The Girl Who Dreams

Chapter I

Nothing can be worse than being in the oddest place with uncomfortable silence suspended around. I was sitting straight on the peculiarly comfortable couch with my hands firmly crossed in my lap. Involuntarily I removed a stubborn strand of hair from my face. A fascinating thing was the carpet under my feet. It felt like velvet caressing my feet.

"Please have your tea!"

I looked up at the source of the unusual voice and saw a pair of green eyes looking down at me. For a few seconds, I could not tear away gaze from the deep drowning eyes.

"Hi, I am Daniel!" The pale boy extended his hand.

My gaze went back to the carpet once again when I realised that I had been dumbly staring at the green eyes. I started to wonder why my Baba was taking this much time. It has already been 15 minutes since he hadn't come back. Nervously I glanced at the door behind which he disappeared with his new boss. Why would he bring me in the first place? I muttered to myself.

"Are you deaf?"

Annoyingly I looked at that pale boy again. Why was he talking to me? Maybe I was being rude, he might be living here. Then again, why was he talking to me? He wore a very disturbing looking T-shirt with a leather jacket. Well many boys around here were wearing such weird T-shirts with people's faces on them.

I shrugged still glancing down the tall wooden door and again to the carpet. There came the curled strand in front of face again. I sharply tucked it behind my ear. Why couldn't it behave?

"Do you know English?" he asked taking a seat a little close beside me.

I panicked involuntarily moving my bottom to the opposite side. I was now pressing myself to the hand rest. Unwillingly I looked at the boy and nodded.

"So you are mute." It was probably a statement than a question. I was getting nervous with every second.

"My.. hmm.. I am here with my baba.. mm... I will be going with him." I stammered talking to the air above the tea pot. The vapours of the hot tea made an abstract pattern in the chilled air.

"Okay. What is your name?" He talked by moving his tongue like everybody around here.

"I..mm... I am Shashi," I replied to the tea pot.

"Shachi.," he tried the name on his tongue, and It felt so out of place. Well, it was the matter with everybody here. Nobody pronounced my name as it was.

I sighed looking at the carpet. "Sha-Shee," I repeated in a firm tone, this time looking at the green orbs.

"Shaashee," he smiled, a dimple appeared on his face. Again I was caught looking at him a little longer. I noticed his dark eyebrows on his pale face with beautiful brown hair lazily falling on his forehead. 

"Don't they do handshakes when one meets in your country?"

I had to take a moment to consider the answer. Then again I hardly want to sit here and chit chat with a stranger particularly a British stranger. So I decided to ignore his unwelcome conversation. I took the tea cup and a sipped it. I repulsed from inside. Who makes that awful tea?

He continuously regarded me with a close eye; I could sense from my peripheral vision. His thin lips twitched into a smile when I kept the unfinished tea cup back to the table. I noticed his lips just slightly moving my eyes. There were red, like dark cherry red. Suddenly my thoughts dwelled on its colour before scolding myself back to the door and my father.

"You shouldn't keep your tea half-finished," he commented.

Ignoring his remark, I eyed to the door again. A second later the door swung open, my baba and his white boss came out. I jumped up in my seat.

"I should be going. I still have to be settled in my new home. I will be at the office by 9," Baba told his boss making his way towards me.

"Very well Mr Dixit. I hope you find the house accommodating enough," his boss said. He was a plump man with a short moustache and a lot older than my baba. He wore an immaculate white shirt with brown pleated trousers.

"Thank you for the accommodation Sir. It is indeed a good place to stay. My family liked it very much." Baba was already near me. I slowly took a moment to admire the huge house before making our way to the door.

"Until tomorrow then Mr. Dixit. And it was nice meeting you Shaashee." With the final handshake, we were leading towards the giant gate that stood fifty meters ahead of us. My snickers clanking on the cobblestones. For a second I turned back. The tall pale boy was standing in the doorway waving his hand and smiling. Hastily I looked ahead disregarding him once more.

"Was that boy talking to you Shashi?" my baba asked noticing his waving.

I gulped. I am shrugging my shoulders to deny it.

"I am telling you this again. Stay away from the native people especially boys. I don't want you to befriend any of them. We do have Indian families in our new neighbourhood."

"Yes, baba." I felt a tinge of disappointment when he said that. That was expected considering his over protective nature. But I couldn't help myself from being angry inside. It was his decision to come here in the foreign land, his decision to make more money, and his decision to drag his family with him. I knew he did not want to go back to our country, my small town. There was a lot of bitterness left behind. I grimaced when I remembered the last quarrel he had with my grandpa. Nothing could mend the broken bonds.

Once we reached our new home. My mamma was busy arranging furniture in our new home. It has been almost four days since we arrived in London. Already down with the sickness, mamma couldn't do anything. We had been experiencing problems with food; here people ate mainly bread.

"What took you so long?" she asked Baba.

"I dropped by to my boss's home. He wanted to brief me my work for tomorrow." He replied in a stern tone.

"What about Shashi and Sandip's school admissions?" she asked while bringing him a glass of water.

"I got admission for Sandip. Shashi will also go that school only. It's nearer and a lot of Indians go to that school." He mentioned. "We better use of our money more wisely. It will take another month to get my first salary here."

I had already found it difficult to be adjusting here. I had to leave everything behind, my few friends, my adorable cousins, and my small yet loving school.

I helped my small brother, Sandip to arrange his room. He was younger to me by eight years, a pampered brother and son. Though the house was more significant than our earlier house in the small town of Maharashtra. But it didn't feel like home. Everything about the house was unwelcoming. Though when I remembered the house, I visited in the morning. I liked it very much. It was a three floored stone house with a constant front garden where there were many flower shrubs. Even the inside of the house was elegant. And the green eyes were very intriguing indeed. He was a different boy from other blond ones I saw on the streets of London. But the way he was looking at me was very unnerving. Probably laughing at me at my appearance. I had worn a simple salwar Kameez. I stopped myself from going in that direction.

**Ignore the typos. Still editing **