And Love Arises Twice

The hot summer wind didn't intend to slow down even at 8 p.m. in Kolkata. The weather was in the mood to melt everything down in a gesture. Shabina slowed down her car. Staring restlessly here and there, and then got out of it. Suddenly she hopped into a medical shop and she felt her head was full of pebbles, pressed against a fireball of rage. She promptly bought a strip of Sarpedon and left.

"I need you right now. Come to Barista Cafe near Golf Green!" Shabina cut the phone with trembling hands and headed straight towards the cafe she mentioned.

Without having any kind of idea, Ruchit roamed in his drawing room with his churned stomach and puzzled mind. He didn't even think much and left for the cafe in his pajamas.

With the neat and cut wooden furniture and a large gorgeous chandelier in the middle of the room, Barista cafe looked like an angelic place in the evening. It was their early days in a relationship when they used to come here, made braids of their fingers and felt the warmth of love. Those days now remained as a shadow just like their faded relationship. Ruchit was somehow lost and then gained his senses.

Though the surroundings were nauseously suffocating for Shabina who chose to shield her face in between her fingers and rested on the cafe table. She wasn't intending to pluck her fingers from her flushed face but when Ruchit forced, she did. Ruchit was standing on a place where he had already lost the carpet under his feet seeing such peculiar happenings.

Forcefully he thumbed his fist upon the table and said, "Damn, do you care to rant out your problems or just called me to be a silent witness of your devastated state? For God's sake, speak out!" He looked incessantly restless.

Shabina on the other hand somehow got her senses back and swiped off her tears whispering, " I am lost and wasted. You knew my boss?" Her fingers shook while saying.

"That Hitesh? What the hell has that bastard done?!!! Just tell me and wait for his destruction." Ruchit clenched his teeth tightly in anger.

Shabina took his hands in her grip and replied, "He has molested me today. He tried to force himself on me. And, he also threatened me that if someone knows about his dark secrets, he will fire me from this company and make sure I won't get any. I am totally wasted, Ruchit! What will I do if he fires me all of a sudden?" She couldn't help herself dwell in absolute weeps.

Ruchit calmed her down and said, "Please manage yourself. He needs to be punished for whatever he has done. You had no hand over the incident. But now there is no need to fear this heinous animal. I shall take care of him very well!" He had firmness oozing out of his words. A smell of utter determination!

The next day Shabina was resting in her home when Ruchit came to meet her as she was very much delicate and needed support to come out of the trauma's stench.

He caressed his hand on her forehead while she was half asleep. An hour later, they planned to do something which can expose and also put Hitesh to punishment, the HR Manager of their MNC.

Ruchit planned to put a micro CCTV camera on the button of Shabina's shirt the next day when she would go to the office. They were sure Hitesh would not leave a chance to again marauder Shabina, his new prey.

With a hell lot of secret information from Shabina's office colleagues, Soumya and Karan, Ruchit planned a constrict weapon to splinter Hitesh. His temple was hot with rage, while anyone could easily smell the chilled pain gasping to emanate out of his eyes.

As per the plan, Ruchit made all the arrangements to successfully connect the CCTV camera with his laptop device where he could visualize in his large monitor.

Shabina was lost, lost in her deep thoughts where her mind was continuously playing ping-pong with two sides of her brain; one is the guilt of leaving her relationship with Ruchit and the second is to be stuck in a thin line between molestation and gaining self-respect back. She thought as she was consuming all the venoms of her sins that led her kidnapped in the worst scenario. She had no will left in her limbs to willingly go to her boss's cabin, she could hear a voice hushed, randomly laughing on her miseries and probably sealing her ways to protest. Her thrumming eyes hazily were reading here and there, and she was totally irrelevant of the presence of Ruchit, who understood her mind in a jiffy and firmly placed his palm over her shoulder. Shabina regained her senses, turned around her eyes, directly throwing a deep sharp yet soft look for affirmation and Ruchit nodded her head to send support insulin to her blood at the doorway of her multi-storeyed office.

He wasn't ready to leave her all alone, but a little boost from Ruchit still could immunize her willpower.

She assured him of a safe go and left to enter her office while she gave a last soft smile after taking the lift, ready to take hordes of employees upstairs. Ruchit saw her waving a bye where the lift closed and journeyed for the 10th floor of the giant building. Securities were now asking Ruchit to place himself outside of the exit point of the office. He let himself seated on the posh green yard of the office ground and promptly opened his laptop to check if everything was okay or not. He had channelized the camera with the software of his device so that he could get a clear view of everything.

He called Soumya and Karan consecutively to remind them about their work so they could do their work pin-point. He could feel his heart yapping fast, as he never thought of Shabina to face such situations in his life. He was inattentive when a hard shout broke all his imaginations of his past, he walked back to the critical present with, "Hello Ruchit, can you hear me? When should I enter the office with these swelled files?"

Ruchit didn't make any late to stump a sharp reply, "12p.m onwards. And Soumya, you should make your entry just 5 mint after Karan enters and acts surprised with the whole scenario so that the whole office rush back to that asshole's cabin. DO NOT MAKE ANY LATE, PLEASE!!"

Shabina was sitting in her box while randomly operating the mouse when she attempted the first trick to trap Hitesh. She willingly called on the telephone Hitesh, " Sir, Shabina this side. May I submit the projects I was allotted yesterday? I'm done from my end." These days she was getting incessant work-pressure where the dirty head of Hitesh was full of lust attempt on her. Hitesh answered with a smile waking up in his cheek while tasting the incidents he did yesterday, "Yes, Come in. I am ready to check!"

Shabina took a look through the button of her white shirt where the camera was hidden. She promptly swelled his lungs with a deep sound breath and proceeded further for her boss's cabin. Hitesh was carefully measuring her steps while his spine was flexible enough to understand that he was ready to jump on her as soon as she knuckles on the door.

Her steps came closer to him, and he stood up, coming closer to her while her hands were trembling. His footsteps splintered the clumsy wooden floors, slowly shutting the bravery points of Shabina's body. Still, she stands stiff, throwing a rusty smile with the file to Hitesh.

"Here goes all the details of yesterday's files, Sir." She said with her cheeks sucked like a plunger. Hitesh hitched, "Who wants the details when you're here my darling!" slightly edging towards her torso and stooping like an arrogant brat. His hands find ecstasy in going towards her thighs.

Shabina suddenly changed her position, promptly summing up her fingers to make a braid of them and started crying, " Please sir, don't touch me. Leave me alone. I am not the girl you think."

Hitesh came a bit forward to force himself on her when suddenly Karan entered saying, " Sir, actually…" and promptly his eyes gouged out. He shouted for others while summoning on towards them and kept Shabina away, "Leave her Sir. Never thought of something from you. Shame on you!"

With Soumya, another fifteen to sixteen members gathered, all with a pair of surprised eyes.

Hitesh blazed in the fire of anger, crushing them like, "Who the hell are you? Why are you guys making a horde at my door? Who called you? Just leave my place now!" with his voice slowly catching the high pitch.

Karan and Soumya charged him, "Sir, you need to answer us the rubbishness you are operating behind our back. You have to get the punishment for it!"

Hitesh laughed ignoring his scandalous reputation, he swells with pride out of the thoughts of his deeds never will be disclosed. He professed, "What have I done, huh? Is there any proof of me harassing Shabina by any means? No, right? Please get your ass out of my room now. I am not running any fish market that can bring allegations to me now. "

Ruchit entered all of a sudden, with his firm fist flying and settling down on the cheeks of Hitesh, shuffling him from head to toe without giving him the chance to revert back. He opened the laptop in front of his bloody mouth where some puzzled members too got surprised, he continued, "Look at it carefully, you bustard! You thought of fooling us with your bitchy mentality and all the sheep here will do their work without knowing anything, right? Now, pay for it."

Everyone could see how he tried to molest Shabina again after the previous time. Ruchit cleared his throat and explained all the ill-treatments Shabina received from him. After five or ten minutes, Police were also called, they entered the room and after investigating all the video clips from his Ruchit's device, they took the collar of Hitesh and left.

Hitesh before going with them, persuasively apologizing for his mercy to Shabina, who was still now hiding her face in sobs, gave a tight slap to him. Everyone out there applauded her with claps, as if she had triumphed over a very odd devil.

Ruchit gave a slight smile seeing her. She was relieved and truly wanted to share a hug for all he had given to her even after they split up. He knew her like this. Whenever she used to worry or got upset, she did the same thing. He could not help but smile and slightly placed his both arms on her back.

After a week, Shabina was now all ready to meet Ruchit on Eco Park, New Town. She draped herself in offwhite saree leaving her hair free, flowing on her back. A dazzling jhumka on her ears, small bindi on the temple and painted her lips with dark velvety lipstick. She could easily defeat any Angeles with her look that day. It wouldn't be any injustice to say her goddess. She caught herself a little smiling recalling how Ruchit loved her in this look and felt weak in his knees. She could sense how his eyes emanating love could pierce her heart right then. It was their first outing after their break-up.

She reached early waiting for him on a bench. Her restlessness wasn't getting any pace until he arrived. Ruchit came a bit later, choosing to cover himself in full black. From black blazer to black shoes, he wasn't looking any less than a greek god that day. Shabina wasn't expecting him like this and got totally blank. Suddenly he twitched his fingers and with that rattling sound, Shabina came back to reality. She was blushing and that wasn't an unnoticed thing for Ruchit. He also could feel his heart instead of his body, loving to stay on his hands.

Somehow they both managed themselves.

Ruchit breaking the silence said with a fleecy voice, "You look amazing. Stunned I am! The kajal & bindi though. Anyway, the reason for this special meeting madam?"

Shabina didn't intend to stay backward, she also blazed the fire on ice, "Sir, you look no less than a composed handsome today. And, you know I wore this saree only for you."

Ruchit interrupted, "Well really? Am I that lucky?"

Shabina said, " Yes absolutely. See Ruchit, the way we ended was really a heart-piercing one and didn't make any sense ever. After that, the way you've protected me from the danger was no less than a knee-weakening moment for me. Besides, I truly.."

Ruchit again interrupted and said, "Listen Shabby, I am not here to gain the praises for what I've done. I hear because.."

Shabina snatched his words saying, "Because you still love me. Isn't it? Ruchit, listen to me first Naah! I wanted to say the same thing to you. I also love you still now. I never had spent a day without thinking about you and loving you each day with more care and sensibility. I spent nights crying just for the way my abbu insulted you that day. I can never forget that scene. My life is totally shattered, you know. I am surviving with a body long been as a corpse and a mind long-buried as dead. Save me, please. Embrace me again." Shabina's voice shook when she ultimately collapsed on the grassy floor crying like hell.

The summer sky of May was slowly painting the ambiance with lustrous red sun rays as if inviting everyone to be swayed and loved with the cold breeze of the evening. Ruchit had a roll of tears on the corner of his eyes. He sat down and caught Shabina on his arms.

He continued with a quivering voice, "I love you more. After that day, I never rested peacefully where my mind always beckoning the moments with you, my heart always chanting your name and my soul sitting for your return. Finally, this is the day, I waited for. I never cared about society and even the world what they are bad-mouthing about us or how they are taking our relationship. For me, it was always you who meant the most, and of course, for you goes the same. My days start with your beautiful face and ends switching it off with a light's button. You're the world to me, Shabina. Let's reunite."

These words flung upon as a dose of spunk to Shabina yet giving the chivalrous redolent electrics through her spine. She couldn't be happier anymore. Promptly her arms made way to Ruchit's body and they made a super-strong hug as if some nomads have found a home in themselves. They felt an awesome vibe of coalescence. Wordless they could feel a thousand things spoken through their gestures and nature helping them to feel every bit of revival. A kiss wasn't enough where they shared a million kisses over a soft kiss.

It wasn't only the spelling evening that did its best but also the arrogant love that finally arrived home after taking a bitter round of this bittersweet world. Yes, love happens again and when it is between the same two people, it magically arises twice!