I'm really sorry about the delay guys, it's been a mix of tooo much work, shifting house, and a bit of illness that has held me up! To make up for it I'll post a part tomorrow too!! And a big thanks to Akansha who wrote me such a sweet comment!!!! 😃
Chapter 17
She can hear them whispering outside the door and knows that they're discussing her, deciding who should stay with her. It has only been three days since her parents' death and she is blank, empty… she feels… there is nothing left to feel.
Finally the door opens and Pooja enters, seeing Naina lying on the side on the bed, Pooja climbs in beside her, wrapping her arms around Naina as if to comfort her.
"I don't think I can cry anymore…" Naina tells her, "I've cried so much that nothing is left… first… and now,"
"You have to continue being strong, Naina." Pooja tells her, "You know that Rajveer Sir would've wanted you to be… and you've always been the one to hold us together."
"How much stronger will I have to be?" Naina asks her desperately, "And Rajveer Sir… the moment he died I lost my strength."
"Even I still miss him so much," Pooja admits, "If Ali and I ever have a son, we'll name him after Rajveer Sir."
"Then make sure that he follows his example… that he lives up to his principles." Naina tells her, "And try… try to make sure that he at least lives happily."
"But you'll be there to ensure these things too," Pooja tells her, "You'll be his favourite aunt."
But Naina doesn't reply, because now she's not so sure anymore, whether she will live long enough to see the faces of Pooja's children.
She will just have to hope… that the future is happier for them than it was for her.
That history never repeats itself.
**
Dhiraj tries to stay away from her, he really does.
He battles with himself and his decision every moment. There are times when he thinks he might succeed, that he really can control his emotions but then she will be there in front of him, with those knowing eyes, and the emotion he sees in them…
And he is lost all over again.
He looks for excuses to be near her, to touch her. He never does anything too obvious or noticeable, on a patrol he will offer her his hand to help her over a difficult patch and she will take it, her fingers warm in his. At these moments it is a struggle not to tighten his grip, not to keep holding on. But he will release her hand, happy at least to have that one moment.
He will take whatever he can get.
He has noticed that she has also begun to approach him more often, to look for opportunities to spend time with him. Dhiraj suspects, he hopes, that she feels the same yearning and craving that he does.
He supposes, that if he had been more patient, this is how things would have worked out anyway, that they would've become closer slowly over a period of time. Instead he had rushed things, taking it too fast in a relationship to which they are still unable to give a name.
So as he sits with Samir in the canteen, discussing the reports from the recent patrols, he watches her walk in with Amiya and Hussein, his eyes following her across the room. Samir notices the far away look and sighs, temporarily abandoning the conversation since he knows that he's unlikely to get a sensible response out of Dhiraj to any of the issues while his eyes are on Asha Dutt. Dhiraj watches as a short conversation happens between the three Lieutenants, all of them glancing in his and Samir's direction. A moment later he's surprised when they all head in the direction of the table, Asha and Amiya holding an extra cup of coffee each.
His gaze stays fixed on her as she approaches, his breathing shallow, and before he knows it, she is beside him, placing her own cup on the table before handing him his. He reaches out to take it from her, allowing himself to touch her fingers briefly in an almost caress, still with his eyes fixed upon her face.
Amiya puts a cup in front of Samir before sitting down herself next to him, and Hussein takes a seat beside Amiya, both of them pretending not to notice what has just transpired between Asha and Dhiraj.
"Thanks Amiya," Samir tells her gratefully, "I was just needing a cup of coffee after going over all these reports, how did you know the way I like to drink it?"
"I didn't," Amiya tells him with a shrug, "I had it made the way I drink it instead. That way if you don't like it, I can have two cups." Then she grins at him, and Samir and Hussein both struggle not to laugh.
Samir takes a sip of his coffee and then smiles, "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'll be keeping this cup, it tastes perfectly fine."
Dhiraj sips his own cup of coffee and finds it perfect, wondering why he's not surprised that she would know how likes it.
Asha is looking at her cup, rather than at him, and he wishes that she would look up, fix her eyes upon his face even for a moment. It's difficult to stop himself from reaching out to tilt her chin with his finger, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"So what reports have you been going over, Sirs?" Hussein asks them, "That's if you're allowed to tell us of course."
"The recent patrol reports… we've been looking for a pattern." Samir tells them, "Dhiraj and I are definitely worried, from what we can tell it looks as if right now they're only testing our defenses, looking for weaknesses. I think we can expect even more and larger attacks in the days to come."
"That's right," Dhiraj agrees, still not taking his eyes off Asha, "We've only just seen the beginning of this conflict, and considering that attempts at diplomacy have failed so far, I think it's now inevitable that we can expect the hostilities to move to another level."
"When they do, we're ready to face them, Sir." Asha replies for all of them confidently, finally raising her eyes to meet Dhiraj's, "We're soldiers of India, we won't be afraid of any enemy."
"That's good Asha, because this enemy is definitely going to be one of the most difficult our country has ever faced." Samir tells her, "When we were at war with Pakistan, their military capabilities were never as great as ours, but China… in terms of technology they're ahead of us in some respects."
"Technology or not… we'll all defend our country to our last breath." Amiya tells him, "And there's no way we're going to allow Tawang to be taken over."
They all smile at her enthusiasm, Amiya may be shorter than the rest of them, but she makes up for it with so much spirit that anybody underestimating her would be a fool.
"Hussein, I don't suppose your Ammi is planning on sending you any more sweets is she?" Amiya suddenly asks wistfully, "Couldn't you ask her to?"
Hussein laughs at this, "Amiya, my Ammi is a Major in the Indian Army, she has better things to do than sit around making laddoos for you to eat all day."
Amiya makes a face at him and goes back to drinking her coffee, leaving Samir to shake his head in amazement, wondering how she can switch topics and moods so easily.
"So what have you all got planned for today?" Samir asks them, "Today's your day off, right?"
"Well Asha has already refused to come to the gate to see a certain visitor three times," Amiya remarks cheerfully, "Hussein has been writing love letters again to his girlfriend again, and I've been trying to convince them both that we should go somewhere off base this afternoon."
From the first statement, Dhiraj's attention is once again distracted, and he looks earnestly down at Asha, willing her to look up. When she does, he locks eyes with her, hoping to express exactly how relieved he is that she had taken his request seriously. He has never been the jealous or possessive type, but with her he just can't help himself, the very idea of anyone else near her, touching her, drives him absolutely crazy.
Dhiraj thinks it's lucky that for some reason he doesn't have any problem with Hussein, otherwise he would constantly be making an idiot of himself.
"So you have a girlfriend, Hussein?" Samir asks him, "What's her name?"
Amiya smirks, knowing that Hussein won't be able to refuse to tell a superior officer.
"Her name is Naina, Sir." Hussein answers after some hesitation, on hearing this, Amiya grins, while Dhiraj and Asha both turn suddenly to stare at him, that name…
"See, that wasn't so difficult was it, Hussein?" Amiya teases him, "You could have told us months ago, and now you can tell us whether her eyes really are as beautiful as the name suggests."
She nudges him playfully, grinning even more as Hussein blushes.
"Yes…" Asha remarks quietly, almost as if in a daze "It is an appropriate name for yours…"
Hussein looks towards her sharply, and then at Dhiraj who has a similar dazed look on his face, and he wonders whether finally, something has begun to register within them.
"Captain Dhiraj, Captain Samir, your presence is requested for an urgent meeting." An orderly tells them, and Dhiraj and Samir both look up sharply, nodding and gathering their reports. Dhiraj drains his cup of coffee, and impulsively lays a hand briefly on Asha's shoulder, before leaving.
Hussein, Amiya and Samir all pretend not to notice.
**
As soon as he had received the news, Aalekh was one of the first officers that Abhimanyu called into his office.
"They've been spotted by one of our patrol teams," he tells Aalekh, "It's a larger force than ever before, at least twenty five. They crossed the border around an hour ago and are now headed roughly in a south-westerly direction. We don't know where they're headed or what they intend, but we need to cut them off as soon as possible."
"I'll ready a force of our best officers immediately, Sir." Aalekh tells him, understanding the urgency of the situation. They can't allow their defenses to be breached in this way. "We can have them ready to go within one hour, less if we spend less time on preparations."
"No, carry our all preparations properly, ensure that the teams are chosen well and we have a clear strategy beforehand. I don't want any casualties from our side."
They lock eyes, both of them knowing exactly what is at stake, because there is no doubt at all that Asha, Dhiraj and Hussein will all be members of the teams that are sent.
"There will be nothing lacking in the preparations," Aalekh answers in a determined tone, "I'll see to it myself."
Because no matter not, he won't lose them again.
**
Forty soldiers have been chosen, divided into five teams of eight. Asha feels a combination of nervousness and excitement at the thought of the upcoming battle. This is what they trained for, joined the army for, and now finally she will have an opportunity to prove herself. She listens intently to the details of the upcoming mission, what the terrain will be like, the expected strength of the force. Glancing at Amiya as she sits next to her, she sees her friend concentrating equally as hard.
The briefing ends, and they move to the marshalling area, picking up their packs and weapons, helping each other. Asha and Hussein are part of the same team, under Major Chandra's command, while Amiya is a member of Dhiraj and Samir's team. Asha is at least relieved about this, she knows that no matter what, neither of them will allow anything to happen to their soldiers if he can help it.
Asha and Hussein both hug Amiya quickly before she leaves, wishing that they were all on the same team.
"I'm more worried about both of you," Amiya tries to joke with them, "At least I'm with the two best officers on base."
"Thanks for the compliment Lieutenant Chatterjee," Samir laughs, "But remember that you should never be overconfident in these situations."
"Of course not, Sir." She tells him seriously and they prepare to move out.
Dhiraj gives one long last look to Asha, clearly reluctant to entrust her safety to any other officer. But he trusts her, he knows what a good soldier she is, and he can't allow himself to be distracted from his own task.
"Look after yourself," he tells her quietly, and Asha nods.
"You too, Sir." She tells him, and Dhiraj finally walks away to join his team.
"Ready?" Hussein asks Asha, patting her on the soldier.
"Always." Asha replies.
**
They have all approached the invading force from different directions, aiming to surround them. Asha and Husssein's team's job is to cut off any chances of escape for them, and they are the last to move into place.
Once all teams are within position, they wait for the signal, tense and on edge. Asha is at a distance of five metres from Hussein and he watches her, wanting to ensure that she's fine. No matter what, he will protect her.
As the force continues to advance, they suddenly hear Major Ramachandran's warning, that they should immediately throw down their weapons and surrender, as they are now surrounded.
Asha is not surprised when none of them do.
Instead they begin firing in the direction of the voice, and Asha hears the orders for them all to engage in the fight, raising her gun she aims for the nearest soldier, dispatching him with ease.
The enemy force retreats to cover, now looking around for the source of the shots, attempting to find their enemy hidden in the thick jungle.
She has no idea how long the battle continues, trying to keep her attention on finishing the enemy. She can not see the rest of their own forces, having no idea whether anybody has been injured or killed.
It is when the battle is almost won, when only four of them remain, that Asha hears a cry to her right, and sees her old batchmate Akash on the ground, clutching his shoulder, and now exposed to the enemy's attention. Dashing forward, Asha attempts to drag him to safety, knowing that otherwise he will be picked off by the remaining soldiers.
She is so intent on her task that she doesn't notice the attention of one of the enemy soldiers now focused on her, raising his gun, he aims, intending to finish her off while she's distracted.
But Hussein has noticed.
"Asha, get down!" he screams at her, and she falls flat to the ground, not a moment too soon as a bullet whizzes past where her head had been a moment ago. She aims her own weapon, aiming for the man, but his attention has now shifted, his rifle aimed in another direction.
She squeezes the trigger, but it's too late, the bullet has already left her opponent's gun, headed towards its intended target.
And as it hits Hussein in the chest, he falls to the ground.
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