उसने लिखा, मैंने छुपाया

Class 10. Board exams ka saal. Aur Sneha ne mujhe ek chit di — Maths class mein, teacher ka dhyan nahi tha tab. Chit kholi. Likha tha — "Tujhe meri handwriting pasand hai?" Random sawaal. Maine peeche likha — "Haan. Bahut neat hai." Agli chit — "Achha? Toh yeh padh." Aur neeche likha tha — lambi si line mein, sundar handwriting mein: "Tu mujhe achha lagta hai. Bahut. Class 7 se. Ab bol — tu pagal samjhega ya kuch bolega?" Mera chehra laal. Maths class mein. Teacher ne dekha — "Arjun, kya padh raha hai? Idhar la." Maine chit mutthi mein daboch li. "Kuch nahi sir. Rough work." "Rough work toh copy mein kar." "Ji sir." Sneha — do bench peeche — haath mein pen, muh mein muskaan, aankhon mein sawaal. Maine chit ko pocket mein rakha. Ghar gaya. Raat ko padhi — phir se. Phir se. Phir se. Reply? Himmat nahi hui. Ek din. Do din. Hafte beet gaye. Sneha ne doosri chit nahi di. Class mein dekhti thi — waiting expression. Maine nazar churai. Dar tha — bola toh sab badal jayega. Nahi bola toh bhi badal jayega. Board exams aaye. Padhai. Tension. Sneha alag section mein chali gayi — reshuffling. Results aaye. School khatam. Different colleges. Chit — woh pehli wali — aaj bhi mere paas hai. Wallet mein. 15 saal se. Paper pheeka pad gaya hai, fold marks gehre hain, par alfaaz — "Tu mujhe achha lagta hai" — aaj bhi waise hi hain. Pichle hafte — school reunion thi. 15 saal baad. Sneha aayi. Ab doctor hai. Shaadi ho chuki. Humne baat ki. Normally. Jaise purane classmates karte hain. Jaate waqt — usne kaha: "Woh chit... tune rakhi hai ya phenk di?" Silence. "Rakhi hai," maine kaha. Uski aankhon mein kuch chamka — 15 saal purana sawaal ka jawab. "Tab kyun nahi bola?" usne pucha. Dhimi awaaz. "Dar tha." "Kis baat ka?" "Ki bol diya toh yeh feeling khatam ho jayegi. Aur main chahta tha ki yeh feeling — hamesha rahe." Woh muskurayi. Udaas muskaan. "Pagal tha tu." "Hoon abhi bhi." Woh chali gayi. Main khada raha. Wallet mein chit — wahi. 15 saal ki crease ke saath. Kuch jawab — der se dene se — sawaal se bhi zyada dard dete hain.