He straightened his collar and was about to go when he had an epiphany.
"Deewaar ???... "
"Really ???... "
"Main kis angle se deewaar lagta hu... ", thinking so, he left.
The whole day passed as usual.
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In the middle of the night, Aastha was preparing her bed for sleeping. She was busy in work related to her institute and got late in completing it.
She had just finished putting on her nightgown and was on her way to bed when her phone rang.
"Itni raat ko kiska phone hai..."
She held the phone in her hand.
"Unknown number hai ye to..."
She picked up the call and said, "Hello..."
There was no response from the other side.
"Hello ?..."
"Hello kaun ???...", she asked again but in vain.
She brought the phone in front of her eyes and observed the number, checked it if she had seen it before, but no.
She tried once again, "Hello... Kya aap sun sakte hain ?..."
She received no response, instead silence dominated.
She could hear the person breathing and for some reason, she became restless. She felt as if she knew the caller, as if she had a deep connection with the person. As a result, her breathing became uneven.
For one last time, she tried.
"H... h... hello... k... kaun... hai ?..."
Her heart skipped a beat when the caller ultimately responded.
"NOOR..."
Phone slipped from her grasp as the word entered her ear.
It took her a few moments to realize what she had just heard. She couldn't believe it.
Quickly wiping her tears, she picked up the phone. The phone call was still active. She pressed her phone to her ear.
No one spoke anything. In the silence, they could both feel each other. Innumerable emotions were raging inside them.
"Mujhe... mujhe pehchaana nhi Noor ?...", the caller asked, breaking the pregnant silence.
Tears trailed down her cheeks and only a gasp escaped her lips.
"SH...SHAAN..."
Shaan closed his eyes and let the tears flow. His heart felt content as she still remembers him. Her trembling voice conveyed that she, too, yearned for him as much as he did.
Here Aastha didn't know what to do. Even if they were both silent, her heart wanted to keep the call on because she was satisfied just to listen him respire. Her rational mind, on the other hand wanted to end the call because she knew that the longer she remained on the line, the weaker she would become and the more difficult things would become for both of them.
She hung up the phone right away so she wouldn't be ruled by her emotions.
But she felt miserable. She felt so terrible that she hurt him by hanging up the call when he called her after so many years. She felt guilty thinking Shaan's state. But she didn't have a choice. It was good for both of them.
She went to bed and dimmed the light.
Laying down herself, she closed the eyes. Tears squeezed out of her eyelids.
AFTER A LONG TIME, she heard "NOOR", she heard HIS voice after so many years. It was overwhelming for her.
She felt defeated in life because she was locked in a position from where, neither she can distance herself from THEM nor go close to THEM. It hurt her badly.
THEIR happy moments were ephemeral... short-lived... but still they are the strength for her.
She wishes to see THEM, she wishes to see her grown up LADDOO... but CAN'T and it hurts... it really hurts.
Memories began to play like a slideshow beneath her closed eyelids, and she had no idea when she dozed off...
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Shaan was simply staring at the mobile with a faint smile on his lips.
Just hearing one word from his NOOR's voice made him feel so relieved.
Shaan was not disappointed when she hung up the phone. He knew something like that would happen for sure. He very well knew what type of woman Aastha was. He knew she will never let her emotions overpower her which was why she hung up the call. And hence, he didn't call back her. This showed that she still loved him, she still cared for him, she still craved for him which was the case with him too.
He, like Aastha, was satisfied just hearing his name in her voice.
Both longed for each other and wanted to say so many things during the call, but no words came out of their mouths. They were content with the silence created by their breathing. Even in the silence, they could sense each other. That was more than enough for both of them.
He didn't get a chance to talk to her today, but he will try again. He will call her again... however, not today.
He walked over to the jug on the bedside table to quench his thirst, but it was empty, so he went downstairs to the kitchen to fill it.
Meanwhile, someone broke into his room and sneak peeked into his mobile. But to his dismay, the phone was password protected, so he couldn't complete his task. He had to leave with a heavy heart.
Shaan returned, and after having a glass of water, he too fell asleep, but this time with a contented heart, unlike every other day...
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