HER day at school went pretty well. It felt so warm to meet her old friends back in the same building and discussing about their lives after what felt like an eternity. Boys were, as usual, teasing the girls and then got a punch in the form of a savage comeback. Shanti Teacher asking random students to solve problems on board and then forgiving the ones who couldn't on account of coming back after a long time. The canteen was again filled with chatters of every groups, bargaining for lowering the price of Samosas and Gold Spot and the melody of songs while playing Antakshari. How she had missed it all!
Returning back to their home in Nirmal Jyoti Society, Naina freshened up and immediately started solving the sums of the homework given at school while Preeti took the opportunity of buying a new geometry box which lost today, to take her dear sister out to have the famous Tapri ki Chai after days.
"Preeti, Nahi!" Naina protested at her requests.
"Naina, Haan!" Preeti retaliated with equal intensity.
"Chal, hawa aane de!" She replied coolly, opening the windows and letting fresh air come in.
"Yeh kya humesha kitabon mein ghum rehti hai? Kabhi kabhi khula aasmaan, phoolon ki mehak aur tapri ki chai ke saath bhi waqt bita liya kar!" Preeti tried her best to persuade her.
"Preeti maine kaha na nahi. Abhi abhi school shuru huya hai, abhi se padh lenge toh baad mein exam ke waqt sirf ek aadh baar revision se kaam khatam!" Naina too was not going to give up any soon.
"Mera geometry box kho gaya hai na, toh chal kam se kam wohi lene chalte hai, please?" She pouted at her with puppy eyes.
Naina shook her head at her sister's antics and laughed off. "Achha baba, thik hai, chal. Tera geometry box bhi le lenge, aur thodi chai bhi pee lenge. Ab khush?"
With no words, Preeti threw her arms and engulfed Naina into a tight hug. "Yeh huyi na Preeti ki behen jaisi baat!"
"Par haan, zyaada der nahi rahenge. Chalega?"
Flashing a toothy smile, Preeti nodded her head like a small kid. "Jaisi teri marzi, meri maa", she chirped in.
As the Agarwal Sisters were about to step out of their house, Beena Agarwal, their Taiji barged in with curious eyes and demanded, " O bai! Jaa kahan rahi ho dono behen, woh bhi itni saj dhaj ke?"
Preeti eyed her and Naina's dress along with the simple jhumkas and the wrist watch they were wearing and pondered how could this look so extravagant to their aunt. Before she could retort with her famous one-liners, Naina answered, "Woh Taiji, Preeti ka geometry box kahin kho gaya toh wohi kharid ne jaa rahe hain."
"Jaamti box kya?" Taiji asked in confusion while Preeti stifled a laughter.
"Geometry box Taiji! Woh ganit mein britra, chaturbhuj ke rachna ke liye lagti hai."
"Haa haa samajh gayi, padhai ki cheez na? Achha ek kaam kar, Parlay ko bhi le jaao tum dono. Uska bhi kuch pencil toot gaya hai, woh bhi laa de."
"Lekij taiji, agar chhutta nahi bache toh? Zyaada paise nahi hai toh humare pass", Preeti clarified.
"Tum dono ke pass nahi hai toh kya huya, Bela ke pass toh haina!" She asserted staring at the victim from her peripheral vision.
"Bhagwan jhoot na bulaye Bhabhiji, Parlay Naina, Preeti ke pencil se likh lega na", Bela murmured.
Before his mother could speak anything, Pralay proclaimed, "Haan Mummy, woh Preeti Didi ka pencil mujhe bohot din se chahiye tha isliye toh mauka dhoondhe jaa raha tha Papa ke diwa huya pencil tudwane ka!"
Embarrassed at her son, Beena coughed. "Haan Preeti tumlog jaao, iska ho jayega."
Naina heaved a breath of sigh as Preeti was still wondering how did Pralay become such a good boy. "Aaj pehli baar Pralay ne kuch sahi kiya hai." And Naina couldn't agree more.
After buying the most common and popular the Natraj Geometry box among the students in those days, they headed towards the Chai Tapri nearby.
"Bhaiya ek adrak wali, kam doodh wala chai peelaiye." Preeti beamed in happiness as they ordered.
The 'bhaiya' said, smiling, "Aap dono ka toh pata hi hai. Bohot dinon baad aana huya."
The aroma of ginger had the same magical effect intact on her olfactory system. Sipping her favourite tea from clay cups, Naina listened to Preeti's rant about the happenings in their section.
An old hindi song blared from a cassette player in the shop.
Tere mere milan ki yeh raina
Tere mere milan ki yeh raina
Naina kept her cup on the bench beside her, making Preeti understand a geometrical theorem.
A pair of eyes fell on that very cup and unable to resist his hunger, he quietly sipped the tea. He had always been a fan of coffee and didn't like the taste of tea in his entire life.
Naya koi gul khilayegi
Naya koi gul khilayegi
But today seemed like an exception. Seeing two girls chatting and no one else seemed to bother about the cup, he drank some more tea. Just as he was about to leave, a rose-tinted oxidized earring fell on the ground. He picked it up and searched for the person who dropped it but he found no one looking for it. Shrugging, he shoved the earring into his pocket and left the place with a small smile curved on his face. The peace he had been craving since forever, seemed to sneak into his life.
Tabhi toh chanchal hai tere naina
Dekho na, dekho na
Tere mere milan ki yeh raina
As the song slowly faded, Naina reached for her cup of tea and was shocked to find it emptied. She searched for some evidence but found Preeti drinking from her own, the chai waale bhaiya busy serving biscuits to a young kid and her mother.
"Tere aur tere chai ka milan toh adhoora reh gaya, behen." Preeti laughed while Naina passed her a glare.
"Chal ghar chalte hai." Naina pulled her wrist but was stopped by her.
"Yeh tera doosra jhumka kahan gaya?"
Naina's hand went to her right ear and touching it she felt it to be bare. Tears started brimming in her eyes.
"Jhumka gira re, bareilly ke bazaar mein.." Preeti sang enjoying the view of an annoyed Naina.
"Preeti, tujhe mazaak sujh raha hai? Woh jhumka mere liye kitne keemti the tujhe toh pata haina."
"Ek gaya, aur ek toh haina. Aur kya pata yeh jo huya abhi koi ittefaq nahi tha."
"Matlab?" Naina was confused with Preeti's words.
"Matlab shayad jisne yeh chai peeya uss hi ke pass hi shayad tera jhumka ho. Aur kya pata woh tera mehboob ho?" Preeti winked at her while the latter slapped her arm.
"Kuch bhi, Preeti!"
Little did she know that jhumka was a memory that lingered on his mind the entire night which gave him the peace he was seeking everywhere. That night he vowed to never let it estrange from him.
A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you are liking the story so far. :")
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Aye Mere Humsafar |SamAina
Roman d'amourCity: Ahmedabad, Year: 1990 Naina Agarwal, a quintessential good girl popularly known among her classmates as that "padhaku" girl, had big hopes in her little eyes. Her life had always revolved around her family and her academics. The dreamy place o...
