PART THIRTY-EIGHT:
Next afternoon as Naina was taking rest ( forcibly !! ) and Raj was passing the time by reading some magazine, Aakash entered.
" Hey Rajveer !" , he called out cheerfully.
" Shshsh! ", Raj gestured that Naina was sleeping.
" oh...! Sorry..." , and he came to sit beside him.
" Aaj tum bahot jaldi aagaye.", Akki asked him.
" Hmmm.Koi class nahi thi...toh..."
" Toh tumhara mann waha Academy lagne se raha...issliye tumne socha ki kyun na yaha hospital aajao, atleast Naina tumhare aankho ke saamne toh hogi." , Aakash completed it for him.
" Kya ...kya matlab?" , Raj stammered.
" Dekho...woh meri behen hai. Ek bhaai se yeh sab baatein detail mein matt bulvao. Maine bina tumse koi sawaal kiye apni approval dedi hai... issimein khush raho, samjhe???"
Raj understood that there was no point in pretending now, and he just smiled.
" Toh tum Naina ke maasi ki bete ho?", he asked to divert him from that topic.
" Hmmm...Par Naina meri behen kam, aur dost jyaada hai...pata hai kaise?", he asked excitedly.
" Kaise?", Raj asked smiling at his excitement.
" Oho ! Seems like Captain Shekhawat is very impatient to know about his Naina !" , Akki raised his eyebrow.
" Ofcourse !", Raj replied with a smile ," What else did you think?"
" Rajveer, My dad is an industrialist and mom a Fashion designer .Both extremely successful in their professions. But just like other unfortunate children of popular parents, I too suffered. I grew watching them fight.They decided to separate when I was just eight. They decided to admit me in a boarding school as mom was not ready to risk her career for me.", Aakash said with tears in his eyes, " That time Uncle, I mean Naina's father, and mausi had come at our place. Meera mausi was mom's best friend...but complete opposite.They were trying to bring truce amongst my parents...but when they failed, Uncle was not ready to let me stay at boarding school. When mausi failed to convince my mom, Uncle decided to take me with him."
He looked at Raj, " That was when I first came to live with them and met Navi and Naina.You know Navi's nature...right?"
Raj smiled.
" He immediately became friends with me and I was bit relieved. But this dummo !! Chotisi thi ! Teen saal ki ! Moti...golomolu! Do pigtails baandha karti thi ! She was just staring at me sitting on a sofa...I was a bit appprehensive of her reaction..."
Raj chuckled.
" Tumhe pata hai, woh mujhe bass ghoore ja rahi thi, ghoore ja rahi thi...Aur usse bada hone ke bawajood mujhe usse darr lag raha tha ! Jab hum sab sone ja rahe the toh maine Navi se kaha ki main uske saath sounga, kyunki mujhe raat ko daar lagta hai...actually akele main mujhe woh sab kadwi baatein yaad aati thi...and woh bhi maan gaya ! I guess that was my BIGGEST mistake !"
" Kyun?"
" Kyun kya? Woh jagah toh madam ki thi na ! Naina madam apne bhaiya ko kisi ke saath share nahi kar sakti thi ! yeh pumpkin jab bhi mere saamne aati ya main uske saamne jaata, uska muh hamesha gubbare ke jaise phula hua hi rehta ! Chahe jitni koshish karo, mujhe uss gubbaare ko burst karne mein kaamyabi nahi mil rahi thi. Madam mujhse baat tak nahi karti thi !"
Raj was finding all this very cute.
" That day Navi was on a trip with his class. I was crying sitting on the floor near my bed when..."
FLASHBACK
" Kya hua? Tum ro kyun rahe ho?"
Aakash saw Naina standing in front of him. This was the first time she was talking with him.
" Kuch nahi.", he wiped his tears.
" Dekho ! Natak mat karo ! bhaiyu ne mujhe tumhari respon...responsi..."
" Responsibility !"
" Mujhe pata hai !", Little Naina snapped back , " bhaiyu ne mujhe tumhari responsibility di hai ! Toh batao ! Kisine kuch kaha tumse?"
"Haan woh...woh sab mere friends hai na...woh mujhe chidha rahe the ki mere parents mujhe...", and he again began crying.
" Offo ! Ro mat ! Kya mere maa baba tumhare maa baba nahi?"
Aakash looked at her.
" Ab chalo mere saath !"
He took her to those guys playing on the society ground. They all knew Naina as Naveen's sister and nobody dared to mess with her as that meant messing up with Naveen.
She went to the boy who was main in teasing Aakash. She called him closer with her tiny winy hands.
Aakash wasnt sure what she was about to do. He was just standing by her side as others still made fun of him.
As soon as the boy neared and stoop to her height, Naina gave him a tight slap and before anyone could understand what's exactly that was happening she slapped his other cheek equally hard.
" Aage se Aakash ko koi nahi chidhayega, samjhe?? Woh mera bhaai hai! Aur agar abhi sabne isse sorry nahi bola, toh main bhaiya ko bata dungi !"
FLASHBACK ENDS
"And I tell you Rajveer, the way she bashed up those guys was...out of this world ! ", he grinned as Raj smiled., " Par jab maine hamare beech truce ki baat ki, toh madam ki kuch shartein thi !"
" Shartein ??? "
" Hmmm"
FLASHBACK
" Look ! Naveen bhaiya sabse pehle mere bhaiya aur phir tumhare ! samjhe?"
Aakash nodded.
" Aur main tumhe Aakash hi bulaungi !"
" Kyun? Main bhi toh tumhara bhaai hoon ?"
" Main jaanti hoon ki tum bhi mere bhaai ho, par main sirf bhaiyu ko bhaiya bolti hoon ! Issliye tumhe Armaan hi bulaungi !"
" Par main tumse bada hoon ! Kya tum apne Bade bhaai ko naamse bulaogi?"
She thought for a while...
" Ummm...phir main tumhe Akki bulaungi...chalega?"
" Daudega !!" , Akki said and they laughed.
" Achcha Naina, main tumhe Naveen ki tarah chuhiya ya phir gudiya toh bula sakta hoon na?"
" Mujhe sirf bhaiya hi aisa bulate hai ! "
" I knew it ! ",he said annoyed.
" Ohho ! tum mujhe dusra kuch bhi bula sakte ho !"
" Kuch bhi??"
" Hmmm..Kuch bhi !"
" Theek hai ! Phir main tumhe pumpkin bulaunga!"
" PUMPKIN???"
" Hamesha pumpkin ki tarah muh phula hua rehta hai tumhara ! Ya phir tumhe chilly bulau?? Hamesh naak par gussa jo baitha rehta hai! No I'll call u Peachie ! Mujhe peach bahot pasand hai aur tumbhi meri fav sis ho !Par tum toh bahot dumb ho! Toh tumhe toh dummo bulana chahiye !"
All this while Naina,who was fuming, started beating him...
" Arre !! Arre dummo ! Yeh kya kar rahi ho?? Arey jhaansi ki Rani !" , Akki was laughing.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Raj was laughing.
" Oh ! toh issliye tum Naina ko inn saare naamo se bulate ho ?"
" Haan ! And then we became buddies ! I guess i'm closer to Naina than I'm to Naveen."
" Aur woh boyfriend ka kya chakkar hai?" , Raj finally asked.
Aakash began laughing.
" Tum uss din bahot pareshaan hogaye the na?? "
" pareshaan? kab?", Raj tried to avoid the topic.
" Apne trial waale din...Jab tum sab mohali aaye the aur mujhse pehli baar mile the."
" what rubbish! main kyun pareshaan hounga?"
" Oye rehne do ! Tumhare face par saaf nazar aa raha tha ! Actually, whenever anyone used to hit on Naina, Naveen used to beat them up ! Parr my profession is meant to heal...not hurt you see ! Toh yeh mera tareeka tha! Nobody knew me as her brother in her college, and Naina chahkar bhi kuch nahi kar sakti thi coz Naveen had no problem with this...Actually he would have approved of any idea that would safeguard her."
Naina stirred and when she was finally awake was surprised too see Aakash too sitting there.
" Tum kab aaye Akki?"
" Arey dummo tu jaag gayi? good ! mujhe aake almost 1 ghanta hogaya hai ! Main Rajveer ko tumhare bachpan ke kisse suna raha tha."
Naina Suddenly got alarmed.
" Sir, iski koi baat mat suniye.", she said hurriedly," Iski baato mein sachchai bahot kam hoti hai aur baaki sab isski khudki manghadan kahaniya hoti hai !"
" Achcha?" , Akki frowned , " Abhi toh maine inhe kuch bataya hi nahi hai. you know Rajveer, She was admitted in different school as jab yeh hamare school me thi, toh half the time Naveen ke class me , ussi ke saath baithti thi."
" Akki stop !!"
" Ab kyun?? let your sir know how obedient child you were."
" Akki..dekho tum..."
" You know Rajveer, hum jaise taise isse class mein bithakar apni car ke paas laute, toh dekha ki madam toh pehle se hi car mein baithi hai ! poocho kaise?"
" Kaise?", Raj asked.
" Madam waha ki care taker ko laath maar kar choti compound wall phandh kar car mein aakar baith gayi thi."
Naina looked away embarrassed as she saw Raj laughing hard at that.
" Arey...Yeh toh kuch bhi nahi hai ! Navi injection se bahot darta tha. Ek baar woh hospital mein admit tha. Main aur yeh dummo uske paas waha baithe the. Nurse andar aayi aur jaise hi Navi ne uske haath mein injection dekha, he began pleading, but nurse nahi maani."
" Akki please woh nahi !! "
" Main toh sab jhooth bolta hoon na?"
" Nahi mere bhaai ! Tum toh satyavaadi Raja Harishchandra ho !"
" Right ! Issiliye mujhe yeh SACHCHI baatein Rajveer ko toh batani hogi !"
" Akki !!"
" Haan toh Rajveer...", completely avoiding Naina's protests, "Nurse ne Navi ko injection diya. Naina ko bahot gussa aaya, kyunki ussne Navi ko rulaya tha ! woh nurse khaali syringe side ki trolly par rakhke uska chart dekhne lagi ! Tabhi Naina ne wahi syringe uthake Nurse ko prick kiya !"
" What??" , Raj asked shocked, laughing much harder this time, " I don't believe this."
" Well believe it !", Akki said, " Yeh sarfiri kuch bhi kar sakti hai! Aur ek kissa sunata hoon..."
" AKKI STOP !!! Agar ab tune sir ko aur kuch bataya na...toh main wooohhh waali baat unhe batadungi !"
" Ahmm...emmm...main tujhse darta nahi hoon samjhi ?? Parr I'm sparing you ...be thankful to me...", Akki stammered.
" Yeah...yeah!! Par agar maine muh khola na, i dont think you'd be thankful to me! ", she raised her eyebrow and then began laughing.
Rajveer had rarely seen her laugh so openly...he was staring at her, lost in her laughter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That day Raj went to Naina and pooja's room. Naina was getting bored in the hospital and so she requested Raj to bring few of her books so that she could pass the time. When he reached her room, he saw pooja exiting it in hurry.
" oh! Good Afternoon Sir...aap yaha?"
" Good Afternoon Cadet Ghai. Woh Naina kuch books mangwayi thi apni. Kya aap mujhe de sakti hai plz."
" Woh Sir...abhi toh mujhe muchhc...i mean Maj.Nair ki drill ke liye jaana hai..."
" Oh...ohk...you mind if i help myself? Main khud hi le leta hoon...can you show me her books?"
" Sure sir...why not?", she said entering the room with him, " umm...waha Naina ki books rakhi huyi hai..."
" Oh! Thanks...ab main le lunga...I guess you are getting late for your drill..."
" Right Sir...", and she left.
Raj was rumaging through her rack and taking out the books she asked for, when a diary caught his attention.
He decided to ignore it, but the name written on it held his gaze.
"Cadet Naina Ah' Singh."
Raj was amused to see that she referred herself as what he used to call her.
He lifted the diary and opened it to read...
" Meri pyaaariii Chuhiya,
Gussa thi na ki maine iss baar tujhe koi gift nahi diya??? Par aisa kabhi hosakta hai, ki main apni Gudiya ke liye kuch nahi laau? Kiddo, apne cubboard ka sabse upar ka shelf dekhna, wahi jo sheet se covered hai...waha tumhe tumhare saaare gifts mil jayenge...Happy???
Arey arey gudiya, kaha jaa rahi hai? Woh sab baadmein dekhlena...pehle sun...
Unn saare gifts se mera sabse important gift yeh Diary hai...
Jaanta hoon, ki tum isse mere jaane ke baad dekhogi aur tumhare choootese dimaag ko kuch samajh toh aayega nahi...issliye explain karr raha hoon...
Kiddo main mission pe ja raha hoon...pata nahi kyun, iss baar kuch ajeeb se feeling horahi hai...No !! Your bro isnt afraid...but...
Aur yeh kam hai, jo ek aur tension hai !Aur kiski? Main teri baat kar raha hoon.
Jaanta hoon, meri chuhiya bhalehi sabke saath apni khushiya baate, magar gham woh sirf aur sirf apne bhaiyu ke saath share karti hai...hai na? ( Khabardaar jo meri jagah kisi aur se share kiya toh !!!! :p)
Aur toh aur main toh tera confession box bhi hoon ! Jab bhi tujhse koi galati hoti hai, woh bhi toh tu sirf mujhe hi batati hai !
Aur ab jabke main mission pe jaa raha hoon, toh tujhse pata nahi contact ho payega ya nahi... Issliye main yeh Diary tere liye chod raha hoon. Jab bhi tujhe bahot gehra zakhm mile, whenever you are very sad, or you are dead guilty about something, just consider this Diary as me ! Aur bindaaas sab kuch bol dal !
Ek aur baat. Dekh gussa mat hona aur RONA TOH BILKUL BHI NAHI...warna main gussa hojaunga !
Agar ...agar mujhe iss mission ke dauran kuch hojaye toh Maa-Baba ka dhyaan rakhna...aur haan, tum apna bhi dhyaan rakhna plz...
Aur usse tumhe jo dukh hoga, woh plzzz ismein mat likhna (some letters smudged due to tears) Kyunki main yeh tolerate toh nahi karsakta na ki tu meri wajehse dukhi ho !?
Aur ek baat !!!! Main kahi bhi rahu, lekin Meri bachchi, main hameeeshhhaaa tere saath hoon...
Ab chal...apne daant dikha !
Nahi dikhayegi??? RUk...fir main apni fati huyi aawaaz mein gaa hi deta hoon...
" Phoolon ka taaro ka,sabka kehna hai...
EK hazaaron mein, meri behna hai...
Saari umar hamein sang rehna hai... "
Tera aur sirf tera,
Bhaiyu. :)
Raj was in tears as he read it. He understood that it was a gift from Naveen. He didnt know how, but he took the Diary with him.
But as he left for hospital, he forgot to take the Diary which was lying on his coffee table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raj came into his room and helped himself with a glass of water.
He was lost, thinking something and then suddenly he realised that he was still having her diary.
" Offo ! Yeh toh mere paas hi reh gayi. ", he hit his forehead lightly, " koi baat nahi...kal dedunga."
Then dont know what took over him, took that diary.
He was about to open it , but hesitated. He was in two minds...whether he should open it or not. Then his curiosity took over his goodness and he opened it.
After going through Naveen's letter again, he opened next page.
" Why Bhaiyu ? Why Rajveer sir?? he was the only person whom I trusted blindly,after you. Why he has to be the one to shoot you? Why not anyone else? I hate you sir ! I hate you !! And more than that I HATE MYSELF !!! I trusted someone who killed my brother ! you know something sir, because of you, now I'll never ever be able to trust anyone in my life ! aaj ke baad main kabhi kisi pe bharosa nahi kar paaungi ! Khudpe bhi nahi !! "
Raj was in tears. He lost his strength to read further.
But then he braced himself and read further.
" What have I done bhaiyu?? I feel really ashamed to be called as your sister ! how could I do such a thing? Why didnt I believe him? why? I'm sorry sir ! I'm so sorry !! Please mujhe maaf kardo !"
on the next page...
" Now he dont even want to look at me, leave alone talk to me. I know it's all my fault...what I did is unforgivable and Rajveer sir will never ever forgive me...but what do I do? Other than you, he was the only one I trusted...And when I came to know about the truth , then I...I couldnt...*** few letters were smudged due to her tears *** I want to repent...How do I attain salvation for the crime I did ? And...and now I know that he hates me..."
" How can I ever hate you Naina? I love you ! I love you more than my life ! I would die even before the thought of hating you could touch me...", Raj said to himself.
" Sir,
Won't U ever forgive me?
Won't U ever want to be friends with me?
Won't U ever want to meet me?
I care for U so much more than u could think,
I feel for U as if between heart and mind U r the link..."
Then as he opened the pages further, he wasnt able to read properly as the ink was all smudged.
Raj could understand very well that she must have cried like hell while
writing this...
" Why bhaiyu? why me?? First you left me...and now Rajveer Sir too left me ."
As he turned few more pages, he read...
"I dont want to live...what was Neelu doing there? Why did they took me to the infirmary?? why? why? Why did Shalini maam saved me??I dont want to live !! Why am I compelled to stay behind ! Why did you make me promise ?? Why ?"
The closed door,
The barred windows, Hold me back And stop me so...
My hands fettered, My feet chained, Hold me back And don't let me go...
I spend my days thinking of u, I spend my nights crying over uTo break these shackles I try in vain, But I am restrained...oh restrained!!! (@guglu)
Unable to read more, he turned the page...
" So this was also an illusion...I see him everywhere...why is he troubling me? Bhaiyu, just ask him to stop all this and stop troubling me !! "
Raj didnt understand this...
He read further...
" Everyone wants me to move on with life ...but,Loving you is like breathing; How can I stop? "
Raj was all the more confused...whom does she love?
" Kya Naina kisi aur se...", he stopped as completing the thought was unbearable for him.
" When I'm not with you,
How can you be still with me?
Why do I feel a love so strong,
When I know you don't feel the same for me! "
He turned the page...
"I'm not supposed to love you, I'm not supposed to care
I'm not supposed to live my life, wishing you were there
I'm not supposed to wonder where you are or what you do
I'm sorry I just can't help myself, I fell in love with you "
He was getting all the wrong, weird and scary thoughts...
Keeping control over himself, he read further...
" They are again making fun of our relation...They did it before and they are doing it again...I know it's not possible for everyone to understand the strength of our bond and purity and sacredness of our relation...I hardly care about others, but I get irritated when Maa-Baba and my friends hint me to forget the past and move ahead with the time... Just tell me, is it possible for me to do so? I want to cry out aloud ! Par main toh woh bhi nahi kar sakti ! Apne aansu chupate chupate thakk chuki hoon ! nahi sehen hota abb ! Par...nahi ! Main haar kaise maan sakti hoon? I need to be strong ! main nahi roungi ! Sorry ! Ab phir nahi roungi ! I know I need to be strong...for you ! And I will be !! "
He just turned the page to read the last entry...
" My love is like the sun that warms me when I am cold,
And like the cool water of the brook that refreshes me.
My love knows the secret pleasures of my soul,
And delights with me in fulfilling them.
Who is my love but the soul of my soul,
And the reason for every beat of my heart.
Who fills me with life in the joy of his presence,
And returns to me more than I have given.
Come to me, my love, I die without you.
Each day is eternity, waiting for your touch.
Remove the tears from my eyes and the ache in my heart,
Be closer than my breath, all my days, all my nights."
And then he got a shock of his life !! Well...a Pleasant one !
He found a photo of him and Naina, dancing together. It was the one taken on the day of his engagement with Dr.Ritu,when he and Naina waltzed together and he promised him that he will always be her mentor...
More clouds of confusion gathered...
For now...he just knew one thing...
" I love you Naina...I really really love you ! ", he said trying hard to stop the unfaithful tears in his eyes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was her eighth day in hospital after she regained conscious...
Raj was taking care of her like anything.
He would attend his classes and spent rest of his time being with her in the hospital.
He would teach her whatever he taught in the class,making sure she wouldnt miss on her studies ;
Sometimes he would read out stories for her and make her laugh on his narration,as it seemed like he is narrating some army report.
It was about the time...Everyday he used to come at this time after his classes.
She was thinking what should she do now?
Should she do as the mask man said?
But...
"Aur har baar, ek woh aasha ki kiran...that one flame lit...jo mere naseeb ke saare andhero ko mita deti hain aur mujhe har mushkil se kheench kar bahar laati hai...meri har haar ko jeet mein badal deti hai ! Toh jab woh saath hai, toh kaisa darr? Mujhe yakeen hai ki iss baar bhi jeet meri hogi, kyunki sach mere saath hai...aur agar main haar ki kagar par khada ho bhi gaya, toh woh jaroor mujhe waha se kheench kar jeet ke raaste par le jayegi."
Flashes came in front of her eyes...
" Sir, itna vishwaas karte hai mujhpar...ki main hamesha unka saath dungi."
" Agar Sir ko kuch...", She shivered at that & her throat dried up.
She held her head in her palms...
" Kya karu main? Kya karu?"
" I won't let anything happen to you...I won't let you go...believe me !"
" Sir, I trust you. Main jaanti hoon aap mujhe kuch nahi hone denge. Aur...aur main bhi aapko kuch nahi hone dungi."
" Aur hamesha rahunga." , he said determined.
She again looked at the watch.
" Sir itna late toh kabhi nahi hote...Sir theek toh honge na?", she was worried.
" Never ever do this Naina. Tum nahi jaanti main kitna darr gaya tha. I would have killed myself if..."
She became restless...She could see that unspoken emotion in his eyes for her...
but she really hoped, she was wrong...
That only she felt the emotion, the Love for him and not viceversa...
Coz she is ready to bear the pain...but if he ...
"Maine apna waada nibhaya Naina. maine tumhara saath nahi choda...Ab tumhari baari hai Naina. Waada karo...mujhse..."
" Promise Me dammit!!! Just promise me...tum waapis aaogi. You won't leave me...promise me!"
She closed her eyes tightly...
" Kaise Promise karu sir...?"
" Don't leave me Naina...Please don't leave me.", Raj hugged her tightly.
" I'm Sorry Sir...I'm sorry...aapkeliye...I have to...mujhe yeh karna hi hoga..."
" Kya karna hoga aapko Cadet Singh?"
Naina zapped open her eyes at that...Rajveer was standing in front of her with a smile.
" Sir, aaj aap itna late kyun aaye? Aap toh kabhi itna late nahi hote? " , she asked instantly.
" Oh ! So Cadet Naina Ah' Singh was waiting for me?" , he asked with mischief.
" Ah...nothing like that...it's just that..."
Raj raised his eyebrows and gave her a knowing smile.
" Fine ! But what should I do? I was getting bored ! Aur aapne yaha sabko strictly warn karke rakha hai ! Garden ki baat toh chodo, mujhe iss room ke bahar bhi koi kadam rakhne nahi deta ! And here you are late !"
He smiled, " Oh ! Big problem indeed ! Well...I have solution for both!"
" Both???"
" Yup ! ", he said taking out a chocolate, " I think this would make up for me being late..."
She smiled.
" Good ! And now there's one good news for you!"
" Good news !! "
" Yesss !!! Issiliye toh main late hua ! ", Raj said excitedly , " Actually, jab main aur Shalini aa rahe the, tab Doc ne mujhe aur Shalini ko bulaya ,to inform us that they are gonna discharge you today ! Shalini is completing the formalities. Now isnt that a good news?"
Naina's face fell...
How was she gonna tell him, that this was the most awful news for her...
" Hey, aren't you happy?"
" I'm...I'm happy...", she said looking away.
" Parr mujhe aise nahi lag raha..."
" Ab ek hospital se nikalkar dusre hospital jaane mein toh mujhe bahot khushi honi chahiye na? Aapko kya lagta hai? Shalini maam mujhe aise hi chod degi?", she tried to make up.
Book Talk
Cricket
13