Next day...
There was knock on Abhi's door in the morning.
Abhi was already in his office and Raj wondered who could it be? Nevertheless, he opened the door and saw the person he desired to see everytime he opened his eyes, all his life.
" Good morning, Sir."
" Good morning, Cadet Singh! ", he smiled brightly , " Please come in!"
She entered.
" Tum yaha? I mean...abhi toh tumhari class hogi na?"
" Haan woh toh hai...parr..."
And there was a knock on the door again and Naina quickly opened it to usher an orderly with the tray of breakfast.
" Yeh kisne mangwaya? maine toh nahi.." , Raj asked orderly.
" Sir, woh Cadet Naina ne laane keliye kaha tha."
He looked at Naina once, " Ah...theek hai. Rakh do."
" Naina yeh..."
" Sir, sach sach bataiye. Kya aapne breakfast kiya?"
" Ah..woh..."
" Nahi na? Aur phir aapko toh medicines bhi leni hai.", she said taking out his medicines.
" Medicines?? Yeh tumhare paas hai?kaise?"
" haan...Keertiji ne mujhe sab bataya hai ki aap kaise medicines skip karte hai."
" Yeh keerti bhi na!"
" Ab jaldise breakfast keejiye aur medicines leejiye."
" Naina tumhe class keliye late horaha hoga, right?"
" Agar aap nahi chahte ki main late hojau toh jaldise meri baat maaniye!"
" Okay...", he said giving up.
Naina watched him as he had his breakfast...she couldnt explain the feeling of relief that washed over her, watching him eat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raj was lost in his thoughts when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Abhi smiling at him.
" Kya soch rahe ho Raj? Gehlot ke baaremein?"
He shook his head.
" Tab toh phir aap zaroor Naina ke baarein mein soch rahe honge!"
" Naina ke baaremein? Kya matlab hai tumhara?"
" Matlab aap achchi tarah jaante hai aur samajhte bhi hai.." , Abhi said , " Oh come on ! Ab humse kya chupana?"
" Main kuch nahi chupa raha, infact tum kya bol rahe ho, meri samajh mein kuch nahi aa raha!"
" You mean aap Naina ke liye kuch special feel nahi karte?"
" What? Yeh kya bol rahe ho?"
" Ohk...Now that you are not interested, hamara raasta clear hogaya. ",
Abhi said purposely and his statement had it's desired effect !
" Sachmein, Naina mein kuch alag hi baat hai. You know what, hum unki aur bhi respect karne lag gaye hai! Humne aaj tak unke jaisi ladki nahi dekhi...", Abhimanyu continued...
Raj was seeming bothered and his face displayed a medley of rage, insecurity, helplessness, possessiveness and what not !
Abhi laughed inwardly.
" You know Raj, I think I lik..."
" SHUT UP CHAUHAAN !"
Abhi raised his eyebrows, " Raj???"
" Listen, tum...Naina ke baaremein sochna bhi matt. you get that?" , Raj warned.
" Tumhe koi aur dekhe toh jalta hai dil, badi mushkilo se phir sambhalta hai dil,
kya kya jatan karte hai, tumhe kya pata ..." , Abhi was singing.
" Chauhaan, bandh karo yeh sab."
But he continued, " Yeh dil bekarar kitna yeh hum nahi jaante, magar jee nahi sakte tumhare bina...
Hume tumse pyaar kitna, yeh hum nahi jaante,
magar jee nahi sakte, tumhare bina!"
" Will you please stop that !" , Raj finally yelled.
Abhi hugged him.
" Oh my God ! So Rajveer Singh Shekhawat ko aakhir kaar pyaar ho hi gaya!"
He hugged back, " Toh tumne yeh sab jaan boojhkar kiya?"
" Aur kya karte? Aap toh hume kuch bata nahi rahe the!"
" Hmmm."
" You know Raj, kaash hum Cadets hote!"
" I feel the same! " , Raj mused thinking then he wouldn't have to hide his feelings for her and would have openly confessed his love...
" Offo ! hum ussliye nahi keh rahe ! Agar aaj hum Cadets hote, toh ab tak toh hum poori academy mein yeh baat faila chuke hote ki Rajveer is in love."
Raj blushed, " Shut up !"
" Naina ko bataya?"
" Nahi..."
" Batadijiye! Waise hum jaante hai unka jawaab haan hi hoga!"
" Tum itna yakeen se kaise keh sakte ho...?? aur phir woh Dr. Aakash? Woh kya kehraha tha, long lost boyfriend or something...?"
" Haah! " , Abhi said , " Aapko lagta hai, aisa cartoon Naina ka boyfriend ho sakta hai?"
Raj laughed a bit.
" Raj, hum kya koi bhi jinhone Naina ko inn 6 mahino mein dekha hai, woh itne hi yakeen se keh sakta hai. Aap jaante hai, woh ladki ussi jalti hui jeep mein apni jaan dene ja rahi thi.?"
" WHAT???"
" Haan. Uss waqt agar humne Naina ko nahi roka hota toh..."
Raj sat down with a thud, losing all his strength.
" Chauhaan, ek baar mein sab bata do kya kya hua meri Naina ke saath? Har roz ek nayee baat pata chalti hai ! Kaise saha usne yeh sab?" , Raj cried.
" Aapke pyaar ki wajehse. Aapke hi pyaar ne unhe woh himmat di. Sabkuch sehne ki, har mussebat se ladne ki."
Abhi sat besides him.
" Chauhaan, I love her a lot. Parr sochta hoon, kya woh apne bhaai ke khooni ko.."
Abhi laughed.
" Aap jaante ho Raj, ek din Naina ke saamne yunhi galati se nikal gaya hamare muh se..."
FLASHBACK:
" Naina, kaash hamari khushi gham mein nahi badalti. Hume issi baat se bahot khushi thi ki aapne Raj ko maaf kardiya tha...Naveen ko maarne ki jo unki majboori..."
" Rajveer Sir ne Naveen bhaiyya ko mukti di hai Sir, unhe maara nahi hai."
" Hum wahi toh..."
" BASSS !! Main kabse aapki baat chup chap sun rahi hoon toh iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki aap Sir ke baaremein kuch bhi bolenge. Not a word against Rajveer Sir, you hear me??" , She shouted.
" Naina hum bass keh rahe the..."
" Kya??? Oh !! Toh AB aap kuch keh rahe the...AB aapko kuch kehna hai...strange !! Jab aapko kuch kehna chahiye tha, tab toh aapne kuch nahi kaha.Ussdin Sir ki begunahi aapke witness par tiki thi sir...par aapne...aapne kuch nahi kaha, aur kaha bhi toh unke against." , she said , " Oh ! Sorry !! Shayad main galat hu...Aapne kaha na! Captain Salve ko kaha! Right Captain Chauhaan?? Aap hi ne Captain Salve ko mere aur Sir ke beech ki nafrat ke baaremein bataya tha na?"
" Nai..."
" Rajveer Sir bach sakte the... Magar aap apni iss duty ke aad mein...huh!! You know something, sabse badi duty Sachchai ke liye hoti hai ...jisse Rajveer Sir nibha rahe the...par aap yeh sab nahi samjhenge. Come on maan lijiye ! You were jealous of him."
Abhimanyu was standing there mum.
" Rajveer Sir ke saath jo bhi hua, maana ki uski sab se badi zimmedar main hoon. Meri hi zidd ki wajehse sir uss red box ke peeche pade the, par aap unhe bacha sakte the Sir...aap apne dost ko bacha sakte the! Kaunsa farz nibhaya aapne woh sab karke...arrey dosti aur insaaniyat ki toh baat chodiye, aapne ek sachche soldier hone ka bhi farz nahi nibhaya!"
Naina was crying now.
" You call yourself an intelligence officer? Couldnt you see then, ki Rajveer Sir ko bhi fasaya jaa raha tha? Jo kuch Naveen bhaiyya ke saath hua, woh Sir ke saath dohraya jaa raha tha?"
She wiped her tears.
" But... ek baat aap samajh leejiye. Sir ko toh main innocent prove karke rahungi... Aur jab main in dono ko innocent prove kardoongi na, tab..." , She turned Abhi towards her, " Tab Captain Chauhaan, apne friends ke patriotism aur bravery ko salute karne jaroor aana!"
She turned to leave, but stopped and again faced Abhi.
" Aur aap kya kehrahe the? Sir ki majboori, maine maaf kiya, mera shaq and all that..."
Abhi looked at her.
" Shaq to mujhe aap par karna chahiye! Batayiye Sir, kis motive se aapne Bhaiyya ko bhaagne diya?Na aap unhe bhaagne dete, na Army unke peeche padti, na woh Sir ke paas apni maut ki bheek maangte aur nahi Sir ko unhe shoot karne padta..."
Naina continued , " Aur jahatak mujhe yaad aa raha hai, Rajveer Sir se bhi aap yahi sab keh rahe the na? Aap unhe bhi bhaagne keliye keh rahe the na? Par afsos...woh aapki baaton mein nahi aaye. Toh bataiye...kya motive tha aapka? Mujhe toh aap par shaq karne ki har ek wajah nazar aati hai."
Abhi was shocked..!
" Naina hum..."
Naina smirked, " Ghabraiye mat sir. Main aap pe koi shaq nahi kar rahi. Main apna sabak seekh chuki hoon. Rajveer sir ko galat samjha aur uski saza bhi bhugat rahi hoon. Main toh bass aapko yeh kehna chahti hoon, ki aage se kabhi bhi mere saamne yeh matt kehna ki Sir ne bhaiyya ko maara hai...just...just keep that in mind !"
She stormed out of the room.
FLASHBACH ENDS
Raj was stunned to hear all that...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raj was sitting in infirmary with Shalini.
" Captain, ab aap hi samjhao Naina ko. Yeh dekhiye uske reports. Uski condition sudharna toh door...par woh meri baat maane toh na?"
Just then there was a knock on the door.
" Come in Cadet!"
" Maam, aapne mujhe bulaya?", Naina asked entering and got worried seeing Raj there, staring hard at her and with her file in his hand.
" Haan...actually Captain tumse kuch baat karna chahte the."
" Whh..whaat? What? ", she stammered, " Parr abhi ?"
" Kyun? Any problem...Cadet Singh?" , Raj asked sarcastically.
" Nnn..NO sir."
" Good ! Then can you please explain to me what exactly is all this?" , he asked showing her the file.
" Woh...woh toh I guess...ummm...meri file hai...I mean...mere medical reports...", she tried to sound innocent as if not getting what exactly Raj meant.
But Raj had understood that very well and was fuming.
Shalini tried not to laugh seeing Naina's downcast face and the cute expression she gave in between to both of them and Raj's flaring nostrils, which told her that he is going to bash Naina any minute.
She intervened,
" Ah...Captain ! Kyun na aap aur Naina aaraam se baithke baat kare...I mean..."
" You're right. Cadet Singh, follow me to my quarters...NOW !!"
And he stormed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was walking towards his room.
As she was nearing his room, her pace was slowing down further and footsteps turning heavy.
She finally reached his room and as usual was barging inside without knocking, but then held back herself at the last moment and knocked the door.
Raj opened the door, expecting someone else, but was surprised to see her.
She was confused seeing his expression.
" Sir, aap hi ne toh bulaya tha na?"
" Ah...ofcourse. But...you know maine tumse knock expect nahi kiya tha."
Naina smiled embarassingly at that.
" Come in."
But she was standing at the door only...not because of fear...
But...out of happiness, grief, helplessness, excitement and remorse...
This was the room she used to rush to for her silliest of the difficulties.
Her Rajveer sir's room.
She has been dying for this one moment when she can see him standing here again...and now when that moment finally arrived, she was rooted to her place... her feet refused to carry her forward.
Tears were rolling from her eyes... She just wanted to cry out of happiness and excitement and wash away all her pain and remorse.
Raj turned back and found her standing at the same place, where he has left her, tears streaming her face.
He understood what she was going through. He walked upto her and said softly,
" Andar aao Naina."
She was broken from her trance and looked at him.
She shook her head...What if...what if it was just a dream, that she used to dreamt of most of the times, when he wasn't around.
What if, the moment will wither away as soon as she will open her eyes...
Raj gently held her hand, and his touch sent a shiver through her body.
She realised that it wasnt a dream...but her beautiful dream had turned into reality.
She felt a tug at her hand and found Raj pulling her in still holding her hand.
As soon as she entered, he shut the door and looked at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naina looked into his eyes to see numerous questions which demanded answers from her...but more than that, there was a pain, despair and...fear.
She tore her gaze to find her file lying on centre table, and as soon as she again shifted her gaze to him,
" Kyun Naina? Why? Why did you do this?"
" Sir, maine...kya...Sir,I did take care of myself, but you know...I don't why these reports..."
" I'm not talking about that."
" Toh phir kya?"
" Yeh tumhari kalai par nishaan kaisa ?"
She hurriedly hid it behind her and looked anywhere than him.
Raj grabbed her wrist and forcefully brought it in the front.
As he raised her hand to take a look at the mark, a drop of tear fell on her hand and she looked up to see tears rolling out of his eyes.
" Sir, aap..."
" JUST SHUT UP, CADET SINGH !! " , he yelled," Kya matlab hai iska? haan? Kya karne ja rahi thi tum? Jawaab do ! Speak up , dammit !!! "
She looked down biting her lip.
" Kyun? Koi jawab nahi hai tumhare paas? Kya sochkar aisa kiya Naina? batao! Chup chap khadi mat raho." , he demanded.
" First you tell me, why did you leave me? " , she yelled back crying, " tell me... tell me...NOW!! "
" Naina...", Raj said softly , " Kya tumhare yeh sab karne se main waapis aajata?"
" I don't know...I don't know anything...don't ask me anything..."
Raj pulled her into a hug.
Stroking her hairs affectionately, while trying to control his own tears.
" Pagal ladki, agar tumhe kuch hojata toh?"
She was sobbing in his arms.
" Sab meri wajehse...na main aapko galat samajhti ,na uss Red box ke peeche padti aur na yeh sab hota...I'm sorry...I'm sorry, sir...please mujhe maaf kardo."
Raj was just comforting her. After a while, she realised what she was doing and separated from him, awkwardly.
" Naina, are you mad? yeh kya baatein lekar baith gayi? Tumhari
koi galati nahi hai. Jo hona tha, woh ho gaya. Aur tum kis baat ke liye sorry keh rahi ho?aisa kya bura hua mere saath? ", Raj asked.
" Kya bura hua? Sir, your career, your honour, reputation...everything was snatched away...you were about to lose your life, Sir! Aur aap keh rahe ho, kya bura hua?"
" Naina, it was just a bad phase. Jo ab gujar chuka hai...", He touched her cheek.
She was fighting her tears. He tried to lighten the atmosphere.
" See, I'm right here in front of you. Not exactly in uniform now, but back as an officer, for sure!"
She smiled at this remark.
" Sir..."
" kaho Naina..."
She was hesitant.
He took her hand, " Naina, jo kuch kehna hai, bina jhijhak kaho."
" Sir, Promise me, you wont leave me.", she said in a flow and then realised how it sound and tried to cover it up, " I mean...us..I mean..we all...means..."
Raj smiled and squeezed her hand, " I won't ever, Promise!"
Her face lit up and a beautiful smile adorned her face...Raj was lost in her smile, but soon got a grip over himself.
" Ab kuch serious baatein karein?" , he asked.
" Serious baatein?"
Raj sat on couch and gestured her to sit.
" Yeah...jaise ki tumhari medical reports. Tum thodi pagal ho yeh toh mujhe pata tha, par tumhe toh ab psychotherapy ki zaroorat padne lagi!"
Naina didnt know what to answer...so she just kept quiet, looking down.
" Aur yeh kya hai?" , he said pointing at her recent reports, " You are such a careless girl! Ab koi choti bachchi nahi ho tum. Khud ka khayal nahi rakh sakti? Aur to aur, Shalini keh rahi thi ki uski baat bhi nahi maanti thi. Yeh raat raat jaagna, khud ko over exert karna, do you have any explantion for that?? Stubborn toh tum ho hi, par ..."
Raj stopped as he saw her smiling.
Naina was enjoying his concern...the way he was scolding her... She was experiencing an unexplainable joy.
" Kya main jaan sakta hoon aap istarah kyun muskura rahi ho, Cadet Singh?"
She was jerked out of her thoughts...
" No...I was just thinking...I mean..."
" Shoot !"
" Mera matlab hai, aap mujhse yeh sab keh rahe ho.Jabki aap khud bhi..."
" Apne mentor se jabaan ladati ho?" , he asked faking anger.
She laughed , " I'm so sorry sir. But I was just stating the fact you know. Ab dekhiye na, aapne abhi tak aapki medicine nahi li hogi, jo ki aapko 1 ghante pehle hi lena tha...right?"
" Woh..."
" Am I right, sir?" , she asked teasingly, while giving him his medicines.
He took it and," I think Keerti meri responsibility kisiko toh de gayi thi...par woh jab khud ka khayal nahi rakh sakta, toh mera toh sawaal hi nahi uthta na?"
" Sir, I do take care of myself. Ab itna karne par bhi pata nahi kyun yeh stupid report aise aajati hai!" , she said cutely.
Raj smiled and getting excited, " Actually you are right ! Main bhi keerti aur Shalini ko yahi samjhane ki koshish kar raha hoon. I guess, problem in dono doctors aur inki medical investigations mein hi hai...what say?"
" Absolutely ! "
And then they both started laughing.
" Very good !!! Just what I expected ! " , Shalini exclaimed from the door , "Captain, maine aapko Naina ko daantne keliye kaha tha...aur aap yaha...huh!"
Both of them were shocked at the sudden arrival !
" Par mujhe hi samajh jaana chahiye...aap aur Cadet Singh ko daante? maine bhi kisko kise samjhane bheja! ",She rolled her eyes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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