When she sunk into slumber, she couldn't remember but when she woke up it was
eight in the morning...She with a bustle threw the blanket and then realised that
she was not in her residence but in daya's guest room...Rubbing her eyes, she
went to the window to open it and saw that still the rain was pattering with
force, helping to raise the level of the stagnant water...some lines of worry
were drawn over her wide forehead as the thought crossed her mind, that if the
rain continued in this manner then it would be difficult for her to return back
into her residence...She unlocked the door with a serene smile, thinking that
daya was sage and sensitive enough to feel that a woman could feel insecure by
the presence of an almost unknown man and thus he arranged everything so that she
could stay the night locking herself in a room...coming into the dining space
she found that the breakfast was laid out in the table and she could listen to
the casual humming done by daya, which was undoubtedly melodious...niyati
chuckled lightly and then hid behind a wall quite childishly...daya came out of
his room perhaps he had already bathed as water was dripping from his wet
hair...niyati shook her head with an affectionate smile perhaps to say within
herself,:'what a careless man...' he wore an orange full sleeve t shirt and navy
blue colour sports trouser...and it seemed to niyati that he was looking brighter
than before as orange colour blending with the gentle yet hard features of his
face created a magical effect... or might it be possible that the beams of the
morning helped her to see him more clearly...but...were these all? she
came out with a confident gesture, trying to maintain the dignity of a forensic
doctor,:'hello dayaa...good morning,' she greeted very courteously...
:' oh...aap jag gaye hain,' said daya a little surprisingly and then added
later,:' very good morning...aaiye...kuchh kha lijiye...' niyati gave him an
irksome look saying,:'aise?'
daya felt a little embarrassed and grunted,:'ohh...I'm so sorry...aap mujhe 5
minute dijiye...' saying that much he vanished from the scene and niyati sat on
a chair...From somewhere a fragrance was wafting along and niyati felt it
refreshing...The fragrance as if floating inside making her delighted...she
could try to locate from where it was coming, but a hesitation twirled inside her
and she kept sitting, twiddling with her curly hair until daya returned and said
with a smile of courtsey,:' abhi aap freshroom ja sakti hai...' his courteous
demeanour was touching niyati deeply and now she noticed that the anger no more
springing up, listening to his humble words...
In the fresh room, there was everything ready for niyati;a new toothbrush and
toothpaste,new soap and shampoo,new towel and a clean set of kurti pajama...A
light smile of adoration reflected over the face of niyati...
After about half an hour when she returned back to the dining, there was no one
there...Niyati's brows puckered together as she peeping through here and there to
locate daya..and within a minute she reached in a small passage which lead her to
a room from where a fragrance was wafting along...she advanced and watched daya
doing puja, with his face glowing with utmost devotion and purity...For a moment
niyati forgot her existence and kept gazing mutely at his inexplicably innocent
face until daya nudged the bell...niyati startled and gingerly went back to the
dining...daya entering into the dining space,raised his hand towards niyati to
give her 'prasad' but niyati promptly rejected it saying,:'main Bhagwan pe
vishwas nahi karti hun...' though just after saying it she felt as if a guilt
shot through her heart and as she gazed at daya to listen to something, she
noticed that daya didn't utter a single word except flashing a faint dolorous
smile..he went ahead and after about tow minute he returned back with the same
spirit to entertain his guest with utmost care..
:'sorry ...khana thanda ho gaya kya? garm karke lau...' said daya
modestly while niyati interrupted,:'please daya...' she paused for her own
mistake to call him only 'daya' instead of ' ' and then tried to
manage,:'iska jaroorat nahi...chaliye...shuru kijiye khana...'
daya with a little surprise asked a little fearfully,:'sure? aapka ...koi
taqleef...' niyati smirked, while taking the food into her plate and
commented,:'aap ko CID officer na ban ke...HR manager hona chaiye tha...'
daya sighed and looked at her banteringly while niyati remarked further,:'bohut
tarakki hota phir aap ka company ka...'
daya too taking the food into his plate,answered back with humour,:'shawad nahi
hota tarakki...'
:'kyu?' asked niyati promptly in reflex
daya flashed an ingenuous grin and replied,:' shawad aap jaise clients hota waha
aur...' he shrugged and resumed the smile...
niyati made her face hardened deliberately in order to hide the delight,listening
to daya's humorous comments ...but daya felt a little scared and tried to veer
the topic,:'anyway...weather ka jo halat hai...lagta nahi ki aaj bhi barish band
honewala hai...'
:'aur pani?'niyati asked a little sharply, getting scared inside her to stay
there for another whole day..
daya pressed his lips and said,:'woh bhi to kam nahi huya...socha ke rat beetega
to paani ka level kam ho jayega...magar nahi...kuchh kam nahi huya...'
:'damn it..'squealled niyati in utter despair and flogged her one palm with the
other...daya was stupefied at the vehemence of niyati while niyati too felt
embarrassed realising that perhaps she overreacted and that daya might feel
awkward at her irratic behaviour...Forcing a nervous titter she started devouring
the food as quickly as possible in order to escape from the uncomfortable smile
over the face of this eccentric man...
:'waise...' muttered daya trying to circumvent he hesitation inside him,:'
mujhe pata hai...ki...aap ko...yaha pe ...bohut hi zada taqleef ho raha
hai...magar' he respired heavily before coming back,:'raste ka halat...itna
kharab hai ki...' he paused as niyati chimmed in brashly,:'main aisa kaha to
nahi...ki...mujhe taqleef ho raha hai...to phir...' fiery glow of anger was
visible within her eyes as she was dejected grossly with the fact that she had
failed to conceal her mind from daya,:'to phir...' she was scrabbling for a
proper word... Daya, flashing a faint smile at her, said cordially,:' sab kuchh
batane ka jaroorat nahi hota hai ...' Though there was no hidden
meaning within his words and he uttered those words very sympathetically but
niyati suspected something else and tried to snap,:'kya matlab?' Daya this time
was bamboozled by her sudden question and with a titter he
spluttered,:'nahi...kuchh bhi nahi...' he lowered his eyes and concentrated on
food while niyati kept staring at him to listen to more...daya, feeling that she
was looking at him fixing her glance, raised now his eyes a little surprisingly
while niyati averted her glance with a smirk which she always used as a
weapon...In order to cover up the embarrassment of the situation, she asked very
daringly, though wearing a veneer of confidence,:'agar mere jagah aap hote...to
kya karte aap?' she now looked straight at his face and drawing some inferences
from the silence of daya shook her head self complacently asked further,:'kkya
khud ka ghar chhor ke..dusro ka daya me rehna aap ko achcha lagta?' Daya with a
stoical smile replied,:'main...shawad...koshish karta...ki...us pal ko...aise
guzar lun...taqi...woh hamesha yaad rahe...aur mujhe khushi dete rahe...'
meanwhile he turned a little reflective as he continued,:'kyuki...aksar ye hota
hai...ki..aaj jo humare liye musibat ban ke khara ho jata hai...kal wohi yaad
karke hum hans lete hai...parso ye sochte hai...ki..kitna khas pal tha woh..aur
age ja ke...woh palo ko yaad karke ansu bahate hain...'he sunk into a rapturous
muse and niyati felt that the drumming of her heart was increasing and once it
seemed as if daya was saying those words just for her...Had he able to conjecture
the state of her heart and mind? Had he able to guess that how he intruding into
the mind of her,distracted her sleep last night? Colour was rushing into her
cheeks as it was shameful to admit even to herself that a man had such capability
to snacth her sleep away!A throttling pain along with a deadly fright was
haunting her...With the dregs of energy she had, she stammered,:'kkya...kkehna
chahte hain...aap?' her brows drew together; beads of sweat stood on her
forehead...Daya awakened getting the voice of niyati and with a apologetic smile
stated with candour,:'kuchh nahi...ye hi...ki...main aise unexpected chhutti ko
enjoy kar leta,' he paused with a genial smile and then added,:'aap kha lijiye..'
niyati was feeling an apathy in having food..Her hunger vanished into thin
air...and after flicking with the food, she suddenly hurried back into the guest
room which was provided just for her at present..Closing the door she felt queer
as the guilt shot her heart once again for not exchanging any courteous greeting
with daya during leaving the dining room and the for the abrupt manner in which
she left him, or rather the odd manner she escaped from him unable to face
that...that someone could be so daughty yet sober...someone could be so serene
yet animated...someone could be childishly quarrelsome and ...at the same
time...so...solicitious...But how could she screen her odd curiosity about this
guy and most importantly how long she could screen her emotional self from this
this...' she gritted her teeth in sheer despair and anger..'from this man who
undoubtedly made an indellible impression upon her heart? but how? She is a grown
up adult woman afterall...Her heart was not as pliable as of a child...Then...?
niyati sighed with tiredness blended with an inexplicable affliction; locked the
door finally and moved infront of the mirror only to make her face as hardened as
rock so that she could believe effacing all the effects of flowing emotion, that
she was the woman who could hit back a man keeping her detached from all the
temptation...