The Girl Who Dreams

The Turning Point

SHASHI

My heartbeat was frantic, the bodily senses overpowered me. Why was I doing this? No. It is wrong. Stop. Very Wrong. When I knew my baba was here in this house. But a warm cocoon separated me from the world. The way the soft lips moving over mine reminded me of perfectly choreographed routine. The music, the tempo and the movements all synchronized to create an art.

The touch was taking over my thinking. And it was nothing I ever felt before, not even the touch of Euan was close to this. It was making me stars in front of my closed lids. Involuntarily I shivered with some unknown emotion. It was the exchange of part of soul to each other. Does it always feels like this? So out of the world. Like you are flying, soaring through the clear sky.

And there was a sudden tapping of footsteps on their wooden staircase, a wall away from us. I jerked out the touch, we both did, stepping away from each other. The door was partly open. But we didn't break the eye contact. He looked at me, slightly troubled. His eyes wide, and his thin cherry lips parted.

"Hey Shashi, your dad is calling you!" Daniel's brother was peaking inside the room.

I nodded and giving Daniel a faint smile, I turned away to follow his brother down to the living room. Throughout the time, I couldn't stop but brush my lips tenderly. It felt warm, and heated like my own self. The Goosebumps hadn't yet subsided.

--*-*--

Next few days I was merry at home, I didn't knew this feeling before. A thought that everything could be possible, yes, it was indeed true. But when I saw Evie at the dance rehearsals, my heart sank. The feeling of betrayal swept over me. Though it had been over a month after their breakup and Daniel telling her about the attraction he felt towards me.

He came seldom to the dance studio, and even if he came, he only talked with me. Well more like a one way conversation. But I liked his presence, my heart would always beat incoherently even when he gave me a knowing look. I thought he was reserving himself, maybe thinking that the relationship was up to no good.

I wondered in the sleepless nights about him, though I knew a little about him. Still I couldn't help myself to think about him, actually the idea of him as more than a friend. I remembered our last encounter and I would imagine him near me. Instead I used to hug my pillow and imagine him.

Evie was still not talking to me, she had switched the timings of the classes. Few times I cornered her into the changing room, to talk about what happened. She would just walk past me. I knew in my heart that she needed time to herself.

That day, Evie was again absent from the rehearsals. Donna asked me to come to her office, after an hour long practice.

"Yes. Miss Donna," I asked standing on the doorway. I rubbed sweat bids covering my entire neck, with a wet towel.

"Shashi, come in," she beckoned me. "I have a good news for you."

I looked quizzically at her.

"I have booked an audition for you on a well-known university group. They had only one opening, and I convinced them to take your audition, well you being the minor." She murmured, her eyes twinkled with excitement.

I bit my lip. "Miss Donna, I am happy here. I think that's enough for me, right now."

"Shashi, Don't restricts yourself. Don't burden yourself with stress. It's a good opportunity. This group is contesting in inter-varsity competitions. This is big, maybe once in a life-time. That too in the younger age."

My baba just popped in my head, I was already in trouble learning the dance. But it would be a disaster if he finds out that I would be dancing in front of the people, in a competition!