rajveer naina - fated

chapter 23

"I know that he'll always love her the most." Neelu had told Yudi one day, when Aalekh had been posted elsewhere on duty and Yudi had come to visit in the holidays.

"Sis… you know that…"

"You don't have to explain anything to me," Neelu had told him clearly, calmly. "I'm not jealous, I would be a fool to be, I know it's never been like that between them. It's just that I worry about him… he doesn't talk about it, not really."

"You know, Naina was the first person that ever trusted Aalekh, ever treated him like he was someone special, worthwhile." Yudi tells Neelu, "She trusted him with her deepest secret before anybody else, and that action is what has made him who he is today."

"Do you think that we'll ever stop missing her?" Neelu asked Yudi suddenly, her eyes filled with tears. Naina had been the closest thing she had ever had to a sister-in-law, and even today…

"Not until the day we die." Yudi had replied.

And that was the simple truth.

/

Even though Aalekh had told Neelu not to come and pick him up, she's there anyway, just as he knew she would be.

After more than twenty five years together they know each other inside out and back to front. No matter what mood he is in, she can always tell. He knows when it is that she's becoming restless, eager for a new project or a new location.

They accept each other with all of their flaws, and that is why their relationship has lasted this long. Neither of them has any expectations that the other will be perfect or act that way. Aalekh suspects that their relationship also works well since he's away from home so often. They're both independent people, enjoying their own space. Neither of them smothers the other, or expects them to be anything other than they actually are.

She enfolds him into a warm hug, and he returns it with feeling, kissing her cheek. He's missed Neelu, has missed talking to her. He's hated hiding this from her, and now when he's finally able to reveal the truth, he has no idea what to say.

"Has Yudi arrived yet?" he asks her.

"He got here two hours ago," Neelu replies, "He went to visit Mum and Dad and said that he'd be home in time for lunch, he should be back by the time we arrive."

Aalekh puts his arm around her as they walk to the car, he knows that she'll understand when she finds out, that she'll know why he felt the need to hide it.

They arrive home and sure enough, within half an hour, Yudi arrives back. His face breaks into a grin as he spots Aalekh, hurrying up the path he practically pounces upon him, and Aalekh resists the urge to laugh. No matter what, no matter how much time goes by, Yudi is still the same.

"Chief, it's great to see you!" Yudi tells him excitedly, "It's been months since the last time we've met up, I'm glad that Abhimanyu Sir agreed to give you time off while I was here."

"How's Shalini?" Aalekh asks him, even though it's only been one day since he talked to her.

"She's coming home soon, and thank god for that." Yudi tells him, "I've been waiting for this tour of duty of hers to end, I hate the idea of her over there by herself."

"She's not by herself, HJ is there with her." Aalekh reminds him, "I'm sure he's regularly bothering her, relying on his Aunty Shalini to look after him."

Yudi laughs at the thought, "Well good luck to HJ, if there's any of us that would be able to keep him in line and stop him from chasing girls then it would be Shalini."