rajveer naina - fated

chapter 10

"Today it feels so good to be back in my uniform again, Sir."
Aalekh had told him,

"I never realised how precious it was until I lost it."

"And that's the important thing, Aalekh."Captain Rajveer had replied, laying a hand on his shoulder affectionately,

"Today you've not only realised how important this uniform is…but that sometimes we have to wait patiently to gain the things we want."

Aalekh had noticed how Rajveer Sir's eyes had drifted just slightly to the left of his face, and without needing to look, he knew that Naina would be standing there.

"Yes Sir,"Aalekh had replied,"And that if you're prepared to wait, then eventually you will gain what it is that you desire."

Rajveer Sir had smiled, reaching out to ruffle Aalekh's hair slightly. His eyes once again drifted to the left slightly, and the expression on his face was of somebody who was prepared to wait…patiently.

When Captain Rajveer had finally left him, Aalekh had turned around to check.And sure enough there she was.Just as he had known she would be./

Sitting in his office, Aalekh begins to wonder just how long a person can remain patient for. Will that patience stretch across life times, or will it evaporate, having been stretchedway too far?

Because he senses that Dhiraj's patience is almost at breaking point, and the thought makes him feel slightly nervous. He doesn't know how to deal with Dhiraj Kapoor, how he should counsel him as Captain Rajveer used to counsel Aalekh.

Aalekh worries because he sees the young man's condition deteriorating day by day as his feelings grow stronger and he struggles to contain them.
Aalekh worries because he has seen it all before, he has watched both of them struggle with their emotions in two lifetimes now and he wishes that he could help them in some way but fails to find any solution.
There is a knock at the door and Aalekh calls out for the person to enter, smiling as he sees the young man who comes in to sit down.

"How are you today, Hussein?" he asks him.

"I'm fine, Uncle." Hussein tells him, "I just finished talking to Ammi and Abu, Anjali's team won their match yesterday."

"That's wonderful news, with a player like Anjali Baig how could they lose?" he asks proudly, smiling at the thought of Ali and Pooja's daughter.

Hussein smiles too, and it's obvious by his expression that he deeply misses his little sister. Aalekh misses his own family too, his wife and three children, but he knows that his duty is here, at the border, and duty always comes first.

"How is she?" he finally asks Hussein, knowing that he'll know who Aalekh is referring to.

"She's fine," Hussein reassures him, "She's been quieter lately… and strangely even Amiya has. She seems to be worried about Asha for some reason but she hasn't said anything to me about it."

"I think we both know what Amiya's worried about." Aalekh says quietly. "She has no idea why any of this is happening, she must be confused about why they're both acting this way."

"I have no idea what to do," Hussein admits, "I don't know how I should help or support Asha, I don't know how to try and make it better."

"Just keep being her friend." Aalekh tells him, and for a moment feels a pang of jealousy because unlike him, Hussein actually can become her friend.

Aalekh can only be her superior officer, at the very best a mentor. The loss of Naina as a friend hurts him but at least he can watch her… remain close by to her. That's the most that he can hope for at this moment in time.