Reborn to love

Fishing the Past

Part 22

He was sure he had never mentioned it to her and also that he hadn't ever projected it. They both could successfully block what they didn't want the other to see or feel.

His question caught Naina off guard too. She didn't realize what she had uttered while being casual. She backtracked and replied, "hmmmm...mujhe nahi pataa tumhara naam!"

"Abhi toh mera naam liya tumne...Sameer!" He was sure he caught it right.

She thought for another moment, "haan...maine Sameer toh kaha..." she hesitated with her words but then supported with confusion, "par mujhe sach mein mahi pataa ki kaha se aaya".

She seemed to start feeling upset that he might think that she had inadvertently picked up a snippet from his brain that he might not be willing to share yet and she had overstepped a boundary as her psychic power must have gone overboard like the flashes she had earlier of Sunaina which at that time she hadn't realized what it was but his detailed ministrations had confirmed for her that her psyche was stronger than she knew or was simply growing with age. Little did she know that it was developing everyday with her age but she had automatically without discerning had learnt to control and now that she was 21, it was at its peak. She just had to reach put and soak it.

But so, presuming she had follied, she started to apologize, "Sorry, main sach mein nahi jaanti ki mujhe kaise pataa chala ya mere dimaag mein kaha se aaya. Please gussa mat karna". She started to make a plausible but haphazard explanation. "Woh main jab bhi tumse baat karti hoon, hawaein usual se tez chalti hai, kabhi kabhi halki baarish bhi hoti hai. Shayad issliye Sameer nikal gaya hoga".

Sensing her getting uncomfortable that she might have upset him, and hence, was blabbering to convince or distract him, he remedied it immediately. "Arre nahi nahi...main gussa nahi hoon. Buss surprising tha kyonki mujhe yakeen tha ki humne ab tak apne asli naam ek dusre ke saath share nahi kiye the". He stated to actually comfort her when he realized that she felt pressurised and obliged to share hers since now she knew his, but he eased her dilemma again.

"Anamika...plz tum itna tension mat lo! Tum apna naam mujhe tab batana jab tumhara mann kare. Jab tum ready ho. Tab tak Anamika achcha hai. Aur kya pataa shayad mujhe bhi tumhara naam ek din aise hi pataa chal jaaye".

She smiled, "thank you Anajaana. Tum sach mein achche ho. Par tumhe aise anayas pataa chalna mushkil hai. Yaad hai na...main logon ka past present future padh sakti hoon...tum nahi". Something struck her and she continued, "waise iss gift ka istemaal karke main jaanne ki koshish kar sakti hoon ki mujhe tumhara naam kaise pataa chala. Par uske liye tumhe apna dimaag mere liye kholna padega".

Sameer thought for a long moment. There were stilll plenty of things that he hadn't shared with her and was not yet ready fearing her reaction. "Actually Anamika...woh...hmmm", sensing his hesitation, she soothed him, "its ok...tumse baat karne ke liye jitna zaroori hai utna kaafi hai. Agar tum chaho toh main koshish kar sakti hoon". She gave him an option and he willingly took it and affirmed.

She closed her eyes and focused on him. Slowly and steadily she started making her way into his brain through the path they always connected. She felt welcomed their like usual, which encouraged her further. Slowly and carefully, she started inching her way forward but experienced the certain resistance from the same blocks and barriers that both had even around each other. She stopped a second but wasn't deterred. He felt her detouring and trying to find something that was already open and he didn't try to hide. After fishing around, she found a sliver of entry in the deep temporal region. Hippocampus is mainly known to store the long term memories but the deep median temperal region harbors a small area known as the limbic region that is usually undisturbed and might store long forgotten memories.

She experienced some resistance again but this time, she didn't deter and kept pushing. Though her psychic was strong, she had never tried something like this before. It was already taking a toll but she was getting deeper and was catching on some visions. She clenched her eyes and focussed with full vigor not caring about the ache in her temples. She started catching the periphery of a plethora of scenarios. A man embracing a woman, darkness enveloping them, discordant noises of people in pain. Finally, the couple was pulled away and before she could focus on faces, the man was burnt away engulfed in darkness leaving nothing but wind behind him while the woman screamed loudly, "Sameer...."

Her head was on fire as if someone was hammering inside with 20 ton hammers. Her headache was full blown and a drop of blood had trickled down her nose. That's when he had noticed that she was in jeopardy and had started yelling in her head to give up and open her eyes. He was pacing around trying to shut down so that the connection would be severed as she wasn't giving up and grasping on his brain tightly like a octopus would grab with its tentacles, only that she had no vile intentions. Because she had gone too deep for either of their comfort, he was worried about her to the hilt as she couldn't give up and was getting pulled in herself.

"Finally, she let it go and opened her eyes, few more moments and she would have been in trouble. "Tum theek ho? Tum bahut takleef mein lag rahi thi. Main kabse tumhe aawaz de raha tha par tum bahut deep chali gayi, mujhe fikr hone lag gayi". His thoughts were still full of concern but more worried.

She took a moment to calm down her erratic heartbeats and breathed in deeply. "Main theek hoon", she stated to assure him while wiping off the drop of blood that had almost reached her mouth.

"Kuch dikhayi diya tumhe?" He asked cautiously not sure if he should delve into it right now given her fragile condition.

"Haan...kuch bahut ajeeb sa". She tried to remember every detail without touching his brain except their usual connect and described whatever she remembered or was able to envision.

"He listened patiently trying to place the events in his life but none such came up. He had had a very happy and protected life under his dear Nanu's wing that he had never had to worry about the source or origin of the tiniest morsel. Their family had always had more than sufficient that Nanu occasionally made charitable donations towards food and education for the underprivileged.

"Anamika, yeh saari baatein bahut ajeeb hai, meri life mein kabhi aisa kuch nahi hua hai...aur main kisi ladki ke itne kareeb nahi hoon".

She pondered over a minute and suggested, "Anjaana, main unmein se kisika chehra nahi dekh paayi, shayad ek baar aur koshish karoon toh dekh paun".

"Nahi..." he refused instantly and vey strongly that she was taken aback that she might have pried in too much uninvited. So, he calmed down, "matlab ...mujhe koi problem nahi hai, par tum abhi jaise takleef mein thi, main nahi chahta ki dobara waisa kuch ho".

"Main theek hoon Anjaana...agar ek baar uss ladki ka chehra dikh jaaye, toh shayad kuch dabi yaadein taaza jo jayengi". Shayad tumhare bachpan mein ya aas paas kuch aisa hua jo tum yaad na rakhna chaho".

Sensing that she was getting impatient to know who that girl was who was so deeply embedded in his brain that even though he didn't clearly remember her, she had taken permanent residence. And while doing so, she wasn't least bit worried about jeopardising her own condition.

He decided to tackle the true matter upfront, "maine kaha na, main aisi kisi ladki ko nahi jaanta jo mere itne kareeb ho. In fact, tumhare alawa aaj tak kisi ladki se itni baatein bhi nahi ki hai".

She smiled shyly but then tried to divert, "par Anjaana... ho sakta hai tumhare ateet ke kuch dabe raaz samne aa jaye, kya tum nahi jaanna chahoge?"

"Tumhari sehat ki keemat par nahi". She rolled her eyes at his over concern, which she didn't yet recognise as his protectiveness towards ber. She was really slow in taking hints and though he hadn't yet named or truly realized his feelings, he totally knew how important she had become to him in a matter of days. He simply wanted her to know that she was important to him. "Aur haan...ab tum mera naam jaanti ho. Mujhe tumse Sameer sunna achcha lagega..." she blushed and as an afterthought he added, aur shayad ek din amne samne tumhare muh se apna naam sununga...Sameer!"

He sighed almost romantically with the zing he experienced imagining the scenario while she blushed to the tips of her roots about what he was already dreaming about and anticipating. She didn't know it either that he now meant a lot more to her than just an Anjaana. He was Sameer!

She didn't project it but she liked it together "Naina Sameer".