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"Mom! Rachi di! Jaz! Kaha gaye sab?!" she yelled, turning her head in all directions, but sadly no avail.
She searched them for a long time but the crowd being so dense, neither could they see her nor could she see them. Dejected, she found a rather empty spot and sat there, along with other devotees. The Ganga Aarti had by then started, and Amaya got lost in its majestic stature, the radiant lights, and the cacophony of all the devotees as they sang along the lines of the Aarti playing in the background.
So lost, that she didn't notice Mantu coming along and sitting exactly beside her.
Mantu had been busy touring the foreign tourists in and around the Ganga Ghat. After giving them an excellent spot to witness this grand affair, he gave the responsibility of handling the tourists to one of his sidekicks. And on the pretext of not being well, he set out towards his home to have his peace. The day he had visited Amaya's home and got the news of her family returning to Mumbai once again, something inside him is disturbed. He never imagined the person he despised the most was finally going to be away at last, and still he was in a state of lamentation. "When did this change come in him? Why does he get so affected by her stupid presence?" He thought.
Bholenath knows.
That was the moment he saw her sitting silently on the steps, for the first time observing her so quiet, so lost into her own thoughts. A flower of affection bloomed into his heart, as he watched her tranquil form. But he quickly dismissed that thought and shook his head. "That is never going to happen..." he thought.
He quietly sat beside her, knowing that she was oblivious to his presence. Time passed, and the Aarti finished; and soon after that almost all the devotees and tourists had disappeared, leaving a very few people on that huge ghat, which seemed quite small earlier due to the crowd present.
Some disturbance caused Amaya to come out of her thoughts and eventually face Mantu, who was watching her all this while openly, and when their gaze met, he averted his eyes embarrassedly while she looked sideways.
"Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?! Aur koi kaam nahi hai kya, mujhe follow karne ke alaawa?" Amaya spoke, in her usual rude tone.
"Dekho, tumhe follow karne ke alaawa bahut kaam hai humaare paas. Hum toh... hum toh bas Aarti dekhne aaye the." Mantu spoke.
"Itni saari jagah mein se, tumhe yahi ek jagah mili thi?"
"Kyun? Jagah pe tumhara naam likha kya?"
"Chodo, tum jaise losers se argue karke mein khud ek loser nahi ban na chahti...!"
"Tum toh rehna hi do."
This heated conversation was followed by a moment of awkward silence. Both looked here and there, wondering what should be the next topic on which they could argue.
"Kuch poochna tha...tum se" Mantu spoke awkwardly.
"Mujhse baat kar rahe ho?" Amaya replied animatedly.
"Ha ha tum hi se baat kar rahe hai. Pooche?" he spoke restlessly.
"Poocho..." she spoke, giving an uninterested look.
"Yeh baat sach hai, ki..."
"ki...?"
"Tum, humaara matlab, tumhaari family, Jaz, Rachita ji, sab Mumbai jaa rahe hai?"
"Ha, kyun?" she replied, unknowingly hurt that he cared more about her siblings rather that her.
"Woh.. woh... chiklu hai na! Jaz ka fan, socha tha ki Jaz se bolenge ki woh chiklu ko padha de...par ab toh..."
"Hmmm..."
"Chiklu Miss Karega bahut..." He said while eying Amaya, who was busy looking the cascading waters of the mighty Ganga. "...aap... yaani Jaz ko"
She looked at him as he spoke these words. A small smile crept upon her face. He looked at her too, and as a smile came upon her face, he smiled too.
"Hum bhi shayad miss karenge... tum ko..." he murmured to himself, inaudible to Amaya.
His face didn't seem so annoying anymore to her. As they gazed each other unabashedly, an unknown emotion crept in the hearts of the two. An emotion that they had never experienced yet, but still it seemed as comfortable as it had been housing in their hearts since ages.
"Amu! Tum yaha ho? We have been searching for you like everywhere!" Jaz spoke at a distance, disturbing Mantu and Amaya.
"Bye..." Amaya spoke hurriedly, and proceeded to the place where her family was standing.
"Bye..." Mantu almost whispered, as he saw her get up and almost run towards Jaz, Rachita and Sneha.
As her sisters gushed about what she was doing all this while, etc. Amaya turned back to see his comforting gaze still on her, with a small smile on his lips. Her eyes again locked with his, but he turned back, as a film of tears developed in his eyes. Conscious, Amaya too averted her gaze as she realized their situation. Flustered by these unknown feelings, she again went back with her family, who were waiting for her.
Goodbyes are never sweet. But they always leave a promise, to bring sweetness that next time.
~~~~
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