A Tale of Trust - A DevAkshi & SamAina FF

Chapter 4 - Bridge

Happy Reading

00:00

"Toh jo Swati ke saath hua uski wajah se tu TV ke ubharte sitare se lift lene se mana kar rahi thi ("So ... What happened with Swati was the reason behind you not taking a lift from ITV's rising star?")" Preeti, being her dramatic self had started her interrogation with Naina.

"Naina jaane de na. What we see on our screens is not how the person may be in reality. Accept it" Swati tried to control her friend's raging anger.

"Baat kuch aur hai ("The matter's somethin' else.") Preeti's Byomkesh Bakshi mood was on "Jaldi bol actual me kya problem hai? ("What's the actual problem?")"

Naina let out a long breath and said "We did our high schooling together... 11th-12th matlab"

"Isiliye tu itna chidhti hai usse? ("So that's why you don't like him?") " Preeti raised her eyebrows.

Swati's eyes widened in shock. "Tu ne kabhi bataya nahi yaar! ("You've never told us that!")" She said in disbelief.

Naina lowered her eyes and rubbed her hands.

"Tu theek hai?" Swati held her hand to provide the much needed support.

"Naina kya baat hai? Tujhe pata hai na tu humse sab share kar sakti hai ("What is it Naina? You know you can share anything with us.") Preeti had barely finished her sentence and a tear escaped Naina's eyes. She bit her lip to control herself.

"P..preeti paani la. ("Preeti ... Get some water.")" Swati ordered and Preeti did as directed. Naina gulped the entire 1 Litre bottle in one go.

A heavy silence filled the entire room.

"Hum same school me the..." Naina began her story "... Mai starting se usi school me thi, wo 11th me aaya tha. Alag hi style tha uska and dekhne me bhi theek thaak hai... ("We were in the same school... He had joined in 11th ... He had a different style and his looks were okay-ish too...")"

Swati raised her eyebrows

"... Accha theek hai bhai... Salman Khan jaisa dikhta hai, bahut cute hai" Naina's lips curved in a smile without her permission "Har ladki ka crush tha uss par... Normal hai, teenage me sabko hota hai ("Oh Fine! He looks like Salman ... Everyone had a crush on him... It was teenage... It is normal.")"

"Naina Aggarwal, Topper of the century! Tu bhi flat ho gayi thi uss par! ("You too Naina!")" Swati was almost shouting in disbelief

"Poore Mumbai ko bata de tu. ("Yeah, let's tell the entire city about it.")" Preeti hit her with a pillow "Tu aage bata kya hua. ("Naina ... Continue")"

"Mera ... Mai ... Mera bhi wahi case tha" Naina was looking for the most decent words to describe the upheaval he had caused in her heart "Uske alawa kuch dikhai nahi deta tha, uski har choti choti cheez, har baat mere liye ... important thi ... ("I belonged to the same case. I couldn't see beyond him. Everything he did, he say was ... Important to me.")"

"Ohooo" Preeti gave a cheeky smile to Naina but controlled her overflowing expressions when Swati eyed her angrily.

"... Meri aankho par jaise patti bandhi hui thi. Mai... " Naina stopped to curb the growing lump in her throat "... Mai uski har buri aadat ko uski naadani, innocence samjh kar ignore kar deti thi. Humari class me ek ladki thi, wo kaafi din se school nahi aa rahi thi... Kaafi din baad humein pata chala ki Sameer aur uski school bus wale dost ... Senior the wo ladke ... Wo usko roz bully karte the... You know how bad bullying gets... Wo sambhal nahi pai iss situation ko aur school hi aana chod dia... Aisa ... Aisa lagta tha jaise usko sadma lag gaya hai kisi baat ka ("A girl of our class was absent from the school since a long time. We got to know that she was being bullied in the school bus by Sameer's senior friends. She couldn't handle the situation well. One look at her and you could make out the trauma she was going through.")