Woh Lucknowi sentence tha—na haan, na naa—par Chirag ne usme jo hope tha woh sahi padh liya.
Train mein Sameer ne window seat lete hi poocha, “Chiku, tumko lagta hai Sana humko insult karti hai?”
“Lagta nahi. Karti hai.”
“Par affection se?”
“Abhi tum warning review pe ho. Affection bhi thirty-day review pe samjho.”
Sameer ne sar seat se tikaya. “Usko kaam ki baat samajh aati hai.”
“Mehak ko bhi.”
“Tumhari wali ne tumko paani diya.”
“Tumhari wali ne report bachayi.”
Dono kuch pal chup rahe, phir ek saath bole, “Hamari wali nahi hai.”
Saamne baithe passenger ne newspaper ke upar se unhe dekha aur seat badalne ka mann banaya.
***
Agale hafte messages calls mein badle, calls kabhi-kabhi video mein. Mehak lab se nikal kar hi answer karti. Chirag machine floor se bahar aakar. Sana dispatch deadline par Sameer ko “later” likhti aur Sameer, do reminders ke baad, sach mein later karta.
Ek raat Aastha Diagnostics mein closing late hui. Ek patient ka naam same initials wale doosre patient se match ho raha tha; Mehak ne phone number aur age verify karke wrong report envelope jaane se roka. Saat chalis par Chirag ka sirf ek message aaya: “Busy ho to reply mat. Safe ghar pahunch kar dot bhej dena.” Usne call nahi kiya. Mehak ne nau bees par room pahunchkar full stop bheja.
Chirag ka jawab tha: “Lucknowi full stop received. Aaj insult nahi, attendance samjhen?”
Mehak ne likha: “Aaj attendance.”
Doosri raat Fazalganj mein breakdown call late chala. Chirag ne rotating assembly isolate karne mein Mishra ji ki madad ki. Mehak ne uske usual time par message nahi dekha to bas poocha: “Shift?” Chirag ne greasy glove aur locked switch ka photo bheja—“Haan. Power off karke kaam. Safety pe philosophy nahi.” Mehak ko woh line kisi romantic quote se zyada achhi lagi.
Sameer apne preventive controls sach mein implement kar raha tha. Usne outage clipboard har table par lagaya. Pehle din do riders ne mazaak banaya; teesre din network chaar minute gaya aur Tinku ne exact six manual scans record kiye. Sameer ne Dubey sir ko list di. Praise nahi mila, bas “good” likha mail. Phir bhi usne screenshot Sana ko bheja.
Sana ne reply kiya: “Dekha? Documentation se masculinity expire nahi hui.”
Sameer: “Chest hair intact. Verified.”
Sana ne phone table par rakh diya, lekin hansi rokne mein use poora minute laga.
Gharon ko bhi signal milne laga.
Pushpa ne ek shaam Chirag ko mirror ke saamne baal set karte pakda. “Bearing quote video call par dega?”
“Workshop ka group hai.”
Phone se Mehak ki hansi ki awaaz aayi. Pushpa ne aankh badli. Chirag bathroom mein ghus gaya.
Lucknow mein Shanti Devi ne teen shaam observe kiya ki Mehak balcony par exact saat chalis par phone lekar aati hai. Chauthi shaam boliं, “Network balcony mein hi milta hai ya koi aadmi?”
Mehak ne tameez se kaha, “Aunty, network aadmi se zyada reliable hai.”
Kusum Ji Sana se milne aayiं aur Sameer ke likhe repair-note ka photo dekh liya. Handwriting tilted thi, pressure uneven.
“Yeh ladka dil ka khula hai,” Kusum Ji ne verdict diya, “par structure weak. ‘र’ dekho, pair hi nahi tik raha. Joota polish karta hai?”
Sana ne kaha, “Aap handwriting se shoe polish kaise pahunch gayiं?”
“Observation. Tum data entry wali ho kar observation nahi samajhti?”
***
Do hafte poore hone ki shaam Chirag ne Mehak ko call kiya. Usne pehle message karke poocha tha—free?—aur yes milne ke baad hi dial kiya.
“Ek baat bolni,” usne kaha.
“Boliye.”
“Phone ka hisaab khatam. Company quote bhi complete. Matlab ab milne ka official bahana nahi.”
Mehak balcony railing par ungli ghumati rahi. Neeche Shanti Devi kisi scooter ko unnecessary suspicion se dekh rahi thiं.
“To?”
“To bina bahane milogi? Daytime. Public place. Chaat walk. Sameer-Sana bhi aa sakte. Jo terms bolo.”
Mehak ne use thoda wait karaya. Badla nahi, bas apni dhadkan ko normal voice dene ke liye.
“Sunday,” usne kaha. “Chaar baje. Chowk. Surprise nahi.”
“Hum calendar invite bhej dein?”
“Bad joke limit yaad hai?”
“Sunday se applicable.”
Call ke baad Mehak ne Sana ko bataya. Sana ne bahut casual banne ki koshish ki. “Theek hai. Main bhi chalungi. Tum dono ko supervision chahiye.”
“Sameer ko bata doon?”
“Group mein daal do.”
“Private kyun nahi?”
“Kyunki mujhe usse private mein kuch nahi kehna.”
Mehak ne group mein plan bheja. Sameer ka reply saat second mein aaya: “Confirmed. Consultant available.”
Sana ne apne laptop par report save ki. File ka naam dekhkar woh ruk gayi. Sameer ne incident template ka updated version email kiya tha—thank-you ke naam par—aur subject line thi:
SANA-MADAM-LIFE-SAVING-FINAL-FINAL.xlsx
Usne file open ki. Tabs sahi the. Exception owner column bhi. Last cell mein Sameer ne likha tha: “Data rude nahi tha. Client dramatic tha.”
Sana kamre mein akeli hansi.
Phir usne filename se ek FINAL hata diya. Sirf ek. Doosra rehne diya, kyunki kuch galtiyan turant poori theek kar dena bhi zaroori nahi hota.