Chapter Seven

Music had been part of her soul. She loved singing, she loved playing the guitar, she loved dancing. All in all, she loved everything that connected to her music. It's her sanctuary, her solace.

Like now, the surrounding, the crazy crowd, the cheer, didn't matter because they hardly reached her. The outer world ceased to exist as soon she takes her guitar in hand.

**

Through the glass window, a pair of brown eyes were strained on the stage or precisely on the girl with guitar in hand, playing like a wild, hair flowing in all direction, too lost to care for the world. His finger caressed the glass as if feeling her.

The surrounding had been forgotten. The comments and teases of his friends were falling on deaf ears. The scotch was getting warm in his hand as his body humed with excitement of exploring unkown.

The girl never fails to surprise... Khushi Kumari Gupta or say Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada... what a coincidence! If it is at all? But you are surely an enigma... a maze I would love to walk in...  

An enigmatic smile played on his face.

Rajveer, who was the only one noticing the play of emotions on ASR's face curiously asked, "Do you know her?" in answer he only got a smug smile followed by a rather odd response, "Thanks for bringing me here... I really enjoyed my time with you all but I think I should leave now. You guys carry on," thrusting the drink in Rajveer's hand who looked flabbergasted at that moment, Arnav turned on his heels and walked through the exit, followed by his bodyguards, who had been waiting outside.

**

The song ended in deafening claps. Request for another perfomence echoed in the area but Khushi excused herself and went searching for a drink to quench her thirst. 

By the time Khushi helped herself with a cocktail La and Nikhil had already started another song and to Khushi's amusement a quite cheeky one unlike their regular. Khushi sat near the bar enjoying the song and the little tiff between La and Nikhil who were her close friends but sworn enemies of each other, which was very well reflecting in their song "Second Hand Jawani". 

Sometimes Khushi mused that they will murder each other someday the way they fight, which were very often, got violent. 

Khushi shuddered thinking the flying frying pan which had hit her just a couple of days back right on her back, which was very well aimed for Nikhil or NK, whatever you wanted to call him as his name being Nikhil Khandelwal,  missed its target and Khushi had decided the same time to come out of her room. The pain was still there and thinking of it made her wince as she rubbed her back soothingly. 

She still could not believe that they share the same roof and still there had been no homicide reported in the area police station by her or her neighbors, who were also well aware of their war and the apartment they share being the Warfield. 

It was only because of Khushi they stop what they start otherwise the frying pan always got answered by the drumstick or business book or whatever available in a hand distance. 

But after all these they share a bond and a silent promise of being there for each other always. Khushi's lips curved in a fond smile seeing the teasing duo before her eyes. 

**

After enough of teasing and taunting each other they climed down the stage to leave the rest for the DJ who had been sitting like a duck since long... they moved towards where Khushi wass sitting.

"Hey Khush why are you sitting here? Come let's rock the dance floor..." NK offered standing by her side.

"If you go it will literally rock you bear!" La smirked while taking a sit beside Khushi.

Khushi rolled her eyes in exasparation and before NK could come up with a scathing reply of his own, Khushi jumped down from her chair and dragged NK to the dance floor and threw over her shoulder "La find a partner and join us. We will rock it today baby."

"Sure darling" La shouted  back.

**

The dance floor had warmed up. The crowd was busy dancing their heart out so as Khushi, NK and La.

After two or three songs the DJ annouced of changing partner dance and youth folk on the floor jumped at the idea.

All girls and boys moved form one person to another enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Khushi moved from one guy to the other. Most of them were known faces for her so she flew from one to another enjoying herself to the fullest. 

Nikhil spinned her in a perfect salsa move like a spinning top and she threw her head back laughing. Her carefreeness made her tremble a little on her feet and she ended up losing her footing. Nikhil tried to grab her but he need not to worry because someone had already done te job gracefully, who seemed to appear behind Khushi out of thin air right on time to break her fall.

Nikhil did a three finger salute to express his gratitude and turned to his next partner. He didn't bother to check who the guy was under the hoodie, which had covered almost all his face. All there were their  acquaintances he thought him to be one of them.

**

Khushi felt a hand support her back and help her to gain balance. After straightening herself she turned to say her thanks, but when she could not see the man's face in the disco light and also for his hood of expensive leather jacket, she lifted her arm to uncover his face.His right hand though immediately stopped her from doing so. 

Khushi's eyes widened. A knowing feeling ran down her spine. She knew this touch. She lokked on with searching eyes. The height, the lean yet firm figure seemed quite familiar. 

She tried to get a glimpse of the face but only feature was visible through the massive hood was his jaw line which was surely of a strong man and hopefully a good looking at that.

"Okay boys a lovely song for your partners, a personal choice of one of my friends here..." the DJ annouced as the song resounded  in the area. It was that moment Khushi knew who the person was who had requested the song and who the person was before her under the veil...

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I'd never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you...

Somehow she felt scared. Scared of finding him here and scared of him finding her here... 

He twirled her out and then pulled her flush on his body. Khushi's soft bosom collided with his strong, hard chest and at that exact moment Khushi lifted her face and her hazel eyes clashed with a pair of caramel orbs boring in to hers. The shine of his eyes was too much to hide in the hallow, created  by the hood around his face.

she felt a chill in the air around her and involuntarily shivered.

A trace of cold knuckle on her right cheek brought her back from her trance making her shudder again but this time added with Goosebumps and slight fluttering somewhere down in her tummy. She closed her eyes to compose her erratic heartbeats but instantly opened them feeling a soft touch on her left cheek. 

Before she could comprehend anything she felt the same touch on her lips, this time, her eyes were open wide to witness what was that touch about.

***

Khushi sat looking at her guitar in the corner of her room, her mind somewhere else. 

He had appeared from nowhere before her and had disappeared just the same. Khushi had been stunned, to say the least. The contact was for mere few seconds but enough to accelerate her breathing. When he had pulled back he might have smirked in his very ASR way, satisfied with her clueless state. Twirling her again he had passed her to the next waiting partner. Out of her stupor, when she had looked back he was gone. For sometime Khushi had doubted if it had happened or she had just hallucinated the whole thing, but the feeling of his lips was still there on hers to ensure her it was all true.

After that, she had left the dance floor abruptly. Thank God, all her friends were too lost to care and she had left the party. From there she had gone to the cliff where she often went to clear her head when it gets too heavy to take any more burden and she had sat there staring into nothing in the dark night, alone...

"Ma when will papa come?" the small girl asked while keeping her books in order.

"Soon choti" her mother smiled at her daughter's impatience.  

"I cannot wait to meet him. It's been so long I have last seen him," she said looking excited.

"I know choti but the good news is just this year and from next year we all will be together staying under the same roof." Her mother said while rolling the puris, the smile intact on her face.

"And I am so happy ma." She clapped her hands and jumped in excitement.

"Why don't you go out look around till your father come." Her mother looked at her fondly, the look only the mothers have for their kids.

"mmm.. ok ma..." she sprinted outside.

She was looking around the small flower garden in the backyard, tended by her father when she saw him looking at the yellow and red rose bushes longingly.
 
Sensing another person's presence he looked up and their eyes met. 

A fair, good looking, tall and lean boy with little curly hair and memorable caramel deep eyes, wearing  full sleeves white shirt and dark blue jeans standing on the other side of the fence.

A pretty looking girl, with two thick braids, in a white frock, adorned with black and pink polka dots, wearing round black-rimmed glasses under which her golden brown eyes shone as the sun light caught her eye, stood inside the fences.

He smiled at her and she returned his gesture with a dazzling flash.

She jerked her head asking him to come in and he complied instantly. He came in and extended his right hand saying "hello I am Arnav."

"Hi I am..."

"Chotiii..." her mother called her through the kitchen window and she ran back inside the house but not before saying, "you can take the roses but don't hurt yourself while plucking them..."

Arnav stood there for few moments watching her retreating back and then plucked only one red rose careful enough not get hurt by the thorns and left. 

She saw him leaving through the window a small smile playing on her lips.

That was the first time she had seen those eyes from so close and tonight again. But the feeling of that day didn't match with today. 
She had liked those eyes and their tenderness. She had adored them until the day, which was a very short time, before another pair of eyes with same shed started haunting her dreams.

No, they didn't haunt her anymore but still they reminded her the dreaded day. 

A lone tear escaped from her eyes.

How she wished...

Papa... she had whispered, into the night breeze in that lone cliff.

**

She left her bed and walked to the guitar. Picking it she came out of her room to the balcony, her favouritete place in that apartment.

Sitting on the cane chair she played her papa's favourite...

By the end note, several teardrops made their way down her cheek and that was how La an NK found her.

**

La an NK had got her message in somewhere middile of the party, and had wondered what could be the reason for her leaving the party so abruptly and early. 

But they chose to ignore, as it was Khushi they were talking about. 

But the moment they had entered through the door of their apartment they knew something had happened...

They had exchanged a look, which held only concern for their friend and they had rushed toward the place, they knew they would found her.

She doesn't play this tune often... and when she does it means... she is not good.

When they had reached the balcony the sight had welcomed them left no chance for doubts but the question was what happened to lead her to tears. But they also knew she would never tell until she wanted to

So they just sat beside her in other two chairs and hugged her from both side giving her their silent comfort and Khushi was glad they were there because she didn't wish to travel into the past any  longer.