Extroverting The Introvert

3

It was the 6th of December. Aabhipsha just closed the studio and waved off Keshav before making her way towards her own home. Suddenly her phone rang, the caller id showed "mumma". She answered the call.

"Hello?"
"Beta sun, ate wakt dukan se dudh la sakti hai? Dudh khatam ho gya, kal chai nhi bana paungi"
"Ha thikai mumma, par do packet dudh tha na?"
She received a small chuckle from the other side.
"Rasmalai banayi ha mene aj"

Her eyes lit up. Only three things made her less sadder in this world. Her mom, her camera, and Rasmalai.
"Me dudh lake abhi aati hu"
She said.

She started walking towards the nearby shop and that's when she realised that she'll need to ask the shopkeeper for it. But if she ordered it online, her mom will scold her since it will be more expensive. She gathered up all her courage and went in front of the shop. Her heartbeat increased again. The shopkeeper was an old man, with kind eyes. But it didn't soothe Aabhipsha

"Kya chaiye bacche?"
"Ah wooo..wo ek packet dudh Dena"

The shopkeeper went inside to bring milk. Aabhipsha internally slapped her forehead for stuttering. Another man came and stood beside her, waiting for the shopkeeper to arrive. Things were getting worse for her. To avoid awkwardness she took out her phone and randomly messaged herself on WhatsApp.

"Areh ap blue lens studio se ho na?"

The man suddenly asked from behind that startled Aabhipsha. She didn't want to start a conversation at all. All her muscles were stiff as she turned around.

"Uhh... Haa... Aap ?" She asked awkwardly and mentally cursed herself for being so awkward.

"Areh mere papa ne apke studio se photographers ko hire kya tha. Kal meri shadi me wo eternal bliss banquet me."

Aabhipsha thought for a while before she remembered that Keshav said that to her a few days ago.

"Oh haa yaad aya.... Congratulations umm.. apke shadi keliye" she congratulated him not knowing what else to do.

"Haha thank you" he replied laughing. The shop keeper came back with a packet of milk. She quickly paid and left to avoid further awkwardness.

At home she had dinner with her mom before enjoying her favorite Rasmalai. The interaction at the shop stayed at the back of her mind. It was awkward and Aabhipsha mentally slapped herself for it. She went back to her room after spending some 'after dinner, mother-daughter' time with her mumma.

"Damn today was awkward." She thought to herself before packing up some stuff that she'll need for the next day. She didn't drink today because there were two important shoots the next day. She packed all her stuff and kept her camera on its respective place on her work table. After switching off all the lights she climbed up her bed to sleep. A long session of  tossing and turning and she finally drifted off to sleep. This day went a little bit different for Aabhipsha than the other days, it had a bit of life in it. Maybe the person who's wedding is tomorrow is somehow related to her? Because one fact for sure is she was excited to go there and see who the bride actually is.

It was the next day, evening. Aabhipsha's mood was really off since the morning photoshoot didn't go so well. She packed all of her stuff to leave. "Oi, nikle ab?" She asked Keshav. "Hah chal." They both left the studio and boarded their respective bikes. Aabhipsha brought her bike to the studio today since she will go to the wedding. Orelse the distance between the studio and her house is really a walking distance.

They reached the wedding banquet and parked their bikes in the parking lot before entering. The place was crowded with women wearing sarees, lahengas, kurtis looking gorgeous and men wearing sherwanis, kurtas, suits looking handsome. Children were running around playing and shouting.
They both entered the banquet. Aabhipsha was already anxious, her heart started beating loudly again, the  crowd was making her feel sick but she tried to overcome it.

The Bride was shining the most in the room. Her saree gave a different glow to her beauty. The moment Aabhipsha saw her, she recognise who she was. Back in school Aabhipsha had a great passion for acting and desperately wanted to perform in a school program but never got the chance. Her confidence gradually decreased from the bullying she faced back then. That time the only one who was kind to her and the one who gave her the chance to act on a programme was her. Shruti.

She was looking at shruti and not minding anything else. A small smile formed on Aabhipsha's face as she made her way towards the beautiful bride. "Shruti di..... Yaad hu mey apko" she asked excited. Shruti looked at her questioningly. "Umm nhi actually... Kaun?" The smile faded off Aabhipsha's face as she stared at her in disbelief. "Me-mein Aabhipsha... Apki junior from school" she said with hope that she recognise her. "Hmm, mujhe yaad nhi arah sorry.. mere bohot sare junior the" she said and turned around to talk to her friends. Aabhipsha's mind was blank for a moment. She used to love Shruti a lot when she was younger. Infact, she was her favourite senior. She turned around to complete her job of photographing. After all, that's what she was here for.

As the evening proceeded, things got worse. She bumped into random people and once even spilled some coffee on a woman and received quite some insults from her. She got more restless as it continued. She never imagined her senior would forget her and the truth affected her work. By now she felt extremely sick, her hands were sweaty and shaking. Her mind was going blank and she felt dizzy. Tears welled up in her eyes. Keshav was nowhere to be found. The thought of Keshav leaving for some reason scared her more. As she was walking through the crowd suddenly another person bumped into her and her camera fell from her hands, the glass shattering everywhere. The scene was too much for Aabhipsha to tolerate so she let out a deafening scream.