Hello Friends!
Okay! It's been long since I updated...
So here's the next chapter of TNNZ...
Enjoy!
CHAPTER-2
Nidhi had just bare her life in the past 15 years in a span of a few minutes before her love Ashutosh. She wasn't complaining, she just stated the bitter fact of her life. Both silently kept looking at the twilight. She turned her head to his side in a snap movement, as she realised something and asked rather in a sense of catching up- "Aur... Aur tum? Mere jaane ke baad kya kiya?"... Ashutosh just smiled a dry smile, as he said, "Bas, zindagi kaati..." he huffed a tired smile as he continued again- "Tumhare siwa aur kuch chaaha bhi nahi tha Nidhi. Par shayad tumhare laayak bana nahi tha tab... Toh bas usi mein lag gaya. Baba ne kaafi encourage kiya, he made sure I attend various writing workshops, and get the best I could to groom my skills to write all the more better.", Ashutosh talked about his foster father, who had adopted him at the age of 8.
Nidhi nodded her head, yet that one question lingered in her mind, and with a slight hesitancy she finally voiced it- "Aur... shaadi? Shaadi ki tumne?". Just when she thought her heart would drown in her chest with the positive answer, she was baffled to see Ashutosh throw his head back in the air, and laugh so loud that his shoulders shook with intensity; tears started rolling out of his eyes in laughter. Nidhi kept on looking confused at his absurd behaviour, as he used his index fingers to wipe away his laughing tears, his face red hued... On seeing Nidhi's confusion turned to impatience he finally found a compulsory semblance, as he held on to her shoulder and shook it lightly- "Oh Nidhi! Tum humare purane waqt ko itni jaldi bhool gayi? Humare pyaar ko bhool gayi?"... Nidhi shrugged her shoulder making his hand fall away from her, getting offended- "Main kuch nahi bhooli hoon..." as it is she did not like the idea of Ashutosh being married to someone else, he was adding on to her fury with his non-stop laughing puzzling her...
Ashutosh turned and sat cross legged facing Nidhi and took her hands in his, cajoling her to look at him- "Nidhi you remember the movie we had gone for on your college bunk...? Tum Bin?" Nidhi nodded disinterestingly, and Ashutosh continued- "You remember the duet I used to sing with you after that?", Nidhi looked afar thinking of it, as she first hummed the tune and then the words-
Tumhare siwa kuch na chaahat karenge,
Ke jab tak jeeyenge,
Mohabbat karenge...
Ashutosh's grip on her fingers went stronger as she hummed the song, and he almost whispered just for her to listen- "I have taken those words quite literally... Either you are the life, or there's no life without you Nidhi..." he kept looking into her glinting eyes with unshed tears, while his thumbs kept caressing her palms. She averted her eyes or she dreaded tears will flow away unabashed in front of him... Loyalty is the promise of the heart, no matter they were together or not, he had tied the knot of his heart to hers and made sure hers was fastened to his too... Even after all these years, he was hers as much as she was his... He made sure of that!
Ashutosh could clearly see the pain in her eyes, pain of the loss of all the love they deserved all these years, and he decided to relieve her out of her misery, as he stood on his feet immediately, and dusted away his clothes giving her his hand to stand. On her questioning look he answered still his hand stretched- "Let's have dinner together... Tumhare haath ka banaaya hua... The ever so delicious food...!"... Nidhi giggled taking his hand and standing up, and dusting her saree as she said- "Achha ji! And where am I going to cook food? I surely am not dropping in to your home today." She stated... He shrugged while walking along with her, "Okay! Toh tum apne ghar par cook kar lo, it hardly matters to me..." Nidhi again nodded her head negatively. "Ashutosh, I haven't even pulled off the covers of the house, let alone stacked it with groceries. How do I cook?". Ashutosh shot an immediate question- "You want to cook for us or not?" and her answer too was as pronto- "Of course I want to! But Ashutosh I feel so uneasy bringing you in my mess..." "Life can't be any messier... I am already in Nidhi..." Nidhi sighed resigning... And Ashutosh continued- "Okay! Let's have a deal... We will move from here to a grocery store, buy grocery and the other necessities, then we'll be at your home, you cook the food, and I'll clean your house... What say?"... They had reached Ashutosh's car, as they both seated, Ashutosh still looked for an answer from Nidhi... She smiled awkwardly- "Emmm... Ashutosh... Tum mera ghar saaf karoge? Sheher ka kya India ka best selling writer mera ghar saaf karega...?" she was hesitant... Before she could buckle the seat belt, he pulled her to look towards him, and his face gave away the strict look- "Hey! Nidhi... Tumhare liye main aaj bhi wohi Ashu hoon jo main aaj se 15 saal pehle tha... It didn't matter to you 15 years back who I was, and it doesn't matter to me 15 years later who I am today. You are still the same, and I too am the same... Toh chalein grocery shopping?" .. There still was some apprehension in Nidhi as she spoke- "Par aise? Inn kapdon mein? Tumko toh sab jaante hain... You... You look lavish..."... As if Ashutosh has vowed to clear each and every bead of apprehension from her forehead; he gave her his ever so famous lopsided smile, he had the solution... He popped open all the buttons of his coat, pulled it off and neatly placed it on the back seat. Pulled open his tie removing it from his neck, and joined the coat. Top two buttons along with the collar button were opened by Ashutosh, and then the cuffs opened and rolled till his elbow. His fingers ran a rough comb through his hair, dishevelling them against the neatly combed hair. His fine frameless spectacles pulled off his nose, and neatly but into the specs case, and instead a blue framed specs found place on his nose... And now he looked at Nidhi...
She couldn't help but give a bemused smile. In a span of a minute he has transformed himself from sophisticated to simple and common. Her smile widened as she learnt the skill immediately. Her hand-free saree pallu went into uncalculated pleats securing with another safety pin. Her hair pulled into a loose bun. And her purse opened to take out her reading glasses... Ashutosh's eyes fell on Nidhi while he kept on driving, and he couldn't help commenting- "Arre tumko bhi chashma lag gaya?"... Nidhi wrinkled her nose as she clarified- "Reading glasses... Kyu you didn't see when I was reading the critical analysis?" ... He sighed as he took the final turn to the super market while he spoke- "Tumhe itne saalo baad dekhne mein itne busy they ki inn kambaqt chashme par nazar hi nahi padi..."... Nidhi just glanced at him with love filled eyes before tearing them away, getting off the car, and walked with him inside, filling in the shopping cart while he dragged the trolley where ever she moved...
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"Wow! Nidhi... You have a super collection of blues... Itne muqtalif (different) shades mein toh shayad mere bhi blue shirts ka collection nahi hoga..." Ashutosh spoke from Nidhi's room, while he hung all the sarees and salwar-kameez suits on the hangers in her cupboard... While Nidhi had prepared tea and then worked on food, Ashutosh had pulled all the covers, dusted all the house, and now was hanging her dresses, finally converting the deserted flat into a liveable home... Nidhi walked in the room smiling, wiping her hands with the napkin. She didn't need to answer to his statement. He already knew why this inclination to so many shades of blue. But then she frowned- "Oh Ashutosh! You've dirtied up all your clothes! You shouldn't have bothered with the cleaning...". Ashutosh gave her a sheepish smile, and then said- "Waise I have a pair of spare clothes with me in the car... If you are okay with me using your bathroom, I'll just have a shower and join you for the dinner..."... Nidhi rolled her eyes with his formality, and she chuckled slightly before making his move...
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Nidhi stood out of her apartment, and waved towards Ashutosh. It was past twelve and he needed to leave. After the wonderfully delicious dinner by Nidhi, followed by a strong coffee together, they were sharing tid-bits of their lives sitting against the floor-to-ceiling glass window on floor mattress. Talking after so long, they didn't know how time flew away only to be realising with Ashutosh's wrist watch beeping with the 12 am strike.
Nidhi locked her apartment door, and went in to change into a night dress... She felt suddenly lonely. The quality time spent with Ashutosh made her greedy for more... While hitting the bed, she couldn't help wonder, had they been together back then, this pinning pain wouldn't have to have existed... She smiled a rueful stretch, as he hugged a cushion, and pulled the duvet on...
Her thoughts took a hold as her cellphone beeped with an incoming message- "The dinner was lovely! Thank you!"... Nidhi patted her cellphone on her forehead... She was so consumed with spending time with him, that she didn't realise to ask for his number. She asked immediately- "How did you get my number?"... "I am not as absent minded as you Miss Nidhi... If you forgot to take my number, I made sure, I take yours... Gave a missed call from your phone to mine..."... Nidhi immediately checked her call log, his number was on top! "Bad manners Mr. Ashutosh! Using anybody else's phone without permission..." "Anybody! Really Miss. Nidhi??"... Okay! She admitted... He wasn't just anybody, nor was she for him... But! No! This isn't right... How would it look if she plunged in the relationship with Ashutosh again? Could she? Would that be correct?... Nidhi anyhow completed the conversation with Ashutosh against the thoughts running through her mind, and bade him good night... But the night wasn't being that good to her, as she tossed and turned in her bed, thinking about her thoughts again and again, before sleep took over her tired body, dodging the queries for another day!
~~**THANKS FOR READING**~~
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