Sapno Ka Shaher

41. Race Against Time

The alarm of 4 o'clock rang in the room, and Naina turned it off immediately. She sighed and rested her head on the wall for a minute. She didn't remember exactly when she fell asleep last night. All she remembered was her studying on the mattress with a book in her hand.

She scooted closer to Sameer who was sprawled on his back. He was sleeping peacefully like a baby. Waking him up from sleep wasn't the case today, nor did she want to. She caressed his cheek, feeling the rasp of his stubble with her thumb. Unlike other times, it wasn't prickly, rather it was so smooth.

After a lot of persuasion from her, he had finally purchased a branded beard gel that he wanted to buy for a long time. She chuckled inwardly, thinking how serious he was when he said he would change people's perception about men with beards. But she knew this grown stubble on his jaw would remain only for a few hours.

She dipped down and kissed his forehead, continuing the trail of soft kisses on both his cheeks and stared for a moment at his lips.

Was that prohibited too??

Her gaze fell on her hands that were adorned with mehendi. Preeti had come home yesterday and they had helped each other with their chitrakari. Naina had chosen the simplest design with a madhubani circle in the center of the palm and dots in its periphery. When she had shown it to Sameer at night, he had frowned saying something was missing in it, consequently taking the Mehendi cone and himself drawing SN in the corner, inside a heart.

She looked at SN on her palm adoringly, which was now darkened in the true color of love, and kissed it.

After freshening up, Naina tiptoed to the kitchen, taking care not to disturb her father from his sleep. Taking out a milk vessel and two bowls of cut fruits from the fridge, she started to arrange all the items one by one in a big plate.

She turned scared after feeling a hand on her waist.

"Shshshshsh... " Sameer hushed her and she heaved a sigh. "Mujhe uthaya kyu nahi?" He asked in low whispers.

"Arey tum kyuー"

Her mouth was covered by his palm and Sameer checked on Papa. A glance on the platform confirmed that sargi was ready. Carrying some fruits with himself, he passed the plate to Naina and they both walked back to the bedroom, not forgetting to take the cordless with them.

"Tum yeh wrat nahi kar rahe ho..." Naina uttered the moment Sameer shut the door.

"Naina hamari baat hui thi iske baare me..." he replied within a moment.

"Sameer tumhara shoot hai dinbhar..."

"Haan toh tum bhi office ja hi rahi ho na..." He countered and seeing Naina coming with another point, he hushed her. "Tum baitho, mai fresh hokar aata hu."

Naina stomped her foot with annoyance. Her husband cannot stop being stubborn for one single day. She was so happy for him to have gotten a role in a Zee tv 1hr-weekly show, though he was supposed to feature in only two episodes. He was called for the shoot for five days and today was his fourth day of shoot. But now she got worried for him as to how he will manage without food and water the whole day.

The couple sat on the mattress to feast on the sargi. They talked with Vishakha on the call while she too was having hers in Delhi, seeking her blessings and revising the rituals once again. After the call, they were fully focussed on the plate.