Safar

Chapter 13

It took me 5 seconds to process my realization. I understood the trouble I had landed into. Bhuvan, he was Arpita's. Why did I have to-

"Ayra" a hand touched my back gently, and instantly gave me goosebumps. Bhuvan. "Chalo, raat ho raha hain" he said softly.

I checked my watch. 11 p.m.

"Zyaada time nahi hua hain. Thodi der aur rehte hain na" I insisted.

"Theek hain, tum raho. Mujhe jaana padega, kuch kaam hain" he smiled and turned to leave.

"Achchha chalo phir.." I caught up with him. There was no point staying here alone.

"Har kisiko bandi mil gayi bancho, main hi raat ko akela sounga aaj. Hadd ho gayi bancho" Bancho sadly whispered to Bhuvan, looking enviously at Sameer and his girl.

"Kahaan bhai... meri bhi to..." Bhuvan looked away, avoiding all eyes.

*       *      *

My bedside alarm clock had just struck 2 a.m. when noises woke me up. A soft, sweet melody from the room left to mine sweetened up the atmosphere, but louder than that were frequent squeaks and yelps from Sameer's room. Loudest of all were the sounds of the wild waves of the sea, competing with the thrumming of the heavy rain outside.
I got down and closed the window, as the floor carpet was getting wet. A flash of lightning made the whole room go pink for a second, followed by the loudest thunder roll that split my eardrums.

I drew the curtains and switched on the light. The external noises became softer, but the melody seemed to grow more prominent, enhancing the environment with some unknown magic. Hypnotised by its beauty completely, I opened the door and followed it. It lead me to the door to Bhuvan's room. I stopped outside to listen. Perhaps he had heard my footsteps, because he stopped singing. Knowing that my presence had been felt, I knocked gently on the door. He opened it, and by his face I knew he wasn't expecting a guest at this hour.

"Ayra!!!!" he exclaimed. "Soyi nahi abhitak?"

"Tum gaa rahe the..?" I asked, even though I knew the answer. Nobody's voice touched my heart as much as Bhuvan's did.

"Haaan... woh..." he blushed. "Parso Arpii aur meri 2nd anniversary hain.. to maine bass ek gaana likha tha uske liye.. wahi.." he smiled shyly, his ears red.

I was delighted to hear this, but that unpleasant feeling crept inside me again. I hadn't been able to take my eyes off Bhuvan since he had opened the door, and I had badly wanted to forget everything in the world for some moments, but the fact that Bhuvan had a special person in his life, and that was my very best friend made the magic fade away instantly. Putting on a forced smile, I congratulated him.

"Thank you, thank you" he said happily. "Ye maine kuch hi din pehle likha tha, par ye exams ke chakkar mein...
Tum baitho na..." he said to me, pointing at his bed.

I went and sat on the edge of his bed, while he got busy with his guitar. Thunder rolled again, louder this time. His windows were closed too, but that didn't make it any harder for us to sense how heavily it was pouring outside. I strained my eyes to look through the window pane, but the only visible substance was vapour.

Bhuvan softly struck a string of his guitar, and it's vibration echoed in the four-walled room. He struck some more chords that felt like heaven to my ears, before he started singing-

"Lagta hain jaise, kal ki baat ho
Lagta hain jaise, kal ki baat ho..."

And I don't remember the lyrics any further, as I wasn't paying attention to anything else apart from him. Eyes closed, his fingers steadily conquered the difficult tune on the strings of the guitar. He didn't see me gazing at him, just like he didn't know the feelings my heart concealed. It was a blissful oblivion, and nothing else mattered apart from him. Soft as he was, the melody reached nowhere but my heart, and nobody else heard a 17 year old boy sing a self-composed love song for his girlfriend, whom he missed terribly, amidst a dark stormy night.

I don't know when the song ended, and when he stopped singing, and when I came back to my room and fell asleep, but the heaven he had transported me to was better than any heaven to have ever existed. I didn't want to return, and I didn't return. Well... not until-

"Uthjaaaaaaaaaaa abbbb... aur kitna soyegi" a shrill female voice rung in my ears.

I opened my eyes lazily, to vaguely see a blurred figure standing by my bed, smiling broadly. I blinked hard, then rubbed my eyes and sat bolt upright, and couldn't believe what I saw.

"Good morning" grinned Arpita.