New LRL fic: ’Fated’ updt pg 14 - Page 2

"We're so close now, Naina." He had told her, "I can almost feel it within my grasp. I promise you, we will get the red box back, and when we do, we will finally prove his innocence."

But she hadn't reacted how he thought she would.

"Sir, these people are dangerous." She tells him, "You know what they're willing to do to cover up their crimes. They'll trap you too, I know they will."

He had grasped her shoulders, turned her so that she was looking into his eyes.

"I didn't just make this promise to you, Naina." He tells her, "I made it to myself too. And I will keep this promise no matter what. Even if I lose my life, I won't regret it."

"Don't do this…" she had whispered, "Don't say that… if something happens to you then…"

Her shoulders had been warm under his hands where he grasped them. She had brought her own hands up to grasp his arms just below the elbow.

There was so much that he wanted to say…

But there was a knock at the door, and like always he had stepped away, and the words had remained unsaid.

**

"Dhiraj, wake up!" Samir was shaking him, and Dhiraj woke up to find his friend already dressed.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?" he complained, still trying to clear his head. There had been a dream… and that girl was in it…

"I thought you would wake up with the alarm, but you slept right through it." Samir tells him, "You must have been quite deeply asleep."

Dhiraj nods and rubs his eyes, getting up he grabs his towel, preparing to head for the bathroom. "I had the most vivid dream," he tells Samir, "And…" he stops suddenly, it's probably best not to mention who it was that he had dreamed of.

"And?" Samir asks questioningly.

"And nothing," Dhiraj replies uneasily, "I don't really remember."

"Well hurry up and get ready," Samir tells him, "In case you've forgotten you've got your first patrol today with me."

"Well at least I know you'll look after me," Dhiraj says jokingly, he was up late into the night studying maps of the area, trying to catch up on what he has missed. "We've got three junior officers with us, right? Any idea who they are?"

"Well I have the names, but two of them mean nothing to me." Samir says with a shrug, "So we have Lieutenants Dutt, Shivakumar and Rehman with us today. Shivakumar has been here a few months already, the other two must have come in with the latest batch."

"Well at least they've finally started to send reinforcements," Dhiraj comments, "It took them long enough."

"Oh come on Dhiraj, you know how slowly these things work, nothing ever happens unless there's a crisis."

"You mean nothing ever happens unless they can't avoid taking action anymore." Dhiraj replied sarcastically, and Samir shook his head slowly, but didn't bother to say anything.
For as long as he had known Dhiraj, his friend had had a deep mistrust of politicians. When he had to interact with them, Dhiraj was always on his best behaviour, but Samir knew what Dhiraj's real opinion was. He had once said that all politicians were just waiting to stab you in the back, that they would even sell their own families for power.

"Sometimes I begin to doubt whether you were actually a politician's son," Samir says with a laughing smile, "That would certainly explain why you hate them so much."

"Well I'll never know, will I?" Dhiraj says with a philosophical shrug, "It could always be possible."

Samir clapped Dhiraj on the back, "Come on," he told him, "Let's go get some breakfast, we've got a long patrol ahead of us."

**

Asha and Amiya were already eating in the mess when Dhiraj and Samir walked in, and although Asha was aware of him the moment he entered, she refused to look up. She knew very well that Amiya would be looking at her to see what her reaction was so instead she determinedly concentrated on her breakfast.

"Wow," Amiya remarked, "You're sure finding your food interesting this morning."

Asha lifted her head and glared slightly.

"Oh come on Asha, I know I was teasing you yesterday, but if your coping tactic is to not look at the guy at all, then I don't know how you're ever going to get through your first patrol."

"First patrol?" Asha asked her, "Then the list…"

"Is already up, and you will be with Captains Kapoor and Hassan."

Asha wasn't really sure how she felt about this, but she had already made enough of a fool of herself by staring at him so much yesterday. She was determined that today she would prove herself as a professional soldier. She had trained for two years for this, fought with her family for it, and no matter how strange she felt, she was not going to keep staring at one of her superior officers every time she saw him.

"Who are you with?" Asha asked Amiya, slightly disappointed that they wouldn't be in the same group.

"I'm with Captain Shergill," Amiya informs her, "She seems quite strict, but that could be good for us. We'll all be changing teams around for the first few weeks though, so that we can get used to working with as many of our colleagues as possible."

"That's a sensible idea," Asha agreed, "And it means that we may get to work together at some point."

"Well for now we'll have to settle for seeing each other when we return tomorrow." Amiya said, "Just imagine, our first real patrol in the military… camping outside at night… it's so exciting!"

Asha smiled, "In all the excitement, don't forget about the mosquitoes and the cold, and the…"

"You're such a spoil sport." Amiya told her, "At least for now we know there's not likely to be any attacks. Which is why I'm not worried at all. In the future…"

"You're right," Asha told her, "We might as well try to enjoy this time while we have it, because who knows how long it will last for."

They head to the marshalling point where all of the patrol teams will be meeting, picking up their packs on the way. Asha waves goodbye to Amiya as she heads towards her team's spot, and then joins two other lieutenants, while they wait for their superior officers. They're all chatting among themselves when the two Captains appear.

Asha has time to take a deep breath and calm her nerves before they arrive, because neither of them has looked towards their team yet. Instead they've stopped on the way to speak to one of the other officers. By the time they approach their patrol team she's managed to convince herself that she can behave perfectly normally, no matter how strange she feels when she sees him.

While Asha had had advance warning that she was in Captain Kapoor's team, Dhiraj is nowhere near as lucky. He's glad that he's already put his sunglasses on when he spots her, because it at least that way his reaction can't be seen. Dhiraj knows that Samir is watching him, perfectly aware that the same girl he was staring at yesterday is now on their patrol team. He can't help but wonder which one she is, Dutt, Shivakumar or Rehman.

Dhiraj doesn't have to wonder for long, because Samir has already gotten started with the introductions. He removes his sunglasses, confident enough that he will be able to behave professionally while on duty.

"I'm Captain Samir Hassan, and this is Captain Dhiraj Kapoor," Samir introduces them, "Today will be the first patrol of the area not only for you but also for Captain Kapoor so we will be acclimatising ourselves to the area and becoming familiar with our surroundings. As a first patrol it will be shorter than the ones you will be carrying out in future, as we will be returning tomorrow afternoon. Now, if you could all introduce yourselves we can become familiar with one another."

Lieutenants Prakash Shivakumar and Hamid Rehman introduce themselves first, Shivakumar is a recent passout while Rehman graduated a year ago. By now Dhiraj knows that the girl must be Dutt… but her name…

"Lieutenant Asha Dutt, pass out of Barrackpore Academy, batch of 2033, Sir!" She announces, saluting both of them.

"Well, now that we all know each other, shall we move out?" Samir asks, and the lieutenants enthusiastically give their reply.

Samir has already been in the area for three months, so he is able to give them a proper understanding of the conditions, people and environment as they begin patrolling their assigned area. Their main task is to monitor whether any suspicious activities are happening in the area, and also to ensure that there are no intrusions from the other side of the border.

Samir leads them while Dhiraj brings up the rear, the three lieutenants between them, everyone alert for any sign of something out of the ordinary. Dhiraj concentrates on the information that Samir is giving, but occasionally he finds his attention drawn to Asha.

She walks confidently, holding her gun like a seasoned soldier would, her grip relaxed yet ready. He's surprised to see such confidence in such a recent pass out, usually they will be more hesitant, less certain about how they should be reacting to situations. He isn't sure why, but he gets the feeling that if they were attacked, he would be able to rely on her to handle the situation correctly. The other recent pass out Shivakumar seems far less confident, gripping his gun tightly as if he expects to be attacked at any moment.

Without thinking about what he's doing, he walks forward, drawing level with her.

"You graduated this year?" he asks, "You hold your gun well for a recent graduate, Lieutenant."

"I was the best cadet pass out for my batch, Sir." She tells him, but the statement is neither overly proud nor arrogant, she is simply stating a fact.

"Well Dhiraj knows what that's like," Samir chimes in with a grin, "Mr always first in class."

"You attended the same military academy?" Prakash asks them, curious about the two Captains.

"Yes, we both went to Pune Military Academy," Samir replies, "Dhiraj was my senior there, so we've known each other for about five years now."

"Whatever happens, I just can't get rid of him." Dhiraj jokes, smiling. "This is the third time we've been posted together since graduation. For some reason despite the fact we weren't batchmates, Samir and I always end up together."

"It's fate, my friend." Samir replies, "Face it, it's just meant to be."

"I was relieved to find a few of my batchmates were posted here," Asha admits, "It's good to have some familiar people around on your first posting."

The other two Lieutenants nod, agreeing.

"So are you all settling in well?" Samir asks them, "Getting on with your room mates?"

Both he and Dhiraj believe that the best way to build a strong army is to strengthen the ties between the soldiers. The more that a superior officer knows their juniors, the more they can understand them.

"It might be a bit difficult," Hamid says, "Mine was snoring quite badly last night."

Everyone laughs, having had some experience at some point with snoring room mates.

"I'm sharing with my old room mate from the academy," Asha tells them, "So it's just like old times."

Dhiraj guesses that that must have been the girl who was pulling her towards a seat yesterday when he had started staring at her.

They pass the rest of the day's patrol with occasional conversation, and Dhiraj and Samir also do their best to try and pass on valuable tips to the lieutenants, especially working on Prakash's grip on his gun.

They make camp for the night, not lighting a fire as they don't wish to attract attention. Instead they unroll their sleeping bags, and sit around a small lantern, munching on their rations. They will take it in turns to keep watch while the others sleep, one senior officer always awake with one junior officer.

Asha's shift is the last one, Prakash wakes her on his way to his own sleeping bag, a couple of hours before dawn. She gets up quickly, splashing her face with water and picking up her gun before stepping forward to join Captain Kapoor where he sits with his back against a tree, his rifle lying across his lap, looking out across a vantage point.

"You're not tired, Sir?" she asks him.

"I had some sleep earlier," he tells her, "Samir woke me up two hours ago."

Asha nods, she knows that they could complete their watch duty in silence, but she wants to talk, she still can't work out why she felt such a strong reaction when she saw him for the first time yesterday and there's something that draws her to try and find out more…

"So you're Punjabi, Sir?" she asks him, unable to think of anything else to say.

Dhiraj looks at her in surprise, he hadn't really expected her to start a conversation, but is glad that she did. Talking will pass the night more quickly, and the girl sitting in front of him… fascinates him for some reason. Dhiraj is a professional, he will always put his work first, and yet today he found his gaze drifting to her often, observing her.

"No," he tells her, "Well, I don't know really."

Asha looks at him enquiringly, "But Kapoor…" she starts to say.

"Is a Punjabi name, I know." Dhiraj replies with a shrug, "But I wasn't born with it. It was given to me. I was left at an orphanage when I was about a month old." He explains to her.

Asha nods, there's no judgement or surprise in her expression and it encourages Dhiraj to continue. "There were no clues as to my identity so they chose a name for me?"

"Then how did they choose your name?" Asha asks him curiously, "I mean, why Dhiraj and why Kapoor."

"The name Dhiraj came first." Raj explains, "They chose it when I was a few months old. Unlike other children there I was always quiet, I never cried, never screamed and never laughed. I would just sit there observing everything, and so…"

"Dhiraj," Asha says with a smile, "So did it turn out to be true?"

"I've always been prepared to wait for what I want," Dhiraj announces, and for a moment, just a moment, the way that he looks at Asha makes her want to turn away, but it is Dhiraj that drops his gaze first, turning to survey the forest again.

"And Kapoor?" Asha asks him.

Dhiraj gives a short laugh at this, "Only if you promise not to tell anyone else." He warns her, "It may ruin my image."

Asha smiles, "I promise," she tells him, "It really can't be that bad, can it?"

"Well when I was about four years old, they showed us this really old movie, 'Brahmachari' " Dhiraj tells her, "I don't know if you've seen it… they probably showed it to make us feel better about the fact we were orphans. Anyway, I was a small child, and at the end of it, I asked them who the man in the movie was. They told me it was Shammi Kapoor. Finally, I asked them whether he would adopt me." Dhiraj smiles, "What was I to know? I was a child at the time." He tells her, "Ever since that day, they began calling me Dhiraj Kapoor."

Asha smiles, but she's not laughing at him, nor is she pitying him. "Are you sure I can't tell anyone the story?" she asks, grinning slightly, "Because my friend Amiya…"

Dhiraj smiles back, "Fine, but only one person." He tells her, and decides that he's talked about himself enough.

"How did you decide to join the army?" he asks.

"I always wanted to join the army, ever since I was old enough to think about what I wanted to be," Asha admits.

"Then do you have any relatives in the army?"

"Nobody," Asha tells him, "Not even any friends of my family, nobody could ever figure out where I got the idea from. In the beginning my family opposed my decision a lot, in fact they're still not happy about me being in the army. But once I've made my decisions, it's difficult for anybody to change my mind."

"Determination is a valuable thing to have in life," Dhiraj tells her, "Without it, I could never have gotten this far."

"Then how did you decide to join the army, Sir?" she asks him.

Dhiraj thinks about it for a moment, the memory bringing a smile to his face. "When I was five years old, an army officer came to visit our orphanage." He tells her, "He was there to give us some clothes, toys, books… I'm not sure why. Seeing him in his uniform, I suddenly wished that I could become a soldier one day, and so I asked him whether I would be able to."

"And?" Asha asks, wanting to know what happened next.

"He told me that if I was determined enough, I could become anything I wanted to. Then he told me that he knew this, because once he had been in exactly the same position I was in, he had also grown up in an orphanage, and today he was a Captain in the Indian Army. He told me that no matter what happened, I should never let go of my dreams." Dhiraj smiles, "I found out later that the orphanage had contacted him when I was accepted to the academy and he had sponsored my fees. But I never saw him again after that day, perhaps he never wanted me to feel like I owed my success to anybody else."

Asha nods, and settles back against the tree she's leaning against.

Dhiraj is surprised at how much he's revealed about himself to her. Typically he will never open up to anybody quickly, it took two months for him to tell this story to Samir, and very few people know it.

But sitting here, it's difficult not to confide in her, and Dhiraj has to stop himself from saying even more. He glances across to where the rest of the officers are sleeping, and knows that he wouldn't have told this story to either of the other two lieutenants.

As the sun begins to rise, it brings a glow to Asha's face, and for a moment Dhiraj finds himself mesmerised. He quickly turns away and reminds himself that even if he is attracted to her, he's on duty and he can't allow himself to be distracted.

They wake the others up soon after sunrise, to eat and continue their patrol. They'll be heading back to the base in the afternoon.

Once again, Dhiraj is the last one in the line, and he can't miss the fact that Asha glances backwards at him once or twice.

She is drinking water out of the bottle when suddenly she stumbles on a root, almost tripping over. Dhiraj steps forward quickly, grabbing her arm to stop her from falling.

"Careful, Lieutenant." He tells her.

She gives him a hesitant, almost embarrassed smile. "Thank you, Sir." She says, and quickly turns back, concentrating on the path.

Dhiraj stares at his hand for a moment, the warmth from when he had touched her slowly fading.

He is professional, he reminds himself.

He can control his feelings when he's around her.

He has to.

hey too good

pl contrinue soon

hey can i ask u a question did u ever rread audery rose??????
coz the story resembles yours

Chapter 5

"I can't love you," she told him, "I can never love you, you need to accept that."

"Please don't do this," He had begged her, "You have to move on with your life, don't you think that he would've wanted that? Don't you think that he would've wanted you to be happy? To settle down? To have a family one day?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I," she had asked him bitterly, "Don't expect anything other than that from me because I have nothing left to give to anybody. Just let me live my life as best as I can and for god sakes, don't ask me for something that it's not in my power to give."

Because she would die alone… but she would never, ever love again.

**

Asha woke to the sound of Amiya humming some Hindi pop song as she braided her hair, preparing for the day ahead. She rubbed bleary eyes, struggling to wake up properly.

"What's the time?" she asked, "Am I late?"

Amiya turned around and smiled at her, "No, have you forgotten that we have the day off today?"

Sighing, Asha settled back into bed but it was too late, she was awake now, she couldn't go back to sleep.

"I had the strangest dream," she told Amiya, "I was telling somebody that I didn't love him, that I would never love him."

Amiya looks at her for a moment and then bursts into laughter.

"What?" Asha asks, confused. "What's so funny about my dream?"

"Because it's not a dream," Amiya tells her mischievously, "It's a premonition of the future."

"I think it's a bit too early in the morning for me to be guessing, can you just tell me what it is you're talking about?" Asha asks her, stifling a yawn.

"Amar priya bondhu, as well as forgetting that today is your day off, I think you've also forgotten who's coming to visit you today." Amiya reminds her, trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Oh god…" Asha muttered, burying her face into her pillow and groaning. "You're right… I had forgotten. Do you think I could convince them to cancel my day off and send me out on patrol?"

"Highly unlikely," Amiya told her, "You're just going have to deal with it, but don't worry, you're welcome to curse your parents as much as you want for telling him to visit you."

"I think I'll definitely do that," Asha said, beginning to mutter under her breath.

"So why is it that you can't stand Rajesh so much?" Amiya asks her, "I mean surely he's not that bad…"

"Amiya, you only met him once, and that time I dragged you away before you could realise what a boring snob he really is. The only reason he's here to report is that his daddy wants him to try out all the jobs before taking over the news channel." Asha paused, finally sitting up on the bed. "And besides, whenever I hear his name, I'm reminded of buffaloes."

Amiya stares at her. "Buffaloes?" she finally asks.

"Yes," Asha replies very seriously, "Except then I feel bad for insulting the buffaloes."

"Well I suppose he does look a bit like a buffalo," Amiya admits, "He doesn't have much of a neck…"

Asha couldn't help smiling at this, and finally got up to get ready for the day ahead.

They walk into the mess for breakfast, still making jokes at Rajesh's expense.

"What time is he due to arrive?" Amiya asks as she piles food onto her plate.

"Eleven," Asha replied with a resigned look, "Do you think it's possible for you to find some important task I'm needed for after about half an hour?"

"I'll try my best," Asha tells her, "I'll tell him that Captain Kapoor needs your help with something." she adds in a very innocent tone, having noticed the direction in which Asha is looking.

"What?" Asha asks, startled and not having heard Amiya properly.

"Nothing baba," Amiya tells her, "Let's go and get our breakfast, you'll need your strength to deal with the buffalo."

As they passed by the table where Dhiraj and Samir were eating their breakfast with some of the other senior officers, Asha and Amiya both paused to say good morning to everybody politely before making their way to the food.

Samir noticed Dhiraj staring at Asha as she left, and made sure to 'accidently' elbow him. Breaking out of his daze, Dhiraj shook his head slightly and bent down to eat what was left on his plate.

Samir glanced at his friend, and then at the two girls. This couldn't continue, because if it did, then soon he wouldn't be the only one who was noticing.

**

Eleven am came, and although Asha had been hoping he would've either forgotten or been held up by work, he was there exactly on time. After she was called to come down, she met him at the gate as he was signing the visitor's registration and putting on the required badge.

"Hi Rajesh," she told him without much emotion, leading him over to a bench they could sit on "How are you?"

"Fine of course," he answered in his typical fashion, "But the real question is how are you? I can't believe that you've actually come here to serve on the front."

"Why shouldn't I?" Asha asks him, "After all, this is what I trained for, I didn't go to the academy to then stay safely in headquarters afterwards."

"You could've gotten a very good job in headquarters with your father's connections," Rajesh comments, "I know he was disappointed when you chose not to."

"They'll understand eventually." Asha tells him, "This is where I'm meant to be."

"You won't give up this stubbornness, will you?" he asks, sounding quite amused, "Asha you're not meant for this type of life, you know what type of life it is that you should be leading. Everybody is worried about you here."

"Rajesh, everybody here has relatives that are worried about them." Asha informs him in a no-nonsense tone. "Why should I be special, because I'm from a rich family? How does that make a difference?"

"Don't be nave, Asha, of course it makes a difference." Rajesh told her with a sigh, "Even I find it hard to cope here, how do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"Because Rajesh, I'm not you, I'm me." Asha told him with a measure of frustration, "This is what I've trained for, for two years."

It was then that Dhiraj and Samir arrived, having just finished a meeting to brief them on the new officers that would be arriving that afternoon. Dhiraj was rubbing his eyes tiredly, when he looked up to see Asha speaking to somebody, a look on her face that clearly said she would rather not be.

"Who's that?" he asked Samir, nudging his friend.

"Who's who?" Samir asked him in return, not having noticed either Asha or the man with her.

"That man with Lieutenant Dutt, who is it?" Dhiraj asked him again, indicating the pair.

"Dhiraj, do you really expect me to know that?" Samir asked him, "Suddenly I'm supposed to keep a track of all Lieutenant Dutt's visitors."

It was then that Dhiraj spotted Amiya, sitting against a tree a short distance away and looking at her watch.

"There's her friend," he told Samir, "Go and ask her who it is."

Samir gave him a look as if he couldn't believe what Dhiraj was asking him to do.

"This isn't college, where you send your best friend to talk to the girl's friend," he informed Dhiraj, "If you want to know then do it yourself."

"But you know her better than I do." Dhiraj argued, "I don't even know what her name is."

"It's Lieutenant Amiya Chatterjee," Samir informed him, his second patrol of the week had included Amiya. "Now you know, so you can go ask her."

"Samir…" Dhiraj said, and Samir sighed.

"Fine," he told his friend, wondering why he was such a push over. "But if she becomes suspicious about why I'm asking, I'm telling her that you it was you who wanted to know."

Samir strode over to where Amiya was sitting, feeling ridiculous about what Dhiraj was making him do. Really for the sake of friendship…

"Good morning Lieutenant Chatterjee," he greeted her, and Amiya stood up, saluting him.

"Good morning, Sir." She replied, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant. How are you enjoying your day off?"

"Oh it's going well so far, it's nice to have a break after such a tiring week," Amiya told him, "After all, actually being on duty is much harder than training at the academy."

Samir nodded, understanding. It always took new pass outs a few weeks to truly adjust to life in the military after life in academies.

"So who is Lieutenant Dutt speaking to?" he asked finally, unable to think of a better way to broach the topic.

Amiya stared at him, unable to believe that he was asking. It was completely out of the blue of course, and she couldn't help thinking that the last thing Asha needed right now was for another guy to decide it was a good idea to start staring at her.

Then she noticed Captain Kapoor waiting a short distance away.

Samir became a bit uncomfortable when Amiya looked from Dhiraj to him with an expression that clearly said she knew exactly who it was that wanted to know.

"That's Rajesh," she told him, refusing to say anything else. If he wanted to find out more he could ask properly.

"And Rajesh is?" Samir asked her, now genuinely curious because Lieutenant Dutt kept glancing in their direction, as if waiting for something to happen.

"Rajesh is here as a journalist," Amiya added, and then decided she might as well tell him the rest. After all, it might stop Captain Kapoor staring at her friend for at least awhile. "He's also the man her parents want her to marry." She announced. There… she couldn't wait to see his reaction to that one.

"Oh," Samir said, "Well thanks for the information," he told her, "Enjoy the rest of your day off."

Samir made his way back over to Dhiraj. "His name is Rajesh and she's meant to be getting married to him," he reported, "And that was one of the most awkward things I've ever done, I think Lieutenant Chatterjee knew exactly what was going on."

"She doesn't seem very happy to see him though." Dhiraj commented, a frown now appearing on his face. The thought of her getting married to this man bothered him, a hard feeling appeared in his gut as he considered it.

"Well don't expect me to go and find out for you." Samir told him, "I've already embarrassed myself for one day." And he walked off before Dhiraj could ask him to do anything else.

It was then that Amiya checked her watch and realised that it was time for her to go and rescue Asha as half an hour had finally passed.

Coming over, she waved at Rajesh.

"Hey Rajesh, how are you?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Rajesh told her, "How are you?"

By the blank look on his face, Amiya doubted whether he remembered her name.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, Asha." She told her, "But I just received a message that Captain Kapoor is looking for you."

"Captain Kapoor?" Asha asks curiously, and Amiya wonders whether she's worked out that this is just a method of getting her away from Rajesh, "Did the message say what he wanted?"

"I think he wanted to talk to you about the arrangements regarding the new senior officers arriving today." Amiya told her, "So you'd better go and see him now considering that they'll be here in an hour."

"Thank you for letting me know," Asha tells her, "Sorry about this Rajesh, but I've really got to go, I'll see you another time."

"Sure," Rajesh tells her, "I'll be back soon."

Asha hopes that it's not too soon. She waits to say goodbye to him, allowing him to hug her although she would prefer that he didn't, then waves as he heads towards the gate.

She turns back, intending to thank Amiya for intervening, but the first thing she sees is Captain Dhiraj Kapoor looking at her with such an expression that not knowing why, Asha feels that she should go to him and explain.

And before she can stop herself, she finds herself walking towards him.

**

"Hello Sir," Asha told him politely, "You wanted to see me about some arrangements regarding the senior officers arriving today?"

"No," Dhiraj replied, wishing that he actually had sent such a message, "Did somebody tell you that I did?"

Asha suddenly blinked, and then shook her head at her own stupidity. "Actually I think that was Amiya's way of giving me an escape route." She explains, "But then I saw you standing here and…"

"So then you were looking for an escape?" Dhiraj asks her, the words lightening the weight that had settled upon his gut, if she hadn't wanted to be talking to the man then… "I heard he was the man you're meant to be getting married to."

"Not if I can help it…" Asha muttered, and then realising what Dhiraj has just said, looks up in surprise, "But where did you hear that from?"

Dhiraj realises that he's just revealed himself and can't believe that he said it. "Actually Samir… Captain Hassan told me." He tells her.

"But how did he know?" Asha asks curiously.

"I think he asked your friend who it was you were talking to." Dhiraj says, pretending to be unsure. "You did look a bit upset at the time."

"Well visitors connected with my family tend to have that effect on me," Asha tells him dully and then decides to change the subject, "But there are more officers arriving today, right?"

"Yes, they're scheduled to arrive in two hours." Dhiraj tells her, "It's about time, we need to start mobilising our troops now before something happens."

"Do you think that we can do it?" Asha asks him thoughtfully, "The Chinese army's capabilities are as good as ours if not better, if they decide to invade at this stage we don't have enough people in place to repel an attack."

Dhiraj is pleasantly surprised by such a recent pass out discussing strategy so deeply and is happy to continue the conversation.

"There's a reluctance to have too much of a troop build up at this time in case China argues that we're planning to invade and uses it as an excuse to launch a pre-emptive attack." He tells her, "But within the next few weeks there will be quite a few more battalions mobilised to the border areas, some here at Tawang and some in other areas."

"And can we count on our allies if we're attacked?" Asha asks him, "Will anyone come to our aid against such a powerful enemy?"

"Well you know what the European Union is like… they're more interested in diplomacy than action." Dhiraj tells her, "All the members of the South Asian Defense Pact have pledged their support, but I don't know how much we can expect in reality. Bangladesh is worried about its own borders with China, and Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan's resources are sorely limited. The only ones we can perhaps count on are Pakistan and Sri Lanka."

Asha nods thoughtfully, storing the information away. The situation is becoming more and more critical day by day and she would prefer to know more rather than less.

"So how many more troops are we expecting today?" she asks him.

"About fifteen more senior officers are scheduled to arrive," he tells her, "Apparently we'll be receiving more junior officers and enlisted soldiers next week some time, about three hundred more in all."

"That's still not very many…" Asha says with a frown. "But I know these things take time."

Dhiraj shrugs, thinking that it's probably best not to comment any further on these matters or share his opinion on politicians and their use of the army.

Instead he tells her something that he only found out an hour ago while reading the list of names of officers who would be arriving.

"You know the officer I told you about is one of the ones arriving this afternoon," Dhiraj reveals, "The one I met at the orphanage. It seems strange to think I'll finally see him again after so many years."

Asha nods, understanding how he must be feeling at this time. "Will you tell him who you are?" she asks.

"I will, but I don't know if he'll even remember me now." Dhiraj tells her seriously, "However after everything he did for me I have to thank him properly."

"I'm sure it will go well and that he'll remember you," Asha tries to reassure Dhiraj. He appears calm but she is sure that he must be nervous. He will finally be face to face wit the man who inspired him to choose this career and gave him the means to do so.

Dhiraj nods, strangely her words actually do help him to feel better about the upcoming meeting.

"Well I'd better be going," he tells her, "We only received word that they would definitely be coming yesterday so there's still some issues to be sorted out before they arrive."

"I'll see you later, Sir, and good luck." She tells him and her smile… her smile is one of the most beautiful sights he's ever seen.

"Thanks," Dhiraj replies, giving her a small smile in return and leaves from there quickly before he's tempted to say anything else.

Asha catches up with Amiya who is now sitting under a tree reading a novel.

"So Captain Hassan asked you who I was talking to? I wonder why he would've wanted to know." Asha comments, collapsing on the grass beside her friend.

Amiya gives her a look as if she's one of the thickest people in the world. "Yes, I wonder why." She says, completely deadpan.

"What do you mean by that?" Asha asks her, frowning slightly.

"Well I doubt he was the one who actually wanted to know," Amiya replies a little sarcastically, "It was perfectly obvious to me who was interested in finding out."

For a moment Asha looks awkwardly conscious and then without replying, she peers over Amiya's shoulder at the book she's reading.

"So what's the novel about?" she asks and Amiya knows that the subject has been changed, because if there's something Asha doesn't want to talk about, nothing in the world will ever be able to convince her to do so.

Amiya sighs, and begins to explain the plot, knowing that there's no point in her pursuing the topic.

**

Dhiraj stood at attention, waiting nervously for the aircraft to land, Samir to his left and Majors Chandra and Ramachandran to his right.

The moment that the new officers stepped off the flight, they all saluted, welcoming their seniors.

Dhiraj's eyes sweep over all of them, finally settling upon the one familiar face, a face he remembers from his childhood, a face that…

The man is currently conversing with one of his colleagues, and so has not seen them yet, but Dhiraj just knows without a doubt that this is him.

When the officers finally reach them, he looks up, inspecting the officers that have come to meet them for the first time.

And Colonel Aalekh Sharma almost falls backwards he is reeling so much from the shock, because standing in front of him is Captain Rajveer Singh Shekawat, young, and smiling, and… alive.

"Welcome Sirs, Ma'am." One of the Majors greets them, "I'm Major Surya Ramachandran, this is Major Rakesh Chandra, and Captains Dhiraj Kapoor and Samir Hassan. It's good to have you with us at Tawang."

Not Rajveer… Not Captain Rajveer… but Aalekh can barely tear his eyes from the young man's face because there can be no doubts about it, it's the same face, the same posture, the same eyes… And that name… he knows he remembers it from somewhere but he's having trouble thinking straight right now.

"Thank you," Aalekh finally manages to say, tearing his eyes away from Dhiraj's face. "Shall we head to the base now?"

"You're just in time for lunch, Sir." Major Chandra informs him, "We'll escort you to the mess while somebody takes your things to your rooms, I imagine you won't have eaten yet."

Aalekh and the rest follow them, and he becomes alert as the young man who resembles Captain Rajveer so incredibly much falls into step with him.

"I don't expect you to remember me Sir, but we have met before." He informs Aalekh and Aalekh stares at him in shock. The same voice… the exact same voice.

How could he not remember… the man who had changed his life, all of his lives… whose death…

"Actually when I was five years old you came to visit my orphanage, I asked you if I could one day grow up to join the army too and you encouraged me to do so." Dhiraj tells him, while Aalekh just stares, unable to believe that this is really happening, "I know you didn't want me to find out, but I know it was you who paid my fees Sir, and I would like to thank you for that, if it wasn't for you then I don't know whether I would've reached this point in life or not."

"Of course I remember you," Aalekh tells him, forcing himself to speak, his throat dry. "And there's no need to thank me, if our soldier has received another capable soldier then that's thanks enough."

Dhiraj nods and they walk the rest of the way in silence, Aalekh is thankful for it because right now he doesn't know if he would be able to say anything else.

How could this happen? Is it just a coincidence that he had the same face, the same voice or…

And Aalekh Sharma, who has always known exactly what to think and do, is suddenly lost.

Taking a seat a short distance from Dhiraj in the mess, he can't help but keep glancing at the young man, because after so many years he's finally seen one of the faces again that he had longed to see more than anything in this world.

But as he glances at the young officer, he notices that Dhiraj's gaze keeps being drawn to something on the other side of the mess. And the look in his eyes is one that Aalekh recognises from many years ago, a look that he could never forget because that look…

Holding his breath, Aalekh shifts his gaze to the direction in which Dhiraj is looking, praying that no matter how impossible he might find what it is that he's hoping he will.

And when he finally lets out his breath, it sounds more like a sob than anything else.

Because seated there, chatting and laughing with a friend is Naina, his Naina, alive and well and happy.

And for the first time in more than twenty five years, Aalekh feels his faith restored.

Because however cruel fate may be, it will always fix its mistakes.

Very different and engaging story, Andrea 👏 Thanks!

very well writen

pl continue soon

it is exciting

very well writen

pl continue soon

it is exciting

very well writen

pl continue soon

it is exciting

very well writen

pl continue soon

it is exciting

very well writen

pl continue soon

it is exciting