Kabhi to nazar milao

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Sameer could not sleep a wink the whole night. Naina's innocent face and her guileless talks made him wonder how he would handle her. She blushed at the simplest of touch of his hand... even a look could make her go red... and she went on to openly talk about all her doubts, without any hesitation.

And what was that... classes... he laughed so hard, clutching his stomach... tears were freely flowing from his eyes... he had to hide his face in the pillow, not to wake up Rahul.

If he got up, Sameer would not be able to explain what had brought these fits of laughter.

His girl was adorable.

He wanted to run back and take her in his arms... protect her... preserve her... pamper her...

Suddenly, he sat upright... she had even talked to Sonali about it. Did she talk to anyone else?  Maybe not, because she had been thinking about it since evening only. But she could...

No, no... he had to make sure that she didn't speak about it to anyone. He'll have to do something... he was aware that once Naina had a doubt, she wouldn't sit back until she had an answer... but he could not let her go about seeking one from anywhere else.

Sameer sat thinking... till the soft rays of sun filtered through the gap in heavy curtains.

All students were seated to have breakfast... excited to be visiting the old forts today.

To Sameer's surprise, Naina had worn black jeans... with a kurti. This was the second time he was seeing her in jeans... and he kept admiring her... she looked even more delicate in jeans... as if her legs could not take her weight. Though, she would hardly weigh anything... seeing her slender figure.

He remembered when he had picked her up... the day she had fainted... it was no effort to carry her up the stairs.

"Sameer... Sameer... "

Her voice broke his chain of thought.

"Breakfast karne chalein? Nahi toh late ho jaayega", she tilted her head slightly.

He smiled and nodded, moving with her to pick up the plates.

After breakfast, they got into the buses to travel to Kolaba fort... one of the famous places of Alibagh.

They reached the old ruins shortly. It was a 17th century fort, used by Shivaji as his chief naval station. It had hindu temple and beautiful carvings of tigers and elephants.

They went around, checking the solid stone walls, small pond in the center, the temple, huge pillars with hooks to tie the ropes of ships.

Everyone wandered in different directions, with their own set of friends. Naina and Sameer climbed up to the top. This side overlooked the sea. The huge canyons were still  placed next to the wall... pointing at sea.

" Dekho Sameer, kabhi yahan pe sipaahi khade rehte honge... door se aate hue jahaz ko dekhkar usspe nishana lagane ki taiyari karte honge",  Naina looked at the canyon and then her gaze shifted to some far away place near the horizon.

Sameer came near her and put his arm around her shoulder. They stood gazing at sea for sometime.

"Chalo Naina, neeche ek bohot achchi jagah hai... wahan chalte hain",  he suggested.

Naina was a little apprehensive about going near water as they had to travel to another fort after this, "Sameer, wahan paani toh nahi hai?  Mujhe bheegna nahi hai."

"Paani mein nahi jaana hai... yahan poore pathar hain... unpe baithke lehron ko dekhne mein bohot maza aayega",  he brushed aside her fears.

They went down to the place he mentioned. It was a huge opening... a big door might have been there centuries back... but now it lead to a rocky area at the end of which was water. Big stones had been placed to absorb the impact of rocking waves... so that they don't damage the structure of the fort.