Khushi tossed and turned in her dreams. She was caught in a collapsing building, her screams dying in her throat as she realized she was all alone. She was fainting and a finger tenderly caressed her cheek as it tucked in a stray strand of hair. She is waking in a strange room dizzy with fever and exhaustion. A familiar face fades in an out feeding her milk and medicine. She is flying through the hospital lobby hurtling herself against a calming presence sobbing and letting go of her fears. She is sitting quietly mulling the burden of gratitude when a palm caresses the top of her head reassuring her all will be well. She is standing in a tangle of lights when every touch, every contact seems to set her skin on fire. Her heart is racing and the skin on nape of her neck is tingling with anticipation.
Gasping for breath, Khushi woke up unable to distinguish between the dream and reality around her. Calming herself, she looked around. She was still in her bed. The stars twinkled merrily above her. Jiji was fast asleep. Slipping out quietly she got a glass of water and stood by the window sill looking at the inky blue sky. As she usually did, she scanned for and found the two stars she looked on as her parents. She sent a wish heavenward.
"Are you looking down at me?"
Thoughts of another night crept in.
"Do you believe they become stars?"
Any shred of sleep slipped away. She felt alert and awake. She was meeting Anjali ji today. She would have to pick something up on the way to their home. Something simple. Something meaningful.
Arnav ji. Would she meet him today? Did she want to?
Arnav stood by the pool sleep eluding him. All it had taken was one "Hello" to destroy his facade. The sound of her voice had awakened those dormant feelings in him. The memory of a lone tear escaping from Khushi's eyes when he announced he would marry Lavanya had haunted him for months. He had seen her mask slipping on when she wished Lavanya well. How he had tried to crack that mask open on that fateful car ride dropping her home.
He had always acted in anger. This time had proved his undoing. She had gone. Gone from his life forever. So he thought till he heard her voice again and hope rose unbidden.
He would have walk the path to redemption.