Kavin was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, as the door was left open, while purvi was setting up the bed for them to sleep in. She smoothened the creases on the bedsheet, after which she was arranging the pillows neatly to place on the head of the bed. She heard the water running from the tap, as he was starting to gargle, when an unexpected gaze from her landed up at him. 

A thought struck her mind immediately at that sight, making a tiny smile form on her face. He used the towel in the bathroom to wipe his face after shutting the tap, only to step outside, closing the door behind him shut. At this moment, her gaze met his. 

"kya hua?" asked kavin, perplexed, as she took a long sigh before responding. 

"kuch nahi, bas, kuch yaad aa gyaa...." replied purvi, making him only raise his brow at her. 

"kya!" exclaimed kavin, even more puzzled, making purvi chuckle. 

"joh tumne kaha tha subha...turns out you were right...remembering what you said, weirdly, kept me calm at the start of the day...and, i actually ended up having a great time..." confessed purvi, making kavin smile instantly. 

Purvi who was now seated reclined back, resting on the pillow placed on the head of the bed, found kavin seat himself beside her. 

"well, maine tumhe bas wahi bataya joh tumhe realise karne ki zaroorat thi...because you know jab main tumhare liye documents ki photocopies bana raha tha, i saw your marks and certificates...tum seriously apne aapko bahaut underestimate karti ho...." admitted kavin, as purvi was a bit surprised at hearing him. 

"i mean, main toh bas 15-20 din pehle paper se padh ke bas 75% le aata tha...aur honestly woh bhi isliye tha kyunki maine b.com naukri ke liye karli...but tumhara genuine interest and even aptitude dekhta iske liye purvi..." confessed kavin, expressing his genuine thoughts, as purvi couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush. 

"75% minimum chahiye hote haina placement ke waqt kaafi company ke interview mein baithne ke liye b.com mein?" asked purvi, curious, diverting the topic, as kavin nodded, chuckling. 

"bas, utne ke liye hi padhta tha...kyunki sach bataon toh, mujhe kabhi mila nahi koi passion as such...aur, phir maine dekha tha mummy ko kitni dikkat hoti ghar chalane mein, toh passion dhoondna wagera koi aisa option tha nahi mujhe lagta tha main genuinely afford kar sakta tha...toh main bas, naukri ke liye jitna padh sakta, padh leta tha bas...aur mujhe koi shikayat bhi nahi hai...mujhe kaam theek lagta hai mera, ghar ache se chal raha hai, yeh dekh kar, khush ho jata hoon..." explained kavin his connondrum to purvi, as there was a bittersweet tone coming through his voice. 

"toh tum khush ho ki tumhara kaam bas ghar chalane ko hai....usmein tumhara koi interest nahi hai, but tum puri zindagi isse karoge?" asked purvi, not helping but feeling a bit sad for him, as he nodded in agreement with reluctance. 

"purvi, tum mein actually talent hai...mujh mein hota, toh mil jaata hai...na milne ka kaaran shayad yahi tha ki woh kabhi tha hi nahi....isliye, agar tumhe mila hai, uski kadar karo, aur apne aapko kam mat samjha karo..." advised kavin, as purvi just glanced at him with melancholy. 

"kya pata tumhe shayad baad mein mile..." expressed purvi her thought, as kavin smiled lightly. 

"tumhara na yahi problem hai...bahaut zyada sochti ho...ab ek kaam karo, inn khayalo pe break lagao, aur so jao, kal hum dono ko subha jaldi uthna hai!" exclaimed kavin, shaking his head in disbelief, lying on his back, but it seemed like there was no way purvi had found her thoughts to leave her. 

                                                             ***

The sun had set in to commence the start of the day, as rays penetrated through glass windows to brighten up the room. Ishita was folding the sheets used last night, as dushyant brought in tea and omelet for both of them. 

"yeh raha aapka nashta aur chaye.." informed dushyant, placing the breakfast tray on the bed, making ishita smile. 

"iski kya zaroorat thi!" remarked ishita, as dushyant stood with his hand on his hip, facing her straight. 

"tumhari haalat subha dekh kar hi didi ne banaya...aur bola ki tumhe toh sakht zaroorat khaane peene ki..." remarked dushyant, as ishita sighed deeply. 

"woh unhe main thaki hui lag rahi thi...woh actually...pichli do raat main bahaut kam so payi isliye..." stated ishita, as dushyant could only sigh in despair in response. 

"main samajhta hoon ishita, aisa hota hai, koi baat nahi..." assured dushyant, as ishita kept the folded sheet on the bed, and passed a serious glance at him. 

"dushyant...actually na, mujhe pichli do raaton se, ek hi bahaut darawna sapna satta raha hai...." confessed ishita, making dushyant raise his brow at her. 

"mera na dil ajeeb sa ho rakha hai....aaj aap mujhe bangla sahib le ja sakte hai please...shayad thoda chain padhe..." asked ishita, as dushyant nodded in agreement. 

"lekin ishita, sapna hai kya?" asked dushyant, puzzled, as ishita got even more disappointed. 

"bas bahaut hi andhera hota hai...aur...ek bachi ki cheekh ki awaaz sunayi deti rehti hai bas...." stated ishita, as dushyant  found her fragile state of mind unbearable to witness, knowing very well, how little he could actually do about it. 

                                                               ***

Nimrat was washing the utensils by the wash basin in the kitchen, as dushyant who stood next to her, was wiping the wet utensils being handed over to him with a rug and placing them on the racks where utensils were kept. 

"toh dekh lena aaj bhi, agar koi aaye...aapko toh pata hai, bangla sahib mein toh time lag jaata hai, itna rush hota hai..." stated dushyant, as nimrat nodded. 

"ek kaam karo, 11 baje tak pahaunchana, dhang se ardaas ho jayegi..." suggested nimrat, as dushyant nodded.

Dushyant had gathered multiple plates at once to place on the rack after wiping them, while nimrat was smiling coyly. 

"waise ek baat batao, tum kabse itne outgoing hogaye? tumhe toh hafte mein ek baar kahi leke jaane ke liye maheena pehle manana shuru karna padta tha...ab toh bade araam se chale jaate ho..." remarked nimrat, washing a cooker, as dushyant just looked at her blankly in disbelief. 

"seriously! didi main usse gurudware lekar jaa raha hoon!" exclaimed dushyant, apalled, as nimrat just withheld her chuckle.

"maine kab kaha long drive pe lekar jaa rahe ho...kyunki woh toh kal lekar gaye the tum...humayun's tomb mein picnic ke saath..." joked nimrat, as dushyant could only shake his head in annoyance. 

"didi aap dekh toh rahi hai uski haalat.... itna sadma pahauncha hai usse! ab ghar pe hoon, toh usse at the least company toh de sakta hoon...uska thoda mann behla sakta hoon...aur kya hi kar sakta hoon!" argued dushyant, but the seriousness of his tone was in sharp contrast to the amusement on nimrat's face. 

"hmm...apne mann se toh tum kuch kar hi nahi rahe ho..." joked nimrat, as dushyant just rolled his eyes and threw the rug on the kitchen counter. 

"khudh hi karlo! baat hi karna bekaar hai apse! kis baat ko kya bana deti ho!" yelled dushyant, storming out of the kitchen, while nimrat freely let out a chuckle, left by herself in the kitchen.