4 - There with you, forever...
"Here are our five contestants!", the host announced as five girls, all in their mid twenties, walked on to stage and then on the ramp one by one. They all stood beside each other behind the host.
"And our show stopper for today is our very own Parvati, that is, Sonakshi Rastogi!", the host announced with exhilaration as Sonakshi stepped out through the curtains, on the stage, with a long yellow one-shoulder gown. The sleeve was completely covered in silver sequins, with the trail reaching on to her waist and giving rise to a flower on the left side.
Rohit kept on clapping with excitement. Sure, he had been to various fashion shows for his Pooji, but it was his first time attending one for his Sona. He had never seen her walk down the ramp before and in that outfit, she looked ethereal.
Sonakshi stepped down the three flight of stairs, on to the ramp and walked on with confidence as she showed off her outfit to everyone. Just as she reached the end of the ramp, she felt the upper part of her gown loosen up, about to fall apart completely, and she immediately placed a hand on her chest.
Sonakshi's feet froze as she kept on looking to the three judges and the audience that sat in front of her. She felt Rohit's arms around her for a few moments before he removed his blazer and covered her with it. She felt Rohit's arms wrap around her body and pick her up.
Rohit picked Sonakshi up and took her to the green room. He gently placed her on the couch present there. He looked at her with tears clearly visible in his eyes.
"Sona...", he said. Her face held no emotions and her eyes kept staring into blank space.
"Sona you're fine... Kuch nahi hua hai. See I'm here", Rohit tried assuring her as he placed an arm around her shoulders and hugged her from the side.
Rohit felt a tear run down his face as he realized that she didn't place her head in the crook of his neck, something that she was so fond of doing whenever he half-hugged her, whatever be the situation.
Rohit got up from his position and asked the event manager if it was fine if they took her outfit with them for the day. He made them understand that Sonakshi wasn't in the position to do anything and she probably needed to be in a different environment to cope up and register the situation.
As the event manager approved his request, telling him that they didn't need to return the outfit, Rohit picked Sonakshi up and took her to their car. He gently placed her down, closed the door and sat in from the other side, telling Ravi to take them home.
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Rohit gently picked Sonakshi from the car and took her to their apartment. The door was opened by Vimmi who was serving for them for the day as their original worker wasn't available. He quickly took Sonakshi to their room, placed her on the bed and walked to the kitchen to get some food.
"Vimmi, tumne khana bana liya hai na?" he asked with a hyper tone to his voice.
"Haan bhaiya" Vimmi answered with tension clearly increasing in her voice.
"Thik hai, tum ye tray par nikal do aur ghar chali jao. It's late", Vimmi followed his instructions and quickly arranged everything on the tray with Rohit helping her. She left once she was done, with slight creases on her face. She didn't know what had happened to her bhabhi but she hoped she'd be normal soon.
Rohit walked in to their room with the tray in his hand and saw the tear-stricken face of Sonakshi, with tears still flowing down her cheeks and her frame rocking back and forth.
He quickly placed the tray at the end of the bed and his feet ran towards her. He engulfed her in a tight hug as she clutched his shirt tightly. The sound of her cries increased as Rohit placed her head on his chest and pushed her hair aside.
"Shh... Sona, sab thik hai... See everything is fine", he said with certain intervals. Her cries pierced his soul and brought tears to his eyes as well.
Rohit had gone through this same situation with Pooja before and his heart had broken apart when he had seen Pooja during that time but this time, seeing Sonakshi go through the same pain, it felt as if a small part of his soul was being snatched away from his body with every tear that she shed.
"T... Tumhe pata hai Rohit... jab maine bas start kiya tha... y... yehi same cheez hui thi aur main kuch nahi kar payi thi... Us time us stage pe khade rehke jab vahi hadsa firse hua... i... it just took me back to those times... Koi nahi tha us waqt mere saath khade rehne ke liye... Ye baat pure media mein fail gayi thi..." Sonakshi said once she was finally able to, her voice giving up at every second and hiccups eating up her words.
"Shh... Sona main hu na tumhare saath" Rohit choked up on his words.
"K... Karan tha mere saath waha lekin u... usne kuch bhi nahi kiya woh bas ch... chala gaya waha se... Mumma, Pari aur Pulki toh aa bhi nahi paye the... Jab m... mumma ko pata bhi chala, family ke status ke wajese woh... woh kuch nahi kar payi...", Sonakshi's voice trailed down.
"Au... aur firse... P... puri media me baat fail jayegi... Mere fans... Sab kuch barbaad ho jayega" Sonakshi's cries grew louder as she kept on clutching Rohit's shirt tighter, her whole body shaking.
"Sona... Sona, look at me... Aisa kuch nahi hoga. I'm there na?" Rohit pulled Sonakshi away from his chest and cupped her face, making her look at him.
Sonakshi tightly wrapped her hands around his frame, tears still streaming down her face. Rohit placed one of his hand through hair, while the other on her back.
"Sona, it's fine... Stop crying... Bp low hojayega, bimar pad jaogi" He moved his hands over her back in an attempt to sooth her down.
They stayed in the same position for a long time, with Sonakshi tightening her hold on Rohit every second and her cries dying down each minute. When it was confirmed that Sonakshi's cries were completely dead, Rohit pulled Sonakshi apart from his body.
"Better?", he asked as he wiped the leftover tears that lay on her face and she nodded in a yes.
"Toh ab change kar lo, fir kha lete hai... Itna ro liya, baaki kuch karne ke liye energy bhi chahiye na", he joked in an attempt to make her smile, which she did.
Rohit walked out of the room, with his clothes, after helping her in opening the chain of the gown, to give her privacy. Sonakshi called him in after she had changed into her disney princess pjs and sat on the bed.
"Face kitna red hogaya hai Rudolph ka", Rohit said as he sat in front of her on the bed, booping her nose and placed the tray in between both of them. Sonakshi hit his shoulders playfully with a smile lingering on her face.
"Accha ab khalo" Rohit laughed as he picked up the plates, serving in two of them and put a morsel of food in Sonakshi's mouth.
"Tum bhi khao" Sonakshi said, tiredness clearly visible in her voice as she picked up another morsel and fed it to him.
They finished the food in front of them, feeding each other. Rohit kept the tray in the sink and walked back to their room. Sonakshi had already fallen asleep, sitting upright on the bed.
Rohit made her lie on the bed and covered her with blankets. He sat on the floor beside her and placed a long kiss on her cheek.
"Sab thik hoga, Sona... I'm there with you, forever... Don't worry", He said, his lips still lingering on her cheeks. A smile lit up Sonakshi's face in her sleep just as he said that.
Rohit walked out, dialing a number on his mobile and switching off the light. Once his conversation was done, he walked in and lay down beside Sonakshi, pulling her closer towards him as she wrapped her arms around him.
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Hey! I really tried my hardest to justify this. Please let me know how it is. Also, I don't know how fashion shows work and so most of the starting bit might not make sense.
Please do comment!
Take care
Bye
Anupamaa
