"Khanak I am sorry main tumhe yahaan le aaya…" Shaantanu apologized to Khanak as he folded his side of the mess, while Khanak fixed the hangers on the display.
"Kyun? App mujhay Sorry kyun bol rahay hain?"Khanak asked a bit confused at Shaantanu's apology.
"Yahaan per aake tum apne kaam ko choor kar meray kaam mein jo busy hogi…pata nahai lyrics likh bhi saki hogi ya nahi…" Shaantanu wondered if his decision of bringing Khanak along had wasted her time.
"Voh toh maine complete bhi karli…app ka dehaan customers per zayaada tha…maine thodi thodi kar ke lyrics puri karli hain…" Khanak smiled at Shaantanu who was worrying for no reason at all.
"Acha? Per mujhay laga tum bhi saara waqt customers mein he busy thi…vaise mujhay sunao gi nahi apni lyrics?" Shaantanu questioned while folding up the last items under the sale section.
"Aap chahte hain main app ko lyrics phar kar sunao?" Khanak questioned him back as she was quite surprised at his request. She had always wanted to read them to him but refrained from doing so thinking that he might find her act funny or weird.
"Haan bilqual…jub likhi app ne hain toh sunai gi bhi app Ms.Lyricist!" Shaantanu walked towards Khanak with an excited smile. He had given her the title "Ms.Lyricist" as that was Khanak's official role in his beginnings as a young singer.
"Theek hain toh closing puri kar ke app ko main lyrics suna do gi…lakin isse pehlay app bhool jaye please kuch kah lejiyay kyunki main jaanti hoon app ne aik baar phir subah se kuch nahi kahya hain…" Khanak agreed with Shaantanu but she wanted him to eat something first. It was very shocking for Khanak to see Shaantanu go without food for such a long time at once.
"Kaahna…haan mujhay kaahna kah lena chaiyay…tum mere saath kaahna kahao gi na?" Shaantanu questioned innocently as Khanak smiled at his gestured.
"Kyun aggar main saath nahi kahao gi toh app bhi nahi kahaye gay…?" Khanak asked as she went back to the small office where she had placed her tiffin in the miniature fridge.
"Haan…mujhay akele kaahna kahna bahut bura lagta hain…I don't know why but kaahna main hameesha kissi ke saath kahta ho varna nahi kahta…" Shaantanu confessed one of his odd habits to Khanak. He remembered how his Mom and Daadi made fun of his habit when he would drag his health conscious Khusboo bhabhi to eat with him even if it meant compromising her diet plan for her one and only sweet devar.
"Shaantanu app ki baatein kabhi kabhi mujhe bahut ajeen lagti hain…yeh toh koi baat nahi huyi kay aggar koi saath kaahna na kahye toh app sara waqt bhoke rahay gay…" Khanak came out with her tiffin and plates; she was serving him without realizing that Shaantanu was lost on his own world.
Khanak looked up as she wanted to hand him his plate but found him lost in space. He had a saddened look on his face and she could clearly see moisture build up around his light brown orbs. A part of her wanted to reach out to him and shake him out of his misery but then she stopped and decided to call out to him. "Sha..Shaantanu….?? app theek toh hain na..?"
"Huh..?"Shaantanu became aware of Khanak's presence before he went too far with his dormant yet very real and alive memories. "Na…nahi kuch bhi nahi…bus yunhi kuch yaad agaya tha…"
"Aggar koi yaad ankhoon ko yunhi geela karde toh voh yaad bahut khass hoti hain Shaantanu…"Khanak handed him his plate and softly spoke her rmind, she didn't know why but the pain in his eyes was stinging her heart.
"Yaadein toh bahut hain Khanak aur shayad mujhe abb inn he kay saharay jeena hain per kya karo kabhi kabhi Mom, Daadi, aur Bhabhi kay saath bitaye huye voh pal kuch zaayda he yaad aatey hain…main kitna bekhabar tha na…kitna careless, kabhi parva he nahi ki kay voh sub kuch aik din badal jaaye ga…sub bikhar sa jaye ga…" Shaantanu said in a broken tone while staring at his plate and the food that Khanak had decorated in it for him.
"Abhi bikhra hain Shaantanu per hum samaet le gay…Aik aik kar ke sub vapis jur le gay…app kyun apnay app ko itna kamzoor kar lete hain…"Khanak responded softly and then walked over to Shaantanu who was trying his level best to keep his tears from spilling. "Mujhe bilqual acha nahi lagta jub app iss tarah udhass hote hain…"
She gently placed her hand on his left shoulder and felt the slight shiver that his pain was causing him. His eyes were tightly closed because he knew her touch would definitely break him down completely. He had kept this flood from surfacing and some how succeeded for some time, but his attempts were no longer supporting his faade.
He was lost, confused, disappointed, angry, and a million other things that one could balme himself for. She was the first person who had cared, cared enough to ask to reach out to him. His heart had already given her a special place the day she found him wandering the market alone and upset. She could have easily passed him by like several other strangers that night, but she didn't…she had stopped…stopped for him and him only…Despite being a complete stranger she somehow fixed him…temporarily but fixed…he felt fixed, he was fixed…in her presence and with her.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
CID
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