Chapter 24 - The Midnight Expedition
"Kahaan jaa rahi hai?"
She was so unpredictable, he thought, shaking his head. They had been walking through the forest, through an uneven path that wound its way through the trees. Moonlight was shining faintly through the branches of the towering pines around them.
"Meethi?" He let out an expasperated sigh as she ignored him and kept walking. She was straying away from the path. Great.
"Meethi kahan jaa rahi hai?"
She turned towards him, smiled and beckoned him to come towards her.
The forest was enveloped in silence. Even the crickets had gone a bit quiet in this area. He looked at her questioningly as he reached her side.
She looked at him teasingly and said, "Kyun ACP Arjun? Pehle toh bahut excited the? Chal chal, jungle mein jaayenge. Aur ab khud dar rahe ho?"
"Kisne kaha main dar raha hoon?"
She suppressed a laugh and said, "Zyada bahaane mat maro. Sab pata hai mujhe." She paused, as if to listen for some sound and said, "Kuch sunayi de raha hai?"
He strained his ears to listen for any sound. Upon hearing nothing, he turned towards her and said, "Kya?"
"Ab tumhe sunai bhi nahi deta. Chalo."
She slid her arms through his and started walking. She really was impossible sometimes.
But he tagged along.
***
He gasped as the trees cleared into a bed of rocks, a river gushing through the middle of it. The sound of the river gushing through the rocks broke the silence of the night, suddenly bringing the night to life. The moonlight shone into the flowing water, giving it a silvery glow that seemed to light up the entire area around them. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a waterfall, which was probably the source of the river. She had left his side and was walking towards the river, making her way around the rocks. His mouth curved into a smile as he gazed at her slender form walking through the rocks, her hands grasping the bigger rocks to keep her balance.
She stopped and glanced back towards him, her mouth curving into that beautiful smile of hers. He stared at her as she stood perched on the rock, bathed in the silvery glow from the moon, the white and silver river flowing beyond her. You don't always need sunlight to colour the world. Sometimes, just a smile does the job.
It was a moment he wouldn't ever forget.
***
"Arjun tum cheating kar rahe ho."
"Main? Arjun Rawte aur cheating? Bhool ja. Lagta hai tujhe andhere mein kam dikhayi deta hai. Gajar khaya kar."
They were perched on the edge of a big rock, their feet dangling over the strong white currents of the river, throwing pebbles into the river. It had been her idea of course - it reminded her of sweet moments of their childhood together. He had been keeping scores of whose pebble went out the furthest into the river. But clearly, he was cheating now - with the scores.
She glared at him and said, "Meri aankhein bilkul theek hai. Tumhe chashme ki zaroorat hai. Mera wala zyada door gaya tha. Score 6-5 tha. Tumhara 5!"
"Meethi," he said in a sugary sweet voice that annoyed her, "Tu bhool rahi hai. Mera last wala tujhse zyada door gaya tha."
She raised her finger at him and said irritably, "Dekho Arjun."
He edged closer to her, his nose almost touching hers and said, "Kya Meethi?"
She tried not to get swayed away by his charm, but his glance was too strong. She could feel his breath on her face as she looked into his eyes. He smiled mischievously as he felt her weakening under his gaze. She flushed and backed away, nervously tucking away a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Tera kuch nahi ho sakta Sakshi, she said to herself.
He stood up, offered her his hand and said, "Chal."
She looked up at him, her eyes widened in surprise, "Ab kahan?"
"Ab yaha aaye hai toh falls tak chalte hai." He smiled, his arm still outstretched towards her.
She put her hand in his and stood up, smiling again.
"Main jeeti na?"
He grinned and said, "Of course. Mere rehte tu kabhi haar nahi sakti. Main kabhi tujhe haarne nahi dunga."
***
Aisha was warm and snug in the sleeping bag when she felt a tug near her feet. She thought she was dreaming, so she slept on. Another tug. This time, a bit frantic.
"Aisha!" Someone was whispering her name.
She groaned and turned over.
"Aisha!!!" This time the whisper was a bit more agitated.
She opened her eyes slowly to see Sameer peeping in through the opening of the tent. He was still in his pyjamas and a sweatshirt - which was clearly pulled on in a hurry.
She awoke with a start and whispered, "Sameer. Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho?"
Her hands went to her hair absentmindedly, trying to smoothen her curls so she wouldn't appear too messed up in front of him. Waking her up in the middle of the night was so not pretty. Her hair always became a mess in the night.
He seemed to ignore her appearance and said, "Arjun tent mein nahi hai."
She glanced at her side to see Sakshi's empty sleeping bag and smiled.
His glance followed hers and he said, "Sakshi kahan hai? Tumhare side se gayab ho gayi aur tumhe pata nahi laga?"
"Arrey? Arjun sir bhi toh aapke hi saath the."
He mouth twitched as he replied, "Uh. Haan. Woh. So raha tha na. Dammit! Yeh dono bhi na. Pata nahi kahan gaye honge."
She glanced at the sleeping Lisa beside her and whispered to him, "Aap bahar chaliye. Main aati hoon."
Before leaving he said, "Please Aisha. Yeh aap aap band karo."
She blushed as he left the tent, and smiled to herself.
***
"Nahi nahi. Kood jaa, Jhansi ki raani."
She couldn't hear him. The sound of the waterfall was deafening, and drowned out all sounds around them. The silvery water was gushing down the side of the steep mountain, spraying them with the cool water. She had darted towards the rock jutting out towards the waterfall, and was now standing on it, her arms outstretched. It was even colder in this part, and yet she didn't seem to care. He smiled to himself as he saw her close her eyes and dance under the white spray from the waterfall.
He shouted again, "Meethi!"
This time she turned around, her hair now nearly wet, her face glowing with happiness. She looked as if she had just gotten aware of his presence there and she jumped down from the rock.
As she started running towards him he shouted again, "Wapas kyun aayi. Jaa na. Main toh yaha hoon hi nahi."
She grabbed his arm as soon as she reached his side and stared pulling him towards the rock.
"Chalo na, Arjun. Bada maza aa raha hai."
He resisted and said adamantly, "Tera dimaag kharab ho gaya hai? Mujhe geela nahi hona."
She stopped, crossed her arms and said, "Tum kitne boring ho."
He threw her a glare and said, "Boring? Aur main?"
She now put on a pleading expression that he adored so much and said, "Please na!"
A moment later they stood below the waterfall. Her arms were outstretched towards the waterfall, trying to catch the spray that blew towards them. His arms were around her, holding her from the back, lest she fell down the rock. He rested his chin on her shoulder and hugged her closer to him.
They didn't care that it was cold and dark. They didn't mind the water spraying all over them and making them wet. All they cared about was that they had each other. That they shared this moment together. He knew his heart would never see the cold, grey winter again, not when she was with him. Because when she was with him, it was always summer. The sun would always shine upon them, spreading its warmth through his body. Making him happy. Always.
Just then, she pulled his arms closer to herself, glanced at him and smiled.
***
When Aisha came out of the tent she saw Sameer pacing around the burnt out fire. She smiled as she saw his disheveled face, his hair sticking out from all sides like he had been electrocuted.
As he saw her approach, he stopped.
"Bewakoof. Pata nahi kahan chala gaya. Aur woh bhi itni raat ko? Aur akele nahi gaya! Sakshi ko leke gaya hai! Kahin kuch ho gaya toh? Samajhta nahi hai, pata nahi kya ho gaya hai usko. Phone bhi nahi lekar gaye hai!"
She put her hand gently on his shoulder and said, "Arrey calm down, Sameer. Yehi kahin gaye honge. Aa jayenge. Aur woh bachche thodi hai? Apna khayal rakh sakte hai."
He looked into her eyes and said, "Mujhe pata hai. Lekin phir bhi. Subah chale jaate."
Aisha laughed and said, "Aap...I mean, tum nahi samjhoge Sameer. Bestfriends hai aur ek doosre se pyaar karte hai. Toh obvious hai ki ek pal bhi alag nahi reh sakte."
He nodded, still not convinced. When he looked up at her next, his mouth had curved into a smile. She felt him grabbing hold of her arm as he said, "Chalo."
***
He could see the surprise in her eyes. He shouldn't have been so abrupt. He cursed himself for the sudden move and wondered what she might be thinking. He let go of her hand just as quickly as he had grabbed it and lowered his gaze.
Surprisingly, she smiled, slid her fingers through his and said, "Chalo."
He spoke up in a shy voice, "Poochogi nahi kahan?"
She only smiled and said, "Mujhe aap pe bharosa hai."
When he threw her a questioning glance, she replied, "Obviously aap...tum... unhe dhoondhna chahte ho."
No, he wanted to say, he just wanted to spend some time with her. But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Arjun was right. He didn't know how he was going to tell her that he had fallen for her.
***
He was lying on the green grass, under the open midnight blue sky. He had never seen so many stars before. They covered almost every inch of the sky, leaving no space for any darkness to seep through. Suddenly the sky was replaced by her smiling face, her wet hair sprawling across his face.
"Hi." She said, her smile had widened into a grin.
He reached out to tuck her hair behind her ears and whispered, "Hi."
"Kya kar rahe ho?"
He seized her hand that was resting on the grass beside him and pulled her into his arms. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his arm. Her eyes now went up to the sky, gazing at the millions of stars spread across it.
He fondled her hair as she spoke again, "Its so beautiful na, Arjun. Kaash Mumbai mein bhi itne tare dikhte."
"Phir yeh moment itna khaas nahi hota."
Just then, she exclaimed out loud and pointed towards the sky, "Arjun! Toot ta taara!"
He threw her an indifferent glance and said, "Toh?"
"Toh? Wish nahi maangni? Kehte hain ki..."
"Mujhe pata hai kya kehte hai."
"Phir?"
"Mujhe kuch nahi maangna."
"Kyun?"
"Kyunki ab tu mere paas hai." He grinned at her as she blushed and rested her head on his chest.
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Seher Hone Ko Hai
Anupamaa
Naagin 7
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