As usual that night, Nisha was walking around the park after talking to her parents when she heard a familiar voice, "Natasha, main keh raha hoon na main nahi kar sakta maa se baat, tu bacchi hai tu nahi samjhegi"
"Bhai, bacchi main hongi, par baccho waale harkat aap kar rahe ho, maa ko ek baar wish karne mein kya jaayega aap ka" responded someone on the phone.
"Nats, maine bola na, agar woh mujhse baat nahi kar sakti toh main kyun karoon, itne saalon mein kya unhone koshish bhi kiya" said Kabir, angrily.
"Bhai, aap ko pata hai woh kitni majboor hai, papa—" said the person on the phone he called Nats.
"Natasha, sab ki apni apni choice hoti hai aur unhone apni choice decide kar liya, so please. Anyway, main iss baare mein aur nahi baat karna chahunga, kal baat karenge, good night" said Kabir harshly and hung up the phone.
Feeling a little guilty about eavesdropping, Nisha clears her throat to indicate her presence, "Ahem ahem"
"Nisha tum? Woh main" said Kabir, wondering how much had she heard.
"Ghar pe baat kar rahe the, arrey haan tumne apni mom ko wish kiya? Cake bheja ki nahi? asked Nisha causally, pretending to not have heard anything.
"Please if you don't mind, mujhe iss baarmein koi baat nahi karni" dismissed Kabir hoping she would leave him alone.
"Toh iske liye tum unhe ek wish bhi nahi karoge?" asked Nisha getting straight to the point, shocking an already shook Kabir.
"I am sorry main tumhaare baatein suni, par galti se, problem kya hai Kabir, tum ek din apne differences ko aside nahi rakh sakte" reasoned Nisha, trying to knock some sense into him.
"Listen you don't have a right to judge, especially when you don't know the whole story, so please leave me alone" he snapped harshly and started to walk away.
She intercepted his movement and blocked his way saying calmly, "Main judge nahi kar rahi hoon, kabir bas pooch rahi hoon"
"Haan differences hai humaare beech, bohut kadwi woh bhi aur main unhe nahi let go kar sakta" said Kabir, finally revealing the truth.
"Toh let go karne kaun bol raha hai, I am sure tumhaare unse jo bhi shikaayatein hai woh jaayiz hai, par naa baat karne yeh sab solve bhi toh nahi honge" debated Nisha.
"And woh tumhaari Maa hai, kya hua ki unhone koshish nahi kiya, tum toh kar sakte ho na, jab bachpan mein tumne kuch galtiyaan ki ho, yaa unhe kuch suna diya ho, kya unhone tumhe maaf nahi kiya, toh tum kyun nahi" desparately trying to make him understand her PoV.
"And bas ek birthday wish ki hi toh baat hai, kal se dobara jhagda shuru kar lena, koi issue nahi hai" she finished finally, hoping he'd see reason.
"Apna phone lo aur call karo unhe, come on. I am sure she's anticipating your call" she pushed feeling braver, handing him his phone and gesturing him to call.
He sat down on the bench opposite to her and gave his mom a ring, who didn't take seconds to pick up his phone.
"Gappu, beta kaisa hai tu?" she enquired instantly.
"Maa, aap woh sab chodo, aap kaise ho" asked Kabir, overwhelmed by her concern.
"Ab mere beta ka phone aayega toh acchi hi rahoongi na" responded his mom, with a teary chuckle.
"Happy birthday Maa, bas wish karne phone kiya maine iska matlab yeh nahi ki main sab bhool jaaonga" said Kabir, bitterly.
"Tumne meri yaad aayi mere liye utna hi kaafi hai" replied his mom endearingly.
"Acha woh sab chodo, Gajar ka Halwa khaaya?" diverted Kabir, not wanting her to get emotional.
"Gajar ka Halwa? Nahi toh" said his mom.
"Yeh Nats ki bacchi, ek kaam dhang se nahi hota isse, main kahan tha usse ki maine specially banwaa ke bheja tha" cursed Kabir.
"Mujhe pata tha woh gajar ka halwa tune hi bhijwaya hoga, main bas confirm karna chahti thi, kaafi accha tha, maine poore do katori khaa le" chuckled his mom knowingly.
"Ab mujhe daant mat, birthday ke din thodi cheating chalti hai" she added.
"Waise tera kaam kaisa chal raha, dekha maine tera aur Manik ka photo akbar mein, maine mere saare friends ko bhi dikhaya, sambhalke rakha maine woh copy" she revealed, beaming with pride.
"Aap ne dekha?" asked Kabir bewildered by the fact.
"Haan naraaz hai iska matlab yeh thodi hai ki pyaar karna chod denge, tu toh mera baccha hai" she responded, her eyes filling with tears again.
"Love you Maa, I hope aap ka bday accha raha aur jo party hui hogi woh bhi" said Kabir lovingly.
"Party toh har saal hoti hai, par aaj ka sabse khaas wish mujhe mil gaya" answered his mom.
"Ghar kab aayega?" she asked, wondering if she should.
"Pata nahi Maa, dekhenge. Aap abhi jaao aur dinner enjoy karo, hum phir kabhi baat kar lenge, bye, dhyaan rakho apna" said Kabir, wanting to end the call, before he broke down.
"Bye beta, humesha khush rehna" replied his mom, before hanging up.
A lone tear escaped from his eyes as he sat on the park bench unsure of what to feel. He was definitely happy to hear his mother's voice again and her telling him she kept tabs on him meant everything and all this was only possible because of one girl. The girl who was right now, sitting beside him on the bench, glancing at him every now and then unsure, wondering if she should give him his space or comfort him. Suddenly, he stood up from the bench and composed himself, so that he could gather his words together. She sensed that he didn't want to get too overwhelmed and break down, so she just stood beside him waiting.
Finally, he turned to her saying, "Thank you! Thank you so much, agar aaj tum nahi hoti toh main apni Maa se kabhi baat nahi karta, so thank you for knocking some sense into me. I—". He struggled with his words, rendered speechless in front of her innocent eyes.
Not wanting to make this any awkward and release the tension, she responded with a, "It's okay, GAPPU!" laughing and running away. His eyes widened with fear of hearing it. Before he knew it he was chasing her around the park while she was running away laughing hysterically.
"Hey! That's so not fair, you can't tell anyone about this. It is my childhood nickname after all" said Kabir, running after her.
"Why not, I have to tell this to Manik at the very least" she teased, evading his grasp. But finally, he catches on to her and pulls her onto him, grabbing hold of her arms.
She looks at him, feeling a little uncomfortable. Wondering if she crossed a line there. But to her relief, he holds on to both her hands gently and says, "You know what, tumhe jise batana hai bata do, aaj mujhe kisi bhi cheez se koi farak padta, except for the fact that I spoke to my mom after 3 whole years and it is all thanks to you. I can't tell you how grateful I am"
To her utmost surprise, he pulls her into an embrace and whispers, "Thank you, I owe you" making shivers go down her spine. She wonders what is this tingling sensation that she's never felt.
YOU ARE READING
Anokhi Fitrat
DragosteThe story revolves around Nisha and Kabir, two strong independent working professionals, whose paths cross when they end up working in the same company. How do their lives evolve once they meet and does it end in love?
