After  three months of intense training, Jaswant was all set to put his feet on an alien soil, with a false passport , bearing the name Mohammed  with his beard trimmed neatly in a Muslim cut. He entered Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. On reaching the city, he immediately contacted the Indian embassy. They already had made arrangements for his comfortable stay in a crowded industrial area in Faislabad & a job as a worker in one of the weapon factories manufacturing everything from crude copies of Chinese pistols to sophisticated facsimiles of the US made M-16 automatic rifles or an Austrian semi-automatic pistol.
A couple of months passed, working in the factory. In his free time he would venture out to a market close by, to have tea & snacks or some food. There were rows of food stalls & restaurants on that stretch. But, he usually made his way to a shady restaurant which was in shambles. The owner of that restaurant , Nadir, was a man in his early fourties. Jaswant soon befriended him in a few days cause he could witness him exhibiting a devious behavior when talking over the phone. He could also feel that he was good at acting like he genuinely cares for him, when in reality,, he was just caring for himself, with his sneaky & deceptive behavior. But in spite of all this Jaswant stuck to him like a trustworthy friend .
After around six months of friendship with that guy, one day Nadir asked him in a secretive tone, whether he would like to serve Pakistan by joining the Lashkar-e- Taiba (LET) AL-Jehad force & carrying out the nefarious activities in the name of Allah, across the border. Nadir even gave him a long lecture on that.
Jaswant(alias Mohammed) " Nadir, my friend, give me a few days to think about it"
Nadir:  But Mohammed, there is just nothing to ponder over the offer what I'm giving you. Your family will be very well looked after by our organization."
Jaswant (alias Mohammed) " okay, give me a week's time. I'll let you know by next Sunday for sure"
They both had a cup of tea, embraced each other & Jaswant came out in the market square. As he was loitering around, suddenly he got a glimpse of a beautiful girl standing at a bakers shop. He stood at the outer show window of the shop staring at the girl.
" Yeah, definitely she is one of those" mumbled Jaswant to himself as he recollected that she was beautiful & popular in the college, part of the in-crowd . The kind of girl that wouldn't even look at someone like Jaswant when she passed him in the college canteen or the veranda. He was a junior & she was a second year. Than one day she did start to look at him in the canteen. It happened all of a sudden. She had even started going out of her way to talk to him. It was quite overwhelming for Jaswant seeing her in a foreign land & who had been only on a few dates with him before. She had kept flirting with him for about a week & the she had finally asked him if he wanted to go to a movie with her to which he had readily agreed.
                           Suddenly, she turned around & was astonished to see someone staring at her from a distance. Immediately, she walked out of the shop hurriedly & was about to go when Jaswant called out " Hi, Sophie, you here?"
Sophie wanted to run but Jaswant followed her quickly with fast steps & caught up to her in the parking lot which was empty.
" Hey!! why are you running?. This is Jaswant. Remember SD college?"
Sophie stopped in her steps completely bewildered.
There was silence for a few moments as they each contemplated the memories that had been dredged up.
" How come?!! What are you doing here? Have you come on a tourist visa?"
A flood of questions surrounded Jaswant as she escorted him to her Mercedes' car which was parked out front.
It was not a new Mercedes. At least eight years old. It had several scratches & dents in its once pristine body. Sitting behind the wheel Sophie waved him to the passenger seat.
She had put on some weight. That was the most obvious contrast with his memories of her. She was not obese by any means, & even it wasn't really unattractive on her. In fact, her breasts had gained considerably from her expansion but she was no longer a thin little waif in a cheerleading skirt. Her face had aged as well, & not just in the way that five years of time will cause. She had worry lines around her eyes & also around the corners of her mouth. She was still pretty with the fake bleached hair but she looked like a pretty thirty seven year old instead of a pretty twenty seven & she looked like a girl who had not enjoyed a  life of fulfillment. Still, she knew how to dress, to accent her most attractive features.
" Hey!! what are you looking at with your astonished eyes" asked Sophie smilingly.
" And if you are looking at me & my dress, just check out the fingernails & toe nails too", she whispered. " You know what that means "
.                         Jaswant suppressed a smile. Yes, he knew what that meant, or at least what conventional wisdom said it meant. A woman whose fingernails & toe nails were identically manicured & painted was generally thought to be a woman who made sure everything in between those two points was properly groomed as well. Sophie's fingernails & toenails were identical painted in a shade of maroon that matched her top & skirt.
" Jaswant ", as she squealed when she saw him staring at her, her face lighting up in a happy smile. She threw her arms around him & hugged him, pushing those soft boobs into his chest. She then took advantage of the black tinted windows of her car & kissed him soundly on the cheek, just a few millimetres away from his lips. " it's so good to see you. God!!, it's been years, isn't it?".
                     Jaswant gave her a token pat on the back as she hugged him again. His eyes flitted over to Sophie, who was smirking at him, her eyebrows raised.
Her eyes flickered a little at this approval. She quickly recovered though. " And you look good too. Really good. You've put on some weight "
Jaswant choked back on the urge to say, "so have you" instead he said, " yeah" &!I got rid of my moustaches & that thick beard.
She laughed as if that was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"And look," he said opening the first three buttons of his shirt. "No hair either,"
This produced another round of contrived laughter.
"How come, you are over here in this enemy country of ours" Jaswant asked staring deep into her eyes.
"Arrey nothing yaar, I just came here on an official trip as I'm working with a global company who also have a base here."
" Why don't we go to your place & spend some time together " she asked him smiling.
"Oh! Yeah, for sure. I'm just a couple of kilometres away from this place. Come on, let's go." Jaswant replied happily.
" And, what are you doing in this country " Sophie asked him suspiciously.
" Don't be alarmed seeing me here. The story is practically the same as yours " Jaswant said, laughingly.
By that time Sophie had started the engine of the car. She put it in the gear & they sailed through the rough road to his apartment.
On reaching & entering his apartment, " Wow! It's a nice place you got here, Jaswant. Sophie said appreciatevly. " You seem to have done all right for yourself."
" Yes," Jaswant said waving her towards the couch.
" We nerds usually do, don't we?" said Jaswant looking seriously at her.
She looked at him, not liking the serious expression on his face. She swallowed nervously " You weren't really a nerd" she said.
He shrugged. " I was a nerd." he said " And I still am. As a matter of fact I do calculus for fun. I still know how to solve physics equations. I like to listen to serious songs, classical music."
Sophie looked at him uncomfortably. She giggled. She licked her lips nervously instead of seductively.
In the meanwhile, Jaswant made her a cup of tea.
He laughed, seeing her face. " You sure act like a bleached, even if it isn't real" he said.
" Huh," she said & got up after a few sips. "Thanks for the hospitality. I think I should get moving by now." she bid a cold bye to him & walked off.