Here is a pleasant surprise for my loving readers. Thanks for all the support and thank you for your beautiful words of praises. I'm deeply touched.

The monsoon was making its presence felt in Mumbai. Light showers to heavy downpours were becoming a regular affair... competing with the falling tears of two lost souls in the campus of Mumbai University.

Naina did not see Sameer after their interaction in the library. She wanted to ask him so many things, she had even put up a few of them...  but he abruptly walked away... leaving her confused once again.

Naina was surprised to hear that he remembered her from school... he knew exactly how much time they were together, two years, he had said. She felt a sliver of hope somewhere.

But he again went into Mr India mode after that day. She did not go to Phulla bua's house last weekend, citing some excuse about finishing a project... hoping to get a glimpse of him somehow. She had no idea where to look. Now this week had also come to an end... and this time she could not make any excuse. There was Teej puja ( a festival to celebrate the arrival of monsoon)  in Phulla bua's house and Pooja didi was also coming. Naina prepared to leave, hopefully checking out everywhere for him till the time she boarded the auto from the stand in front of the gate.

Sameer had managed to avoid her... though he kept a keen eye on her most of the time. But was careful not to spotted. When he saw her leaving on Saturday afternoon, he smiled to himself... happy that she will be spending some time with her relatives and feel loved.

Previous few days had been really hard on him. The realisation that dawned on him had pained him even more... making him wonder how much pain could he endure... surely there must be a threshold. Everytime something new caused him to hurt more, he thought this was the last straw... and then God sent some more. For now, it was the realisation that the moment he felt a little soft towards Naina... when he sang in the competition... she had  a bad experience... with Neeraj. His one step caused her pain again. His stars were indeed not meant to bring any light to the lives of those he loved. This painful reality made him draw back again... go back to his shell.

Well, for now he need not bother about keeping himself out of the view of the only person who mattered to him in this entire city... she was not around till next day evening.

Naina had a good time with Pooja didi and her little son who was an adorable bundle of joy. She enjoyed the home cooked food and checked out new sarees that Pooja didi had bought. She happily contributed to every conversation and discussion but the thought of Sameer never left her mind... not even for a fraction of a second. After watching a movie in the night,  Naina tried to sleep but like past few days, it was futile. Sometime during the early hours of morning, exhaustion took over and her eyes closed. By the time she got up everyone had finished their bath and were ready for Teej puja. She quickly went for her bath, washing her clothes of previous day and got ready in the suit she had brought for today. After the puja, the three women sat down for breakfast. Later, Naina got busy playing with the little one. She got so engrossed in his cute smile and playfulness that she didn't realise it was lunchtime. When Phulla bua called out to her for lunch, she hurriedly got up. But in the process, her kurta got stuck in the tricycle and due to the jerk, it tore all the way up till her arm. Naina was shocked to see the damage... it was not a seam that had come off but the entire panel was torn... could not be repaired.

Now the big tension was what to wear. Her previous day outfit was still wet as she had washed late in the morning... and she wasn't carrying an extra one. Phulla bua had nothing to offer. Markets were closed, it being a Sunday. And Pooja didi wore only sarees since she got married. Naina was not left with any choice. She had to wear a saree to go back to her hostel. Pooja didi offered her all the new ones but hey were very bright... Naina could not wear such colours. Finally she decided on a plain chiffon saree in dark green, with a very thin silver border. However, when she wore it, she realised, to her horror, that the bloise had a very deep neck at the back. Thankfully the sleeves were little longer than her elbows. Having no choice, Naina draped herself properly in the pallu and left for the hostel.

By the time Naina reached the college, wind had caught speed. It wasn't even drizzling yet but a strong breeze brought a promise of rain. Naina paid the regular fare to the auto but he refused. He wanted a higher fare as the weather was bad and not many autos plied in such weather. Naina tried to reason out with him that he did not say so when she boarded but he argued saying that everyone in Mumbai knows that auto fares are much higher in rainy season. Naina had no option but to ask him to wait while she got the extra money from her room since she wasn't carrying that much. The wind hit her as she stepped out. Walking was difficult... that too in a saree. She could feel the saree getting stuck to her body due to the force of the wind. And before she could hold onto it, her pallu flew away. It was secured with a safety pin on the shoulder so it wasn't a complete showdown but she had covered her back due to the cut of the blouse... the back now was devoid of the flimsy cover. Naina quickly walked towards her hostel building, trying unsuccessfully to bring back the pallu to its original position.

A lone figure standing in the window of his room in the boys hostel witnessed the whole scenario. His heart in his mouth, he watched as she moved. Swaying in the wind, her saree flowing, Naina was trying to walk back to the building, the wind making her shield her face with one hand and holding onto her pleats with the other, some loose locks from her pony falling on her forehead and cheeks. Sameer watched with open mouth... she was absolute poetry in motion. And then he noticed the auto rickshaw driver... he did not look away even for a second. Why was he lingering? Why he did not drive away after dropping the customer? Sameer felt a sharp pang of jealousy... no one had the right to see Naina like this.

And to his ultimate horror, she came out again, walking towards the auto, only this time, her pallu was around her shoulders. But the saree was enough to send his pulse racing again. She reached the parked rickshaw and handed over some money to him. He pocketed the money but made no effort to move, still staring at her retreating figure. As she turned, the wind got to her again and the pallu did a repeat. Giving up trying to hold it, Naina continued walking when the downpour suddenly hit her. It came down so fast that she had no choice but to rush quickly to the safety of a tree near the gate. Fine drops were still making her wet but at least she was not getting drenched.

The rickshaw didn't move.

Sameer could see it no more. He grabbed an umbrella and ran towards the main gate. Naina was standing with hands crossed across herself when she saw someone step out of the boys hostel with an umbrella, walking towards her in quick,long strides. She immediately became conscious. But as the figure reached nearer, her shock at seeing him made her forget her state. Coming closer, he offered the umbrella to her, himself coming under the direct onslaught of rain, and said with clenched teeth, "Chalo yahan se". Naina was so lost that she did not register what he was saying or doing. He again asked her to move, still holding the umbrella, waiting for her to take it. When she did not react, he took a deep breath and pulled her hand, making her come closer to him, and straightened the umbrella over both. He almost pulled her along towards the building. In her dazed state, Naina did not realise how she was only half under the umbrella, causing her to get drenched completely, or how her pony was stuck to her exposed back.

When Sameer looked back at her, he muttered a curse under his breath and instantly moved behind her, trying to cover her from the prying eyes of auto driver.

He was not prepared for what he saw. His legs went weak, breath hitched and eyes widened...

His reaction made Naina stop in her track, and Sameer bumped into her. Her back got plastered to his chest. Both closed their eyes and stood rooted to the spot.

Sameer was the one to recover first. He tried to nudge her to move, without letting the cover of umbrella to go. Getting no response from her, he bent and whispered in her ear,  " Naina please chalo, yahan log dekh rahein hai."

His words, his closeness, his heavy voice, his hot breath on her ear and cheeks made Naina go red. A chill ran down her spine. She quickly stepped ahead, almost running, to reach the safety of her room before her heart exploded. He foot slipped on the wet surface. But Sameer caught her hand firmly before she could lose balance.

"Ab mera haath pakadke seedhe apne room ki taraf chalo... na rukna na kahin dekhna",  he directed her. She nodded and moved carefully as he had asked her. Once they reached the safety of the building, Sameer left her hand. His senses went for an overdrive again as Naina stepped a little ahead and he saw the hair of her pony stuck to her bare back. He groaned and pulled the band out of her hair, making it cover a little more, but since they were wet, the hair could not do a job as good as he would have wanted... in order to control the storm brewing inside him. Naina turned to look at him as he exhaled sharply.

He immediately closed his eyes, not able to look at her. "Why is she not going?" His mind screamed.

Her saree was soaking wet, stuck to her like second skin... the flimsy chiffon had turned transparent, making her curves more prominent.  Sameer had never realised Naina was so thin... he waist could fit into his palm... his fingers itched to try.

This was not good. Sameer tried to control his thoughts before they ventured more in the direction they were going. Not hearing any movement, he slowly opened his eyes. Naina was still there, looking directly into his eyes.

Naina could not fully register what had happened. She saw Sameer approach her with an umbrella and then everything was a blur... she had felt his touch, his hand, holding her and guiding her, his hard chest as it had rammed into her back and now his eyes, which had turned darker but were hesitating to look at her. His hair were wet and falling on his forehead, hiding the tension lines which were almost always there nowadays. His T-shirt had become wet and clung to his chest. Naina gulped as she noticed that he had become broader that what he was in school. Maybe he was working out. The veins on his arms jutted out. He mostly wore full sleeves shirts... seeing his bare arms in a short sleeve T-shirt was something new for her.

Seeing Naina checking him out brought a flicker of smile to his lips, and Sameer, for a second, thought what would it be like if he could confess his feelings to her. He was sure she also had feelings for him. Will she come rushing into his arms, or she'll feel shy and run away blushing?

The shrill sound of the telephone ringing brought both of them back to reality. Naina looked around in amazement, wondering where was she and how she reached here. As the realisation of her state struck her, she ran to her room.

Sameer composed himself and walked away, going toward the boys hostel.