By your side

SaMunDit reunion

Part 4

Both hurried out and reached Sameer's place. Ramdhari opened the door and said as taught that Sameer was in Delhi.

Munna:  Haan haan, hume pataa hai, hum toh bus bahut din se aaye nahi the, toh socha Sameer ke ghar chalte hai, hamesha ki tarah thodi der uske kamre mein baithenge fir chale jaayenge.

Ramdhari tried to stop them, but MP jostled their way inside, already suspecting that Ramdhari was not his usual welcoming self. The moment they entered Sameer's room, they were shocked to the core. Sameer was sitting on the bed, lost in thoughts, eyes teary and an air of melancholy surrounding him. The commotion at his door jarred him out of his reverie...Ramdhari came running behind MP.

Ramdhari: Bhaiya, maine inhe rokne ki koshish ki, par yeh nahi mane, seedha andar aa gaye.

Sameer: Koi baat nahi. Tum jao! He got up from the bed and stood facing them.

MP: Astonished, shocked, angry, but first very happy to finally see their best friend back. Toh tu sach mein Ahmedabab mein hai and they hugged him.

Sameer did not embrace them and the earlier warmth in the trio hug was missing. After the initial happiness wore off, MP took to their angry mode.

Munna: Toh tu sach mein yahan hai? Kitne din se? Aur aane ke baad humse mila kyon nahi? Naina se bhi nahi mila, kyon?

Sameer: Mein buss kisise nahi milna chahta, tum log bhi jao yahan se! Aur Naina ko batane ki zaroorat nahi hai ki main yahan hoon...

Pandit: Use batane ki zaroorat nahi hai, use toh waise hi pataa chal jaata hai. Tujhe achchi tarah pata hai ki Naina ko teri kitni fikr rehti hai, tere baare mein uske antenna apne aap kaam karne lagte hai.

Sameer: Woh jo bhi ho, main Naina ke samne nahi aana chahta, buss...aur tum log bhi use nahi batatoge aur mujhse bhi nahi miloge.

Saying this he turned away, as he could not meet the penetrating gaze of his friends.

Munna held his elbow and jerked him back: Hua kya hai Sameer? Naina bahut din se bol rahi thi ki tujhe aas paas mehsoos karti hai, par hume laga woh tujhe bahut miss kar rahi hogi....fir aaj humne Mausi se bhi baat ki aur pataa chala, tu bahut dinon se yahan hai aur ab yahi rahega. Unhe bhi ashcharya hua ki tu ab tak hum se nahi mila. Unhe toh maine taal diya, par tu bataa, hum sabse chup kyon raha hai? Ramdhari bhi hume andar aane se rok raha tha. Isse pehle toh tu jab Delhi mein tha, hum kayi baar aaye hai, woh hamesha khush hota tha, aaj roka kyon?

Sameer averted his gaze and stayed silent.
Pandit came in front of him: Muh ferne se kuch nahi hoga Sameer. Tujhe batana padega ki aisa kya hua hai ki tu humse aur Naina se milna nahi chahta? Kya Delhi jaakar itni rayisiyat chadh gayi ki ab yeh gareeb dost khatakte hai tujhe? Sharam aati hai tujhe hume apna dost kehne mein? Aur Naina? Haan, woh bhi toh ek saadharan parivaar ki ladki hai, koi apsara jaisi bhi nahi dikhti....toh tujhe Delhi mein koi fataka type raees ladki pasand aa gayi hogi na? Ab hum jaise chote logon se tujhe rishta thode hi rakhna hoga? Theek hai ameer Sameer Maheshwari, yeh gareeb dost ab tujhe pareshan nahi karenge, and they started to go away.

Sameer couldn't bear that his friends belittled themselves so much as he refused to talk to them. He stopped them and hugged them tight. Yaaron, Sameer agar ameer hai toh tum jaise doston ki dosti ki wajah se, Naina ke pyaar ki wajah se, warna mujh jaisa badnaseeb aur manhoos toh shayad hi koi aur hoga duniya mein.

Munna: Yeh kya bol raha tu Sameer?

Sameer then explained what had happened in Delhi and how he was made to realize that he was an unlucky child, who lost his father, Nanu, and how his mom had taken severely ill. If he and Rohan had not cared for her vigilantly, he might have lost her too! Now he couldn't afford to lose his Naina. She was always on the receiving end of troubles due to him. At least she would be spared that and stay safe and alive if he wasn't around her.