The Royal Commoner

39

Hridyanshu crossed his arms and waited outside Nalani's bedroom. He made sure not to wake anyone as he stepped out of his room, which he shared with Vedant and Atulya. He accidentally dropped a vase in the dark. 

"Hey. . ." Startled, he turned to see Nalani leaning against the wall. "What are you doing there?" he whispered in the hallway's silence. Nalani smiled. "Nothing, just admiring you." 

He shook his head as Nalani made her way towards him. "You are just too handsome to be real― Standing there in the darkness with the lone light falling on you. You are just straight out of the dream that I have imagined."

"You imagined me in your dreams?" Nalani chuckled, and their eyes widened in horror when it resounded in the silence. "Keep calm." 

"Let's leave before anyone wakes up," Nalani said. Hridyanshu nodded his head. They silently made their way to the staircase. They didn't see Nalani's uncle watching them with a smile. 

Hridyanshu watched as Nalani gently unlocked the main door and opened it for Hridyanshu. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my prince." Hridyanshu chuckled, and Nalani beamed. "How are we going there?" he asked. Nalani pulled the car keys out. "I have the keys, honey." 

Hridyanshu let out a chuckle, nodding his head. "So, you are going to drive us there?" Nalani nodded, unlocking the car. Hridyanshu opened the driver's door for her while Nalani opened the passenger door. They made eye contact before laughing. 

Vidha crossed her arms and looked down at her best friend and brother, who were leaving in her car. She had driven her car from Jaipur to Kerala for a road trip and some alone time. 

She was planning to watch the sunrise at the sunrise point with Vedant. When she woke up, she was taken aback not finding Nalani in the room. When she heard the noise, she rushed to the hallway to see Nalani and Hridyanshu sneaking out. 

"Where do you think they are going?" Vedant asked. "I don't know." Vedant sighed as the car left the gates. "How are we going to go now?" 

Vidha looked at him. "We need to wake up Amit. He has a fascino. We can go for a triple riding." Vedant nodded his head. "That's a good plan." 

*

Hridyanshu watched the roads. He looked at his wristwatch. The sun would rise in another twenty minutes. Nalani hummed to the suprabhatam playing in the car. "I always wanted to ask if you have taken classical music classes."

Nalani chuckled. "Not really, but you get habituated to humming the lyrics due to classical dance forms. I have always loved Carnatic music."

"I have heard you a lot of times." Nalani smiled. "I know, once when I sang this song 'Alaipongeraa', you complimented me. If I remember properly― That's the only time you have complimented or had something nice to say." 

Hridyanshu frowned his brows. "No, I thought I complimented you for singing 'Laali Laali' from Indira." Nalani looked at him. "Oh yeah, you have complimented me on that as well." 

"Oh, come on. I have always complimented you when I hear you sing. I have always believed that you had a special magic  or aura whenever you sing or dance." 

"Yeah. . . It was surprising that you understood the South Indian languages. I never imagined you understanding Telugu or Tamil." Hridyanshu smiled. "Well, I had a Tamilian friend." Nalani looked at him for a second to see that he was having a distant look and a smile. 

"Oh, I can sense that there's more to it." Hridyanshu shook his head. "Come on, tell me." Hridyanshu took a breath. "Hmm― I had a crush on her, and I heard from my close friend that she wouldn't date anyone unless he could communicate with her in Tamil."