'THE END' flashed on the 70mm screen and the people in the theatre stood up and started leaving immediately. The noise downstairs told that the audience in the Reserve and Dress Circle section had started emptying the premises even before that. It was mostly filled with men and college boys, easily categorized as chhapri with their shirts open till fourth buttons and a handkerchief knotted across their necks. Their hooting and comments at some scenes in the movie hinted they had certainly enjoyed it.

The balcony still had some decent people given the holiday of Ambedkar Jayanti, however, two families had walked over in between itself. Naina and Sameer were still seated though, their heads supported by their hands as they rested their elbows on the armrest, and their mouths agape.

Sameer was the first one to regain his senses and notice that there were hardly a handful of people left now. He straightened in his seat, patting on Naina's forearm and bringing her out from her lost state.

"Kitni ghatiya picture thi, Sameer!!!!" Naina exclaimed as soon as they stepped out of the building, her face was contorted. "Mai maan hi nahi sakti ki kal se tum mujhe yeh picture dikhana chah rahe the."

Sameer sighed as he was already prepared for Naina's outburst. Resting his hands on hips, he wandered his gaze across the street which stopped on a small snacks corner. "Kuchh khaye, Naina?" he proposed.

They crossed the road hand in hand, dodging the medium traffic coming both ways. Sameer pulled a chair for Naina, choosing a table in the open. Naina admired the twilight with a bright smile, forgetting the bad experience of the movie and enjoying her time with Sameer.

While waiting for their favourite pav bhaji with extra butter and lemon, Naina's eyes finally landed on Sameer, who had a frown on his face as he played with the salt and pepper bottles.

"Kya hua? Kis soch mein doobe ho itne?" She asked. He was quiet all this while.

"Tum jaan'na nahi chahogi mai tumhe yeh film dikhane kyun lekar aaya?" Sameer asked, maintaining the frown on his face.

"Haan... matlab... kyun?" Naina shrugged, she was quite bewildered right from when the movie crossed thirty minutes. "Mai jaanti hun tumhari choice aisi nahi hai..."

"Naina..." Sameer said as he sighed, placing the bottles neatly in their places and taking his time, "yeh wahi film hai jiske audition ke liye Aryan ne mujhe apne ghar bulaya tha." Sameer grimaced, averting his gaze with the memory associated with the name.

It didn't take a second for Naina to recognize the name and the story behind it. Aryan. How can she forget that? She gasped audibly, "iss picture ke liye audition hua tha tumhara?" now grimacing harder than Sameer.

Sameer only nodded, looking at Naina and snorting at her disgusted expressions.

"Kause role ke liye?"

"Woh... Kishan ke role ke liye?" Sameer pointed at the poster of the movie 'Jiyo Shaan Se', which was visible from across the street.

When he was going through the advertisement page yesterday, this poster had caught his attention. He remembered how Aryan had mentioned Dharmendra, and recollected the faces from the audition like Ayub Khan and Vikas Bhalla, which he had completely forgotten about. Curiosity overpowered him as he wanted to see what was in his destiny if the Aryan incident hadn't happened and things had gone well. So he had to convince Naina at night when she debated they both didn't have time for a movie outing.

"Uss role ke liye?" Chhiiiii...." Naina shuddered again, contorting her face more and inducing a laughter from Sameer. She was almost about to say 'achchha hua tumne yeh picture nahi ki' but gulped her words after recalling the real reason behind Sameer not doing the film.

"Kitni ajeeb picture thi na lekin?" Naina commented, "kuchh bhi bana dete hai log aajkal..."

"Yahi iss industry ki sachchai hai Naina..." Sameer huffed, thanking the waiter who placed their order on the table. "Har saal jitni bhi filmein release hoti hai, usme kuchh hi filmein dekhne layak hoti hai... aur unn me se bhi kuchh hi geeni-chuni filmein successful hoti hai... baki sab ka toh yahi haal hota hai..." he pointed at the theatre again.

"Khair... chhodo..." Naina sighed, now focussing on her pav bhaji. "Aur garama garam pav bhaji ka lutf uthao."

Sameer giggled the way she squeezed the whole life out of lemon into the bhaji and licked her fingers, squeezing her eyes right after.

The couple savoured the pav bhaji like old days, talking about how they both had developed fondness for the Mumbai food like vadapav, bun-maska, misal pav and Maharashtrian dish thalipeeth by Mrs. Gadkari.

On the return journey, Sameer chose his favorite job of observation when Naina slept resting on his shoulder in the bus. His brows furrowed as he was listening to a conversation happening a seat ahead very seriously.

They were a mother and a son, where the son was a teenager and most probably about to enter college as Sameer figured out.

"Maa, tum baat karo na papa se... mujhe nahi banna engineer..." the boy said, almost whinning.

"Kaisi baat kar raha hai beta?" The mother countered, "itne achchhe numbers aate hai tere hamesha... engineer banke bada afsar bann jayega toh unhi ko garv hoga tujhpar..."

"Haan toh number achchhe aate hai toh kya engineer bann jau?" The boy retorted, "Mai kitni baar bata chuka hun tumhe mujhe khana banane se khushi milti hai, maa... bachpan se tumhara hath batate aaya hun kitchen mein... wahi meri khushi ki jagah hai..."

"Haan... galti saari meri hi hai..." the mother took out her weapon... tears... and took her pallu to her nose, sniffing. "Ki hamesha tujhe apne aankhon ke samne rakhna chaha... tabhi tere hath se belan chhinkar usi belan se bhaga dena chahiye tha tujhe..."

Sameer stifled a laughter seeing how the mother had used a completely filmy dialogue, almost turning herself into Nirupa Roy.

"Maa yaarrrr...." The boy threw his head back, facepalming himself.

He seemed to have given up on the conversation as Sameer found him taking a Walkman out of his bag and plugging the headphones. Sameer scrunched his nose for missing out on the entertainment and opted for watching outside of the window.

Yet, the conversation put him to think. The same story of every household maybe!! The parents couldn't think of the unconventional career paths and that money can be made from other professions too. Yet what stirred something within him was what the boy had said.

"Chala, Andheri la utarnaare lok pudhe yaa..." the conductor announced, bringing Sameer out of his thoughts.

He caressed Naina's cheek, waking her up with his gentle strokes. She had clutched to his arm like a pillow and it made him chuckle finding the sleeve of his shirt wet at the shoulder. He wiped the saliva at the corner of her lips, something that happens when she's tired but rarely.

As they got down at the Andheri bus stop, Naina checked her watch and her eyes sparkled. "Sameer, papa ke library ka event khatm hote aaya hoga... chalo na chalkar dekhte hai..."

"Ab tak khatm ho chuka hoga Naina," Sameer replied, checking his watch.

"Nahi, aaj aakhri din hai na... papa bol rahe the der tak chalega..." She tugged him with a grin.

They detoured towards the State central library, strolling hand in hand. Naina found it amusing finding the roads quieter. Sometimes Mumbai would behave completely opposite to Ahmedabad. While the city of dreams would drain you out during the workdays with its crowd, it would be peaceful and serene on Sundays and holidays. As if people would like to stay cocooned in their homes, doing nothing. She too wished to spend this holiday doing nothing just like that, but was pleased that they came out and spent a good time together. Was she gradually turning into a Mumbaikar?

Reading the signboards and the shop names, she tried to decipher the short Marathi sentences. She had started understanding the language since a lot of her colleagues in her office, including her boss Mr. Deshpande were Maharashtrians and would converse in Marathi mostly. And with a family like Gadkari's being their neighbour, they had to listen to their rants in Marathi.

Throwing their intertwined hands in a childlike excitement as they walked, Naina gazed at Sameer. A frown took place on her face when she noticed his pensive face. Yes, they enjoyed the silence too in between them but not when only one of them was peaceful in it. He was walking in his own world, not with her.

"Kaay zala Mr. Maheshwari?" She said cheerfully, giving a tug to their hands. "Kuthe laksh ahe tumch?"

Frowning, Sameer looked at her. A chuckle spurt from his mouth, "kya?" he asked.

"Kabse dekh rahi hu... kahan khoye hue ho?"

Sameer sighed and shook his head. "Kuchh nahi bass...." He sighed again. "Mera AK Films ka contract khatm ho jayega is 30 tarikh ko... aur ab tak contract extend karwane ki koi baat nahi hui hai..."

Naina lowered their speed of walking, rubbing her thumb on his knuckles, "Sameer, tum phirse auditions dena shuru kar do na... filmon ke liye... ab toh tumhare portfolio mein ek experience bhi add ho gaya hai... yahi sahi waqt hoga..." she urged.

She wanted Sameer to be back to auditions with full zeal. With the kind of exposure he was getting as an Assistant Director, she had personally witnessed his knowledge about this industry only growing day by day. And with her filmy brain providing her information like Amir Khan working as an AD before he signed Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, her hopes were soaring high.

It had been 1.5 years that they had come to Mumbai and yet nothing significant had happened in Sameer's career journey. If she looked at it from a neutral perspective. And no matter how closely she had witnessed his growth, some unexpected questions from Chachaji would catch her off guards.

After Sameer's DD show's telecast two weeks ago, which featured Sameer, Anand had called home. He had praised and congratulated Sameer for the episode, but when Naina got on the line, Anand had some serious questions about Sameer's career plans. The only answer Naina could give was Sameer's ongoing stint as an AD in AK Films. Anand wasn't satisfied with the answer and it bothered her.

"Pata hai Naina," Sameer voiced, drawing her out of her musing. "Pehle jab bhi mai auditions ke baare mein sochta tha, toh bahot excited rehta tha. Hamesha prepare karke jata tha... mere acting class ke saare lessons revise kar leta tha... lekin aajkal..."

Naina looked at him attentively, without missing a word coming out from him and without missing even a slightest change on his face. His eyes didn't reflect the sparkle as they would, when he talked about auditions and acting.

"Lekin aajkal mujhe woh excitement hi feel nahi hoti..." Sameer continued. "Jis tarah ki filmein aajkal bann rahi hai... jis tarah mujhe iss industry ki sachchai pata chalte ja rahi hai... mera mann hi nahi karta auditions dene ka..."

Sameer left her hand and shoved it in his pockets, stopping at the corner of the road where he could see the library hardly hundred meters away. He stared somewhere in the void. "Aur yeh toh mai jaan chuka hun Naina ki badi filmon mein kaam toh mujhe milne se raha... Shah Rukh Khan jaisa luck har kisi ke paas nahi hota..."

Naina's shoulders sagged seeing him giving up already. Though she couldn't find sadness on his face while saying this, she couldn't see him like that.

"Toh... serial ke hi auditions shuru kar do na..." she said, yearning for his touch.

Sameer pursed his lips and nodded, now smiling at her. "Chalein? Event khatm ho jayega..."

Without waiting for her response, he tugged his hand out and clasped hers into his, now leading them towards the library.

The event was already over when Sameer and Naina stepped into the building's ground floor. There were hardly 7-8 people, including Rakesh. The two junior librarians they had met on Saturday were assembling the chairs, while Rakesh was rolling the posters on the stage.

Rakesh was surprised to see them both as he knew they were out for a movie. However his eyes glittered and a big grin flashed on his face seeing them. He got down from the stage in excitement, with the rolled poster in his hand.

"Sadhnaji, ek minute aaiye..." He called a lady in her forties who was wrapping up the decorative items. "Yeh Sadhnaji hai, meri sahayogi*..." Rakesh introduced her to his kids, "Aur Sadhnaji, yeh meri beti hai Naina... aur yeh mera Damaad hai Sameer..."

The pleasantries were exchanged and Naina figured that she was one whom her father tried to help adjust the timings months ago.

"Bahot achchha likhti ho tum Naina..." Sadhna complimented and Naina smiled, thanking her.

"Harshal aur Deepak se toh tum parso hi mil chuke ho," Rakesh rejoined, pointing to the two boys placing the stack of chairs in the corner. "Uss din hamare Sir se nahi mile the na tum?" he asked.

Naina and Sameer shook their heads in negation like kids. They were in awe looking at the excited Rakesh.

"Ek minute," Rakesh announced and disappeared in a passage. He came within a minute with a man in his fifties, dressed in a tucked in checked shirt and trousers. "Yeh hamare Sir hai, Pradhan Sir. Aur Sir, yeh meri beti hai Naina... aur yeh mera damaad Sameer..." he repeated.

"Arey Wah! Bahot khushi tumse milkar Naina," Mr. Pradhan exclaimed, smiling, "bahot achchha likhti ho tum... aisehi likhte rahna..."

Naina thanked him with a smiling gesture, now slightly embarrassed thinking how many people in this library know about her writing. But then Papa had already cleared it to her, that she is his daughter and he wouldn't stop raving about her. She only glanced at Rakesh, who was smiling ear to ear.

"Aur aapka bhi tv show dekha maine Sameerji," Mr. Pradhan added, "achchha kaam karte hai aap."

Sameer was surprised to receive the comment. Amidst all the praise directed at Naina, he certainly wasn't expecting one coming towards him. "Thank you, Sir," he said politely.

"Rakeshji, aapke bachche bhi aa gaye hai..." Mr. Pradhan voiced, "aap jaiye... yeh sab hum kar lenge."

"Nahi Sir, mera bass thodasa kaam bacha hai... mai woh kar leta hun..."

Seeing Mr. Pradhan leaving, Naina chirped, "Papa, aapka cabin dikhaiye na..."

"Haan chalo... dikhata hun..." Rakesh agreed, beaming with happiness. He instructed Deepak to take care of the rest and guided Naina-Sameer to the first floor. They all were in a rush on Saturday, having to leave soon as the event was concluded. But Rakesh was pleasantly surprised to see them visiting again.

Naina was keenly noticing every nook and corner of the building. The shelves, the books, the tables, the chairs, magazines, newspapers... it all fascinated her. Sameer peeked at her and only chuckled.

She was just her papa's child.

"Idhar..." Rakesh guided them towards a glass cabin, opening it, he grabbed Naina's wrist. "Naina... aa yahan baith..." He held her from shoulders and made her sit on his rolling chair.

"Papa, yeh aapki kursi hai..." Naina resisted, trying to get up.

"Arey baith!! Mai kaunsa Pradhanmantri hun..." he commented, grinning and offering Sameer the wooden chair to sit. "Bass, yahi chhota sa cabin hai mera..."

"Kitna achchha cabin hai Papa..." Naina voiced, having a quick glance around the cabin.

"Tum dono thodi der baitho, mai ek-do kaam khatm karke aata hun..." Rakesh said and left the cabin with a register in hand.

Naina observed his cabin carefully now. There were two of his personal books kept in the wooden rack behind, so that he could read them whenever he had time. The pen stand contained two pens she had given to him. There was a small Lord Ganesh idol at the corner of the table and a photo clicked on his birthday with all his children in a single frame, framed nicely and placed beside the idol. She picked the frame and smiled widely, the emotion of happiness overpowering her. There was his personal touch to everything here.

Her gaze landed on the steel nameplate and she was stilled. Keeping the frame at its place, she picked the nameplate, stroking her fingers on her father's name embossed on it. A lone tear threatened to fall from her eyes and she quickly wiped it with her index finger.

"Oh hello Madam!!! Kya hua tumhe?" Sameer walked towards her, raising her chin up.

Naina smiled amidst the heavy flow of emotions, "tum jaante ho Sameer? Yeh cabin... yeh nameplate papa ke liye kitne maayne rakhte hai... yeh unka sapna tha jo school mein kabhi poora nahi ho saka..."

Taking one of her hands in his and rubbing it, Sameer sat on the wooden table. "Shayad mai iske pichhe ki kahani jaanta hun..." he mumbled, lowering his head.

Their eyes met for a few seconds and a series of bitter memories flashed through Naina's eyes.

The duo turned their heads to see Rakesh finishing his tasks through the glass door. He had rhythm in his walk as he moved from the study tables and collected the unkept books on a table in the centre. He sorted all the books and wrote something in the register after checking its first page. Putting the books back to the shelves one by one, Rakesh moved smoothly all across the floor. But one thing which was common in all of his tasks was the beaming smile on his lips.

"Papa ko itna khush kabhi nahi dekha maine..." Naina said, overwhelmed but still smiling. There was no place for any bad memory now.

Sameer's eyes travelled as his father-in-law motioned across the floor. "Haan... apni manpasand jagah khade hai... apna manpasand kaam kar rahe hai... khush kyun nahi honge..."

Naina heaved and leaned on his arm, her eyes couldn't leave her father and the grin on his face.

Meanwhile, Sameer dwelled on his own statement, on his comment on Papa's happiness. It took him back to that teenager in the bus, where all he wanted was to pursue something that gave him happiness.

There was a time when Sameer had persuaded Naina to give up on CA and focus on writing. Because her happiness lay there.

Where did his own happiness lie?

Till two months ago, he assumed it was in acting but not after he started working as an AD. The tasks like discussing the scenes, shot division, camera placements and angles, conducting the shoot smoothly and to solve people's problems. He cherished doing these things and it challenged his belief.

His contract was about to end in two weeks and he had no word yet about its extension. What was he supposed to do after that? Go back to auditions as Naina said? He had seen the hope in her eyes. He had seen her dreaming about him becoming a successful hero. And not just her, there were his mother, Munna, Pandit and Chachaji dreaming about the same.

These many people's happiness relied on him. Could he rely on this industry's behaviour?

What was he going to choose?

His own happiness? Or others' happiness?

****

26th April, 1997

"Thank you, Preeti!! Mai yahi hairstyle rakhkar ghar ja rahi hu... patidev dekhenge toh phirse lattu ho jayenge!!" Rohini, one of the artists on the set of AK films, expressed, winking at Preeti at the end.

"Welcome!!" Preeti grinned, squeezing her shoulders.

Getting up from the chair, Rohini hugged Preeti tightly and asked for her phone number. Preeti recited her number, failing to behave subtly and to contain her excitement till Rohini left.

"Thank you Bhagwanji..." Preeti nearly screamed the moment the make-up room door was shut. She jumped on her heels, flashing poses in front of the mirror, which was decked by a series of bulbs to provide enough lighting.

Her day-off at the parlour and Sameer asking for one more assignment on the same day. What a coincidence!!!

This time she was asked to do the hairstyles of the supporting actors on the show as they needed extra man-power in the Hair & Make-up department. When she came on the set, she perceived it to be some sort of function to be shot and hence more people were drawn in as part of the guests, requiring to be decked in good clothes and hairstyles. She crossed the 50 metre distance from the make-up rooms to the set with desperate steps, observing the surroundings and the downing Sun on the west.

"Cut!! Okay it's good... we're done for the day I guess... so pack up!!" Preeti heard the director announcing on the set.

Within the next few minutes, the quietude turned into a rush of people all over the set— actors running to their make-up rooms, the crew dismantling the setup and other people just running here and there. So earlier it was pack-up for the guest actors and now it was pack-up for everyone, Preeti mused.

Her eyes scanned the whole set and landed on a man talking to the director, nodding in between and glancing on the sheets in his hands. The director left and other two boys surrounded the man, now he was instructing them and they were nodding. After waiting for the whole 10 minutes, the boys dispersed and Preeti finally approached him.

"Kya baat hai jijaji!! Aap toh hamesha hi logon se gheere rehte hai... haan bass pehle ladkiyaan aap ke ird gird rehti thi... ab ladke rehte hai!!" Preeti teased Sameer, scrunching her nose at last.

Sameer chuckled, shaking his head, "kya baat hai saali sahiba!! Badi khush lag rahi hai aap... kaisa raha aapka din?" he asked.

"Ekdum badhiya!!" Preeti bounced on her heels while throwing her hands in the air, causing Sameer to retreat a little.

He maintained an arm's distance to save himself from exuberant Preeti.

"Mujhe toh bada maza aaya aaj... kya duniya hai yeh... Mai toh pagal ho jaaun..." Preeti exclaimed, revered by the glittery environment on the set with the function backdrop.

Sameer smiled at her enthusiasm while she still watched the set with wide eyes. He knew the person standing in front of him was a filmy sister of his filmy wife, a diehard fan of Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan and completely smitten by this glamour world like every girl of her age.

"Tumhe pasand aayi yeh jagah?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Bahootttt!!!" Preeti avowed. "Kash jijajii... kash aapne mujhse pehle puchha hota..."

"Matlab?"

"Matlab kash mere parlor join karne se pehle maine yeh duniya dekhi hoti... toh main bhi shayad kisi production house mein hairstylist ka kaam karti..." she opened.

Hasn't she always dreamt of styling Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor?

Hasn't she always imitated the heroines' hairstyles flipping through those film and fashion magazines?

And she experienced this strong pull again when three artists on this set complimented her for her styling, and two of them took her number.

"Sirf ek din ka assignment karna alag baat hai Preeti... warna yaha lambi-lambi shifts chalti hai..."

Preeti's smile dwindled, she pursed her lips, "haan lekin phir bhi... agar yeh rasta mujhe pehle pata chalta, toh mai Shubhamji se baat karke kuchh na kuchh manage zaroor kar leti..."

"Nahi Preeti," Sameer said, softening his tone, "tum jitni sochti ho utni fairytale jaisi bhi nahi hai yeh industry... isme kayi saari buraiyaan bhi hai..."

"Matlab? Mai samjhi nahi jijaji..." Preeti calmed down from her euphoric state.

"Iss industry mein abhibhi backstage artists ke talent ki kadr nahi hai... jo paise yahan ke crew ko milte hai, woh bahot kam hai Preeti..."

"Haan lekin experience toh milta hi hoga na? Mai parlour mein kaam experience ke liye hi toh kar rahi hu..."

"Experience milta hai, lekin yahan exploitation bahot jyada hota hai... 12-12 ghanto ki shift laga dete hai... hamare hair didi ko dekhkar mai sochta hun ki yaar woh kaise manage karti hogi sab..." he huffed.

Preeti's eyes lowered, her smile faded long back. She kept playing with the strap of her purse, not understanding what to say next.

"Ek baat kahu Preeti? Bura toh nahi maanogi?" Sameer voiced.

Preeti looked up and nodded gleefully. She would never mind anything coming from her favorite jijaji.

"Tum apna parlor ka kaam hi continue rakho... mujhe Naina ne bataya tumhe achchhe paise mil rahe hai wahan..."

"Ji Jijaji... aur sorry mai kuchh jyada hi excite ho gayi thi..." she grimaced, feeling a little embarrassed.

Sameer smiled at her innocent confession. He didn't want to demotivate her, but he felt this need to protect her from the ugly reality of this field.

"Mai tumse waada karta hu Preeti... jis din mujhe lagega yahan hairstylists ko unke talent ke hisaab se paise mil rahe hai, uss din mai khud tumhe iss industry mein lekar aaunga... Mai tumhare aur Naina ke talent ko kisi ko kam aankne nahi dunga..."

The words hit Preeti straight to her heart. Her eyes glistened with sheer respect and pride for the man standing in front of her. If he promised he would, then he would. She had no doubt about that. Her heart was filled with happiness that reflected in her eyes and smile. Today was indeed a great day for her.

"Aapne itna keh diya na Jijaji, mere liye yahi bahot hai..." she beamed in contentment.

"Hi Sameer..." A boy approached Sameer and Preeti stood quiet in her place.

"Hey Vishal, aaj yahan?" Sameer questioned, shaking hands with the boy. He must be 4-5 years older than him.

"Haan kuchh kaam se aaya tha," Vishal replied. "Sunn, 2 tarikh ko free hai tu?"

"Haan... free hu..." Sameer shrugged. Apparently he had no work at all after 30th.

"Toh AK Films ke office aa jana... Aruna ma'am ne bulaya hai..."

"Aruna Ma'am ne? Kyon?"

"Pata nahi... shayad cheque lene ke liye bulaya hoga..." Vishal informed, checking his watch and excusing himself to leave.

Of course!!! How could he forget that!!

Sameer sighed heavily hearing the information. There were only four days left for his contract to end now and he had spent all these days in dilemma... awaiting the news that he got an extension. He had no courage to ask anyone about the same till date and today, this piece of information put an end to his misery.

"Umm... jijaji... mai chalti hun..." Preeti drew his attention.

"Ek minute, akele hi jaogi ghar?" Sameer asked, frowning.

"Haan," Preeti shrugged.

"Ruko... sath mein hi chalte hai..." Sameer stated after having a look at the set. "Tum thodi der make-up room mein baitho, mai kuchh kaam nipta leta hun thike?"

"Rohit!!!" He called a boy, pointing his index finger at Preeti first and then moving his hand as if writing something in the air.

Preeti got that he was asking the boy to get her cheque.

Sameer excused himself and got engaged in his remaining tasks. But halfheartedly. He couldn't pay his full attention to whatever he was doing, losing his focus at times.

All he was worried about was... what was he going to do next?

*****

Naina was sitting on the sofa, lost into thinking and alone at home. Her legs were folded on one side; turning back, she crossed her hands on the backrest of the sofa and rested her chin on the back of her palm.

The main door was left ajar, and so was the balcony door, letting the evening sun rays peek in.

After returning from the office slightly later than the usual half day timing, she still had much time in hand before Papa returns from the Library. But she didn't feel like doing any chores... she felt like doing nothing... absolutely nothing... which she did... by only changing her positions from lying down on the sofa, to sitting still, to pace in the room and to again sit quietly and pensive.

She wasn't aware that when she would pack her bag at 1:30pm to leave for home, she would be greeted with a small surprise by her colleagues. There were only four days left for her articleship to end and since her last working day was a regular working day, her coworkers decided to give her a farewell today, on a Saturday.

It wasn't much... just a samosa party with chips and cold drinks... however, everybody stayed in... including Deshpande Sir.

They all had great things to say about her, a common point brought about by all that she was one of the brightest articles in their firm. Her favourite female coworkers Mrs. Smita and Mrs. Sonica had more personal stories and some funny anecdotes too. The two gifted her silver coated Lord Ganesh idol for her new beginnings and the entire staff contributed for a crockery set as a present, which was again selected by Mrs. Smita and Mrs. Sonica.

She was astonished and overwhelmed throughout the small scale farewell. She was indeed going to miss the beautiful relations she had built in the office, and even with the amount of promises to stay in touch, she knew she wouldn't be seeing her colleagues again. She was enroute to the completely different paths from them and there was no crossroads where their paths would collide.

She should have been happy with the way her day at office concluded. She should have been overjoyed with all the praise that came her way. But she wasn't.

From the past few days, she wasn't experiencing the happiness in little things as she always would. She was worried all this while... worried about her story... and moreover... worried about Sameer.

After their movie date, she had asked Sameer about his contract extension two more times... with a gap of a few days in between... but he had only one answer— NO... and with every no, his face and voice dropped further by each passing day.

The other day when she asked it one more time, he had almost lashed on her, countering that wouldn't she be the first person to know this if his contract had got extended?

He was right... but Naina was becoming restless just as Sameer. Her worry lied in how he would take it if he didn't get to work as an AD anymore.

Yes, there was an option such as looking for the AD vacancies in other production houses, but Naina wanted him to focus only on acting now. She wanted her to get back to auditions, but that didn't seem to interest Sameer as she could notice his behaviour.

And it worried her even more...

"Naina??? Aise kyun baithi hai??"

Rakesh's voice startled Naina, she turned almost frightened and sighed seeing her father.

Unaware that he scared his daughter, Rakesh sauntered in, keeping the cotton bag with vegetables on the tea table and taking his seat on the single sofa.

"Yeh kya hai?" He asked, gesturing to the two boxes and a bouquet on the table.

"Aaj office walon ne mujhe farewell diya, Papa... surprise tha mere liye bhi... toh yeh gifts diye..."

"Arey wah!! Yeh toh bahot achchhi baat hai!!" Rakesh exclaimed, opening the boxes himself and looking at the gifts curiously.

"Papa... mujhe aapse kuchh baat karni hai..." Naina prodded.

"Haan bol na..." Rakesh replied, now checking the gifted dinner set with a wide smile.

"Papaaaa..." Naina emphasized, slightly annoyed.

"Arey wah!! Inn hotpots mein chammach bhi diye hai..." Rakesh commented, shaking the hotpot in his hand.

"Papa... chhodiye na woh..." Naina snatched the hotpot from him and smacked it on the table. "Kya chammach lekar baith gaye..."

Rakesh frowned, "tu yeh achanak se Jhansi ki rani kyun bann jati hai? Aur mujhse dhang se baat kiya kar..." he warned her, changing his tone.

"Mujhe baat karni hai aapse..." Naina softened.

"Achchha bol..."

"Mujhe meri kahani mein badlaav karne ki zaroorat hai ya nahi? Koi producer uss par serial nahi banana chahta..."

She had visited one more producer last week... and returned with one more rejection...

"Maine kaha na badlaav ki awashyakta nahi hai..." Rakesh asserted, "aur tune unko kahani sunayi hai ya nahi? Aruna ji ko?? Sameer toh kab se keh raha hai..."

"Nahi..." Naina's shoulders slumped, she averted her gaze.

"Kyun? Sameer keh toh raha hai woh tera drishtikon** pakka samajh jayengi..."

"Nahi Papa... mai nahi chahti koi soche ki mai Sameer ke AD hone ka fayda utha rahi hu..."

Rakesh sighed. His daughter was an idealist.

"Phir tu hi dekh tujhe kya karna hai..." Rakesh chided, throwing his one knee on another and leaning back.

Minutes of tranquility spread in the environment, both father and daughter immersed in thinking. Naina had fathomed that Aruna Irani was her last option before she made changes in her story. Sameer had a belief in Aruna Irani's wisdom and the kind of projects she wanted to show through her production house. Hence he was pursuing her so much.

Naina wondered if she was becoming too stubborn regarding this one. And if she kept thinking like this every time, she wouldn't be able to proceed a single step.

"Agar mai unhe bataun hi na ki mai Sameer ki patni hun toh?" She proposed the idea.

Rakesh sat straight hearing the suggestion. He wasn't fully convinced with the idea, to do things behind Sameer's back. But Naina wouldn't be lying about her identity, she would just hide a part of it.

"Thik hai... agar tujhe yeh sahi lag raha hai toh kar..." he gave the green signal.

Naina rushed to pick the cordless and dialed a number from the diary Sameer had underlined for her.

This time she gave it to her impulses, before she overthinks and changes her decision. She wanted to do it before her brain started churning out the ifs and buts. She wanted to do it before her morals and values started giving her a lecture on it. She just wanted to do it right here and now.

"Hello!! AK Film's Office?" Her breath hitched due to the adrenaline rush.

She spoke articulately, choosing her words wisely and not letting them run freely out of her mouth.

If anyone, she wanted to do it for Sameer. She couldn't see him giving up on his dreams of becoming a hero and settling for something else. It wasn't only their dream. But Papa, Chachaji, Munna, Pandit and Maa were also waiting for it to be fulfilled.

She was ready to do anything for Sameer. Even if it meant to challenge the norms and put conditions. She would make it happen, because all she wanted was his happiness!!

"Kya bola unhone??" Rakesh asked, seeing a wide smile on Naina's lips.

"2 tarikh ko bulaya hai..." she answered, heaving.

*******

*sahyogi = colleague

**drishtikon = point of view

Hey peeps, how was the chapter? How do you like it?

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and guys, @/ yourstruly_nayika is my insta fp accont, you can follow it in case. I post my Samaina edits and also Story related updates there.

I had also conducted a QnA where I answered some questions about SKS too. You can check it out in the highlights.

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