Cold Summer (Not As You Think)

Family Pressure

Kailash and Ankita both didn’t went out of the house to meet their partners that day as it was the day of Ankita’s elder sister’s marriage. In the evening, they were welcoming the guests who were invited in the marriage function. Ankita pulled Kailash to enjoy the function but Kailash refused.

“Why don’t you come now? Your parents are at the food corner; my dad asked them to take care of the guests’ dinner,” Ankita said.

“But I am still scared,” Kailash said.

“Now don’t start your melo-drama again. I know Kailash, but you have to enjoy the function. You have to interact with people; otherwise, you’ll be an unsocial.”

“But Ankita, I…” 

Ankita didn’t let him to complete his words and took him to the stage. The relatives all were present in the marriage; there were only the kids of them who were at the same age of them. Kailash was shying as he didn’t want to dance.

“I can’t dance,” Kailash said.

“Everybody will dance, even we make those people to dance who never dance before.”

Ankita went on the stage.

“First, I will dance, then you.”

Music got started. Ankita started to dance and two kids from the crowd came there to join her. After a four minutes fabulous performance, the kids said, “We want to perform separately, please.”

“Okay,” Ankita approved their request and they also gave their solo performances. All of them as well as Ankita started clapping. Ankita went on the stage again and said,

“Now Kailash will give a performance.”

Kailash was nodding his head very fast as he was urging Ankita not to force him for that.

“Don’t worry Kailash, no one is professional here, but one thing, I’m a professional joker as I have the habit to roast myself in every function.”

All the crowd burst out in laugh. Meanwhile, Ankita brought Kailash on the stage forcefully and said, “No worry, I will give you company, just follow my steps only, okay?”

She yelled at the crowd, “Music please.”

The music started playing and Kailash started his dance. Ankita and all the people in the crowd got shocked to see such a fantastic dance. Ankita kept following Kailash’s steps as it was a duet performance but she had no idea about that. She had been connected with Kailash since many years but never got to know about Kailash’s hidden talent. Kailash kept dancing with every beat of music as he was thinking that no one was watching him. 

After the music ended, Kailash stopped his dance and saw the crowd clapping and saying, “Once more! Once more!” His face was having the glitter of getting appreciated with them.

Suddenly his happy face turned into a sad one as he saw his parents were looking at him in such an angry way that if there was no one they would definitely kill him. He got off the stage and left the place. 

Ankita also noticed that. She was not being able to control her anger. She was saying in her mind,

“What’s wrong in this? If a kid enjoys the function, if he is having a little fun; why they are having fire on their backs? They are making him an abnormal kid, who should only concentrate in his studies and never have a passion like dancing, singing and anything else. Kailash has this kind of problem in his life, how can he express his feelings towards them? How can he say them about his relationship? Every time they are trying to control him, I wish they don’t start again here.”