𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 18 •

"Lagta hai jam ho gaya hai. Yeh nahi khulega." He affirmed making her sigh in exhaustion.

He tried one more time by pushing it with full force but it still remained intact in its place. At last, he gave up and said, "Iss time toh koi repair karne wala bhi nahi hoga..." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a minute before saying, "Balcony ke door se check karte hain." Before he could take a step forward, her voice halted him, "Usse bhi kuch nahi hoga...Maine andar ki side se lock karke rakhti hun usey."

His mouth pulled in a small pout, "Achha...fir toh kuchh nahi kar sakte." Her face was etched with worry, 'Ab kya karu main?' Her room was the only place of comfort for her in this big house. She hadn't even seen the whole of it. What was she supposed to do now? Maybe the guest room would be a better option for now.

"Aapke paas spare blankets hain kya?" She asked breaking Sameer's trail of thoughts. "Blankets?" He frowned.

"Haan...yeh toh khulega nahi.-" She indicated towards the door "-Main neeche guest room mein so jaaungi."

He pondered over it for a while but agreed. "Main dekhta hu cupboard mein. Tum chalo." She nodded and proceeded downstairs.

The room was a bit dusty as it hadn't been put in use for a long time. She coughed as she dusted the bedsheet by her hands. But this wasn't bothering her. She could adjust, exactly how she had been doing till now. Sameer entered holding a thin blanket and saw her tugging the bedsheet from the ends. For a millisecond, a thought flashed in his mind, 'What if I offer to come to my ro- What the hell Sameer! That already sounds too inappropriate. She would be so uncomfortable and so would you.' With that, he threw that idea far away from his mind and handed her the blanket.

She took it, "Thank you."

"Koi problem ho toh inform me. Okay?" He said to which she nodded.

"Good night." Taking a last glance at her, he went upstairs.

Naina glanced around the room and with a sigh, sat on the bed unfolding the blanket and slid under it. She was feeling tired after such a long day and was in a dire need of good sleep. She felt relieved as she closed her eyes, however, it didn't last long. Hardly an hour had passed, when she woke up with a start.

She was in the middle of a bad dream and on the verge of having another nightmare when a thud sound reverberated around the room, disturbing the pin-drop lull. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she looked around for the source of unrest and found the windowpane thudding due to the turbulent wind outside. Her sleep was long gone. The room was pitch dark, the only light coming was from outside. The queer silence was feeding more to her trepidation. Her heart rate was increasing per second.

Taking the blanket, she hastily left for the living room. If she was frightened before, then now she was terrified. The fact that no one was present in the whole room was making her insides churn. There was only Sameer, but he too was upstairs.

'Sameer ko bulaun kya?' She contemplated but brushed it off mumbling, "Kya kahungi unse bhi? Yeh ki mujhe darr lag raha hai? Woh bhi sochenge kaisi bacchon jaisi baatein kar rahi hai. Waise bhi aise disturb karna sahi nahi hoga."

She inhaled and exhaled, "It's okay Naina. Flat mein bhi toh akeli thi na, tab toh nahi laga darr. Ek raat ki hi toh baat hai. You can do it." After a brief pep talk with herself, she went towards the sofa and lied down on it, pulling the blanket over herself.

Maybe, the reason why she would sleep peacefully in her room was due to him only. It wasn't like Sameer used to be with her, but it wasn't otherwise too. At least, she would sleep peacefully knowing that he is present in the next room and that she isn't alone.