TADAP

Chapter 13 - Memories bring back memories

"Sidharth" she shook his shoulder to bring him back from his trance. Needless to say, he seemed to be disturbed. Sharing a deep rooted trauma to a close one is not easy any day. As strong as an alpha male was Sidharth, he was human too afterall.

A man or a woman, soft hearted or a tough person, an extrovert or introvert regardless of all this mental health of a human being matters the most. As important it is to take care of physical health it is more than necessary to be cautious of our mental well being too.

"Hm" he mumbled.

“We don’t have to talk further if you cannot Sidharth. Uh umm mein samajh sakti…” Shehnaaz tried to assure him but stopped when she heard him speak.

“Mein aur Kushal police training academy mei mile the” his face had a faint smile reminiscing his old times, the days he loved. Shehnaaz pressed his palm encouraging him to go on.

“The moment we met,I guess we both knew we were going to hit off well. People from across India aate the vaha pe, but there were hardly any who could match my wavelength kyunki waha pe sab itna strict hota tha ki everyone used to be always in a tension ki ab punishment na mile ya phir senior se panga na ho jaye. Par hum dono alag the…” Sidharth’s face lit up while narrating about him & his dear friend. Shehnaaz noticed and she smiled too, letting him know she was keen on listening to more.

“By now you know me. Toh socho mere se thoda sa sober version hai Kushal!” he chuckled at his own sentence and continued “Uska gussa mere jitna nahi hai. Itne strict academy mei bhi humari masti, pange rukte nahi the. Training puri huyi phir hum dono ki posting Pune mei.

We were so happy! His parents were settled in Pune toh they insisted I stayed with them. I agreed & tried to visit Mom whenever I got time. 2 years we stayed together, worked together, had our share of fun and everything. We were pretty good at our work toh we were sent on a special cadre training to Dehradun aur vaha pe Jenny apne initial training ke liye aayi thi” Sidharth said with a smirk.

“Oh ho, I guess now I know Kushal ko Jenny kaise mili. But,tum dono friends kaise bane?” Shehnaaz asked, now intrigued in their story.

“Jenny ko toh mei bachpan se janta tha, she is 3 years younger to me but ek hi building mei rehte the toh we became best friends. And yes, you’re right, vahi pe Jenny aur Kushal mile. So, I can take full credit of becoming Seema Taparia to them both” he chuckled referring himself to the famous matchmaker.

Shehnaaz also joined him and giggled. Sidharth somehow had his eyes moist though he was trying to smile, laugh at his memories, this didn’t go unnoticed by Shehnaaz. She moved to the corner of the couch and tapped her lap looking at him. He raised his eyebrows confused at her.

“Hayee, leit ke suna apni story” she instructed him to lay his head on her lap and continue. Sidharth smiled, a wide one this time at her thoughtfulness. He was amazed at how she knew he needed some warmth & affection from her without even conveying.

He slid himself and laid his head on her lap and closed his eyes for a moment until he felt her palm run over his forehead and her fingers weave into his hair. That sweet gesture from her was all it took for him to calm down his racing heart as he went down his memory lane.

“Acha bata phir kya hua…” Shehnaaz initiated being all curious now.

“Ha toh vaha pe ab jenny bhi sath mei thi toh we enjoyed even more. Like it was bound to happen, Kushal and Jenny fell in love with each other. Training ke baad humari posting Mumbai mei huyi. I was so happy ki finally I can come back home and stay with Mom. Kushal also shifted along with me and now it was his turn to stay with us all. He had already become like another son in family, so everyone was happy. Eventually Kushal and Jenny decided to live in together. They found a flat in the same building where we live now” Sidharth paused to sigh.