Maya/Ananya OS- The Journey to Self
Maya looked at the girl in her jeans and blue shirt and sighed. She wasn't ready for this, not now, not ever!
"Hi, I am Ananya. I am the winner of the contest and am so happy to meet you," She said, excitedly.
"Congratulations, and am pleased to meet you too"She faked a smile, but Ananya's smile dropped seeing her reaction.
"You don't want to spend time with me?" She asked like a kicked puppy. Maya immediately felt regret and felt the need to explain herself.
"Oh no, it’s always been fan meetups at some library,where I could answer a few questions and leave, you see I am not a fan of being around people,"
"I don't see, I mean, I love being around people,"Ananya let out a chuckle, making Maya roll her eyes, typical extrovert.
"But I can leave if you want, I promise, I won't tell anyone that I spent just 5 minutes with you instead of a whole hour, just a picture for me to post on Instagram and we should be good,"
"I don't break my promises, and I promised you an hour,so you stay"
"Technically, your production house made the promise,that too without your complete consent,"
"How do you know that?"
"Your demeanor, you glared at Rashmik when he accompanied me here, you are stiff and looking at your watch again and again," Maya looked up from her watch at her in surprise.
"I am a film making student, and before that, I took psychology as an optional in Arts stream, so I tend to notice such things," Ananya smiled as she sat opposite her.
"I just wanted to win this contest, because I wanted to meet you and thank you personally. Your books have been so amazing, they have always helped me feel empowered and I have never hated myself, or of my sexuality, so thank you so much."
Maya raised her eyebrow at the last statement.
"I am a lesbian, so when I read your book, the Journey to Self, I realized that being closeted is okay, but I needed to get out of it,and speak to my parents. I wasn't sure of how they'd feel about it and was almost in the minds of packing my bags when they looked at each other after I grunted "I like girls, not boys," to them, but instead they have been really supportive, and now they pair me up with every girl they see, it's silly but cute at the same time"
"You have read the Journey to Self?" She asked in surprise, because the book was drawn from the market in 2 days after it publish because of the political unrest regarding section 377 during the time.
"But it was taken down?"
"Oh yes, but the book shop owner knows how much crazy I am for your books, so he had kept the book out for me, even after its withdrawal,"
Maya raised her eyebrow again, making Ananya blush.
It's kind of wrong, I know, but I paid for the book,"She explained. Maya sighed and shook her head.
The Journey to Self was her personal favorite work. It was a story of a girl born in the brothel and forced to work as a prostitute till the day she was hired by a rich lady and realized that she preferred women over men and from there, began her journey to fight her way out of the brothel and find her own place in the world, while dealing with police, henchmen and everything else. It was dark and gritty and made the publishers really uncomfortable, butthey had published it, anyway, only because they knew how much Maya's books were loved.
She looked at Ananya, who was talking to her, "I hate reviewing those movies, I mean a man spanking a woman and she being okay with it?That's bull crap, I was an inch away from suing the whole production house,"
She threw her hands in the air and sighed.
"I am sorry, I have been talking continuously like crazy, can I have a picture with you at least, please?"
"I don't do pictures," Ananya slipped her phone back in her bag and sighed.
"It's ok, but how did you like my gift?"
"Gift?"
"Oh, didn't you get the goldfish? I sent it through your PR manager a week back when I got to know that I won the contest,"
"It was you? I love it," Maya smiled genuinely,thinking of Dobby.
"I knew it, he was just what I imagined you to be,broken but a fighter," Dobby had an underdeveloped fin which was why hewas never bought and now was old. Maya knew that she would lose him someday,but was growing really fond of him, anyway. She knew she had to prepare herselfto him go.
"Why do you think I am broken,"
"Don't get me wrong," Ananya said defensively."I mean broken as in beautifully broken, like the Japanese vases that are broken and then joined together using tree sap and powdered gold, so that you see the cracks and yet appreciate it, with the cracks, that type of broken"
Maya was surprised to hear this analogy. She wasn't broken,but after she had come out to her father, who hated her for being bisexual and had forced her to get married to Rishi, and the marriage not lasting a year after the two mutually decided that the relationship wasn't working, she somehow felt broken to a certain extent, betrayed by her own father. She still had Rishi,her best friend though. But after that, Maya lost the strength to come out to anyone, so even Rishi didn't know her truth.
"Are you ok? You keep zoning out,"
"I am so sorry, I am just feeling a bit off,"
"Oh ok, then I should leave you alone," She smiled and shook hands with her and walked to the door. Something snapped in Maya and she blurted out,
"Ananya, there is a gay parade in Mumbai, next week,you want to join me there?"
Ananya turned to look at her in surprise and her brown eyes flickered in the overhead lamp's light in delight.
"I'd love to, is it a date?" She said in a flirting tone and her heart almost jumped out of her rib cage when Maya smiled and nodded.
"It is a date, I'll tell Rashmik to send you the details."
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