On the next day,when only the dawn approached, they started for the Khagrahata village with a tensed silence...Daya was driving the car with a dangerous somberness over his face while everyone were trying to understand the degree of seriousness of the mission from the expression of daya...
shreya though had tried a lot to come out of her febrile mood but hadn't been successful as last night's befallen incidents kept intruding into her mind, in every moment..and pricking her mercilessly...as ...as everything still remained vague...and as if something unspoken throbbed in her heart, making her perturbed...
sachin broke the silence first,:' to sir...woh log waha se hire churate hain...
daya with tight jaws answered,:' nahi ...bas hire chori hi nahi...kuchh khoon bhi huya...lashein bhi chhupaya gayaa...
nikhil: sir...khagrahata ka nam suna hai...kabhi kabhi log picnic karne chale jate hain waha...
daya: haa nikhil...shawad un me se hi kuchh log gayab ho jate hain...aur...he paused as his glance fell upon the mirror where he saw the woebegone face of shreya...he averted his glance quickly and buried his emotion into the steering grasping it tight...
It took approximately one hour to reach at khagrahata...The place was not within the village but just beside it...hills and jungle were situated in such a way as if one was embracing the other, as if they were complementary to each other...Alighting from the car, they were stepping ahead cautiously towards the seeming to be inaccessible valley...Rain started drizzling unexpectedly and entering into the jungle they tiptoed within the density of the trees...After coming nearer a rock daya snapped,:' ye jagah bohut bara hai sachin tum udhar dekho...nikhil us chhote tile ke us par dekho...hum age barte hain...aur kuch bhi mile mujhe call karna...'
sachin and nikhil went away in different directions...daya along with shreya purvi and pankaj tiptoed ahead to find a labyrinth of narrow paths among the bigger rocks covered with lichens and mass of foliages..
keeping his head strong, daya said in authoritative voice,:' shreeya...tum us taraf dekho...'
shreya received the order with servility and disappeared in a narrow path, though she was feeling that she hadn't been recovered till now from that self of her which longed to be cared by daya sir...Pankaj and purvi too went on their way..and daya chose perhaps the most difficult task of crossing one big rock to find the other parts of the jungle...Rain now pattering steadily making everyone drenched completely...Daya received some scratches over his arms in doing the task , but when reaching over the rock he found that every way had been blocked there and that he would neither go right nor left then he felt a little nervous...
shreya on the other hand found a stair like rock and ascending through it she found a little narrow place through which she walked balancing her weight...The broken rock lead to a darkened cave and she entered into it, hoping that on the other side she would get the way of the jungle...But the cave was full of bats and as they spread flinging their wings with noise...shreya screamed and ran gustily to have an opening out of the cave...and finally she got one and she hastily came out of it with heavy breath. She closed her eyes, perceiving the truth that the place was full of danger and adventure...but suddenly she heard a noise as if some tattered pieces of rock fell down...she tiptoed towards he left very cautiously, with an apprehension that perhaps someone was hidden very near...after about a minute, she reached before a huge waterfall which had been jumped from high and as she stared at the waterfall, she felt the touch of someone...
:'ssir...!' she exclaimed with limitless astonishment watching daya beside her...
:'shreya tum?' daya too was astounded and added later,:' is ka matlab ye sab rocks jure huye hain..'
shreya didn't answer; she could't help but her mind hadn't been turned investigative yet...and a thin layer of huff made her sulky as she muttered, keeping her glance elsewhere,:' bureau me...inspector shreya ki bare me...aap ja ke...is bar bohut bura report de dena sir...main...ab tak na kamiyab rahi ...us...jagah ko...dhoond ke nikalne me...' daya turned his face quickly towards shreya, gazed at her for some seconds to realise that she had been in huff and then an affectionate smile crossed his face..He placed himself just before shreya and called her gently,:'shreya...' shreya didn't reply but just looked at him with a face from which the chldish huff hadn't been effaced yet...daya heaved a sigh of sheer helplessness and tried to jabber,:'agar...mera koi bhi baat...tumhe dukh diya hai...to...I'm sorry shreya...' now as he sought her forgiveness shreya felt that her heart was melting fast and she was craving to kill her huffy self ...
:'shreyaa...ho sake...to mujhe... maaf kar dena...magar shreya...' his squirm face was fidgeting with restiveness...:'magar shreya...is insan ko...tumhi ne hi...tum hi ne jagaya...'
shreya's teary eyes reflected a little surprise as daya continued,:' shreya...mere andar ...mera mmatlab...Senior inspector daya ke andar...jo ek...insan hai...woh to so hi raha tha...mere kaam...mere duty sense...mera daily experiences us insan ko...sulake rakha tha...kyuki...woh ek bachcha jaise hi ziddi hai..' a dolorous smile hovered at the corner of his lips...;'woh...aise hi...khaffa ho jata hai...'
tears blending with the drops of rain, streaking down shreya's cheeks while daya resumed, with a rueful smile,:'us ziddi ruthe huye bachcha ko...aj tak...kisi ne na pehchana...kisi ne kadr na kiyaa...tarif bhi mila to bas mere bahar ki taqat ke liye... mere kam ke liye...mere dil ke liye nahi...jis dil ko...tum pehchana shreyaa...jis dil ka tum kadr karti ho...ijjat karti ho...jis dil ka chinta tumhe hamesha laga rehta hai...'
shreya felt weak as the gentle words of daya as if dashing on the sensitive heart of her, impelling her to feel the desire to lull him squeezing every drop of affection out of her heart...
daya now kept his fervent glance upon her teary one and murmured,:' tumhi ne mujhe kaha tha...meri dil...mom jaise narm hai...agar...tumhe...ye pata hai...to...'
he lowered his head down and kept staring at his foot like a school boy who had been reprimanded severely and then resurrected back,:'to...ye bhi pata hogaa...ke...us dil ko dukh ho...to ...'
shreya almost forcefully spluttered breaking in sobs,:' mmmain...main...kabhi na dukh dungi...aap ko...ssir...mmain...us din...kisi ko is liye bhi na bataya...kyuki...mujhe pata tha...ki aap mujhe jane nahi denge...' daya clutched her close and whispered,:' mere dil ko dukh mile...to ...mujhe phark na parta tha shreya...magar ...jo...' his abashed face glistened,:'jo...mera dil ka khayal rakhti hai...woh agar dukh de to...thori si khaffa ho jata hai woh...' shreya raised her eyes at daya... the intensity of the rain had been burgeoned ...and drops of rain falling down from his drenched hair...eyebrows and chin...making him as lovable as a little child...Unknowingly she came more closer of him than before...daya too looking intently at the drenched face of shreya...her pink lips had become puffy perhaps getting the moisture from the rain and perhaps repressing the unbridled emotion for so long...stream of water spilling down the sides of her cheeks and her drenched hair...Nothing was between them except the drizzling rain...Within the chill and wet, both felt the warm and fast breath of the other as unknowingly their nose met with the other...and their lips brushed until they met to slake the thirst of other...daya holding her tight nuzzled over her drenched cheek and pecked on her soft earlobe. the soft moan of shreya lost into the sound of the waterfall and rain as she lay soft in his arms with a content of complete surrender...They held each other tight for sometimes until daya undone her ear ring from one ear...shreya looked at daya finally with half fervent half surprising glance while daya, with a coy smile whispered,:'ye abhi mere pas hi rahe...baad me...main...' he didn't continue and only flashed her an endearing smile...
shreya checking her other ear found it empty, having been flabbergasted, while daya taking out the lost ear ring out of his pocket flashed again a puckish chuckle...shreya's glance turned deep raditaing nothing but pure love...while daya cupping her chin, sursurrated,;' abhi mujhe permission do...taqi...main...tumhara daya ko sulake...Inspector daya ban saku... jo tumhare liye bohut garv mehsus karta hai...' both smiled meaningfully gazing at the other and then shreya said in hard voice,:' khagrahata mission sir...' daya purred gently, though making his face determinted, :'chalo...'
[The End]
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who have read the story with eagerness and making reviews inspired me. Since a long I was thinking of making a story about daya & shreya because it's my perception that their relationship is based on pure respect and very normally it attracted me. Finally a story has been formed and hopefully liked by my friends..and what can be better prize if you like it? Thanks once again my friends for giving me courage and guts to write more ….Have a very nice day to everyone…