Na Jaane Kyon...

Main kahaniyan si kehta rahun

Sameer did not move his eyes from the open chat box, till her address propped up on screen. He typed a quick 'thanks'... his smile reaching his ears.

Next second, his eyes widened. She was putting up in Defence Colony... just across the road. They were literally neighbours. He could even jog down to her house. The distance of about four kilometers was nothing in a city like Delhi.

It took him a few minutes to come out of the shocked realisation, another couple of minutes to exhilarate about it... before he remembered why she had sent him the address. He fished out the number from his contact list. L'Opera was the place from where they ordered their cakes for every occasion... incidentally in Defence Colony only. He chuckled at the coincidence... it was closer to her house than his. After placing the order, and sending them the address, he fell back on the bed, staring at the picture that was now on his phone.

"Toh tum ho meri Naina ke Ayush. Sorry yaar, tumhe kitni gaaliyaan de daali maine... my bad. But don't worry, I'll make up for it. Yeh cake pehla step hai. Abse tum mere liye bhi utne hi important ho jitne Naina ke liye." He fondly gazed at the little boy who was in Naina's grip as she smiled at the camera, leaning behind him.

He noticed her eyes... they twinkled in the picture. They were as hypnotic as in real... but something was different. Her smile and eyes were brighter in the picture. In office, she always seemed to be a little guarded... as if hesitant to express, or maybe, to show any kind of expression.

"Ek din mere liye bhi aise hi smile karogi... dekh lena." He declared, determined to bring the same shine back to her eyes.

Naina quickly whipped up the pasta she was making for dinner. If the cake arrived before Ayush could eat something, his dinner would be a forgotten thing. But luck was on Ayush's side today. In less than fifteen minutes, the bell chimed.

"Offo, mere ghar ke neeche hi khada tha kya cake wala... itni jaldi kaise aa gaya." She wiped her hands and rushed to take the delivery.

"Kahan se aaye hain aap?" She asked the person at the door.

"L'Opera Cakes se ma'm. Very close by." The man pointed to his right.

Thanking him, Naina wondered if Sameer had decided to send it from a bakery near her house rather than his own.

Ayush's excited voice brought her out of all speculations, "Wow, kitna big wala box hai. Cake bhi big wala hoga na. Kitne nice hain tumhare sir."

She sighed, and placed the box on the table. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she opened it. The rich chocolate cake had something written with fine vanilla icing.

Sorry
Thank you

"Ispe kya likha hai? Happy birthday Ayush likha hai kya? Tumhare sir ne socha mera bday hai? Haww, isliye itna big cake bheja... achha hua unko wrong laga." Ayush jumped around gleefully.

"Buddhu ispe likha hai 'Sorry' aur 'Thank You'... lekin kyon likha hai pata nahi." She explained as she cut a piece for him.

Unable to wait, Ayush dunked his index finger into the icing and licked it, grinning when Naina glared at him. As she turned to pick a spoon from the stand, he again picked a finger full of chocolate icing.

Naina held his wrist before he could reach his mouth, "Achha, toh yeh cheating ho rahi hai. Jaa, nahi milega abhi piece. Tune finger se hi chocolate kha liya na... itna hi share tha tera."

"Naiiiii. Yeh wala toh tumhare liye laya tha main... lo, lo taste karo na... ek maine khaya ek tum khao." He lifted his wrist to her mouth.

She tried to move her face away, and his finger landed on her tshirt.