Lights of Eternity Part – 3: The Rhythm of Love

To say that Sameer was surprised would be an understatement. Once he had absorbed the fact that Naina was really standing before him, he had started grinning like an idiot. She looked so irresistible dressed in that pink midi dress that subconsciously he raised his hand to cup her face. He remembered she had worn the same dress on that glorious day when they had finally confessed their love for each other. Naina’s eyes widened; sounds of loud coughing from Pandit made its way in his love drenched mind and his hand stopped just short of touching her. Slowly he caught on to the fact that, it wasn’t just Naina who was real, but the other people he had thought he had seen earlier were also real and present in his home. He whirled around to look at them and saw all sets of eyes focused on Naina & him. He blushed, fidgeted with his hands and awkwardly uttered, “uhh… Hi…”

Everyone started laughing; Preeti and Swati rushed forward and made him feel relaxed again with their Jijaji rant. Ramdhari rushed in from the kitchen enquiring about his health and journey, then rushed back to prepare coffee for him. After being in Delhi for so long, the sincerity of the concern showed by his friends made him feel as if he belonged, that he wasn’t a misfit. Amidst all this, Sameer didn’t fail to notice that Arjun hadn’t stepped forward to say anything to him. Sameer didn’t take his aloofness to heart, just him being here with Naina was a big enough thing for Sameer and he would never forget how Arjun had taken the brunt for Naina in his absence. Sameer looked at Arjun and knew that this was one part of his relationship with Naina that needed to be dealt with and that too soon enough.

He excused himself and went upstairs to freshen up, hoping Naina would come up to meet him. Yes, he had seen her, but he wanted to meet her. Naina understood what he wanted, simply because that’s exactly what she wanted. She took the coffee and went upstairs to Sameer’s room. She yearned to talk to him, yet felt an unknown apprehension recalling how she had barged into his room to find him before. Did he know that? Had Ramdhari told him?With each step she climbed, her apprehension was slowly replaced with her primal need to be there with him. Every emotion however was replaced with concern upon entering his room when she saw Sameer standing near the bed and staring at a spot on the floor with wide horrified eyes. She moved towards him, placing the coffee cup on the bedside cabinet and touched his arm, “Sameer… what happened?”. He jerked on hearing her voice and all he could whisper was “Nanu…”

Naina couldn’t comprehend what had happened but she did what she could at that time, focusing only on him, she tugged at his hands pulling him into her arms. Sameer bent burying his face against her shoulders and gave up… Everything he had been holding in since that day poured out of his eyes in endless streams. He shuddered violently as sobs wrenched out of his body. Naina held him, her hands caressing his shoulders, as she too cried on seeing him so shattered. After what seemed forever, but was actually a few minutes, the violent storm passed, and his sobs turned into silent tears. Naina leaned back to look at his face and wiped the tears with her palms futilely. She unfurled her handkerchief, but as she raised her hand again to wipe his tears he grabbed hold of the other end of the kerchief. Naina understood that some tears needed to be shed and left the kerchief in his hands. She sat on the bed, pulling a pillow on her lap and tugged at his hand again. He followed the tug blindly, still unable to say anything, lying down on the pillow, feeling tended to for the first time since that day as Naina’s fingers combed through his hair. He closed his eyes, absorbing the sensation, as gradually in a stuttering voice he breathed out the happenings of that day and Naina finally understood why Sameer was staring fixedly at that spot. She didn’t say anything as words were not needed and wouldn’t have helped. Eventually, after he had poured out everything he had to say, Sameer fell asleep, in what was his first deep peaceful sleep in two long months.

As the rays of early morning sunlight shone brightly through the window, Sameer opened his eyes to find himself on his bed with Munna and Pandit sprawled next to him, who unknown to him had decided to spend couple of days with him until he settled down properly. He blinked his eyes and then bolted upright as he recalled how he had fallen asleep on Naina’s lap. She wasn’t there now. He glanced at the clock on the wall thinking had he really slept for more than 12 hours? He must have, since he was still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. He saw the handkerchief still clutched in his hands and a light-hearted sensation settled within him, a feeling he had thought he would never feel again. He chuckled, as he placed the handkerchief in a drawer of his wardrobe and his fingers traced lightly on the other neatly folded handkerchiefs, all belonging to Naina.

Naina had understood his pain, his need to vent out, she had given him the support he needed without uttering a single word, he couldn’t have asked for more. She had even stepped over her own personal boundaries and provided him the comfort of her arms and touch, again, her tender embrace had lovingly put together the scattered pieces of his soul. Now it was time for him to be that support for her, he had to know exactly what had happened with her. He had been happy to see her but hadn’t missed the shadows under her those solemn eyes, or the fact that even she had lost weight. He knew whatever had happened in his life had brought changes in him, but he didn’t know how it had changed Naina.

Feeling extremely homely he bickered with Munna and Pandit over bathroom, space in-front of the mirror, who is wearing whose socks, as they rushed to get ready for school. Again, he felt like homecoming as he drove on the road leading to his school, listening to the usual chatter with his friends. To his extreme delight he spotted Naina on her cycle, no wait… it was different, it was the cycle he had got for her! Joyfully he speeded up, then slowed down driving next to her, and was rewarded with a flash of smile from her that brightened up his morning some more. Side by side, they entered through the gates of their school with Munna and Pandit annoying Preeti.

As he stepped into the classroom, Kamya welcomed him with her trademark, “Hi Sameer”, with a couple of extra “e” added in his name and Pandit teasingly replied, “kabhi hamara bhi swagat itne pyaar se karlo.” He took his usual place at the adjacent bench from Naina, and quickly passed on a folded chit to her. She opened it to see a short note from him – tumse baat karni hai, iss class ke baad corridor me milogi? Blushing, she penned down her reply, “corridor nahi, water-tap ke paas”, and threw the chit near him.

As soon as the class ended, they both rushed out one after the other, keen to talk. Naina pretended to drink water when Sameer came up, but this time he didn’t stand at the far end, instead went to the tap right next to her as he bent and smiled at her. She was surprised to see him so close and blushed but held her ground, returning the smile. Enchanted by the blush, Sameer gazed in her eyes himself surprised, as he had expected her to step back. He straightened then walked behind the low wall of taps, so he was facing her but still maintaining enough distance for any prying eyes, “Naina, I wanted to meet you at the temple today as its Monday, but it was already 7am when I woke up.”

Naina smiled, “It’s alright, I knew you were tired. And Monday comes every week, we can meet at the temple next week.”

“I have so much to talk to you, but don’t know where to begin. But first and foremost, tell me, how are you? The letters were not enough, I want to hear everything from you”, Sameer said desperation evident in his tone.

Naina looked around to check if anyone is watching, “Yes, I want to talk to you too. But this is not the place, and, we don’t have much time before our next class. Let’s meet in the classroom during the games period.”

As the bell rung indicating the games period, the entire class streamed out eager to escape from the lessons, while Sameer and Naina held back, “Bhabhi se achche se baat kar liyo”, Munna added teasingly before leaving. He came to sit on the desk in-front of her, simply unable to look away from her face, “Now tell me everything in detail. What happened after our phone call?”, he demanded. And so Naina told him, each and every detail of the happenings at her home and also how Arjun had helped her again when she wanted to plan the welcoming surprise for him. Sameer made a mental note to thank him, then told her how he had decided to start taking up few responsibilities slowly, starting to learn about the business. He informed her that Nanu had stated him as the legal heir, but his mother would be overseeing things till he was of age, and also how his mother and Munshi kaka were helping him know more about the happenings at the office. “Probably, I will have to spend some time at the office, a couple of hours on Saturdays maybe. Munshi kaka thinks that would help me get familiar with work and people quickly. Its such a huge responsibility, I am scared Naina. And here I haven’t even started studying properly for exams which are just 10 days away”, Sameer spoke in a rush pouring out all his worries.

Naina listened to everything he had to say, “I understand it might look too much for you now, but Chachaji always taught me to break down problems in parts, then it’s simpler to solve. So, first thing is that the exams are near, and for that I am there to help you. Then after the exams, during vacations you can concentrate on learning more about business and even be in office.” She brought out a couple of notebooks from her bag and passed them onto him as she added, “Here, I prepared extra copy of my notes for you. You can start studying immediately and I will also teach you during our free periods and games periods.” Sameer took the notes from her, looking at them in surprise, “But, how did you prepare these many notes so quickly. Didn’t you sleep properly at night? I know you didn’t, that’s why you look tired! And how can you teach me in school? What if your father sees us again?”, he said in half exasperated tone wanting to shake her for not taking care of her health and at the same time also not wanting to be annoyed at her.

Naina smiled at his tone, “I am not tired, and I do sleep at night. I was preparing the notes for you even before you told me you would come back…”, she trailed as he jerked his head up from the notes at that revelation, meeting her eyes. For a long moment none of them said anything, then Sameer asked in a soft tone, “You knew I would be back?” Naina blushed as she haltingly confessed, “I hoped you would be back. I was missing you so much and was so worried for you that I needed to do this. These notes… writing them somehow made me believe that I shouldn’t lose hope.”

Sameer didn’t know what to say, so instead he placed his hand over hers, and as she looked up in surprise he simply said, “I love you Naina. I had to come back to you.” She blushed even more furiously, her heart pounded inside her ribcage, as she slowly turned her hand within his hold, clasping his hand, returning the pressure softly and smiled, “I love you too Sameer. I am glad you are back.”

Sameer changed his grip, moving his hand, intertwining their fingers. The twittering of students sounded distant, the sun shone little brighter in the afternoon sky, and the pulse in their veins throbbed in tune to beats of love as their hearts beat in a single rhythm while they both looked on at their joined hands.