Kabhi to nazar milao

Romeo

When Naina got back to her room, the other two girls did not leave her till she told them where she had gone... and why? All had a hearty laugh when they came to know about alu parantha chor.

Next day being Sunday, the girls got up late, enjoyed their breakfast in the dining hall and got back to the room to catch up on all the lost time. Swati had brought two dresses for Naina... a red long dress with a wide belt and a blue one, reaching just a little below the knees, with a multicoloured shirt to go with it. Naina was elated, though a little unsure about the blue one as she had never worn anything this short.

"Ab zyaada nakhre mat kar Naina, " Preeti snubbed her protests, "Tu to maze se pehen sakti hai... yahan konsa taiji tujhe dekhe aayengi... mujhe to roz unki chatra chaya mein hi rehna padta hai... zara sa pair ka angootha bhi dikh gaya to kahengi 'O bai Bela, tune bohot dheel de rakhi hai ladkiyon ko, kaisi besharmi kar rahi hai ye Preeti, dekh lena ek din sabka muh kala karwayegi, ab hum to bade hain, apna farz nibhana hai to keh rahe hai, tumhaari ladkiyon ke lakshan kuch theek nahi hain' ".

Swati and Naina laughed so hard at Preeti's  perfect act that their stomach hurt. Preeti joined them and the morning hours passed joking and laughing. After lunch, Preeti announced that Naina needed a haircut and who else but Preeti would give it to her.

Naina readily agreed, as Preeti was very good at cutting and styling hair, she had a knack for it... once in school also she had cut Naina's hair...

Without changing the length much, Preeti cut some layers on the sides, making her hair look more voluminous and bouncy. Leveling at the ends gave a neat look to the overall cut. When open, the style looked very modern but when Naina tied her hair back in a pony, it didn't look much different from earlier.

Rest of the day was gone in remembering school days, visits to law garden for eating chaat and other happy memories.

Sameer had a tough time spending whole of Sunday alone. He missed Naina. He tried to study for some time... to finish the chapters Naina had asked him to do. But even studying was better done when Naina was around. When they were in the library, or even in the ground, he could study for hours without getting bored, if Naina sat next to him. When he could not bear sitting in his room any longer, he went out to their spot. Dusk was setting in and lights were switched on in some of the windows in far away buildings. Most of the hostellers went out on Sundays... to meet some relative, friend or for general roaming around the city. Thus, most of the rooms in both girls and boys hostel were enveloped in darkness.

But he could see the light in the room he liked most. Light colored curtains could not stop the white glow from spilling out in the darkness. He sat looking at the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. As he sat in anticipation, the door to the balcony opened and a figure appeared. Though the distance was a lot and light was failing, he was sure it was Naina. She was wearing something white in colour... hair open, flying slightly in the wind. He quickly hid behind the tree. He didn't want her to know that he was turning into a stalker. Other two girls joined her and they got busy amongst themselves. He could see them laughing... and then again all three of them hugged.

Sameer squeezed his eyes shut and thumped his heart with fisted hand. When he opened them, the girls were still standing, resting their backs to the railing. He watched silently till they started to go back in. Naina was the last to move. As she reached the door, she paused... and looked back directly at the tree.

And then she blew a flying kiss... before going in and closing the door.

Sameer stood transfixed. Shocked was not the right word to describe his state. He was dead. He continued to stare at the closed door till half of his blood had been sucked by the mosquitoes.