The story continues ...

Naina had entered a distant colony from her house. Swati's house was even farther away. She was looking around and was walking backwards when her waist hit something very hard.

"Ouch!"

She turned around, she had hit a parked car's bonnet.

"Ruki gadi se takkar khane se koi marta nahi. Kaho to gadi start kar du fir iske aage kud jaana?" She heard an unfamiliar voice.

Fuming with anger, she turned to face the owner of the voice.

All the anger and frustration Naina had felt a second before evaporated like thin mist. Before her, was standing one of most handsome boys she had ever laid her eyes on. It wouldn't be a lie to say that he was an exact replica of Maine Pyar Kiya's Salman Khan! She felt as if she had been pulled into a trance where the world around her faded and it was only she and the boy, standing alone on a deserted road in the middle of the night.

"Karu? Gadi start karu?" The boy smirked on seeing Naina's eyes transfixed on his face.

His voice brought her back to reality.
She was running away from home and had just met a stranger who was dressed in a night suit but looked oh so charming that she couldn't think straight! She hadn't felt so floored before. It was an altogether different plethora of emotions.

"Hello?" The man waved his hand in front of her bringing her back from her dream world.

"Itni raat ko akele ghum rahi ho, kya baat hai?" The stranger asked her.

"Tumse matlab?" She realized that he was too interfering.

"Waise mera naam Sameer Maheshwari hai." He said.

"Toh?"

"Toh? Toh kya? Kuch nahi." Sameer shrugged his shoulders.

Naina scanned him from top to bottom, then averted her gaze and began wondering if the dog would have left the street and it would be safe to head to Swati's place when Sameer spoke again.

"Chai peeogi? Pee hi lo. Lagta hai ghar se bhaag rahi ho. Bhaag bhaag ke thak gayi hogi." Sameer pointed at the late night tea stall next to where he was standing. Naina hadn't actually registered her surroundings till now.

"Tum wall clock kha gaye the jo thodi thodi der me bajte rehte ho?" She asked him.

"Nahi. Tum zaroor roz karele khati hogi jo itni kadwi ho." Sameer grinned.

"Karele nahi tinde." Naina walked upto where he was standing and sat on one of the benches.

She ordered a cup of tea for herself and sat looking around at the empty street, closed shops and the engulfing silence. Sameer sat next to her, both of them looked at the moon peeping behind the clouds. A mild wind was blowing their hair, gently.

"Mera naam Naina Agarwal hai." Naina said after a pause.

"Toh?" Now it was Sameer's turn to make her feel odd.

"Toh? Toh kya? Kuch nahi." Naina smiled. He noticed the little change of colour of her cheeks.

"Ghar se bhaag rahi ho?" He asked her. She looked at their feet and nodded slowly. They looked so perfectly aligned together. His company felt ... so right.

"Par bass kal shaam tak ke liye." Naina added.

"Kyu?" Sameer was confused.

"Tum agar mujhe pagal samjhna chaho toh tum samajh sakte ho par mai aaj kal ki ladkiyon se bahut alag hu -" Naina began telling her story.

"- Wo toh dikh hi raha hai." Sameer cut her in between.

"Mai isse apni tareef samjhungi. Thank You. Mere Papa ne mere liye ek ladka pasand kiya hai par mujhe abhi kaafi padhna hai, kuch karna hai, apne Mummy Papa ki aan baan shaan toh mai pehle se hu par mujhe unka sar aur fakr se ucha karna hai. Mujhe shaadi karke ghar pe nahi baithna. Isiliye mai ghar se bhaag rahi hu taaki koi mujhe kisi zabardasti ke rishte me na bandhe." Naina's expressions turned cheerful and hopeful when she talked of her future.

As she opened up about her ambition, Sameer felt himself getting lost in her words. The way her eyes twinkled with excitement, the way her lips curved up in a smile was so heart warming and endearing.

"Toh tum apne maa baap ka sar faqr se upar uthana chahti ho ghar se bhaag kar?" Sameer asked.

She was tongue tied.

"Kal jab ladke wale tumhe dekhne aayenge, tab tum ghar pe toh milogi nahi. Haa... wo chaar baatein tumhare mummy papa ko suna denge. Samaj me wo chalne layak nahi bachenge, par koi baat nahi. Kya fark padta hai?" Sameer took the glasses full of tea from the vendor. He handed one of them to Naina.

"Tumhare Papa tumhari baat nahi sunte? Tumhe bolne ka haq nahi hai?" Sameer asked her.

"Hai ... Mere Mummy Papa ne kabhi ladke ladkiyon me farq nahi kiya. Papa toh keh bhi rahe the ki agar mujhe ladka pasand na aaye toh mai mana bhi kar sakti hu." Naina kept on ranting about her upbringing. Sameer kept on listening patiently.

"Ladke ka naam kya hai?" Sameer asked her.

"Pata nahi."

"Wo kya karta hai?"

"Pata nahi."

"Kaha rehta hai?"

"Pata nahi."

Naina's voice was barely a whisper.

"Ye badhiya hai. Ladke ke baare me kuch nahi pata, Papa na karne ki aazadi bhi de rahe hain par ghar se bhaag gayi." Sameer said.

Naina didn't need Sameer to tell her that she was being foolish. She had understood her mistake while narrating the incident before him but that tone of concern and minor sarcasm made her feel important in his eyes, maybe he cared and she wanted him to go on, instead, she said -

"Itne taane marne ki zaroorat nahi hai! Mai ghar chali jaaungi." Naina made an angry face.

"Acchi baat hai." Sameer looked ahead.

The prospect of the upcoming seperation hit him hard. He didn't want her to go away.

Kyu chupke se tujhe mudkar aksar dekh lu?
Kyu tere qareeb me hi ab to mai rahu?
Tujhse milke bichad jaana bura lagta hai.
Kyu khush ho jaati hu jab kabhi tu hasta hai?
Tu hasta hai.
Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai jab ishq me padna accha hua karta tha.
Rahiman Rahiman ye preet re jaane na mane ye reet re.
Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai

"Meri baat bahut huyi. Ab tum apne baare me kuch batao." Naina urged him. She just wanted the conversation to go on. She didn't want him to go away.

"Mai? Mere ghar me Nanu hai, Mama - Mami, Bhaiya - Bhabhi. Bas." His posture became stiff.

"Mummy Papa?" Naina asked him.

"Nahi hai. Mummy, Delhi me apne husband aur unke baccho ke saath rehti hai aur Papa... Jab mai bahut chota tha tab hi guzar gaye." Sameer said.

He looked a little broken, he appeared to be a little hurt and Naina had a feeling that his pain went deeper than what he was showing. She had this urge, this wish to get to know this stranger better. She wanted to tend to those emotional wounds of his. She wanted to run her fingers over them and heal them, maybe?

Kitabein kahi par chut gayi hain
Tumhe mai padhne lagi
School ki jagah mai,
Teri khatir ghar se nikalne lagi.
Kabhi jhooth bola nahi tha fir bhi,
Bahane banane lagi.
Kabhi ye kabhi wo kehke tumse,
Milne aane lagi
Milne aane lagi.
Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai
Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai.

"Aur dost?" She asked him

"Munna aur Pandit. Dono mere best friends hai." Sameer's eyes twinkled instantly with affection.

"Honge par meri Preeti aur Swati se acche dost nahi ho sakte wo." Naina boasted.

"Ho hi nahi sakta. Munna aur Pandit iss puri duniya ke sabse acche dost hai." Sameer was ready to fight with her.

Their tea cups were empty but none of them was ready to return it to the vendor. It would mean an end to their meeting and this was one thing none of them wanted.

They kept on talking. The first heart felt conversation of their first love, was so simple and so special for both of them. They didn't even knew that love was round the corner and it was knocking on their door. They were just aware of the faster beating of their hearts and an ecstastic emotion filling them. They couldn't make head or tail of the concoction of sensations within them but they felt an ever increasing longing for each other, even before they had parted. The feeling was new to both of them and the beauty of it lay in the confusion.

Their smiles on their general conversation was screaming about the dawn of love. Their eyes were shamelessly locked into each other as they spoke. There was so much to say and so little time.

"Mere liye rishta aaya, tumhare liye bhi to aate honge?" Naina wondered.

"Haa" Sameer dragged the word. "Par abhi tak mujhe koi pasand nahi aaya."

Naina smiled showing all her teeth.

"Waise tumhari shadi hogi bahut dhoom dhaam se. Nahi? Dahej bhi toh loge tum log! Bechari ladki. Kya karte ho waise tum?" Naina asked him.

"Mamaji aur Devang Bhaiya ke saath Nanu ka business sambhalne ka irada hai. Padhai me kabhi mera khaas interest nahi tha." Sameer said "Aur mai dahej ke khilaf hu."

Naina hadn't thought about how her husband should be but Sameer was painting an ideal image in her head. She was planning to return home but she was so sure that no guy could come even close to what Sameer Maheshwari was.

"Padhai me interest kaise nahi hai?"

"Nahi hai bas nahi hai. Mujhe kya zaroorat hai padhne ki?" Sameer said.

"Tumhe kabhi kisi ne bataya hai ki tum ek number ke buddhu aur padhai chor ho?" Naina asked him.

"Nahi. Itni takleef kabhi kisi ne nahi uthai." Sameer was being sarcastic. "Koi daantne wala nahi hai mujhe."

"Tum kaho toh mai pyar se daant du?" Naina innocently asked him.

There was simple care in her voice and Sameer wanted to let Naina care for him. He wanted to know how her pyar wali daant was. He wanted to know so much more about her. He wanted time to stop. He wanted to be in this beautiful night with her forever but it was getting late. He would have to delay his wishes. Maybe for next time?

"Chalo mai tumhe ghar chod du." Sameer said after a while.

"Ghar? Abhi?" Naina looked at the watch in her hand. It was about to strike four in the morning.

Sameer got up and began walking towards his car. Naina was getting restless. How could she let him go?

"Sameer!" She called him.

He stopped in his tracks.

"Hum- H..hum" She had no clue what to say. "T..thank you mujhe samjhane ke liye. Ab hum dost hai na?"

"Dosti ka ek usul hai madam. Dosti me no sorry, no thank you." He smiled and she chuckled at the reference.
____________________________________

Sameer's car stopped in front of Naina's society. The feeling of sitting in his car hadn't even sinked properly when her house arrived.

"Apni shaadi ka card bhejwa dena." Sameer joked.

"Mai ab haa nahi kehne wali." Naina looked away.

"Tum ab naa bhi nahi keh paogi." Sameer said it confidently. Naina didn't get what he wanted to say.

With a heavy heart, she got out of his car and bid him a goodbye. They exchanged their numbers and then Sameer reversed his car and left Naina's street.

Naina climbed the stairs to her house. She sneaked inside and went straight to her parents' room. She tore the letter she had written and threw the pieces in the bin. Next, she went back to her room and changed. She was so happy that she hugged Preeti and slept.

The next morning was full of hustle bustle at the Agarwal household. Naina's Tauji Taiji and their son Pralay was also present at the event. Preeti and Bela helped Naina to dress up. She looked nothing short of a princess. In her blue sari and open hair, Naina looked straight like she had descended from heaven.

Anand caught Naina's attention and took her out in the balcony for a while.

"Naina, kal tum bahut gusse me thi aur humari baat nahi ho payi. Beta, samjho ladka, uske gharwale bahut acche hai. Wo roka karne ke baad tumhari padhai puri hone tak intezar karne ke liye bhi taiyar hai. Ek baar is ladke ko mauka do. Agar tumhe nahi pasand aaya toh hum mana kar denge." Anand said.

"I'm sorry Papa. Kal na maine aapki baat suni aur aapse bahut badtameezi se baat ki. Aap mujhe maaf kar denge na?" Naina's kohl lined eyes were filled with tears.

Anand hugged her and reassured her of his protection. Naina apologized again.

Naina was ready to give one chance to the prospective groom but she was sure that no one could capture her heart the way Sameer did the previous night.

The groom's family arrived. It consisted of an elderly man, a middle aged couple along with a freshly married one.

"Ladka kaha hai?" Preeti nudged Naina.

"Mujhe kya pata." She replied with annoyance.

Just when these words left her mouth. A well built man crossed the threshold of her house. He bent down to touch the elders' feet and when he finally looked up Naina got transfixed - once again, like she had been before.

The guy whom Anand had chosen for Naina was none other than Sameer Maheshwari himself.

Sameer caught her staring at him.

He winked and her cheeks turned scarlet.

THE END

It's the end for this story but the book will have many more one shots/two shots which will be posted as and when I'm free.

Stay tuned.

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