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(Okkk!! The update starts from the night of Rehan's birthday. So things will be a little different. Now, now..here it is!)The 5 year old boy flinched at the sound of whip cracking at the floor. He felt scared, awfully scared, scared to death. That long strip of leather, used to flog animals, was the thing that had the little boy scared. Again a cracking sound was produced by the whip but this time, it wasn't a result of whip cracking on the floor. A spine chilling scream followed the cracking sound. Tears flowed freely out of the little boy's eyes, as another strike of the whip hit his back. He was just too terrified and too small to do anything, to stop the brutal strikes of the whip. He yelled, he shouted, he screamed for help but no one came for his help. The cracking of the whip, the never ending pain and the terror had him little body numb, but he could still hear the loud thumps on the door, his grandmother screaming his and his attacker's name.His attacker, his father had came home and without explaining anything had him locked inside a room, his room, where he was being beaten by his father. Another strike and he fell on the floor, banged his head on a table. He felt warm liquid oozing out of the wound that he got as his head collided with the table. And the last thing he remembered, was that he was still being beaten. Beaten worst than an animal."Aahil..Aahil kya hua aapko? Aahil wake up please!! Aahil!", Sanam tried to wake Aahil up from his sleep, from the nightmare that was haunting his sleep.Sanam caressed Aahil's face, his hair and tried to shake him up, tried to wake him up but Aahil didn't woke up, instead he continued muttering the inaudible, incoherent words. Something about blood, some words about being hurt and some held so much pain that Sanam felt tears welling up in her eyes. Sanam switched on the table lamps, and sat on the bed. She rubbed Aahil's hands between hers and again tried to wake him up."Aahil please!! There is nothing to be scared off, Aahil please wake up..", she cried but her cries were nothing as compared to the pain and hurt Aahil was in. Aahil was shaking, shivering and muttering the similar words that didn't make any sense to Sanam. It wasn't the first time, she had seen Aahil acting like this in sleep."It's over Aahil! Are you listening me? It's over Aahil, the nightmare is over, no one is gonna hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you!" Sanam closed the gap between their bodies and hugged Aahil, wrapping her arms around Aahil's neck and resting her upper body over his. She whispered sweet, comforting nothings into his ear and soon she could feel, him relaxing. It was just a matter of few more minutes and Aahil had stopped trembling and muttering incoherent words, but slowly yet steadily, Sanam could feel Aahil's arms wrapping around her body, holding her close and tight to him, as if he didn't want to let her go.Sanam could hear the soft beating of his heart, could feel the heat radiating from his body seeping into hers, could feel the rise and fall of his chest and definitely couldn't ignore the soft, warm breath of his, caressing her neck. She felt her eyes rolling back in pleasure. Aahil had his arms wrapped around her so tightly, a possessive embrace that was. She tried to wriggle out of his grip but Aahil wasn't helping. Instead of loosening up, he tightened his grip around her.Sanam was feeling helpless. Her insides felt warm and she was melting. Melting because of the heat radiated by Aahil's body, his tight embrace. She was like a wet puddle in his embrace, and just couldn't deny the fact that she felt home. Right there, on their bed and in his embrace, wrapped up in a warm cocoon, she felt that she was finally at home."Aahil..", she whispered lightly, and tried to wriggle out of his embrace, tried not to expect so much, tried not to raise her hope that it would come crashing down to her in future."Please..", she heard his soft whisper. Raising her head a little, she looked at his face. Calm. Relaxed. He had his eyes closed but she could tell that he was half awake, and half asleep. "Don't..leave..me...I..alone..", Aahil whispered, his voice soft, his tone husky and the emotion behind those words, that was a thing Sanam just couldn't decipher. Call it weird, or call it an intuition, Sanam actually felt that Aahil needed her to be there, needed to hold her, needed to be with her. So she gave into his need and let him hold her, let him gather the strength he needed, and laid close to him. And that was the moment, she decided that she will try everything to set Aahil free from the clutches of his nightmares, that she will do whatever it takes to help him out of his misery. And with this decision, a realisation dawned up-on her. She realized that Aahil affected her. His happiness was becoming her top most priority, that his sorrows made her cry too, that his pain burns her like hell. She realized that Aahil was becoming someone special, so special that it triggered a deep fear inside her. What if, when all this facade ends, when she has to leave him, will she be able to cope with that harsh truth.Ignoring the nagging feeling that tugged at her heart, Sanam decided that Aahil needed her at this moment and she will support him through this, and nothing else mattered. 
He stared at her wide eyed, "Is this girl for real?", he thought. Never ever someone had thrown a surprise birthday party for him. Leave a party, no one did such efforts to make him happy, like Sunheri was doing for him. She's just like her name, Sunheri, the golden girl. The girl with a heart of gold. Overwhelming feelings hit him hard and a fluttery feeling settled inside him, that he just couldn't ignore. For the first time in past 24 years, he actually felt that his birthday was indeed a happy occasion, a day to celebrate, a day to enjoy."Yeh sab, mere liye?", Rehan asked. He still was somewhat unsure that someone had actually bothered for his happiness, that someone had actually taken up the responsibility to make him happy. "Nahi, yeh sab toh Salmaan Khan ke liye kiya hai maine!", Sunheri sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. For a moment, when she had said, "Nahi", Rehan had actually thought that indeed all this wasn't for him, but the sarcastic remark that she added about Salmaan Khan , had him shocked yet perplexed. Shocked for the obvious reasons he had but perplexed, as to why Sunheri did all this for him? As if, she had sensed his thoughts, his state of mind, Sunheri said something that answered all of his questions, not exactly but acceptable."Of course I did this for you! See, you have done very much for me, you gave me a job, a place to stay and mera itna toh farz banta hai na, that I do something for you!", she said and went outside for something. As Sunheri left for few moments, Rehan explored his room, the decent and beautiful decorations that Sunheri did. That's what he desired, what he wanted. Such small moments of happiness and nothing else. No money can afford such happiness. No money can compete with the overwhelming happiness that he was feeling at this particular moment."Ta-da!", he heard Sunheri's cheerful voice and craned his neck towards her and saw what she brought with her. Rehan went numb, he just stared at Sunheri and the food trolley she brought. Who was the stupid, who said, that men do not cry at small things? Rehan could prove him wrong. He just couldn't stop the tears of joy, that clouded his vision. There stood Sunheri in all her glory, pushing a trolley that had some food items, and a cake. A cake made for him, for his birthday. Rehan had never seen anything so beautiful, so delicious, than the little fluffy cake that Sunheri had brought. "I know, thoda chotta hai, actually I didn't knew how to bake a cake, so I just tried and tried and tried for what, at-least 4 times, and this one is the 5th one. I just googled it, I should have done that before, but crazy me. Aurr phhir, materials khatam ho gaye thhe, toh bas yahi bana hai!", Oh God!! He will surely think that she is crazy indeed. Sunheri was nervous, unbelievable right? Well she had same thoughts. Sunheri, the girl who loves and enjoys conning people, who never got nervous while kicking someone's ass, was actually nervous about a man's reaction about a cake. A cake, as in seriously?She stared at the wide-eyed, crying man in front of her. "Aaaww..", she mentally groaned, "Kya hua?", she voiced out her thoughts.Rehan looked up at her, shifting his attention from the cake to the woman in front of him. He could tell that she was nervous. She was biting her lower lip, her eyes wide enough to look like saucers and she was fidgeting with her dupatta. He tried to speak but felt at loss of words."You are crying.", Rehan couldn't decipher, that Sanam had made a statement or asked him if he was crying. He felt a wet trail down his cheeks, and oh hell, he was actually crying."Uumm..actually, no one had done something like this before, for me.", he added softly.Sunheri couldn't help but gawk at Rehan, "You never celebrated your birthday?"Rehan sat on the bed and patted the left side of the bed, beside him, gesturing Sunheri to sit, "Well, no! There wasn't any reason to do so.""Reason? Ooo..you don't have to find a reason to celebrate and waise bhi, birthdays and celebration are like a comb and hair..", Rehan couldn't help but interrupt Sunheri."Comb and hair?", what a weird example that was. "Aurr nahi toh kya? See you have to comb your hair right, similarly, if it's your birthday, you have to celebrate. When you can't stop combing your hair then why stop celebrating your birthday.", Sunheri answered. Did she actually said that? It was the way, Sunheri explained it, made Rehan think, if there is anything more weird than birthday celebrations being related to combing hair."Well, that was actually weird! Aisa thodi hota hai!", Sunheri narrowed her eyes at Rehan, and Rehan couldn't help but think, as to when had he actually felt at this ease, talking to someone."Hmph! That's a great logic and only great minds have the capability to understand it!", Sunheri shrugged and Rehan made an amused face. Tilting his head to his left, he asked, "OK, so do you have any other example related to this?", he pointed out at the decorations and the cake, meaning the birthday celebrations."Hhhmm..letmme think..Oh yeah. You can relate birthday celebrations with a shoes and socks!", she said, as if she had just spelled out the most logical fact. Rehan couldn't help, but chuckle. The overwhelming tears long forgotten, happiness and contentment was seeping inside him."Dare you laugh at this one! Can you wear your shoes without socks or can you just wear socks to office and no shoes on? Just like that birthdays are to be celebrated. These are inseparable things!" and this was it, Rehan clutched his stomach and exploded into fits of laughter, while Sunheri just fumed."Ya Allah!", and he just laughed, unbelievable. Rehan felt his stomach hurt because of the laughter, but he couldn't help himself, could he. Never had he ever heard someone relating birthday and celebrations with a comb and hair, shoes and socks! He tried and slowly overcame his laughter but couldn't stop the bubbling chuckles that were waiting to erupt out of his mouth."Aapko hassi aa rahi hai?", and just one look at a fuming Sunheri who had her hands on her hips, looking at him, like a strict teacher would look if a student bunks the class. And with this weird logic that he himself created, by relating a furious Sunheri with a school teacher and him as her student, had Rehan rolling on the bed, his arms around his waist and he laughed like a maniac. He didn't remember as to when he had laughed so freely and had felt so amazing. When he felt tired because of the laughing session he just had, Rehan sighed and sat up on the bed again and looked at Sunheri who was now looking at him, throwing imaginary daggers and tapping her foot."Sorry!" he voiced out, his voice rough and husky."Don't be! You look good when you laugh this freely! Let's cut the cake now.", Sunheri smiled and handed him a plastic cake knife. Rehan smiled at Sunheri and then cut the cake, while Sunheri sang the Happy Birthday song for him. Rehan felt like a kid all over again. A kid who wanted to celebrate his happiness with his mother but his mother had different priorities, she still has. Rehan felt himself at ease, free. Happy and content. Cutting out a small piece of cake, Rehan raised his hands to feed Sunheri the first bite, but she held Rehan's hand, making him eat first. And then something happened, something that should have not happened.Rehan took a bite of the piece of the cake, and while chewing on it, he realized that the cake didn't had sugary sweetness in it. Instead of the sugary sweetness, it had salt in it! "Holy Crap!", thought Rehan. He couldn't just ruin what Sunheri did for him. Though the cake had salt in it, but at-least she tried to bake a cake for him. For him, that's what matters, and nothing else. So Rehan ate the cake as fast as he could, and tried not to spit it. And tried to maintain a smile on his face. Seeing him eating the cake so happily as if he was relishing the cake Sunheri couldn't help but take a bite of it."Eeewww...", and she spit the cake out, Rehan just expressed his pity over it. "Aap aise cake kha bhi kaise sakte hain. Isme toh namak hai! Eeww.." Sunheri cried out, and Rehan just gave her the best sympathetic looks he could give. "Bata toh dete, that this cake is yuck!!""Tumne itne pyaar aurr mehnat se banaya thha! So I just..", replied Rehan and Sunheri shot him an unbelievable look, she drank a glass of water and then sat beside him again, "Aap itne acche kyun hain? Why are you so...so..nice?" she asked."Tum bhi toh bohot acchi ho! You did so much to make me happy, even when you didn't have to do this. You know what, you made me extremely happy today and I just couldn't let you down!", Rehan smiled looking at her, as she gaped at him."Leave this..", she placed the cake on the lower counter of the trolley, "and have this..", and took out a bowl of veg-biryani and placed it in front of his on the bed, between them."Ab yeh..?", Sunheri looked at Rehan who had a questioning look on his face. "Don't worry isme shakkar nahi hai!", she snapped at him, as his chuckled. Taking out plates and spoons, Sunheri served him veg-biryani and well, that was something, something very delicious to eat."Hhhmm...", Rehan moaned as he ate the biryani, "This is amazing, really! I have never had such tasty biryani ever. You are a great cook you know, except baker!", he smiled and ate another spoonful of biryani while Sunheri was confused. Confused because she wanted to dance in joy as Rehan approved of her cooking and she also wanted to throttle him as he mocked about the cake.
