Sidharth opened the door for tired Sana. She passed him a slight smile and gave him two bags.

"Yeh kya hai Ma'am?",asked Sidharth.

"Aaj Friday hai bhool gaye? Tumhaare liye khaana hai. Woh tumhaare Lucky Mascot, Shehnaaz ne bheja hai.", Said Sana.

"Yeh pata hai ma'am. Par iss dusre bag mein kya hai?", He asked.

"Khudh khol ke dekh lo..", she said and started to climb the stairs.

"Ma'am aapne khaana khaaya?", He asked her.

"Mujhe bhook nahi hai.", She said.

"Kyu?", He asked.

"Kyu kya? Bas nahi hai..", she replied.

"Ma'am, kal main yaha se chala jaunga, toh kya hum ek aakhri baar saath mein khaana khaa sakte hai?", Said Sidharth.

Her steps came to halt as her heart ached. She had been sad all the while because he was going away from her. He was getting a shared accommodation from his new employer which was closer to the office.

"Please..", he pleaded.

She nodded and took a U-turn to return to him. He smiled and kept the other bag to the side. While she washed her hands, he served the food for both of them. The ever talkative and teasing Sana was quiet today.

"Pata hai Ma'am, main Friday's ke liye kitna wait karta hoon, yeh tasty khaana khaane ke liye.", He said.

"Hmmm..", she hummed.

"Agle hafte se uske khaane ko miss karunga..", he said in a depressed tone. She looked at him silently who was lost eating the food.

"Aur mujhe?", She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Huh? Kya?", He asked not able to connect with the question as she had taken quite a long gap to ask.

"Kuch nahi..", she nodded her head in denial with a faint smile.

He looked at her perplexed not understanding what she meant. Having found her gaze on his lips, his cheeks turned warm due to shyness. His heart thudded loudly against his ribcage and his eyes closed involuntarily, when she stretched her hand and placed her it on his cheek. When her thumb brushed on the corner of his lips, it twitched slightly.

Having lost the contact of her touch, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Woh tumhaare hont pe khaana laga tha..", she mumbled.

"Hmmm..", he nodded putting his head down and continued having his dinner.

"Agle Sunday football match hai Wilson Stadium mein. Delhi Dinos aur Bengal Tigers ke beech..", said Sana.

"Oh.. Achcha!", Sidharth said plainly.

"Tumhaari Lucky Mascot bhi hogi waha, Delhi Dinos ko cheer karne ke liye.", Said Sana.

"Huh? Sachchi? Shehnaaz hogi waha?", Exclaimed Sidharth.

"Haan..", nodded Sana looking at his twinkling eyes. Unknowingly, she felt jealous of herself since he spoke in adoration for Shehnaaz, who he never met but when it came to Sana, he treated her with respect.

He washed his hands while she still hadn't finished her food. Having caught a glance at the bag which she had given earlier, he opened it. Out came a box wrapped in a gift paper.

"Kya yeh bhi Shehnaaz ne diya hai?", He asked her who was now washing her hand.

"Haan, sab kuch bas tumhaari Shehnaaz hi karti hai na tumhaare liye.. aur toh koi khadha bhi nahi hai na uske saamne..", she said sarcastically and went upstairs.

"Ma'am?", He muttered in confusion at her behaviour. He finally opens the box by unwrapping the paper.

Oye Udaas Agnihotri, mujhe goodbye bolna pasand nahi hai. Bas itna kahungi - Phir milenge. Apne naye job aur nayi zindagi ke liye best wishes. - Sana

Oh toh yeh shirt ma'am leke aayi hai mere liye. Unko kahi bura toh nahi laga hoga?

That whole night he could not sleep thinking that he would finally meet his lucky mascot next Sunday. The one who not only saved him from feeling guilty of not sending money to his mother in need but also sent him home made food every Friday after learning that he missed it so much. He would send her a thank you letter and give small updates about him every week via Sana but never got a reply from her.

At early morning hours, he finally climbed the stairs of the first floor for the first time. When he went upstairs, he was shocked to find Sana curled up on cardboard paper in a thin shawl covering her petite figure in an empty room.

Mera pass kuch nahi tha toh main park mein ya mandir ke seediyon pe kahi so jaata tha. Inke pass sab kuch hoke bhi yaha sardi mein iss cardboard paper pe so rahi hai. Kitni kanjoos hai yeh.

Teen mahine ho gaye mujhe inke saath rehte rehte, ghar ke liye ek chotti si cheez nahi khareeda inhone. Agar police sach mein apna kaam karti toh inka samaan teen mahine mein lauta nahi deti. Ghar ke liye ek aath cheez le aati toh kya hota? Itni bhi kya kanjoosi hai. Itne saare Dino burger branches toh hai inke.

He scolds her mentally and gets the blanket she had given him to use and covers her. She snuggled finding warmth. Sitting cross legged beside her on the floor placing his elbows on the knees, he adored her sleeping beauty. She looked so cute, pure and innocent like a little baby he thought.

He startled having dozed off sitting in front of her and soon shivered when he saw her glaring eyes.

"Udaas Agnihotri.. tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?", She asked.

"Woh.. main.. woh..", he fumbled getting scared.

"Hakla kyu rahe ho?", She asked.

" Woh main kal raat Shehnaaz se milne ki excitement mein so nahi paaya. Mujhe aapse puchna tha ki kahi aap mazak toh nahi kar rahi?", Asked Sidharth.

"Likh ke doon?", She asked totally annoyed.

He nodded his head feeling mortified.

"Aisa kya hai usmein jo tum itna excited ho usse milne ke liye?", She asked.

"Pata nahi..", he spoke with a blush.

"Socho agar woh koi dhokhebaaz aur chalaak ladki nikli toh?", She asked.

His blushing face turned serious. He narrowed his eyes at her as if someone has snatched or tried to harm his dearest possession.

"Woh bahut hi pure ladki hai. Maine bhale hi dekha nahi hai usse par main janta hoon ki woh bahut hi saaf aur nekh dil insaan hai. Aap apne aapko dekhiye. Kaise aapke pass itna paise hone ke bawajood aise bhikaari ke tarah cardboard pe letti ho, len-den walon se darr kar peeche ke raaste se aati jaati ho.. kya aap dhokha nahi de rahi apne karzdaaron ko? Aur ek Shehnaaz hai, jisne bina kisi motive ke meri maa ko paise bejh diye aur harr week mujhe khana bhi bhejti hai. Toh woh kaise dhokhebaaz nikli?", he spoke harshly to her in the fit of rage.

She looked at him dumbfounded. Though he was practically comparing her with herself, she felt bad for the way he thought of her as Sana. On the other hand, she feared that when he learns the truth about Shehnaaz, the liking he had for her might turn into hate.

"Main chalta hoon..", he said still annoyed.

It wrenched her heart upon hearing that he was leaving. She had no one to call hers and staying with him for 3 months had created an emotional attachment with him. His soft hearted nature, innocence, his letters to her as Shehnaaz, his blushes and his caring attitude, she adored them all.

She was a strong girl, yet a drop of tear escaped her eyes and fell down when he left.

.
.
.
.

The stadium was filled with fans from Delhi Dinos and Bengal Tigers. Sidharth bought a ticket and went towards the entrance where he saw the watchman.

"Tumhaari dino mascot ladki ko maine dekha andar jaate huye.", Said the watchman recognising him. Sidharth's heart skipped a beat hearing those words. He nodded his head and passed him a smile before going inside.

Looking around the entire stadium, his eyes finally caught sight of a Dino Mascot running towards center of the stadium. From the other end came a Tiger Mascot from the opposite team. They challenged each other by gestures entertaining the crowd.

The background music of a Tiger roar came when Tiger Mascot hit the Dino Mascot and the Dino fell down. While the crowd booed or hooted, Sidharth stood up in concern ready to run to his Lucky Mascot. But the Dino was back on it's feet and a loud Dino roar echoed in the stadium when it butted the Tiger and made it fall on the ground. The Tiger stood up and they both stood with a combat pose.

Sidharth sighed in relief learning that it was just a play put up by the two mascots. The two captains from the team came up to the ground and shook hands with each other displaying sportsmanship. They then held hands with their Mascot and raised high and bowed the spectators. The spectators bowed inturn and clapped.

The mascot's were back out to their respective stages outside the football court. While everyone watched the match, Sidharth's eyes were glued at his lucky mascot. Everytime the Delhi Dino scored a goal, the music played and the Dino danced with two cheer girls bringing smile on Sidharth's face.

_________________

To be continued..

Aage kya hoga?