Naina swiftly sat in the car, pulling her sister with her as her aunt shut the door from the other side.
She had seen her father glaring at her since Hema's departure, and she didn't want him to create a scene in front of others. Avoidance was the key.

"Yeh bhaisahab bhi na, jab dekho muh fulaye hue rehte hai. Beti ki shaadi hai. Thoda muskura denge toh aag lag jayegi kya? Dekho toh zara inko" Her Chachi clicked her tongue

"Na hi dekhun toh accha rahega" Naina looked out to see if he was gone in the other car
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"Hema ke ghar mein reh rahi thi, haan? Ab bata kis ke ghar se mujhe phone kar rahi thi. Bata" Naina stilled on seeing her father glaring at her from the entrance of the room which her sister had opened, to cater to some relative's demands.

"Hum aaraam se baat kar sakte hai?" Naina gave a sheepish look, wringing her hands

"Nahin. Bilkul nahi kar sakte. Aaj se main tujhe apni beti nahi maanta. Samjhi?" Her father said in a menacing tone, keeping his voice low

"Kabhi maana hai jo aaj se nahi maanenge?" Naina muttered to herself

"Aise sanskaar diye the maine? Waise bhi woh court ke papers kaise bhul sakta hoon?" Her father said-

"Main jaan bujh kar uske ghar mein nahi reh rahi thi. Haalat hi aise the-" Naina went on to narrate the problem occurred at her hostel

"Main koi bahaana nahi sununga. Itna pata hai teri maa hoti toh aisi charitra heen beti dekhkar hi marr jati. Acha hai pehle hi swarg sidhar gayi, yeh din dekhne nahi pade use"
( I know, meaningless drama here)

"Meri maa ke baare mei kuch mat kahiye. Bahut ehsaan kiya aapne ab tak mujhpe. Main khud hi yahaan se chali jati hun" Naina said, her hands in fists now.

"Toh ja na. Maine kaun sa rok rakha hai"
Her father shut the door with a bang, with a stunned Preeti behind.
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"Tauji, Naina ghar pe nahi hai" Preeti came towards him as he was about to settle on the floor. There was a shortage of beds with their hordes of relatives occupying most of them.

"Phir se Sameer ke paas chali gayi hogi. Mujhe usse koi lena dena nahi hai. Kal use vida karke chain ki saans lunga"

"Uska saara saaman gaayab hai. Itni raat ho gayi hai. Kahin usne khud ko kuch kar na liya ho" Preeti was close to tears

"Huh? Ruk main Sameer ko phone karta hun. Kisi aur ko batana mat" he said, feeling guilty.
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"Naina ghar se gayab hai. Aur uska saaman bhi yahaan nahi hai. Agar kisi ko khabar lagi toh bohot bada tamasha hoga. Tumhe pata hai woh kahan ho sakti hai?" Rakesh met him outside the house

"Par aisa kya ho gaya?" Sameer said confused, parking his bike at the entrance of the society.

"Kya ho gaya? Kya nahi hua bolo..." His eyes turned red as he told proudly how he berated his daughter

"Matlab aapne shaadi se pehle hi Dulhan Ko gayab kar diya? Kamaal karte hai aap!!" Sameer clenched his fists, trying to keep his anger in check

"Meri koi galti nahi. Usne mujhse itni badi baat chupayi. Aur tum? Sharam toh tumhe aati nahi, meri beti ko bhi besharam bana diya.."

"Itni raat ko kahan jaa sakti hai? Soch Sameer. Soch" Sameer was deep in thought, blocking out the complainant

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Sameer motioned Rakesh towards his bike, telling him to hurry up.

"Main iss bike mein nahi jaunga"

"Kyun? Kaante lage hai isme?" Sameer was in no mood to argue

"Mere pair me dard hai. Aur tumne mujhe gira diya toh? Itni unchai se gira toh seedhe upar chala jaunga" he was in no mood to budge

"Aapka scooter lena padega. Ab aur time waste nahi kar sakte" Sameer said at last

"Theek hai. Chalo chalte hai" Rakesh said, acquiescent at last

"Kisne kaha aap chalayenge?" Sameer turned the handle towards himself

"Scooter meri hai. Ispe apne bete ko bhi haath lagane nahi deta. Kharab ho gayi toh?"

"Aapki beti pata nahi kitne ghanton se gaayab hai aur aapko iss khatara ki chinta hai? Chaabi idhar dijiye. Scooter toh main hi chalaunga"

"Khatara kisko bola?"

"Khatara ko khatara hi bolunga na!" Sameer shot back

Before Rakesh could give a reply, a helmet came upon his head from nowhere-

"Ab chup chap peeche baith jaiye" Sameer said, revving up the scooter

"Yeh helmet mujhe kyun pehna rahe ho"

"Trust me. Zaroorat padegi"

The screaming of Rakesh could be heard in the empty streets of the city, while Sameer zoomed the bike, searching relentlessly for the one, who he couldn't imagine being separated, even in his dreams.
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They went to every acquaintance known to them in the city, apologizing umpteen times for intrusion at such an odd hour.

"Kahan jaa sakti hai?" They both said in unison after coming out of the last relative they knew in the city.

"Sab aapki galti hai!" Sameer said, frustrated

"Meri galti?" Rakesh said, totally in a mood for argument

"Agar usko kuch ho gaya toh.." he trailed off, not wanting to imagine the worst

"Kuch nahi hoga use." Rakesh said, wanting to believe the words said by him
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It was almost 12 O'clock, and their search operation had not yielded any results, yet.

"Ruko." Rakesh stopped them near a temple

"Naina dikhi kya?" Sameer craned his neck towards the entrance

"Nahin. Par thoda aaram kar lete hain. 2 ghante se ghoom rahe hai hum"

"Aaram? Woh kahin aapki god li hui beti toh nahi?"

"Theek hai. Aisa socho ki hum bhagwan se prarthna karne aaye hai. Usme bohot taakat hoti hai"

Sameer budged and went with him towards the temple.
A Jagran was held in the temple that night and many devotees were still inside.

After offering their prayers, they were about to move out, when they were stopped by a volunteer-

"Prasaad toh lete jaiye. Yeh aaj ka aakhri sevan hai. Aap aur apka beta milkar isme se le lijiye"

"Yeh mera koi baap- waap nahi hai" Sameer shrugged

"Aaj nahin hun toh kal ho hi jaunga"

"Pehle apni beti ko dhund nikaliye. Phir chahe jiske bhi baap ban jaana"
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Naina wiped her tears, resting her head on one of the pillars of a temple, which had became her temporary refuge

'Gusse mein aa toh gayi. Par koi mera kal intezaar karega. Main aise sab ko chod ke nahi aa sakti..' she trailed off, murmuring between sobs when she heard familiar voices nearby

"Thoda sa hi lo. Ek hi patta mila hai. Isme se itna saara le rahe ho" Naina was shocked to see her father and Sameer fighting over some offering by the temple

"Mujhe toh khana hi nahi tha" Sameer said, gulping down a huge serving

"Toh phir kha hi kyun rahe ho-" Rakesh stilled on seeing Naina standing near them, seemingly angry

"Yahan kya chal raha hai?"

"Naina!?" Both said in unison, when Sameer started coughing when food got stuck at his throat

"Aap log..prasad ke liye ladd rahe ho" Naina took both of them away from the temple towards the scooter

"Tujhe dhund rahe the. Aisa koi jaata hai kya? Dekha nahi hum dono ka kya haal ho gaya tha? Aadhi Raat ko pagalon ki tarah bhatak rahe hai"

"Dekh liya-" Naina sighed- and was about to say something, when she was engulfed in a hug-

"Kahan kahan nahi dhunda tumko. Itna gussa aa raha tha toh mere paas aa jati. Yeh sab bag leke kahan jaane waali thi-" Sameer held her tightly

"Sameer..papa" Naina tried to get the words out of her system, but she found him not getting the hint any soon

Rakesh cleared his throat, trying to look away, then shuffled his feet loudly saying-

"Yeh patta kaun phenke ga?"

Sameer straightened himself, suddenly aware of his surroundings, not leaving her hand though-

"Main." He took the empty packet, his eyes lowered, " isse phenk aata hun" and went away avoiding eye contact, hitting himself internally

'Pata nahi aisi harkate karta hi kyun hun?'

Naina put a strand of hair behind her ears, unable to face her father right now.

"Naina. Humari shaadi ke baad kabhi aise gusse mein mat chali jaana. Mumbai mein khojna mushkil ho jayega" Sameer said lightly, once he came back, trying to lighten the atmosphere

"Tum log yahi ruko. Main koi rickshaw leke aata hun"
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"Pata hai. Meri toh tension se jaan nikal rahi thi. Aise kabhi mat jaana aur" Sameer said, looping his arms around hers, as they walked along the pavement

"Tension se ya bhook se" Naina quipped

"Aree yaar. Tension mein toh bhook lag hi jaati hai. Hai na. Aur kisko pata tha ki hume shaadi se pehle aise akele mil paayenge." He pulled her closer

"Tumhe pata hai na, tumhare papa hume yahan thoda time spend karne ke liye akele chod ke gaye" he added

"Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai, woh rickshaw lene gaye hai"

"Toh humare paas kaafi time hai" he said, observant

"Sameer, aas paas log hai" Naina looked around

" Main toh soch raha tha aise hi baatein karenge. Tumne kya soch liya?" He said, his hands going around her waist

"Kuch nahi"

"Kisko pata tha aisi chandni raat mein, bina kisi bahane se, shadi ki ek raat pehle, hum aise mil payenge? Zindagi bhi kabhi kabhi googly khel jaati hai" Sameer chuckled to himself

"Accha" Naina said, leaning her head on his shoulder as they watched the moonlight shine on the waters casting a glow on their relieved faces

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Hope you like it. ☺️