Jaise tum na... waise hum

Abhi tries to talk with Pragya

Pragya's bedroom.

Pragya was busy typing an email to her client when she heard a knock on the door. She turned and noticed it was Abhi, which startled her a bit. She had avoided talking to him since the lab technician left and even avoided eye contact at the breakfast table, though she could see he was looking at her. She knew she cant avoid him now.

"Kuch chahiye tha aapko?" she asked.

'Haan... kuch sawalon ke jawaab' he thought, 'kahan thi tum... aur is tarah mujhse door kyu rahi?'

"Nahi" he said, "mein bas..."

"Aap theek hein na?" she interrupted.

'Nahi... mein theek kaise reh sakta hoon?' he thought.

"Haan" he said.

"Aap baithiye na...' she said, "mujhe bas yeh ek mail bhejna hai... important hai... I am free after that."

Abhi walked over to the sofa and sat on it. He looked around while she typed the mail. Her muted taps on the keyboard were the only sounds he could hear. Memories of her working with him came up – as his boss, as his secretary, and his wife cum manager ran through his mind - and he could notice she had the same focus and dedication as she did back then. He felt happy for her, happy to hear from Purab that she is doing quite well now. There was a part of him that regretted him not been able to support her enough to let her shine on her own and felt happy that she was now in a much better place than he could have ever imagined her to be. 

But he felt confused too. She hadn't spoken anything to him since the lab technicians visit, 'but felt good that she spoke to me now'. She hadn't spoken anything while having breakfast either 'but she had my favourite dishes made'. She  was kind of avoiding even looking at him, 'but she hadnt been rude.' Moreover, even Sushma hadn't said anything else to him since their talk early morning.

'Tu confused kyu hai Abhi' he thought, 'humesha se to ye aisi hi thi naa. Kabhi tujhe bhaav nahi deti thi, kabhi tere liye apne jaan ki bhi parvah nahi karti... nothings changed... Jaise Purab ne bola... give her time.'.

She looked at him while she was typing. She couldn't help notice the comfort she felt having him around... it was surprisingly satisfying. Surprising because she had never thought she could be comfortable around him any more, but the experience of being in the same room as him was no different from how it has always been.

"Aap baithe hein?" she asked and stopped typing. "Chahein to lett sakte hein' she said and looked over at the bed. She got up as she noticed a couple of files that were on the bed, and walked over to pick them up.

"Arre... Its ok" he said, "Tum apna kaam karlo".

"Ok" she said, "abhi ho jayega... bas ek minute" kept the files on the side table and went back to typing.

She could see him getting up from the corner of her eye and got a bit nervous as she found him coming near her. He leaned and supported himself by holding the backrest of her chair, as she typed 'thank you' and sent the mail. She closed the laptop and stood up facing him.

Their eyes met and locked.

Abhi could notice she was nervous. 'Kya hua Fuggi? Darr kyu rahi ho?' he thought.

He raised his arm but stopped when he noticed it startled her a bit.

"Woh..." he said, "tumhare baal" and reached out to clear the hair that had come down in front of her left eye, but she did it herself.