Preeti was lying on the bed to her side thinking about her day today. It was a variety of emotions she had gone through today. She looked at her hand which was held softly by her husband, who was in deep sleep now. There was a pleasant smile on his face even while sleeping and a lone tear slided from her eyes. He had apologized to her for his rude behaviour this morning by giving her a beautiful rose he had bought on his way back. Shubham had been very stressful these days due to work, as his senior was on leave, and Shubham was given the charge of his work. He was returning home late due to the excessive responsibility and would sleep tired and exhausted at night. Preeti was looking to bring back the topic of her parlour course again since quite a few days, but she wouldn't get a chance due to Shubham's hectic schedule. But today she gathered some courage and spoke about it while he was getting ready for office. He had almost shouted at her saying he needs some peaceful time to think about it or even to speak with his mother regarding this. She had controlled her tears that time but when Nirmalaji yelled at her asking about reasons for Shubham leaving without having breakfast, she just couldn't hold it. She finished all her work in a melancholy and didn't realise that she had finished it earlier than usual. When Nirmalaji stepped out of the house to meet someone, she thought of talking to Naina, if that could uplift her mood even a little.

But visiting Naina turned out to be the absolute highlight of the day. They had talked only for a few minutes when all their attention shifted to Naina's hair stuck in her wrist watch and then to solving her dry hair problems. Ughhh, Naina is so stupid! She wondered. Why can't she take care of herself? Before Naina's wedding, they both used to have regular oiling regime and steam sessions. She remembered Naina used to do it even in Ahmedabad even after her wedding. So probably the rigorous study for hours and stress here in Mumbai must have forced Naina to overlook self-care. Of course! Stress is also one of the factors for damaged hair. And Naina had also admitted that she would sometimes just skip oiling and directly wash her hair using shampoo. Preeti thought she was right when she literally scolded Naina for that. But she felt so happy to help her sister to get some smooth and silky hair today. She felt like she had achieved a victory over something when she held scissors in her hand for Naina's haircut. She had quickly run to Sejal and came back with a hair dryer to set her hair. Both Naina and Preeti kept gushing over how gorgeous Naina was looking after that. Preeti was so keen to see her Jijaji's reaction after the small transformation, just like that day in college, but she understood that now since they are married, it's their right to enjoy this small happy moment in private.

When Shubham returned home late, he actually looked fearful to face Preeti, because some times, even he had seen Preeti's that 'roop' where she would burst out in anger in front of Shubham. But he was surprised to see her all smiling, chirpy and roaming here and there excitedly. He had said sorry to her with the rose when they came to their bedroom and she had literally squeezed him tight in a hug. Preeti was aware about Shubham's dilemma while facing his mother to speak about Preeti's parlour course, but she also knew that her husband would surely let her pursue her dream, one day. And she was ready to wait for that one day patiently. She brought his hand nearer to her and kissed on the back of his palm. She then shifted closer to him, caressed his hair with her free hand, put a gentle kiss on his temple and fell asleep. The smile on Shubham's face automatically turned wider even in deep sleep.

A warm moonlight was peeping into the darkness of the bedroom of the Maheshwari's, when the couple was kissing each other senselessly. Naina was lying on her back with her husband lying over her, kissing her insalenly. Sameer had completely settled his weight on her and fixed himself in the most desirable place on her body. He had kept his one hand to the side of her head to get the desired angles while kissing, while his other hand was roaming on her curves, giving her pleasures. Naina had curled up her fingers in Sameer's hair while her other hand had delved beneath his shirt and was stroking his back. They both were moaning in gratification as Sameer was grinding his hips in up and down motion and rubbing his hardened length between her legs. Soon Naina took out her hands from wherever they were and used them to unbutton his shirt, without leaving his mouth. The need to touch him had grown by leaps and bounds now. Sensing her hands fumbling with his buttons, Sameer lifted himself from her and sat on his knees. He heard a frustrating sound and received an annoyed look from Naina for breaking the kiss. He swiftly unbuttoned his shirt and shed it to throw somewhere in the room. The immediate next moment, he felt a pull on his wrist by his wife and as he bent down, they resumed their soul-searing kisses.

Tonight it wasn't their carnal hunger but an attribute from their partner's personality, from their character, that had aroused them badly. For Naina, it was Sameer's unconditional love for her, his support for her in every little aspect and his wish to go beyond limits for her that became responsible for her pulling him for a kiss by grabbing his collar. For Sameer, it was Naina's selfless nature and the quality of putting others ahead of herself that had turned him on. He was amazed to see that even after writing such a beautiful story of two sisters, Naina had discarded it just because it didn't resonate with her real life. Her helplessness after realising Preeti's condition, her eagerness to do something for Preeti to ease out her tensions, all had led to him staring at her with so much love and affection, despite the darkness in the room, and caressing her face and put gentle kisses all over it, as soon as they had lied down on the mattress. He couldn't fathom when her wandering hands on his chest left his torso and went on to grab his collar to pull him down. He couldn't recollect it properly when the soft gentle brief kisses turned into a long and fierce one. He couldn't process when exactly he parted her legs with his knees and settled on her. The passion that had ignited in these two souls with the kiss, was an allegory of the shade of madness their love possessed.

As their tongues played with each other's, Sameer's one big palm slipped inside Naina's top and he stroked her waist. Moving his hand further up, his fingers brushed over the cotton fabric and he caressed her bosom softly over the fabric while his teeth bit her lower lips. The increased rush of the hormones made them both snap the control and a feeling of consuming each other overpowered. Sameer slided both his hands under her back and holding her tight, he rolled over on his back and her on him now. With a little movement of his hand on her bottom, he adjusted her again at the place where he wanted to feel her. The kiss was never broken, but it ought to happen given that Naina's top was almost pulled upto her chest by Sameer. With a little pause taken for breathing, Sameer yanked her top and threw it, resulting it to lie near his shirt. Naina slammed her lips on Sameer's again and felt his hands play with the hooks of her bra. Within seconds, he unclasped it and got rid of it too. He groaned as her naked flesh rubbed his chest and the urgency to take her reached its peak. He rolled over again as her back hit the mattress and they looked at each other. Their chests were heaving due to loss of breath, their eyes were full of love, passion and desires, their lips swollen, their hair dishevelled and their souls unfulfilled. A silent nod was given by Naina and Sameer exhaled acceding to their yearning. The remaining barriers of fabric between them were also removed and they travelled the journey of ecstasy together as the room was filled with their moans and sounds of pleasure.

After almost an hour or more, they were lying on the mattress breathing heavily. Sameer's one arm had expanded on the mattress and Naina had rested her head on his bicep. They kept staring at the ceiling while calming down from the euphoria they had just experienced. Sameer looked at Naina, who was still staring somewhere up. Her satiated face had worn a beautiful smile as her breathing evened. His gaze shifted from her face to her breasts and the hardened nubs, the proof of her pleasure. He started feeling aroused and wanted to take her again, but he knew he couldn't. At least this time. And as if she could sense his feelings or his gaze over her, she pulled the duvet upto her neck unknowingly and chuckled thinking about something.

"Kya hua?" He asked curiously.

She looked at him and shook her head. "kuchh nahi, aisehi." She said.

"Batao na...", he prodded.

"Batati hu." She turned to him, taking his hand off from below her head, "pehle tum jaakar aao."

Rolling his eyes, Sameer sat and opened the almirah by leaning forward. He grabbed a towel from a lower shelf, wrapped it around his waist while lifting himself a little and left for the bathroom. As he came back in a few minutes, he saw Naina wearing her innerwears. He too wore his boxers and pants and lied down on the mattress waiting for her. She was done wearing her night suit pants and was fidgeting with the hooks of her bra behind. He saw her sighing as she finally clasped the hooks, but noticed that one of the straps of her bra was twisted and so did the fabric near the hooks. He smirked and without any warning, he unclasped her hooks. She looked back, raising her brows eventually as if asking for his intentions. He smiled and blinked in assurance, straightened the strap and the fabric, and clasped the hooks again. She grinned as her gaze shifted from her shoulder to his face, which had a mysterious look on it.

Ditching the idea of wearing the top, she snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Kal medical jana padega." He sighed.

"Kyun?" She asked.

"Stock khatm ho gaya. Mere dhyan me hi nahi tha." He informed, while running his fingers from his hair.

Naina bit her lips as she blushed. But she somehow remembered the night when the conjectures about her pregnancy were finally cleared with the reports lying haphazardly on the mattress. They had embraced themselves in each other's arms and had been thinking deeply about that situation. They had been very happy for those four days after thinking about the little addition to their family. Sameer had literally lifted her and twirled in happiness, he had even started planning a new house, he and Rakesh Papa had taken so much care of Naina in those few days and they had dreamt of their own child in their arms. But they had to accept that those were just immediate reactions to the news or the assumptions by Naina, because the pregnancy hopes turning false had actually made them think if they were really ready for the baby. Given the yet unsettled career of Sameer and requirement of Naina's focus and time for her CA studies that time, it had forced them to ultimately have a conversation on family planning which they hadn't done before in a serious manner. And finally after hours of discussion in the subsequent days about the responsibilities coming with the baby, their financial instability, uncertainty of the film industry regarding Sameer's career, they had decided to wait for the correct time to embrace parenthood. And from then onwards, they had started using protection to avoid any untimely pregnancy.

Naina roved her palm on Sameer's chest and hesitantly asked, "Sameer, hum yeh... protection... matlab...", she couldn't frame her question properly. Sameer looked at her and waited for her to finish. "Hum kab tak rukenge?" She completed it.

Understanding her dilemma, Sameer stroked her arm, "pata nahi Naina... Lekin tum jaanti ho na... Iss industry me kaam milna kitna mushkil hai..."

"Lekin Sameer, hamne tay kiya hai na ki tumhara shadishuda hona hum nahi chhupayenge. Toh isse kya farak padta hai?" Naina countered.

Sameer turned to his side to face her, "yeh sab baatein agar hum bhool bhi jaaye Naina toh bhi sabse important cheez hai waqt. Tumhari pregnancy ke waqt mai tumhare sath rehna chahta hun Naina, jyada se jyada samay tumhare sath bitana chahta hun. Tumhari har zaroorat, har mang ko mai khud poori karna karna hun. Aur yahi sab cheezein baad me baby ke liye bhi karunga. Lekin abhi yeh sab possible nahi hai Naina."

She lowered her eyes. She had exactly perceived the context behind his reasoning. Knowing Sameer in these six years, she has understood that all that Sameer lacked in his childhood was his parents' love and time for him. Having lost his father when he was too young, Sameer had expected the time, the love and the affection from his mother, which was again taken away from him after her second marriage. She could discern the beliefs Sameer must have developed about fatherhood or parenthood in all these years. But thanks to Nanu's upbringing, he wasn't bitter about the idea of giving love. He had showered his unconditional love on her and she knew the exact same or more would be happening with their child. And his concern about being a good father just a few weeks back had almost concreted her beliefs. He wasn't asking for time because he wasn't ready for a child, but he was asking for it so that he would be available there to witness every small stages of growth of their baby, so that he could bear all the mood-swings of her by himself, so that he could fulfill all her food cravings, so that he would be there for her every single time.

Seeing her lost in some thoughts, he asked worriedly, "Naina, kya... kya tum... chahti ho ki hum abhi chance le?"

She looked up at him and saw his perturbed face. She smiled warmly, "Nahi Sameer. Aisi baat nahi hai. Hum yeh faisla tabhi lenge, jab sahi waqt hoga."

"Pakka?" He asked to verify if she was saying it just because he wanted it.

She grinned and snuggled closer to him, "haan pakka." She answered looking straight into his eyes, with assurance, and pecked his lips.

He smiled and enveloped her in his arms, pulling her further to him. But he got reminded of something and he asked, "Naina, tum hass kyun rahi thi? Abhi thodi der pehle?"

She drew back and looked at him again, and it striked her. "Ohh haan... woh... bass kuchh yaad aa gaya tha."

"Kya yaad aaya tha?" He queried.

"Ek bhari-bharkam dialogue. Dopahar ko hi suna maine." She turned and rested on her back, crossing her arms.

He lifted a little and rested his head on his right palm, "kaunsa dialogue?"

She cleared her throat dramatically while keeping a fist near to her mouth, "Naina... tum apni soch shabdon ke madhyam se bayan karna chahti thi na..." She tried to match with his serious tone while saying it, but couldn't as she was stifling a giggle.

Sameer's eyes widened listening to this and he cursed himself of getting caught. But he tried to keep his face straight, "Haan to isme dialogue wali kya baat hai? Mai nahi keh sakta yeh?

She shifted her head a little to look at him, "Mr. Maheshwari, aap kab se itni shuddh hindi bolne lage?" She raised her brows.

He stammered to find an answer, "ha... haan... toh... shuddh hindi kya sirf tum bol sakti ho? Aur waise bhi, tumahre aur Papa ke sath rehkar itni shuddh hindi toh mujhe aane lagi hai... " He twisted his mouth to show fake disappointment. "Papa toh pata nahi kya-kya words bolte hai." He added.

Naina chuckled at his innocence. He may be right though. You spend time with Mr. Rakesh Agarwal and you will get to know about Hindi books like fiction, non-fiction, collection of short stories, poetry, the authors and you will learn shuddh hindi with correct grammar, vyakaran as often quoted by her father. Being a librarian, he was a bookworm and it can't be denied that she had inherited the habit of reading and writing from her own father. But, she still found something weird. How could he repeat the exact same words?

Seeing Naina immersed in some thinking, which was a bit obvious by looking at her expressions, Sameer knew that she wasn't convinced. And he somehow saw it as an opportunity to ask about that postcard.

"Waise... woh dialogue mera nahi hai...", he broke her reverie, "Kisi aur ka hai. Maine kahi padha tha."

Her eyes twinkled, "Kiska hai?"

"Tumhara", he confessed. "Tumhare accounts ke notebook me padha tha." His voice was gentle.

Her cheerful mood was lost and her smile narrowed. She got up, sat straightened and locked her hands on her knees. She just didn't want to look into his eyes if there were any further questions coming. Sameer looked at her back. She was just in her bra and this was supposed to be one of the arousing factors for him. But her long and now silky hair had covered her back and shoulders. He could still see her bare skin gleaming in the moonlight and he wanted to move aside her hair and kiss on her shoulder, but he needed to talk to her. So he too sat up and shifted closer to her.

"Naina, tum naraaz ho maine tumhara private khat padh liya toh?" He asked gently.

She looked at him and smiled, "Nahi Sameer. Hum dono me kya private? Aur woh toh maine aisehi likha tha." She looked down.

Sameer turned a little towards her and crossed his legs. "Lekin mai tumse naraaz hun Naina. Tum Shanti Ma'am se yeh sab baatein keh sakti ho. Mujhse nahi?"

She knew this was coming since he had read her letter now. She said innocently, "aisa nahi hai Sameer. Mai khud apne khayaalon me itni uljhi hui thi. Mujhe khudko samajh nahi aa raha tha ki mera padhai me dhyan kyun nahi lag raha hai. Aur tumse jaan-bujhkar chhupane ka koi iraada bhi nahi tha. Sorry." She tweaked her ears with both her hands.

He chuckled, taking her hands off, he said, "itna cute sa muh banane ki zaroorat nahi hai. Bass, tumhe kabhi bhi kuchh bhi lage, toh bataya karo Naina."

As she smiled, he pulled her closer and let her rest her head on his shoulder. She snuggled to him only to blush heavily as she slipped her hand from his bare chest to his waist. He too kept her hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

The tranquility of a few minutes was broken as Sameer voiced, "Naina, tumne isse pehle kab Shanti Ma'am ko postcard likha tha? Jiska zikr tum kar rahi thi?"

Naina looked at him, her eyes narrowed as she tried to recollect it. "Achchha woh..." Her voice changed as she remembered it, "woh barahvhi kaksha me kuchh akhri classes ke dauran Shanti Ma'am ne hum sab se kaha tha postcard likhne ke liye. Lekin apne bhavishya me. Tab maine apne bhavishya me unhe likha tha ki mai Lekhika bann gayi hun."

Sameer listened to this new information. They hardly talked about this particular timespan in the past years. Of course! Wasn't he blocked by Dadi's allegations of him being manhoos? Hadn't he stopped talking to Naina in the fear of losing her? Such a fool he was! Thanks to Naina who had brought him back from that phase and he became the same confident boy as before. He was grateful to her for making him meet his own true self.

"Naina, jo kuchh bhi tumne uss postcard me likha tha, woh ek din zaroor sach hoga." He took her hands in his, "woh sapna sirf sapna nahi, balki haqeeqat bankar rahega. Mai banaunga usse haqeeqat."

Naina's eyes glistened in happiness while she heaved in exhilaration and hugged him tightly by wrapping her arms around his neck. She drew back a few moments later just to capture his lips in a passionate kiss and pushed him back on the mattress. Sameer reciprocated immediately and both indulged themselves in their love and passion. As Sameer felt her hand roaming down to the waistband of his pants and he wrenched his mouth away from the kiss, "Naina, condoms khatm ho gaye hai."

It took her a few moments to perceive what he said and a blush covered her face. She smacked him on his chest and hid her face into his chest as he laughed. Sameer pulled the duvet over them and the couple fell asleep while cuddling each other.

***

On 16th morning, Sameer posted Naina's story by the Speed Post to both the magazine's headquarters in Delhi, ensuring that it will reach before the deadline of 20th April. He didn't find any submission date for Grihshobha, but he still thought of trying for it.

In these days, they received blank calls two times, once it was Sameer who received it and once it was Rakesh. This thing had now started irritating all of them, but they knew they can't do anything about it until the caller really poses a harm. And the telephone in the house rang again in the evening.

Sameer went to pick up the call reluctantly but as he disconnected the call two minutes later, he had a bright smile on his face. As he turned back, he saw Naina just behind him.

She was noticing him smiling while speaking on the phone and guessed that probably they'd finally found the caller.

"Toh? Kaun hai woh? Tumhari secret admirer?" She teased him while flicking her brows.

"Admirer?" Sameer was perplexed to hear it and took a few moments to fathom. "Nainaaa... chhedna band karo. Yeh toh hum casting agencies me photos dekar aaye the na, waha se audition call tha. Ek film ke liye."

Her brows furrowed, "toh itna muskura kyun rahe the?"

He smiled, "woh toh bass aisehi. Woh ladki mujhse impressed lag rahi thi. Shayad mere photo ko ghoorte hue hi baat kar rahi thi."

"Achchha? Tumhe kaise pata?" She queried.

He leaned closer to her, his voice turned husky, "uski aawaz se pata chal raha tha", and he winked at her.

She pushed him a little on his chest, "hato... aaye bade..." Sha rolled her eyes and made a face.

He giggled, "arey, ab mai hu hi itna handsome." He raised his collar.

"Kab hai audition?" She cut short his self-praise.

"Ummmm... kal..." He informed.

Before they could talk further, they heard the voice of Aditya, who called him.

"Sameeeerr....." Aditya hollered again.

Sameer went to the lobby to find Aditya waiting for him. As soon as he stepped closer to him, Aditya spoke, "Sameer, yaar woh casting agency se call aaya tha. Film audition ke liye."

Sameer's eyes widened in happiness, "mujhe bhi aaya tha."

"Goregaon wala?" Aditya questioned.

"Haan wahi." Sameer confirmed.

"Hailaa..." Aditya exclaimed. "Yeh bada sahi ho gaya Sameer. Apan dono sath me hi chalte hai kal."

They confirmed about the venue and time of the audition with each other and dispersed.

***

The next morning, Sameer and Aditya left for the audition in Goregaon West by bus. As they entered a big hall, they saw it filled with men, all aged between 18 to 26 years. They went to the enquiry desk, registered themselves and acquired seats with their dialogue sheets.

They were reading their scripts when Aditya spotted a guy entering and looking around. He nudged Sameer and pointed towards the guy to make him look at him.

Sameer looked at the guy and felt that even he knew the person by face, but couldn't recollect the name. He raised his brows in a question.

"Ayub Khan", Aditya informed, "'Smuggler' picture me tha."

"Arey haan", Sameer exclaimed, "abhi January me hi aayi thi na iski picture? Yeh yaha kya kar raha hai?"

As Sameer and Aditya were talking, they saw a person approaching towards the guy, they both shook hands and went upstairs to the office of the casting director. They both focussed on the script.

After a while, Sameer scrunched his nose. "Yaar Aditya, yeh kaise ghatiya dialogues hai?" He voiced.

Aditya replied, "mai bhi wahi soch raha hu kaisa r character hoga yeh. Mujhe na thoda flirt type ka lag raha hai? Woh Colleges me hote hai na ekdum handsome types ladke." He tried to reason.

"Thoda flirt?" Sameer raised his brows. "Yeh aise kaun bolta hai? 'Tann se tann, mann se mann'. Pata nahi kaisi film hai." Sameer expressed his disappointment.

Aditya patted Sameer's shoulder, "Jyada soch mat yaar Sameer. Waha jaaneka aur audition de deneka." Aditya said while pointing towards a door.

Sameer shook his head and again started memorizing the dialogues. Some time later, as they both were done with the script, they started looking around and saw that guy Ayub Khan coming down with someone and leaving the hall. Looking at the boys that have come for auditions in the hall full of men, with just a couple of girls which they deduced must be working for the agency, Aditya's gaze stalled at a handsome boy of their age. He had the same expressions on his face when he had spotted Ayub Khan.

"Yaar, mujhe yahan dekhe hue chehre kyun dikh rahe hai? Koi badi picture hai kya yeh?" Aditya muttered leaning towards Sameer.

"Ab kaun dikha tujhe?" Sameer frowned.

Aditya pointed to a guy wearing a denim jacket, white t-shirt beneath it and denim jeans. He was reading something on his pager and was standing near the stairs.

Sameer looked at the boy and tried to recognize his face but he couldn't. "Ab yeh kaun hai?" He asked irritatingly.

"Yaar... mai kab se yaad karne ki koshish kar raha hu. Maine isko dekha hai. Shayad koi picture me aur yeh shayad gaata bhi hai." Aditya tried to process the pieces of his memory.

Sameer ignored it and looked at his script trying to find how he should perform it. From whatever set of dialogues they were given, he perceived that it was about college going boys. He remembered how he was also one of the most desirable boys in his college. Though he was always aware of the fact that several girls had a crush on him, but he didn't talk to every one of them nor every girl confessed her feelings for him. And unlike other casanova boys, his world revolved only around Naina and his friends. He couldn't make how should be his voice projection which sounds like a flirt, because the way he flirted with Naina was not even close to what had written on the sheet. He was so immersed in it that the voice of Aditya almost startled him.

"Arey haan, yaad aya." Aditya snapped his fingers.

Perplexed, Sameer looked at him. "Kya yaad aaya?"

Aditya turned to him a bit, "Arey, iski Neelam ke sath picture aayi thi pichhle saal. Aur iska gaane ka album bhi aaya tha."

"Achchha, kya naam hai?" Sameer asked.

"Wohi toh yaad nahi aa raha hai." Aditya rubbed his palm on the back of his neck. "Chal na, usse milke aate hai. Usise ugalwate hai sab baatein." Aditya said excitedly.

Sameer held his arm, "Pagal hai kya? Usse milke kya karenge?"

"Chal na Sameer. Arey contacts aise hi toh bante hai." Aditya tried to convince him.

Finally agreeing to it, Sameer followed Aditya to talk to the guy. They crossed the hall and walked to the guy.

"Hi", said Aditya.

The guy looked up. "Hi", he responded with a sweet smile.

"Aapki picture dekhi thi maine. Jisme Neelam bhi thi aapke sath. Bohot achchhi thi", Aditya stated.

"Sauda? Dekhi aapne?" The guy put his pager in the pocket. "Mujhe bohot khushi hai aapne film dekhi. Hame laga Karan-Arjun ke chalte kisine dekhi hi nahi", he added and chuckled.

"Haan haan. Dekhi na. Ummm... Mai Aditya Gadkari. Aur yeh mera dost hai." Aditya pointed towards Sameer.

Sameer extended his hand with a smile, "Hi, I'm Sameer Maheshwari."

"Hi. Vikas Bhalla." The guy shook his with Sameer first and then with Aditya.

Sameer and Aditya looked at each other and smiled, as the guy himself told his name and the name of the movie too. Aditya grinned mischievously, "arey, aapka naam pata hai hame. Waise... aap bhi yahan audition ke liye hai?"

"Haan. Jaise aap logo ko call aaya hoga waise mujhe bhi aaya tha." Vikas answered with suprised expressions, looking at the script in their hands.

"Aapke bhi auditions hote hai? Aap toh films kar chuke hai na?" Intrigued, Sameer asked.

"Haan haan, hame bhi dene padte hai auditions. Ab yaha koi Shah Rukh, Salman aur Aamir toh hai nahi, ki sirf script narration se kaam ho jayega. Iss process se toh sabhi ko jana padta hai." Vikas reasoned.

This was new information for both Sameer and Aditya. They thought auditions are conducted only for newcomers and after you've been launched once, you just get a call from producers or directors.

As they were talking, another tall handsome man joined them who looked in his early thirties, "heyy Vikas, how are you man?"

He patted Vikas's shoulder and shook hands with thim. Vikas replied with a smile, "hey Aryan, I'm good."

"Aur bata, naya album aa raha hai koi?" The guy queried.

"Haan, kaam shuru hai. Dekhte hai." Vikas replied.

Sameer and Aditya thought to leave from there as the two men were talking to each other, but Sameer saw the guy was looking at him.

"Aap... yaha audition ke liye aaye hai?" Aryan asked looking at Sameer.

"Ji", Sameer answered politely, not getting who was that man and why he was so curious. The same curiosity reflected on Aditya's face too.

Vikas read their expressions and smiled, "he is the casting director, Aryan Saxena."

"Ohh", came the reply from both and they greeted Aryan with a smile. They excused themselves from there and went to their seats.

"Sameer, lagta hai woh casting director tujhse impressed hua tha." Aditya exclaimed.

Sameer just smirked as he too had noticed the same. But he wasn't hopeful much about this one after seeing some actors who have already done films before. And as he remembered the previous audition, for which he hadn't received any reply yet, he thought of not keeping any expectations from it.

The auditions commenced and people started entering into a room one by one and coming out after some time. An assistant called Sameer's name and he stood up to go as Aditya wished him.

Sameer entered the room where some assistants were preparing for the recording in their camera. He stood in front of a blue screen, set his hair and his shirt. He was ready and waiting for a nod from the assistant, when he saw the casting director Aryan entering the room with a bunch of papers and a diary in his hand. He saw him settle on a chair in the corner of the room while folding his leg on the other. He must be there for supervising some of the auditions, he thought. Sameer became a little nervous seeing him, which even he didn't understand why. He felt a pressure to act in front of a casting director. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started his audition as he heard the word 'action'.

***

Sameer and Naina were about to finish the dish-wash when Rakesh returned from the night walk. He didn't go to make his bed, rather he switched on the radio and old classic Hindi songs started playing on it in a low volume. Some time later, Naina was settled on the sofa while oiling her father's hair, who was sitting below on a floor mat and Sameer had occupied the sofa chair while admiring the father-daughter duo and listening to their chatter.

"Aur phir, mai bohot gussa ho gaya apne pitaji se." Rakesh continued his tale. "Ab bees saal ka tha mai. Garam khoon tha tab jawani ka. Raat ko soch raha tha, ghar chhod ke chala jaunga aur bada aadmi bankar wapas aaunga."

Sameer laughed, "Papa, aapko bhi maar padti thi?"

"Haan haan... bohot..." Rakesh replied. "Beta unn dinon me 'bachhon ki kutaai', yahi parvarish ki paribhasha thi. Toh hum sab ne hi bade hote tak maar khai hai pitaji ki."

Naina poured a little oil in her palm and asked, "phir kya hua Papa?" She again started massaging his head.

"Phir, mai paise jama karne laga ek-ek pai karke. Socha jab 25-30 rupaye jama ho jayenge, tab bhaag jaunga ghar se." Rakesh grinned remembering the days.

Sameer could actually imagine a young rebelion Rakesh who was planning to elope. He started laughing hysterically by keeping hand on his stomach. "Phir phir?" He asked, controlling somehow.

Rakesh chuckled, "phir kya. Kuchh dino baad mere paas kuchh 10rupaye jama ho gaye. Aur phir aayi Dharmendra ki picture, Anupama. Ahmedabad mein. Aur mujhe Dharmendra aur Sharmila Togore dono bohot pasand the. Toh bass, ek din college se bhagkar Ahmedabad ki bass pakdi, Anupama ki ticket nikalkar akele hi dekhi picture. Aur wapsi ki bus pakad kar college khatm hone ke samay tak wapas aa gaya."

Naina was already in shock listening to this. She was massaging his shoulders when she peeped a little and asked, "Papa, aap? Aur college se bhag gaye the? Woh bhi picture dekhne?"

She looked at Sameer and both exchanged a mischievous smile remembering their own 'Beta' movie adventure.

Sameer cleared his throat, "waise Papa, aap akele hi gaye the... yaaa... koi aur bhi tha sath me?" And he winked looking at Naina while receiving a glare from her.

"Nahi nahi, akela hi gaya tha. Mere dost nahi the jyada." Rakesh replied casually, completely missing the mischief behind the question.

"Toh phir aap bhage nahi ghar se?" Sameer was curious to know.

Rakesh smiled, "kaise bhaagta? Mere 10rupayo ki bachat Dharmendra ki chahat me swaaha jo ho gayi thi." And all the three laughed.

The chatter continued for some time more. Naina asked Sameer to sit next for oiling but he refused. Finally Sameer and Naina left to their bedroom and Rakesh went on to arrange his bedding after raising up the volume of the radio.

Naina opened a small shelf to keep the hair-oil bottle when Sameer locked the bedroom door and stopped her by holding her wrist. She raised her brows, but instead of getting a reply, she saw him taking her to the mattress and making her sit on the corner of the mattress near the window. He then sat behind her on the cane stool and took the bottle from her hand.

"Iski zaroorat tumhe bhi hai", Sameer said.

He opened her bun and ruffled his hand through her long hair to disentangle them. She looked back at him and made a cute face, "Sameer, mujhe tel nahi lagana."

"Shshsh... Preeti ne kaha hai tumhare baalon ko oiling ki zaroorat hai. Ab shanti se baitho yaha pe." He admonished her, but with love.

"Preeti ne tumhe kab bataya?" She asked surprisingly.

"Uss din Preeti ko thanks bolne gaya tha. Tumhari haircut ke liye. Tab bataya usne." He shared.

She kept staring affectionately at him when he turned her face to look straight. He poured oil into his palm, spread it on the hands and started massaging her scalp with a gentle pressure. He was focusing on applying the oil to her hair roots and then taking some strands of hair in hands, he would cover it to the tips.

As she was enjoying the head massage followed by the shoulder massage, she closed her eyes and mumbled, "soch rahi thi, pichhle janam me maine aisa kya kiya tha, ki tumhara jaisa pati mila mujhe."

He smiled, bent towards her and whispered in her ear, "pichhle janam me nahi, isi janam me kiya hai. Mujhse beinteha pyaar." And he kissed on her cheek before straightening up.

"Bass, ho gaya. Ab choti bana do." She said after a while.

"Choti? Mujhe thodi na banani aati hai." He shrugged.

"Haan toh mai batati hu na. Dekho, pehle baalon ko teen parts me divide karo." She instructed.

He followed as she said. She then demonstrated by swinging her hands in the air and he did as per her. He blundered at one or two points but then he rectified it too. Naina was overwhelmed with happiness as it was probably for the first time for her that someone else was making her braids after Bela Chachi. Even Bela Chachi had taught all the girls in the house to make their braids by themselves when they entered in 4th-5th grade. She was feeling so loved while getting pampered by her husband. She found it a kind of role reversal between her and Sameer as most of the time, it was Sameer who would throw tantrums at her like a child and she would then persuade him to do certain things or just pamper him. But she was aware of the fact that her husband knows it very well as how to treat his woman as a Queen and how to make her feel special.

Finally after some time, he was successful in making her braid and he tied a hair bow at the end of it. He rested his forearm on his knee and bent towards her to look at her. He turned her face to him by holding her chin and she passed a cute smile. She was looking just like the sixteen year old Naina he had fallen madly in love with, but with one pigtail this time. As she blew a kiss in the air, he gave a noisy kiss on her cheek by wrapping her arms around her neck. He turned her to face himself, grabbed her hands in his and just got lost in her black orbs.

The song playing on the radio could be heard in their room.

Janeman janeman tere do nayan,

Chori chori leke gaye dekho mera mann,

Janeman Janeman...

Mere do nayan chor nahi sajan,

Tumse hi khoya hoga kahin tumhara mann,

Janeman janeman janeman...

Naina just raised her brows as they heard the lyrics of the song and the room was filled with pleasant laughter of the couple hopelessly in love with each other.

****************

How was it guys? Do share your thoughts in comments.

Also, I'm using some real life names just to make the story a bit realistic. So pleeaasssee take it ONLY as a fiction.

Do vote. Do share. Do give a follow if you haven't.