Kiska Hai Tumko Intezaar

Meri ashiqui... tumhare liye

'Yeh kisne likha hai?' Naina asked, her eyes wide.

'Maine.' Sameer stated simply.

She looked at the papers again. They seemed old, as if they had been read and reread number of times. But that wasn't what had shocked her. It was the content. What was the purpose of making such a document?

'But why?' She voiced her bewildered confusion, 'Hai kya yeh sab?'

He took a deep breath before looking straight at her, 'Meri ashiqui... tumhare liye.'

'Whattt?' She was not just astounded, but enraged too, 'What do you mean?'

He quickly raised one palm, shaking his head to dispel her doubt because what he said sounded completely the opposite of what he wanted to convey, even to his ears.

'Mera... mera matlab... yeh guarantee hai.' He stuttered, eager to explain, 'Guarantee hai ki hamara contract ek saal mein khatm ho jayega.'

She narrowed her eyes, waving the file in front of his face, 'Yeh bakwaas jo yahan likhi hai, yeh tumhari guarantee hai? Tum sach mein pagal ho kya? Yeh sab filmi scenes... inka matlab kya hai?'

Sameer gazed fondly at the file in her hand. It was something he had prepared over last several years. Whenever a particular movie scene left him dreaming about soft romance, he would pen it down. Earlier, it was just a way to keep it in his memory. But over the years, it became a habit... a yearning to relive those same moments in his life... with the girl he would fall in love one day. He would read them often, and by now, each scene was etched in his heart and mind.

He sighed, 'Yeh woh saare pal hain jo main jeena chahta hun, woh ahsaas hain jo apni dreamgirl ke saath feel karna chahta hun, woh ankahi chahatein hain jo uski aankhon mein padhna chahta hun.'

Naina's eyes widened even more. Was he really a grown up man or a naive teenager, who lived in a world of dreams that could hardly come true! The romance he was asking for, according to what she was seeing in those pages, was unreal. It was only in movies. Because real life was devoid of such feeling in humans. There was no love... not even for blood relations. Then how could there be love of this depth, this magnitude, this selflessness?

When she spoke, her voice was almost a whisper, 'Tumhe lagta hai asli zindagi mein aise pal aa sakte hain?'

A dreamy look glazed his eyes, while a smile touched the corner of his lips, 'Ayenge. Meri life mein yeh saare mauke ayenge. Jab mujhe woh ladki mil jayegi jisse mujhe pyar hoga.'

The fog lifted from his eyes and his smile vanished when he looked back at Naina, 'Isliye yeh tumhari guarantee hai. Yeh mat samajhna ki shaadi kar li toh tum phans gayi. Kyonki tumhare saath zindagi bhar rehne ka mera koi plan nahi hai. Tum safe ho. Ek saal khatm hote hi tum bhi free aur main bhi... ek dusre se.'

Rolling her eyes, Naina let out a swoosh of air, 'Agar tumhe pehle se nahi jaanti toh lagta medicines ka asar hai jo itni nonsense baatein kar rahey ho. Lekin tum... tumhe external help ki zarurat hi nahi. Tumhara poora system hi defected hai.'

Sameer plastered a fake grin on his face, 'Of course tumhe defected systems ke baare mein sab pata hoga... khud ke saath saath aas paas walon ka bhi hai. Ek tumhari woh Nutty, fir Param, aur ab... Sagar.'

'Listen mister, Nutty ke liye kuch bhi bola toh achha nahi hoga.' She warned in a stern tone before adding, 'Param is just a co worker. Aur Sagar? Woh Munna ka cousin hai. Main toh bas school mein jaanti thi usey.'

'Haan haan pata hai.' He waived his hand impatiently, 'School se ab tak tumhara deewana hai. Agar mujhe yeh baat pehle malum hoti toh usse kabhi help nahi maangta. Jiski choice itne saalon baad bhi tum ho uska system toh faulty hi hoga. Isiliye jaa rahi ho uske paas.'