Samaina FF: Love in Mt. Abu - Page 19

Part 13: The Memoirs

For the first time in days, Naina felt she woke upto a beautiful morning. It felt as if a burden had been lifted off her chest. The morning air today, smelt of hope, of happiness, of love. As she stretched herself awake, a huge smile slowly etched itself onto her lips. Then suddenly her eyes widened and she rushed over to the balcony as if to verify if last night had been a dream. Ohh that whiff of fresh air! Naina could smell Sameer in it. Her hand grazed the balcony railing, where he had stood and she felt his touch there. Naina had replayed in her mind, Sameer's proposal, his coming onto her balcony, a zillion times since last night; but it still didn't seem enough. It was like her dream had come true. Naina felt as if the love she'd nurtured for him had come back stronger than before and was raging through her veins. Yet she was afraid- afraid to be vulnerable once again, afraid that it might have been another of his jokes, afraid- of a heartbreak yet again. Naina's heart rolled in Sameer's favour- she longed to wrap herself into his arms and stay there for a lifetime. But her mind told her to be cautious. Her mind wanted to be sure that Sameer would indeed be there for that lifetime. This time, she could take no chances. She could feel Sameer, breathe Sameer, long for Sameer; but she would not accede unless her brain gave the green signal. Naina was jerked from her thoughts by chachiji's voice from the hall, "Naina, kya subah-subah balcony me kabootar dekh rahi hai? Aake chai pi le...thandi ho rahi hai. "Haan mummy, lagta hai kisi kabootar ko hi dhundh rahi hai, Preeti sniggered and came outside on the balcony with Naina. She had got full license to tease her padhaku behen now that her secret love story was revealed. "Kya Naina, Sameer ne koi kabtoor bheja hai kya sandesh mein? Haaye kaash koi mere liye bhi aisa karta, she mused. "Chup kar Preeti ki bacchi..aur dheere bol na...ye raaz sirf hum dono ke beech rehna chahiye! reprimanded Naina, scared that Bela chachi might hear their conversation. Preeti laughed and started humming, "Kabootar ja ja ja...kabootar ja ja ja...pehle pyaar ki pehli chitthi saajan ko de aa... "Kuch bhi Preeti...chup kar ja..., said Naina, now blushing. After a while, the sisters came inside to have tea. Naina checked if everyone was out of sight and showed Preeti the red rose that Sameer had given her. "Yaar manana padega...ye Sameer hai to bada hi romantic...Salman se bhi zyada...Aamir se bhi zyada...bas haan wo Shahrukh se zyada nahi...tu dekh lena...Shahrukh ek din to romance ka raja kehlayega! chuckled Preeti. Naina smiled and caressed the rose- which had felt each and every heartbeat of Sameer, while being pressed to his chest inside the jacket; the rose he'd laid his fingers upon. The red rose- the ultimate gift of ardent, undying love.

Naina looked down at the pages of her diary where she'd hid the rose last night. Naina had started to write soon after Sameer had entered into her life. She'd been smitten by him at first sight. It was then she'd realized what it was like to be in love. Unable to share these new emotions with anyone, Naina had taken to pouring her heart out into this diary. This diary was witness to each and every bittersweet moment between Naina and Sameer. She had written about the time when Sameer had almost said, "I love you Naina while she was teaching him for the exams. The diary also knew of Naina's pain when Sameer's ankle was injured during the cricket match of the headboy competetion. And then had come the paper stealing incident! Naina had felt her world collapse. She'd thought this had to be the worst one could feel. How naive she'd been that time! Little did she know; that this was just the trailer of the horrendous heartbreak which loomed over her. The diary also knew of her jealousy and helplessness, when Swati was chosen to be Sameer's Juliet. Naina had written over five pages on the night when they had narrowly escaped the Rakhi incident and Sameer had proposed friendship to her. She had been on cloud nine that day. The diary also held instances of Sameer coming too close to Naina, and the shivers these moments had sent down her spine- their first almost bump, and when he'd held her hand to kiss her. It didn't seem the correct thing for him to do, but she could not forget how it had felt. She'd written pages upon pages every night at Mt. Abu- after their mandir wali date; after she'd mustered the courage to confess her feelings to him that night at the campfire, lying down in his arms all night besides the fire. Naina mused if one wanted to know about their secret affair, the diary would be the ultimate give away. But it was only recently, the writing which had once helped her confess her romance, had turned into a medium to vent out her pain and her anguish. The pages of the diary which dealt with Sameer's truth about the bet, and her subsequent heartbreak- were stained with tears. How things had changed in the story of this Romeo and Juliet of Ahemdabad- high at one point, and a trench the other. Naina would realize later on, how this bet and the breakup was important to shape Sameer and make him realize he truly loved her; and for her, to discover her hidden talent, which would later turn out to be her profession- a romantic by heart, a writer by profession. She carefully pressed the rose in between the pages where she had written about his proposal last night and closed the diary. If Sameer's love proved to be true, she would keep this rose for her lifetime. It was his first gift out of true love- a souvenir of his confession. She was still not fully convinced, her anger still lurked, but then Sameer had seemed so genuine last night. Her heart and mind were in two places on whether to forgive him or not.

***

Naina was missing Sameer. Her topper brain was still angry at him, but her heart told her to give him another chance. She so wanted to listen to his voice again. It had been three days since his proposal on the balcony. He'd stayed true to his promise. He was giving her the time she wanted to think. But now, Naina couldn't take it anymore. She waited till the night, when everyone including Preeti, was asleep. Well, this was something she didn't want to share with anyone- not her best friend, not her sister. Their secret conversations, their secret codes would have to remain secret- meant just for the two of them. Naina looked around to check if she was all alone and dialed Sameer's number, gave two rings and then cut the call. She was extremely anxious. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing. But then, she'd made up her mind and rang the bell again. Sameer's heart skipped a beat as he heard the two ring signal on the phone. She was calling him? He couldn't believe his ears. He ran over to the telephone and waited for the call with bated breath, his hand on the receiver. As soon as the bell rang, he picked it up. Sameer held the phone to his ears and smiled. He could sense Naina at the other end. It had been three days since he'd spoken to her and God only knew how Sameer was surviving. Naina felt soothed as she sensed Sameer on the line. Her perturbation eased away. "Hi..., she said, gathering courage. "Hi Naina...kaisi ho tum? he replied expectantly. "Main theek hun...tum? she asked. "Main...hold karo..., replied Sameer. He quickly went to his cassette rack and fished out Maine Pyaar Kiya' cassette. He hastily played it and forwarded the songs until he got to the one he wanted. Sameer rushed back to the phone with his cassette player and kept it near the mouthpiece and pressed Play'. Naina heard the song start and recalled Salman's pining for Bhagyashri... "Dil deewana bin sajna ke maane na...Ye pagla hai samjhaane se, samjhe na...Dard judaai kya hota hai, Tum jaano main jaanoon...Ho ho ho ho ho...Dard judaai kya hota hai...Tum jaano main jaanoon...Pyaar bulaaye duniya roke, Kiska kehna maanoon...Tumse mile bin dil ko kuchh bhi soojhe na... Ye pagla hai samjhaane se, samjhe na... Ye pagla hai samjhaane se, samjhe na... Sameer pressed the stop button and spoke, "Aisa hi kuch haal hai mera tumhare bina...Thanks Naina...phone karne ke liye. Bas ek aakhiri baar bharosa kar lo mujhpar. Ye bharosa main zindagi bhar nahi tootne dunga, I promise! Naina was overwhelmed. She still hadn't decided what to do. This time she didn't want to hurry things. She knew her heart still beat for Sameer, yet she did not want to make a fool out of herself again. "Apna dhyaan rakho Sameer...bye! she only managed to utter these words as she kept the receiver down. Sameer too put back the receiver, slightly dejected. The wait was killing him- he was hoping, praying that Naina would say yes, but he didn't want to force her to commit herself, until she was sure she could trust him.

***

Naina knew Sameer had wronged her once. But she also knew that he was repenting it and wanted to mend their relationship once again. But there was something else which was bothering her. Sameer had cleared everything from his side. He had spoken the truth. But Naina knew she was still hiding a very important secret from him. He deserved to know it- the truth about the paper stealing incident and that her own brother Arjun had been the real culprit. He had come to take up the bet because he was insulted for no fault of his. In reality, the fault rested with her Arjun bhaiya who had chosen to stay mum and even with Naina. She had chosen to speak out against Sameer for the sake of her father's reputation, but on the other hand, she hadn't dared to utter a word against her own family for Sameer's sake. She decided it was high time that she absolved Sameer of the crime he'd been wrongly accused of and for the true perpetrator to be bought to justice. Naina knew it was like choosing between one of her eyes- family and Sameer; but she decided to take up the path of righteousness again. Sameer knew he had been innocent, but he too had never doubted either Naina or Arjun. He had been really kind that ways. Naina decided to speak to Arjun.