Only Mine
Chapter 8: Perceptions

Naina and Sameer kept up the tradition to play pranks on each other, often trying to find out more and more information about each other which they could use in pranks. Naina found out on which bench Sameer sat, and fixed a toy inside the bag compartment of his desk. As soon as Sameer slid in the bag, the attached toy was pressed and it let out an impeccable farting noise which made his entire glass dissolve into laughter, leaving him red-faced. On his haunt to find opportunities to pull prank on Naina, he followed her to Kamya’s place one day and saw her doing something that totally surprised him. He controlled his laughter, and filed the information for future use. The information he had couldn’t be used in a prank but it surely intrigued him.

Term examinations ended and that day marked shocked reactions from two people who received an envelope each embossed with a red seal. The first one was the principal Mr. Bhatt of St. Peters and the other one was principal Mr. Pandey of PVKM.

“We need to work with this school”, Mr. Bhatt muttered in shock. He had been trying to get the opportunity to host the fest since so many years, and finally it was happening… But their co-host was PVKM, a Hindi medium school. How would they do this? As soon as this thought came in his mind, he shook his head. No no… He shouldn’t be thinking like this. As a principal he had a responsibility, and being a figure of authority he needed to be positive about this, else other teachers and students would also think that PVKM was not good enough to work with them. Determined he went to talk to the teachers and also kept thinking of the proper way to tell the students.

At the other end Mr. Pandey dropped the letter in nervousness. He couldn’t believe that they were chosen as one of the hosts for the fest. How did it happen? All these years whenever he had talked to the authorities they had told him that since theirs was a Hindi medium school they didn’t have anyone to patch them up with. Hence, he would always motivate his students to participate and win; hoping that a good track record would make the authorities notice them. Today finally, they were given the chance this year and that too alongside one of the most famous schools in Ahmedabad. It was such a topic of great joy, but also of utmost seriousness as their future chances depended on this one. He picked up the letter and called the peon to arrange an urgent meeting with the teachers.

Within the next week the representative from the education panel met with the principal of both schools and their chosen faculty representatives too. Students in both schools were informed about being the host for the fest, but the information about co-host was still held back as somehow the teachers in both schools felt that they needed genuine participation. Sixteen students were supposed to be chosen from each school – four girls and four boys from 12^th grade, and an equal number from 11^th grade.

Shanti Madam was the school representative from PVKM, and the choice for her was not that easy as there was an overwhelming number of students who showed interest. Based on academic performance, and previous participating record in fest, she chose Naina, Preeti, Swati and Kamya from the 12^th grade girls; and Sanjay, Hiten, Nakul and Chirag from 12^th grade boys. A similar assessment was done for 11^th grade as well and students were duly selected. As Shanti madam had a discussion with the chosen students, she let them know about the co-hosts. Everyone was surprised. The 11^th grade girls giggled as they had indeed liked the boys in St. Peters cricket team, while the boys in both grades frowned territorially. The reactions among 12^th grade girls varied.

Kamya frowned, ‘oh God. I have too see that Pandit again… But, wait a minute, Sameer will also be there.’

Swati and Preeti looked at each other, ‘this would mean more time for Sameer and Naina together… Good… Maybe they would realize.’

Naina was halfway between excitement and confusion, ‘St. Peters… Wow… But, what if Sameer doesn’t participate?’

In St. Peters the selection procedure was not as complicated because the number of participants was not much. Avinash Sir, the chosen faculty, had to actually coax 11^th grade students to step up and give their names. From the 12^th grade there were only two extra girls and one extra boy, so the elimination was easy. Tanvi was the first name he dropped as he considered that girl to be utterly useless when it came to work and studies. He chose Mansi, Aarti, Deepali and Kirti; and from boys he chose Sameer, Munna, Pandit based on their previous track record in the fest, and a boy called Harsh based on his academic record.

Sameer was happy that Tanvi was dropped out; he had literally started freaking out by her advances these days. He didn’t know how to handle such blatant flirting. Avinash sir told them about the co-host, and the three friends stared at each other in shock, and then Sameer grinned, pumping his hand and uttering a soft “yes!”

Later on, he ecstatically discussed with his friends, “this was so unexpected… PVKM… Do you know what this means? We can officially go to that school and they can also come here… No more sneaking around.”

Munna sagely suggested, “I understand your excitement, but… Naina can only come here if she is in the student panel.”

Sameer was not deterred, “of course she would be… I am sure she will participate; she was so excited during the fest last year too. Plus she would know that we are co-hosting.”

Pandit patted his friend’s back, “all in good time Sameer… Don’t get too excited. Just like us, probably even they didn’t know about the co-host until the panel was chosen. So let us confirm first.”

“Why are you both spoiling my mood?” Sameer asked irked. “If you think she didn’t participate then find out that information for me.”

Munna and Pandit glanced at each other as Sameer walked away from there. “He is totally gone, isn’t he?”, Pandit queried.

“Beyond anything we imagined”, Munna agreed, “I hope he gives a name to his feelings soon, else I don’t know what will happen after the board examinations.”

He reached home, and kept on thinking about the arguments his friends had put forth. What if she really wasn’t participating? Should he call and check? He kept on thinking about it till dinner time, and then dared to dial her number. Some lady picked up and said something like “Oh Bai” though Sameer was not sure he had heard correctly, surely that was not a word. Whoever that was it was not Naina… He tried four times more, but every time someone else picked up.

How many people stay at her home?

He thought of trying one last time when the phone rang, and he wondered if it was her.

Stupid. She doesn’t have your number.

He picked it up to hear Pandit’s sound, and frowned, “why are you calling at this time?”

“To give you the information you wanted”, Pandit said, “your Naina is in the student panel, and so are her two twins.”

He ignored the ‘your Naina’ and asked, “twins?”

Pandit chuckled, “Yep… Preeti and Swati.”

Sameer laughed, “Okay… How did you find out?”

“I have my sources”, Pandit drawled, “I hope you are happy now, and would not call up Naina at 9pm in night.”

Sameer nearly dropped the receiver, “What? I did…I didn’t call her… Why would I? And what do you mean by happy now? I would be happy no matter what… It doesn’t relate to her being in student panel.”

There was a silence at the other end, and then Pandit said, “ah… that is so great. I thought you would be sad so I lied… Actually Naina is not on the panel… In fact, from what I heard she might not even participate in anything.”

“What?”, Sameer was shocked, “No… It can’t be… Let me call her now and confirm.”

Pandit laughed, “yeah… see what I mean? Anyways… relax… My previous information was correct.”

Sameer sputtered in astonishment, but by that time Pandit had disconnected. He wondered how his friend knew that he was calling Naina. His overactive brain drifted into some spy fiction situation where his phone was tapped and room monitored by Pandit who was sitting in a high backed leather chair, watching multiple screens with views from around the world, his fingertips joined in front of his face, and a sly grin curving his lips. Yeah… That was the only way Pandit had so much information all the time.

What the hell Sameer… come out of your stupid imaginations.

The imagination left his brain, but the smile that had lit up his face with the knowledge that Naina was in the student panel didn’t leave his lips, even while he ate dinner. Nanu observed it, and clearing his throat, he asked, “why are you grinning at the pulao? Is it that good?”

Sameer snapped out of his thoughts, “huh… what? Oh… the pulao… yes, yes it is good. But I am just happy about the upcoming fest.”

“Ah yes”, Nanu smiled, “the fest… Mr. Pandey told me about PVKM and St. Peters co-hosting it. He also told me about the students chose to be in the panel. You know… you could have told me yourself that you are chosen… I was surprised to hear it from PVKM principal.”

Sameer slapped his own forehead, he had been so occupied thinking about if Naina would be participating or not, that he had totally forgotten to share his own news with Nanu. He thought of an escape route, “ah… I was busy studying, so thought I would tell you after dinner.”

Nanu quirked an eyebrow, “is that so? Well… I am happy that you are going to be in the panel. And I heard Naina is also there from PVKM, I must meet her to congratulate.”

“Yes we should”, Sameer blurted, and then corrected, “I… I mean… How did you know? And how did PVKM principal know about me?”

Nanu looked puzzled, “what do you mean how? The names were exchanged between schools, of course. Your principal would have known too, because the panel selection at PVKM was done yesterday.”

“Oh”, Sameer said and wondered whether Naina had even thought of him or not. Here he had been so anxious about her participation, but it seemed Naina was not at all bothered, else how could she not ask him or even try to find out. He felt grumpy and scowled at the same tasty pulao now. Well… let her suffer then… He would also not tell her.

In another two days it was decided that the student panel should meet for the briefing of rules and regulations, and the St. Peters principal graciously invited them to their school. And so on a Friday mid-day, the gates of St. Peters opened to let a bunch of oily haired girls and boys enter inside the premises followed by Shanti madam. The St. Peters students who by now knew about the co-hosts were intrigued, and whoever could find ways to be present were there to look at them arrive. The PVKM students looked nervous as they glanced around, and some of them wondered why the other students were staring at them like this. A low murmuring arose from the gathered students, and some of it could be heard by the PVKM students.

“These are the students who would work with our school?”

“Gosh… Hindi medium students look so different.”

“How would they ever match up to our standards?”

“I pity our students who will be working with these people.”

Naina frowned at these murmurings, wondering how some people could be so shallow and daft. She looked around to see if she could spot Sameer, and soon noticed him standing with his friends near a staircase. He seemed to be grumpy. She smiled, and he immediately cheered up a little returning the smile and also waved at her.

The teachers needed to talk first, so the students were made to sit in a classroom, and soon Sameer sauntered in with his friends. The PVKM boys frowned, Sanjay inched towards Naina and whispered, “don’t worry Naina. I am here.”

Sameer scowled on seeing a random boy so close to Naina. She rolled her eyes, and looked at Sanjay, “why should I be worried?” Then she smiled at Sameer, and greeted, “Hi.”

He smiled, “Hi Naina… good to see you are on the panel.”

She nodded, “yeah…” Sanjay was still hovering about, and Sameer threw and irritated glance at him. However before he could do something the girls of St. Peters arrived and one of them squealed, “Naina!!”

Naina reeled from the sudden hug, and slowly disentangled herself, to check who it was. She looked at the grinning girl and smiled, “Mansi… Oh, I forgot you study here. How are you?”

“Perfectly fine”, the girl conveyed animatedly, and let out an equally excited squeal on seeing Preeti.

Sameer was perplexed, “Naina… you know Mansi?”

Before Naina could answer, Mansi asked, “Sameer… you know her?”

He fumbled a bit, and then answered, “ah yes… we have met.”

“Surely she must have been helping you with something”, Mansi supplied. When Sameer still looked confused, she said, “Naina and Preeti are the ones who helped me last year when I fell down from my scooty. You know… they stayed back with me until Papa came over even though they were late for school.”

Sameer’s eyes narrowed as he remembered the first prank he had played on Naina, which had resulted in a teacher hitting Naina… He recalled how their teacher had mentioned that Naina and Preeti were late because they had been helping a student from another school. He glanced at Naina to see her smiling, and his anger on her for not trying to find out about his participation vanished.

Soon the students were called, and were briefed about the rules; it was the same as every year, compulsory activities like sports and debate, and one optional task. Usually, an exhibition was held every year, but this time the teachers asked the students to brainstorm for a different idea. Several ideas were pitched including a musical drama, or a movie screening, but the best idea came from Naina. She had the idea of setting up a proper fair with some rides, games and food, with counters by students from all schools. This way not just school or education authorities, but even normal public would be able to see what schools in Ahmedabad do. Also any funds raised through the fair could be donated as charity to orphanage. Sameer was amazed by her idea and also felt proud that she came up with it.

Over the next few days as they kept visiting each other, Sameer and Naina got to know several things about the life at these two schools. For one, Sameer understood that the girls in PVKM might lack fashion sense, but their values and friendship morals were on point, and the boys were no less. He could see why Nanu liked this school so much. Naina on the other hand understood that St. Peters had a flashy exterior, but the inside was a mixture of two different worlds. The world of studies and friendships she had seen in her own school, but the world of fashion and flirting she had never been exposed to.

However, one thing that both parties understood and appreciated was the hard work being put in by everyone for the fest. It didn’t matter if one school had English as medium of instruction and the other had Hindi, all the students worked equally hard. They were determined to make the event a success.

This long period of mingling came with a set of happenings that slowly unraveled. Sameer couldn’t help but notice that Sanjay always kept trying to impress Naina, and he found some strange satisfaction whenever Naina ignored Sanjay. At the same time, Tanvi had started to cling more to him, and Naina had seen it quite often, but she disregarded the strange feeling inside her as disgust on seeing a girl behave like this. Also, some students still teased Naina and her classmates, which Sameer didn’t like.

One day he noticed some unruly boys from his school armed with balloons that were filled with colored water, and he guessed at once what they were up to. He marched up to them, and said in a threatening undertone, “I hope this isn’t for the PVKM students… Because if it is, then the principal would know who put those dents on his car, and also me and my friends would surely meet you after school…”

The message was well received by the boys and no incidents happened. Munna and Pandit enquired that afternoon as to why he stopped those boys. Sameer was astounded, “what do you mean why? They were going to throw them on PVKM students, which means Naina is also included in that.”

Munna acted puzzled, “so? It’s just a prank… You know Naina likes a good prank. After all you also pull pranks on her.”

“Yes… but only me”, Sameer raged, “the right to play prank on Naina is only mine.”

As he stormed away from there, his friends grinned and hi-fived. At least Sameer had started exerting right in some form.

A week passed like this, and one day Nanu came over to PVKM on the same day and St. Peters students visited. He met with the principal for the purpose he had come over, and then accompanied him to the room where discussions about the soon to begin cricket tournament was happening. As soon as he entered, Sameer noticed him, “Nanu! What are you doing here?”

Nanu smiled, “just came to meet principal sir for some work. I thought to see how you all are doing.” He spotted Naina engrossed in writing something and called out, “hello Naina.”

She looked up, and grinned, coming over, “hello sir… how are you?”

“Fantastic”, he beamed, “now who will brief me about the fest?”

“I can…”, Sameer started but was interrupted by Naina, who held on to Nanu’s arm, and said, “I will show you sir… come this way.”

Nanu waited with bated breath for Sameer’s reaction even as he started to follow Naina, but was surprised to see when his grandson just shrugged, smiled and followed them listening to Naina with rapt attention even though he surely must know all the details. Nanu smiled, thinking first his possessive grandson didn’t object to Naina being in his room and then now he had no issues with the way Naina almost pulled him away. It did seem that Sameer didn’t mind sharing with Naina.

Sameer looked at Nanu chatting up with Naina and wondered when did these two bond so well. Tanvi sneaked inside the room, even though she was not allowed to, and went to Sameer, “what is that girl doing with your grandfather?”

He scowled, “what are you doing here?”

Tanvi held on to his arm, “c’mon let’s go outside. You must be bored with these students.”

Naina noticed the way the girl clung to Sameer, and faltered in what she was speaking. Nanu noticed her reaction and were about to turn to see what had disturbed her, but Naina quickly recovered and stopped him, her voice unnaturally high, “sir… look at this schedule.”

Sameer had seen what Naina had done, and wrenched his arm free from Tanvi’s hold, fiercely whispering, “leave me… And no, I am not going anywhere with you. How many times do I have to tell you that I am not interested?”

He moved away from her, and came up to where Nanu and Naina were standing. Soon a teacher spotted Tanvi and asked her to leave.

The next trip to St. Peters was to officially mark the beginning of fest. It would start in two days beginning with the cricket and debate competitions, and half-way through the dance and art competitions would begin. From next Friday they also needed to start preparing for the fair – it was not an easy task, as they needed to find sponsors, donors, decide on the stalls, arrange the contractors who would set it up. However all these thoughts took a sideline in Naina’s head as she saw Tanvi again clinging to Sameer as soon as she entered. While desperately trying to free himself from the annoying girl, Sameer noticed Naina watching him with a frown. He absolutely hated the way things were happening now. Naina shook her head and went inside the allotted classroom, standing by the window she thought back to what she had witnessed. Was that girl really Sameer’s girlfriend? If yes, then why did he look so irked while talking to her? It was really difficult anyways to know what relationships people shared here. She had always thought that holding hands was special, but ever since she had started coming to St. Peters she had seen girls and boys hold each other’s hands like it was absolutely normal. She recalled how strange she had felt when Sameer had held her hands for the first time, and since then he had done it so many times but it still made her feel something. She didn’t know what it was but it was special and different, but maybe it was nothing for Sameer. Look at that girl, it always seemed like if given a chance she would climb on top of him, but he didn’t seem to be interested.

She stared at her own hand as she kept on thinking. It was surely nothing… It didn’t mean anything to him. Just then Sameer came up to her, and held the hand she was staring at. She jerked, and tried to pull back, “what are you doing?”

He didn’t leave her, “you were staring at your own hand since so long, I thought you wanted me to hold it.”

The logic was so absurd, that she stopped struggling and asked, “why would you even think like that?”

He shrugged, “I have seen you notice couples around here hold hands, and so I thought… and plus you fell in my arms, remember?”

She glared at him, pulling her hand back, “stop saying that… and we are not a couple.”

“Yes yes”, he rolled his eyes, “we are not couple… we are not friends… I remember the drill.” Grabbing her hand again, he pulled her, “now come with me.”

His hold on her was so strong that she had to follow him, however he was walking so fast that she almost had to run to keep up. She panted, “where are you taking me? And please slow down… I can’t…”

She trailed off as her step faltered going down the stairs, and he quickly held her, securing her in his hold. She stilled for a moment, her face pressed to his shoulders, and gulped at the sudden feeling of being wrapped in his arms. He too stilled, goosebumps erupting on his body as her warm breath seeped through his shirt. After a moment, he teased, “see… you again fell in my arms.”

That brought her to her senses, and she drew back, “will you stop that. First you make me fall, then save me, and then you tease me…”

He chuckled, “I like it… now stop talking and let’s go. I want to show you something.”

She followed him curiously across the wide backyard lawn and then out of the school boundary. There was a small dirt track leading down to a canopy of trees and a small pond. There were a few huts on the other side, and ducks quacked in the green waters of the pond.

He waved his hand as if displaying the place to her, “this… I wanted to show you this place. I come here often to play guitar.”

She loved the place, but his words surprised her, and she commented, “I never thought you would be the music loving kind… but it figures that you would love Guitar.”

He was perplexed, “why so?”

She shrugged, “just like that… Guitar must make you feel stylish and happening.”

He looked genuinely surprised, “what a dumb reason to choose an instrument! Why would anyone do that?”

“Then why did you choose guitar?” She queried.

He explained, “because that’s the first instrument Nanu gave me when I came to live with him from hostel… I still remember it… My hands were so small I couldn’t even hold it properly, it was frustrating. But then Nanu made me sit on his lap, showed me the way to hold it, and he held my hand guiding me to strum the strings… and… I fell in love with it.”

She was surprised by the emotional reason, but there was no doubt that it was the truth, his eyes and voice conveyed it. She wanted to know more, so asked, “why did you live in hostel?”

He frowned, “let’s please stick to guitar and music.”

She understood that it was not something he wanted to discuss, and so asked, “what music do you play?”

He smiled, “since you assume so much about me, why don’t you guess this one?”

She immediately replied, “maybe something loud… like Michael Jackson.”

This time he laughed, “God Naina… I would really like to know how you assess people in that brain of yours?”

Her brows furrowed, “what are you talking about?”

He sighed, “have you ever tried to think with your heart Naina? Look around… the pond, the trees… I just told you that I often come here to play guitar. Do you think this place is for loud music? And by the way, Michael Jackson is not loud; some of his songs are peppy.”

She looked around and said, “this place is for romantic music… but you wouldn’t play that.”

He raised an eyebrow at what he heard and grabbed her hands, pulling her close to him, he gazed into her eyes and softly asked, “you think I am not romantic?”

Her eyes widened, and she was unnerved by the sudden proximity. Her throat worked for a few seconds before she could utter, “leave me…”

He didn’t budge an inch, “why? Your papa is not here this time.”

She gulped, “that is not an excuse… leave me.”

He kept his voice low, his gaze steady, “I will… but first tell me… you think I am not romantic?”

She didn’t know what he was up to, but looked him in the eye and said, “No.”

“Very well then”, he smiled, “let me prove it to you… How about… a kiss?”

She reacted just like last year, “eww gross… go kiss your girlfriend.”

He tilted his head, “why do you think kissing is gross?”

“I don’t think kissing is gross”, she blurted, “I think kissing you is gross.”

He stayed silent, but the slight glitter in his eyes deepened as he looked at her. She gasped immediately as she realized what she had uttered, she had challenged him. Right on point, he started speaking, “you know I don’t like challenges… Now I have got to prove a point.”

She started to feel extremely anxious and her voice hand a slight tremble as she spoke, “leave me.”

He ignored her, and slowly lifted up her right hand, bringing it close to his mouth despite her attempts to pull back. His fingers held hers tight, and she wondered how to escape… Several scenarios ran through her mind – tickle him, stomp his foot, slap him… However before she could act on any of those scenarios, he lowered her hand, took a step back and softened his hold on her. His thumb rubbed the back of her fingers and palm as if apologizing for holding so hard. His voice was gentle as he said, “don’t worry Naina… I won’t kiss anyone just to prove a point… It is something both the people involved should wish for.”

A range of emotions coursed through her, surprise and relief being the prominent one, and she pulled her hands back from his hold, feeling a bit shaky on her feet. She rubbed her arms as if trying to warm herself up. Her actions made him realize that she was genuinely scared, and he regretted his impulse, wondering if he had overstepped a boundary.

“I am sorry”, he apologized, “you want to go back?”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, “no… I am okay. I just need a minute… no one has ever pulled this kind of prank on me.”

He frowned, “not everything is a prank Naina…”, he sighed, and continued, “anyways… let me help you calm down.”

“How?”, she quipped, “by kissing me?”

He laughed on hearing her usual tone, and asked, “I can’t believe you are so averse to kissing when on the other hand you rewind a kissing scene to watch.”

She gasped, startled, and he smirked, “yes… I saw you do that… just a few weeks back… at your friend’s house…. Raja Hindustani.”

Her mouth fell open in shock, “you were spying on me?”

Sameer ignored her question, and asked back, “why did you rewind? Were you trying to learn? I don’t think two times is enough to teach you.”

She fumed, taking a step towards him, she poked him in his chest, “what do you mean I cannot learn in two times? Now you are challenging me Sameer…”

He was fascinated by the little spitfire in-front of him. He looked at the slim fingers poking near his heart, then into her sparkling eyes, and then his gaze dropped to her lips, “want to prove it?”

She was furious, “I don’t want to prove anything to you. And I won’t… why should I? When I will find the one for me, he will know if I can kiss or not.” He was silent again, pondering over her statement.

The one… wow… Do all girls think and talk like her? Why did you never notice Sameer? And pity… you would never know if Naina can kiss or not.

This thought jerked him into present. What was he doing? Looking at her, he smirked, “alright. Calm down… You don’t need to prove your kissing skills to me. I will pray for the man on whom you will experiment.”

“You… you…”, she started, but he placed a finger on her lips. “Shsh”, he commanded, “enough… I was just teasing you. I don’t want to fight here. This place is special.” He tugged her to the ground, making her sit beneath a tree, and she huffed, crossing her arms, and looking away from him.

He smiled on seeing her antics, and pulled out his guitar from behind the tree where he had hidden it before he went to bring her here, and asked, “want to listen what I like to play?”

She looked at the guitar from the corner of her eyes, her interested piqued, yet she resisted for few long minutes, before tersely saying, “if you want to… go on…”

He controlled his laughter as he understood that she dearly wanted to hear him play but was showing her anger. He positioned the guitar, took the plectrum from his pocket and started strumming ‘Pehla Nasha.’

Naina recognized the tune instantly and was surprised as it was her favorite song. She tried to resist futilely for some seconds and then sighed, giving up and turning to look at him. She had thought she would find him grinning or smirking in triumph, as he had made her give up on her anger. But she was in for a surprise again, he wasn’t smirking, he wasn’t even looking at her. Rather he sat with his eyes closed, his head tilted a bit to the side, his hair lifting in the gentle wind, one of his leg stretched out, and a small smile played on his lips. It seemed as if he was truly enjoying what he was playing, and she realized that it was not a planned thing. He was strumming so effortlessly that he must have played it often. He looked so happy and peaceful that she kept staring at him, quite lost in his sight, and felt as if she could sit and listen to him for hours and hours.

He strummed the last tune, and slowly opened his eyes, expecting to find her still sulking somewhat. He thought she wouldn’t accept that she liked it, and would cover her praise in her teasing. But, even he was surprised to see Naina turned towards him, sitting with her cheek resting on her palm as she stared at him dreamily, a soft smile curving her lips and the appreciation was evident in her eyes.

He mused that he had never thought he would see Naina looking at him like this. Slowly he leaned towards her and whispered, “Naina…”

She dragged in a shaky breath as if the music had affected her a lot, and her eyes lowered to his hands which still held the guitar. She reached out and stroked two fingers down the strings and then covered his hand holding the plectrum with her own palm, as she softly said, “it is beautiful Sameer… I loved it.”

He was pleasantly surprised by both the praise and her holding his hand, “thanks Naina. It is my favorite song.”

“Really?”, she asked, “I wouldn’t have thought you would like it.”

He sighed, “Maybe… you should try not to form perceptions about people. No one is defined by anything; you know… there can be different shades to one person.”

She smiled, and squeezed his hand, glancing at the pond whose water was now golden green as it reflected the sun, “I am beginning to realize that.”