PART 4
When we need clock to tick fast, it never happens. It felt as if the hands of the clock were taking its own sweet time to move from one hour to the other. My impatience was clearly visible on my face to such an extent that my Dad and grandfather decided , that I should take at least few days leave for marriage. I didn't argue , as I felt its best that way. I wasn't able to focus on anything. I quickly took the bike and went to NGO. It was only 3:00 pm. My mom said , I could take her and go out. Naina didn't object , probably she also wanted to be with me.
I thanked my mom and got out with her. I took Naina's bag and put it in the side box of the bike, so that she could sit properly. She was about to place her hand on my shoulders when I said "Naina , you are not sitting with your Arjun Bhaiya. You are sitting with your husband !!
"TO BE husband she corrected.
She knew how to put a person in place. Had to admit she was my mother's mirror image .
"I have accepted you as my wife, the day I agreed for marriage. Do you still think that I might change my mind? Or is it that you feel , I am yet to come out of my previous relationship??
"No No..I never thought that way. I trust you !!
With that she sat on the bike . This time her hand was around my waist and held me tight as if her life was in my hands. My whole body stiffened with her touch, my heart skipped a beat and I was breathing faster. Even when she held my shoulders in the morning , I hadn't felt this way. Probably am used to ma holding the same way or because I was expecting it ...whatever the reason may be ...her hands on my tummy was tantalizing. I held the handle of my bike tightly as if I was trying to draw strength from it.
"So where are we going ? Her sudden question helped me to divert my thoughts.
"A bike ride , sit in the park and talk for sometime.. then will have Kulfi and back home...ok??
"Yes
I could sense her happiness and I was glad to see I could get her to feel excited about something. The best part of Naina was , such small things brought in so much of happiness for her.
We went around on the bike for nearly 20 30 mins in silence . Though, this time silence was peaceful. Both of us were savoring the moment. There was a sense of happiness and a feeling of new found friendship in the air. Through the mirror , I could see she was a lot more at ease and happier .There was a glow on her face which was very captivating. I wanted to go for a long drive but I also wanted to hear her talk. I wanted to hear her voice , I wanted to know everything about her and on the bike it was not possible. I felt it was best ,to go to some place away from our families , somewhere quiet ...a nice cozy corner in the park , was what I was aiming at.
Naina wanted to walk a lil before we sat down on one of the benches. I agreed to this. As we were nearing the end , I suggested we need to sit , as I was tired after a days work at the factory. It was a lie, I hadn't moved an inch today . But I wanted to sit holding her hand or keep my hand on her shoulder. I knew, that was a very bold move but I was willing to take the risk. With a very determined mind , I found a bench, which was placed slightly on an elevated ground, under the wide canopy of a Gulmohar Tree. The best part , three sides of bench had hibiscus plant. No one could see who was sitting there. I loved that place.
"Come , we will sit there .
"Sameer , you want to sit in that corner
"Yep, why what's wrong? From there we can see the entire park but no one can see us.
"OK. She didn't say anything further. She walked ahead of me with a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. She sat there with folded arms. From her body language I knew, any idea of touching would back fire. So, I sat next to her making sure there was enough space between us. The blush on her face was very evident, and I felt her lips were curving into a smile remembering some incident from the past. The first thing that came into my mind was, did she have a boyfriend in the past? Did she come here with him? Was that the reason for the blush?? I realized, I didn't know anything about her ...at least I need to know the reason behind the blush...I NEED to KNOW.
"Naina , did you ever have someone close in your life other than ur family
"You mean ..a boyfriend??
I had to admit, when she spoke, she spoke to the point. No beating around the bush.
"Yeah...someone special
"No boyfriends...why ?? did you think, I had some relationship in the past?
I thought I needed to be honest with her , when she could speak so openly. "Nah ...not till this moment. Its that blush on your face when I suggested we sit here..made me think on those lines.
"Ah ok...that's because Preethi and I , come here every Saturday evening for our weekly walk. That's when we discuss our one week details with each other ..mostly those girly gossips. We have been doing this for a long time...probably from... when we were in 9th grade.
"Wow!! From then on...but why the blush
"Sameer , allow me to speak..., you interrupted me ...patience !!
"OK ..sorry baba...continue
"Hmm...so..on one such walks , an old lady told us that young girls shouldn't come to this part of the park as its not safe for us. We believed and from then on, our walks were only till that path near to the Mahagony tree.
Some months back ,Shefali accompanied us and when we told her about this. She started laughing at us and said that old lady had fooled us, there is nothing unsafe about this place. She wanted to prove us wrong. Though it was getting dark, all three decided to venture into this so called "Forbidden area and then we understood what that lady's intention was..to an extant she was right
"What happen?? Guys partying..commenting on girls??..
"Nope ...there were couples on most of the benches in this area...and this bench if you notice is very secluded.. couple sitting on this bench were ...mmm..what do I say..getting..intimate
"Really ?? holding hands ?? hands on the shoulder??
"Nooo...we saw them..ki...kissing and ...
"On the cheek??...and what??
"And NOTHING!! Shameless!!... now you need details of it !!
"Common Naina!! This is not fair. You left the story in the midway..whats this secrecy between us??
"I told you the reason for my blush..thats all is needed..and what they were doing doesn't concern us.
"So you wont tell me where the boy kissed or ...what the boy did...
"No!!
"Did you think , I brought you here with that intention?? She laughed loudly at that question shaking her head.
"Nah...You are Vishaka aunty's son and you have been brought up well. I know you wouldn't do anything to make me uncomfortable. I trust you Sameer...its just that I never thought I would be sitting on the same bench..thats all
"Trust me ??!! Then why don't you tell me where he kissed her..??
She was blushing , by now her cheeks were reddish pink like beetroot.
"No Sameer
"So you watched and enjoyed but you cant tell me.
"When we saw what they were doing , we turned back...we didn't stand there watching...
"Are you sure you wont tell me
By now she had turned red completely. And I was enjoying this to the core. My girl blushing and this "intimate talk was helping us to break the ice. She was opening up a lot more than I had thought she would.
"Its so embarrassing. I am not going to tell you.
"Fine, then let me tell you something. You will tell me...and soon... ...you will have to my dear girl !!
"You are enjoying me blush ...am I right Samee??
I said "Yep with a wink.
Blind trust is what she had in me and I loved it. I promised myself that I wouldnt break this trust . Will share all details of my life even if it consists of topics that could make her angry because now I was confident she wouldn't disown me mid-way. I found this trust of her's helping me to move on.
"So , Naina ...do you have any friends other than Preethi and Swathi??
"Preethi is everything for me. They say , when lord closes the door , he opens a window . She is that window for me Sameer. Swathi is Preethi's best friend. I got to know her thru Preethi. But she is not as close as Preethi.
"Not anyone else from our school?
Suddenly her expression changed. The faade was back. She took some time to answer that question. I knew she was framing it in her mind, wondering how it has to be put across. Again that pangs of jealousy hit me , wondering if she liked any of our class boys or any of them had a crush on her ...perhaps a silent admirer!!
"People talked to me only when they needed notes or help in studies. Else I was never invited to any of their discussion or wanted me around.
Hmm...so to answer your question I spoke to all ...but no one special that I can recall ...except for one mmm... occasion ...when Sanjay , gave me a love letter ... we were in 10th
"What ??!! I couldn't believe it because that fellow always used to call her Behanji and teachers chamchi. In fact he and Kamya were the ones who would start the topic more than anyone else. Hearing this, I felt I was an absolute fool who fell for their tricks. Now, my blood was boiling listening to this.
She laughed and said "No one thought he could, but that's the truth. You didn't know this??
I was irritated "NO!! how would I know , I joined the school in 11th
"Ah yes!!
"Then what happened? You replied ?? Or you complained??
"None of this happened. He had taken my Maths note book for copying some notes. He kept the letter inside and gave it to me. That's when our Maths teacher asked us to submit books for correction. I don't think I need to tell the rest!!
Dad was furious. End result, he had a Rakhi on his wrist. Even today I keep wondering what he would have written ..at least I should have got the opportunity to read it once...no one bothered to tell me what was in it...don't you think I should have read it ...after all it was meant for me...rt ??
"NO!! I am glad you didn't!! and why would you want to read when you were not in love with him?? That's when I realized what my reaction looked like...a jealous lover to begin with !!??
For a min or two we were silent then both of us laughed. We couldn't stop laughing for some time.
"Don't worry , I sent him Rakhi every year...
"Really??
"Yes ...and I think we should leave Sameer..its getting late.
We reached the Kulfi stall and I noticed Karan was standing at one corner and watching us. Seeing him , Naina panicked and she looked at me. But the very moment he realized I had seen him , he took his bike and left.
"You know , the day we went to pick my bridal dress, after you dropped me home , I had gone out to buy vegetables . He was there . He said he wants to get married to me and that he will stop all his bad habits if I said yes. Thankfully even before I could answer something Arjun bhiaya and Shefali came there. Arjun Bhaiya shouted at him and then I came home with Shefali. Now I don't go out alone. I think he is following me.
There is another thing which no one knows...the day they came to meet me. He tried to misbehave with me . He said he wanted to talk to me and chacha ji didn't think there was anything wrong but when we were in the room...he tried hold me. Preethi came to my rescue, as she was standing in the balcony. We didn't tell anyone because we felt no one would believe us . To top it all, Tayiji will blame me and point fingers on me and question my character.
"Does your family know about it? I mean the incident at the vegetable shop.
"Arjun Bhaiya told my dad. He told us not to tell anyone about it.
Tears were brimming from her eyes and I knew I had to take her away from here. The place was getting crowded as the sun was setting and people were flocking near the Kulfi joint.
" Lets go from here, we can have kulfi later
She quickly agreed and sat with me on the bike. Thru the rear view mirror I noticed her crying . I wanted to console her. But I believed in action than words. So , I decided to keep quiet for the moment. We reached her house with in 5 mins. After what had happened, I decided to accompany her till the door.
"No one is there at home?
"No, They all have gone for Tayiji's relative's wedding reception . Since I was coming with you ,I said I had work at office.
"When will they be back??
"Around 8:30 PM
I got in and sat down. I wasn't planning to leave her alone . The look on Karan's face wasn't something that could be called acceptable. I knew I had to discuss this with the elders of both family as it affected her safety and wellbeing.
But at the same time , I didn't want to scare her.
"I will wait till your family is back.
I could sense her relief when I said that. Poor thing!! How much this girl would have adjusted to survive in this family just to be a part of it. I couldn't understand how her own father and brother would leave her alone like this when they knew what happened.
I felt her dad still hoped the marriage with Karan could happen if I break the marriage with her . I knew Rakesh sir had never liked me especially when I tried to talk to his daughter. And now I was going to marry her. I was sure he would do anything to stop it. The difference is now he is not dealing with a teenager ..he is dealing with Sameer Jayprakash Maheshwari the Business Man.
"Naina, from here on you are not alone. Your problem is mine too!! So don't worry , will solve this.
"Sameer , don't go and fight with him. He has so many friends. They could do anything to you...
"I am not the old Sameer, so don't worry . We will solve this without a fight.
I saw she was relief on her face , " ok...I will get tea for you.
"Great!! In the meanwhile, I will call up home and inform that I will be late. "
As she went inside , I called up my dad and gave all the details about Karan. I wanted Karan to be kept away from her. My dad and Nanu told me not to worry , they will talk to Naina's Tauji and handle it. They made in very clear that Rohan or I shouldn't take this matter into our hands.
I knew Nanu and dad would handle in the most appropriate and matured way. So , I promised my dad and left it at that.
To be continued...
PS : Hope you all will like it...do let me know your thoughts...love to read your comments ❤️
NOTE : I don't know why but when I copy paste from word to web link, inverted commas don't appear..sorry abt that ...don't have the patience to close all the inverted commas. 😃 😳
Edited by WeRockTheWorld - 7 years ago
Shiv Shakti
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
