T2 Raesha FF : Finding Home last part pg 28 - Page 21

Originally posted by: Chulbuli_Annu

dushman disappointed with you

itna sa likha hai

padhne se pehle hi khatam ho gya

huh...

case to solve ho gya

but case solve hone k sath sath aisha ka gussa bhi badh gya

sam finally illaz karwane pahuch gya

lets see aage kya hota hai

aisha ka to samjh nhi aata use arjun k ghar rehna hai ya nhi

rehta tha to packing kyun ki..

aisha bhi sam ko dhundna nhi chahti hai

sahi hai dono ko whqt chahiye...agreed with aisha

sam ko sab pta hai...aur wo smajhdar bhi hai

jo karega sahi karega...dono ko whqt chahiye

aur wo whqt dene se hi milega

3 years later

'Miss Dsilva, can't we stop this medicine?' Sameer again nagged in front of the soberly dressed woman,

'why do you want to stop this particular medicine Mr. Rathore? Baki sab medicines ke taste itne ache hain kya?' she asked in a stern face, as she picked up the report chart and looked into the papers,

'nehi...roz roz main apko kaise samjhau? mujhe iss medicine se jaldi neend aa jati hain...aur mujhe aj raat ka football match dekhna hain...final hain yaar kam se kam aj to...,' he said making a pure innocent face as he found the medicine strip bring broken and the capsule forwarded towards him,

'kal subah headlines dekh lena...match ke liye medicines stop nehi hoga...Samjhe...utho aur medicine lo...jaldi..i got to leave...' Miss Dsilva ordered him and Sameer glared at her,

'Cummon, don't waste my time... jaldi medicine lo...' she glared back harder and Sameer popped the capsule inside his mouth unwillingly and swallowed with a glass of water.

'Yaha sab ke sab heartless hain...patient ki khusi dikhai hi nehi deti kisiko..' Sameer pouted,

'Aise Patient ke demands mante rahe to ho gayi treatment...fir to tum ghar jana bhool jao..' she replied back calmly,

'Miss Dsilva...kya main...' Sameer tried to reason again but as usual Miss Dsilva held on his shoulders and made him lay down. Sameer never objected her and slowly slid on the cleaned mattress.

'Good boy...ab so jao...Good Night...' The matron left giving him one of her rarest winning smile while Sameer lay still on the bed waiting for sleep to take over him. The football finale was destined to be missed but now he had learnt to live with it.

It has been 3 years he had been stuck to this bed and to this place. Though his life had been pretty monotonous at times, he had his reasons to excite his dim senses.

In the initial days of his stay here, his illness has started to deteriorate his senses and health incredibly. The medicines were strong and it had started weakening his attentiveness with each passing day. There came a time when he had started forgetting things, at the point to even wake up or eat his meal. He would sometimes sleep all day forgetting his sessions and medicines. His weak limbs and drowsy senses further weakened his resolve and he had even tried speaking with the concerned practitioners about leaving the treatment midway only to be shown ignorance to his words by them. The negligence had further irritated and demotivated him and he had stopped taking in the medicines or treatment completely, waiting for his end to commence.

That was the time when Miss Dsilva had taken undying efforts to get him out of his severe depressed shell. She would sit hours taking a break from her duty and speak to him. In the beginning Sameer wouldn't response to her or would get irritated of her continuous banter, but gradually as time flew he started reluctantly listening to this aged woman and understood the reason this arrogant and strict woman worked here. His inquisitive mind started getting through her strict faade.

No, Miss Dsilva didn't have any sad past or a long history. She was just another next door girl. She always had a happy family who supported and encouraged her work and she too taken all effort to encourage and support those who needed her help. Years flew by and she excelled in her work, learning and applying at the same time. She had a brilliant yet cunning sense of sarcasm and most of the time this sarcasm brought out the lost self from the most defeated souls. It had been years she was working with these types of people and Sameer was just a kid for her. Sameer noticed he was slowly getting attached to her. Miss Dsilva's concern and loving nature brought her close to the introvert and broken Sameer who started developing under her care.

Sameer missed his family and near and dear ones and somewhere Dsilva was reminding him of the concerns they showed him. He was getting acquainted with the love that a family always nourished towards its members. The love that need not be explained. The love that need not be claimed. The love that needed no words. Still it was the most pure and beautiful forms of all emotions.

He had realised his love for Aisha long back but what these days in this hospital room and Miss Dsilva had taught him was a much better and matured version of a proclaimed silent love he had never known had developed inside him. He now slowly understood Aisha's stands, her morals, her concerns and her hesitance. Moreover he understood his own love and attraction towards her. It was no longer the teenage love or the initial days of their love. These lonely days have burnt him enough to understand each other much more than they had earlier. Sameer no longer missed Aisha. He could now feel her closer to him. Much more closer than he had been when they stayed inside the same house. He was now determined to get back to her but this time without any misunderstanding, without any weakness. His illness might remain but his resolve will no longer falter.

Sameer had almost recovered by now. The doctors and medical staff in the hospital had kept him for a few more days for the medication to end and also to observe his behavior. He could now feel the difference from the time he had reached here and now when he would be leaving. He longed to get back to his family but he didn't want to leave the friends he had made here unknowingly. Miss Dsilva has become his mentor by now and though she would never show, she was feeling miserable hearing his discharge.

******

The Morning sun brought in freshness for his upcoming life and Sameer woke up to just another day. He had almost forgotten about his discharge until Miss Dsilva walked inside his room wishing him her usual morning greetings. Though her face and voice was composed and she kept her usual calmness, her pale sad gaze wasn't hidden from Sameer's sharp eyes. Miss Dsilva picked up the reports chart and checked into the medicines on the tray. It was pretty clear she was avoiding looking or speaking to Sameer today. It would bring out her vulnerable state in front. It wasn't new though. These years of service had taught her to behave strong.

She checked on Sameer and wrote the reports quickly on the sheet of paper. She gave him the morning medicine and kept blabbering about his health and the precautions he needs to take when he returns back home. Sameer wasn't listening to any of the words she spoke and kept looking at her face. She stopped when his gaze kept lingering over her and turned to look at him.

'Doctor will come to check you soon...i was just giving you a reference...' she informed cleverly hiding her sadness with one of her charming smiles,

'Do you want me to stay here longer Miss Dsilva?' Sameer asked her smirking,

'What rubbish Mr Rathore? You are fine now...and the doctor has already decided to discharge you...then how does this question arise? Do you want to stay her longer? Arent you happy to get back home Mr Rathore?' she asked curiously,

'then why are you so sad Miss Dsilva?' Sameer asked promptly surprising the woman but she controlled herself quickly,

'Patients come here for treatment and go when they recover. This is happening for so many years now, why do you think it would affect me or my happiness?' Miss Dsilva asked him picking up the tray of medicines to check into the left over stuff,

'But still every patient doesn't have Miss Dsilva to help them,' Sameer held her hand and she frowned at him,

'I work here Mr Rathore and I am paid to help my patients...' she affirmed sternly,

'I know what you are paid for Miss Dsilva and I know the work you do...' Sameer pressed her cold palms as she looked numb at him,

'Thank you for everything Miss Dsilva...You will always be my second Mother, a mother who brought back her dead child,' he replied gratefully,

'Sameer that's my work...ab aur zyada maska nehi...doctor ate honge...waise...why aren't you excited to get back home??' she asked him pulling back her arms slowly,

'it isn't that Miss Dsilva...itne saal yaha akele rehene ke baad ab wapas jana thora ajeeb lag raha hain...kisi ko pata bhi to nehi hain main yaha hu...aur itne saalo baad sab kuch badal chukka hoga...pata nehi jane ke baad sab kuch kaise...' Sameer blurted out his concerns,

'tumhe daar lag raha hain...haina?' she asked again,

'nehi...matlab...ap sab samaj kaise jate ho?' he asked her making an embarrassed face,

'Exclusive quality hain...' she laughed getting Sameer to join her.

Miss Dsilva left and the conversation inside the hospital room came to an end as the Doctor walked inside smiling and greeting the two occupants of the room. The Doctor checked Sameer and granted his discharge, giving him a few essential and careful measures that he needed to take care of later. Sameer agreed with the norms and the nurse walked out to get his discharge formalities completed. Sameer walked out to take a trip through the place and bid the people he had met during his stay here.

During the early evening the discharge papers were in his hand and Sameer was ready with his bags packed and his friends and acquaintances surrounding him. Everyone was smiling though he knew he would be missed immensely. Miss Dsilva was standing at the end of the crowd, smiling and looking at him. He walked passed the crowd to her and touched her feet, seeking her blessings in return. Miss Dsilva wasn't miser in such stuff and blessed her with lots of good wishes. Sameer walked out of the gate with parched throat and blurry eyes as he waved back to his new friends and saviors for the last time.

********

The Journey back home was a strange one. He had traversed this path years back and had never taken it back until today, when he is returning back forever. He was almost cured now. He knew his limitations and also the remedies and techniques to handle little remaining effects of his disease. The road, the journey, the destination all were known to him but still everything seemed to be new and unknown.

He wouldn't voice his concerns but he knew there was a strange uneasiness going inside his heart. It was beating faster as the car moved closer towards the destination.

His destination. His family, his friends, his work and Aisha.

It has been such a long time he had heard her voice or felt her fingers on his skin. She must have changed so much in these passing years. He had hurt her before he came here and have even suggested of living his life without her. But these years of solitude has taught him her place in his life. It wasn't just love or lust that had kept his thoughts hooked to her. He was emotionally attached to her even when they were distant apart. He could feel her beside him during his days of immense pain and disappointment. He could feel her rejoice when he was enjoying his success and she was with him during the long lonely sleepless hours at midnight under the dark night sky.

He was alone all these years but not lonely. Aisha was with him supporting him in his strengths and weaknesses and now he was returning back to her as her strength. As much as he longed to watch the sparkle in her eyes, he hadn't longed to even cure himself.

But now when everything was returning back to their shells, he was scared of her reaction. What if she rebuked him? What if she misunderstood his concerns and left him with her devastating painful absence from his life? What if she had already forgotten him and moved on? What if she...

He couldn't think more. A life without her would be more excruciating than what he had gone through in these years. He knew he was at fault and even if she left he had no reason to get her back but still his concerns couldn't strengthen his resolve to live without her. With the thoughts of her response towards him, he was also hovering about where to reach for her. Was she still with ETF? Should he meet her at the ETF office first or...Was she still staying with Arjun? Or has she gone back home to her parents? Or she is lost?

He left suffocated.

The thoughts about her was making him stressed and he looked out of the window to feel the fresh air. Miss Dsilva always told him to distress himself to the nature. Nature has all the quality to absorb anything at any moment of time and she wasn't wrong. The cool breeze touched his hair and face relieving him of all those irresolute thoughts that lingered in his mind, that made him weak again.

What if she misunderstood him? Wasn't it his fault to leave her alone wandering about his whereabouts? Wasn't it him who was feeling jealous of her closeness with Arjun after knowing both of them so well? Wasn't it him who had burst out his anger on her knowing she wasn't the reason behind his failing career? Whats her mistake if she really falls for someone else? Isn't her happiness is all that he ever wanted? Has her staying away killed him? No, it has cured him and it will forever in his life, even if she chooses to live without him. And what she understands him and returns back? How would she react when she knows about his return?

His thoughts started pondering over the reactions he was gonna receive. Arjun would surely try to kill him for abandoning all of them suddenly without any information. He chuckled thinking how Riya would jump and hop and shout and laugh but wouldn't utter a meaningful word. He knew that was her way of showing her happiness when she got over excited about something. Masa would flood her tears scolding him for his careless attitude. Babasa would stand right behind everyone alternating his gaze between him and masa. The satisfied look on his face would speak up loudly of his delight. And Aisha...welll...she would pose angry...what else...

Sameer smiled as the car turned towards the road leading towards the city. They call it the City of Dreams. While some say this city absorbs happiness, others say it flourishes dreams. He has experienced both. He had lost everything once and left the city. But even after all the losses, he had returned back to this particular city to live his life. The City might have the capability to abstract happiness but it gives a freedom to our life we desire to live instead of just breathing in the polluted air.

After a few hours of travel silently the driver looked at him with a grim expression on his face. Sameer felt the car slow down slowly and turned to look at him. He could read his expression. They had entered the boundaries of Mumbai and the driver now needed the exact location to take the proper road. Sameer smiled at his curious face and gave him the direction to his house and looked out of the window. Finally after ages he was driving back home. He breathed in the polluted air, it looked more fresh and refreshing than the places he had stayed for so long.

The car zoomed towards his house and stopped at the parched entranced. Sameer stepped out slowly looking at the locked iron gate in front. It had not been opened for years and it was visible from the deposited dust on the grills and all over the place. Sameer paid the driver and walked inside towards the closed wooden door.

Rubbing his fingers over the metal knob and then the key hole he inserted the key carefully and turned it. The door unlocked in front of him and he walked inside pushing open the door. A sudden gust of dust filled air touched his face and he knew none had opened this door for years. A few sealed enveloped letters lay scattered on the floor. He picked all of them and stepped inside.

He walked in slowly dragging the bag with him. He was again back to his own place and still after years it seemed to be missing the charm that the few months of her stay had left behind. Walking down the memory lane Sameer walked through each tiles smiling and touching the house remembering the various moments with Aisha. Their first step inside, their fights, their smiles, their laughs and then their crazy passionate moments, everything seemed just yesterday yet the moments were lost again with her.

'I should meet her...but where is she?' he spoke to himself as he dropped on his unkept bed.

Sameer laid back on the bed looking at the ceiling. He was feeling tired and worn out. The long continuous travel and overthinking was making him weak again. Even the dusty bedsheet or the dust covered pillows could not stop him from closing his eyelids. He fell asleep unknowingly and when he woke up it was already early evening. He woke up with a grumbling stomach and an untidy room and clothes. He sat on the bed trying to figure out things when he noticed the letters kept beside him. He opened them one by one. Most of them were official letter, from the bank, insurance, companies but one was from Arjun.

His wedding card.

Sameer felt a broad smile cover his lips as he opened the red coloured envelope and pulled out the decorated card. He was invited to Arjun's marriage with Riya today evening.

'Finally Arjun shadi kar raha hain...' he blabbered out chuckling in amusement and shock. But soon his smile faded as he remembered the harsh words he had told Arjun and the way everything had turned soured just for him. He no longer had the reason or the courage to face the man he had insulted so brutally once.

Thinking something he stood up and walked towards his unused wardrobe. Pulling out his own wedding sherwani from the messy lot, he looked at it. He had lost quite a couple of kilos in these few years and now this dress would just loosely hang over him. Feeling disappointed he looked at himself in the mirror putting the dress over him.

'Not bad Sameer!!!! Please formal suit maat peheno...Apne dost ki shadi hain...' he heard her voices echo around the room. He looked around. None was there. His mind had again spoken to him.

Feeling embarrassed he kept the clothing back inside the wardrobe and picked out the towel. He needed a fresh shower and a filling meal before anything. He was losing his senses to his appetite.

*******

Aisha was busy with Riya, nudging her to start getting herself ready for the evening while Riya was looking at the accessories trying to figure out the perfect one.

'Riya bohot ho gaya...ab jaldi jao aur kapre change karo...common Riya...late ho raha hain..' Aisha shouted again,

'Aisha...tum na din ba din partial hoti jaa rahi hu...Arjun to abhi tak nehi aya...usse kuch nehi keheti...mujhe ye tika nehi pehenaa...' Riya replied back making a grumpy face,

'Riya!! You are impossible...Arjun ne kaha haina aa jayega...ab tum jao aur change karlo...go...' Aisha pushed Riya inside the washroom and pulled the door shut. She could hear Riya's nagging inside the washroom and smiled. She picked up the things that Riya had messed up when she heard riya's mobile ringing in between the heap of clothes.

Aisha looked at the blinking light from among the clothes and chuckled realizing who the caller could be. She quickly pushed the clothes aside and picked up the phone. It was blinking an unknown number. She hesitated a bit but then received the call.

'Hello,' she greeted into the phone,

'hello Riya?' A male voice responded back,

'No, Riya is busy, I am her friend Aisha, who am I speaking to?' she asked him cordially,

'Aisha!!!' a hushed whisper reached her ear and she frowned at the friendly voice,

'Sameer!!' she voiced out after a few moments silence, feeling her limbs go numb as the reality dawn over her.

Sameer had finally made a call.

A long silence followed after that. None spoke a word. Words no longer healed their pains and the silence too seemed reckless. Sameer swallowed feeling his chocked throat while Aisha blinked her blurring eyelids. Their heart was burning in pain, in loneliness and the desire to bring back their lost lives. But none could get the right words to voice out their feelings. They quietly held onto the device remembering back their past mistakes.

Phir le aaya dil majboor kya keeje...

Raas na aaya rehna door kya keeje...

Dil keh raha use maqammal kar bhi aao...

Wo jo adhoori si baat baaki hai...

Wo jo adhoori si yaad baaki hai...

'Aisha??' a faint shallow voice reached her ear and she returned back,

'hmm' she hummed softly,

'kaisi ho?' he asked,

'tum Riya se baat karna chahte the...wo change karne gayi hain...' aisha started but her eyes filled and her voice gave up,

'Aisha...maine tumse kuch pucha...' Sameer interrupted her,

'main busy hu Sameer, tum thori der baad call karo, Riya aa jayegi..' Aisha informed him, signing out her awkwardness and disconnected the call,

'Aisha!!' Sameer yelled but the call had already disconnected. He kept back the receiver and paid for the call. He hadn't yet activated his mobile after returning back. Sameer walked back to his house angry and thoughtful. He knew Aisha was angry and she wasn't wrong too and he needed to speak to her. She wouldn't receive his call again nor would she speak to her. There was only one way out to meet and convince her his apologies.

Attending Arjun's wedding.

He pulled out his wedding sherwani again and threw it on the chair. He walked into the washroom and washed his face. He had to look good. He was meeting his family after a long time.

Karte hain hum aaj qabool kya keeje

Ho gayi thi jo humse bhool kya keeje

Dil keh raha use mayassar kar bhi aao

Wo jo dabi si aas baaki hai

Wo jo dabi si aanch baaki hai

The place wasn't much crowded like any other marriage hall. Arjun didn't have relatives or a huge close knit family. All he had were a few friends and colleagues who loved and respected him like their own family. Riya's mother was walking around the place smiling and laughing with everyone. The gathering was a small one, the arrangement was a simple one, yet the happiness and charm that filled the whole place felt nothing less than any other grand wedding.

It was after ages Sameer felt the coziness of being back home.

Sameer entered through the gate carefully avoiding the known faces. But it wasn't long when he was spotted and a loud commotion started where everyone started enquiring him about his whereabouts and health giving out their confused shocked expressions. Sameer now started regretting his decision of accepting the invitation. People started moving closer suffocating him. He had almost made up his mind to run back when a pair of hands held both his arms from the back and held him. He turned back instantly and all his plans of running away failed.

'Masa?' he greeted the woman. She looked so old in these few years.

'kaha chale gaye the ap? Hume bhi nehi bataya?' she asked with tears forming in her eyes,

'Masa main...' he couldn't explain and wrapped his arms around her neck. Masa too held her son close to her heart while the tears wetted her face. Sameer felt calm in his mother's arms. They were soothing and healing all his pains. He felt his eyes wet and looked up to find babasa standing behind them waiting for his turn to meet his son.

People had already gathered around them. Sameer slowly released himself from Masa and walked to his father. The father received him with a great heart. Aisha's parents too came to him inquiring about his health. The look of angwish and sadness in their eyes wasn't missed by anyone there. Sameer had just started with their little conversation when he felt a flying shoe hit him at his back. He instantly turned back to find Arjun standing at the door glaring hard at him.

'Arjun tu...' he started but the angry red eyes looking at him stopped him in between. He looked away feeling the heat and the humiliation he was to face soon.

'Maaf karna babasa, isse acha welcome mujhe iss aadmi ke liye suja nehi...aur ye yaha kis liye aya hain?' Arjun mocked him,

'Dekh Arjun main...' Sameer stepped towards him,

'kya dekhu? Tujhe dekhu? Hain kaun tu?' Arjun interrupted walked closer to him and pushed him back.

'mujhe meri baat to complete karne de...' Sameer tried to resist but Arjun was adamant to listen to him. Finally their anger rose and it led to a hurried scuffle between them. Some tried to stop them, some just enjoyed, some tried to call someone, Masa tried to stop but babasa stopped her. This fight was needed. Finally after sometime when the commotion reached into the ears of their beloved and Riya took efforts to come in between them, they stopped. Sameer had a swollen cheek and Arjun had a bleeding lip by then.

'Kya kar rahe ho tum log? Aj humari shadi hain Arjun...Stop this nonsense..Sameer tum kab aye??' Riya shouted at the top of her voice, getting their attention back.

They remained quietly glaring at the other for sometime and then looked at Riya. She was looking at both of them confused and angry. Both looked back and smiled at her. The smile confused her further and she glared at them. Both hugged her tight and then each other. It was surely a new beginning without any further looking back.

'Arjun I am sorry...main...' Sameer tried to explain but Arjun stopped him,

'wo sab badme...kisi aur se bhi to milna haina?' Arjun smiled and pointed at the corridor up stairs outside Riya's room where Aisha was standing curiously trying to understand the sudden commotion. Her eyes met with Sameer's and she looked away. She turned back and walked inside the room.

Sameer signed and took the stair upstairs. He had already spoilt a lot of things and wouldn't spoil them further. He knocked on the ajar door and walked inside without waiting for any response.

Aisha stood there facing her back to him. She might have guessed him by the knock on the door. Sameer walked inside looking at her stern immobile form. He could easily understand her state of mind and remained quiet for sometime, waiting for her to look at him or tell him something, but she didn't move an inch nor spoke a word. The silence was creating a storm inside the room and Sameer felt stressed. He signed aloud and turned to bolt the door. The sound of the fastening lock alerted Aisha and she turned back in a jerk.

'Excuse me!! Ye kya kar rahe hain ap?' she yelled back at him,

'Aisha...mujhse tumse kuch baat karni hain...' Sameer tried to control the situation,

'Mujhe kisise koi baat nehi karni...Ap chale jao yaha se warna apke liye acha nehi hoga,' she warned him angrily.

Sameer took slow steps towards her and Aisha frowned at him.

'Ye kya kar rahe ho? Maine apko mana kiya na...chale jaiye yaha se...Ap aise kaise kisi bhi larki ke kamre main...' she muttered this time the voice getting a bit soft and chocked,

'Aur na jau to? Goli mar dogi? Apni patni se milne aya hu...jo karna hain karlo...' Sameer smirked at her,

'haan,' she replied in a tone audible to her own ears,

'to mar dalo...waise bhi tumse dur main aur rehena bhi nehi chahta ...' Sameer moved closer to her as she stepped back from him.

Her throat had dried by now and she didn't speak another word. She tried to raise her hand to stop him but Sameer held her arm and pulled her towards him. Aisha collapsed on his chest and clenched her fist on his shirt for support. She wasn't prepared for this closeness but when the intimate gesture pulled her towards him, she could no longer resist herself.

Aisha looked up at Sameer with anger in her eyes but the mix of guilt and pleasure sighted in his gaze controlled her. She looked at him carefully. Sameer had changed a lot. He had lost considerable amount of weight and looked weak. His unkept stubble and the light hair-lined moustache, was giving him a completely different appearance. The pits and dark circles around his eyes easily gave out his longing and pains all these years. Though her anger and self-respect that had developed and blamed him all these years the look that he had brought with him melted every possible stroke of resentment.

'kya dekh rahi ho? Zinda hu?' the soft words near her ears brought Aisha back from her trance state and she fluttered her eyelids to compose herself.

Sameer looked at her face. She had turned pale and looked tired. The sadness in her gestures reflected her lone time of staying alone without him. He smiled at her. How much he had missed her all these years.

'Tum yaha kyu aye ho? Mujhe tumse koi clarification nehi chahiye...tumne jo bhi kiya tha uske liye main tumhe...' Aisha moved back from him speaking in a controlled normal tone when Sameer bend towards her and held her fisted palms,

'mujhe mafi nehi chahiye Aisha...mujhe pata hain maine jo bhi kiya tha uske liye koi clarifications nehi hote...main bas itna kehene aya hu...main galat tha...per main tum sabke bina zinda bhi nehi rehe sakta...mujhe tum sabki zaroorat hain...mujhe tumhari zaroorat hain...' Sameer stopped and Aisha frowned at him,

'kaha the tum?' she asked slowly, taking pauses in between her words,

Sameer signed and left her. He pulled out the medical reports file from his bag. Aisha looked at him quietly while he forwarded the file to her.

'Yaha,' he voiced out signaling her to look at it.

Aisha took the file from him and opened it. It was all so strange. She looked through the papers carefully and it shocked her. He had gone for the treatment of his illness and burned himself alone all these years. She closed the file and dropped on the bed, remorse filling her guts for all those thoughts she had made up for his absence. She felt her eyes moistened and covered her face in her palms. Sameer found her shoulder stooping and sat beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

Kismat ko hai yeh manzoor kya keeje

Milte rahe hum badastoor kya keeje

Dil keh raha hai use musalsal kar bhi aao

Wo jo ruki si raah baaki hai

Wo jo ruki si chaah baaki hai

There wasn't any need for words now. A comfortable silence stopped their lives at that moment. They sat quietly close to each other with their fingers entangled and palms resting on their lap. It wasn't something new happening tonight, but it was definitely a new feeling that was getting evoked in their hearts. They have loved and lost and regained their love back.

Sameer felt Aisha sniff across his chest and bend his head closer towards her face. The tears that had formed in her eyes were now flowing over her cheeks. He cupped her face and made her turn to him.

'Maine tumhe sabse zyada taklif di hain...Sorry kehene se bhi main wo takleef nehi mita sakta...' he apologized, wiping the stream of tears with his thumbs,

'I missed you Sameer!!' Aisha said in a cracked voice as a fresh stream of tears made its way through her eyes, by his touch,

'And I learnt to love you Aisha...' Sameer smiled wiping her wet cheeks again, as she cumbered closer towards him.

'I would never leave you again...no matter what...' Sameer acclaimed kissing her hair fondly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

The moment wasn't a passionate one for them. They had never missed passion or intimacy between them. It was their souls that had been distance apart even when their bodies had mingled with each other in lust and passion. They lacked the emotion, the feelings and the realizations that could make their brick bound house their home and their solitude life their family. They have understood separation. They have learnt the real meaning behind a relationship. The necessities and requirements of a place which could be called their home.

'Sam...jaldi kar yaar...tum dono ke milan ke chakar main meri shadi ruki hui hain...' A loud thud on the door and then Arjun's shout alerted both of them and they moved apart alternating their gazes from the door to the other.

'Arjun!!' Aisha whispered blushing profusely as Sameer smirked at her. Both stood up smiling and happy as they walked together to the door and opened it, to find the whole family waiting for them outside. It didn't take much time for the people to understand and walk back for the awaiting wedding, happy and contended. Sameer and Aisha too walked ahead towards the hall leading Arjun and Riya as they took every bit of the moment to mock and tease each other.

The wedding took place in a simple manner uniting two souls and paving the path for another couple to search for their home. Sameer held onto Aisha's hand, as Arjun took the vows with Riya, promising her a blissful life together. Aisha acknowledged his gestures by her usual glitters and glares. But the happiest in the crowd was Masa, Babasa and Aisha's parents who had been awaiting for this moment for so long. Finally they were contended with the decisions and efforts they had taken long back.

Finding one's true Home is never a destination. It's a journey. A long, tricky and hazardous journey with lots of strong waves to falter one, lots of pains to defeat and lots of hurdles to discourage. But in the end, home is where one finds the best shelter, the purest love and the most soothing charm from all the pains and struggles. Home is where happiness is and happiness is where love resides.

******

Originally posted by: Chulbuli_Annu

main bi res

agr bich me ayi to bi no sorry