" inn sabko Dehradun k base par lejaana h.. Udhar se hi ghar bhejna h inko...".
"yes sir". All of them heard the officers.
"kuch ghante or... Pohch jaayenge bss". Sidharth whispered to his wife who was clinging to him sideways like if she left him he would disappear.
"Hmmm". Shehnaaz hummed and snuggled more into his arm as they were sitting almost at the edge of the helicopter. She wasn't snuggling into him because of the fear of heights, she held him close because she had almost lost him, she saw him hanging at the edge of a helicopter, she saw how the land behind them just vanish into thin air as soon as Sidharth kept his first step onto the helicopter, she was about to lose him and the thought rendered her lifeless.
She had been living with this man since one year, there were no good moments between them, whenever they talked, they fought, they were strangers who were just living together for the sake of pretence but she realised that now it was not just for pretence anymore , she almost died in that moment when he was hanging from the helicopter and she just got the confirmation that she need this rude, arrogant, weird man by her side, ALIVE.
"Shehnaaz kya hogya h". He held her hand which was holding his arm into a death grip,she was almost shaking.
"nhi kuch nhi". She mumbled
"idhar dekho". He grabbed her by her jaw and made her look at him. Her eyes were damp, her nose was and she looked like she wanted to cry loud really loud.
"kya hogya baba... Hnn sab theek h ab... Hum theek h". His voice was so soft and comforting that it made a tear roll down her eye.
"Tch... Roo nhi Shehnaaz". He wiped her face gently and gripped her face in a very gentle hold from one hand, his hand was cupping her cheek.
"tum..." her voice broke "tum gir jaate to" and more tears roll down her cheeks.
"aree". He shifted a bit and cupped her face with both hands tightly.
"nhi gira na pr... Hu yahi pr tumhare Paas". He said looking into her brown eyes which were glassy, the tears in her eyes were paining him but the thought of losing him made her so vulnerable made him feel butterflies in his stomach. She cared for him, he concluded.
"pr gir jaate to.... Vo zameen gir gyi... Tum bhi gir jaate.. Fir m helicopter waale ko neeche Jaane ko Kaise bolti". She sobbed in his hands, her words weren't even making sense but he understood them, he understood everything.
"kuch karne ki zaroorat nhi padti Shehnaaz.... M theek hu dekho tumhare Saamne hi hu... Kuch nhi ho rha h mujhe.. Theek hu bilkul m". Her shaky hand came up and she kept it over Sidharth's hand which was on her face.
" Hmmm.. Tum theek ho". She mumbled breathing heavily and her grip was still very firm over him.
"Hum theek h bilkul... Kuch nhi hoga". He just joined forehead to his and whispered softly.
She didn't said anything but closed her eyes staying in the same position.
__________________________________
"chalo jldi jldi.....". They could hear voices of the officers, of the people, of
All the moments because the condition on the base was terrifying.
There were people crying for their family members they had lost, some where brutally injured, there was blood and mud on the floor, it was terrifying.
"Shehnaaz haath tight pakad ke rakhna..". Hearing him she had tighten her grip over his hand without any objection as she was too traumatized to make one.
Shehnaaz on the other hand was looking around at everyone, the cries, the screams, the loses, the blood, everything was now taking a toll over her and she was trying to be as calm as she could.
She looked back for a second and saw Sanchi who had her arms wrapped around herself, looking around while crying silently and her heart broke fir her.
"Sanchi". Shehnaaz called her and both Sidharth and Sanchi looked at her, Sidharth stopped walking and turned around with the speed of light.
"idhar aao". Sanchi looked at her for few brief seconds and then limped toward them.
"kya hua". Her voice croaked.
"yaha Paas m raho....or tum bhi Delhi chalogi na". Shehnaaz asked her, she didn't wanted Sanchi to be left alone.
"nhi actually m Mumbai jaaungi... Dad k Paas... Or koi option nhi h". Sanchi passed her a small smile and looked down.
"Hmmm..... Itne humara vapas Jaane ka raasta nhi milta h tum humare Saath hi raho... Esse akele mt raho". Shehnaaz insisted her making her nod.
Sidharth on the other hand was just looking at his wife with don't know what expressions, he knew why he called Sanchi to be with them, Sanchi was equally traumatized just like everyone else and she had nobody with her, the only person she knew was him and that might relax her a bit.
He didn't know what to do, all he knew was his wife was a very good human, that's it.
"areeee... Delhi waali side k jitne bhi log h.... Idhar waali bus p betho jaldi...."
"Delhi k aas Paas Rehne waale log... Iss bus m chade"
"Delhi k aas Paas Rehne waale log... Iss bus m chade"
"Delhi k aas Paas Rehne waale log... Iss bus m chade". They heard the officers screaming. There were more than 10 buses for each area.
"chalo tum log Jaao... Announcement horhi h.... Mumba k liye bhi hoga kuch arrangement". Sanchi said with a small smile.
"pr tumko--". Before Shehnaaz could complete, another officer came and announced about the bus for Maharashtra.
"lo... M bhi chalti hu". She nodded at both of them and was about to leave, when she stopped and moved forward to hug Sidharth which made both Sidharth and Shehnaaz uncomfortable, Shehnaaz looked at them for a second and looked away shaking away every Sigle thought that came to her mind.
Sidharth on the other hand was awkward and didn't hugged her back, his one hand was still holding Shehnaaz's hand in a tight grip and his other hand was resting on his slide.
Sanchi who had her arms wrapped around him, stood on her toes and whispered in his ear.
"you are a lucky man". She unwrapped herself from him and left leaving him smiling a bit because he got the reference of her words.
Shehnaaz turned her face toward him and looked at his smile and for some unidentified reasons that smile broke her heart, she again shook her again a bit wiping all the thought away from mind.
"Delhi k aas Paas Rehne waale log... Iss bus m chade"
"chalo chalte h". Sidharth said hearing the announcement again, he passed her a smile not knowing his smile was hurting her.
"Hmmm". She also passed him a sad smile and mentally chuckled on her fate
