Why did I act
that way? How could I behave in that manner with her.
Abh main usese
kaise nazrain milaunga' said viren out loud, kicking an empty soda with anger.
He was walking
through the streets whose pathways were lit by the dim light coming from the
street lamps. The view of the sood mansion came in front of him.
How can I face
her? Was the question that was squirming in his mind'
He slowly
approached towards his home, gazed at the terrace-only a few days ago he shared
such a beautiful moment with niveditha. Showing her the beautiful creation of
God and in turn getting the most precious of gifts , her smile.
He feared,
now, that would all be lost? '.
A final
glimpse at the terrace and he raced towards his bike, climbed on it and dashed
off towards the unseen roads.
Time must have
passed by, or may be an eternity. Niveditha, who was now lying on the bed, her
eyes wide awake, staring into nothingness, was thinking about how her life had
been turned upside down with her marriage to viren.
Who is she
going to blame now, for what had happened. It was her weakness that had created
misunderstandings. The very thought of what she had done, made her go weak in
her knees with embarrassment. How could she get so weak and fragile? Is this
all to her? Had she not learnt anything from her past experiences with love?
She got up
restless- her eyes stopped crying a while back. It seemed as if the tear duct
has gone dry. Then she heard the door open. She quickly slammed herself on the
bed , pulled the blankets on her and closed her eyes tight shut.
How could she
face him after what had happened? She would just die of embarrassment.
Viren had
returned from where ever he had left. He noticed Niveditha lying on the bed. He
knew that she was pretending. It was impossible that she would be sleeping
peacefully after what had happened earlier.
He slowly
approached her. He could see that niveditha had sensed his presence as she had
cringed a bit inside her blankets , probably fearing his reaction.
He then
suddenly started shaking her hard
UTOO.. getup,
utoooo' He said loudly
Niveditha
could not pretend anymore and woke up with a start!
Niveditha,
thum so rahi thi kya? He asked her with a smile
Niveditha
returned his question with a confused look, thinking, first he says Uthoo and
then now he asks me if I was asleep.
Acha chalo
meray saat, abhi' he called her pulling her up to a sitting position.
Kahan? Abhi?
.. Niveditha looked at him with bewilderment.
Han abhi
chalo,.. ok here jaldi sey apnay baal brush ker lo aur chalo. Thumharay paas 2
min hai jaldi.. saying this viren, left towards the cupboard to get his jacket
and her coat.
Niveditha had
no choice but to brush her hair, may be something was serious.. may be dadi at
the hospital??? She thought with a worried expression on her face
Viren kya dadi
ko kuch hua hai kya? Kya hum hospital ja rahe hain? She asked him urgently
Thum chalo tho
sahi aur jaldi kerna, aur zyada shor nahi kerna. Main nahi chahtha ki ghar per
kisi ko bhi pata chalay , said viren seriously.
Niveditha
quickly brushed her hair and took the coat from viren's hand and gestured him
towards the door
Ok chalo she
said
Viren , and
niveditha both left quietly through the doors of the sood mansion and viren
asked her to sit behind him on his bike
Niveditha raat
hai kaafi, tho please mujeh sahih tarah sey hold ker lo , phir ye nahi kehna ki
shimla kay sadkay kharab nahi hai. Said viren, stifling a hidden smirk under
his helmet.
Niveditha,
could not register what he had just said as her mind was busy thinking about
her dadi.
Teekh hay
jaldi chalo.. said niveditha
And both of
them raced off towards the main roads of shimla. After few minutes she realized
that dadi was already home and not in the hospital and if anything was wrong
yash would have told her, but, it was also possible that Yash did not get the
chance, it was nighttime and probably warned viren instead!
Viren, hum
dadi sey milnay jaa rahe hain na , she asked viren
Viren did not
respond as he turned right and indicated her to wait
Soon niveditha
realized that they were going towards the main heart of the city where
everything was very lively and bright.
Viren soon
stopped near an Imax complex which had a full blown shopping center theater
hall and food courts.
Niveditha
perplexed by this asked him,
Hum yahan kya
ker rahe hain viren? Dadi ko milnay nahi ja rahe hain kya?
Dadi ko? Dadi
tho ghar per hai, unhay is waqt kiyun milnay jayengay hum? Replied viren
innocently'
Kya? Tho hum
yahan kiyun aye hain? She asked surprised.
Viren took out
two tickets from his pocket and showed her.
Chalo naaa' he
said to her with a full smile and dragged her inside, holding her hands.
Viren! ..
rukho.. viren.. cried nivi
Viren took her
inside the complex and went into the theater section.
It was a
Friday night and it seemed the entire city was up. Couples all around -holding
hands- or with arms around each other's waist were standing in line to get
inside the theater hall or in line to get their favorite snacks.
Viren took
niveditha towards the popcorn stall and ordered -one large popcorn with butter
on top and two sodas.
Viren! Hum
abhi yahan picture dekhnay aaye hain kya? Asked niveditha, boggled!
Nahi, hum
yahan pani puri bechnay aaye hain. Suna hai kafi acha business hai, replied
viren seriously.
Niveditha,
stifled a smile and turned the other way..
Both niveditha
and viren entered into the main hall. Viren lead her to the top most seats,
which were secluded. The rows in front of them and on the side of them were
empty.
Viren hum
yahan baitaingay? Ask niveditha,
Han, yahin ki
tho seats mili hai. Lagtha hai aaj house full hoga, isiliye aisi seats mili
hai. Said viren with a serious tone.
Niveditha
gazed around the hall and saw that there were hardly 20-30 people in the entire
hall. She then looked at viren with a questioning look on her face but did not
dare utter anything to him.
Kya hua? Viren
asked her looking at her face..
Are , bohot
hit film hai, dekhna house full ho jayegi thori dair main. He then took her to
their seats.
Niveditha
tried to sit a seat away from him, and placed the popcorn in the middle.
Are ye kya ker
rahi ho thum? Bataya na, abhi thori dair main house full ho jayega.. thum kisi
aur ki seat main baitogi kya' viren exclaimed a bit seriously
Niveditha just
then noticed that the hall door was closing and she turned to face viren in
time.. to say..
House full?
Her voice filled with sarcasm
Viren dragged
her and made her forcibly sit besides him. His arms brushing hers and
concentrating seriously towards the screen,
Niveditha was
noticing all this. The heaviness in her heart had left a while back but now she
started feeling happy.
Niveditha
could not help notice that the smile had returned on viren's face. She could
help but smile but decided not to reveal it to him, just yet, fearing what that
gesture might lead to.
Just then the
movie started rolling and niveditha noticed that it was
"PADOSAN" the
1970's movie
Viren soon
started munching the popcorn and slurping the soda with slightly loud noises as
if to ignore what was to come next.
Niveditha..
glared at him
Padosan? Thum
mujhe padosan dikhanay aaye ho?
And then she
looked around the theater and said
House full?
Niveditha, ye
ithni hit film hai na, acha mujhe disturb nahi karo , movie watch kerthay hain.
Viren replied with the same seriousness he had maintained through out their
outing.
The movie
started to roll and she could feel her heart becoming lighter and lighter with
every scene and her laughter echoing in viren's ears.
He threw a quick glance at the sound of her laugh and saw that his moon started
to shine, and that very moment niveditha looked at him and found herself turning
red. She quickly turned away and started facing the screen.
Niveditha,
meri soda khatm ho gayi hai.. main thumhara share ker lun came viren's voice
whispering through her ears.
Without looking
at him she handed him her soda but took out the straw that she had been using. Simultaneously
viren's straw slips through his fingers
Are ! shoot! Niveditha
main abh kaise piyon , acha lao mujhe thumhara straw de do.
He said to her
while taking her straw away from her and inserting it in the soda top.
Niveditha who was noticing all of his actions was blushing furiously but dared not
to utter anything and continued watching the movie.
Edited by suchitra_1 - 13 years ago
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