ArHi FF!! Event Horizon - Ch 8(A), Sep 11, Pg 25 - Page 6

Arnav & Khushi's dynamics are so different here.

lol they way the talk one can neva miss the rapport they share no matter what they try!! loved it pls pm me d updates

Originally posted by: CynicalNoob

There is a sense of satisfaction when you converse with a peer - a true peer in the sense of emotional and intellectual connect. Even a simple act of drinking coffee or riding an elevator seems like an adventure when the conversation ebbs and flows in a steady tandem. What I see here is two people colliding in every moment, every word and every syllable. Yet they just come out of it as a whole - bigger and better; probably smarter?

What you are trying to portray here is ginormous in the sense of exploration of two people and their interactions. I am looking forward to see how the emotional interactions would be - intellectually stimulating or heart numbing?

Either ways, it would a bumpy ride.

CN

Oh wow, CN, that was very well said, very perceptive. Glad QT's story has get your attention and appreciation.
Yes, I'm looking to the future interactions between A and K.

Btw, your thoughts about how even the simple act of drinking a cup of coffee can be an adventure when the conversation ebbs and flows in a steady tandem, reminded me of Sookie's latest FF where A and K have a cup of coffee and a conversation that has an ebb and flow of such unspoken angst - so unlike the one in QT's story !!

Originally posted by: Japonica

Oh wow, CN, that was very well said, very perceptive. Glad QT's story has get your attention and appreciation.
Yes, I'm looking to the future interactions between A and K.

Btw, your thoughts about how even the simple act of drinking a cup of coffee can be an adventure when the conversation ebbs and flows in a steady tandem, reminded me of Sookie's latest FF where A and K have a cup of coffee and a conversation that has an ebb and flow of such unspoken angst - so unlike the one in QT's story !!

Coffee and conversation? Where have I heard that before? Oh well, it will come to me later.

@ QuiteThoughtful: I do look forward to the next chapter. But, truly, are they your favourite couple? It's just that I am wondering about what drew you to this wonderful couple.

I noticed that you had introduced some of Khushi's family members -- Payal, her mother -- in your fiction. I hope that you will include some of Arnav's family members too. I can't recall too many of them as I had only caught the initial episodes. Wasn't there someone whose name started with "La"? No, not Lavanya ... she was not family yet and you've included her already. Ah yes, Laxmi. That's her name! She had quite a fan-following as I recall. She could help re-write at least one rule. The updated rule would be: It is not only pigeons or a Tuffy who can play cupid or messengers between two star-crossed lovers.

@ CN: QuiteThoughtful's Arnav and Khushi don't appear to be colliding in every moment, every word or every syllable, apart from that first actual and physical collision in the lobby. They appear to complement each other with none of the collision that you refer to.

Virtual forums provide a vent for one's real experiences, don't they? Are you quite sure you are not projecting your real life experiences -- of colliding with somebody, perhaps some true peer, in every moment, every word and every syllable, to QuiteThoughtful's characters? And (if my assumption is correct), did you just admit that you come out of such collisions bigger and better and probably smarter? In that case, I hope the one you collide against regularly is not sneaking up on you, even as you read, from behind to collide against you. Such admissions are hard to live down, aren't they?

@ Japonica: I like your signature.

Originally posted by: seekneekelle

Coffee and conversation? Where have I heard that before? Oh well, it will come to me later.

@ QuiteThoughtful: I do look forward to the next chapter. But, truly, are they your favourite couple? It's just that I am wondering about what drew you to this wonderful couple.

I noticed that you had introduced some of Khushi's family members -- Payal, her mother -- in your fiction. I hope that you will include some of Arnav's family members too. I can't recall too many of them as I had only caught the initial episodes. Wasn't there someone whose name started with "La"? No, not Lavanya ... she was not family yet and you've included her already. Ah yes, Laxmi. That's her name! She had quite a fan-following as I recall. She could help re-write at least one rule. The updated rule would be: It is not only pigeons or a Tuffy who can play cupid or messengers between two star-crossed lovers.

@ CN: QuiteThoughtful's Arnav and Khushi don't appear to be colliding in every moment, every word or every syllable, apart from that first actual and physical collision in the lobby. They appear to complement each other with none of the collision that you refer to.

Virtual forums provide a vent for one's real experiences, don't they? Are you quite sure you are not projecting your real life experiences -- of colliding with somebody, perhaps some true peer, in every moment, every word and every syllable, to QuiteThoughtful's characters? And (if my assumption is correct), did you just admit that you come out of such collisions bigger and better and probably smarter? In that case, I hope the one you collide against regularly is not sneaking up on you, even as you read, from behind to collide against you. Such admissions are hard to live down, aren't they?

@ Japonica: I like your signature.

Thank you, Seekneekelle, much flattered that you like my signature.

There's something in your point about CN projecting his/her own real experiences of colliding with a peer, who might sneak up from behind to collide against CN, that makes me wonder if there is a collusion of identities and peers going on somewhere here. There's something in your comments and your profile name that's very familiar and somewhat known. Do I know you? Hmmm I think I do, but then may be I am way off the mark, if so apologies,

^ Japonica, collusion of identities and peers? Au contraire, given the profusion of identities here, I was merely pointing to the perils of a possible collision.

But, I was quite uncertain as to who you exactly you were referring to. If you were referring to any or both of the first-time authors, we can possibly set our minds at ease. Their seemingly apparent truce notwithstanding, as the first-time authors appear to be quite strongly opinionated, I don't seem them putting 'u' before 'i', at least not yet. Therefore, collision would seem more imminent than collusion, don't you agree?

As for the rest, for you to know me, I too would have to be acquainted with a Japonica. If you are willing to take my word for it, this is the first time that I am interacting with a Japonica. Delighted to meet you.

As for the apologies for perhaps being way off the mark, I must admit that it's rare to meet people who carry their impeccable behaviour to the virtual world too.

I loved both the chaps!So different.Khushi char is refreshing.,,also la n arnav hs sum past..interesting.
Wil love to read more!PM me:D,plz.

Chapter 3:

"How was your day?" Her mother asked before she could step inside the house. Every evening her mother asked her the same question and she gave the exact same answer.

"It was alright," she replied monotonously. Her mother prattled on whatever had happened around the house and their neighborhood without paying attention to her daughter's face that sported a muzzy delirium.

Khushi fell on bed as soon as she was within falling distance and simply stared at the ceiling. Everything that she was feeling was incoherent at its best while her heart hammered away as if it was running on a different tune.

"How was your day?" Like usual the question repeated. However the second time the question always garnered truthful response.

"You should start splitting that question to two parts," Khushi said twirling her long braid. Payal sprawled next to her and joined Khushi in stare-the-ceiling contest.

"Tell me," Payal said.

"Your first question should be – how was your day when you weren't working and how did your job treat you today," Khushi replied.

"How did your job treat you today?" Payal asked amused.

"I like what I do but I don't like people behind the papers, copier machines or printers. Their look speaks too much and sometimes nothing at all." The response was expected. Khushi's background or her individuality helped her much and she was still struggling to fit in. Payal couldn't formulate a response.

"And how was your day when you weren't working?" Payal asked knowing that this question was the prime one.

"Bittersweet," she said.

"Why is that so?"

"I was very glad I was there in that moment of time but it hit me that had it not been for all the shortcomings, disappointments, heartbreaks and the things that went wrong with our family, I wouldn't have been there." Khushi replied, torn.

"Sounds complicated," Payal replied ignoring the fact that she was at the core of most of her familial issues.

"It became complicated the moment I decided not to get off from elevator when my floor arrived," Khushi replied.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"It wasn't an option. There weren't any other choices. In that moment this universe attained singularity and when that happens, how can one have choices?" She was as vague as ever. Payal was quiet for several moments fully knowing how Khushi's thought process didn't exactly follow a specific pattern.

Khushi was never fan of specificity.

"How can it not be when your office is on that floor?" Payal asked recovering after being hit by a bout of abstraction.

"The options are linear to circumstances. Options are also proportional to people we associate with. Choices cease to exist when the destination is fixed." Khushi replied. Payal turned her neck to take a look at Khushi's face. She wanted to see if her face matched the heaviness of her voice.

"Who was there in the elevator?" Payal asked, amused for a moment. It was interesting to see her sister being a bit rattled.

"Someone I love," she said still looking at ceiling.

"What?" Payal was startled and sat up quickly. Khushi closed her eyes and didn't respond.

"Who is that guy?" Payal asked Khushi. She waited for a response in vain. "Where did you meet him?" Payal tried again.

Khushi didn't speak for the rest of the evening. Her mother, frustrated with her either monosyllable or complete lack of response mumbled along with her sister-in-law about moody women, grown up daughters and hiked up vegetable prices.

Khushi, however, was deaf to everything that was directed towards her and blind to happenings around her.

She wondered if her heart and mind were stuck on the non-existent 13^th floor.

****

"Did you know Armaan left Riddhima for a very lame reason?"

Arnav looked up from his laptop and blatantly stared at his grandmother who was vigorously kneading floor. She was annoyed at something and her anger was being channeled to the poor flour which was getting thrashed and pushed around.

"Who?" Arnav asked. Was it someone from his family? Or were they related to his sister or his brother-in-law?

"I have told you so much about them before," his grandmother now directed her annoyance towards him. She sighed in disappointment when the names didn't ring a bell in his head. "They are the two leads from the highly popular show – Dill Mill Gayye!"

He was baffled. Obviously his drama obsessed grandmother would be talking about some TV show she was currently obsessing about. From experience he knew that berating her would only end this conversation badly. So instead, he humored her.

"What did he do?" He asked getting back to his laptop and typing furiously. It didn't matter what happened next. His grandmother would talk about a twenty-minute episode for forty minutes without taking a break or expecting him to add any value to the conversation.

His mind wandered to the weirdly interesting girl he met at his new work place. After everything that had happened to him in the last year, for the first time he felt he was back in his own skin. The ordeal had left his sister in a steady state of manic so he had to convince his brother in law to take her away from him for few years. Maybe then they can be family again.

His thoughts flew back to the girl with a long braid and colorful dress. The first encounter had just piqued his interest and left him talking to her more but after sharing an elevator ride, his interest had increased tenfold. Once he stepped into his office, he was consumed by memories, deadlines and his ex-fianc's continuous interruption.

Amidst all this ballyhoo, he had completely forgotten to make it to the planned coincidental meeting.

To be continued.