THE WAR FOR LOVE

Part 6

"Kyu kar rahi hai yeh sab?" he asked suddenly, wanting to know why she cared so much. She just shrugged not knowing what to answer.

"Tune kyu kiya aisa?" she asked him then, wanting to know whatever he was up to.

"Mujhe pata nahi tune jhut kyu bola, rahi hogi teri koi majboori. Nahi janni mujhe, lekin phir tune sach kyu bataya? Chala jata jaise aya tha. Kya hi farak pad jata?" she asked, unable to mask her emotions anymore.

"Huh?" he wasn't expecting her to ask.

"Bata?" she insisted. She was mad at him, still she was concerned. At times she disapproved of his lies but when she recalled that he used to say that he was helpless, she was perturbed and she couldn't see him in pain either. These mixed set feelings she was lately going through were making things unnecessarily complicated.

"Mai- mujhe acha nahi lagta yu jhut bolke jana. Isiliye.." came his reply.

"Hmm" she hummed, a little upset with his response.

The next day, Sidharth was in the market again with a letter in his hand to give it to the shopkeeper.

"Kab tak pahuch jayegi chitthi?" he asked the old guy.

"Waqt toh lagega, kuch din intezar karo." the oldie replied, putting the letter inside his bag and getting back to work. Nodding in affirmative, Sidharth turned to return when he saw Sana along with some girls carrying loaded bags to a shop. He simply watched her going after an old lady who was probably her boss. He was wondering if he should stop by and say hi to her when he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh! Maaf karna.." he mumbled to the guy and again looked back in the direction where Sana was going. To his disappointment, he had lost her in the busy market.

"Huhh!" he scoffed, he really wanted to see her shocked face but hard luck. He started limping back home when there was a pat on his back.

"Yaha kya kar raha hai tu?" Sana was there! With her arms crossed against her chest, challengingly.

"Kal jo chitthi likh raha tha, vo dene aaya tha. Tune mujhe kaise pehchana?" he asked, smiling and getting excited.

"Kyuki bhaisaab, yeh meri shawl hai!" she replied, smiling equally while holding back her laughter. That's how she had recognized him the other day, it was the big and handwoven shawl of her grandma.

'Bhaisaab?' What the heck? That word literally destroyed Sidharth's mood, he wanted to smack her head for that.

"Tujhe vapas chahiye yeh shawl?" he scowled, unwrapping the shawl.

"Arey nahi!" she replied urgently and stopped him from removing it. Fearing someone might see him all of a sudden.

"Tu bura kyu maan raha hai? Maine toh bas bola ki meri shawl hai." then she innocently asked, not realising how that word managed to slip out of her mouth.

"Mai ghar ja raha hu." he replied without answering her and left. Mentally questioning himself regarding the entire existence of his feelings. What if she thinks about him like a brother? Elder brother? Because she was pretty young. Ewww! No! He prayed things weren't like he was assuming or he'd literally jump off from the waterfall if the situation was so. Dammit! Whatever her case was, he had to be sure before taking any step.

Henceforth, he distanced himself a little from her for a couple of days. Sana being totally unaware of what made him act indifferent, just kept observing his behaviour. How he wasn't talking much and used to stick to bed most of the time.

"Teri tabiyat toh thik hai na?" she asked, getting him a plate filled with aloo-poori one morning.

"Han, thik hu." he shrugged, focusing on the food.