'Beyond the Horizon': There's more to it...

Chapter - 14

Flashback Continues...

His happiness knew no bounds. He was jumping inwardly, elated to the highest. Walking towards the gate where his friend was already guarding, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the moisture off his face and neck perspiring due to the humidity and heat. He was almost at the gate with the prettiest flushed face in front.

"Hi" He spoke smiling his widest at her, in a black polo neck T-shirt clubbed with an ice-wash blue jeans.

How  can a girl in a simple pastel salwar suit, bare face without a hint of make-up, could get his heart jump in excitement? It was surreal. To say he was overjoyed to see her would be an understatement. He was beyond ecstatic, enchanted with her simplicity.

She smiled; a fear induced one. No 'hi' or 'hello' not even a wave of hand, just a forced smile directed towards Tanay and him that too for a quick second each. The pink hues on her cheeks were not blush or out of excitement but the scorching heat and stress effect, the sweat beads adding to it which she was continuously trying to dab with the corner of her dupatta. The same cloth that was covering half of her upper body including her head. She was correcting its position every now and then. She was nervous and he learnt it looking at her body language. It was certainly a big deal for her, a sweet girl in her six-teeny self to walk out of her home to meet someone in private. Already a lot of effort and undoubtedly laudable that she had made it here for him. Now was his time to make her feel comfortable and at peace at least somewhat.

"Tanay I am sure we don't look like ghosts, or do we?" His friend was addressed but the statement was directed to someone else present there.

"Nahi Bhai! I don't think so" Tanay replied playfully.

"Have you seen one? Shehnaaz...? Yaha aaspaas?" He said looking at her flushed face.

"Yaha bhoot hai?" She blurted out in her soft voice. Eyes searching for something nonexistent around the hallway. The shiver in her hands telling the story of her anxious state of mind. She just didn't care to listen to understand the humor out of it. Her mind was already blocked with so many thoughts to take the joke as a joke.

"Oh God! Nahi hai par tumahar chehra dekh ke logo ko lag zaroor jaega ki tumne bhoot dekh liya ho" He stated, intently looking at her.

"Oh......" She mumbled biting her lips and looked at him with that innocence filled eyes carrying countless emotions, none decipherable to him or to herself.

"You need to be relaxed, ok? Tum janti ho hum dono ko...at least pehle mili to ho na...there is nothing to be scared of, all right?" He gently spoke in attempt to comfort her pounding heart that he could literally make out of her slightly heavy breathing.

But what came next shocked him out of his wits. The sweet girl in front had tears brimming her eyes. It took him some time to realize what was happening and for him it was hard to believe at first. He was sure he didn't do or said anything that would end up making her cry. But something definitely went wrong with her, what? he couldn't put a finger at. He gave Tanay a questioning look who was standing right behind Shehnaaz but heard her sniffle once, he then turned to look back at her when his friend shrugged implying, he didn't get it too.

"Shehnaaz...why are you crying baba? Did you find anything we said, derogatory or hurtful? Please tell me if you did, we would never repeat that I swear!" He worried asked.

It was too much; everything was new for him as well even the interaction like this at a lonesome place without many people around with an awkwardness manifesting its presence at the back of his mind and her sobbing not at all helping to resolve the ticklish feeling. It was only for this girl he had come out of his comfort zone it wasn't at all forced though. It came naturally to him, for his feelings, the unclear, unnamed yet most beautiful of all feelings he ever had experienced, and it was only for her. He felt it with an intensity that he just couldn't control himself taking these steps.