Chapter 3
She sat fidgeting in the backseat of her car, reconsidering her decision to attend the event only to be jolted out of her reverie by the brakes of the vehicle. There it was! A lavish entrance, the who's who of entertainment world striding across the red carpet amongst the reporters that thronged around them for a byte or a picture!
This wasn't her first time at such an event of course, nevertheless her heartbeat still increased. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out to the flashing lights.
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'You came!!! You finally came!! ' A young woman rushed to embrace her!
'I came for all of you!'
'Chalo, at least Lav could convince you! Meri toh sunni chhod di tune!' , another lady , in red jumped in to add.
'Anku, kuch bhi!'
'Achha chal, let's meet everyone ! They're sitting over there' Excitedly, the two women took their dearest friend to their seats, where almost the entire cast was seated! Everybody but one.
She smiled. A wave of emotion ran through her. She had spent countless hours with these people for 2 years. Television had been a new medium, it was her first show and almost everyone here had been extremely supportive and kind to her. They had been her extended family. While they had all been a part of the JA Whatsapp chain, wishing each other on birthdays and festivals; meeting them together after all this while was different. It brought back a comfort that she had missed for sometime now.
After an entire selfie session , which she was hesitant about , and greeting each other with tight embraces, the cast and crew settled around , with their partners , to catch up. Everyone looked different after all these years and yet, some equations hadn't changed one bit! The usual groups huddled , their faces expressing joy and excitement.
As she looked around, viewing everyone and their cheerful demeanour, she swallowed a lump in her throat and her smile faltered a little. The genuine delight she had on reacquainting with her colleagues was getting diluted bit by bit, as her own reality began to creep in again.
It's not that they were being inconsiderate, they were rather quite sympathetic and kind. There were silent squeezes on her shoulders by some who sympathised and distracting childish conversations by others in an attempt to avoid her altered circumstances. It didn't help though. She could hear their voices fade out a little, while her own heart sank bit by bit.
Bringing the chattering crowd of celebrities in the hall to a halt, the speaker grasped their attention by introducing all to the event.....
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The crowd erupted in laughter, the anchors were doing a wonderful job in interacting with everyone...dance performances began...loud music, vibrant colors filled one's sight. The night was merry but an uncomfortable loneliness was creeping in her. She browsed her surroundings once again, ma'am wasn't anywhere to be seen!
As the music blared out the thumping beats of the latest song, she decided she needed to step out, she needed some calm. She stood up and excused herself , walking towards the catering stalls, hoping to a place to sit and clear her head.
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He strode in on the red carpet, ignoring calls by reporters. He wasn't in the mood to stay for long , least of all to give bytes to the media who'd inevitably twist whatever he'd say.
As he walked past the entrance, he found familiar faces from the industry either entering or leaving the premises. Was he too late?! Reciprocating the smiles and not paying too much attention to the stares, he went further and spotted his old colleagues, even found some from his last show!
Greeting his colleagues from different shows of the past, he suddenly bumped into someone.
It was a tall guy, balancing his drinks, who didn't like the idea of having his clothes spilled with the contents of the glass he carried. 'Abbe, can't you see?' The man looked up and what he saw in front of him entirely changed his demeanour! After all, standing in front of him, was his closest buddy!
'Abbe saale, you're here?!!!! Seeing you after SO long!!! Kaisa hai yaar?!' , exclaimed the towering man. The shorter guy, bemused for once, beamed and hugged his old friend back. He didn't have many friends but the ones he did, held a special place in his heart...this one, was one of his closest!
'I'm fine. Tu kaisa hai?!'
'Bas yaar, ab tune jab se phone uthaana aur milna chhod diya hai aur aaj tere darshan hogaye, toh ab sab great hi great hai' , retorted his friend.
He sighed. He knew he had distanced the world, even his closest...his current reality was evidence to that. He was also acutely aware of how he'd taken his closest confidants for granted.
Finding his friend's face fall, the lofty gentleman kept his arm on his friend's shoulder and spoke,
'Woh sab chhod, chal let's go there...sab aaye hain yaar! Apne puraane show se bhi! ' Dragging him towards the rest of the cast, the tall friend navigated their ways from between the crowds.
They finally spotted the JA cast and crew. All rose in excitement to greet him. It had been long and he was the clearly the man who had stayed the least in touch. The welcome warmed him a little. He hadn't expected that. The crew had known him to be a thorough professional, not one to joke around but they all respected him. For most part, everyone used to maintain their distance with him, except for a few of his closest friends who knew a bit of the real him! So when all rose and individually showered him with cheerful greetings, he was taken aback a little. Then again, he hadn't expected to be at this event himself!
He looked around, almost everyone was there but for one. He sat down curious and was puzzled at the absence of the colleague. Shaking him out of his reverie, his phone vibrated. It was ma'am.
She texted that she was running late and asked for him to stay around until she could discuss the project with him. A little frustrated he kept his phone back in the pocket. This wasn't the plan! As much as he appreciated meeting his friends and colleagues, he couldn't seem to fit in somehow, even though his closest buddy was sitting right next to him! Everyone seemed happy; drinking, chatting, laughing amongst themselves....the sea of joyous faces only seemed to drown out against the loneliness that thundered around him. Seeking refuge, he excused himself to get something to drink.
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She hung up her phone after having checked up on her little child, who was more than happy to stay with his grandmother. She wondered if she should head home...ma'am hadn't shown up yet either. How long should she stay for?!
Parched, she ordered a soft drink and picked up whatever snack the waiter brought in front of her. Biting onto her food, she coughed over the enormous spice it contained.
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He walked about the bar. Surprisingly there weren't as many people in this area. Most had taken their food and drinks to their seats. He could hear loud cheering from the hall. Perhaps an a-lister was performing!
Looking ahead, he halted abruptly. There SHE was. In her navy blue saree with hair cascading through her shoulders, she looked ethereal. He had always found her to be gifted with great features, her eyes being the most captivating. Today, those eyes lacked the twinkle, they seemed tired. She was sitting alone, dull and silent unlike what he remembered of her. They hadn't shared a close equation on the sets, in fact, they had their shares of ups and downs. So it's not like he had spent a lot of time with her being in her extrovert element but he could make out that the woman sitting in front of him, mindlessly picking up a snack offered to her by the waiters, lost deep in thought; had changed.
Suddenly he saw her eyes well up and cough out her food.
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'Are you okay?! Here, have this' He passed her a bottle of water from behind her.
She quickly clutched the bottle and drank, still trying to quell away the burning sensation in her mouth.
'Feeling better?' The concerned voice came from behind her.
Catching her breath, she nodded.
Wait. The voice was familiar.
She quickly turned around only to catch his worried glance. There he was, her old colleague. She remembered the times they had been on different sides, they didn't even spend much time together on the sets. It was a unique relationship that they had. Professional, mostly respectful, but different. She could never pin point on why that was the case. Staring at him, she observed his dishevelled hairstyle, his beard, his features. He looked different. His demeanour lacked a certain confidence that she was used to and was baffled by it's condensed alternative. His face portrayed maturity but also exhaustion of a particular kind. She was well acquainted with that strain of exhaustion herself!
'Thank You' She smiled hesitatingly.
He nodded in response.
As he was about to walk away, he heard her harmonic voice..... ' It's nice to see you after so long'
Swallowing back an itch in his throat, smiling a half smile, he turned back. 'It's nice to see you too' .
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Alright guys, this is Chapter 3. The meet up! Let me know what you guys think! I know it is a slow burn for now and it will pick up pace gradually, i promise!
Also, i have kept a working title which is a combination of two headings that i had thought of.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, *Kintsugi* is actually a Japanese art of joining broken vessels by fusing them together, using gold. It results in a beautiful, new art. Broken things, when mended in the right way, can result in beauty that we wouldn't expect otherwise! It formed a genuine theme in my head for this story too. Although, I do realise that it is in fact a weird title to have😆
So let me know your thoughts about the chapter and the title!
Also, what do you think should happen next? And, last but not the least, please let me know if the snippets of personalities and equations that i have borrowed from real life are in fact, realistic and believable!
Looking forward to your views! Cheers! And, wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas (Belated!)
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
