A/N - This story is inspired by a beautiful poem written by a friend of mine and a very old song sung by Kishore Da - Khwab ho tum ya koi Haquikat. Enjoy and Review ;)
Chapter 1
He was walking home from bureau. It must have been past midnight. He didn't have a watch. The night air felt cool against his face. He was very tired and longed for a warm welcoming bed at home. But that was at least twenty minutes away. He couldn't help it. His job was such that there was no fixed time to go home. And no matter what he loved his job. The long road was dark and silent. Not a soul could be seen.
As he came near to his house, he heard a soulful rhythm. He stopped walking and listened with rapt attention. Yes he could hear it clearly now... He was instantly attracted to it. He took a left turn and followed the direction of the sound. It led him to a big rehearsal hall. He could see a faint light glowing inside. Definitely the music was coming from there.
'How strange!' he thought.
Ever since he had shifted in this locality the hall had been closed. Nobody went there or talked about that place. Nobody knew who owned it. So who was playing music up there at this time of the night?
'Should I go and Check?' he wondered.
'Why do you care? Let it be.' his mind answered.
But there was something which was preventing him to ignore that sound. Before he knew it, he was climbing up the dirty old staircase. The stairs creaked under his weight. The music grew louder and louder. His heartbeats were increasing. 'What rubbish! Calm down! You are a cop', he scolded himself.
He stopped outside the door and drew out his gun. He paused for a moment and pushed it open.
He was blinded by a bright white light. He couldn't see a thing. The gun fell from his hand. The loud yet soothing music reverberated across the hall. After five minutes, when he was able to adjust to the light, he opened his eyes.
A girl dressed in white was dancing gracefully. She mustn't have noticed him for She did not pay slightest heed to his sudden arrival. She was engrossed in her act. He stared at her, mesmerised by her beauty. He tried to see her face but she had a veil over her face. He didn't realise how much time he had spent staring at her. Even she seemed to have no intention to stop.
Finally he decided to go and ask her what she was doing there in the dead of the night in this dusty closed hall. He approached with caution so as not to scare her.
He stood at a safe distance. "Excuse me suno -" he said in a low voice.
She stopped and looked at him. Then she backed away a bit. There was an eerie silence in the hall. The music had stopped somehow.
He kept staring at her as if hypnotised by her stare. She had beautiful eyes and her eyebrows were a perfect arch shape but unfortunately he couldn't see her face clearly due to her veil. He came out of the reverie the next instant.
"Kaun ho tum? Aur iss waqt yaha kya kar rahi ho?" he asked.
She stared at him but didn't reply. He thought he saw a tear sliding down her face.
"Sorry par tum thik toh ho?' he asked in a concerned voice.
His question was again greeted with a silence.
He didn't know what to do. He thought it was best to leave her alone. So he turned to leave.
'Nahi please mat jao', she spoke for the first time.
He stopped in his tracks. He had heard this voice somewhere. He didn't remember exactly.
When he turned around, she was standing very close to him.
He jumped slightly. He couldn't help it. He stretched out his hand and put it on her cheek. It was as if he had no control himself. He couldn't stop himself from touching her.
She smiled and came closer. They both were inches apart. She moved a bit more closer and their lips met. He closed his eyes enjoying the sensation. He was bit irritated by her veil. She kept her soft, cool hand on his forehead. He felt relaxed and light. He had a sensation of being on a beach and then he could remember nothing more.
The next day, Daya woke up in his bed. For the first time in past few months, he had slept peacefully without waking up even once in the night. He felt strange. And then he remembered it - the entire incident of the previous night. That girl… what had happened to her?
"Kaun thi who? Aur main ghar kaise pohoch gaya?" he wondered.
He jumped from his bed and quickly got dressed. He got on his bike and reached the rehearsal hall. He almost ran up the staircase. He stopped at the door staring in surprise. It was locked. The lock was rusty as if it hadn't been opened in years.
"Ye kaise ho sakta hai? Mai kal raat yahi toh mila tha uss ladki se!' he thought. He carefully examined the place for any clues but found none. Dejected, he went downstairs.
He approached a stationery store which stood just across the hall.
"Bhaisahab kya aapne kal ya phir aaj kisi ladki ko dekha uss hall me jate hue?" he asked the shopkeeper.
"Iss hall me? Nahi toh! Sahab ye hall to kabse band pada hai. Maine kisi ko nahi dekha yaha", he said.
"Kya main sapna dekh raha tha? Nahi ye nahi ho sakta. Par phir wo ladki thi kaun aur kaha chali gayi?' he thought.
The whole day he kept on thinking about the girl. His head was telling him that it was all a dream. But his heart told him that it was real.
"Mujhe uss ladki ka pata lagana hi hoga. Shayad wo sirf raat ko hi aati hogi waha par. Aaj raat phir jake dekhta hoon", he decided.