⋆ ——————— sitara ⋮ ⋆
"HOW DO YOU even drink that?" I asked with my nose scrunched at Aisha's transparent glass filled with green liquid. "And you said this was a party. Who serves kale smoothies at parties?"
"Turns out we do because it was the only thing in the fridge. Cheers!" She clinked the cup with Trisha's and took a long gulp as if she was drinking water. I glanced at Deepika and she shared my look of disgust.
"I think we are the only sane ones here," I told her. She agreed and reached her arms out to me with a pout. We started our own pity party over the lack of a drink while Aisha started the movie. Trisha lowered her cup and began texting on her phone. I peeked in to take a look — being the snoopy person I am, that was the right thing to do — and smirked when I found out she was texting her Bava. And what she was texting I couldn't see, because I was blinded by red emojis.
Deepika noticed this too and plucked the phone out of her hands. "For Lord Krishna's sake, Akhil knows he is the best husband in the world and you love him so much. I thought we agreed on no men today?"
Deepika was a huge devotee of Lord Krishna to the point of obsession. It's almost like she was smitten with the Lord himself. But I can't blame her. His idols and paintings are portrayed that way — handsome, mischievous and incredibly charming. It is hard to not to fall in love.
"Deeps, we are still in the honeymoon phase. I want to be all lovey-dovey with him while this lasts. Let me at least tell him good night," Trisha pouted.
"I am pretty sure he will have a good night, especially after seeing all the red hearts you sent him. And if you can't see it, Akhil is madly in love with you and no one would believe it if you said you had an arranged marriage. No need to worry over something that's not gonna happen. Now shut up and drink your kale!" Deepika said and I slipped sideways from the couch, shaking with laughter.
Trisha grumbled and kicked my ankle before aggressively sipping on her juice.
"Nothing like a good high school drama," Aisha said, clapping and leaning back on the couch after playing Student of The Year. I leaned my head on Trisha's shoulders and watched the movie. My eyes grew dreamy when Varun Dhawan made his grand entrance in the movie. Deepika rolled her eyes at me. As if she doesn't drool over Sidharth Malhotra.
My hands reached for the packet of chips and grabbed a handful. Deepika slapped my hand, making me drop a few inside the packet before allowing me to have it. And the next time I put my hands in there, it was empty.
"Okay, I need a milkshake. I don't care if it's midnight because this is torture. We only took a no-soda oath this year. Not a milkshake ban!" I complained, pausing the movie. "Deeps, can we order something?"
"Why didn't I think of that before you?" she asked, pulling out her phone and opening the app.
"You are acting exactly like the actresses in those TV serials, you know that right?" Aisha asked.
"Yes, of course. You do a good job reminding me that every single day, thank you very much," I said, sticking out my tongue and picking out my order on Deeps' phone.
"Can we resume the movie now?" Trisha asked, giving us a bored look. I pressed play and we all nestled together again. A few minutes later, my head was on Trisha's lap and my legs were stretched out on the floor diagonally. Deeps balanced her head on my thigh and was laying horizontally, her legs over Aisha's. Pillows were conjured out of nowhere and were stuck in between Aisha's head and the couch seat she was leaning on.
"Oh my god, did you see his face when she said that?" Trisha cracked up, "Poor guy!"
"And hold on, I saw those exact shoes in the mall that day!" Aisha said, pausing the movie and pointing at it. "I'm going to buy it the next time I go there. I doubt if the salespersons themselves know about this."
I rolled my eyes. Of course. The last time, Aisha had claimed she had spotted the exact saree that Deepika Padukone had worn in Chennai Express in a store. The truth was that it wasn't even close to the original one, except the colour. And there are a million sarees that are orange and blue shaded.
But her obsession with recreating celebrity looks never died despite her blind mishaps. I had to give it to her for that.
The doorbell rang and I scrambled to answer it.
"Argh," Deepika cursed when her head slipped onto the floor with a thud. My eyes widened and I gave her a sheepish grin before I ran to the door and opened it.
"Deepika Agarwal?" The man asked, his head bent low as he typed something on his phone. I was pretty sure my eyes turned the size of two golf balls.
When I didn't answer, he looked up at me with that same curious dark eyes I had loved staring into two weeks back. I watched them round when he saw me, his lips parting in surprise and his hands stopping midway. "Sitara?"
"You remember my name."
"Of course I do," He smiled, and I bit my lip to stop making any comments that I would probably regret later. "You live here too?"
I shook my head. "You know where I live," I said and he waited for my next words, "It's just my friend's. We were having a small party-like thing." I waved my hands awkwardly.
He nodded in understanding and then nudged my fingers with the milkshake cups. I took them but then I couldn't help but wish I could spend a few more minutes talking to him.
"Tara, did the delivery man kill you or something?" I heard Deeps holler from the living room and I cursed under my breath.
"Um, can you wait here for a bit?" I asked with hesitance. But he didn't show the least bit of it when he nodded immediately. I speed-walked to the room, almost tripping over the carpet in excitement.
I gave the cup labeled as double-chocolate to Deepika and she raised her eyebrows. "Why are you blushing like an idiot?"
"You guys continue without me. I-I have... something to do," I said, searching for my discarded cardigan.
"Where are you going in the middle of the night?" Aisha asked.
I grinned and waved for them to come closer. I whispered with a gleam in my eyes, "Remember the guy I told you about? The delivery man?"
"Who looked more handsome than Hrithik Roshan?" Trisha asked dryly and I nodded. "That was the insult of the century, by the way. I am never forgiving you for that."
"Um, maybe not so much but he is cute, and really really handsome, okay?" I told them, "I even tried ordering milkshakes two other days, hoping he would come but he never did. I thought I'll never see him again and now he is standing behind that door. This is fate, don't you think?"
Aisha's eyes widened and exchanged glances with the others. Then all of them stood up and rushed to the door, pushing me back onto the couch.
Not these dumbos ruining the one man I actually have a chance with.
⋆ ——————— shaurya ⋮ ⋆
When the door opened, I expected Sitara to come out but instead three women stared at me. "Um..." I shifted in my place, uncomfortable with the attention.
"You are the one Tara was gushing about for a week?" The brown-haired woman asked. She had a piercing on her nose.
"Her taste isn't half bad," Another one remarked and I suddenly wanted to get the hell out of that place. If it wasn't for Sitara's head squeezing under her friend's arms, I would have fled.
"Don't scare him away," She told them and pushed them back into the flat, shutting the door on their faces. "I am really sorry. They are annoying!"
"I can see that," I said, taking in her appearance all over again. She had a beige cardigan over the black top she had shown up with previously. She was wearing loose pajama shorts that showed off her sleek legs and I made sure my eyes never lingered on her skin longer than two seconds. I didn't want her to catch me staring and think of me as a pervert.
"Do you have to be — "
"Somewhere? No," I answered before she could complete her sentence and I bit my tongue, wondering if my answer was too straightforward. Idiot. Idiot.
She rolled her lips in and gestured to me to follow her. Without even asking, I knew she was taking me to the terrace. It was pretty much the same compared to Purple Fields except for the clothing lines. She leaned over the wall, and waited for me to join her.
"I am so happy to see you again," she said.
"Why? You have a new sad story to spill?" I teased.
"Shaurya, you make me seem pathetic," She pouted, and boy did I love the sound of my name from her lips. "And no, today, I am going to interrogate you. It's my turn to know more about you."
I chuckled. "What do you want to know about me, Sitar?"
Her eyes lit up at that nickname that had slipped out of my lips. "My grandfather was the only person who called me that. It's nice hearing that name again," she said. "Anyway, first question. How old are you?"
"Why should I reveal my age to a stranger?" I used her own words on her.
She pushed her pursed lips to a side. "I am pretty sure we are no strangers since you know my name, my age, where I live, my milkshake order —which is a very personal information I don't share with anyone, mind you —and now, even where my friend lives. Not to forget, the woeful story of my non-existent marriage," she answered and I raised my hands in surrender with a chuckle.
"I am twenty-six."
"Where do you work?"
"I am a web developer. And I help out my friend when he is lacking a hand in delivering things, which is most of the time recently. I take up the shift before midnight because there are comparatively less orders than the other shifts."
"You don't mind?"
"No, I like going to new places. And, I am being paid anyway. Saving money is always a good practice because you never know when it might come handy," I said.
"You say that as if you have a lot of experience," She stated, sliding down the wall and sitting with her legs criss-cross on the floor. She patted the space next to her and I obliged and joined her.
"I do. Ma was a heart patient and she had to have a heart transplant. You know how much it costs, na?"
She nodded. "Is she okay now?"
"She passed away three months ago," I said quietly.
The playful shaking of her legs stopped. "Shaurya, I-I am so sorry," she said, inching closer to me so that our shoulders were almost brushing. "I didn't know."
"You just met me two weeks back. How could you have known? Don't be stupid," I said softly, giving her a quick glance and turning my attention to the night sky. There were a lot of grey clouds ghosting the black canvas today, obscuring most of the stars. I had a feeling it might rain soon.
But I felt her gaze linger on me. "Sitar, you have nothing to be sorry for," I stressed again.
"I'm sorry I brought it up," She mumbled. Her fingers reached out to my hand but pulled back after a second thought. She didn't know I noticed it.
"If you don't stop apologizing, I'm going to leave," I threatened playfully.
"Fine, sorry," She repeated.
I glared at her.
"Aiyoo, I am not sorry. I take back everything, alright?" she said and I smiled. She slurped on her milkshake and then resumed her questions.
"Do you think she died because of the transplant?" She asked, studying my face curiously.
"I don't know. Actually, I don't want to know."
"Did you regret it?"
"Spending so much money?" I asked and when she nodded, I shook my head. "Not once. I miss Ma's smile, the ones that made me wonder if she knew every secret of mine; the teasing knocks on my head when I did a dumb mistake, and her hugs when something went wrong in my life. I would pay anything to have her beside me for how much ever longer I could. Money doesn't stand a chance against all that."
Sitara didn't say anything. She set her milkshake cup on her lap and rested her head on my shoulders, her cold fingers pressing into my palm. I enclosed my fingers around hers and took the comfort she offered. "Did I make it depressing?" I asked.
Her head moved on my shoulders as if to say no but she didn't utter anything other than that. I felt the need to change the topic into a lighter one so I asked, "Any reason for the party-like thing you were having today or was it a tradition?"
"Look at you, knowing all about girl traditions." She giggled lightly. "But no, we were having this to celebrate our company opening a new branch in London — our first branch abroad."
"Wow, the personal hygiene company? That's so... huge," I said, surprised.
"I know. For being an all-women organization, we really accomplished quite the thing. We were even featured in a magazine, didn't you see?"
"No," I answered honestly.
"Well, men here don't easily believe it if women accomplish something, you know? They try to make excuses, pin the credit on some third-party when we are the ones working our asses off. Magazines were only eager to feature us and we thought we could use the promotion and address a few sexist issues as well. And by some luck, we caught the eyes of London women and things just happened."
"It's such a big thing and you were having this tiny party in your friend's flat to celebrate?"
"Nah, we had a big one last night. Got a terrible hangover and crashed at Deepika's. Spent the day doing absolutely nothing until we decided to have a small girl's party with just the usual cliche stuff, you know?"
"You drink?"
She looked as if someone had caught her red-handed. She glanced at me as if she was afraid and confused at the same time. "Um, is that a concerning subject for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, will you judge if I say yes?"
"No, I've seen girls do far worse than get drunk. And at Kawanpur, there is simply no party without alcohol."
"But, I swear this is the second time I am drinking this year. And, it's the end of November now," She confessed.
He chuckled."It was a general question. Don't panic. I am assuming your parents don't know?"
"Correct assumption. I am not a big fan of alcohol but sometimes I get carried away. It's a very rare situation, though."
I nodded, understandingly. She offered me her milkshake, insisting I have it even when I refused. She gave me no choice and I ended up sharing her drink. I couldn't chase away the thought of how, just a few seconds ago, her lips had been on the same straw I slurped on. I watched her press her knees to her chest and sit silently beside me, looking up at the sky.
"Are you cold?" I asked.
"Kind of. I had the common sense to get a sweater to wear but totally forgot to cover my legs. The chill is getting to me," She said. I didn't hesitate to remove my jacket and drape it over her huddled knees.
"Better?" I asked and she gaped at me.
"What? Did I do something wrong?"
"Shaurya, can I hug you?"
⋆ —————————— ⋆
glossary:
bava: husband in kannada (because Trisha's kannada)
lord krishna: indian deity, known for his dark skin and bewitching charm. (he is a very interesting personality, you might want to look him up)
saree: indian ethnic wear, worn by women.
⋆ —————————— ⋆
VOTE ☆ IF YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER. THANK YOU FOR READING!