Sach hote Khwaab

Work

The road adjacent to the St. Stephen's encircled the entire campus.
As we reached the Gates of St. Stephen's from the other side, we saw Vashma conversing with Darbanji at the gate, with a steel tiffin in her hand.
As she saw us, she walked down to us.
'Amrit! Hadd ho gayi aaj toh. College nahi aake to yahan ghoom rahi hai?!'
'Main aa rahi thi sacchi! Par hum jab tak pohonche tab tak Gate band ho chuka tha!', I tried to clarify.
'Aur aap dono ne raaste mein ghadi nahi dekhi? Pata nahi tha ki Gate kitne baje baje band hota hai ?!', she asked crossly.
I and Randheer looked at each other guiltily.
That's when Randheer spoke up politely, 'Isme inki koi galti nahi hai! Maine hi dhyaan nahi diya ghadi par.'
'Nai nai.', I chimed in. 'Mujhe hi dhyaan rakhna chaiye tha. Meri galti hai!'
'Galti aap dono ki hai! Ek toh Amrit ne khaaya bhi nahi hai kuch subah se. Aur kyunki aap bhi subah subah iske peeche aa gaye the, mujhe to lagta hai aapne bhi kuch nahi khaaya hoga Randheer.'
He nodded with with a sheepish smile.
'Ab aap dono suniye meri baat. Is dibbe mein paraathe hai dono ke liye. Dono andar chalo aur jaldi se khaalo. Bas 10 minute hai agla lecture shuru hone mein. Main nikal paayi class se kyunki Professor Malik aaj aaye nahi hai . Do lecture bache hue hai abhi. Amrit tu mere saath andar chal rahi hai. Thik hai ?!'
She was asking as if I had an option to say no! I nodded a yes obviously.

Going inside, we sat down on a bench and finished off the parathas quickly. I and Randheer bid each other goodbye. Just then I recalled something.
'Randheer!', I said as he was about to turn.
'Ji ?', he replied, all ears.
'Voh... mera guldasta ?' I asked softly.
'Aapke cabin tak pohonch jayega!', he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

I nodded with a bright smile and went towards the college building with Vashma.

***

I was in office for three hours now. I had already sent the story for tomorrow's edition and had begun with an article too. Neither did he come up nor the flowers, nor did any note. Ordinarily he would have arrived about half-an-hour ago. What was happening? I decided to go downstairs to know what the matter was.
He was not in his cabin either. That is odd!
'Manoj ji.' I stopped Manoj ji who was just passing by. 'Randheer aaj daftar nahi aaye hai?'

'Tumhe nahi pata?', he asked with a confused look.
I shook my head uncertainly.
'Randheer to Chaudhary Sahab ke saath Ambala ke liye rawana ho gaye kuch der pehle!'
Taken aback, I asked, 'Ji?! Ambala ?! Par yoon achanak?'
'Haan voh pehle Ravi Sahab jaane waale the Chaudhary Sahab ke saath par unhe kuch kaam aan paada isiliye vo nahi jaa paaye. Kisiko to jaana tha Chaudhary Sahab ke saath. Aur Chaudhary Sahab ko Randheer ke pesh aane ka tareeka, unka kaam, unke khayaal- sab bohot pasand aaye the to unhone Randheer ko hi apne saath le jaane ka tay kiya. Randheer ke ghar hi telephone karwa diya tha. Do-teen din mein laut aayenge vo dono!'

I stood stunned for a few moments. An old fear clasped my heart yet again. I feared someone would just come to me now and say that last week was all a dream. Randheer had never returned and I had imagined it all.
First I felt for the crescent moon pendant. It was there around my neck. Thank Goodness! I closed my eyes and with a sigh of relief, I thanked God a million times.
Giving Manoj ji a weak smile, I went back to my cabin upstairs.

Ravi Sahab nu vi aaj hi dikkat aani thi!

I crossed my arms on the table and set my head down.
Do-teen din! Uddon tak main ki karaangi!

That's when he appeared and sat on the chair opposite to mine. Setting his head down across mine, he took my hand gently and kissed my knuckles. Softly pulling his hand across the table towards myself, I kissed his knuckles. With a smile, he vanished into thin air and I sighed.
Can he come back already?

***

I walked into Prem Niwaas, absorbed in thoughts. Mainu kisi ne bataya bhi nai unhaanu jaana hai! Suvere to milya vi nai. Phone te vi gal nai hoyi. Distractedly, I sat down on the takht and slid the bag down my shoulder. Vashma and Radha Chachi came to me and stood there. I looked up at them and gave them weak smiles.
'Aap kab aayi ?', I asked Radha Chachi.
'Dopahar ko!', she replied happily.
'Acha!', I said indistinctly.
'Amrit!'
'Ji ?'
'Mainu mera kamre mein rehne ka mann nahi hai is vaari. Main tuhaada kamra le lu ?', she asked mischievously.
I nodded unmindfully.