flashbacks in red.
Salaam Namaste - (part 5)
As they walked and sat down , both did not know what to say, except look at each other when the other wasn't looking. After few minutes both said at the same time 'kaise ho aap?' 'aap mujhe tum bol sakte hai' she said 'toh aap bhi mujhe tum bol sakte hai' they went silent again. 'yeh jagah acchi hai na' he said looking around 'haan, pehli baar dekha maine' 'main bhi, suna tha bahut baar lekin aaya nai kabhi' they went silent again for couple of minutes thinking what to say next. 'kya kiya teen mahine' he asked her finally 'intezaar' she wanted to say instead she said 'kuch nahi' 'maine toh socha kisika intezaar kar rahi hongi' he said in a low voice that gave her goosebumps and even when he was sitting more than a feet away. Now he sat a little closer, Arjun continued 'sorry main bolke nai jaa saka,woh sab kuch itni jaldi tai hua ki mujhe mauka nai aapse baat karne ka' 'kaisa tha aapka trip?' 'theek tha' 'ghar ki yaad aayi' meri yaad aayi was her actual question 'bahut aayi' he said looking into her eyes conveying the answer she wanted 'mujhe bhi' she said without realising that she was saying it. 'aur mujhe aapki bahut yaad aayi, aur jaise maine dekha aapko bhi meri bahut yaad aayi thi na' she smiled and nodded.
He was delighted. 'woh main bahut din se kuch bolna chahta tha' while both could feel the nervousness, 'mujhe aapka naam bahut accha laga' he said finally she looked at him with bright eyes and got caught in his stare, the soft evening sunrays falling on them hid the color rising in her cheeks, 'aapke aankh bhi bahut acche lagte hai' he said again like in trance, 'mujhe bhi' she said, 'aapke aankh apko bhi acche lagte hai' he asked 'haan' she said then realized what he understood 'nai meri nai' 'accha, apko bhi main accha lagta hoon?' catching her eye, she got nervous and almost got up 'hume chalna chahiye' he caught her hand and made her sit again 'baitho , abhi toh baat shuru huyi hai' by the way he pulled her back they were sitting more closer. He was still holding her hand and felt like kissing it. She tried to free herself and shifted in her place. He remembered his limits, left her hand and moved back a little making her leave a silent sigh of relief, she was afraid the way he caught her hand and pulled her back and was so close to her she thought he might do something else. Her lips burned with that thought.
He sensed her discomfort 'apne bare kuch batao, pad rahi hai?' 'haan, B.com final' 'aage kya karna hai' 'job or Mcom' 'uske baad' 'icwai or CA' 'uske baad' 'Oracle Fin. or SAP' 'aap aise padti jayengi toh main kya karunga' 'sab kuch thodi karungi , isme koi toh ek chunungi abhi ke liye' 'ukse baad' he teased her again she saw he was deliberately teasing her, 'jaao main nai bolungi aur' 'sorry , aise hi mazak kar raha tha' 'aur aap?' 'maine abhi abhi join ki hai na naya job toh abhi ke liye wahi' 'nai woh nai apne bare mein batayiyen' 'mere bare mein, naam toh aap janti hai, aur main engineer hoon, software engineer, aur mere ammi abba ka ek hi beta hoon, aur main apke hi apartments mein rehta hoon, aur ..bas itna hi' 'apko kya pasand hai kya nahi woh sab' she asked cutely, they were so comfortable talking to each other like they have been doing it for years 'mujhe? mujhe gaana pasand hai, long drives bike par pasand hai , baarish pasand hai, usme garam chai peena pasand hai, aur ab in sab se jyada ...' he took her hand again 'ab in sabse jyada ek ladki pasand hai' she tried to wiggle it out he held it tight 'mujhe ab arohi pasand hai' he finally told it clearly and his girp softened 'tumhe kya kya acchi lagti hai' he asked her changing from aap to tum , incidentally all that he said were her likes too singing, long drives, rain, drinking hot tea or eating corn were her favourites ' mere bhi wahi favourites hai' 'aur main pasand hoon?' ' ' 'arohi?' 'haan' 'maine pucha ki'' 'maine jawaab de diya' 'yeh haan mere liye tha?' 'haan' , both looked at each other drowning in the eyes.
She saw the time 'ab mujhe jaana hai, aur der hogayi toh ma bahut sawaal karegi' she got up. 'ruko arohi, jo bolne aaya tha woh abhi bola nahi' she stopped . he too got up, holding both her hands he looked into her eyes locking them with his, 'phele baar jabse dekha hai tabse bolna chahta tha aur yeh pehli baar kisise bol raha hoon' Her heart was racing so fast 'I love you', she could hear her own hearbeat, she had butterflies all over her body, she tried to avoid his intense gaze but could not. She tried to free her hands again, he held them firm and squeezed them asking her to say the same to him 'main wait kar raha hoon' She did not worry about it getting dark now, she was glowing with the warmth of his words, she looked in his eyes and saw the anticipation , the expection, the eagerness to hear her also say the three beautiful words she had just heard, she effortlessly said 'I love you too' with a crystal clear voice. She was now a little closer than before and did feel like moving away. They wanted to stay like that forever.
That was the beginning. Their bond grew day by day, they could not meet as frequently due to his work and her evening classes, still they managed to go out once a week, they would come across each other all the time in the building, since they knew the timings when they left and came back home. They would wait for the time when they can go out. They longed to be with each other whenever they were away at work and college. They did all that young lovers would do to sneak out few minutes to talk and look at each other. They both were unable to sleep properly at nights, only after calling each other and talking for a long time could they go to sleep only to dream about each other. She had seen desire in his eyes when he looked at her sometimes and trembled at the thought of what could happen if they let loose their limits. When such thoughts came she acted a little wierd that amused him and over the time he knew when she acted like that and his desire would increase. Once they did give in, when they kissed for the first time and arohi had felt that they should have waited until the wedding and arjun convinced her that it wont happen again. That was the only time , because they both knew they wont be able to stop with a kiss next time, hence had fixed the limits to themselves. The only closer they got again was today when he kissed her cheeks. Above all their love for each other was too strong and grew stronger by each passing minute, they were ready to wait for any length of time.
Almost a year had passed. She had finished her Bcom and was figuring out what to do next. The day her father announced he had finalised a house and they had to leave the apartments was the worst day of her life. She had cried and cried in front of arjun, 'dekha agar humne shaadi ki hoti toh mujhe yahan se jaana nai padta' she said among hiccups seeing her like that was the most difficult thing for him, 'ro mat arohi, hum milte rahenge, hum jald hi kuch faisla lenge' 'kab, papa mere liye ladka bhi dhund lenge ab' 'usse pehle hum bata denge'. They both knew they were made for each other and had not particularly spoken of marraige , but this phase of their life was tough. Till then they were washed in love and had seen the bright part of it but now when the time came that she had to go away from him and that he cannot see her daily like he used to and in order to do that they had to get married , put them in front of reality. and the real test of love had started.
Remembering the times they had spent blissfully together without any worries Arohi took his hand and put her face in it, now she could not stop crying. 'tum ro ogi toh main nai dekh sakta na, pls' he took his hand out and wiped her tears, 'vaada karo ki tum aise nai ro ogi phir' 'nai' 'nai ro ogi?' 'nai vaada nai karungi' she said frowning and pouting, he knew that very well that she is going to cry, she had always cried whenever he went away even if it was 2-3 days for a cousin's wedding or even she had to go away somewhere, he could not imagine how she was going to live this one year. 'mere gam mein moti mat ho jaana' he tried to ease her pain 'aur tum mere gam mein kisi aur ladki ko mat dekhna' 'ab main bolu toh ki main yeh vaada nai kar sakta' he teased her, she punched his arm, 'nai kisiko nai dekhunga' 'ek saal kaise rahenge baat kiye bina' 'baat toh karte rahenge , tum kya soch rahi ho mujhe pata chalega , aur main kya soch raha hoon tujhe, roz mere sapne mein aake tang karegi' 'jabbhi mujhe khaasi ya cheenk aayegi na matlab tumne yaad kiya' she said with a smile, 'tab toh tum hamesha khasti aur cheenkti rahegi' he gave a small laugh , she stopped herself from crying 'yaad toh har pal main bhi karungi' 'pata hai mujhe' It had been more than half hour and her mother wanted her to come in. 'arohi' she called from inside. Arjun knew it was time to leave.
he got up , 'arjun' she cried again, 'apna khayaal rakhna' 'tum bhi, jyada der tak kaam mat karo, aankhon ke liye accha nai hai'she said with tenderness , ab toh kaam ke alava kuch nai karunga he thought to himself 'theek hai aur tum diwali ki mithayi mere hisse ka bhi kha lena, iss baar allow karta hoon' he tried to tease again 'meetha khane ka mann karega mera?' this time he had tears in his eyes 'bahut miss karunga tumhe, jyada stress mat lo , ek saal aise hi beet jayega, ek baar hasdo' she managed a smile, he too smiled 'ab chalta hoon' he held her hand , she was already close to him still he moved her to him. she leaned towards him, he held her close 'sirf ek aur baar, na mat kehna' he said as he cupped her face and lifted it up, both their eyes shining with tears , he brought his lips on to her trembling lips, she held on to his shirt, their lips wet with tears, both tasting each others tears. 'I love you' both said at the same time. He wiped the tears off and this time she kissed him, she wanted keep on kissing him, this time they tasted the sweetness of it. With a heavy heart he walked away from there. She ran inside not able to see him leave. As he sat on his bike he looked towards the house and saw she had gone inside. he could feel her pain and with a frustrated kick started the bike and left. Even the sky witnessed their pain, it started to rain.
Edited by kavyasam - 13 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
