Tarika didn't say a word. She moved to the table beside her bed and opened a drawer. She took a paper and gave it to him.
"Transfer!" Abhijeet said in disbelief.
He looked at Tarika who now sat down opposite him and then at the paper and back at Tarika. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. Abhijeet shook his head, asking her not to cry. He was oblivious of the fact that his own eyes were full of tears that threatened to betray his strong exterior.
"Mein washroom hokar aati hu," Tarika said, her voice choking.
Abhijeet just nodded. He couldn't find the strength to utter even a word as simple as "okay". His eyes followed her till she locked the door of the washroom.
Tarika looked at her reflection in the mirror. She let tears roll down her cheeks, one after the other in quick succession.
She wouldn't stop them.
Not today.
She watched her mascara smudge. Her face cream became uneven as it mixed with her tears.
But she didn't care.
Right now, she had given herself the permission to be weak.
She remembered what her mentors had told her when she decided to join CID. She had been told that it would be a transferrable job, that she would have to leave behind the relationships she made. But she had never been a people's person. Heck, she never even took initiative to speak to people. It took her years to be close to somebody.
But when it came to him, things were different. Maybe because somewhere, in the depths of his heart, even he was like her. Maybe because, somehow, he had changed himself a little for her. Well, she didn't know why and she didn't know how but he had effortlessly become her reason to live.
When she joined CID, she thought that letting go wouldn't be hard. She had never been more wrong in her entire life.
Her vision blurred, she looked at her image in the mirror once again.
She was a mess.
She couldn't go back to him like this.
She mustn't.
She laughed ruefully as she recollected the number of times she had stood in front of this mirror, rehearsing her lines – rehearsing how she would be strong and break the news to him. But all of that was useless now.
She bent down and washed her face.
Enough of crying.
She splashed some water into her eyes.
She had to be strong in front of him.
Be strong Tarika.
She wiped her face with the towel that was hanging in the washroom and opened the door. She found Abhijeet staring her, with her transfer letter in his hand. She moved towards him but his gaze didn't follow her movement. She looked back and realized that he had been staring at the door.
So all this time, while she was inside, he had been sitting like this.
"Abhijeet?"
There was no response.
"Abhijeet…?" she called him again.
Still there was no response. It seemed that his ears were not registering what she was saying. It killed her to see him like that. He was the man who nothing could shake and to see him like this was excruciating. For a moment Tarika felt that this was even more painful than having to go away from him.
If only he cried, she could wipe away his tears. If only he shouted, she could reason with him. If only he complained, she could console him. But he wasn't doing any of these – he was just sitting there, with a blank stare. She blamed herself for his condition.
She had never intended to break the news to him this way. But she was so lost in the heat of the moment that she blurted it out.
She sat next to him and kept her palm on his shoulder. Finally, he shifted his gaze from the door and looked into her eyes.
"Kuch toh bolo."
"Kya bolu mein Tarika?"
"Jo bhi tumhare mann mein chal raha hai."
"Kaash mujhe pata hota ki mere mann mein abhi iss waqt kya chal raha hai."
He then held both her hands in each of his and looked at her with the most pleading, innocent face.
"Jab mein aisa sochta hu – mera khud ka dimang mujhpe hasta hai par mann kehta hai ki mein tumhe rok lo… jaane na du…. Seene se laga lu."
Tarika leaned towards him and wrapped her hands around his back.
"Mat jao Tarika," he said, while hugging her.
She didn't say anything. She just rubbed his back.
"Bas Pune hi toh jaa rahi hu Abhijeet… kabhi bhi milne aa sakti hu."
Abhijeet separated from her embrace and faced her.
"Bas Pune ! Tarika yaha se 3.30 – 4 ghante lag jaate hain Pune pahonchne mein… aur tum toh jaanti ho ki humara job kaisa hai. Paas rehkar, same office mein kaam kar kar bhi humhe kaha waqt milta hai personal baato ke liye."
"Ye bhi toh socho na ki bas 4 ghante ki doori par hu, "Tarika's tone was rather too jovial for the atmosphere
"Maharashtra mein koi bhi jagah hum 24 ghante ke andar andar pahonch sakte hain - isme kaunsi badi baat hai. Aur hum sab Maharashtra cadre ke officers hain… yaha se bahar humara transfer thodi hoga. Aur tum toh forensic mein ho – zyaada se zyaada tumhara transfer Aurangabad mein ho sakta hai."
Tarika was about to speak when she was interrupted by a phone call.
"Hello… yes sir? Ji… ji I will be there… yes, yes I know the date… I will personally be there to take charge. Okay… okay…. Bubye."
"Kab join karna hai?" Abhijeet asked, as she cut the call.
"3 din mein"
A/N : Yeah, I know, I know – too many emotions. But the plot calls for it… : P : P
So she has to join in 3 days… That's err…too short a notice? What do you guys think? Let's see what Abhijeet thinks.
You guys can put on your thinking caps and let me know how you think Abhijeet would react.
Precap : Tarika's farewell party
Do leave a review guys.