eyes!!!

Adil slowly moved his hand from her mouth and asked'.

Adil: Kahan hai cockroach?

Ashna: (coming out of the trance) Wo'wo yehi hai'.(and she looks here and there on the ground'..she finds it and tugs him) Wo raha'.maaro isse!!

Adil: Tum uss cockroach se darr rahi thi?? (she nods in a yes obediently) That's a baby cockroach'.I mean its too small Ashna!!

Ashna: Ab ye baby cockroach kya hota hai?? Cockroach to cokcroach hota hai na??

Adil: (shaking his head) It will do nothing samjhi?? Pls'.mujhe ye wires dekhne me madat karo'so that we can get out of here!!

She quickly focuses the light for him'.in the name of getting out of here'..and finally Adil does wat was necessary'..so the light was bak within seconds!!

Adil: Ab chalo'.(Ashna nods and follows him silently)

Reaching upstairs'.Adil sees all the guards had been here only'.

Adil: Aap sab yaha kya kar rahe ho?? Aur itne waqt se light nahi thi'.kisine switch board tak jaane ki takleef kyun nahi kii??

Guard: Sir wo'..bahar ka switch board check kiya tha'.waha to sab sahi tha'.aur phir lift me kuch log the'..to hum unhe nikalne me madat kar rahe the!!

Adil: Bahar ka switch board me agar problem nahi thi'.to andar check kyun nahi kiya??

Guard 2: Sir'wo andar wala hamein kuch samajh me nahi ata'..aur phir log atke hue the to'.hum yaha aa gaye!!

Adil: Agar tumhe samajh me nahi ata'.to kisi aur ko bula lete'.Shekhar Sir ko nahi bula sakte the kya?? Aur rahi baat lift ki'.to agar electricity aa jati'to lift bhi apne aap chalu ho jati na??

Guard: Maaf kijiye Sir'.humne wo sab nahi socha'.ghalti ho gayi!!

Adil: Abhi apne apne kaam pe jao''next tym zara dimag bhi chalana samjhe??

The guards gulped hard while agreeing to him'.and went away saluting him!!!

Adil then enters his cabin'..rests his head back on the chair'.while closing his eyes for a while''he felt tired and extremely fatigued!! It had been a hectic day'..as there had been sum initial problems with the starting of the new project'and again there was sum problem in Sehgal Industries as well'..In fact he was going there only'.but he was informed that the issue was sorted out and he didn't need to cum'.so he had cum bak!! And then he had to be there in that store-room for a while'.it was hot down there'..and so he felt laid back!! He wanted to hav sum sleep badly'.but that wud be possible only in dreams'.and unfortunately for that too'.he needed to sleep!!!

Here Ashna was back to her cabin'..with utter frustration that she cudnt find anything'.instead it put her in an embarrassed situation'.in front of Adil!! She remembers her screaming'.and feels extremely stupid at her own behaviour!! Unwantedly a smile cums to her lips as she thinks of the 'baby cockroach''.but then she also remembers there was sumthing else she was thinking abt'..sumthing was going on at the bak of her mind'.other than the cockroach and darkness'.she had felt sumthing else'.yes!! She felt a warmth'as she held his hands'..or even when he held her hands'..those hands were very warm'..in fact too warm!! And now it struck to her'.he seemed feverish!!!

As Ashna realized that perhaps Adil was having fever'.she quickly turned towards his cabin to take a look'.and there she saw his head'tilted at the back with closed eyes!! May be he was not feeling well'.soon there was a knock on his cabin-door.

Adil: Yes? (Ashna steps in) Kya kaam tha??

Ashna: Tumhe bukhaar hai??

Adil: What?? (she goes on to touch his forehead but he backs off) I think tumhe bukhaar chadh gaya hai Ashna'.wat r u saying??

Ashna: Mujhe check karne do'.(and then she finally touches his forehead'.he did hav a temperature)'See u hav a temperature'.

Adil: (checks himself) I am always like this'.mujhe kuch nahi hua hai!!

Ashna: Tum thodi samjhoge tumhe bukhaar hai ya nahi!!

Adil: Chalo main maan leta hu'.mujhe fever hai'.ok??

Ashna: In that case'tumhe ghar pe hona chahiye'.pls get bak home!!

Adil: Pagal ho gayi ho kya?? Mera adha kaam baki hai abhi'.

Ashna: Kaam to hota rahega'.puri zindagi baki hai kaam karne ke liye!!

Adil: Pata hai''.in fact ye zindagi bachi hi hai''.kaam karne ke liye'...isliye ek bhi pal gawana nahi chahiye'...tum bhi waqt mat gawao Ashna''.at least mere saath to bilkul nahi''go and resume ur work!! I'm fine!!

Ashna: If u insist'.I'll leave'.main to bas insaniyat ki khatir yaha thi'..

Adil: Mere saath insaniyat??

Ashna: Haan'.shayad ghalti ho gayi'.hai na? (and she leaves as she sumhow realizes he doesn't deserve to be taken care of like this)

As she leaves'.Adil keeps staring at the cabin door which just closed after her leaving''.he slightly leans back on the chair'.his head was spinning and he felt he wud faint any moment'..but he knew'.he cudnt afford that as well'..