She couldn’t contain herself once the movie was over. While on the way to the restaurant, she blurted, “Atharva… you are always more than eager to… “ She fumbled. He queried, “Eager to?” She couldn’t speak up and shook her head. He again insisted after which she said,

To be continued….

“Well.. at home you keep hunting for a chance to come close to me. Then how come you didn’t do so when we were in the theatre?” He gave her a lopsided grin and smirked, “Ohho… so someone was missing my touch.” She hit him on his arm, and defended herself, “That is not what I meant… I am just intrigued.” He said soberly, “See… to tell you the truth. I don’t like to display my feelings  in public. I don’t feel comfortable having an audience for something that I consider private.” He shrugged and looked at her to see her reaction. Shruti commented, “You are a complex personality Atharva. I think I will take a long time to understand you completely.” He smiled agreeing, “Yes… I guess so.”

They had a good time, enjoying a leisurely meal and were  back by 10. On the way back, he held her hand and said sombrely, "Don't know when will we meet up next. " She felt his anguish and tightened her grip. “You can come for a day whenever you are free… please try.” He nodded albeit a little unconvincingly. He knew that once the second lot arrived, he wouldn’t have the chance to spare even a minute. He brushed his thoughts aside, taking it one day at a time.

Shruti had to leave for Nashik in the morning, and both were trying to put on a brave face. She had a wry grin thinking about the previous night… when she had come in the kitchen late at night for a glass of water, she was caught unawares when two arms snaked around her. She had almost shrieked when Atharva put a hand on her mouth. He had chuckled wryly and had stolen a quick kiss.

She disentangled herself from his embrace and exclaimed, “Freak! Are you nuts? You scared the hell out of me!” He teased her, “Darpok!” She shrugged, “Kuchh bhi… anyone would have reacted in that way. By the way, how did you know I was here?” He reasoned, “Well… if you have forgotten, we have adjoining rooms. I wasn’t asleep and heard the door open, so came to see.” She indicated at the clock. “It’s almost 2 a.m. Atharva Shah seems to be losing too much sleep of late, huh?” He made a face, “Hmm..”

She was about to leave when she derided him , “Cant visualise a crying Atharva.” He couldn’t understand for a second… then realised she was referring to the incident his father had so blatantly mentioned. He quickly caught a squealing Shruti and warned her in a mock tone, “You will have to pay for this.” And they interlocked in a passionate kiss, oblivious to the world around. After a while,they parted ways before things went out of control and kissed each other good night.

Shruti snapped out of her day dreaming when Atharva urged her to hurry up lest she would miss the train. It was after another battle of words between the two when Atharva had to give in to her insistence of traveling by the train, instead of car. On the way, Shruti’s face lit up and said excitedly, “Atharva! Can you pllleaasee join us for a family get together in Lonavala?” He questioned, “Ye plan kab banaa?” She looked at him unable to believe and said, “Arey! How can you forget? I remember telling you that our entire extended family meets up by hook or by crook, once a year. It is super fun.” He didn’t know what to say and answered, “I’ll try Jaanu… can’t promise anything.”

She was disheartened, but didn’t push the matter as she knew he was helpless about it. They reached the station and by this time, she was used to his endless list of instructions and before he could begin, she rattled away the list herself, much to his amusement. “Any other instruction apart from this?” He shook his head and said, “Take care.” She felt like clinging to him, but knew he wouldn’t approve of it in such a place, so simply said, “Bye” in a wobbly voice. He himself felt very low but tried to be strong, for both of them.

The following days flew by. The pending machinery came in, and Atharva got busier than ever, or so Shruti felt. He was so tired by the end of the day, that he could barely manage to talk for a few minutes.

Then one day, he literally broke down. “You know Shru? In all these days, not once has ma or papa bothered to ask about me…. Where am I staying, whether I am eating or not, nothing.” Shruti choked back on her tears, hearing these words and asked, “Not even your mom?!” He said in a desolate tone, “Nooo… they don’t even know that I have been staying at the factory itself and I haven’t bothered to tell them since they aren’t interested.”

Shruti had tried to convince him a lot to go to the resort and stay at night so that he could at least get a peaceful sleep, but it fell on deaf ears. He felt responsible for the whole project.Tension was mounting for Atharva, making Shruti worried for his health. Little did they know that the turbulence had just begun. It turned out that the new machinery was giving a lot of problem, owing to certain parts which were not functioning correctly. To top it all, the main technician who had been appointed left them stranded in the middle of it all and left, as some immediate family member had passed away.

Shruti urged him to talk to his father, but he didn’t want to do that, trying his best to sort things out. It was then that she confided in her dad about everything. He immediately called up Atharva and talked to him at length. He assured him that he will work out something and get back on this as soon as possible. Being in the same field proved to be a blessing for Atharva. Mr Verma discussed with his trusted technicians and visited Atharva at his factory, along with Rohan and the experts.

Mr Verma was shocked to see Atharva; an unkempt beard, disheveled clothes, a dispirited face. He immediately calmed him down, worried for him. He personally felt it wasn’t correct to leave it all on his shoulders, but didn’t voice out. He slowly and steadily went over the whole issue and spent the entire day overviewing every minute thing. With his years of experience and expertise, he could come to a conclusion that although the problem could be solved, it would take well over a month to get it all on track.

Atharva was relieved to take a back seat, to know that there was someone who understood his dilemma and was ready to help him. He couldn’t thank him enough and was on the verge of tears. Mr Verma very lovingly put a hand on his head and said, “Never feel awkward to ask for help Beta. You are my son as well now. I am here to guide as much as I can. Don’t worry, there is nothing that cannot be sorted, although it will take a while.”

Once back home, Rohan couldn’t help mention the condition in which Atharva was. Shruti knew about it all along, but to hear it from her brother was more than she could bear. She burst into tears, feeling forlorn. Her father consoled her, “Don’t worry Beta. Everything will be sorted out. He is a tough nut.” She nodded, wiping away her tears and knew that her father would solve the mess to the best of his ability.

From that day onwards, the bonding between Mr Verma and Atharva grew, to form an everlasting relationship of trust and respect for each other. Atharva was slowly gaining his confidence back. He was grateful to see that the issue was being tackled, and gradually things were falling in place.

It was almost 3 weeks since he had returned back home. Shruti had been his backbone throughout, boosting his confidence and praying for his welfare wholeheartedly. He was almost done with the major  set up, although the final stage would take another ten days or so. He had returned home on Saturday. Looking at his face, Mr Shah felt guilty for the first time. He didn’t pester him about anything and asked him to take rest for a couple of days.

On the other hand, Shruti had been hoping against hope that Atharva will somehow join her in Lonavala. They had reached by Friday afternoon and were there till Sunday late evening. Since they were around 30 of them, they had booked 2 huge villas, having 9 rooms in all. Still, it was obvious that no one would get a personal room, but then that was the added charm. It was Sunday already and she was feeling lost. Generally, she used to be completely at ease… cracking jokes and laughing heartily. Theirs was a family where age was no bar. Everyone was a free bird, laughing singing, dancing, poking fun. This time somehow her heart was not in it, even though she tried to pretend. It was more sentimental as well, since she realised that this would be her last time before she gets married. She can always join later as well of course, but it would be different somehow.

Post breakfast, the entire family had gathered in the living room. There were quite a few talented singers in the family, all having their own forte. It was Shruti’s turn. She tried to chicken out, but they refused to listen. At last she gave in when one of her cousins Ishaanbhai insisted her to sing, ‘Ye kahaan aa Gaye hum,’ from the movie Silsila. It was one of her personal favourites and she couldn’t refuse.

There was pin drop silence as all waited for her to begin. It was a soul stirring song, having fantastic music and amazing lyrics. Her voice resonated in the huge bungalow, owing to the high pitches in the song. She had a habit of shutting her eyes while singing and would completely get lost in her own world, detached from her surroundings. She opened her eyes to a thundering round of applause. There was a curious look on everyone’s face… just as she got up, she realised something and had a look of  stupefaction.

To be continued….

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