NaiRan OS : Maanga Hai Tujhe Rabse

Karan sat at the edge of the bed, nervously clutching the bedsheet within his fingers. Tears roughly trickled down his cheeks and stained them sore as his allergy acted in full swing. He was mentally unstable, in a dilemma. How he wish he wouldn't had passed that spot this morning :

No no no! This could not be. He couldn't love her, she didn't deserve him. She deserved much more than a helpless, ill, vulnerable and jobless husband. How he wished he would've listened to his Maa and had started working. Maybe then he could've proudly accept her as his wife. But now, he neither had the will to start something nor the audacity to accept her.

He got up in a forceful trance and started packing her things. No, she couldn't stay here. She couldn't end up with his kind of person her whole life.

It was afternoon by now, Naina had returned from her test. After greeting her Di & Maa, she turned straight towards the Room to share her great exam news with her best friend of all times. Bubbling, she pushed the door open but the sight that she saw just scared the wits out of her. Karan, in a devastating scene was sitting In a corner. There were clothes all over the floor and bed - her belongings were strewn in the room. Inspite of being a sunny afternoon, it seemed that light had turned away from the room, leaving it in submerging darkness.

"Karan...", She barely uttered a word. In a flash of lightning, he got up and spoke : "Accha tum aa Gayi Naina. Aisa Karo, jaldi see apna saaman pack Karo aur chali jao yahan se. Dadu aur Maa ki chinta mat Karna, main unhe manaa loonga. Sab soch liya hain Maine... Sab soch liya Hai". If someone else would've seen him in that circumstance, he would've declared him a morbid human but Naina was different. She could see his agony and pain and restlessness and fear. When he stepped a bit forward, she could see his face was sore. She tried to take a step towards him but he fiercely stopped her.

"Aaj nahi Naina. Ab kabhi nahi"

"Par kyun..?", She cried, heartbroken. "Agar tumhe kabhi Bhi, Ek second ke liye Bhi mere baare Mein accha socha Hai, Toh chali jao yahan se. Bass"

"Ab tumhe kaise bataun Naina ke so second ke liye Bhi agar tum yahan ruki toh mujhe tumse... Tumse Pyaar ho jaayega", he thought helplessly.

Naina hung her head and started packing off her stuff. It was decided that sharp at midnight, Naina will leave the house forever.

The day wore off slowly. Naina remained in her room for most the day. She certainly didn't want to face her Di. Several times she'd come to ask if she was okay and she'd dramatised a headache, thereby getting an excuse to not come out. The evening came and went, the sun had set down with the last rays escaping the sky in a jiffy. After a long long wait, it was midnight. Karan had kept himself away from her all day and finally, he came to see her off. He picked up her luggage and down they descended in heavy steps. Naina still had wet tears rolling her her cheeks and Karan's expression was beyond description. He told the driver to drop her to Boondi and without looking back even once, he forcefully shut the door. He must be out of his mind, cause he didn't realise how he unconsciously made his way to the storeroom.

Memories started hitting him hard. How stubbornly she'd asked him to not sleep there. How he'd lied to her and how she had started sleeping there out of anger. Their friendship, their handshake, their journey. And then, like a sparkling stream of consciousness, hit upon him a fact. Naina had told him that she had no where to go. This was her house and he had removed her from her house. He got up and stroke his hair. What a grave mistake! What if...

Just then, his phone rang. It was Naina. But the person was someone else.

"Hello, yeh number jiska Hai..."

He snapped the call. He didn't have the guts to hear anything. He ran out of the courtyard, onto the road. Running wildly and shouting 'Naina Naina'. What an immature freak he'd been. He should be the one leaving the house but instead, he'd asked her to leave.

He looked for any signs of accident or something but it was too dark. His eyes were tired and swollen.

"Please Bhagwan. Mujhe Meri Naina wapas kardo. I promise main kabhi uspar gussa nahi hounga. Kabhi use koi takleef nahi doonga. Please please", he wept on the road. And as an answer to a divine, prayer. A sobbing sound approached him from behind.

He turned around his back to find her standing there, absolutely alright, except the tears in her eyes.

"Naina Naina, I'm so sorry. Mujhe aisa nahi karna chahiye tha, main Bhi kitna pagal...", And before any one of them could make any sense, Karan clutched her in a tight hug. He wouldn't let her go anytime now, not even in his dreams. He didn't even care that his body touched hers. All he knew was that he'd asked for an angel his whole life and now she was here, with him, in his arms.