Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga (Shot 19)

………………RISING IN LOVE WITH HER……………..

The reason why it had been their last chat was the various entrance exams that were piled up ahead. While Dev had to prepare for his JEE advanced, Sonakshi was hell busy with her exhaustive studies for both NEET and AIIMS.
It was as if the time had frozen for the entire April and May. Both of them were excelling in their respective entrances.

After his last exam, Dev was desperate to talk to her but she hadn’t been online for the last two months. He remembered that she had the entrance for AIIMS left. He waited, and waited, and kept waiting, but there was no sign of her. He did not call her presuming that she probably had some more entrance exams ahead and he didn’t want to disturb her.

All through these 60 days, Dev was left with only two things to do. First, STUDY and second, THINK!! Yes! For the first time in his life, his holy brain was being put to some use to think what Sonakshi meant for him.

All this while, they had maintained their relation under the tag of ‘Best Friends’ and he was absolutely comfortable with it. So comfortable that he never gave it a thought that a normal human doesn’t desperately miss his “best friend” to an extent that he does, a normal human doesn’t get nightmares of losing his “best friend”, that a normal human doesn’t keep thinking about his “best friend” all the time and smile like a fool seeing her pictures.
So there was a dilemma: Either he isn’t a normal human being (may be a superhero or an alien probably) or she isn’t just his “best friend”.

So does that mean he LOVES her???

No, no, he can’t trust himself with that coz he’s failed miserably in interpreting the feeling of love. And he can’t afford to repeat the same mistake all over again. So the only option left was to seek help from a reliable source. And who could be more reliable that his Sanyu Di, who was more of a twin sister to him, who knew his heart in and out.
So with a determination to decode the cipher, Sanyu’s number was dialled.

Dev: Di I need your help!

Di: Haan bol.

Dev: Look…I have a friend…and…he has a friend…as in best friend…..and….aa…she’s a girl.

Di: OK…..so??

Dev: So, she’s his best friend….and…its like they share all their sorrows and joys, pains and pleasures with each other. You know…….like…..her company is something that pacifies him….and…lately…..the fear of losing her has been haunting him. Now his question is, what does all this mean? I mean, he’s been in relationships before, numerous of them, but has never felt something like this for any girl till date. So what should he deduce?

Di: Acha tell me something, tere uss friend ki best friend ka naam Sonakshi Bose hai kya?
(Is your friend’s best friend’s name Sonakshi Bose?)

Dev: Oye! She’s only “MY” best friend. Theek hai na!!

Di: Ohoo…possessive…..?

Dev: Don’t change the topic yaar! I need to help him. Just tell me what does all this mean??

Di: It simply means you love her.

Dev: Kya? Kya? Aawaz nhi aa rahi.
(What? I can’t hear you)

Di: Stop being a dumb head Dev! I know you can hear me. Kab tak bhagoge iss sach se? You’re falling in love with her.

Dev: No Di, I don’t think so.

Di: Dev!…Tu na….

Dev: I’m RISING IN LOVE WITH HER.

Di: Uff…(???) tu itna samajhdar kab se ho gaya pagle?(???)
(When did you become so wise?)

Dev: Jab se woh meri life mein aayi hai. I always thought I was an LED bulb, but main toh tubelight nikla yaar. I mean Sammy ke FF ke sabhi readers mujhe kab se bol rahe hain that “you love her you dumbo Dixit”. Bechaare bol bol ke thak gaye….aur mujhe ab jaake realise ho raha hai. It was so damn evident that she was the one who was perfect for me. She’s always tried to correct all my mistakes, always guided me to the world of good. Whenever I fell, she held my hand and stood there supporting me. I was just miserable vagrant in love, she always directed me. I’ve only and only risen in love with her.
(From the day she came to my life. I was such a tubelight, every single reader of Sammy’s FF kept in saying that you love her you dumbo Dixit… But I…am realising in now)

Di: God!! Finally!!… I mean, why did it take you a millennium to get your feelings straight in your head?? Anyway , no harm’s been done. You must go and tell her Dev, I’m sure she loves you too.

Dev: Abhi abhi toh realise hua hai….let me live this feeling. I will tell her soon…right now I guess she’s busy with her entrances.

Di: Jo bhi ho Dev….Do not delay this anymore. You don’t wanna loose her right??

Dev: Never…..I can never even dream of losing her…coz if I do….I know I’ll loose myself.

Di: Don’t worry….that’s never gonna happen….until your love is true and your heart is honest. I’m so happy for you Dev!! All the best bro!

Dev was the happiest person on earth that day. His journey, through various ups and downs, had finally reached his destination. The girl who taught him what “true love” meant, had become his definition of love.

His happiness was multiplied to infinity when the results for IIT-JEE were out. Though he was extremely delighted to know that he was selected, his joy was at another level when Elena informed him that Sona was done with all her entrances and that she too had qualified NEET.

Dev could wait no longer. It was 3 in the afternoon when he called her.

Dev: Hello! Sonakshi?

Sona: Hey Mr. IITian!

Dev: How did you get to know?

Sona: I know you more than yourself.

Dev: Jaanta hoon…..but I’m very angry….. you qualified NEET, and didn’t even bother to tell me.

Sona: I’m really sorry for that, actually I was very busy with some work….and…

Dev: Can we meet today?

Sona: Ya sure! You can come home in the evening.

Dev: No….not at your home. Can you come to that garden, at the backside of the school…..the one that has a fountain like thing?

Sona: Woh garden…..wahan toh macchar bhi nahi jaate….tum jaake kya karoge?
(That garden?? Even mosquitoes don’t visit it… What will you do there?)

Dev: Arre tum bas bolo na….aa sakti ho kya?
(Just tell me if you can come)

Sona; Haan….aa sakti hoon….time??
(Yes I can!)

Dev: 6 in the evening… Sharp!

Sona: OK done….see ya!

Dev: I’ll be waiting for you.

Sonakshi could easily make out the exigency in his voice, but couldn’t think of the reason behind it. Probably he was way too happy for his selection in the IIT. Who would not be? His jubilance was justified, she thought and dozed off, resuming her siesta.

Here, our hopeless romeo was all in a frenzy. So what if he’d been in relationships before, he was still a novice in the arena of true love. It was for the first time he was going to propose a girl. Wait!! Propose???
No! According to him, “propose” was an overly dramatic term. He wasn’t going to marry her the next moment. He was just going to overt his heart to her, with a hope that she would accede to it.

But anyhow, this was a frenetic situation. He’d never been so confused about his duds. It was for the first time that he took more than half an hour to decide what to wear.
Finally, at about 4:00 in the evening, he rushed out of his home, togged up in a pair of jeans and a royal blue shirt. The colour had always been her favourite.
He reached the lone garden within 10 minutes, unwary of the time. In his excitement, he’d landed up at the place two hours in advance. And now he had to W.A.I.T.

Those two hours seemed more like two centuries. He kept on checking the time, every two minutes. It reminded him of the boring chemistry lectures, when the clock needle never budged. He impatiently walked across the length and breadth of the garden, cursing himself for asking her to come so late. But he couldn’t help it. Though he was dying to see her, all he could was wait for now.

Ik vaari aa bhi ja yaara
Ik vaari aa
Raah takoon main bechara
Ik vari aa

Dhal rahi shaam hai
Dil tere naam hai
Iski aadat bani hai teri yaariyan

Chaand hoon main, tu hai taara
Ik vaari aa
Ik vaari aa bhi ja yaara
Ik vaari aa

He hated the time for being so slow. Even a sloth could beat Mr. Time with speed today. Dev could find no way to kill time, since in a hurry, he’d left his phone at home. So the clans couldn’t clash, the wynk couldn’t wink, there were no books to face, and no birds to tweet. In order to make his wait a bit exciting, he dicided to showcase his talent, not to the world (as Sonakshi said, even a mosquito doesn’t visit this garden) but to himself. He’d always lied to everyone including Sonakshi, that he was a very bad singer. The truth, on the other hand, was known only to him and me. He probably had underestimated his talent, unaware of what a gem he was (I know as I’ve heard him sing?….trust me he’s too good?). Today, at this very moment, there was no one around him, he was free to sing his heart out.

Yeh ishq ki intehaan
Lene lagi imtehaan
Hadh se guzarne lagi hai meri chahatein

Dhadkan ki betaabiyan
Karne lagi ilteja
Lag ja gale se zara
Toh mile rahatein

Bas tujhe chaahna
Ik yehi kaam hai
Kaam aane lagi sari bekariyan

Uspe samaa bhi hai pyara
Ik vaari aa
Ik vaari aa bhi ja yaara
Ik vaari aa

For a second, out of nowhere, a strange thought occurred to him. “What must Sonakshi be feeling about me?”, he wondered. “She understands me more than I do. She must be knowing that it was only infatuation that I had for Riddhima or Disha. Only I was a fool to name it love. She’s wise, unlike me, she would’ve know by now that I never really loved any other girl, except for herself.”

Hai pyar toh kayi dafa kiya
Tujhse nahi kiya toh kya kiya
Tera mera yeh waasta
Hai iss zindagi ki daastaan
Ya phir koi humara pehle se hai raabta

Ik vaari aa bhi jaa
Ik vaari aa bhi jaa

The sun had descended down the horizon, when he saw her entering the garden, her eyes searching for his sign.

Dev: Dr. Bose!

Sona: Hey!

Dev: How’re you?

Sona: I’m good!…and….congratulations!

Dev: Thank you and congratulations to you too.

Sona: So which IIT? Bombay, Madras…??

Dev: I’m not going anywhere! Got IIT Delhi!

Sona: That’s great yaar! I’m so happy for you!

Dev: And what about you? Aap kaha ja rahi hain?

Sona: Abhi decide nahi kiya hai….waiting for the results of AIIMS.
(I haven’t decided yet)

Dev: I wish you get AIIMS Delhi! Then both of us will be here together.

Sona: That’s quite far of a possibility. I haven’t performed that well. But ya….let’s see!

Dev: So……how was your day?

Sona: Dev! Tumne mujhe iss sunsaan, spooky garden mein chit chat karne bulaya hai?
(You’ve called me to this spooky garden for you chit chat?)

Dev: Haan…..I mean….nahi…..matlab…
(Yes!…I mean…no….)

Sona: Haan ya nahi???
(Yes or no?)

Dev: Sonakshi mujhe tumse kuch bahut important baat share karni hai.
(I had to share something really important with you)

And Sonakshi was all prepared, mentally and emotionally, to lend her ear to a new love story of his, wondering who could be the girl this time.

Dev on the other hand was hell nervous. It was a herculean task for him to express his feelings, to tell his best friend that he loved her. He needed some strength, some support, and the only source of it, was standing before him. He came a step closer to her and held both her hands in his so as to derive all the power he needed to grasp the nettle.

Dev: I’d read it somewhere that “I trust you is a better complement than I love you, coz you may not always trust the person you love, but you can always love the person you trust. I’ve always trusted you more than myself. You haven’t just been my best friend, you’ve been the best of me. When you’re around, everything seems perfect, life just seems so simple, as if nothing can ever go wrong. But when you’re not, something always seems missing, I feel incomplete. May be because, tum mujh mein mujhse zyada ho Sonakshi. Mujhe aadat ho gayi hai tumhari, woh aadat jo main kabhi nahi badalna chahta.

With this he moved another step ahead, still looking straight into her dense black eyes, his warm breath hitting her face. It had been the highest point of intimacy between them as yet.
Sonakshi was finding it very difficult to absorb all that he said. As of now, she could only gawk at him.
He held her hand at the level of his chest and continued in his husky voice.

Dev: I don’t know how to beat about the bush, so let’s get straight to it. Kabhi socha nahi tha ki tumse yeh kahunga…..but…..I love You!

Sonakshi couldn’t believe what she heard. Did he just say that he loved her??? She couldn’t make out how to react. Words were automatically dropping out of her mouth.

Sona: You love me……as a friend right?

Dev smiled at this innocence of hers, and with all the confidence in his eyes, reassured her.

“I love you as a man loves a woman!”

…………………………………………………………….

PRECAP: Main Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga…

P.S. Nothing to say! Hope you guys liked it. Next chapter will be posted asap. I hope this episode was satisfactory (precap sach hi tha?). Do lemme know through your comments.

Love you all!???