Shaam ka waqt tha. Aasmaan par suraj dheere-dheere dhal raha tha aur hawa mein thandi si nami ghul chuki thi. Aarav apne kamre ki khidki ke paas khada tha. Neeche sadak par chalti gaadiyon ka shor tha, log apni-apni zindagi mein vyast the, lekin Aarav ke dil ke andar ek ajeeb si khamoshi thi.
Us khamoshi ka naam tha — Siya.
Aaj use Siya ki bahut yaad aa rahi thi. Waise to roz hi aati thi, par aaj yaadein kuch zyada hi bhaari lag rahi thi. Shayad isliye kyunki aaj us mulaqat ko poore paanch saal ho gaye the, jisne uski zindagi badal di thi.
Pehli Mulakat
Siya se pehli baar Aarav ki mulaqat ek railway station par hui thi. Baarish ho rahi thi, aur station par bheed ka shor tha. Aarav apni train ka intezar kar raha tha, haath mein ek purani si kitab aur kandhe par bag latka hua.
Achaanak kisi ne peeche se takkar maar di.
"Oh God! I'm so sorry," ek ladki ki awaaz aayi.
Aarav ne mudkar dekha. Saamne ek ladki khadi thi — geele baal, simple sa kurta, aur aankhon mein ek alag si masoomiyat. Uski aankhon mein sachchai thi.
"Koi baat nahi," Aarav ne muskurate hue kaha.
"Thank you… main Siya," usne halka sa smile dete hue kaha.
"Aarav," usne jawab diya.
Train late thi, baarish tez ho rahi thi, aur dono baat karne lage. Pehle sirf formal baatein, phir dheere-dheere zindagi, sapne aur darr.
Us ek ghante ki baat cheet ne dono ke dilon mein kuch aisa likh diya jo kabhi mit nahi paaya.
Dosti Se Pyaar Tak
Us din ke baad contact tootna mushkil ho gaya. Kabhi message, kabhi call. Dosti gehri hoti chali gayi. Siya har baat dil se karti thi, aur Aarav kam bolta tha par gehra sochta tha.
Siya aksar kehti,
"Tum bolte kam ho, par jab bolte ho na, dil ko lag jaata hai."
Aarav hamesha muskura deta.
Dono alag shehron mein rehte the, par dil ek hi jagah bas gaya tha. Raat bhar baatein hoti, kabhi hasi, kabhi shikayat, kabhi khamoshi.
Aur ek din, bina kahe hi, pyaar ho gaya.
Pyaar Ka Izhaar
Ek raat Siya ne poocha,
"Aarav, agar main tumhari zindagi ka hissa na rahun, to tumhe farq padega?"
Aarav thodi der chup raha. Phir bola,
"Tum meri zindagi ka hissa nahi ho Siya… tum meri zindagi ho."
Phone ke uss taraf Siya ro rahi thi. Khushi ke aansu.
Us raat pyaar ko naam mil gaya.
Sapne Aur Vaade
Dono ne saath jeene ke sapne dekhe. Siya apni job mein aage badhna chahti thi, Aarav apna career banana chahta tha. Dono ek-dusre ko support karte the.
"Chahe kuch bhi ho, hum saath rahenge," Siya kehti.
Aarav maanta tha.
Par zindagi hamesha waise nahi chalti jaise hum chahte hain.
Doori Ka Dard
Siya ko foreign job ka offer mila. Ye uska sapna tha. Khushi bhi thi, darr bhi.
"Tum jaogi to hum kaise rahenge?" Aarav ne poocha.
"Pyaar distance se kamzor nahi hota," Siya ne kaha.
Shuru ke mahine theek rahe. Daily calls, video chats, messages. Par dheere-dheere waqt kam hone laga. Time zones, thakaan, pressure — sab beech mein aa gaya.
Choti choti baatein bade jhagde banne lagi.
"Tum badal gaye ho," Siya ne kaha.
"Tum bhi pehle jaise nahi rahi," Aarav bola.
Shabd kam, dard zyada tha.
Khamoshi Ka Faisla
Ek din baat karte-karte dono chup ho gaye. Koi goodbye nahi, koi final baat nahi. Bas khamoshi.
Wahi khamoshi jo breakup se bhi zyada dard deti hai.
Aarav ne khud ko kaam mein jhonk diya. Siya ne khud ko nayi duniya mein. Par dil ka ek hissa dono ka wahi reh gaya.
Paanch Saal Baad
Aarav ek seminar ke liye Mumbai aaya tha. Event ke baad ek café mein baitha coffee pee raha tha. Tabhi uski nazar saamne padi.
Siya.
Wahi aankhen. Wahi muskaan. Thodi mature, thodi thaki hui.
Dono ki nazar mili.
"Hi Aarav," Siya boli.
"Hi Siya," uski awaaz bhari hui thi.
Dono baith gaye. Baatein hui. Zindagi, kaam, yaadein.
"Hum alag kyun ho gaye?" Aarav ne poocha.
Siya ne kaha,
"Shayad hum pyaar se zyada situation se lad rahe the."
Antim Sach
Jaate waqt Siya ne kaha,
"Tumhara naam maine kabhi dil se nahi mitaya."
Aarav bola,
"Maine bhi nahi."
Siya chali gayi.
Aarav jaanta tha shayad ye kahani yahin khatam ho jaaye. Par kuch pyaar milkar poore nahi hote… kuch yaadon mein zinda rehne ke liye hote hain.
Ant
Aarav ne aasmaan ki taraf dekha aur muskuraya.
"Kuch naam kagaz par nahi…
dil par likhe jaate hain."
Aur Siya ka naam…
hamesha ke liye likh diya gaya tha ❤️