ARAKSHI FF - Chalte Chalte - IMP NOTE on Page 48 - Page 11

Chapter 10 - After the Rain

When the sunlight streamed in through the windows, he awoke with a start. It took a while to remember where he was. When he looked down, Sakshi had sidled down on to his lap, a lock of hair falling across her eyes. He smiled at her sleeping form and pushed away the little lock of hair away from her eyes, as slowly as he could so as not to wake her. He took a glance at his watch - it was 8 in the morning. He groaned at the thought of going back to the ETF headquarters. It seemed like a totally different world to him. The one he shied away from.

He gently put her head on the pillow and got up. It was time to go back into reality. He glanced back to sneak a last look at her and left the room.

***

When she woke up, she could smell coffee. She fumbled around for Arjun, but the bed was empty. She awoke with a start, seeing the daylight outside.

Sakshi, aaj toh tu gayi, she said to herself, Rathod sir ghusne bhi nahi denge. When she looked towards her bedside table she saw a steaming cup of coffee on it, a note just below it.

Her brow creased, and then she smiled as she read the note.

Goodmorning Meethi. Tera late birthday gift (Kanjoos bolna band kar). Mujhe office mein iska return chahiye. And Miss Sakshi Anand, main coffee nahi peeta.

And you are welcome.

P.S - I hate late comers. Best friends are no exceptions. :)

***

Her entry into the room was like a breath of fresh air. She looked like the sudden sunlight that had suddenly lit up his lonely life - dressed in a pale yellow kurti, a floral dupatta draped around her neck. Her bangles which had once annoyed him, now made him smile. When she smiled at him, he could see her eyes sparkling with happiness. In her hands she had a cup of his favourite chai. He smiled to himself as he remembered writing the note earlier in the morning.

Shree nudged Chotu and gestured him to look at Arjun.

"Yeh main kya dekh raha hoon Chotu? Arjun sir smile kar rahe hai. Woh bhi koi aur nahi but Sakshi ko dekhke!" He said in a low voice, "Sakshi. Jispe who humesha bharakte hain!" His spectacles had slid down his nose and he looked rather comical.

Chotu hid a laugh and said, "Arrey haan yaar. Aisa chamatkaar kaise ho gaya?" Their gaze followed her as she handed Arjun the cup of chai.

"Thanks Mee... Miss Sakshi," he said, his mouth curving up just a little, his eyes holding her gaze.

"Aankhon hi aankhon mein ishara ho gaya..." Shree started singing, low enough for just Chotu to hear.

"Sahi mein yaar Shree. Koi toh baat hai. Sakshi se hi poochna parega."

"Uh ...Sakshi!" Shree shouted towards her, "Idhar aa na. Kuch baat karni hai."

As Arjun shot a suspecting glance at him, he stammered and added, "Uh..woh...S-s-sir c-case ke baare mein. Aur kuch nahi."

"Kaunsa case Shree? Kal hi toh humne ek case close kiya."

Shree gulped and said, "Arrey woh...kal ke case ke baare mein hi. Woh...Sakshi report likh rahi hai na. Toh...usko..kuch...haaan. Usne kuch information maangi thi. Bas...wahi."

He nodded, although his gaze was just as disbelieving as before.

Sakshi looked up at him questioningly and Shree said, "Arrey. Kal pooch rahi thi na?" He pulled her into a corner and said, "Buddhu. Kuch secretly poochna hai isliye bulaya. Tu hai ki samajhti hi nahi. Abhi Arjun sir mera khoon kar dete."

She laughed and said, "Kya poochna hai?"

Chotu came and asked in a low voice, "Yeh tune kya jadoo kar diya Arjun sir pe? Woh smile kar rahe the!!!"

"Kya baat kar rahe ho? Arjun aur smile?"

Shree raised his eyebrow and said, "Oye. Abhi toh dekha tune. Tu humse kuch chupa rahi hai."

"Main? Main kya chupaoungi? Acha hato, mujhe kaam hai. Arjun ne kal ka report maanga hai woh bhi sham tak. Bye." She smiled and walked away to her chair.

"Yaar Chotu, daal mein kuch kaala hai."

"Shree mujhe lagta hai poori daal hi kaali hai."

"Chotu, Shree, agar tumhari baatein khatam ho gayi ho toh agla case discuss kare?" Arjun's voice jerked them back into the room and they quickly walked back to their chairs.

When she walked to her desk, the first thing she noticed was a white daisy that was waiting for her in a glass. Her lips curved into a smile as she ran her fingers over the tender petals of the flower. The little drops of water that had been sprayed on them touched her fingers and her smile deepened. Flowers always made her happy. And there was only one person here who knew what colour she liked. She smiled as she twirled the flower in her hand.

Her smile froze as she remembered what she had resolved yesterday night. No Sakshi, get a grip! You cannot fall for him. This isn't the right time, she said to herself.

She was mumbling to herself when Aisha popped into her room.

She quickly put the flower back and turned around to face her, trying to hide the flower with her body.

"Mujhse kya chupana? Maine sab dekh liya hai. Aur bahar jo hua woh bhi." Aisha smirked.

"K-k-kyaa...kya dekha? Kuch bhi toh nahi hua bahar."

"Sakshi! Arjun sir and smile? Itna bada chamatkaar ho gaya and tune dekha nahi? Waise, reason toh mere saamne hi khadi hai."

Sakshi blushed and lowered her gaze. "Aisi koi baat nahi hai Aisha."

"Stupid. Jo aaj tak kabhi nahi muskuray unko aaj maine SMILE karte hue dekha. SMILE. Woh bhi tabse jabse tune entry maari hai. Aur saboot chahiye? Mere saath chal."

"Kahaan?" She kept protesting as Aisha dragged her towards Arjun's cabin.

"Sssh. Ab andar dekh."

He was swinging around in his chair, smiling to himself. In his hand was the cup of tea she had handed him this morning.

Aisha was smiling at her. She blushed again, wondering what she was thinking.

"Arjun sir ko apne chai pe pehle toh itna pyaar nahi aaya! Ab bolegi ki kya hua?"

Sakshi looked around in case anyone was listening and said, "Yahaan nahi. Caf chalo."

Secretly, she was dying to share all this with someone. And since Neha wasn't here, Aisha was the next person she could look towards. She almost felt like an elder sister now. A person with whom she could share all her secrets and thoughts.

"Oh my God. So he recognised you?"

She smiled and nodded. They were sitting in the corner of the caf, coffee in front of them, lying untouched. Aisha had been totally absorbed in her story, exclaiming aloud when it was required. She was a good listener.

She then voiced her thoughts about Roshni, and Arjun's guilt about being responsible for her death. She told her how she feared getting close to him a bit too soon, lest she hurt him.

Aisha nodded solemnly, understanding her situation.

"Yeah you are right. But, yeh baat bhi hai ki jab tak who apna dard kisi ke saath share nahi kar lete, woh andar hi andar ghut te rahenge. Aur yaha tere alawa unki koi madad nahi kar sakta Sakshi. Rathod sir ne bahut koshish ki thi, after Sikandar's death. But woh dono itne ache dost hone ke baad bhi Rathod sir kuch nahi kar paye. Unhe sirf ek dost nahi ek saathi ki zaroorat hai. Aur yeh tere se better saathi is waqt koi nahi hai. Kyunki jitni achi tarah se tu unhe jaanti hai, itni achi tarah se unhe koi nahi jaanta."

Sakshi nodded, lost in her own thoughts. "Mujhe Arjun se is baare mein baat karna chahiye Aisha. Jab tak woh apne past ko face nahi karega, tab tak... he won't be able to move on. But phir darr lagta hai. Because it hurts him."

Aisha smiled listening to her. It was evident to her that this girl was falling for the ACP. But she didn't want to accept it yet. She knew this wasn't just friendship anymore. It was turning into something more than that, something stronger than that.

I guess, she said to herself, she needs her time to realise it.

"Kya?"

"Kuch nahi." Aisha smiled and shook her head.

"Chalein? Mujhe jaake apna report khatam karna hai."

Aisha nodded and they walked back towards their office.

"Thanks Aisha. I really needed to share this with someone."

Aisha smiled and said, "Anytime. I am always there."

***

It was 10 o' clock in the night and Sakshi was still sitting in the office, lost in her thoughts. She hadn't seen Arjun since she had peeked into his office with Aisha. She knew he was busy, and she had her reports to finish as well. Her mind had been wandering elsewhere in between, planning on how to bring Arjun out of his shell. Yes, she had seen a different Arjun yesterday night, who was waiting to come out. But somewhere inside of him the other Arjun lived as well. And she wanted that other Arjun she to disappear forever. Yes, it was true that he had started smiling. But then she also knew that the smiles were shortlived. He was overcome by guilt everytime he tried to be happy. She chewed at her pen as her mind pondered over what could be done.

***

"Arjun!"

"Hmmm"

She shook him and said, "Arjunnn."

"Hmmm bol na Meethi," he said, not looking up from his file. He was busy pouring over the details of the new case they had. One of his hands was playing with his pen as was his habit.

"Mujhe kahin jaana hai. But mere paas car toh hai nahi and kaafi raat ho chuki hai. Aur is bade se sehar mein tum ek ladki ko toh akele chod nahi sakte... toh...tum mujhe le jaoge?"

"Hmmm..."

Now annoyed, she said, "Main kal London wapas jaa rahi hoon."

"Kya?" He now looked up, startled at the mention of London.

She grinned, "Pata tha! Koi important baat hogi tab hi sunoge."

He breathed out and said, "Acha ab bol."

"Mujhe kahin jaana hai, pahuncha doge?"

"Thoda sa kaam bacha hai woh khatam karke chale?"

"Sure." She settled down on the chair opposite him and took out her diary. She started humming an old song as she wrote.

He looked up once to glance at her. She looked so relaxed and happy, writing away. He smiled, shook his head and went back to his file.

"Arjun," she looked up after a minute of writing, "Music ke bina life kitni adhoori hoti na?"

"Hmmm..."

"Arrey phir hmmm! Main tab se tumse baat karne ki koshish kar rahi hoon!"

"Meethi tu baat karegi toh main kaam kaise karunga?" He said, his mouth curving into a smile.

"Tum smile karte hue itne bure bhi nahi lagte. Thoda deep smile karo na! Aise." Her smile lit up her face.

His face darkened again and his eyes closed shut, like she had seen him the previous night. She immediately regretted saying what she said. She was beginning to see glimpses of his pained expression when suddenly it changed the moment he opened his eyes and his mouth broke into a smile.

"Chal. Tere saath kaam karna mukshkil hi nahi namumkin hai."

***

Before Roshni had abandoned him, he had had reasons to smile. When Meethi asked him to smile deeper, he realised that he had been smiling in the first place. Was it wrong to smile with Meethi now that Roshni was gone? Flashes of his memories with Roshni returned to him... and then... he saw Meethi again. The little one. He could see her smiling face, could hear her laugh, her voice. He opened his eyes and the older Meethi was sitting right before him, her face bearing a worried expression. He knew his smile would bring back hers. It always had. So, he smiled. And so did she.

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Sooo again, how was it?😆

Thanks sooo much for reading btw! i m so so happy that you are reading and liking it..but in case it goes boring/bland all you have to do is leave a comment! 😃

is it getting boring? seriously batana! there are some more arakshi scenes coming up..so wait for the next update 😃

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