Sameer stood out of respect when he saw Aruna Irani approaching him and he turned nervous as she came closer. He knew he would be sharing screen with her, not today though. And hence her walking to him to talk randomly caught him off guard.

"Sameer, na?" Arunaji asked. She was in her costume, wearing a blue saree.

"Ji Ma'am." Sameer replied politely. He was surprised that THE ARUNA IRANI remembered his name.

"Set ka pehla din hai aaj?"

"Ji."

"Tum hamesha hi itna observe karte ho ya aaj kuchh special hai?" she teased him, leaning closer towards Sameer.

Sameer blushed, he was caught for the first time while observing the sets. "Nahi... bass... aadat hai."

Arunaji smiled warmly, "jaante ho? Mujhe bhi aisehi observe karne ki aadat hai," she said, "aur mujhe behad khushi hoti hai jab mai mere jaise artists se milti hu."

Sameer heaved deeply, posting a subtle smile and feeling good to have received a compliment from a person who has years of experience in this industry. Doesn't matter if it was just for his observation skills.

"Carry on," Arunaji patted on Sameer's arm and left, giving Sameer one more reason to stay happy for the entire day.

The major reason for him to be happy since yesterday was Aditya, the situation at his home. In these two weeks, he had recognised that convincing Mr. Gopal Gadkari to accept Aditya's choice of work wouldn't be so easy. After listening to Aditya's story, Sameer discerned how the environment of the Gadkari house was a mixt of progressive thoughts but also some rigid beliefs.

They had accepted the love marriage of their elder son and welcomed Sejal, a Gujrati girl, wholeheartedly in their family. Also how Mrs. Gadkari never followed the customs blindly, she always knew some scientific reasons behind it. But at the same time, Mr. Gadkari had really given Aditya a tough time while pursuing him to get into a job and now while accepting his dream.

There was a scope for a change though, as Sameer perceived. The more he immersed himself in writing the letter for Aditya, the more he understood human emotions, their relationships and their intricacies.

He had soon realized that one letter wouldn't be enough for a strong and strict man like Mr. Gopal Gadkari. Sameer believed that Mr. Gadkari needed to understand a few things about his own son too. And he decided to write a series of letters on behalf of Aditya to his father.

The first letter was clearly an apology letter. Nothing more in it. It was an apology from a son to his father about hiding some important things of his life, about lying to him innumerable times and keeping him and the whole family in the dark about his dreams.

Aditya was scared to give that letter to Mr. Gadkari, but Sameer had insisted him to give it personally; he had ensured that Mr. Gadkari didn't seem like a person who would raise his hand on his children. Aditya had finally handed the letter to his father in the garden of the society. Sameer had also given him the dialogues to say and being his writer's actor, Aditya adhered to it strictly, without rambling much. The ego of the hurt father hadn't let Mr. Gadkari open the letter then and there, but as reported by Sejal later, he had read it in his study room alone, turning pensive afterwards.

That day, Sameer had seen Aditya smiling genuinely after a long time. He was relieved to see that the plan they'd devised for Mr. Gadkari was hitting the right spots.

The next two letters were about Aditya's childhood and how he developed interest in the entertainment industry, how he tried finding his happiness in what his father wished for him but failed every time, how he secretly tried to go to the auditions and how acting was the only thing he found great satisfaction in.

After delivering the fourth letter the day before yesterday, where Sameer had mentioned how acting is Aditya's passion just like journalism is for Mr. Gadkari, Aditya had run to Sameer to give him a tight hug. He was emotional, in tears and couldn't stop smiling amidst the tears. He thanked Sameer from the bottom of his heart, saying Mr. Gadkari checked on him, asked him how he was doing and told that his mother misses him a lot.

Sameer was indeed happy for him. Their hug had lasted more than a minute and what had traded through it were only overwhelming emotions and good vibes.

****

Sameer entered the house with his key and finding Naina's books on the tea-table in the living room, he went to search for her straightaway.

"Whooooooo!!!" He scared Naina from behind, when she was arranging their clothes in the almirah.

Naina turned frightened, heaving with her hand on her chest but then smiling brightly seeing Sameer grinning.

"I missed you," Sameer whispered as he pulled her into a hug, wrapping and locking his hands on her lower back and putting a kiss on her head.

He didn't listen to it when Naina responded with 'I missed you too'. He was busy reckoning how their hugs felt different recently. His hands crossed farther than regular on her back, and when he looked at their reflection in the mirror of the almirah, he saw her tiny figure even more shrunken in his arms.

No matter how much he persuaded Naina to eat more and healthy food, it wasn't doing anything to her body. Her weight continued to reduce. And moreover, she had those―

"Oh Mr." a snap of fingers forced Sameer to look in the front, "kahan kho gaye?"' Naina asked him, giggling to herself. Sameer smiled and only shook his head. "Maine puchha kaisa raha aaj ka din?" she queried.

Sameer distanced a little from Naina, finding it in her eyes how happy she was for him. It was his second day on the set today. Two more days on the set and then he was given a short break, with his shoot resuming, but in the new year.

He narrated his day excitedly, sharing every minute details about his scenes, his co-artists and especially about Aruna Irani. He shared how a senior actor like her was speaking very casually with him and with every other person on the set. Being the producer of the show herself, she didn't let that overpower the actor in her and how she was so sincere in every scene of hers, be it with everyone.

"Tumhe pata hai, kal finally mera Arunaji ke sath scene hone wala hai..." Sameer sat on the sofa in the living room.

Naina handed him a glass of water and took her seat beside him, "mujhe yaqeen hai tum bahot achchha karoge, Sameer!!" Her excitement reflected in her twinkling eyes and wide smile.

"Papa kahan hai?"

Naina stifled a smile on Sameer's question. This was his second favorite thing after running to her. ...to look around, to look for Papa, to ask him about his day, to check if Papa brought something for them. Sameer was like a kid who wants to see his favorite people after he gets home from school.

"Post box mein letters daalne gaye hai... aate hi honge..."

"Letters?" Sameer frowned, "kyu?"

Naina chuckled, "tumhi ne prerit kiya hai Papa ko... Aditya ke liye khat likhkar... toh Papa ne bhi chachaji ko khat likha hai, aur sabke liye naye saal ke greetings bhi banaye apne haath se..."

Sameer only laughed, discerning why Papa had brought some chart papers and sketchpens yesterday.

"Sameer!!"

A knock on the open door was heard and the Maheshwari couple looked in the direction to find Aditya.

"Aditya!! Aa na andar... aur kaha gaya tha tu?" Sameer walked towards him.

"Nahi woh... Baba ghar par nahi the na... toh aai ne bulaya tha... uske haath ka khana khilane..." Aditya's voice lowered at the end.

Sameer pursed his lips in a small smile. He condemned how the ego of the man of the family had put all their relations at bay. But somewhere he also knew this was ending soon.

"Yaar Sameer," Aditya said, "kal se shoot shuru hone wala hai... lekin Baba ab tak nahi maane... tu de na yaar kuchh mujhe... koi letter, koi script... kuchh bhi de..." Desperation was clear in Aditya's voice.

Sameer smiled and stroked Aditya's arm to soothe him. "Nahi Aditya... aaj koi letter nahi... aur na hi koi script... aaj tujhe apne papa se wahi kehna hai, jo tere dil se niklega... woh saari baatein jo tu unse kehna chahta tha lekin kabhi keh nahi paaya... aaj tujhe woh sab kehna hai Aditya... aur woh bhi bina meri madad ke..."

Naina stared at her husband adoringly as the words of exchange continued between Sameer and Aditya.

In these more than six years of span Naina has been knowing Sameer, she has seen many changes in him. It wasn't only the physical change, where from a school going boy, he had transformed into a finely grown handsome young man with broad and muscular chest and chiseled jawline. But it was also the behavioral and emotional change in him that Naina had been a witness of. And in the past two-three weeks, there was an addition of one more beautiful change in him.

Naina had noticed from day one how Sameer was so immersed in writing the letters for Aditya. It was to an extent that Sameer had started taking it personally, rather than writing it on someone's behalf. He had shared Aditya's story with her and would often discuss about the unknown side of Mr. Gadkari, claiming that he doesn't want to be biased to Aditya just because he was his friend, but a solution to this situation is possible only when Aditya feels Mr. Gadkari's emotions too. That's what his dialogues to Aditya were mostly based on.

They both had a small role reversal when Naina would read Sameer's letters and scripts and give them thumbs up, so that Sameer could pass it on to Aditya. Naina was awestruck every time after reading the letter. She was impressed with Sameer's writing style, his choice of words, the pattern of having a great start and end to it and the way it was written utterly sincerely.

Reading Sameer's letters wasn't new to her. She had survived her whole one year on Sameer's letters when he was in Delhi. But that was a different thing. It was Sameer who was going through everything mentioned in his letters personally. He would always put his heart out about how he feels there.

Being a writer herself, she never thought of it as something difficult. But as her circle expanded, as her life experiences kept on adding, she fathomed that 'writing' too is a skill... writing effectively to be precise... and not everyone possesses it.

This brought her to appreciate Sameer more for the letters. But she was slightly surprised to see the equal amount of earnestness while it was written for someone else.

Sameer had told her that the letters were working. And she knew why... because Sameer had written them considering the side of a sixty year old retired man, who just wanted a secured future for his son and not go through the same hardships he himself went through. Sameer's letters had the depiction of real emotions. They weren't meant to only help his friend, they had more to do with mending differences between a father and a son, something that Sameer found himself deeply connected with.

She had seen it in Sameer's eyes, in his body language... when he would talk about the letters, Aditya and Mr. Gadkari. He always appeared so passionate about it. It looked as if he was trying to convince his own father. She still remembered his statement clearly―

"Nahi Naina... hum ghar ke badon ko samajhne mein aksar galati kar jaate hai..." Sameer had said looking out of the window. "Hamein hamesha lagta hai ki hum hi sahi hote hai... lekin yeh bhi sach hai ki hum unhe samajhne ki koshish bhi nahi karte..."

He had kept looking at the moon that night, without blinking for a moment. "Mai jaanta hu Papa ki mere baarein mein kafi galat rai reh chuki hai... lekin mai bhi toh unhe galat hi samajhta tha na..." he leaned forward and placed his hands on the window and sighed, "mai bass chahta hu ki jaise papa aur mai ek-dusre ko thoda-thoda samajhne lage hai, waise hi Aditya aur Gadkari uncle bhi ek-dusre ko samajh le...hai na?"

Naina's heart was filled with immense joy and happiness that day. The boy who used to stay aloof from people, making tough walls around him and not letting anyone inside it; the boy who didn't allow anyone to see his vulnerable side and hated having close relationships with him apart from Nanu till a certain age... was now understanding relationship dynamics so beautifully... he had started understanding a father-son relationship more closely... almost at a personal level...

A father-son relationship was such a layered one to understand...

If a father is a superhero for a ten year old boy, then the same person becomes a troublemaker for him in his adolescence. It's like two lions trying to mark the same territory as theirs... basically two 'men' trying to fit in the same space. The opinions clash, the sharing lessens and gradually the understanding between the two reduces.

But as the son grows and becomes mature; as the father's shoulders slump not because of the responsibilities, but because of the age, the layers slowly start falling down, exposing the two blood-related people to each other who probably love one another a lot, but just are not conditioned to profess it... the unwinding of layers, of emotions, of the feelings of care is indeed a beautiful process to go through... what comes through as a result is two close-knitted men who let go of their masculinity and talk to each other just as human beings.

Naina couldn't be happier to see the exact same process going on in their house, which was so blissful to observe from a distance. Sameer had now become more responsible when it came to Papa... he had become a son to him...

Naina chuckled to herself when she saw Sameer continuing to explain to Aditya what all to say, despite telling him that he wouldn't help him today. If she could see herself in the mirror right at this moment, then she would tell that the gleam in her eyes was of pride about Sameer.

The pride of seeing a glimpse of a writer in him...

If she was the writer sahiba of their house, who would write meaningful short stories and articles, then Sameer was the shayar sahab, who would express himself through his poems and shayaris. But she recognized there was a hidden writer in him too, who is as good in prose format of writing as in poetry.

He had the ability to become a good writer... a passionate writer indeed...

She was so proud of her husband.

"Aaiye na Gadkari sahab!!" Rakesh's voice was clearly heard through the lobby and the three stood alert in the living room.

Rakesh and Mr. Gadkari entered the house while talking, and Sameer and Naina just exchanged a glance only to suppress their chuckle. Well, they didn't miss to notice how Mr. Gadkari was often visiting their house these days with a number of excuses... sometimes to ask for a magazine, sometimes for a cassette and sometimes for any random thing that was clearly unnecessary.

No, they were not being the unwelcoming hosts. They just knew it was to see Aditya in their house... as Mr. Gadkari would sit impatiently looking around. Unfortunately for him, Aditya was always out.

Mr. Gadkari stopped after looking at Aditya. Today, just like his spectacles which were down on his nose, his shoulders too were slumped. He forgot why he came here with Rakesh nor did he find words to utter anything looking at his son. ...someone he was actually waiting to see since a couple of days.

He fumbled as he became restless and addressed Rakesh, "ummm... Rakesh bhau... mai baad mein aata hu..."

His back faced the people in the house as he turned and both Sameer and Naina signalled desperately to Aditya, asking him to stop his father.

Aditya licked his lips and rubbed his sweaty hands on his jeans. Believing in all the faith shown by his aai, his dada-vahini, by Sameer-Naina and a special person, he shut his eyes, prayed to God and voiced earnestly.

"Baba!!! Thamba..."

*****

Sameer directed himself towards the set which was supposed to be the living room of the house. There was an ease with the way he was walking, a rhythm in his steps as if dancing to the tunes of cheerful music and a warm smile on his face throughout. A part of the reason behind his smile was Naina's small chit in his lunchbox saying 'I am proud of you, my husband!' To his extra delight, Naina had kissed the paper with lipstick on, leaving a pink mark on it. Sameer had blushed and laughed to himself seeing it, then kissing on the mark right after and keeping it in his shirt's pocket.

The major part was of course yesterday. Aditya and his choice of work was finally accepted by Mr. Gadkari and Sameer couldn't be happier about it. According to Sameer, whatever happened yesterday evening in their house was nothing less than a movie scene. It had drama, it had emotions... it had no heavy dialogues but words coming straight from heart, it had ruthna-manana, some sweet sorrys, not glycerin induced but some true warm tears and then only smiles and hugs.

He had looked at Rakesh Papa when Aditya and Mr. Gadkari hugged and were crying. Papa had tears in his eyes but as non-expressive as he was, he didn't let a single drop of tear fall out of his eyes. Sameer too was equally emotional though. His efforts to make a father-son duo reunite had finally paid off. But his insides churned more seeing teary eyed Rakesh, who appeared a vulnerable father... who needed his son too near him at that moment.

Sameer wanted to go to Papa, hold him, hug him... but he couldn't... just couldn't... as the boundary of their relationship was still somewhat present in them. He realized how men in our society were conditioned to not be expressive. They were hard-wired to be strong, brave, inexpressive and authoritarian. Mr. Rakesh Agarwal was afterall the product of such patriarchal conditioning and there was still some time for him to open up to Sameer.

As Sameer reached the set, he spotted Aruna Irani on the sofa with the script in her hand. He was called for the rehearsal of the scene with her.

"Hello ma'am," Sameer greeted her with a smile, sitting on the adjacent sofa. She had a frown on her face, so Sameer assumed she must be busy reading; but when she glanced at him, she smiled.

"Sameer.... Baitho..." Arunaji shifted her attention to Sameer. "Iske pehle scene mein tumne jo addition li, woh bahot achchhi thi..."

"Aapne dekha?" Sameer asked, amazed.

"Haan..." Arunaji shrugged, sounding casual as if it was regular for her.

Sameer's scene before the lunch was with two other co-artists, and he certainly didn't expect Aruna Irani to observe a scene she was not a part of. Maybe that's the quality that separates good actors and great actors. When you stay on the set to observe and learn from others, work as a team and make the outcome look good cumulatively.

"Thank you ma'am," Sameer said humbly.

The rehearsal started and Sameer noticed that Arunaji was frowning in between. She seemed to be thinking about the script. Sameer could figure that. But her being such a senior actor, he let it go.

The director explained the blocking and then got busy with his assistants, instructing them. Sameer kept on observing the camera settings as they stood for the shot and turned to Aruna ji after a while.

"Sir toh bol rahe the hamara mid-shot lagega," he said.

"Haan... kyu?" Arunaji didn't get the context.

"Nahi... I mean... camera mein master shot laga hai na... isliye..." Sameer pointed towards the main camera on the stand, which was a few feet away from them.

Arunaji observed the camera, "tumhe kaise pata chala?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Ummm... lens dekhkar pata chal raha hai...."

An unknown smile took place on Arunaji's face, accompanying the emotions of surprise and appreciation at the same time. It took her quite a few years in the industry to get accustomed with the technical knowledge exchange on the sets. Predicting the shot just by looking at the lens was something many actors working in the industry for years couldn't do. Actually some of them never really cared.

"Haan... master shot hi laga hai," Arunaji accepted and called their DOP, asking him about the shot. In response, they got to know that the DOP was waiting for the director's final instructions.

"Ma'am, aapse ek baat puchhu?" Sameer asked again. After receiving a positive nod from Arunaji, he continued, "aap script ke baare mein kuchh soch rahi hai? Mai kabse dekh raha hu aapko..."

"Haan soch toh rahi hu," Arunaji agreed, locking her hands behind. "Aisa nahi hai ki iss scene main kuchh galat hai ya yeh scene boora hai... lekin pata nahi kyu mujhe lag raha hai ki kuchh toh kami hai isme... something is missing..."

"Jaise?" he asked.

"Jo baat mai isme kehna chah rahi hu na, aisa lag raha hai woh dil tak chhoo nahi rahi hai..."

Sameer pondered upon Arunaji's statement. After the rehearsal, he had the entire scene printed in his mind and he too could deduce what Arunaji meant.

"Agar aap bura na maane, toh mai kuchh suggest karu?" Sameer dared to cross a line.

"Haan haan... bolo na..."

Sameer gathered some confidence with a deep inhale and started, "ma'am aapka yeh jo character hai, woh college mein professor hai... uss muqaam tak pohochne ke liye unhone kafi taqleef bhi sahi hai... akeli rehti hai... iss scene me jab woh mujhe zindagi ke baare mein koi naseehat deti hai, toh kyu na kisi sher ya kavita ke zariye de? Apne struggles ke baare mein bataye?"

"Ma'am, shot ke liye ready hai?" An assistant's voice forced them to look at him.

"Shekhar... 2 minutes..." Arunaji replied promptly. "Jaise?" she asked Sameer.

"Umm... jaise... Narendra Verma ji ki kavita hai... Safar mein dhoop toh hogi, tap sako toh chalo..." He remembered the poem from Papa's collection. "Usme kuchh lines aisi hai―

'तुम ढूंढ रहे हो अंधेरो में रोशनी ,खुद रोशन कर सको तो चलो,
कहा रोक पायेगा रास्ता कोई जुनून बचा है तो चलो।

जलाकर खुद को रोशनी फैला सको तो चलो,
गम सह कर खुशियां बांट सको तो चलो।

खुद पर हंसकर दूसरों को हंसा सको तो चलो,
दूसरों को बदलने की चाह छोड़ कर, खुद बदल सको तो चलो।'

―agar aap iss kavita ko yahan add karti hain," Sameer picked the script from the couch and pointed at a line, "toh aap jo baat mere character ke saamne rakhna chahti hai, uska jyada impact hoga... "

Taking the script from Sameer, Arunaji glanced at her team. Everyone was waiting. And then she checked the piece of paper in her hand.

She had never made anyone wait till date, but she felt the need now.

"Sameer... tumhara sujhaav toh bahot achchha hai... lekin kisi aur kavi ki kavita kyu? Agar hum kuchh original shayari ya kavita sunate... toh jyada achchha hota..." She sighed, looking at the script, "lekin itne kam waqt mein woh possible nahi hai..."

"Ma'am... mai..." Sameer paused, debating with himself, but then continued, "mai likh ke de sakta hu... abhi..."

"Are you sure?"

"Ji... Ma'am..."

Arunaji pondered over the proposal. She had taken many risks in her life and this little improvisation seemed quite little in front of them.

"Thik hai... Kitna time chahiye tumhe?" She asked.

"15-20 minutes?" Sameer told her, considering not to waste the time of the unit and the lady in front of him who had put the trust in him.

Arunaji smiled and announced a short break of half an hour after consulting with her director.

"Sameer..." She called when Sameer was about to leave. "Kavita thodi positive likhna... hame darshako ko nayi ummeed dilani hai... niraash nahi karna hai..." she laughed at the end.

Sameer took a chair in the corner of the set. He passed the script one more time through his eyes and started thinking about the scene, now from Aruna Irani's character's point of view. He perceived there were quite similarities between that character and Rakesh Papa. Both working in school or college, lived most of their lives alone or without a partner and struggled all their lives to get recognition from people.

He shut his eyes and imagined Papa sitting in front of him, them having a casual conversation and Papa telling him his side through a poem. He fathomed that even after knowing Papa for 6-7 years, there was still an unexplored and undiscovered side of him that hardly a few people must have seen.

Sameer tried to imagine how Rakesh must have wandered in places to get a job after his family told him on face they couldn't feed him for free. He tried to imagine how Rakesh must have put his broken pieces together after losing his life partner. He tried to imagine how Rakesh must have felt when he faced all those insults, turning him into a bitter person.

For Aruna Irani's character, he collected a few anecdotes from Papa's life and put them together into poetic lines.

After 15 minutes, he ran to Aruna Irani, handing her the piece of paper. Arunaji smiled as she read through. This was the most accurate summation of her character's journey, but in the form of a poem.

****

Sameer and Naina ran towards the main gate of the Sea Queen Society, holding hand in hand and grinning wide. It wasn't difficult for Naina to run fast, she was wearing the sports shoes that helped her in matching the speed with Sameer's. As Sameer flung his leg on the bike, Naina opened the gate for him, shutting it right after he crossed the gate.

Keeping her hands on his shoulders, she sat on the bike. Ohh... it was so easy and so comfortable today.

"Chalein Mrs. Maheshwari?" Sameer asked, passing her brown sunglasses.

Naina wore it in style, seeing Sameer wearing his glasses in the side mirror. "Chalo..." she adjusted herself again and patted on Sameer's shoulder. It didn't take much time for the bike to catch the speed, dashing on the streets of Mumbai, heading towards the south.

Naina shut her eyes, partially because of the wind and more because of the contentment in her heart. The wind messed her hair completely, but she didn't bother. The breeze was colder that travelled through her shirt's sleeves, erupting goosebumps on her skin and sending shivers down her spine. She didn't care about it either, finding a solution for it by sliding her hands around Sameer's stomach, hugging him tightly.

"I love you... " She almost screamed close to his ear.

Sameer chuckled, feeling her hand with his palm, "I love you too... " he voiced.

Only Naina knew how she resisted the urge to put a kiss on his neck. It was still dawn, Mumbai was waking up gradually, however, she was aware of the kind of distraction her kisses could provide to Sameer.

Naina observed as Sameer sped up the bike, maneuvering through the vehicles. Very few vehicles though compared to the heavy traffic of the day. For the first time, her neck wasn't hurting while looking at the road; for the first time, she could hold Sameer properly, without fearing of slipping.

Because for the first time, she sat on the bike putting her legs on both sides...

Yesterday night, when Sameer showed the bike's key that he had arranged, Naina had almost jumped on him. Sameer suggested they should wear something special. In the hustle-bustle of Mumbai life, they had forgotten to dress up nicely while going out. He came with the idea to wear the denim shirt and jeans they both had worn while returning from their honeymoon. Naina wasn't in the mood to deny it either.

Gripping Sameer's shirt from his waist, she leaned back, letting her hair play more with the wind. Her lips couldn't turn wider into a smile than already it is. Her face couldn't reflect the 'sukoon' more than it already is. She slipped her glasses on her head, watching the moon in the sky running with them.

A drop of tear in the corner of her eyes threatened to fall. She chuckled. What the windy bike ride couldn't do, her heart had done it. Bring the tears in her eyes. Tears of happiness!!

Sameer was so happy these days. So happy that he wouldn't stop smiling all day. He was extra cheerful, extra funny, extra talkative and extra energetic all this week. So energetic that he would easily turn their nights into long nights. Long romantic and passionate nights.

Ahh... she was still very much under the effect of the beautiful last night.

Aruna Irani reciting Sameer's poem in her show was a big moment for Sameer. Him lifting her in his arms and twirling, after returning home, depicted his euphoric feelings. Sameer told it only to her that it was Rakesh Papa's poem collection and also Papa himself somewhere behind the poem Sameer wrote. Naina couldn't be more proud when she learnt it. She couldn't stop appreciating Sameer for his guts. That night, she had kept the bowl of salt water near him to cast the evil eye off.

He was full of positive tales from the set, making her realize how there can be different experiences with different production houses. If you work with a good one, then there's definitely a ray of hope for progress. And she could see that Sameer had learnt a lot on that set.

She hugged Sameer again, resting her chin on his shoulder, she locked her hands on his front.

"Kya baat hai madam? Kuchh jyada hi khush nahi hai aap?" Sameer teased her.

"Tum aise meri khwahish poori karoge toh kyun na khush rahu mai?" she replied.

Parking the bike in the available space, Sameer and Naina ran again. They didn't want to miss even one moment of the sunrise. Crossing The Gateway of India, they ran towards the port, where they could see the first rays of the sun from.

Sameer stopped midway and Naina almost collided with him, recognizing he did it on purpose. He pulled her closer, holding her from her lower back. They were panting due to the running. Sameer observed Naina lovingly, rather keenly. Her messed up hair was disturbing her soft cheeks. The dark circles under her eyes had faded a bit, while her face was glowing and reflecting what her heart told him.

He put the strand of hair behind her ear, rubbing her cheek with his thumb but rather getting lost in her beautiful eyes. They were his world... his home... the mirror of her feelings, emotions. What he found in it was 'sukoon'.

Sukh... as they say.

The sky had started taking the yellow and orange shades from the palette to color itself. As the Maheshwari couple turned towards the sea, they saw the flocks of birds flying, their chirping turning the environment blissful and rejuvenating. There were ships and boats sailing, reminding them both of Naina's theory of Love during their last visit.

The Sun gradually rose from the horizon and Sameer and Naina clung to each other more, clutching one another's shirts.

Naina rested her temple on Sameer's shoulder, closing her eyes and locking the spectacular sight in her memory. She breathed the fresh air, which somehow got amalgamated with Sameer's white musk perfume coming from his shirt. That was the best fragrance in the world.

She wrapped her hands around Sameer's neck as she turned to him. She loved seeing his face glowing in the tender sunlight. She debated whether it was his soft and smooth skin that glowed more or his dark eyes that glittered more. Albeit, she was completely satisfied with both as long as it was making him shine brighter.

Her hand slided to his chest, stopping at his heart and stroking the denim fiber over there. "Sameer..." she whispered looking deep into his eyes, "yeh naya saal tumhare liye bahot achchha saabit ho... iss naye saal mein tum kaamyabi ki uchhaiyaan chhuo... iss naye saal mein tumhare andar ke kalakar ko nayi disha mile... mai bhagwanji se yahi prarthana karti hu..."

Sameer smiled at her sweetest wish. He cradled her face, "tum bhool gayi na... no mera, no tumhara only hamara..." he voiced, earning Naina's cute laughter.

"Naina, yeh naya saal hum dono ke liye nayi khushiyaan lekar aaye... hum dono iss naye saal mein bahot kaamyaab bane aur apne sapne poore karein... mai bhagwanji se yahi prarthana karta hun."

Naina smiled amidst the happy tears. She hadn't seen anyone using the adjective 'beautiful' for a male, but Sameer looked nothing less than beautiful at this moment as he wished for them both.

Tiptoeing herself, she planted a kiss on his cheek, wishing the rising sun and the almighty to fulfill all the Sameer's wishes.

She wished for his smile and his happiness to never fade again.

**********

Hey peeps, yupp it's me. Coming with the update after a looonngg time. How's you all?

To be honest, some of the things were out of control for me in these days. There was some tough time and some unpredictable happenings. No excuse to the delay but I couldn't really help. Apologies.

So, how was this chapter? Let me know in the comments.

This was quite tough to write. I had many versions of Sameer-Arunaji scene here. Finally settled with this scene.

Also, while I had to face something so gloomy in real life, it was not easy at all to come up with such a poem. I hope thik thak bani ho.😌

What do you think will Aruna Irani bring to the table?

Do shower your love in the form of votes and comments.

Love,

Mugs 💕