Hello Friends!
I strongly recommend reading "Lost Love" before reading this fic, as it will be difficult to understand the characters otherwise.
This is a continuation of the previous chapter.
WARNING: Devanagari Ahead!
Meanwhile, Sachin fell asleep with Kishoreda's voice blaring from his phone, which happened to have a long white tail attached to it. The headphones, I mean.
Shreya fell asleep trying to console Purvi. Purvi fell asleep when her brain decided that if she drained one more drop of water through her eyes, she would die of dehydration!
The next morning, Purvi found herself stretched on her sofa.
Purvi: (rubbing her eyes) श्रेया? कहां हो तुम?
She stepped out of the sofa.
A loud shriek followed.
A louder shriek from Purvi followed. She jumped a couple metres in the air, before realizing that she had stepped on her best friend, who had fallen asleep on the floor.
Shreya: (rubbing her eyes) क्या करती हो पूर्वी? पाँच minute बाद नहीं उठ सकती थी? दया sir मुझे...
Shreya bit her tongue as she realized.
Shreya: (thinking) हे भगवान! ये मैंने क्या कह दिया? अब ये फिर से सचिन sir कि रट लगाएगी।
By this time, Shreya was past the point of bothering about getting teased. Purvi had given her enough of an ordeal the previous night.
Sure enough...
Purvi: (wailing) सचिन sir तो मेरे सपनों में भी नहीं आते हैं। पता नहीं किसके सपनों में रहते हैं!
A stupefied Shreya looked on.
Shreya: (thinking) ये मैं कहां फस गई? अब सचिन sir को इसके सपनों में आने के लिए invitation दूँ क्या? (speaking) शांत हो जाओ पूर्वी। वो तुम्हारे सपनों में नहीं आए तो क्या हुआ? तुम उनके सपनों में ज़रूर आई होगी।
Shreya said this with a conviction she definitely did not feel.
Purvi: (through tears) कुछ भी! तुम्हें कैसे पता? तुम तो अपने दया sir के सपनों में खोई हुई थी। मेरी तो किसी को पर्वा ही नहीं।
Shreya: अच्छा तो उन्ही को phone करके पूछ लेते हैं।
Shreya got up from the floor.
Purvi's tears suddenly evaporated, leaving behind a flushed face.
Purvi: (shouting) नहीं! ये क्या कर रही हो?
Shreya: (thinking) ये क्या?! रोना बंद? ये अच्छा मौका है। इसे कुछ देर के लिए busy रखूंगी तो शायद बात बन जाए। Temporarily ही सही।
Shreya picked up Purvi's phone, and ran around the house, trying to call Sachin, or at least pretending to do so. Purvi gave a chase.
Purvi: नहीं श्रेया! तुम ऐसा कुछ नहीं करोगी!
Shreya fished out Sachin's number, just to put it on display, so Purvi's heart would be more occupied pumping blood into her legs than pumping tears into her eyes. (The heart does not pump tears, by the way. Poetic license, you know?)
Touchscreen phones have a very bad habit of getting touched where you don't want them to be touched. As Shreya turned the display towards Purvi, unknown to her, one of her fingers decided that it would be a very good idea to call Sachin.
Purvi, of course, saw the call being placed, and her heart was one step removed from popping out of her throat.
Purvi lunged at Shreya, and grabbed the phone just in time to feel a sound emanating from the speakers. She put it to her ear. She had a response ready in case Sachin asked. After all, Shreya and Sachin are not too far apart on the contacts list, are they?
Instead...
Phone: The number you are trying to call is presently switched off.
Purvi: क्या?!
Shreya: क्या हुआ, पूर्वी?
Purvi: सचिन sir का phone switched-off है।
Shreya: शायद वो किसी mission पर गएं हों? या फिर छुट्टी पर हों? उन्होने कुछ बताया था क्या?
Purvi made the puppy face with watery eyes which always preceded a torrent of tears. Shreya interrupted.
Shreya: (pleading tone) रोना मत... रोना मत... मैं समझ गई कि सचिन sir तुम्हें कुछ नहीं बताते। जब वो मिल जाएं तो मैं उनसे कहूँगी कि आगे से तुम्हें सब कुछ बताएं। अभी उन्हें ढूंढ़ते हैं।
Purvi: जब मिल जाएं मतलब? कहीं उन्हें कुछ हो तो नहीं गया?
Shreya closed her eyes in anticipation of another torrent.
Shreya: नहीं पूर्वी उन्हें कुछ नहीं होगा। Please रोना मत।
Shreya opened her eyes to find Purvi missing.
Purvi: (distant voice) तुम आ रही हो कि नहीं? मैं सचिन sir को ढूंढ़ने जा रही हूँ।
Shreya: हां हां। रुको।
Shreya hopped into the car, and Purvi sped down the highway.
After aimlessly speeding down the highway for a couple kilometres, Purvi sheepishly ventured a question.
Purvi: हम कहां ज रहे हैं?
Shreya: (facepalm) तुम्हारा कुछ नहीं हो सकता। रुको।
Shreya drew an Android tablet from the glove box, and traced Sachin's last location through the CMS. (Please refer to my other fics, or Google "Central Monitoring System." I am too tired to explain everything right now.)
Shreya: तुम्हारे सचिन sir अपने घर पर ही हैं। हम तो बेवजह परेशान हो रहे थे।
Purvi: तुम ऐसा कैसे कह सकती हो? हो सकता है बस उनका phone ही घर पर हो। हमें चल के देखना चाहिए।
Purvi set course for Sachin's house, which was not too far from Shreya's, as they both lived close to the bureau. Within minutes, she found herself before a locked gate, about two metres high.
Shreya: अब क्या?
Shreya's question was answered by demonstration. Purvi was on the other side of the gate before Shreya could understand what had happened.
Shreya: तुम चढ़ गई?!
Purvi: अगर दया sir लापता होते तो तुम भी चढ़ चुकी होती।
Poor Shreya had no other option but to climb the gate.
Then there was the door, which was locked.
Purvi frantically sounded the bell for a minute. Full sixty seconds of it.
When there was no response, Purvi charged at the door before Shreya could stop her.
The result? The impact threw her back a couple metres.
Shreya: तुम ठीक तो हो?
Purvi: हां हां। मैं ठीक हूँ।
Before Shreya could stop her, Purvi charged again, and this time the lock gave way.
Purvi's left shoulder was badly aching, as was the rest of her body, but there was no time for silly things such as that. Her beloved Sachin sir was in danger. Or might have been, if this wasn't a humorous fic.
Purvi searched – no, scoured – the whole house. Finally, there was only one place left to be checked. The washroom.
Purvi knocked on the door.
Unknown voice: (muffled) Hmm... Hmm...
Purvi: सचिन sir? क्या ये आप हैं?
Unknown voice: (muffled) Hmm...
Purvi prepared herself to mow down the flimsy plastic door that separated her from her love – as she was sure it was Sachin.
Shreya closed her eyes in anticipation.
The door gave way at once, and Purvi found herself inside the washroom.
The scene was surreal. Sachin was in a vest, and shorts that ended two inches above his knee. Part of his face was covered in white froth, and he clutched a shaving razor as he looked on in horror at the spectre that was Purvi.
Purvi's state was no less surreal. She had hopped right out of the sofa into the car, so she was still in her night clothes. To top it all, she was profusely sweating due to the exertion of climbing over one barrier and mowing down two.
Sachvi shrieked at once, Purvi's high-pitched voice masking Sachin's terrified squeal completely.
Why she did it, she does not know, and cannot explain, but Shreya too joined in on the shriek-fest.
Sachin was the first to stop shrieking, as he made sense of the situation at hand much before the ladies could. What he could not figure out was how he would get out of this sticky situation with his dignity intact.
Purvi soon returned to her senses, and so did Shreya. Shreya was still outside, and had not entered the washroom.
Purvi: सचिन sir?! आप? यहां?
Sachin: ये मेरा ही घर है तो...
Purvi: तो फिर आपका phone switched-off क्यों है?
Sachin: क्योंकी उसका charge ख़तम हो गया।
Purvi: (angrily) आपको पता है मुझे आपकी कितनी चिंता हो रही थी?
Sachin: अरे पर चिंत क्यों हो रही थी? अभी तो bureau जाने का time भी नहीं हुआ।
Purvi lowered her gaze momentarily, and then turned her head away with a jerk.
Purvi: शीः! बेशरम! ढंग के कपड़े तो पहन लिया कीजिए।
Sachin realized his state, and dived for cover behind the commode.
Sachin: वो... मैं... तुम ज़रा बहर जाओ तो...
Purvi left the washroom, and stood in his room. Sachin could still see her shadow, so he knew she was in his room.
Sachin: मेरा मतलब मेरे room से बाहर जाओ। और दरवाज़ा बंद करते जाना।
Shreya and Purvi left the room, closing the door behind them.
Sachin waited a while to be absolutely sure no one returned, and then quickly washed the shaving lather off his face before venturing into his room.
He got dressed, thinking all the while how he would ever see Purvi in the eye again.
As he got out of his room to face the intruder – singular because he didn't know of Shreya's presence – Purvi stared at his face for a while, and then burst into peals of laughter. Shreya, of course, had a tough time suppressing her laughter.
Sachin: क्या हुआ? हँस क्यों रही हो? और ये क्या? श्रेया? तुम कब आई? और ये सब हो क्या रहा है?
Purvi: Sir आपकी मूँछ।
Sachin: मेरी मूँछ? क्या हुआ मेरी मूँछ को?
Sachin felt his moustache. Perfectly fine on the right side. But missing on the left. When Purvi broke in, Sachin was startled, and managed to shave half his moustache. Thanks to the excitement that followed, he did not notice the anomaly before getting dressed. Also, his beard was half-shaved. That too needed fixing, but not as urgently as his moustache.
Sachin turned, and vanished into his room, his face turning shades of crimson.
Minutes later, he emerged. Whatever remained of his moustache after the ordeal was also gone. That, my friends, is how Sachin lost his moustache on screen!
Purvi burst into another peal of laughter.
Sachin: हँसो मत। एक तो तुम सुबह के आठ बजे मेरे घर में घुस जाती हो, ऊपर से तुम्हारी वजह से मुझे मेरी मूँछों से हाथ धोना पड़ा।
Sachin was visibly annoyed.
Purvi again made the puppy face with teary eyes which Shreya was so accustomed to.
Shreya: रोना मत... रोना मत... (to Sachin) Please नाराज़ मत होना sir। अगर आप नाराज़ हो गए तो मुझे इस पूर्वी को फिर से झेलना पड़ेगा। मेरे पास इतना time नहीं है। मुझे द... मुझे कुछ काम है।
Sachin: (puzzled) मैं कुछ समझा नहीं। मैं नाराज़ हो जाऊँ तो तुम्हें पूर्वी को क्यों झेलना पड़ेगा? और ये रोना-धोना... वो सब छोड़ो। मुझे ये बताओ कि तुम दोनों यहां कर क्या रही हो?
Shreya: वो पूर्वी को आपकी चिंता सता रही थी। उसे लगा कि आपको कुछ हो गया।
Sachin: सुबह के आठ बजे मेरी चिंता?
Shreya: वो इसलिए क्योंकी इसे आपसे प... (gagged)
Purvi was quick to act, and brutally gagged Shreya before she could spill anything.
Purvi: नहीं sir. ये तो कुछ भी बोलती है। आप... आप bureau नहीं जाएंगे? साढे आठ बज रहे हैं।
Sachin: हां पर वो श्रेया कुछ कह रही थी।
Purvi: वो कुछ नहीं। लड़कियों की बातें हैं। आप नहीं समझेंगे।
Shreya: Hmm... Hmm...
Purvi realized that Shreya had not been able to breathe all this while. She released her.
Sachin: ठीक है तो फिर... मैं bureau चलता हूँ।
Purvi: मैं भी आपके साथ चलती हूँ।
Sachin slowly ran his eyes from her head to toe. Purvi was confused, but she struck a pose nevertheless, just in case Sachin was admiring her.
Sachin: इस हालत में?!
Purvi's hopes came crashing down as she realized her unkempt condition was all that she flaunted.
Purvi: Sorry. मुझे याद ही नहीं रहा।
Shreya: (under her breath) जब सचिन sir पास हों तो तुम्हे कुछ याद कैसे रहेगा?
Sachin: क्या?!
Purvi: कुछ नहीं sir. मैंने कहा न कि इसे बकवास करने की आदत है। हम चलते हैं।
Purvi dragged Shreya away without further incident.
Sorry for the delayed update. Further updates may also be delayed, as I am otherwise engaged.