And that night, Rajveer went to meet his friend again. At the wall of fame. But this time, rather than being welcomed by a blank yellow wall, he found Naveen's picture with a dazzling smile. Radiating the hallway, for justice was served, as Rajveer liked to believe.
"Mubarak ho. Tu jeet gayaa Naveen" Rajveer said with a trembling voice, full of emotions. "Tera sach sab ke saamne aa hi gya" h3 continued.
"Aur aapke sach ka kya Capt"
Turning around he found Dr. Shalini standing with her arms crossed in front of her.
"Shalini" he called out without any suffix or prefix, a sign of informality.
"Aap Kab tak Naina se apna sach chipaayenge ? Bataa kyu nahi dete hai ki aap -"
"Ki mai Naina se pyaar krta hu" he completed. After proving Naveen innocent he finally had the courage to accept the truth.
He had opened up to someone for the very first time. Giving him strength and courage, Shalini stood silently.
"Mai nahi bataa sakta Shalini." He continued looking at the wall far behind. Not focusing on anything particular than his heart. "Yeh raaz jo meri zindagi ka sabse badaa sach hai wo hamesha aise hi mere dil mei qaid rahega. Aur jis din yeh saansein khatm hui, wo sach amar jaayega. Ki Rajveer ki khudgarzi ne, Naina ki izzat ke saath galat nahi hone diya, chaahe khud daffan ho gya"
"Mai door khade reh krr Naina ko dekh sakta hu, usko sahi raah dikha sakta hu, par uske saath khade rehkar, uski zindagi ke saath khilwar nahi karr sakta." He said with glassy eyes.
"Aap aisa kyu dekh rahe hai capt. Aap Naina se ek baar keh ke to dikhiye, ho saakta hai aapki chahat ko manzil mil jaaye" she tried.
Giving a short laugh, Rajveer replied "Shayad tumhe pata nahi hai Shalini, Naveen ke seene mei utarne waali goli meri bandook se, mere haathon chali hai...Koi apne bhai ke kaatil se mauhabbat nahi kar sakta. Mai to yeh soch krr hairan hu mai ab tak zinda kaise hu"
"Shayad koi hai jo aapke jeene ki dua maang rahaa ho" Shalini reasoned. And that moment someone stepped into light in the dark hallway. Wearing the same white suit with silver jewelry, gloss on her lips and tears of pain in her eyes.
"He is all yours Naina" Shalini said before slipping away, leaving them two alone, but together.
"Tum, yahaan !?" He whispered in shock.
"Shayad koi hai, jo aapke jeene ki dua maang rahaa ho" Naina repeated what Shalini had said.
"Koi hai, jo aapke saath jeene ki dua maang rahaa ho" Naina reiterated.
"Naina" he said, to learn, that this, is not a dream, it was really happening.
And next what happened, was unexpected for Rajveer even in his dreams.
Naina got down on her knee, and presented glass jar in the shape of a heart filled with small chits folded neatly.
"Everytime i wanted to come to you, talk to you, be with you but couldnt, these chits have witnessed it all. And now, i want you to have them. Know my unsaid emotions. For you. A first step in our journey, as one. Do you, in front of my bhaiya and your best friend, accept me to be able to hold your hand and be with you in all the stages of life henceforth ?"
Naina by now, had known how broken he was from inside, how high the walls were around his heart, making it difficult for himself to peek in. She knew, she had to get him out of the shell, for making him meet the Rajveer he was, before the chaos in his life started. Like he said, KMA ke bahaar wali Naina, he needed to see the KMA ke bahaar wala Rajveer as well. And she was up for it, to do anything and everything, to get her Rajveer Sir back.
This name, Rajveer Sir, holds so many emotions for her, of trust, respect, admiration, attraction, selflessness, love and life. He defined everything to her.
Realizing was this ment, Rajveer was not in a state of saying anything, he just blinked his eyes in answer, letting the tears fell down his cheeks, the first sign of shedding the walls, built around his heart. With shaky hands, Rajveer made Naina stand up on her feet, taking the glass frame, cautiously from her he kept looking at them. There was a rose in one corner and rest of the area filled with chits. It was visible, that after one point the jar was full, and rest were still forced in.
"Kya mai inhe tumhare saath padh sakta hu" he asked, still in uncertainty, life couldn't be this blessed.
"Lawn mei chale" she suggested. "Koi dekh lega" his worry poured out. "Lights out ho chuke hai, aur aap kuch galat nahi kar rahe" she reassured. It's okay, he is right, they are right.
---
"Tum aise situation mei bhi aisa kaise soch sakti ho" he laughed while reading one of her chits, dating back to the time when he was accused of writing those letters to Naina, and Dr. Mishra took the blame.
"Arey, aap hass rahe ho ? Situation ki seriousness to dekho. Jab aapne uss past Dr. Mishra and current Churail ko ring pehnayi na, mann to kiya decoratives mei se ek candle lekrr uske baalon ko aag laga du, taaki usually bhi takla ho, aur phir wo aur Maj. Bhargav k saath baithke gaana gaaye ai mere ujde chaman, ai mere bichre chaman...tujh pe dil kurban" he laughed out really loud this time as she sang the lines.
They kept sitting there, reading chits, reminiscing old times, good and bad, remembering the goods and ditching the bads for future. What he discovered from these was, his little Cadet Naina Ah Singh had fallen for him long back, just not able to understand and name her feelings. That came out in the form of possessiveness for him, and anger for the distance between them.
Unknown to them, someone had been watching them, from the time they had come here. Watching them laugh, smile, cry, but in all, together. As now that person had understood, sometimes, letting go off the rules was also good. That sometimes, Shakti aur Samman doesn't always requires rules to be followed. It also came when they were broken, in a right state.
"Can I have something of yours too" she spoke all of a sudden. He looked at her and kept looking, no emotions visible.
"Can I have -" she was about to repeat when she felt him raising her hand and keeping his watch on hers. A worn out watch, but she had seen him wear it forever now.
"Apna aur apne waqt ka khayaal rakhna. Aur abse, mera waqt bhi tumhara hai aur meri zindagi bhi, mujhe sambhal lena please" he said with immense emotions.
"I Love You" "I Love You"
No one knows who said it first, all they knew was
She was his, as much as, he was hers.
