Prem Vivah

• Pyaar Ke Bojh •

Short leap...

Mhatre's family with Sameer was going for a two days trip to spend some quality time. Nishikant and Prashant were reluctant to bring Sameer with them but Naina kept on insisting, and hence they had to agree.

It was 12:25 am now, and highways were clear for them to drive the car. Hardly a few vehicles were seen moving on the roads, the rest of everything was silent and breezy.

It was a Friday night, and they would return home on Sunday Night after relaxing for the whole two-day.

Naina was busy with Parisha who was showing the doodles she drew on a mini tab. Sameer adored two kids sitting next to him, squealing in excitement time and again.

He remembered how his mother used to praise him whenever he used to show his average drawing skills to her. He wished his mother joined them on this trip but sadly she refused as she didn't want any conflicts between the families because of her forbidden presence.

Sighing slowly, he enjoyed the romantic weather which miraculously was windy. May ending was here in a few days and instead of making humans sweat the atmosphere was making them feel like heaven on earth. The car moved gently on the road with Prashant frequently glancing at his wife who looked away in response.

It seemed like they had an argument or Pranali was upset over something related to her hot-blooded husband. Sameer shook his head in sheer disbelief and decided to keep his Panchayati Self under control for two-day.

"Mausam kitna acha hai, kisi ko chai nahi peeni?" Naina asked her family with a cute smile, and Sameer amusingly glanced at her.

"Thodi der me ek dhaba aanewala hai, waha gaadi rok dege," Prashant said simply, his tone solemn.

Naina just nodded, and Sameer couldn't resist the urge of asking her in a playful tone - "Tumhe kabhi se chai ki mann me aane lagi?"

"Mujhe nahi...tumhe toh lagi hogi na chai ki talab, I am right?" Naina replied to him with a lopsided smile, and he gently nodded, saying confusingly - "Haa mujhe toh lagi hai, par tumhe kaise pata chala? Maine toh kaha bhi nahi kuch."

She slightly leaned closer to his ear while maintaining a safe distance, and whispered in a warm tone - "Jahan dil se dil ka connection hota haina sajna, wahan shabdo ki zarurat nahi padhti."

Sameer was thoroughly amused by her answer and hence he said with a twinkling smile on his boyish lips - "Waah meri poetic mangetar."

"Shukriya janab!" Naina deftly winked at him before drawing back her attention to the little queen.

The car was stopped before a renowned roadside Indian food service, and everyone came out of the vehicle. Sameer went to inform the seller to serve them six glasses of ginger tea with less sugar in one of them. The middle-aged man nodded his head, and the Mhatre's settled themselves on a russet brown wooden bench, looking around the minimal crowd having bun-pav with chai. Naina was lazily wandering, her arms folded across her small frame, and eyes noticing every different human radiating safety and delight with their presence. She softly smiled at the baby boy being carefully held by his mother, his orbs having a shade of oceanic blue crushed with night grey. The little boy slapped his chubby hands continuously on his mother's dupatta, his legs kicking against the young woman's stomach as he wailed aloud to go to his father, who looked busy on an important call.

Naina wished to hold the baby boy in her hands and play tunes of soft stories in his mild red ear to distract his mind, but she didn't know whether his mother would like the idea of a stranger cuddling with her oh-so-lovely son. She just happily admired the cribbing boy, now grasping the hair clip of his mother as he found it quite useful for his teeny-weeny hand.