Naina was counting days on calendar, with a black marker... Cross shading a date, her first day in cooking when she burnt all veggies in a terrible way...
Then shading in light the date when her subzi seemed to be little edible..
Designing the one, she made somewhat delicious paratha and ticking a right mark on which she prepared a perfect desert..
At last circled this weekend, Saturday thinking of preparing something...uhmm..
Chole Bhature, Mumma's boy's favt(Rajveer)...
Till today, she didn't feeded him all her experiment, wanting her bhaiyya to taste them first... She didn't informed both men, Naveen and Rajveer that recently she started her morning gym session in kitchen, that too with her mother in law, her new found bestie...with whom she loved to gossip about alll the weird things of the world....
Tak tak tak....
Someone knocked her room's door ...
That's of course Ran....jveer Naina...
Tum dono ko chodke is ghar mein aur kaun he???
Rajveer stepping inside the room,
" Naina... I hope I'm not disturbing you??..."
Naina - " Main toh...yoga Kar rahi thi..."
She joked for the first time....and he saw here and there thinking twice whether to laught or not... He is not habituated to show his teeth on her words... Usne thod di toh?
Naina smiling at his innocence,
" I'm free... Aap boliyee... Baitoo toh sahi..."
She said pointing at the bed...
Rajveer stepped inside and took tbe chair, adjacent to her,
" Kal ka kyaa plan he tumhara???."
Naina - " Dr. Farooq ke yaha ek program he..jisko attend karna he.
Kyun? Kuch kaam tha aapko?..."
She asked looking at his hesitating face...
Rajveer closed his eyes for the first five seconds and stood up... determined to do something...
Naina - " Aree bolo na... Aapko kahi jaana tha? Main akeli chali jaaungi... drop dene ki Zaroorat nahi he...."
She uttred instantly trying to stop him... and saw something magical...
He kneeled down, forwarding his hand and gave some jewelry box to her...still in a same position...
" Kal army ball he. And as an army Captain Am too invited there..."
She simply blinked her eyes to his words completely blown by tbe way he is elaborating the things. That's something how she imagined her future to be. A caring romantic soulmate.
Leaving the last two words, obviously he is the first one, Caring... too much, ditto like her Mumma...
Remaining words (Romantic and soulmate) that's out of syllabus for them... atleast for the being...
Rajveer - " Couple entries are compulsory...
Nainaaaa...."
He called her name softly...that seemed like a cool breeze kissing the wind chimes playing series of musical notes..
Naina unknowingly,
" Haaan..." Replied raising her eyebrows, broadening her eyes a little so that she can know more about his intensions...
Rajveer - " Will you be my date, tonight???.."
He asked holding his breath expecting a no from her... She always remained a beautiful changing climate for him, sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny.... Seeming chirpy for few hours and exactly behaving opposite the next day, rainy and sentimental...
Overall a 2020 powerpack sky...
Unknown to his fears, she again examined him from head to toe, as her eyes and mind aren't capable of performing x ray of his thoughts... still his shaking hands told her, that a rough faced and soft hearted silent Soldier is shivering after asking out his own wife...
She had a past... And with his and bhaiyya's constant support she accepted her fate..
But what about him? Why he always seems to be a peak of a mountain... distant, scary, invisible, hazy....yet beautiful enough to hold her hand saving her from falling into the depressed valley...
He is like a phrase... meaningful yet obscure...
Rajveer smacked himself, reciting his line,
" I mean for the evening???..."
He asked again, this time pointing at the box...
She slowly opened the wrapper...dead slowly, again testing his patience...and he won here too, without moving away from his position..
Naina smiled at the mesmerizing piece it contained,
" Yeh..."
Rajveer - " Tumhare liye..." immediately not waiting for her response,
" Agar tum aana bhi nahi chahti, it's okay. I will manage .."
He uttered keeping a safety zone for his dear life...
She raised her eyelids at his words, and turned the box towards him...
" Lekin ismein toh... ' Shalu ' likha he..."
Rajveer - " Aise kaise usne Shalu likhdi?..." he snatched the box from her and saw a chit written on Shalu's name...
" Shittt.... Shaalu se baat karte karte maine Shalu ka naam leliya hoga shayad... "
He convinced himself remembering the scene when the boy asked him for the name..
His voice was loud that, Naina heard what exactly he was blabbering, and asked,
"Shalu Bhabhiii??..."
Rajveer - " Video call pe the hum log. Aur yeh gadbad hogaya..."
He again talked to himself...not realising what he blurted out....
In this short gap, Naina got the point that actually it was Shalini who was pushing Rajveer towards her... Otherwise men are actually dumb at selecting gifts for women...
Naina - " Kal kitne baje jaana he??.."
Shw asked casually, surprising Rajveer...
Rajveer - " tum mere saath chal rahi hoo??.." he asked with enlarged pupils...
Naina - " Time?."
Rajveer - " 6 baje...
I will pick you from Vaishu's apartment..."
He stood up with a small smile switching to his Plan B...that is, how to react if she agreed to come along with him...
Being a soldier, he is well trained to deal with unanticipated situations...
Naina - " Done.."
She got up to close the door, so that both can catch a peaceful sleep, preparing themselves for the next performance to be performed next day...
Not to forget, she even cleaned the partial storeroom, where he sleeps now...
Their nest was well built, but the birds inside their heart were needed to be guided towards it...
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Capt. Salve - " She is absolutely Gorgeous, Captain..." whispered eyeing at Naina who was busy in gossiping with Ud...
Rajveer - " Who??..."
He asked lifting his shoulders a bit, confused with Salve's words as they were jn a deep discussion about some random mission...
Capt. Salve - " Wahi jisko dekhte hi aapke dil muskurane lagta he... " raising her glass she showed Naina, poking Rajveer to look at his dear wife with a clear vision....
And he did it that too with keen observation techniques...
She was drapped in a simple saree, enriching it's beauty to infinity... and intensifying the charm of the ornament he presented to her by solely owning it...
She can make anything look stunning, that's what she was... A Magician...
But the charm, she was known for was missing.....
Excusing himself, he took his steps towards her, just passing few words for the peeps who accidentally tried to talk to him inbetween.... Now, his priority is changed...
He observed how her eyes lost the brightness, even though her lips pretended to be happy...
Ud - " Good evening sir..."
He greeted formally seeing Rajveer just behind them..
Rajveer nodded his head to his words and playfully added,
" Shayad tumhari shaadi hone wali thi Ud? Nahii??..."
Ud witb a stiff posture,
" Sir, it's still on. Do hafte baad he sir..."
Rajveer - " Mujhe toh aisa nahi lagta...." he rolled his eyes and set them on his friends Nishant and Muraad, and then again on Ud who was sweating profusely warning him something...
Nishant - " Mujhe bhi yahi Lagta he, ki yeh ghode pe chadega hi nabi..."
He joined them, Pouring ghee the agg of Ud's tears..
Muraad - " Dittoo.."
He shouted little loudly from a feet distance..
Ud - " But sir, Why? Koyi confidential issues he???.."
The bheega billi asked again, deeply shaken by Rajveer's revealed data...
Nishant controlling his laughter,
" Agar tu apni wali ko chodke, iske, woh bhi Capt. Rajveer ke biwi ke saath itna gappe maarega toh baarood toh zaroor girega na tujhpe..."
uttering thess words he gave a dhamakedar hit on Ud's head...
Ud - " Oh!! I'm sorry sir..."
That's it...
He flew away the next second....
Muraad from tbe corner,
" Nish... Come here... This shot is sexy..
Try it . "
He called the next murga away from the two soon to be love birds and catching the signal Nishant bid bye to Shekhavats, and got out of the scene...
Rajveer - " So, Naveen Ki Gudiya..."
He called Naina with this special name, dragging Naina's attention completely towards him...
Naina smiled at his words,
" Bolijye, Bhaiyya ke Veeru...."
She played along....
Rajveer making a face,
" That sounds desii... "
Naina brought her hairs forward, letting the silence make a space between them....
She never attended any army ball and hoped in future he will not ask for her company to attend another one.
It's just boring to sip fruit punches and nod their head to these strict zombies talks...
She thought...
Rajveer - " Tumne phehlibaar saaree pehni he??..."
He asked shooing away the silence..
Naina - " Nahi.. I love sarees and...."
Rajveer - " Aur heels, yeh saree ke saath mushkil nahi hota??.."
He asked doubting at her capability, which seemed strange to her...
Naina - " Offckurse not... I'm habituated to it..
Infact mujhe bachpan se hi...."
She slowed down as the glass her hand got seated neatly on the table by him and his palm made a way towards her wrist...
Rajveer - " Then I'm sure, you can dance with me now... I hope you don't mind...
You love dancing, Right???..."
He stated the words sending few gentle shocks of surprises to her mind...
He never tried to be so causal with her...always remained reserved kind of desert...
But unknown to Naina's knowledge, Shalini's warnings were still fresh in Rajveer's mind too... And Rajveer didn't wanted his Naveen to regret of giving his gudiya to him... That's what lighted the lamps in Rajveer's head...
Naina - " Aap dance karenge mere saath??..."
She asked looking at the stage, where the othee couples were lost in each others arms..
Rajveer - " Trust me, I'm good at whatever I do... except...."
He dragged the last word reminding her of something....
Naina - Rajveer whispered together,
" Cooking..."
Both locked their eyes, holding each others hands....not romantically... just playing their part of the duty or may be slowly getting colored in the canvas without their knowledge....
Naina matching his steps, swinged along the song, got somewhat impressed with his level of co ordinating with her dancing moves.....
His Mumma wasn't wrong...
Her son was well versed in everything...
A perfectionist...
Rajveer suddenly,
" Naina... You were saying something na..
In car??? I'm sorry. I couldn't hear properly..."
He asked about the past matter...
She was about to say something when he picked her from Vaishu's apartment but couldn't utter it due to Tarun's interference...
Naina - " Ek seminar he kal afternoon... College mein... Jisko main lead karne wali hu.... " seeing his confused face,
" Wahi jiske liye aapse madad liya tha maine .."
Rajveer - " It's completed na. Parso hi uska presentation diya toh tha tumne .."
He said carefully not stepping on her saree, pulling her perfectly in his arms... dancing on a slow song...
Naina - " Seminar yaha nahi Delhi mein he. Aur Mera flight aaj raat 2 baje ka he.."
She looked at her watch which already showed 9...
Rajveer stood like a statue, for a second,
" Toh bataya kyun nahi? We should leave. Warna der ho jaayegi airport pahunchte..."
He walked straightly towards their table leaving the dance floor...
Naina following him,
" Aap hyper kyun horahe? Abhi bhi wakth he."
Rajveer - " Main Co batake aata hu.. waise kitne din ke seminar he tumhare?
Leaves ke liye apply karna hoga na..." .
He hurriedly took out his phone...to check where his commanding officer was drinking alone...
Naina - " Leaves?? Aap thodi na jaarahe?..."
She questioned him...
Rajveer - " Main nahi jaaraha? Matlab tum akeli jaavogi?? Kaise... Main bhi chalunga tumhare saath... "
He finally messaged his CO... about the matter...
Naina - " Do hi din ki baat he.. Kal afternoon seminaar he...
Aur parso subhah Huda ke roka he... fir 3. Baje ke flight se aajungi na main...
Aap ab bhaiyya jaise behave na karoo...
Woh bhi aise mujhe kahi jaane bbi nahi dete... " then showing him her sad puppy face,to get things done,
" Aap dost he na mere...
Ho ki nahi??.."
Rajveer - " But Naina, it's matter of your safety..."
He tried to explain the complete matter to her but couldn't, as tbe whole explaination needed a name included in it..
Captain. Abhimanyu Roy Chauhan...
The name which destroyed their life, crushing brutally the essence of their first love....
Naina - " Main jung thodi na ladne jaarahi hu waha... Waise bhi Pooja mere saath...."
Rajveer cutting her words,
" Tum meri flat mein rahogi aur kahi bhi nahi... Pooja ko bhi wahi bula lena...
Is that okay? ..."
He agreed to her thinking of something...
Naina - " theekh he. Now chaliyee.....am famished... Yeh juice peeke bore hogayi hu main..."
She looked dreamily at the food counters planning to grab something delicious...
And he was drowned with his sixth sense indicating him something devilish waiting for them...
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Next day...
4.30 PM
After the seminaar...
Huda - " wahh Phoolan... Kyaa jaadu kardi tune in nahne munne bachchompe...
Saare ke saaree ab desh ke liye jaan dene ko bhi tayyar he... Aur tere liye bhi..."
He hugged her tightly, happy with her whole speech...
They were conducting a small program for youth, showing them the real face of army life....and also performing contest of short films made on national issues...
Naina - " Topic tha hi aisa... Bhaiyya jab army join karne wale the, tab...."
She was explaining her own experience when someone spoke to her from behind...
" Aapke bhaiyya bhi army mein he Mam...."
Pooja keeping down her charts,
" Tum toh wahi hona jisne airforce pe short film banaya... Tera naam...."
" Armaan... Mera naam Armaan Kashyap he.."
He introduced himself with a broad smile...
Naina - " Hey, Congrats Armaan...."
She congratulated him as he barged second price in the contest....
Huda brushing Arman's hair,
" Tu dikhta itna sa he...lekin itna gyaan...
Aaj kal.ke bachche humse char kadam aage he... "
He too congratulated feeling proud at their courage...
Armaan - " Thanks... Woh Mam aapke naam kyaa he??..."
He asked Naina...helping hee with packing up tbe things....
Naina - " Naina Singh..."
Armaan - " Ahluwaliyaa!!!.."
He read the last name from her badge... and continued,
" Aapne woh speech apne experience se diya? Apke family mein koyi army se he kyaa??...Mera agle short film ke liye unmein se kisika interview lene milega???..."
He asked with curiosity....
Naina - " Woh mere bhaiyya Naveen Singh Ahluwaliyaa aur Aloo....Alekh dono army mein hi he... tum apne number pass kardo, main unse poochlungi....."
Armaan giving her his number,
" isiliye aapko detail mein pata tha woh sub??..."
He asked about her seminaar...
Naina - " Mere ek friend he, joh Captain he army mein... Captain. Shekhavat..
Unhone bhi madad kiya tha..."
She said remembering about Rajveer....
Armaan - " Mere Jiju ka bhi last name Shekhavat hi he....aur wih bhi army mein Captain he..
Infact unhone hi kuch methods tricks bataye the, ki how a team works in defence...
Strategies kaise banaye jaate he and I did few research... He is a brilliant teacher..."
He boasted about his Jiju...
Naina - " Oh!!!..."
She uttered still browsing his videos... he sent to her through what's app...
But saw something disturbing...
His dp...
Somewhere she saw this girl....
She tried to put pressure on her dumb brain which is poor in remembering peeps name and faces...
Not getting the answer from her memory lane, she thought to ask him directly,
" Yeh ladki..."
Arman - " Yeh Meri Dii he..
Ananya Kashyap..
Senior reporter at KKN... "
He blurted out, zoooming the pics in his mobile...caressing Ananya's face...
Naina - " Iskoo maine kahii dekha he..."
She kept repeating her words and got stuck at the name, KKN...
It's the same news channel where Rajveer's Papa worked... Isn't it!!
Her brain isn't that dumb...
Now she is proud of herself too...
But her inner conscience stopped from squealing right now..... sending some danger vibes....
Armaan scrolling his gallery,
" Aur yeh he mere Jiju,
Capt. Rajveer Singh Shekhavat..."
He pointed at another picture... happily....
Naina - " Capt. Rajveer Singh Shekhavat..."
She took his name on her lips, seeing the two figures in the frame, standing in a comfortable position....
Arman - " Inki engagement ki pics he yeh... Single, uniform wali mil nahi rahi... Wait..."
His kept on scrolling his gallery, without bothering about her reaction....
Naina tightly held the random chair kept beside her, and her tears already discovered a way down her cheeks, washing away her rational sense of thinking....
And her heart was nowhere to be found....
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Toh kaisa tha Update?
Batavoo...warna naya update nahi milega...
Aapki,
Nandu ❤️