"Yeh dil zindagi se, khafa ho chala tha jise phir se jeene ke bahane tum bane"

~ Meher ~

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, India

Morning for me had arrived late. When I woke up, Kabir's side was empty. The room was still dark. I checked my phone and realised it was already half past eight. Ditching the comforter, I rushed to the washroom to freshen up.

When I walked into the main living area, from the windows, I saw the rain hadn't stopped, but the intensity had lowered. The sound of the TV was loud, with small steps, I walked in to see Mr. Ayush and Kabir engaged in some serious talk while watching a business channel.

Kabir was still wearing his clothes from last night, his back casually leaning over the sofa while his legs propped over one another with his hands crossed as he listened to what Ayush was saying. He was always so rigid, that there were only rare instances where he actually let loose and enjoyed himself.

One way or another, this man had to bring his work during the holidays. But that was Kabir I knew. Who was he the night before?

Who was the man who sweetly tucked my hair behind my ear and spoke sweetly to me?

Everything was difficult to process at that moment as I held on to my breath for god knows how long. It was difficult to say but somewhere I could feel that he was changing, we were treading in forbidden waters.

"Staring your husband?" I was startled when I heard a voice close behind me, I hadn't realised it was Kirti who had been standing and watching me for god knows how long. I cleared my throat, "It's not like that."

"Well, he is good looking," I stared at her, almost mortified, "and he is your husband," she emphasised. "It's no crime."

"I-It's really not like that, I didn't see him—" I started rambling but Kirti firmly held me by my shoulders, looking me in the eye. "Calm down, it is no big deal. Come with me," she held my hand and led me to the dining table. After making me sit, she took another chair and turned it around so that she could face me.

"It's awkward, right?" a moment of silence stayed after she asked me that question. All the warning bells went off, was the truth of our marriage out? Were we that obvious?

"W-What?" I tried to feign nonchalance, but I guess I wasn't good at it because she caught my lie right away.

"I have been married for almost twenty years now," she chuckled. My muscles had gone stiff and I wasn't able to react to anything. "And I am a woman too. I can see you both are married but are still awkward around each other," oh, that's what she was talking about. Thank god.

I smiled weakly. "You found each other to be compatible, right?" I nodded. Kirti gently took my hand in hers, "That's where the problem lies, thinking that there is compatibility so we can spend the rest of our lives together but compatibility does not always bring out the love you seek in each other. You need to notice your partner, their little things, their good, their bads, their joy and their sadness. You need to be a part of it. You know, the essence of a marital relationship is in those little things, seek those. Try to understand him, because I believe there's a difference between knowing and understanding."

"Shouldn't he do the same?" I retorted immediately, I was all for equality.

Kirti chuckled, nodding to give me her answer. "Of course he should, it goes both ways. Only a woman doesn't lead and secure a relationship, men have to do it as well. You know I and Ayush had an arranged marriage. Back in the day, there wasn't really a concept of courting before marriage. Our engagement was done and from the period of engagement to marriage, we were given each other's phone numbers so that we could call and talk to each other. That phase was completely rosy, you know how you feel all giddy and believe that this would go on forever. But, I was so wrong," I leaned in, listening to her keenly. "After marriage, I thought Ayush was horrible, I regretted marrying him. We would constantly bicker with each other and the compatibility which we believed we had was never there. But then," she trailed off, thinking over something.

"But then?" I prompted her to continue. "But then, I started noticing the little things that he did for me. If I ever came back late from work, he would keep my food ready on the table, he would always walk on the side of the road where the cars would pass by him and would protect me from them but most of all, he gave me space where I could retain my individuality."

Her words immediately compelled me to think about Kabir. He too, always thought about saving some food for me if he ever ordered food from outside. But now when I think of it, I never slept empty stomach even after our fights because Kabir always managed to feed me. On the day of being appointed as the CEO of the media house, he stopped by Starbucks and got me food so that I wouldn't go to the meeting on an empty stomach.

Yesterday, too, he called a truce and wanted to have lunch with me. But it was not just about that, even when we fought, he was always the calm one, trying to be just and clear as possible he could be. That night when the confrontation happened, he so calmly handled the situation even though he was the one who was angry at me.

I took a look at Kabir, who was still engrossed in watching TV. Why do I feel such a pull towards a man whom I despised my entire life?

Why do I feel jitters whenever we come close? What in the world was happening to me?

"You know, I see the spark between you two," I looked at her in surprise. "I am not joking," she clarified. "There is something in the way you both look at each other, something very raw and unfiltered though it isn't love, I think you will get there very soon."

I did not want to hear that.

When I looked at Kirti's face to see if she was lying to me, I found her eyes to be so earnest as if she was saying that all by heart.

I did not like that even though this wasn't the first time I had heard of it.

*   *   *

It was in the afternoon when the rain subsided and the sun shone bright in the sky. With that, we were also ready to leave. Malhar was already here, thankfully he had hauled the bikes in the back of the jeep while he was on the way to pick us up.

We walked through the pathway, I looked around, this place looked even prettier in the mornings. We turned to the couple and exchanged our greetings. Kirti hugged me tightly. "It was nice meeting you, Meher. Do come by again." I nodded, smiling at her. "Yes and you too when you come to Mumbai, you already have my number."

Ayush and Kabir too exchanged some greetings with the promise to meet again sometime in the future.

And then we were set, back to our destination.

I looked at Kabir, who was looking outside, with a small smile playing on his lips. He had beem like that the entire day, smiling, making conversation with me and others which was very rare. He even complimented Kirti for making amazing crepe for breakfast, which was so unlike him.

As if he felt me staring at him, he turned, I jumped when his eyes met mine.

"What happened?" he was soft, smiling at me.

Suddenly I felt mute, no words came out of my mouth. I shook my head and looked away, pinning my eyes on the road.

"Sir, Ma'am," Malhar called us, after a while. "Since you already had lunch at their place, do you want to go back to your place or do you want to do sightseeing?"

Sightseeing, my inner voice called out to me. I wasn't very much tired and I had a good sleep last night. However, I couldn't understand why I looked at Kabir for an answer, as if I was waiting for his agreement so that we could go together.

"You want to go?" There he was again. Soft as a gentleman could be. "Yes," I said, but realised that it was just a whisper.

I cleared my throat. "You?"

He shrugged. "Sounds good. Anyway, we haven't been anywhere ever since we have reached. Let's do some sightseeing and avoid adventure," he winked.

There, there.

Did Kabir Raizada just joke with me?

The ride was smooth. Malhar informed us that since we had travelled more than necessary, we could do a tour around Port Blair, the capital city where we stayed.

Our first stop was the Cellular Jail.

"This is Kala Pani," Malhar explained as we toured around the place. The most popular place for freedom fighters to be imprisoned by the British colonials. Even though its architecture is beautiful, a lot of pain and stories of struggle are buried beneath the grounds of this place."

We looked at the jails, they were too small for someone actually to stay. "This is so small, how can someone live inside this, that too for days?" I said aloud.

"That was the punishment back then. Take away all the luxuries and comfort and remove the feelings of patriotism within yourself," Kabir said, as he walked alongside me.

I don't know about anyone but something about this place did not sit well with me. It felt eerie. Looking inside that congested jail, I suddenly felt claustrophobic.

I didn't like the vibe of this place.

"Let's get out of here."

I could feel Kabir's eyes on me. "What?"

"Nothing," I saw him cover his smile, while he asked Malhar to get the car out so that we could leave.

Our next stop was Marina Park.

This place was really interesting. From aquariums to gardens, it was indeed very beautiful. By the time we were here, it was late afternoon, the sun would start setting any minute from now.

There was a long stretch of bridge that went above the ocean, a beauty of its own. Automatically, my feet started to walk towards that direction. Walking over the bridge where there was water on both sides was absolutely stunning.

I stopped in the middle and walked over to the edge of the bridge, to watch the vast ocean spread for miles. I could spot a few islands, but that long stretch of water and staring into that nothingness brought me to peace.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I hadn't realised when he had come to stand beside me, his back was leaning over the railing while his arms were crossed and he was looking straight at me.

I cleared my throat and averted my eyes from him to watch the sea, I felt a nervous pit forming inside my stomach.

"Sir, you want me to take a photo?" Malhar, who was following us, asked, holding out his phone.

"Sure," Kabir answered casually and then walked over to me. As if it was natural, his hand slipped through my lower back and rested over my waist. I was startled when his body flushed with mine, my eyes popped out in shock.

"Camera mein dekho, mujhe nahi," holding my jaw, he turned my face towards the camera, but I was so dazed that my head turned to him again. I hadn't realised when the shutter went off, I just kept looking at him.

I could feel his fingers burning holes in my skin. My whole body was on fire.

"Such beautiful pictures, I must say," I blinked my eyes when I heard Malhar only to see him walking towards us to show us the pictures.

He showed us his phone in which he had taken his pictures. I leaned closer to take a look, I winced when I saw the picture. In every picture, I was looking at him, dazed.

"It's pretty," I heard him almost whisper in my ear.

He wasn't saying it to me, he was saying it to Malhar, even giving him a small smile.

After being there for a while, we started walking back to the car.

While I was about to sit inside the car, I realised one thing, Kabir had never left his hand around my waist.

*   *   *

It was our last stop for the day. Some beach, Malhar had said on the way but my brain was so caught up that I didn't hear anything.

Kabir casually walked beside me as if nothing sort of happened. Was this some sort of game or a ploy that I wasn't able to understand?

We stopped walking.

I observed my surroundings only to notice a giant hot air balloon waiting for the two of us.

"A-Are we going in that?" I pointed towards the hot air balloon that stood still in front of us, waiting for us to get on.

"Yeah," Kabir nodded, "are you scared of heights? You look kinda pale." The back of his hand touched my forehead to see if I had any fever. "You are normal. What happened?"

I wasn't scared of heights. Heck, I loved all kinds of adventure sports. But it wasn't that. It was Kabir and I, hundreds of metres up in the sky, with no possible escape.

Pressing my lips together, I shook my head telling him I was okay.

Kabir helped me climb inside the basket of the hot air balloon. There was a divider inside the basket which separated us from the operator of that hot air balloon.

The fire was lit up, the metal handle was down, caging us in and then we were up.

We soared above the bluish-green ocean, watching small islands that were there in the midst of the ocean. I could see a miniature of Malhar waving at us holding out his phone, probably taking a video or a picture of us. I waved him back.

We were so high above that if the fire went off, we would directly fall in the middle of the ocean. But that didn't scare me. It was so beautiful to be expressed in words, the picturesque was perfect.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kabir's stubble grazed the back of my ear whereas his lips gingerly touched the skin of my ear. The mere touch of lips on my skin lit me on fire and I shivered. I felt him against my back, his arms were on either side of me, holding onto the basket railing, confining me in his arms.

Initially, I felt defiant. I wanted to defy that closeness of his, but was too tired and I had no way to run away.

So I leaned on him, taking the solace of his body.

"Kabir," I crossed my arms to my chest, staring right at the orangish-yellow sky.

"Hmm," his chest reverberated against my back and my heart beat faster than ever. "What are you doing? Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?" his voice was measured and calm as if he was anticipating what I was going to say.

"Like a husband," I had no better words to put forward. I felt him hold my shoulders and turn me around so that I could face him. His hands were no longer on the railing but rested firmly on the small of my back. An amused smile lifted his face as he pulled me closer, our bodies flushed against each other, inadvertently landing my palms on his torso. "Am I not your husband?"

I scoffed. "Are you really pulling a prank right now, Kabir? Is that what it is?" I wiggled to get out of his hold but he tightened his hold on me. "I am just trying to live normally, for once."

And I stopped struggling.

"This," I wagged my finger at the two of us, "is normal?"

"For me, yes," his shaky breath falls over my face, "I hate to admit but your presence around me feels like I am living again."

I stopped breathing.

Kabir chuckled looking at my expressions. "This is not a love confession dummy," I let out a breath of relief. "I am putting forward a hand of friendship and partnership. Will you accept it?"

Was I really dreaming or did Kabir actually put forward a hand of friendship?

Yesterday he called for a truce, and today a hand of friendship?

"Like this?" I motioned towards his hands around my back, holding me in his arms.

"Well, if I didn't do that, you would not have listened to me."

Well true.

"I was not going to jump off this balloon just to avoid a conversation with you," I lied, looking away. I had pride and even if he knew that I was lying, unlike the old Kabir, he did not say a word.

Instead, he suppressed a smile and nodded. "Well, whatever you say."

There he goes again. Kabir seemed so different when he spoke softly, as if he cared about everything I said and everything I meant. That softness made me feel uncomfortable from inside, or maybe something else, I could point it out.

I noticed that the balloon was coming back down, half an hour had already passed. And all this while we stood in the same position talking to each other. Soon, we were on the ground, and thankfully by then Kabir left me and I jumped out of the basket, followed by him.

I saw Malhar waving at us and started to walk in his direction when a hand clasped around my wrist, turning me around.

"You never gave an answer to me." The descending sun's light was casting upon his face and his face shined brighter than ever.

I smiled at him. "I think," I gently unclasped his hand from my wrist, "you already know the answer."

I turned to walk away, my cheeks hurting as I smiled widely to myself.

And here we are with yet another chapter. Kabir and Meher friends? Unexpected but yet it happened. But does Kabir really want to be just friends or wants something more? Comment down your favourite part.

I went to my college to collect my results today. I got amazing scores in the subjects I wanted to major in, so I was very satisfied. How are your days going??

Do VOTE, SHARE and COMMENT. Comment a heart if you enjoyed reading this chapter.

With Love,

Akii.