Deciphering His Love

16 | The One With The Engagement

We took the flight from Mumbai to Goa, the day after the engagement. Madhav had made arrangements for us to stay at his holiday house in Goa. This man owns a house in Goa, the Vegas of India! He mentioned how he sent his own cook and maid to clean and arrange the house. We reached Goa by evening that day. The house was a Victorian two storied villa that faced the sea. The walls were a dull shade of yellow, black window frames and a maroon roof. The garden had germaniums, orchids and roses sprawling on the moist sand. The massive banyan trees and the ixora bushes in the garden were unkempt and shabby. Birds chirped from within the banyan tree's branches and squirrels chased each other down the cobbly path. The front of the house had an entire faded yellow wall covered with grapevines. The garden was alive with the intense hum of the bumblebees.

The house is splendid. Everything about it, from the rusted wrought-iron gates to the garden and the swimming pool in the backyard. This is the house I'd want to live in.

The preshoot would happen for three consecutive days. The photographer and the other creatives have composed a beautiful story that would be shot over the course of the three days. The photographer and the Head of Creatives, who happened to be his wife, met as that night in the house to explain the plot.

The story was about a girl whose sandals are stolen by a dog who drops the sandal at the feet of his owner, a depressed young man. The two of them start talking and they spend time with the dog. On one sunset, the young man expresses his love for her and asks her to marry him.

I loved the plot, while Madhav was skeptical about it, nevertheless he agreed when I told him how much it had appealed to me.

The photoshoot commenced next morning. I was in the guest room at the holiday house as a few makeup artists applied makeup and braided my hair to a byzantine style. The creatives had selected a light pink shalwar with a white pair of pants. Madhav was having his photos taken with a golden retriever. He was wearing a white shirt and the formal tailored pants he wears to work. His hair was a disheveled mess and it got messier as he walked barefoot on the sandy beaches. He slayed every shot.

Madhav watched intently when it was my turn. I was told to walk down the beach, and then break into a slow run occasionally. I had to wash my feet on the waves and to eat some of the ice popsicles the vendors sold. The photographer gave me a copy of Wuthering Heights and asked me to sit under the cool shade of the biggest coconut tree and pretend to read it. Although I actually read one full random page towards the middle of the book.

The day was hectic, and it was a relief when it ended. It ended with me chasing the golden retriever and subsequentially meeting the young man, Madhav. We were to shoot again for the second phase of the story with him. Tomorrow would be twice as hectic as today, but I looked forward to it so eagerly. This would be my first ever photoshoot with Madhav.

To be continued....

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Announcement

It's Dedication Time! As a way of returning your unwavering love and support to the story, I have decided to dedicate ALL the chapters of this book to each reader.

1: A question will be asked at the end of each chapter, regarding the story and/or the characters.

2: One person will be selected from all those who have provide the correct answer.

3: The lucky winner gets one chapter of this book dedicated to him/her. This process will happen repeatedly until all/most of the readers, active and silent, have chapters dedicated to them.

PREVIOUS WEEK'S QUESTION: In which part of Mumbai does Shree live in?

ANSWER: CHEMBUR

Thank you to all those who submitted the correct answers but we can have only one winner.

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Congratulations! Chapter 3 is dedicated to you.

Here is the question, the winner gets the 2nd chapter dedicated to him/her.

What is the name of Shree's sister?

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