Do din guzar gaye…
Haya ne koshish ki ke woh apne dil ko samjha le —
"Yeh sab bas ek ehsaas hai… kuch nahi."
Lekin jitna woh ignore karti… utna hi Sameer uske zehan mein aata.
University mein aaj thodi zyada halchal thi.
Aliza usual excitement ke saath Haya ke paas aayi,
"Guess what! Aaj group project announce hone wala hai!"
Haya ne bas halka sa "hmm" kaha.
Aliza ne usse gaur se dekha,
"Tum phir se lost ho… woh Sameer wala scene hai na?"
Haya ne foran mana kiya,
"Nahi! Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai."
Aliza muskurayi,
"Main wait karti hoon… tum khud maan jaogi."
Class start hui…
Professor ne announce kiya:
"Tum sab ko group project diya ja raha hai. Har group mein 4 students honge."
Students mein halki si excitement phail gayi.
"Haya Siddiqui… Aliza… Sameer Khan… aur Sana Malik — you four are one group."
Jaise hi yeh naam aaye…
Haya ka dil ek dum se tez dhadakne laga.
Aliza ne dheere se uske kaan mein kaha,
"Wah… kismat strong hai tumhari 😏"
Haya ne kuch nahi kaha… lekin uske haath thode thande ho gaye.
Class ke baad…
Sab group members ek jagah ikattha hue.
Sana ne confident tone mein kaha,
"So guys, let's be clear. Main unnecessary delays pasand nahi karti."
Aliza ne aankh ghumayi,
"Relax, hum bhi serious hain."
Sameer chup tha… jaise hamesha.
Phir usne dheere se kaha,
"Kaam divide kar lete hain."
Uski awaaz calm thi… lekin authority bhi thi.
Haya bas chup khadi thi.
Sameer ne uski taraf dekha,
"Aap research part le sakti hain?"
Haya ne halki si nazar uthayi,
"Ji… theek hai."
Usne bas itna hi kaha… lekin Sameer ke lehje mein ek softness thi jo sirf Haya ke liye thi.
Sana ne yeh notice kiya.
Uski aankhon mein halki si narazgi aayi.
Project ke silsile mein unhe library mein milna tha.
Shaam ka waqt tha…
Library zyada crowded nahi thi.
Haya ek table par baithi thi, books ke saath.
Kuch der baad Sameer aaya.
"Aap kab se wait kar rahi hain?"
Haya ne dheere se kaha,
"Zyada der nahi…"
Sameer uske saamne baith gaya.
Kuch pal ke liye dono chup rahe…
Sirf pages palatne ki awaaz aur dil ki dhadkanein.
Phir Sameer ne poocha,
"Aap hamesha itni khamosh rehti hain?"
Haya thodi si ghabra gayi,
"Main… zyada baat nahi karti."
Sameer halka sa muskuraya,
"Lekin aapki khamoshi bohot kuch keh deti hai."
Haya ne foran nazar jhuka li.
Uska dil phir se control se bahar ja raha tha.
Usi waqt…
Sana library mein enter hui.
Usne door se dono ko saath baitha dekha.
Uska expression ek dum change ho gaya.
Woh seedha unke paas aayi,
"Wow… kaam start bhi ho gaya aur mujhe bataya bhi nahi?"
Uski awaaz mein halka sa taana tha.
Sameer ne seedha jawab diya,
"Abhi bas start hi kiya hai."
Sana ne Haya ki taraf dekha…
ek nazar jo seedhi nahi thi.
Haya ko ajeeb sa feel hua.
Jaise woh kisi competition mein aa gayi ho… bina chahe.
Raat ko…
Haya ne diary likhi:
"Kuch rishte shuru hone se pehle hi mushkil kyun lagte hain? Aur kyun kisi aur ki nazar itni bhaari lagti hai?"
Dusri taraf…
Sameer apne room mein tha.
Faizan ne usse call kiya,
"Toh bhai… group project kaisa chal raha hai?"
Sameer ne kuch seconds chup rehkar kaha,
"Complicated…"
Faizan hans pada,
"Project ya feelings?"
Sameer ne jawab nahi diya…
Lekin is baar uski khamoshi alag thi.
Ab kahani sirf ek simple mulaqat nahi rahi thi…
Ab isme jazbaat, jealousy aur unsaid feelings shamil ho chuki thi.
To Be Continued…