The road back home was empty save for a few hawkers. The sun had set already, and the two walked side by side. While Anupama folded her hands to shield her arms against the evening breeze, Anuj played with his fingers, his lips puckering out every now and then as he looked at her, tried to speak something but then decided against it.
She may have been looking at the other side, but she could sense his dilemma, and coupled with her bubbling discomfort, Anu decided to break the silence.
"You should not have gone to Shah house", She remarked, her features schooled and her tone masked.
Had he crossed a line? He pondered then, but shook his head in the next moment. He was impulsive when it came to her. No two ways about it.
Looking straight ahead, he replied."I cannot stand your character being questioned every time, Anu. I want to give you happiness, and for that, if warranted I will do this over and over".
When no response came, Anuj turned to his side to find her missing and looked back to see Anu rooted to her spot, her head bent down.
"Anu?" He called out to her but to no avail. Turning around,as he walked back to her, he bent slightly, craned his neck and tilted his head,to get a look at her face."Anu?"
She acknowledged his voice then and raised her eyes to meet his gaze, her eyes wet.
Anuj leaned back in shock, his brows furrowing. "Anu..you are crying? Why?! Agar tumhe acha nahi laga toh I swear I will never—
"Nahi laga mujhe acha jab baa ne aapko wo sab kaha!" Her proclamation stunned him as she furiously wiped the corner of her eyes and stepped forward,forcing him to back a step.
"Mujhe bilkul acha nahi lagta jab koi aap se aise baat karta hai! Mera kya hai, mujhe unn sab cheezon se farq nahi padta. Par aap kyu sunenge ye saari cheezein!"
"Mujhe bahot farq padta hai, Anu. Every time your face falls and you despair, I feel like punching someone. I feel like, I should just destroy whoever is bringing you pain.
"Then you should just do it, rather than taking all those insults!"She burst out, surprising him.
"How could I? Tum unse pyaar karti ho", Anuj replied, deeply worried by her suggestion. It was his first- seeing her lose control like that.
"Pyaar toh main aaps— Anupama clamped her lips instantly then, as she watched the man's eyes go wide as saucers.
"Pyaar toh main aaps....kya Anu?" He repeated, staring into her widened eyes.
"Anu?" He watched focused, as her eyes closed briefly before she rewarded him with a glare, muttering something under her breath and stepped past him.
Bewildered, he cleared his ears to reconsider her words and jogged after her. "What did you say, Anu?!"
"You Are Exasperating!" She repeated on his insistence and proceeded to walk forward.
He followed after her, deeply curious. "What did I do?" He asked innocently and earned another stink eye from her as she muttered few colorful words in Gujarati.
"Anu!"
"Anu!!"
While Anuj pestered her incessantly, she shut her ears,trying to sort her thoughts.
It was valentine's eve, for god's sake! She was planning to confess today but he had to walk into a war zone and worry her too. Had he not walked off like that, she would have made some preparations for the occasion.And now, there was no time!
Anupama stomped her feet in irritation at that, bringing Anuj to a scared halt.
She frowned at him yet again, "Pagal chhokro!" In response,the best Anuj could manage was a puppy eyed expression.
She checked her watch then. It was 7 already. If she was to start at 7.30, making food, decorations and dressing herself would at least take her 2 hours. Anupama groaned. She was mentally drained. Well, she could confess tomorrow too, but this was a significant occasion and who knew, what new trouble, a new day was going to bring them.
Folding her hands then, Anu prayed, "Please help, kanhaji".
As if on a cue, a drop fell on her face, then another and then another. Eyes fluttering open to the sound of pitter patter of rain, Anu smiled while his voice echoed in the background.
Anuj expected her to follow suit but as he took shelter under the nearby canopy, he turned around to find her standing still in the rain, arms widespread and face turned upward towards the sky.
He wanted to admire her as she enjoyed herself, but he knew that getting wet in bin mausam ki barsaat was a bad idea.
He rushed out quickly, took her hand and decided to drag her under the canopy, "Anu, chalo. You will fall sick".
She refused to budge still, held her ground and clasped his hand too. Forced to a halt, Anuj turned on his heels and as he faced her, she smiled at him and then went down on her knees, holding both his hands in hers.
Lub dub. Lub Dub. Lub Dub.
If the soft smile on her face was a clue enough, he was going to have cardiac arrest right now.
"This wasn't how I planned on saying it", Anupama started off, chuckling as she wiped her eyes against the pouring rain.
"I was going to decorate the terrace nicely, make your favourite dishes, write a shayari and get my thoughts in order. Aap samajh rahe hain na?"
He shook his head in negative, his brain stuck on the scene of Anu going on her knees in front of him, and his ears pounding with his heartbeats.
Lub Dub. Lub Dub. Lub Dub.
Anu laughed then, "Mujhe bhi vishwas nahi ho raha hai, ki main aise— she looked around the empty road,"—sadak ke beechon beech, aapse apne dil ki baat kahungi. Par agar aaj nahi kaha na toh shayad...wapas himmat jutaane main...pata nahi kitna aur waqt lag jaae".
Clearing her throat,she started speaking.
"Tum aaye meri zindagi main, Iss bin mausam barsaat jaise
Bas reh jaana iss dil main, Vrindavan main kanha jaise"
Anupama laughed yet again, amused at her horrible impromptu shayari.Her smile disappeared soon however, as she clutched his hand even tightly and took in a deep breath. Her mind had blanked out. She had so much she wanted to say, but in this instant, looking into his eyes, she felt privileged to have even remembered her own name. She could tell her pulse was racing and her entire body was vibrating from some kind of adrenaline rush. This exhilaration was a first and so was the case of something ticklish unraveling in her stomach.
'Bas reh jana iss dil main', He could see it coming. He could see his wait coming to an end. His most beautiful dream was about to materialize and he was starting to feel boneless. Any minute now, his legs were going to give away.
"Anuj!" She called out to him and as he graced her with his attention, she closed her eyes once before opening them determined and her lips moved. He focused so intently on their movement that it took a few extra seconds for his brains to decipher them.
"I...Love...You", she spoke slowly, punctuated with pauses, and felt her ears go warm from the blood rush, despite the rain.
"Will-you-be-mine-forev—
She shook her head then recalling the zillions of times,this man had confessed the same. Jaisa bhi hu tumhara hi hu.
"Kya...aap..mujhe...apna...banaenge, Anuj? Main...jesi bhi hoon...sirf aapki banna chahti hu...sirf aapki..."
And his legs gave away as he literally dropped on his knees,starting Anu. "Aap theek hain, Anuj? Lagi kya?" She asked worried in case he scraped his knees.
Head bent down, shoulders shaking with his hands firmly clasped in hers, Anuj could have never asked for something more perfect.
"Anuj?" Her grip on his hands had about loosened, when he gripped hers tightly, looked up and shook his head.
"Mera haath kabhi nahi chodogi na?"
She shook her head in response.
"Vaada?" His voice cracked, and she hooked her pinky with his, nodding suit. "Vaada".
Her hand reached out towards his face, and she wiped his eyes.
"I am not crying. You are!" He sniffled leaning into her touch. She agreed indulging him, "Bilkul! Ye toh baarish hai".
Laughing through blurry vision, he fixed his gaze on her,"Anu?"
"Haan?" She waited for him to speak.
"Meri Anu?" He asked, his brows furrowing cutely and she nodded, "Aapki Anu".
"Aur main tumhara Anuj?" He asked yet again, a sheepish smile coming onto his lips and she agreed yet again, "Sirf aur sirf mere".
"I love you, Anu. And I always will". And he sneezed.
"Main bhi..." She replied and getting up, forwarded her hand toward him. "Ghar chalein, najuk kapadia ji? Aapko kaadha pilana padega".
Taking her hand, as he stood up, he wrinkled his nose at the mention of kaadha. "Valentines par kaadha?"
"Chocolate daalkar bana dungi?"
"Really?!" He asked with a childlike glee and she deadpanned, "Nahi!"
The rain had stopped already, and as Anuj tried to intermingle their fingers, she pulled her hand away. One brow raised in query,he watched as she gave him a sly smile, stepped into his space and looping her arm with his, threaded their fingers together.
"Perfect", Anuj mouthed, beaming as she leaned her head against his arm and the two walked off.
~*~*~*~
As Anupama appeared from her room, having changed and dried her hair, she found the drawing room shrouded in darkness, save for the center table where burning diyas were arranged into a heart shaped pattern. Smiling,she called out for her man and watched enraptured as he stepped out of the kitchen with a tray in his hands, where the lone candle was casting a mesmerizing glow on his features.
Setting the tray on the table, Anuj waited while she rounded the sofa and both settled down. The heavenly smell from the bowl on the tray,teased her nose and her stomach grumbled as Anuj grinned and lifted the lid to reveal maggi.
"Let's cut the cake first!" He exclaimed as he positioned the candle adorned cupcake between them and picked a fork to cut it. Wrapping her hands around his, both leaned forward and blew the candle, wishing for an ever after.
Sitting cross legged across each other, with the bowl of maggi in middle, they fed each other the first bite and smiling, joined their foreheads, eyes closing to savor the moment and lips parting in sync to the same words.
"To a beautiful start".