*Unedited*
Star-dust.
She loved gazing at the sky. Seeing the twinkling stars making a symphony of their own, they shine so bright and beautiful, watching them was so relaxing.
She was twenty four years old but her excitement of stargazing was still twelve years old. Guess, she liked it like that.
She can't be a woman. No, she just want to be a girl. Even when she will cross sixty she will be calling herself a princess and nothing else, she promised herself.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A melodic deep voice startled her. She scurried away when she found that the guy was just beside her. She cursed internally the habit of losing herself in thoughts to the extent that she became oblivious to her surrounding.
It was not a good trait her mother had warned her many times. And she had herself found her in many awkward situations like this one.
"Yes, it's beautiful." She replied when she got a hand of herself. But her voice was so low she doubts that he heard her.
She averted her eyes not wanting to make eye contact with this handsome stranger who somehow managed to disturb her solitude. But she can't expect to be left alone in a wedding especially in an Indian destination wedding, Can she?
"You are not attending Sangeet, the function has started a little while ago." He asked and Mia didn't know what to say. To tell him that she do not like wedding functions, would be too much honesty.
"I am not into music and dance." she replied while giving him a glance he was indeed a hot specimen of male species, even in the night with dim lights she can tell that.
"Still you can enjoy yourself there. Sangeet is a lot more than music and dance." she frowned listening to his reply and she debated on her reply before uttering out the words.
"Why are you here then? Leaving out the fun of a young sangeet night?"
She glanced at the guy reading a lot in the situation than it was. She can be delusional when she wants to be and this was something straight out of her fantasy. But she also knows it was what it was, a fantasy.
He chuckled in response, a melodious smooth deep chuckle.
"You have got me." he raised his hands in mock surrender with an amused smile on his lips.
She must say he look cute when he smiles, much younger with that exotic smile adorning his face. She guessed his age, mid-twenties maybe.
"Here was just a lot more peaceful." she offered an explanation glancing at the stars again. She had spent her day doing various preparations and chores as her mother expected her to do and didn't got the time to relax a bit. The function was her only chance where her mother would not notice her absence, hopefully.
The stranger just hummed in reply and stared ahead at the vast crashing waves of the sea, the waves were in the symphony of nature. The beautiful moon and blue of the sea mixing into each other giving a serenity to the view.
The only disturbance was the mild sound and vibrations of the loud music under her feet making her the part of the party she eagerly escaped.
As much as she wanted to enjoy the spectacular night view of the beach.
She didn't want to found out by one of her aunts or by her mother like this, leaning onto the railing of the roof with the vicinity of a handsome guy. This was one of her wishful dreams but something about the situation didn't feel right.
She should head back.
With this thought in mind she turned on her heels and started moving without giving a word to her companion for a short period.
A hand on her wrist stopped her. She looked at his hand and then at him. Was that the electric shiver she felt? She couldn't tell.
"I apologize if I disturbed your peace. I didn't mean to." His blue-grey eyes held so much sincerity in their depth. They are the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen.
"You can let go of my hand." She said when she realized that they are staring at each other more than necessary. Normally, she would feel more uncomfortable in situations like this and end up making fool of herself. Her shy self needs experience when it comes to so mundane as talking to a guy especially a handsome one.
She felt so self-conscious and judged and boring on that one or two random dates fixed by her college friends, that it became her second nature to steer clear of such encounters so she could avoid feeling like utter crap. Her interaction with males on a romantic level was close to none.
Most girls do it so gracefully, the talking, flirting, relationships. But she was not most girls. She had learned that the hard way.
He released her hand but his gaze still lingered on her. This was the first time she had ever got herself in cliche circumstances and this could be her last.
She chose to stay because she didn't feel like going down but moved herself to the porch swing of the terrace for ceasing the plight of her legs and putting the much-needed distance between them.
She was shy but she also had a perverted mind. Her emotions were bolted in a jar and she knows she can't act on them. It was not the way an Indian lady would behave. But most of the time she couldn't come halfway to what was expected of her. It was the tragedy of her life.
She removed her six inches heels with utmost care. She taught herself to walk in those heels but they were still a pain. She kept them aside and wriggled her toes and foot and sighed in relief. Heels were bitches.
When she raised her head from her position she still found him staring at her which gave her goosebumps.
To avoid the awkward feelings and the butterflies in her stomach, she initiated the conversation with the most cringe and overused wedding line of Indian marriages ever.
"Are you from the groom's side or bride's side?" she mentally cursed herself that how bland that came out. Her anxiety kicked in and she regretted the decision of opening her mouth. She should have stayed quiet.
As not so social person her lack of knowledge about her relatives always added the barrier to being the perfect -daughter- she was supposed to be. Maybe that is why most of the time she isolates herself from social gatherings, well, she had come to terms with chores she had to do, but showing that she was enjoying herself when she was not, was still difficult for her.
Just a little work on the bright fake smiles.
Everyone knows that everything was a facade and they wanted it to stay like that. So be it.
"You don't know me." The guy asked, startling her out of her thoughts again. His voice held no emotion, she couldn't tell she offended him or not. She did offend some of her relatives by just being her ignorant self.
"Am I supposed to know you?" She asked while her cheeks became hot due to embarrassment. So much for not disturbing her peace. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't recognize. Just when she was supposed to know a whole bunch of relatives, who never showed their face otherwise and respect them and oh, her most favorite part, pretend to be overjoyed.
Did the list of her imperfections would ever end.
He chuckled lowly and her cheeks became hotter. Her ignorance is too much for her good.
"From which side you are?" He asked instead of replying but she didn't mind. Anything to escape the embarrassment she caused herself.
"I am bride's cousin sister," she flusteredly replied. Sophia was not her immediate cousin and she was not so close to her either. She attended the wedding for the sake of her mother. And she liked the idea of a destination wedding in Goa. Even, if attending awaiting was close to torture for her. On the bright side, she could see it as a vacation when the wedding ends and she would get time to be herself.
"Interesting." he coyly replied. She felt mortified. For some reason, it felt like she had to know this person being the bride's cousin. But she justifies herself mentally, she was never close to her relative.
This was officially the most awkward talk in her life. She didn't try to initiate conversation after that. An uncomfortable silence bathing them.
Taking the silence as an invitation to check him out and come out of her pity party, she lifted her head,
Her eyes met with his broad back and squared shoulders hidden beneath his navy blue tux, his styled black hair just complimented his look. He was tall maybe 6'5, muscular, and lean. She can't take her eyes off the perfection in front of her. He had all tick marks in his look department and her most favorite was his blue eyes, which were assessing the ocean right now.
A loud tune of instrumental guitar startled her and she came out of the magical spell he trapped her in. Even a second out of her negative thoughts was bliss for her. She concluded she liked this stranger.
She saw the stranger cutting the call on his phone. He sighed and after a moment turned towards her. She held her breath and locked her gaze with his striking blues. For a moment, she read something in his eyes but it was gone as soon as it came. She was overthinking things, she was an overthinker.
"Well, It's time for me to leave you to your solitude, beautiful. Hope, we will meet again." He passed her a wink and a charming smile, then he was gone.
She released her breath some seconds later.
A wide grin spread upon her face unknowingly but she had a feeling it has something to do with the stranger or his compliment.
*****
The stranger's attire.
Mia's attire.
Sangeet- A function filled with music dance and games two or three days before the wedding in Indian marriages.
Thank you for reading!
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