Time and Memory are true artists; they remould reality nearer to the heart's desire."

~John Dewey~

_________________________________

Shaurya loved the additional time he got to work with Aabha, though they both worked mostly with their respective teams. Shaurya never imposed his company on Aabha for he was a man of his word and also because of the desires she seemed to evoke in him. He tried to figure out why he seemed to be feeling so spellbound in the presence of a woman whom he hardly knew and who was barely tolerating him but soon realised that it was a futile battle with his heart. Irrespective of the reasons his mind put forth, his heart seemed determined to surrender to her. And finally one day, late in the evening, he lost the battle to his heart.

They were at the fag-end of the assignment, where all the information collated and process that had been charted had to be documented, discussed, fine-tuned and documented again. It was the worst part of any assignment, as it involved long-drawn meetings with various heads of the departments who were either unhappy or upset with the way the proposed re-engineering would result. A few welcomed the changes though some were openly antagonistic, which needed both Aabha and Shaurya to be around to soothe their ruffled feathers. The fact that one her team members had fallen sick and Tanushri had been on leave for the past one week had also left them a little short-staffed, with the result that both Aabha and Shaurya ended up working longer hours and staying up later much later than usual.

It had been a long day and Aabha had drawn the blinds across both the cabin wall facing the corridor and the window overlooking the front of the building, she was tired and wanted to put her feet up while she completed the last few items on her list for the day. She had kicked off her shoes and had curled her feet under her while she pored over the draft report making minor corrections, which her team would incorporate into the final soft copy. She never realised that she had almost dozed off till she heard her name being called and found herself in Shaurya's presence.

Shaurya had decided to call it in early, he was to meet a friend and was about to leave when he noted the lights in Aabha's cabin which surprised him for he had thought everyone had left. He had knocked twice and on receiving no answer had softly pushed the door open and stood still.

Aabha was curled up in a chair, dressed in a delicately worked over kurta, that started as a pale pink at the yoke and smoothly darkened to a blush of a blooming lotus towards the edges, her tight pale green leggings enhancing that image. She held a pen between her lips and appeared to be desperately trying not to fall asleep as she read that bulky report; she made an alluring picture that had his heart racing. Unbidden and vivid visions raced across his mind; Aabha with her hair damp from the drizzle and the raindrops lingering on her cheek that were reminiscent of dewdrops, her smiling face and shining eyes as she ran into his outstretched arms, her lips that would part just a little when he leaned into her space to kiss her...Shaurya squeezed his eyes closed, it appeared to him that apart from those memories he had lost, he was now also losing his mind.

But he was unable to leave and called out to her, when she did not respond he walked to the table and called her again, a little louder and much closer to where she was sitting. Her reaction would forever be etched in his mind, she had glanced at him with a faraway look when he had called her name, which changed to a slight panic and she made haste to scramble to her feet, the report flying from her hands to land on the floor. It was a very nervous and slightly breathless Aabha who stood before Shaurya, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted.

He could no longer hold himself back, his body seemed to be moving of its own accord and as he reached out to pull those offending pins from her hair, he did not ponder on the fact that he knew exactly where she would have placed the pins. And when her raven tresses tumbled to end at her waist, he knew he had been right; her hair was long and silky. There was no way he could stop himself, he gently slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, his hands gentle yet firm against her the small of her back.

His mind tried to reason with him, 'it is too quick, you hardly know her, and she does not even speak two words with you.' But he was beyond caring; all he knew was that holding her in his arms was the most natural thing to do, it felt so right and he marvelled that she fit perfectly in them.

He held her gaze and her eyes held myriad emotions, hurt, hope, loneliness, laughter, pain, desire, and many more that swirled in a beautiful warmth of caramel. Along with those emotions that danced like flames in her eyes, he found another one that was like smouldering dying embers, an emotion called love and one that she was trying to quench. It surprised him, both the emotion and the fact that he could read her eyes so well, he felt as though they could carry a million conversations without saying a word. Her perfume reminded him of crystal clear waters and fragrant lotuses; and when his lips gently brushed her cheek, he knew that she was as soft as one.

Aabha had tumbled into his arms with her hands splayed against his chest, as though she wanted to stop herself. But when his lips caressed her, Aabha gave a dreamy sigh and slowly started sinking into his arms. She had always been unable to resist Shaurya, a mere physical attraction; she could be immune to that, but with Shaurya it was never so simple. She had never been able to separate where that physical desire that seeped into the very fibre of her being, translated into a deep yearning in her heart and turned to a profound ache in her soul. Her mind kept warning her, 'it is dangerous territory that you are stepping into, there would only be heartbreak and it would be stupid to yield to the momentary attraction when it could just be a pale reflection of the love he once had for you.'

But she too was beyond caring, three years of not having seen him, thirty-six months of battling the pain of being forgotten, a hundred and fifty six weeks of being haunted by nightmarish dreams and a thousand days that were a constant reminder of his absence; all she needed was one touch of his and she knew that she was falling for him again. Or maybe she had never stopped loving him at all, maybe she had simply buried it deep and his touch had that old love for him spring to life. Her mind tried to tell her not to heed to his touch, not to surrender to him but she could no longer listen, her heartbeat stifled those words of caution.

He tightened his arms around her waist, pulled her closer and slowly kissed her on the lips. Her lips were petal-soft and he was amazed as he realised that he knew every line of them, from the delicate dip in her upper lip to the rich fullness of her lower one to those tiny looped corners and that she tasted of a familiar delicate sweetness. As he gently continued to kiss her, he knew that words were not needed between them; she could read his lips as well as he could understand hers. He would have continued his tender exploration of her lips if he had not felt her arch along him and her fingers fist his hair in a bid to deepen the kiss.

At that instant, all rational thought flew from his head and what was slow and gentle before was now deep and urgent, he kissed her with a passion that threatened to melt them while she responded with a fire that simply seared them. He did not break the kiss even when he sensed her buckle; he slowly sank into his knees pulling her down with him. But when she breathed 'I love you, Shaurya' against his lips, he drew back, dazed and unsure of what he had heard. Yet before he could ask her, the room echoed with the tiny peals of bells.

Aabha crashed to reality at the ringing sound and the room spun into view; she knew who was calling, more than two months of working with him and she had learnt of it. She pulled herself free and striving to sound normal, told Shaurya, "take the call, it must be important."

He kept looking at her, unable to let her go, not wanting to let her go and decided to ignore the call. "It can wait, everything can wait," he muttered, as he cupped her face and pulled her close, thankful the ringing had stopped.

Then when the call came a second time, Shaurya was in a murderous mood and would have killed the caller if it had been anybody else. But he knew who the caller was, that ringtone was for her only, and if she had called a second time it must be urgent. He picked up his mobile and answered, "Yes?"

Aabha noted the change in his expressions, from slight indignation to friendly resignation, as he replied, "Will be down in five minutes."

Shaurya cut the call, looked at Aabha, seeing the lines of worry that creased her lovely forehead. He leaned forward, kissed them and whispered, "I will be back, just wait for me."

He held her till she nodded and then left. Aabha continued to sit on the floor trying to piece her emotions and her thoughts. Once deprived of Shaurya's arms, her heart seemed to be giving in to the fears of her mind, 'maybe he has changed, the Shaurya of the old would have never taken such advantage, though I did seem to ask for it. He had become a little cold and it has been three years, how do I know that he has no other woman in his life?'

She grew cold with dismay and trying shake free from those doubts, stood up and walked to the window. She parted the blinds a little, the view of the road and the constant twinkling of the vehicular lights in one long never-ending stream did soothe her a bit though she instantly regretted it, for the window also afforded an excellent view of the lit forecourt. She saw the car pull to screeching halt and then saw her stepping out from the passenger seat. Even in that semi-darkness, Aabha could identify who she was, there was no mistaking that tall, slim, perfectly dressed woman, the only one who had a special ringtone on Shaurya's phone. She wondered what Tanushri was doing at the office, 'agreed she worked here, was a very good friend of Shaurya but she had been on leave for the past one week and was supposed to return to work a week later, so what could be the reason that she was here at this time of the night and how did she know Shaurya was still in office?'

Aabha was torn between trying to find a sensible reason and listening to the doubts that now crowded her mind, while the fear in her heart rose a few notches. But when she saw Tanushri excitedly tell something to Shaurya, whose immediate reaction was to hug her tight, she collapsed to the floor, unable to believe what she had just seen.

And it is a cliffhanger - sort of. Do not hate me for it, it seemed such a nice point to break the story. Next update would have them making up or breaking apart, you will soon find out. But till then, maybe you could let me know how this part was, all feedback, good or bad is welcome; I love reading all the comments.

love,
Nyna