Chapter 8
Chapter 3
Not against the wind...
Cant go against
the wind...
I do not have the
strength...
I worry getting
blown away...
Because there is
nothing for me to hold on to...
But sometimes,
this wretched heart of mine urges me,
To take risks, to
let it go...
So I can
rediscover myself...
Do I have it in me
to go against the wind?
"Promise me,
you are going to take care of yourself" Chris held his tears back, knowing it
would be really immature to cry in front of his bestie, who would leave no
stone unturned to tease him about that.
"Stop fussing, big guy," Khushi hit him squarely on the
chest "I am not a 4 year old kid...I can take perfect care of myself, you know."
"I know you can take care of yourself but I cant stop
myself from making sure you are going to be alright..." Chris whispered, a
lingering emotion in the air, making Khushi get assured that she wasn't alone
in this world, after all...
She gave him a big hug, putting all she had to say in it.
Chris, who knew Khushi better than anyone, patted her on her head lovingly,
smiling and reassuring himself that his bestie was going to be alright "pick
your phone when I call! I don't wanna hear some lame answers from you, do you
get that?"
"You are my buddy not my mom so stop acting like one,"
Khushi punched him playfully on the arm yet, making a mental note of the
request Chris had ironically demanded.
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Arnav zipped his suitcase harder than it was necessary
and slumped down on the bed, looking annoyed. He hated going back to his home. Home, was it really? He thought
bitterly. The overflow of emotions that his family displayed made him feel
suffocated. Arnav was not a family guy but he was a loner. He liked being to
himself without someone hovering around him to take care of him. He didn't like
it. He was used to taking care but not being taken care of.
Shaking those wretched thoughts out of his mind, he asked
the servant to take his suitcase to the car. He knew this time he wouldn't be
able to make any excuses as his much awaited event was in less than a week and
he had to be there was for the final preparations else someone would blow it
up.
Not much of a
choice, was it? His trains of thoughts again made him feel nostalgic about
whatever had happened through the course of his life. The sun had long
forgotten to shine upon him, taking away every bit of light he had treasured,
leaving him in a pit of darkness which had no way out. Chained and tolerating,
Arnav was still looking up to the sky for one shred of hope but somewhere in
the back of his heart, some secluded soft corner said that it was too much to
expect, he knew there was no hope for him left in this world.
She is gone, Arnav...she is dead!
His hands fisted, his eyes
closed as his heart was stabbed again with the same memories. No amount of care
and affection he received from his family had the power to heal the wound his
heart had to bear for the last 15 years.
15 years...15 years of slow
torture, 15 years of painful, lonely life. At times, he pondered shouldn't he
move on? Wasn't that the rule of nature? The river never stilled, it just ran
through its course and met its destination at the welcoming arms of ocean.
Shouldn't he just forget everything and make his life greener again?
No...you can't do that...!
A small whisper in his heart had struck the chords again.
It vibrated through, carrying an immense power, enough to drown him under the
waves of its reverberations, telling a known tale of how a heart can never
breathe without its elixir, blood.
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It was bitter; the plane food never surprised her. She
wrinkled her nose and took a mouthful of half cooked rice and chugged it down
her throat along with the tasteless potato and onion curry. She longed for her
jalebis, which, unfortunately weren't allowed inside the plane nor could she
barge into the pantry and make some for herself. She absolutely loathed flights.
Khushi had been sitting in this disastrous flight for
almost 17 hours and a way over 8 hours of the journey was still left to go to NYC.
"Bloody flight services! Couldn't get me a ticket directly to India!" she
mused, furious because she had to go to Minnesota, pack her bags and come to
New York, spend a night in there due to unavailability of proper tickets before
she boarded her flight to Delhi. If there was any part of the world that she
hated, it was NYC.
New York was too modern for Khushi to get adjusted. The
city was exactly the opposite of what she was, fast paced, contemporary and too
populous. Khushi had been to NYC several times and each time she came to hate
it even more the previous time.
She closed her eyes and forced to get some sleep, afraid
that she might lose her mind in that wretched city without jalebis and ample
rest. She could sleep in the flights, thinking the clouds lulled her on their
on their soft, cottony cover but never a hotel in NYC, be it the most luxurious,
could give her the feeling of being comfortable.
For Khushi, nature was her refuge. She had grown up in
the midst of nature, admiring and fascinating the beauty it hid in its heart.
Though change was the only constant in the world, the nature never changed,
according to her. It just got adapted to its surroundings of the urban world,
albeit forcefully. She believed nature still held that enormous power that had
an unparallel energy of toppling the whole world in just seconds. When it could
pave a way to a renaissance of the modern world then certainly, it could revert
itself to the peaceful and serene world of antiquity.
Closing her eyes and humming a tune of Beethoven's best
symphony, she slowly slid into a deep sleep.
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"Akash, did Chhote tell anything about when he is
coming?" Anjali desperately wanted to talk to him and hence, was anxious to
know his travel plans and at least, his whereabouts.
"No, Di..." Akash sounded unhappy, "but I think he is going
to be back soon, in a day or two because his collection's showdown is next
week."
"But what if he doesn't come?" Anjali knew her brother
too well to actually think he would leave his solitary penance just for a
fashion show.
"No, Di!" said Akash confidently, "I know this time he
would definitely come. It's his most awaited collection. He wouldn't miss it
for anything in the world."
"From when did he take this fashion shows seriously?" it
was very much unlike Arnav, who believed in doing everything behind the
screens. Not once till now had he come to any of AR's shows. Aman was the only
one who represented ASR in the shows of his company. He was always a background
guy, more of a green room artist who would do everything, every arrangement for
the show from designing to production but never showed up to the actual show in
front of people. He hated limelight.
"Seems unlikely, right?" Akash had to agree with Anjali
on this "Even I was surprised when Aman said that bhai would come for this
show. It seems, this collection is bhai's most loved collection."
"Most loved collection?" Anjali now was seriously
skeptical, "he never had anything that was his most loved collection. I mean,
yes, I agree that he drew his designs from the heart; he loved all of his
collections actually so why didn't he show up in any of their showdowns? Why
only this?"
"This, according to Aman, is a tribute to someone!" Akash
said, "He has been working on this collection for almost 8 years now. He wanted
everything to be perfect for this event. This time, even the event management
has been done by him! Strange na?"
"Tribute to someone?" Anjali let out a low whistle, "Like
seriously? Who would he be giving a tribute to? You have been bluffed, Akash!
Chhote just cannot do something like this!"
"No, Di!" muttered Akash, "for some time even I thought
Aman was just winding me up! But no, that's not what it's like. He is seriously
coming for this show! I bet!"
Anjali was really doubtful. Who in this world deserved
such an honour that the mighty, great Arnav Singh Raizada himself would pay a
tribute to. "What's the show's date?" she asked uncertainly.
"4 April," Akash replied only to gasp in surprise, "Bhai
has organized a show on 4 of April?"
"4 April," Anjali smiled, "Marks 15 years!"
"But, Di! He never does anything on 4 of April!" Akash
knew his brother and his schedules and important dates of his life only too
well, "He spends it alone..."
"I know...he spends it alone!" she replied, smiling, "but
probably, he wants to spend it with us!" she winked.
It was a moment for whole of the Raizadas to shout in
glee...finally, after years of prayers probably God was close to granting their
wish.
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Arnav was going through the last minute preparations of
the event. He had to finish this before he boarded his flight because after he
had packed, a strange thought had occurred to him. He could never do this at
home. It would ruin everything. Hence, in a hurry, he had delayed his departure
and sat to work, making changes and fixing minute glitches in the big event
that was on the verge of being hosted.
"No, Aman, just do it as I say. The banner behind the
stage has to be like this! I don't care what people think about it, alright?"
"Sir, but, it is the biggest show of AR till date...I mean
a banner like this would be..." Aman was scandalized that ASR had told him
something ridiculous to write.
"So what? So what's if this our biggest show?" Arnav
hissed into the phone, "this is my show, Aman. My most awaited show! It will be
just the way I want it to be! I am working on this for 8 damn years and I don't
want anything to mess up in this event, do you understand?"
Aman gulped. ASR wasn't this particular for any show that
happened in the history of AR. He was sure that his boss had definitely gone
mad, "yes sir, I understood. Don't worry, sir, everything will be as per your
orders. I will see to that personally."
"Great, now, how is that new model of yours shaping up?
Is she okay for the role of show stopper? If not flip the positions with
someone good..."
Aman froze for a second, thinking about the meeting with
a new model who had auditioned. Luck, indeed, played a good game in life. The
one who didn't qualify through the first round of interview and selection had
wound up coming right into the inner circle of the AR fashionistas. Though Aman
knew she didn't deserve to be there because of the lack of confidence and
style, which were the foundation of AR Fashion Company, he had no choice but to
select her as all the other models were booked for various other shows for the
same Fashion week by various other designers.
"I, too, was thinking the same sir. She is not as good as
Elina or in fact, she is not good at all. But she is the only option left. So I
have put her to the last slot. The one which was supposed to be taken by
Vrushika. Vrushika has moved up a slot."
"So, who is the new show stopper?"
"Aarti Mehta, sir" Aman just loved this woman who was
everything a model was supposed to be. Her style, her confidence, her
attitude...uff! He thought and smiled before realizing he was still on the phone.
"Aman! Do you hear me, dammit?" Arnav was yelling from the
other side.
"Ye..yes, sir!" Aman felt like he was choking, "Sorry, I
just got a fax so was distracted for a moment."
"Alright...keep everything ready. I will be back tomorrow
and I will personally check everything and don't you dare tell Akash or anyone
at home that I am coming back. Do you get it?"
"Yes, sir."
"If you do then you know what's going to happen."
Aman gulped in fear, "ye...yes sir! I won't tell anyone."
"Good!"
Aman sighed in relief as soon as his class got over.
Talking to ASR was like inviting a hungry lion for a sumptuous dinner. He wiped
his brow and threw the phone on the couch, loosening his tie and drinking a
full glass of water, he made the arrangements ASR had asked him to do.
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Ah, finally...Khushi
thought as soon as flight landed. She often joked that the air gagged itself in
the plane. Since a kid, Khushi hated flights and she always thought it can't be
compared to the lovely journey on a train. Kahan
train aur kahan yeh stupid flight! Hmmph!
She breathed deeply, feeling every particle of air in
pleasure and strode towards the exit, waiting for the night to be done and sun
to rise soon, hoping to get out of this city as soon as possible.
Here, Arnav was getting totally bugged up with all the
pressure. He took his keys and headed out for a long drive hoping to clear his
mind.
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PRECAP:
Cant you see
mister?
Excuse me?
Oh, you are
not excused! You just ruined my shirt! Are you blind? Oh of course you are! Who
in the world wears sunglasses at night!
A/N: You guys pretty much have got the idea of what's going to happen in the next update :D So stay tuned, folks...more comments, or I might take even a year to update the next one...
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Comments (28)
Thank u :D Glad u love it...hoping to get such long comments every time I update :D
11 years ago
Wow...I loved the intro of the ffIts really intriguing. ...loved the way u written this Ff...and the characterisations were goodReally like kushi here...and also nosy anjali..love herAnd how can I forget asr the hunkSo many question. ..lot of updates needed for them to answer...Hope u update soonPls buddy and pm me when next u updateLoving this..thanks for writingmeem172013-04-22 11:21:25
11 years ago
Thank U :D
11 years ago
:D Thanks :)
11 years ago
Thank U :D
11 years ago
Glad u love it :) Thanks :)
11 years ago
[QUOTE=spvd]teaserawesome dear...and the trailor too good...cont soon...Trailor[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPx7Wo-epjQ&feature=related[/YOUTUBE] [/QUOTE] Thank u buddy :)
11 years ago
:D Thank you
11 years ago
[QUOTE=_disha_]I love the trailor ,,, could not comment there but its wonderful !!😃Teaser is also very tempting,,, i hope you get time to update soon !!😊 [/QUOTE] :D Thank U :) Glad u like it :)
11 years ago
A v.good trailer and such mysterious teaser ! loved both !
11 years ago