1. New Beginning in Ladakh
The snow is falling, incessantly and despite it's fluffy, Christmas card and angelic appearance, brings with it a cold that penetrates to the very marrow in his bones.
Pulling his thin and well worn coat around his shoulders, he shivers and, as his body racks with the rheumy cough that has been brought on in the Arctic conditions that has developed over the last few days, he looks around with watery eyes for some semblance of shelter that will allay the pain and discomfort that has been thrust upon him. He looks down, beyond the end of his coat, to see the sodden boots which he wore hoping for some protection from the cold and wet, realising that his efforts in that direction has been in vain as his toes tingle with a pain that feels like they were burning. As he walks, he can hear the soft crunch of snow underfoot, coupled with the squelch of wet socks and boots, and slips and slithers on the icy surface as he stumbles on. Exhausted, he feels his legs almost crumble as his muscles, weak with the bitter cold, leaving him in a drab and hopeless heap on the floor. He stays where he sits, too tired and worn out to move and the snow, still falling prettily in the sky, occasionally penetrated by bright daylight between the heavy clouds, slowly envelops him in a powdery white blanket that will surely suffocate him.
Although he has been trained for such weather conditions, but being here for the past 5 days surly can exhaust and weaken any individual.
The sudden ringing of his phone causes him to stand up straight.
"Yes sir?"
He says as he picks up the phone
"We have found the dead body of the terrorist, Major. You many now return back to the base and continue with Mission Ladakh."
Col. Gaur speaks on the other side of the phone.
"When is she coming , sir?"
The man asks with a heavy voice, unable to speak properly with his lips that has turned blue due to the extremely cold weather.
"She will be there in about an hour, Major. Upon your request, we assigned her the mission. She will be working under you"
Replies Col. Gaur
"Thank you, sir"
Replies the man and he hangs up the phone while he makes his way back to the base camp.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ladakh - Base Camp
Reaching in front of the base camp, Naina makes her way towards the room where she is suppose to meet the other members of this mission, her partners, who are suppose to help her with this mission.
A huge smile spreads on her face as she sees her 5 friends in front of her eyes, her family whom she graduated with. Together, they became responsible Captains. Dropping her bags on the floor, she rushes towards them and they all merge in a group hug.
"Panch saal baad mil rahe hain hum aaj. Kahan thi tu Phoolan? Bohut yaad kiya tujhe maine"
says Huda as they break the group hug
Smiling, wiping her tears away, Naina replies,
"Maine bhi tujhe bohut miss kiya Huda. Koi tang karne wala nahi tha mujhe"
Everyone laughs at that. Friends are life and for Naina, they are not just her friends, they are her family. None of them were in any type of contact with each other as they were all busy with their missions.
They chit chat for few moments and remembers their beautiful journey that they went through together in KMA.
Something strikes Naina's mind.
"Waise tum sab ko pata hai ke iss mission ka supervisor kaun hai jo hunein supervise karega?"
"Humein bhi nahi pata Naina ke wo kaun hain lekin 15 minute tak wo yahan aa rahe hain humse milne."
Informs Ali with a smile
Taking a sip of his drink, Alekh speaks,
"Apun ko toh koi locha lagta hai. Kya pata inh shainoo ne apun sab ko time paas karne ke mafik bhejha ho yahan"
They all stare at Alekh and give him an unbelievable look.
"Tum nahi sudhroge chief"
says Yudi and they all burst into fits of laughter.
Pooja's gaze falls on Naina's ring. This isn't a shock for her. So what that they weren't in any type of contact with each other? They all knew about Naina's engagement. Not just about her engagement but also the person whom she got engaged too. They all know that Naina still loves Rajveer, but her fiancé was the one who took care of her after Rajveer left them. So, they were quite happy with her decision to get engaged to him. She needs to move on.
"Naina, kaise hain wo?"
questions Pooja.
Before Naina could answer, her phone rings and his name flashes on the screen.
"Leh aa gayya tere unh ka phone jis se tune life time ka connection jora hai"
Teases Pooja with a wink.
Naina smiles at Pooja. Picking up her phone, she goes on the side and answers and says,
"Hello?"
"Tumne call ki thi Naina?"
Her fiancé speaks softly
Naina smiles at his question. Maybe she doesn't love him but she does care for him a lot. She does have a soft corner for him in her heart.
"Aise hi...aap theek hain?"
asks Naina
"Haan mein theek hoon. Tum pohunch gayi Ladakh?"
he asks
"Ji bus abhi...."
She isn't able to complete her words because of the view that's in front of her. Her phone slips from her hand and falls on the ground. As her eyes gets locked to the person who just entered the room, her heart skips a beat and a sudden shock hits her. She feels as if someone has splashed cold water on her face.
How can this be possible? Is she dreaming? As she sees him smirking at her, she gets a reality check.
Staring her throughout, lovingly, with a gorgeous smile, he makes his way towards Naina. Reaching her, staring her throughout, he forwards his right hand in front of Naina and says,
"Hi Captain Naina AH Singh"
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