Part 3
(Part 2: Prachi bumps into Ayesha)
'Haan hoon mein Ayesha lekin asal zindagi mein nahi! Pata nahi sab ko character ka naam yaad hota hai lekin asli naam bhool jaate hain!, waise tumhe kaise pata?' 'Tum Ayesha ho?!' 'God! Dekhiye mein Ayesha ka character play karti hoon aaj show hai..iss hotel mein mera asli naam hai Natasha' Prachi could not believe her eyes. This Natasha looked exactly like Ayesha; it was hard to believe and the way she spoke was similar to that of Ayesha but they obviously were two different people. Firstly, Natasha way of dressing was western. She was wearing jeans and top with flats. But her hair were like Ayesha's; long, brown and silky flowing freely on her back.
'Hello, mein aap se baat karr rahi hoon' Natasha waved her hand in front of Prachi's face bringing her out of thoughts. 'Oh I'm so sorry actually mein aaj ke show ki arrangements karr rahi hoon lekin aap sab toh ek ghante baad aane wale the?' 'Waise mein jaldi isliye aayi hoon kyun ke mujhe late hona achha nahi lagta I hope you don't mind' 'No it's okay! Please aap mere saath aayen' Prachi had made sure she came back later to meet her staff.
She took Natasha to the theatre room, which was enormous and adorned with many tinsels and the stage had a welcome banner. 'Yeh itni decorations kyun? If I may ask?' 'Aaj humare hotel ke saath ek buhut important deal finalise ho rahi hai toh isliye humne doosri company ke liye aap ka show rakha hai' 'Interesting' Natasha looked around and was getting nervous, although she had worked in plays since she was 16, she had never performed on huge stage like this. For a hotel, the theatre looked extravagant.
Prachi then called for some refreshments for Natasha. She was really interested to know about her and could not help but look at Natasha. It was as if a miracle had occurred; a look-alike of Ayesha? She had never even dreamt of that in her wildest dreams.
Natasha sat down on one of the chairs and got out her script to start memorizing her dialogues. The play was a love story and she was the lead heroine, Ayesha who falls in love with a rich businessman but due to their different statuses, their relationship was complicated. But the play had a typical happy ending, where the family accepts their love and they live happily ever after. Natasha had done lots of plays like this before and never really believed in such happy endings because for her it was more important to just be happy and live in the moment. Love could wait, she thought.
'Hey if you need anything else, just tell Raj he is up there and he will call me, by the way I'm Prachi' She extended her hand and Natasha took it and nodded 'Thanks Prachi' 'Good luck with the play' 'Good luck ki mujhe toh zaroorat hai, yeh stage buhut shandar hai!' 'Haan lekin pata nahin kyun aisa lagta hai ke aap ka show iss stage se bhi shandar hoga' 'Really? Kyun ki mujhe pehli dafa darr lag raha hai!' Natasha said honestly. There was something about Prachi; Natasha would not usually be so friendly in a first meeting with anyone but Prachi seemed different and here she was talking about her fears with someone whom she met 15 minutes ago! But the way Prachi had said that the play would be brilliant, it felt as if it would actually do well. Natasha then did something, which she had not ever done before 'Prachi, hum dost ban sakte hain?' She looked intently at Prachi and Prachi looked back with an amusing expression on her face. She had not made many friends in the last 5 years; it had only been Proteek and Hina. 'Ofcourse Natasha, it was nice meeting you!' Prachi then went to check on the rest of the arrangements.
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'Haan Prachi mein neechey araha hoon unke saath sab kuch ready hai na?' Proteek asked over the phone standing outside waiting for Neev Shergill. 'Proteek sab kuch ready hai lekin tum neechey kab arahe ho?' Prachi was getting more and more curious to know who the owner was and Proteek could sense her curiosity. 'Just give us 5 minutes' Proteek then put the phone down as the hotel door opened. Neev Shergill came out dressed in a cream suit talking to somebody on the phone. The flight had landed in the morning at 6 am and he was tired mentally but looked as if he was fresh as ever. Neev had not changed much in the last 5 years; he carried the same stubble and expression on his face but only one thing had changed about him: he was more involved in his work more than ever and only work now mattered to him.
He smiled and shaked hands with Proteek 'I'm sorry Proteek lekin Milind aaj nahi aa sakta, he is not feeling well' Illness was just an excuse for Milind, Neev thought. The real reason was he was not at all interested in the play or even looking at the hotel. He had come along only because Neev had insisted and also in the hope they may find Prachi here if not in Mumbai. That is what Neev had said and none knew how true that was going to be. 'I hope ke tumhe koi problem nahi hui yahan tak aane mein' 'Oh no everything was great, thanks' Neev responded.
'Neev waise mein chahta hoon ke tum kissi khaas insaan se milo issey pehle ke hum hotel aur play dikhayen, ussi ne sab kuch arrange kiya aaj ke liye, woh meri assistant aur secretary hai' 'Proteek it would be a pleasure'. Neev had noticed something different when coming down because everything was decorated although he had seen the welcome banner in the morning, the orientation was changed downstairs and it looked extremely well done. Flowers were everywhere he looked and made the place look cozy. He did want to know who organized all this.
Proteek called up Prachi again, turning around, he said 'Prachi hum neechey agaye hain, kahan ho tum mein tumhe unse milana chahta hoon' 'Proteek mein staff ke saath hoon theatre room mein, last checks kar rahi hoon, mein aati hoon ek minute mein'
In the theatre room, Prachi had ordered Sonia, Rima and Arjun to be in charge while the others take care of the food and refreshments. After making last checks, Prachi hurried down in excitement; finally she was going to meet the owner!
'Proteek, mein apna wallet bhool gaya hoon upar, let me just go and get it' 'Oh ok' As Neev went upstairs, he dropped the keys. On hearing that sound Prachi looked up and saw him. She immediately turned around and panicked. 'Neev, what is he doing here?!' She thought walking in the opposite direction. She opened her room and suddenly questions rose in her mind: 'Was Neev the owner?! And was Milind with him? He probably is, afterall the hotel business is Milind's'
Her mobile brought her out of her thoughts as it rung continuously; Proteek was calling her again. What would she say? She did not want to meet Neev, or did she? Right now she could not decide so she decided to lie instead. 'Prachi jaldi aao hum tumhara wait kar rahey hain!' 'Woh Proteek, meri tabiyat kharab ho gayi hai mein nahi aa sakti sorry' 'Prachi tum theek toh ho? Abhi toh tum theatre room mein thi' 'Proteek actually mujhe sick feeling ho rahi thi isliye mein apne kamrey mein agayi' 'Ok fine, tum apna khayal rakhna bye'
Prachi sighed in relief. How long could she hide for? She did not even know why she was hiding from Neev. Worry was visible on her face now; she had promised Natasha that she would come and watch the show and it was going to start in 10 minutes. She needed to go there without anyone knowing. But how exactly was she going to do this?
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Veer Hanuman
Anupamaa
