A Heartbeat Away - Kaira FF

Close To My Heart

Two days. It had been two days since they met. Naira thought she'd die of frustration. The people she lived with - family, she told herself again, had taken her to a temple away from the city for two days. It meant not meeting Kartik. To be specific, it meant not meeting the one person in the whole world she was comfortable with.  Nobody seemed to get it. It was weird to live in a world full of strangers. You meet them but you don't feel comfortable. You can't share your fears, sorrows, even the small joys. You don't  want to. The heart wants what it wants and Naira's heart yearned for Kartik. She had daydreamed of him all day when away from him. She always felt his presence. She often wondered about how close they actually were. Why did he feel like a part of her? It was such a complex feeling. His own love for her seemed so deep.

That thought often led her to wonder what he actually did that made her family react the way they did. She had tried hard to find something about her relationships before she lost her memory but found herself being stonewalled by the family. The looks they exchanged while they thought she wasn't looking didn't go unnoticed by her. She had always known there was something missing but hiding a person who mattered so much to her seemed too harsh. What did Kartik do, she wondered not for the first time since he mentioned it to her. She hated the suspense but she realised she hated being away from him even more. The two days away from him had passed by in anxiety and angst. She felt breathless so often that she was beginning to wonder if it was the anxiety or his absence causing it.

Kartik had work to keep himself fully occupied but that didn't stop him from missing Naira all the time. He had promised himself when Naira was in the hospital with a clot in her brain that he would be with her until his last breath. It was not a thought that occurred to him when he met her or fell in love with her at first. At first, it was love as he knew to love, with all he had, but there were others things that mattered too. Some thing changed after they divorced. Realization that living without her meant living an incomplete life. Nothing in his life meant anything without her. Then she fell terribly ill and he nearly lost her forever, the fear he felt was indescribable. It was then that he realised he would do anything for her. By anything he meant absolutely anything, if it resulted in her happiness & well being. 

It was bad enough that he was physically separated from her but somehow he had managed to stay close. She had let it happen too. In spite of not remembering anything, she had chosen to trust him. They had gotten close in a way he didn't think they would. She knew only half their story but she had been so attached to him. It melted his heart a little every time she reached out to him for something. Not that he wasn't already a melted mess when he was around her. She did things to his heart he couldn't quite understand. Now, this innocent version of Naira who seemed so untouched by the norms of the society just made his heart squeeze. He wanted to protect her at all costs.

"Suno " It was a text msg from her and it amused him that things may have changed but the way she started a text conversation with him hadn't.
"Bolo" He replied smiling at his phone. He looked up to see his dad staring at him. He passed a vague smile to his dad and walked away pretending to get print outs.
"Abhi milsakte hai?" He stared at the message feeling both elated and conflicted.   How and where would he meet her at this time of the day. He could always get away from office but how could she get away from her tyrant of a brother who seemed to keep her under a scanner. His blood boiled a little at this but then decided he would let him be up until Naira was updated on everything that had happened. He tried to stop himself from going into the "would Naira forgive him" spiral.
"Hellloooooo?" She had msged again
"Kuch tho bolo"
He smiled at the message, it sounded so much like his Naira. He quickly made a decision.
"Mandir aa sakthi ho?"
"Ok :)"
He knew he was long gone when he smiled staring at the smiley in her message. He quickly composed himself. In the pretext of meeting a client he slinked out of office.

She couldn't believe her luck. Badi dadi wanted to do some pooja that would be the conclusion of their religious trip in the temple near by. Naira volunteered to go along, she nearly jumped when nobody disagreed. So as badi dadi went about the rituals Naira sat outside waiting for Kartik.

She realised her heart was beating fast. Then she saw him, she didn't know what got into her but she ran into his arms. He picked her up, twirled her around, then put her down carefully. They stared around embarrassed, happy to note that  there weren't many witnesses to their impromptu show of affection. Then they stared at each other flushed faces and happy smiles. He just pulled her into his arms again placing a light kiss on the top of her head before letting go. She felt a familiar sensation sweeping through her. She had been here before, not this place but in his arms, they've done this before. They've been like this many times. She felt it with every fiber of her being. It was as if she knew him better than she knew herself.
"Meine tumhe bohot miss kiya"
"I missed you"
They said together then looked at each other smiling.

They didn't see a lady approach them as they stood lost in each other.
"Tum dono ko bohot dinon baad dekha, kaisi ho naira beta"
Kartik looked around startled hearing a familiar voice. Naira stared her usual stare, no sign of recognition in her eyes.
"Ji Aunty hum teek hai" said Kartik looking at Naira who then smiled and said "Ji Aunty"
Kartik hoped against hope that the lady wouldn't say anything problematic but of course that was not to be.
"Naira beta, himmat mat harna, Kartik hai na tumhare saat, Phir se hojayega. Tum log tho divo... "
"Aunty" Kartik cut her off, "Naira ko kuch yaad nahi hai" he said as quickly as he could.
"Oh Haan, Suhasini ne bataya tha" she said morosely.
"Acha mein chalthi hoon"
When Naira said Namaste she touched Naira's head and said  "Sada suhagan raho. Khush raho" and left.
Kartik nearly facepalmed. Naira stared at him her eyes demanding answers he was not sure she was ready for.