Na Jaane Kyon...

Tera hi bas hona chahu... tere dard mein rona chahu

Title is a song from movie 'Haunted 3D'

When Sameer reached his room after dinner, the time was five minutes to midnight... five minutes to Naina's birthday.

"Call karke wish karunga. Bata dunga ki main subah ki flight se wapas aa raha hun." He smiled at the thought of seeing her in the morning.

Next moment, he tapped the phone to his forehead sheepishly, "Sameer, woh intezar nahi kar rahi tera jo batayega. Abhi biwi bani nahi hai. Also, let it be a surprise. Dekhte hain uska reaction kya hota hai. Kuch toh hint milega uski feelings ka." His eyes turned dreamy as he thought about various possible reactions, "Kya woh khush ho jayegi, ki main uske birthday pe usse wish karne ke liye wapas aa gaya... ya ek formal si smile deke reh jayegi ya phir..." His heartbeat plummeted at the thought, "Ya phir usse pata hi nahi chala hoga ki main wahan nahi hun." He shook his head, convincing himself with a confident smile, "Of course pata hoga. Main aane se pehle bata nahi paaya lekin teen din se mili nahi toh pata kaise nahi chalega. Sameer, don't worry, usse teri absence ka ahsaas toh hua hi hoga."

When he had left the office three days back, Naina was visiting some dealers. He couldn't meet her before leaving. Neither could he make any call later. There was practically no communication between them ever since nanu had asked him to leave for Mumbai. But he wasn't complaining. However difficult these days had been for him, he was excited to know how his absence from office had effected Naina. Preeti had gone to visit her on second day. Her message... that Naina seemed unduly quiet and pensive, rather lost... was more of a solace to him than concern.

Coming back to present, when he glanced at the phone again, it was a minute past twelve.

"Oh damn. Ek minute upar ho gaya." He chided himself and started to type her name to make the call.

Just three letters... N A I and he pressed the back button.

"Nahi, call karna sach mein theek nahi lagega. Pata nahi woh kya sochegi. Bura maan gayi toh... message kar deta hun. Haan, message is fine. Insta pe ek dm bhej deta hun. Baaki jo kehna hai kal milke hi kahunga." With a wistful smile, he started to type a birthday message in insta chat box.

The morning brought another stroke of bad luck when his flight got cancelled due to some technical snag. Sitting at the airport in extreme frustration, he repeatedly checked his insta account.

Naina hadn't seen his message yet.

In fact, she hadn't come online since last evening. It was strange. Usually, people checked their social media several times on their birthdays. Receiving messages and wishes was always a source of happiness. A strange fear gripped his heart... was she fine? He checked the time. It was too early to call. Though he knew Naina was an early riser, he didn't want to show his desperation by calling her at the crack of dawn.

It was close to noon when Sameer finally landed at Delhi.

"Seedhe office hi jaata hun jisse cake cutting ke time pe pohonch jaun." He gave the office address to the cab driver.

It seemed that the day had more shocks in store for him. Naina hadn't come to office. She had informed the department in the morning that due to some urgent personal requirement, she would be on leave for a day. To top it, when he checked the notification for the birthdays, her name was missing. How could he make a mistake about her birthday... he was sure he remembered the date since the first time he had seen her details uploaded on the portal. Perplexed, Sameer checked the employees info on company website.

The column of her date of birth was blank.

He stared at the screen. No wonder the mail did not include her name.