Prem Vivah

• Humari Barbadi •

"Yeh kuch bol kyu nahi rahi hai?" Nishikant asked no one in particular, his trust in his daughter dwindling down because of her haunting silence.

"Naina bolo kuch?" Sameer asked her with almost closed eyes as alcohol started to take over his head. He tripped over the white fabric and the next moment carelessly fell on the mattress, frightening Naina in an instant. She quickly knelt to hold him and asked - "Sameer? Tum theek ho?"

"Hmm." He nodded, his eyes shutting down. Naina looked at the satisfaction on his face while sleeping as the softness of her hands holding his rough body made him feel like heaven.

Naina blinked her eyes in perturbation, her lips parting ways. She carefully lay down his head on the mattress and was about to get up, when she felt his fingers clasped tightly over her dupatta. Everyone in her family looked at her as if she was an alien for them, and her heart almost cried at this sight. Even in slumber Sameer didn't want to let her go and wanted her to be closer to him. She hurriedly wiped aside her warm stream of tears and felt the bitter liquid dropping inside her slightly opened mouth.

"I Love You Naina, i love you a lot." Sameer mumbled in sleep while clasping her dupatta more strongly, and Naina as though trying to control her emotions failed when he confessed his love once again in front of her family.

"Yeh sab kya ho raha hai Naina? Batao hume?" Nishikant asked his daughter who sat lifelessly beside Sameer, her head lowered, eyes swollen red, and hands mingled tightly.

"We should call Shivangi and her mother and inform them unka beta yaha padha hua hai sharabi aadmi ki tarah." Prashant suggested, his tone reflecting hatred for Sameer who slept on the mattress with a smile on his face.

"Dada please. Sameer Sharabi Aadmi nahi hai." Naina finally spoke up for her boyfriend whom her brother accused meaninglessly, and the way Naina defended Sameer raised Nishikant's anger.

"Tum janti ho use? Milti ho use roz? Tumhe pata hai woh kaha jata hai, kya karta hai, kiske saath milta hai? Nahi na." Nishikant asked his daughter in a stern voice, and she yearned to tell him that she knows this man more than anyone in his family or acquaintance. She has been with him from his rough phase and nobody could understand what kind of man Sameer is and how innocent he is. Lord Knows how he got drunk today and landed here.

"Tumhare paas number hai Shivangi ka?" Sarita asked her son.

"Nahi Aai, par Sameer ke phone me hoga na," Prashant said normally, and took out the mobile from Sameer's Jean pocket, but he needed to enter a password to unlock the phone.

"Baba iske phone me toh password hai." He whined, tossing the phone on the mattress.

"Naina tumhe pata hai iske phone ka password kya hai? Dekho, acha hoga agar uski family aake yahi matter close kar de, main nahi chahti yeh baat society me kisi ko bhi pata chale. Agar tum chup rahi aaj toh natije bahut bure hoge yaad rakhna." Sarita patiently threatened her daughter to open her mouth and reveal the truth, and Naina was compelled to take his phone and type the password which was her Birth Year and Date.

She phoned Shivangi with trembling hands and her family looked at her in astonishment as to how could she know the six-digit password. Were they wrong to think she had no relationship with Sameer since that fateful night? Were they fools to believe that Naina wouldn't break their trust and confidence in her?

"Hhello," Naina said in a low voice.

"Naina, tumne mujhe sameer ke phone se call kyu kiya hai?" Shivangi asked her in a sleepy tone.

"Tai, Sameer humare ghar pe hai is waqt...aur." She shivered while talking to his sister, and Shivangi was fully awake now as she deciphered the seriousness of the matter in Naina's voice.