:'ssir...ye to meri galti thi...' muttered shreya with difficulty,:' ke...aap ko...bina bata ke...chali gayi...magar sir...mujhe laga tha ki...aap samajh jayenge...ki...shreya...aap ko...kabhi dukh na de sakti hai...' her vision blurred as she continued with trembling voice,:' aur...ssir...' her words were interrupted as a sardonical smile hovered at daya's lips and he clicked his tongue for the first time,:' You did a good work...Inspector Shreya...' his face turned russet, eyes moistened with tears as he added later,:' Senior Inspector daya ko...aap ke khilaf koi complain nahi hai...main to...' he gulped back a clod of pain and resumed,:' main to bureau me ja ke bohut achcha report dunga aap ke bare me...'
:'ssir,' it was an imploring sound from shreya who was getting insanely restive not to break the huff of daya and getting desperate she rubbed her hand back upon a trunk of a tree to get the needed support..and as a result she cut her hand..blood was oozing out slowly and the red marks made daya startled and he rushed to tend the wound...:'ohh...kaise huya ye?' soaking the blood into his handkerchief he stated with worry while shreya gazed deep at him with rapturous eyes and her lips unconsciously uttered,:' yaha pe...itna dard...nahi hai ssir...'
daya asked promptly by reflex action,:' kaha pe ho raha hai phir?' shreya remained silent through kept contemplating at him with fervour...daya tending the wound while suddnely glanced at her, then only he perceived the implied meaning of her words and whirl of discomfiture surged over him and he evaded his eyes quickly with an embarrassment printed over his face...he bandaged the wound hunching towards shreya while shreya could sense the cyclone in his heart by his heaving chest and rapid breathing...When shreya's lips parted to murmur something precious, daya's phone trilled loudly..daya received it,:'ha abhijeet bolo...'
abhijeet: kya yaar? kahi galat time pe to call na kiya tumhe? haa? hehehehe...
daya's face turned russet as he replied combating with the shyness,:'woh...ttum bhi yaar...hamesha mere pichhe lage rehte ho...aisa koi ..bbat nahi...' his eyes squinted at shreya once...
abhijeet: aye? achchha achchha achchha achchha...sath me shreya hai?haa? nai nai sach bolo...
daya:( with a coy smile) hha mera mmatlab...hha...
abhijeet: are wah daya...maja se din gazara kar rahe ho...aur idhar hum din rat kam kar rahe hain haein?
daya kept chuckling bashfully while abhijeet continued,:' are...kuchh to bolo yaar...shreya kya aise tumhare taraf dekh rahi hai ke tum ekdam chup reh gaye ho? haa? nai nai...mujhe behlao maat...mujhe pata hai...ke jab tum koi kam karte ho...ya kisi se baat karte ho...tab shreya tum ko kaise dekhti hai...jaise ki...
daya:aa aabhhiiijit...please...
abhijeet: hehehehe...achchha achchha thik hai baba...bara usar rahe ho haa...waqt barbad kar raha hun?
daya: mujhe wapas ane do...phir dekhta hun kaise mera tang kheechte ho tum...
meanwhile shreya was gazing at the abashed face of daya with infinite tenderness...her eyes were radiating profound reverence and...love...It was not a secret to her that abhijeet was chaffing with his best friend daya and she everytime felt a peace wreathed with tranquility watching that in this vast world someone cared so deeply for her 'daya sir'; someone felt so happy to see her daya sir happy, someone who sharing every grief and bliss lightened the burden of daya sir...
abhijeet: hehehehe...are baba nai nai...tum to yaha pe ake bhi shreya ko dekhte raho...main hun naa...koi tumhara baal banka na kar sakta hai...
daya laughed loud after a long and said,:'achcha abhi rakhta hun...andhera ho gaya hai...wapas jana hai...'
abhijeet: haaye? wapas jana hai? mmatlab shreya ko leke akela...andhera me...ghumne...sab se door...?
daya:(smiling) naah...tum se koi nahi jeet sakta hai baato me...
abhijit: aare aare ye to kaho naa...ki shreya kitna sharmaya...ttum kitna sharmaya..hehehehe...aur dil ki baat dil me hi reh gaya kya?
daya: woh...(squinting at shreya) woh...baad me bataunga...
abhijeet: shreya utavle ho rahi hai kya? hehehehe
daya:( with a huffy yet humorous face) haa wohi...chalo chhorta hun..achcha rehnaa...
abhijeet: hehehehe...haa yaar ...pas me tum nahi ho...phir bhi main bohut khush hun...pata hai kyu?...kyuki...tum shreya ke sath ho...
daya continued chuckling bashfully
abhijeet: apna khayal rakhna dayaa...aur aur...shreya ki abhi...
daya laughed and murmured,:'haa abhijeet...tum bhi...'
abhijeet: chalo byee...
daya: byee...
cutting the line as he turned it seemed to shreya looking at his squirm face that an invincible force could at any time impelled her to burst...burst to squirt out the unimaginable emotion with which she couldn't stand erect...she wished to squeal with all her energy, confessing the most touching and inexplicable emotion she felt ever...:' mujhe aur sahn nahi ho raaha hai...ab aap maan jaiye daya sir...ek bar dil ki gehraio se mujhe pukar ke to dekhiyee...mujhe aap ka rutha huya surat bardasht nahi ho raha hai...bohut dard ho raha hai seene me...' her parlance said him all but he stated, fending off,:' baki log pata nahi kaha reh gaye hain...' he paused looking at shreya and then said evasively,:' age chal ke dekhte hai...' daya stepped ahead but shreya stood riveted closing her teary eyes...daya turned back not to feel shreya's presence and this time coming closer he raised his palm towards shreya...Shreya held it hesitatingly and then both thrust their way within the field to find the rest of the team...
daya: sachiiiiiiin...nikhiiil...( he had having annoyance blended with affection upon his team members as it was as clear as crystal to him that the idea of double thief had been adopted by his mischievous juniors to give them a little space) he now called sachin with a seeming to be angry face...
sachin received it with a little scare,:' yess...sirr...'
daya: kaha ho tum log? ( asked he in hard voice)
sachin: woh sir...hum dakshin ki taraf...jaha pe ek chhota sa talav hai...woh ssir...kuchh mehmano ke sath baat kar rahe hain...
daya;(surprised)(frowning his eyes) mehman?
sachin: haa...sir...aap aiye...sorry sir...woh log aise rasta poochh rahe the ki...
daya:(quickly changing the topic) hmmm thik hai...hum arahe hain...
after about couple of minute they reached beside a small lake formed with pellucid water...though on the way both daya and shreya maintained silence...as shreya couldn't perceive wholly that whether daya's huff had been effaced or not and daya too felt that it had become difficult to be remained in huff when shreya had been fidgeting insde her with so much vehemence just to see him smiling...
sachin said moving towards them,:' ssir...ye log England se aye hain...India ghumne...'
daya noticed that two english couple were sitting in the shadow of a tree along with the team members...
sachin ushered them and said,:' he is our senior most officer senior inspector daya and she is inspecor shreya'. daya flashed courteous smile at them when they too standing up greeted them,:' hello I'm paul and this is my wife Margarett, and he is Andrew, my brother and here is his wife Dolly,' daya and shreya smiled at them with courtsey and joined them...
daya:(smiling) so...have you liked India?
paul: yeaah of course...the nature is beautiful... isn't it margarett?
margarett: yeah...totally mesmerising...
dolly: and romantic too...( flashed a naughty smile)
daya: have you lost the road here?
paul: oh no no...we have come to enjoy the night here...with the nature...with the flaming fire ...and ...with my darling...
daya: ( a little embarrassed) you mean...you will spend the night here? beaneath the sky?
andrew: yeah...what's the problem in it? why should we waste the beauty of the night?
dolly: flaming fire and above us there would be the starry sky...and the gleaming moon...oh look andrew there is the moon...
margarett: and we will have a slow romantic ball...
shreya stared at daya impassionedly as their romantic mood transferred to her...
margarett: and I will request you mister daiya...that please join us in the ball...
daya turned embarrassed and a little confused and stammered hesitantly,:' ball...I mean...' he looked at the faces of his team mates with anticipation and then flashed a titter to them...
purvi to sachin:(whisper) sir...mujhe to itni dance nahi ata hai...
sachin:(whisper) hmmmm...magar purvi...ye mauka hume chhorna nahi chaiye...
purvi: ha sir...ye bhi sahi hai...
margarett: please mister daiiiya...don't refuse us...it would be great if we get the company of you..
daya:(stammered) bbut...I am not sure how much justice we would do with the dance...because...
dolly: it is more enjoyment than that of the minute details of the dance and I hope prufi and sreya would be enjoying it more than anyone...
sachin:(with a humorous smile) why only purvi and shreya?
dolly: because they are women...and whether you believe it or not...every woman comes into the world with some amount of romanticism inside them...
sachin raised his eyebrows with a skittish chuckle while daya too looked at shreya ...but shreya averted her glance quickly repressing the bliss inside her...
The englishmen gathered some straw and pieces of wood and set them on fire with a revelling shout and pushed the button on of a small tape recorder which started playing the soft romantic ball music...
paul: come mister sashin, come mister daaiiya... let's start...
margarett and dolly: yeaah...come prufi...come sreya...
pankaj had a scared face and he nudged nikhil,:' are nikhil...ye kya ho raha hai? isse to achcha rehta hum phir se chhupa chhupi khelte...' nikhil said chuckling,:' dance karna hai pankaj...dheere dheere...'
pankaj:(with a wink) kar dungaa...
purvi:(chuckling) ab dekhe woh log humare sath kitna dance kar pate hain...
at the first round, four couple were dancing...the englishmen with their respective wives and sachin with shreya and nikhil with purvi...daya and pankaj were the viewers...
pankaj nudged daya saying,:' sir ...mera to hath pair thanda ho gaya...ye dekhiye...sir...main to shreya ya purvi ke sath hi nachunga...nahi to sir...
daya smiled at his fright...and then his glance stucked to dancing shreya...her straggling hair were too dancing with the movement...she was looking like a living sweet doll...With a shy chuckle he averted his glance to elsewhere...
the english couple were laughing loud during their dances...while sachin asked shreya,:' shreya...tum to achcha hi nach lete ho...kaha se sikha?'
shreya answered with a shy smile,:' sir...bachpan me khelte khelte kabhi kabhi nachti thi...'
sachin:(with a amusing smile) are wah...tab to miss dolly sahi hi kaha hai...
shreya flashed a reflective smile and then tried to see archly what daya was doing...
instrumental changed and the partners too... as now sachin was dancing with purvi nikhil was with margarett paul was with dolly and andrew was with shreya...and so on...after four rounds...the englishmen went off saying,:'now we willl take rest and this is the time for you...' daya and pankaj had to join with reluctance and hesitation...pankaj with margarett and daya with dolly while sachin -shreya and nikhil-purvi remained intact...daya whispered to dolly,:'sorry madam, if i give any trouble to you...because.. you know...perhaps...this is...only the first time...I am...' he paused watching that shreya was looking at him ardently...and then when the very thought crossed his mind that next round he would be dancing with shreya...a frisson of excitement churned in his stomach...
dolly too whispered keeping her hazel eyes upon daya's,:' it's alright...As i said that happiness comes by our actions...it is not any official gathering...the cool breeze the murmur of the leaves...everything contributes in our happiness...and this dance is a part too..' daya smiled with discomfort...
sachin noticed shreya's glance which was stucked to the movement of daya and he chuckled by himself...
instrumental changed...and now started playing 'nothings gonna change my love for you', partners too changed...sachin-purvi, nikhil-margarett, pankaj-dolly and of course daya-shreya...It seemed to shreya that a vehement tremble started inside her...and whether it was of delight or pain, she couldn't perceive it...for about a minute she couldn't look at the face of daya, but felt only that he held her tight...and if she lost her control, he would seize her at any time...wrapping herself by the warmth of his, she as if spun round the universe, forgetting about every earthly and tangible discomforts...Beneath her breath though she murmured,:' sir...kash...meri jeevan bhi...ye dance jaise hoti..ke main bina koi chinta ke zindegi guzar deti aap ke sneh ka chhaya me reh ke...kash...aap ekbar hans dete... ye mausam ye sarsarti hawa ye rat ki khamoshi...ye jhingur ka awaz ...ye jagmagati tare...mujhe bohut khush kar deta...magar...ek aap ruthe huye hai...to is duniya ka sara sundarta...mujhe bas sata raha hai...mujhe aur koi bhi saza de dijiye sir...magar...ekbar hans dijiye...maan jaiye...' when she mustering her courage raised her eyes, her breath almost stopped watching his illuminated magical face in the flame of the fire...his glistening restive eyes which were craving to speak out...his uncombed hair fluttering a little in the effect of the cool breeze...and his breath thickened as he grasped her more closer...Every accummulated pain in shreya's heart as if melted into tears and started spilling down her cheeks unconsciously...it seemed as if they were clutching each other for years standing vauguely in the emptiness of the universe...daya's quivering lips denied to utter a single word, though he too murmured inside him,:' shreyaa...koi bhala tum se khaffa ho ke kaise reh sakta hai? tum kitni bholi ho...tumhe kaise samajh me ayega ki...ki...kyu tumhara daya sir tum se ruth gaya...kyu use lag raha hai...ki...' his mind suddenly went blank and instead of the music and any possible sound of the world, he kept listening to the purr of shreya..:'daya sir...daya sir...daya sir...'
They were unaware how much time elasped until heard the loud clap and and noisy sounds of delightful enjoyment...and found themselves dancing as the lone couple within the wood...With sheer embarrassment they disengaged themselves while dolly came rushing,:'congrats... daiiiya...congrats sreya...you both are amazing dancer...'Colour stole into their cheeks and precipitating in such a predicament they turned irresolute about what to do...Just at that moment his phone rescued him as it was sounding loud...
daya with a fleeting smile spluttered,:'excuse me' before coming a little far to receive the was ACP sir...With an apprehension, he receieved it,in flummoxed state of mind,:'yes sir...'
ACP; haa dayaa...suno...Mauripur se ek ghanta ka doori me hai Khagrahata village...waha pe kuch pahari tile hain aur jharna bhi...jaha pe hire milte hain...waha pe bohut garbar chal raha hai...
daya: kaisa...(daya trying to assuage the surging emotion inside him came back) kaisa garbar sir?
ACP: kuchh gunde waha se gehr kanooni dhanda kar rahe hain daya...aur humara shaq ke mutabiq woh log waha pe kuchh lashein bhi chhupaya hoga...
daya: okay sir...
ACP: tum pure team leke waha pe jao...
daya; yes sir...
ACP: aur suno...encounter ka jaroorat pare to karna...magar mujhe kam se kam do log zinda chaiye...
daya: yes sir...
ACP: samajh rahe ho naa...do log...zinda chaiye mujhe...akher kya majra hai... humara desh ka sampad leke kya kar rahe hain woh log ye mujhe kisi bhi hal me jan na hai...aur phir kari se kari saza dilana hai un logo ko...samjhe?
daya: yes sir...
Here a little far from the fire, shreya sat down with a reflective face...She was rather feeling dizzy thinking about the pictures those were the parts of reality though she only dreamt of having those things in her life..The sheer care and affection those were radiating through the glistening glance of daya sir only impelled her to think that...he loved her...so deeply...that she perhaps wouldn't ever fathom it...she felt someone's presence as purvi touched her cheek and said, with a bantering tone of voice,:'shreya...daya sir ke kareeb ho ke bhi...ansu...haa?' shreya shrunk in shyness and remained silent...while purvi continued,:' in ansu me sara geela sikwa dhul gaya na haa?' her lips pressed in a teasing smile...Sachin came there with a placid smile over his face as he said,:'are purvi...tum idhar? kyu parehsna kar rahi ho shreya ko? bechari aise hi pareshan hai...'
shreya:(with a start) nnahi...nahi sir...main...pareshan nahi hun...
sachin smiled quizzically and then said watching at the front,:' daya sir agaye...pata nahi kis ka phone tha'
shreya felt as if a pall of shyness descended upon her listening to the two words.."daya sir"
daya coming to them said with grim face,:'sachin hume resort me wapas jana hoga...'
sachin: kyu sir?
daya: kyuki kal bohut jaldi hume ek important kam me jana hai...mission khagrahata village...