Snippets of Madam Sirr (S1)

Chapter 8

Anubhav wanted to impress Haseena. He thought of reciting a poem he had heard, a miniscule of his childhood.

"The night stretches on silence,

A blanket of infinite beauty,

That mirrors but life itself,

It's yearning for love."

Haseena was indeed impressed. She kept her cup down and looked at him, her mouth drawn in a surprised arc.

"That was really beautiful" she commented. "I didn't know that you liked poetry?" she asked.

Anubhav smiled, the corners of his eyes taking him back to his childhood.

"I read poetry occasionally" he said looking up at the night sky, a melancholic film coated in his brown eyes. "But that, Haseena Ji....was from my father."

"Your father?"

He looked at her, smiling in a way that causing sprawling butterflies all over her.

"Haan Haseena Ji....when we were small...our father would take us out to watch the sky....he loved poetry...."

Anubhav wiped a lone tear off his eyes. Haseena edged closer and touched his arm. Anubhav touched it back, interlocking their fingers.

"The night brings out the best poets that is true" Haseena added, a musing reflection on her part.

"Love is but a small part,

That makes up the world above,

When your heart does speak right,

It wishes in a beauty so true."

Anubhav smiled, expecting Haseena's poetic reply. He found himself deeply relaxing in Haseena's company, something that he didn't do often. He had an urge to release his emotions that he'd always walked as on eggshells. He wanted her to know him, not DSP Anubhav but Anubhav Singh.

He turned in the chair so his eyes leveled at Haseena's, staring deep into hers, searching for an unspoken beauty hidden in her.

"You know Haseena Ji..." he sighed, his breath cooling her face. "I feel comfortable with you.....I don't usually share memories like this..." he said.

Haseena looked at him, his eyes conveyed her a sense of vulnerability, one that she hadn't seen before. She knew the man next to her was AS and not the firm and tough DSP AS that she'd seen.

"Hmmm....that is my magic", she said laughing, easing the tension in him. "Everything feels a comfort when you are with the right person" she said copying Anubhav's stance and turning towards him.

"You know", he started again. "If my father was here, he'd have been really happy to meet you. He would have said that you brought out the best in me when even I couldn't bring out myself."

Haseena's heart slowed at his words, her breath coming out in shallow waves. She leaned into him, her heart desperate for more of him.

Haseena smiled. "What was he like?" she asked.

A low smile escaped from him. "He was just the best person in my life....he was my everything you know...I learnt a lot from him." He sighed, his eyes tuning into the past. Haseena nudged his fingers lightly with her knuckles. I'm here for you, she said. "He loved poetry and even got me into reading....you both would get along well together."

He was silent again, staring into the void that stretched above them. Anubhav was caught between the past and the present. The sky with all its beauty, the darkness and the silence brought out a flicker of nostalgia in him but today...this moment was different. He let his guard down. He no longer needed it. He knew he could be anything with her even himself and that was special for him.

"He would have been proud of you...Anu..."

He turned his head, the nickname catching the sleeves of his heart. He blushed red. He grazed her knuckles and whispered "Thank you....for listening."

Still grazing his knuckles, Haseena sighed, a silent escape hoping Anubhav wouldn't hear. She thought back to her life without her father. She never thought she'd find happiness ever again but being with Anubhav...that felt as if the only thing she ever wanted. She knew that as her senior, Anubhav was closed off and guarded. It must have taken him a great deal of courage to let go. Haseena wondered about herself. Life had been exceptionally unkind to her in matters of trust, breaking her heart in repeated motions. Everyone saw her as the SHO, a tough and strong woman but here with Anubhav, she was simply Haseena. It felt too good to be true.

"Always...you know even my father was the same. He loved poetry and used to take me out every night...when he died...." Anubhav tightly embalmed her fist. "I lost myself....I didn't think I'd ever be the same again", she said sniffling, jabbing at her eyes.

"Haseena Ji....he'd be proud of you today", he said lifting her chin slightly.

Haseena melted into his touch for the first time feeling comfort and familiarity in the proximity of another. She realized that what Anubhav said was absolutely correct. Even she felt as if she didn't need her walls, not when she was with him.

A light drizzle had started to fall, playfully attacking their exposed skins. Anubhav removed a big woolen blanket off his chair indicating for Haseena to join him. Haseena stood up and sat down on his lap, reclining towards him, her head resting on his chest. Anubhav pulled the blanket over them both, wrapping them off in their own tiny world.

The close proximity was electric. It was unlike anything Haseena had ever felt before. She felt herself sweating despite the coldness of the night. The beating of his heartbeat lapped against her ears, amplifying a chord inside of her. She felt the hulk of his hands wrapped around her waist, each nerve pulling taut arching into his touch. She felt herself drawn towards him in a way that she couldn't stop.

Anubhav wrapped his arms around Haseena's waist, resting his chin on her head. He was relaxed perhaps for the first time in his life. He knew then that he wanted to spend eternity and more with Haseena.

The pair reveled in their closeness, embracing the warmth of another, wrapped in their worlds of silence, perfectly happy and at ease, their hearts flapping as two birds in love!

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