Hello lovely people of Wattpad. Here's the first chapter, hope you enjoy it.
I could hear a pounding noise in the background. One that could single handedly awaken my migraine. But it sounds a little too similar. Oh wait, this sounds like my alarm. Oh shit! I get up with a jolt and turn off the alarm to check the time. It was 8:42 am. I had 18 missed calls. Maximum calls were from my cousin elder sister, Trisha didi, some were from Gauri didi and a few were there from Akshay bhaiya as well. Gauri didi is Trisha didi's roommate, they share a flat together. Gauri didi is the coolest person in our entire group. I love her and she loves me like her own sister if not kid. Akshay bhaiya is Gauri didi's boyfriend. He is like that elder brother to me who gets all my problems fixed in a jiffy. There are no missed calls from Janki didi and Manav bhaiya, probably because they weren't coming with us. Again, Janki didi is my cousin's roommate like Gauri didi and Manav bhaiya is her boyfriend. All of them love me including Pratham bhaiya who is Trisha didi's boyfriend, and treat me like that little kid of the family.
But wait, it's 8:42 am which means I'm late. We had to leave by 9:15 am to reach Wankhede stadium. We are supposed to watch the India vs New Zealand semi final match today there. Shit shit shit. I'm doomed. I shouldn't have stayed up late completing that assignment but that was important to enjoy today's match without any worries.
I immediately call Trisha didi and she literally picks it up in one go.
"Hello didi!? I'm so so sorry! Mujhe kaafi late ho gaya na?"
"Kya kar rahi thi bhai tum kal raat ko? Aur phone silent par rakhkar kyu so gayi thi!?"
"I'm so sorry, assignment kar rahi thi kal, isliye late ho gaya. And phone silent pe pehle se hi tha. I'm genuinely sorry."
"Tch tch. Ho gaya yaar, itna sorry mat bolo. Koi baat nahi but ab jaldi se ready ho jaao chalo."
"But didi sirf aadha ghanta baaki hai, itne se time mei ready hoke aapke yahan aana toh impossible hai. Do one thing, aap log nikal jaao and I'll see if I can each there by some other way. Varna aap logon ko late ho jaayega."
"Aru bakwaas mat karo. Tumhare bina nahi jaa rahe hum. Chup chap se ready hojaao jaldi se. Maine already Pratham ko bhej Diya hai, he'll be there anytime. Tumhare ready hote hi, he'll get you here aur hum saathmei hi niklenge aur saathmei hi pohochke saathmei hi match dekhenge? You get that!?"
"Yaar didi, aap best ho. Sabse best!!! Thank you so much!"
"Bas bas, now go get ready and phone ko bhagwaan ke liye silent mode se hata do varna bichara Pratham call hi karta reh jayega."
"Yes yes, bas abhi kaam pe lagti hun.", I say and keep the phone to rush with my morning routine. I quickly brush my teeth and run to get a shower. As soon as I turn on the knob I feel warm drops trickle down my entire body. Oh God! I love warm showers so much. But today I don't have much time and thus I immediately scrub myself with my lavender scented body wash. Its smell has a soothing effect on me. I hurriedly squeeze some of my new face wash on the palm of my hand while holding it with the help of other one. This was my new face wash with Kojic acid and Nicinamide. I have been a lot into skin care since I've come to Mumbai.
As soon as I'm done I wrap a towel around myself and move out to get dressed. I wore a white flowy dress which was more of a frock. I quickly applied some sunscreen and proceeded to do a little bit of make up. I applied a smooth buttery pinkish maroon shaded lip balm to my lips and used the same as blush. I know that was a little weird but when did I say I do sane things? And then in a blink of an eye I wore my diamond studs which matched with the diamond pendant I had secured in a thin gold chain around my neck. That diamond pendant with that gold chain was my statement jewellery. I have been wearing it since I was 18, mumma had got that for me.
After being done with everything I just moved towards my shoes and my phone rang. It was Pratham bhaiya saying that he had reached. I swiftly wear my white sneakers and rush down. Earlier I had decided not to wear those because I feared that they might get dirty in such a huge crowd. But fortunately Akshay bhaiya had managed some VVIP tickets for us through one of his friends who was an influnencer in India. That would save my shoes I'd thought, atleast a little bit.
As soon as I reached out of the main gate of the hostel I saw Pratham bhaiya on his Bullet, waiting for me.
"Sorry yaar bhaiya.", I said while hopping onto his bike.
"Arre koi baat nahi Aru, we were just worried kyuki tum calls utha hi nahi rahi thi, match ka utna tension nahi tha dost."
"I know, I know. I'll make sure ki abse silent pe rakhke na soyun. Sowwie"
"Chalo chalo, bas karo abhi sorry puran. Maaregi varna tumhari behen tumhe." he laughed.
Soon enough we reached at my didi's flat. All were already seated in the car waiting for us. I got down and Pratham bhaiya asked me to go and sit.
"Tum jaao mai bike basement mei park karke aata hun."
"Okay bhaiya."
As soon as I opened the car's door and sat in I was greeted by Gauri didi's sarcasm filled scolding.
"Kya heroine, itna time lena padta kya?", she said while trying to imitate Mumbai's tapori accent and we all laughed out including Akshay bhaiya who was seated in the driving seat and Trisha didi who was seated beside Gauri didi.
Soon Pratham bhaiya came and we all left for Wankhede stadium. After a soul crushing traffic, never ending walk and life threatening crowd we finally reached near our seats and settled down. In about 20 minutes both the teams would come out for the national anthems.
Everyone was chatting and waiting for it to begin. But I on the other side was fighting a completely different battle within my head.
20 minutes. Fucking 20 minutes. 20 minutes later I'll see him. I will see him after somewhat 10 years. Not that I haven't seen him. His pictures have been floating around on social media, bill boards, malls and almost every where. "Shubman Gill, the next big thing in cricket" a magazine had said. But this was 'the Shubman Gill'. Whom I knew was just Shub.
In my trail of thoughts I lost track of time and was brought back by a little nudge from Trisha didi. Only she knew that I would be seeing him after so long. She squeezed my hand a little wanting me to know that it'll be okay.
I smiled and turned my attention towards the ground, the teams had entered for the national anthem. And I saw him after so many years. I almost wanted to cry. By the end of New Zealand's national anthem the feeling sank in. After that I realized that okay, I'm also seeing Virat Kohli there, Rohit Sharma, Jadeja, Surya Kumar Yadav and the entire cricket team in front of my eyes in a three dimensional form. I almost fainted from the excitement.
The match proceeded. We all were restless. India was playing against NZ in the semi finals of World Cup. Flashbacks of the 2019 WC semi final began to cloud my mind. In between Shubman also got injured. The entire stadium's heart was in their throat. But guess what, Shubman again came back and scored amazing run and...and...and... India won against NZ in the semi finals after so many goddamn years. The entire crowd erupted in cheers and cries. Cries of happiness and relief. Shami was the star player who single handedly took 7 freaking wickets.
Everything was amazing but there was a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew maybe this was the last time I was seeing him from this close. It hurt but that's how it has been. This is what I tell myself and gather my things to leave. As soon as we leave the stadium, Akshay bhaiya receives a call from his influencer friend, the one who helped us get tickets. What I heard next blew my mind and was capable enough to stop my heart.
Apparently he was supposed to make a reel with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill for the world cup and had asked if we wanted to tag along with him and meet them. Obviously everyone had agreed to this. My heart was beating as if it had run a marathon. While leaving the stadium I'd thought that this was probably the last time that I saw him but guess what, here I was, going to meet him. Like actually meet him, face to face. Not that he would recognize me. But still. God bless this influencer friend of Akshay bhaiya.
Just after we reached their hotel in which they were staying and got out of the car, I felt like I've lost the ability to walk. I tried consoling myself by saying that he wouldn't recognize me. But wouldn't it hurt if he really didn't was what my heart asked me back.
Pushing all these thoughts aside I concentrated or atleast tried to concentrate on my walking. Each step felt like a flight of stairs which only took about a millionth of a second to cross.
As we entered the lobby, we could see five to six people busy shooting. The lobby was emptied for the shoot probably since there was nobody else there. But he was there. Shubman was there busy doing some actions, perhaps for the reel that they were shooting. We went near. Fortunately they'd just got done with there shooting. Pleasantries were exchanged followed up with photo sessions. I was only part of the group photos, I did not take photos with them separately. Why? Even I don't know that. But before leaving, once every one was done clicking separate selfies and photos with both Ishan and Shubman, I went up to Shubman and forwarded my little diary and pen. I always carried that diary with me, for the most random things and also for noting down the important things as well. Thank God I did that.
"Can I please get an autograph?", I asked politely. It took so much of mental preparation to just open my mouth in front of him, but I did it guys.
"Sure!" he replied with a very kind smile even after such a tiring day. But the next thing he said completely threw me off the edge.
"What's your name?". That's it. I stud there for without any movement for good five to seven seconds to be exact. He asked my name to give me a good note with the autograph. Finally, with every ounce of hope and courage within me I said, "Aradhana Singh".
And his hand started writing. I felt relieved that everything was fine. But a second later gloominess started to fill my heart. He did not recognize me.
Just as this feeling was settling in my heart, he looked up with an undefined emotion in his eyes. His hand stopped writing and he asked, "Aradhana Singh??"
"Yes, that's me.", I said with a small smile on my lips.
"No, you're not getting me." he said.
And I stud there confused. Everyone around me had a questioning look on their faces. Even they couldn't understand what was happening.
"I'm sorry??" Those were the only words that escaped my mouth not knowing what else to speak.
He took a couple of seconds or perhaps a little more but replied again with, "Aru??". God!!! This was getting difficult for me. Hearing him say my nickname after so many years made me quite emotional. But I stud there still, making no movement at all. When I did not reply, he said another word which completely made me loose it.
With all the hopes in this world and moist eyes while looking straight at me, he asked again, "Rani-Pari???"
That was it, I no longer had the power in me to stay silent to that. How could I stay silent to that? How could I stay silent to the call of my childhood friend?
"Haan Balveer.", I replied with a couple of tear drops falling out of my eyes and a smile on my lips.
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This is it for today guys. The first chapter. Yes, they're childhood friends. But there is a lot of drama that is going to happen. This is going to be a long and detailed book filled with love and romance and of course, life tragedies. Suggestions are always welcomed. Please add a star and do comment. You guys commenting on this story would literally mean the world to me. I'll make sure every second you spend in reading this book is worthy of it.
Thank you so much for reading till the end.
MUCH LOVE, M.