"Usne mera jeevan badal diya. Jab woh mere ko dekhti thi, woh dekhti thi ek insaan, Don nahi...insaan. She saw through everything...sub mere bare mein samaj thi thi. I did not make it easy for her, but it did not matter. She only gave me love and understanding. Jab woh gayi, to mere jeevan se sab chale gaye---kushi, baat, pyar...Mera dil me ab tak woh rehti hain."
Dutta snapped out of his daze, as he looked at the Don. "Lagata hai ke apko thodi si samajh ayi " he said to Dutta. "Why do you deny yourself? Why do you convince yourself that you are not an insaan...that sab undar margaya hain..tera dil, tera conscience? If that were the case, you would not be feeling the way you do. You would not LOVE her the way you do. You don't realize it now."
Dutta was shocked, not at the gall of this stranger, but at the vividness, the familiarity of his words. Was his caring for Naku really love? When he saw her lying on the ground after the accident, when she was leaving the house for the final time, when she returned the mangal sutra, was that love, or regret? Kuch samaj nahi ata, thought Dutta. He then caught a glimpse of Naku sitting by the water, alone. "Chalo, thodi dir mein neekal the." the Don said, eyeing Naku.
Dutta made his way towards Naku to tell her of the plan. That they would be exiting the jungle shortly. Naku looked ahead, her face changing ever so slightly with the implications of this. Tera rasta alag, mera alag. Dutta caught the change, he noted not relief, but sadness. Chal, Dutta said. She turned to walk towards the path, and she again lost her balance in a muddy section. Dutta sensed her next to him and her falling, and he grabbed her. He kept his hand on her arm, wanted to leave it there, but slowly moved it away. He looked at her eyes, and then looked away. Naku understood him well enough to know that he was hesitating, that something was preying on his mind. She thought of her holding him as long as he did. Naku stopped herself from getting hopeful. It hurt too much afterwards.
As the group made their way out, Dutta kept up with the Don, talking on and off. Occasionally, he would look behind to check on Nakusha...he had become more aware of her, and of his still conflicted feelings. Dutta had seen himself in the Don's story, had felt the very same emotions the storyteller had, and as he looked at Naku, his heart felt heavy. Today, it seemed the shell around his heart had begun to crack...slowly but surely.
The hot afternoon sun beat down mercilessly, and Dutta, Naku, and the rest made very little progress. They decided to halt, and rest by the river. Dutta splashed water on his face and neck, the coolness of the water snapping him out of his thinking. He was troubled by the recent developments, of the realizations that were slowly coming to him. It's as if he never understood himself at all. He felt a little bit like Dutta, the man before the anger and the hate. He felt a little bit of hope, and he did not know why this light was creeping into his heart.
"Saab" Naku said. And he responded with his usual and comfortable "hmmm." He smiled to himself, at the naturalness of his response to her. It's as if he was beginning to see everything in a bit differently now. Naku ripped another strip from her dupatta, and took his hand. She took off the old strip, and tied the new one. This time he did not resist. He was, for the first time in a long time, open to her. Dutta looked in wonder at how much she loved him...it was endless. And he let himself accept this act of love.
The small group started up again. The heat was beginning to get to Naku, and she found it hard to keep up. She occasionally felt like she was losing her senses, and things blurred here and there. And then Naku fell with a thud. The Don and Dutta quickly walked back to her and Dutta knelt down, and sat her up against his chest. The Don handed Dutta a water container. While Dutta gave Naku water, splashed some on her forehead, the Don watched carefully. His thoughts went back in time, and he reminisced.
The Don said that he was going forward with his men, that they would lay out a path for he and Naku to follow. They were close to exiting the jungle, so it would be easy to track. Dutta knew the implication...of why the Don was eager to leave them. He wanted Dutta to take care of Naku and to begin to realize his feelings for her...feelings that were now awakening in him, just as Naku was awakening after her fainting spell. Naku looked at him, and the concern in his eyes, which he did not hide. They could look into each other's eyes forever it seemed many a time.
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Part 4: The Confession
this will take me a bit of time...it is dutta's after all.
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
