Sapno Ka Shaher

61. One Step Closer

Pressing the safety pin between her teeth, Naina adjusted the saree on her shoulder, checking the length of the pallu by turning side to side and finally securing it with the pin. This was indeed a heavy saree, but she was happy she wore it despite being initially worried about handling it. Pushing the pleats with her foot, she checked if everything was fine and was secured with safety pins at required places. At last, placing the falling pallu on her left arm, she heaved satisfactorily. The tedious task of wearing a saree was done.

She picked up her hairbrush, combing all her hair back into her hand in a pony style.

"Nainaaa...." She saw Sameer appearing in the reflection of the almirah mirror, with a big frown on his face due to obvious reasons. "Khule chhod do naa... baandh kyu rahi ho?" he said.

Naina sighed, rolling her eyes, "offo Sameer..." she said, "tumhari wajah se na mai kabhi dusri hairstyle kar nahi paati... iss saadi pe juda (जुड़ा) hi jyada achchha lagega... aur waise bhi... hum sab gajra lagane wale hai baalon mein..." She returned a big smile, squeezing her eyes.

Sameer stomped his foot on the floor, but walked closer to stand behind her. He continued to adore her as she twisted her hair in her hand to form a high bun and kept it bound with a simple black bow. With the help of the comb, she drew thin hair locks out from either temples, letting it free falling on her cheeks.

"Aisehi ghoorte rahoge ya doree bhi baandh doge?" Naina teased him, looking for her earrings in a jewellery box.

Sameer chuckled at her remark, shaking his head, he picked up the doree's of her sleeveless blouse and tied them up in a knot. Her long hair now tied in a bun gave him a clear display of her back. He was loving the way Naina had been accepting these small changes in her life.

Not that wearing sleeveless blouses and having a deep back makes you modern and others orthodox. It was just that she wanted to try a deep back and she was comfortable sporting it, not worrying about the speculative gazes and the comments coming from others.

His fingers lingered on her buttery back, making her squirm due to the ticklish feeling and himself earning a nudge on his midriff with her elbow.

"Yeh dekho..." Naina chirped, avoiding the butterflies in her stomach due to his soft touch, "parso Preeti ke sath gayi thi na? Wahi se li... imitation piece hai lekin mujhe bahot pasand aayi..."

Sameer smiled and picked the nath, the Maharashtrian jewellery, from her palm. It was a small sized nath studded with pearls and a red stone in the center. He promised to himself to buy an authentic Maharashtrian gold nath for Naina as she seemed to have developed a fondness for the jewellery. But there was time for it.

"Idhar dekho," Sameer commanded, turning Naina to him after she was done.

His eyes wandered on her from top to bottom. She had applied very little make up on her face, that too when he insisted about it. The pink Banarasi silk saree and the contrasting golden blouse added a glow to her already glowing face. The big jhumke studded with stones, that cute nath, small pink bindi and only mangalsutra as a neck piece... with the minimal jewellery and make-up, she was looking breathtakingly gorgeous.

"Aaj madam toh ekdum qayamat dha rahi hai..." he raised his brows, and while she was busy blushing to the color of tomatoes, he pulled her to his chest, securing her in his tight embrace.

"Sameer!!" Naina's eyes widened, "darwaza khula hai..." she mumbled.

"Tch.. kya yaar Naina!! Ek toh kal se itna miss kar raha hu mai tumhe... aur tum ho ki..."

Naina giggled on his grumpy face, "achchha mister? Ek hi din mein itni halat kharab ho gayi aapki? Baki ke din kaise kaatenge?"

Sameer's lips took a downward turn only with the thought of staying away from her.