Night, 11pm

Dear diary,
Today Preeti shared about her past with me. She has suffered so much....my heart is wrenching with pain...just the thought that an innocent soul has been subjected to such tortures is so scary but hearing it happen...i understand her pain completely as I have gone through it too...but mine is just one small part....Preeti has suffered much more.....how broken she must be..

Pain is undesirable
Yet something inevitable....
It breaks you apart
But irony is, it holds you too..

Okay then. I will have to go now as I have to draft the article on Sameer.

(A smile adorns her face at the name of Sameer)

Yours,
Naina

She closes the diary.
"Why does just the mention of his name give me peace? Why do I smile whenever it's something about him? Why am I unable to retain my mask infront of him?

"Because you have finally found your companion...he is the one for you....he is broken and so are you... together you can go beyond broken.." her inner voice replies.

N: What? No....no...

"Deny how much ever you want...one day you will have to agree"

Naina ignores all such thoughts and sits to write an article on him.

She starts the article...

In a world where humanity is decreasing day by day, people like Dr.Sameer Maheshwari are the ones who keep humanity alive......

The article about him, in the front page of the newspaper, lights up his face. He reads the entire article, all the while,his smile not reducing even a tad bit.

"Why the hell are you smiling so much?" his mind questions him.

" What kind of a question is that? Of course, because I'm happy! Who wouldn't, reading an article written on them, that too published in the front page"

" Are you sure this is the reason? I felt the true reason will be because she wrote it!"

" So?"

" tumhara kuch nahi ho sakta!!"
( Nothing can be done about you!!)

As Sameer sits battling his feelings, Naina too is feeling restless.

N:( in mind) Would he like the article? Will he be happy reading it? Would he have read it by now?

Wait, why should it bother me? Agghhh!! Why the hell am I feeling this way when it comes to him?

She curses herself internally for all this. Her battle between brain and heart remains incomplete, when  she spots Preeti and suddenly remembers something.

N: Preeti?
P: Yes Naina?
N: Can you tell me more about Atharv?
P: Naina...aise achanak se..why?
( Naina.....suddenly.. why?)
N: Please Preeti! If we get some info about him, there are chances we might be able to find him.
P: What if....
N( interrupting in between): I don't want all that Preeti! Just tell me what you know about him.

Preeti sighs and says
P: The last time I saw him was when he was being sold! He has dark ,silky hair. He looks so much like Salman khan!

She describes some more details about him and strangely, each time she says something about Atharv, Sameer's face flashes before Naina!

N( in mind): What the hell? Why is he not leaving my head? Since when did I start to get influenced by someone? And that too to this level?

P: Naina?? Where are you lost?
N: Ahh....no where....I was just thinking about something....
P: Oh okay!

Suddenly her mobile rings and the caller is Shefali

N: Hello ma'am!
S: Hello! Good job Naina! Mr.Maheshwari had just now called and has informed that the article written on him is too good. So he has requested your number to thank you personally and I have given it to him. He might call you any moment now.

N( in mind): Omg! He is going to call!!!
Her heart starts jumping with elation and she does a mini dance internally, as she was going to get his number without making it so obvious how desperate she is to keep him close, in whichever way possible!

S: Naina?? Are you there?

N: Y...yes ma'am...am glad to hear he liked it!

She turns, after cutting the call, only to find Preeti looking at her, with one eyebrow raised in a questioning look.
Naina swallows her saliva and makes an extremely innocent face

P: Kya chal raha hain Naina? Aajkal tera dhyaan kahi aur hi rehta hain!
( What's happening Naina? Nowadays your complete focus is somewhere else only)

N: W..what are you saying Preeti? There's nothing..just some job stress and this case investigation. Nothing more!

Though Preeti isn't convinced, still she lets it be as she knows it's been just a few days, since they met. Also, she respects Naina's privacy, so she lets it be

N( in mind): Yaar yeh ho kya raha hain mujhe? Jab bhi uske baare mein kuch hota hain toh main kahi aur hi chali jaati hoon! Abhi Preeti ne dekha hain, kal ko koi aur..nahi! Aisa kuch nahi hoga! Mujhe bas use apne dimaag se nikalna hain!!
( Oh God! Whats happening to me? Whenever there's something related to him, I just drift off into some other world altogether!! Now it's just Preeti who has noticed, tomorrow it might be just anyone..No! Nothing like that will happen. I just need to get him out of my head)

Her phone rings yet again, breaking her talk to herself. The screen flashes an unknown number. She hesitates but picks up and her heart skips a beat when she hears his voice!

N: S.. Sameer??
S: Ya..hi....
N: H..hi!
S: Umm....Naina..I just called to tell that...I loved your article..
( Mumbling) but you more

She hears what he mumbled yet again and her cheeks turn crimson. Thank God, she wasn't infront of him!!

N( pretending not to have heard): What did you say?

That alerts him and he mentally curses himself for mumbling such things

S: Ahh.. nothing...
N: So?
S: So?

N: So... goodbye!
S: B..bye!

She disconnects the call and her sight lingers on the phone.

N: What are these emotions? Why do I feel them only when it's about you? Why? What?

She shakes her head and walks off to do some work, so as to remove her mind from him!!

Lovingly,
Pratyu