UNDER THE STARS

 Despite the warmth of hot chocolate seeping through the ceramic white cup wrapped in her hands, she was desperately missing the warmth of a certain someone's arms.Thinking that her favorite hot chocolate would succeed in distracting her thoughts , she had decided to sit in the balcony watching the journey of the Sun towards it's home but as she watched the orange fireball transforming into hues of golden,crimson and orange , she realized that she was feeling miserable and missing her husband of one month more than usual.

She still remembers how confusing her thoughts were regarding their marriage.It was an arranged marriage and she will be always grateful to her parents for giving her Neil because he has proved himself as a blessing in disguise in her life. From the very few meetings they had before marriage , Avni had realized that Neil was a cheerful and sociable person while on the other hand ,she was an introvert girl.Thus , she was not sure if she would be able to fit in Neil's life and whether they would be happy together but all her qualms regarding marriage had vanished in the first week of their marriage.

Avni was not someone who expressed her emotions frequently but with Neil,everything was so easy.He knew how to make her talk . Neil could make her feel hundreds of emotions just in  span of a day.She will never understand how  well Neil understands her. Thinking about him always brings a smile on her face and though he is crazy,she had started loving him with all her might.It was not too hard to fall in love with him. He is everything a girl could ask for a husband.

Now that her husband has gone for a business meeting in London for five days, she was feeling very lonely as if he had taken a part of her with him and taken he had, her heart. A sudden smile graced her lips when she remembered how reluctant he was and how much explanation he had given her in the morning but soon her smile wavered when she realized that he had not said a single thing about her birthday. Though her mind understood that the meeting must had been important otherwise Neil wouldn't have gone but her heart couldn't help but feel a little bit angry and a lot more distressed on the thought of Neil not present on her birthday tomorrow.

"May be he doesn't remember", thinking this , she stood up with a sigh escaping her lips but soon a thought brought a smile on her face."What if he is planning to surprise me!" but with a faster speed , another thought struck her and her smile vanished. "Well!, he can't come from London in one day and even his meeting is tomorrow , so surely he would not come." With a frown on her beautiful face, she decided to go for a walk to calm down her restless heart and console herself.

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A sudden shrill ringtone disrupted her from her peaceful slumber.She had not realized when she had slept.Last she remembered, she was sitting in the couch and waiting for Neil's call.God knows how she reached bed. Groaning , she fluttered her eyelids open and no sooner had she open her eyes than a gasp of awe and surprise left her lips.

Everywhere around her , numerous stars were winking at her like sequins on a dark blue velvet gown . It seemed as if the entire galaxy had been consumed in the walls and the ceiling of her bedroom.Each of the innumerable stars had its own brilliant and unique twinkle. She felt all her worries vanishing somewhere far away from her.She had lost her thoughts among the stars.

"Happy Birthday Avni",a soft  husky voice  whispered in her ears. A voice which she would easily identify even if she was standing in the middle of a loud crowd. Being afraid that it was only her imagination , she slowly turned her head towards her right and what she saw was something she could never had imagined.Her husband's handsome face with his heart melting smile was present in front of her . She felt her heart skipping a beat  and her eyes widened.She squeezed her eyes shut and started muttering,"It's a dream.Surely,it's a dream .How is it even possible? Wake up Avni!Wake up!"