Before you start reading i am gonna add something that i didnt add before..Arjun doesnt have a past here and his character is a bit different from the serial..i hope that you don't hate that?
P.S - This is from Sakshi's POV. (Have started writing them down now hehe😆)
Chapter 3 - The Unseen and the Unfelt
Sakshi
"Ugh. So early, Arjun."
He laughs and says, "Don't you think you sleep enough?"
I nod, still groggy from sleep.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Does it matter?"
"I suppose not." I smile as he guides me around to his car.
It is a Sunday. Our usual going-out day. We have a strange pact. Every Sunday he takes me to a place I have never been to before. And in turn, I cook him something that he hasn't eaten before. It is always a day of new memories for us, for new experiences. It is the day we forget everything else and just enjoy each other's company.
He holds on to my hand as I get into his car. I settle down and wonder about our destination. I wonder what it will make me feel.
He switches on his radio and the car comes to life. I close my eyes and rest against the seat, feeling the wind blow against my face. It feels cool. The recent rains have brought down the temperature considerably and I can smell the moist soil in the air.
I can feel him speeding through the roads and I know there isn't much traffic.
He hums to the song that is playing on the radio and I laugh. He never hums to music.
"What's gotten into you this morning?" I ask.
"Why?" He has stopped humming and I know he has a faint smile on his face.
"You are humming to a song. Do you realise that? Has a girl proposed to you or what?"
"I cannot believe you just asked me that Miss Sakshi Anand." He sounds astounded.
"Why? I know you are a handsome guy." I smirk and nudge him playfully.
"Are you flirting with me?"
"What? Me?" I ask, innocently.
He bursts into laughter that forces me to laugh along with him, despite of my wish to keep a straight face.
***
My eyes jerk open when the car finally comes to a stop. I realise I had drifted off to sleep. I touch my wrist watch to feel the time when he says, "10 o' clock. Good morning again, sleepy head. You slept the entire way! And I got bored."
"Well, it is your fault! You shouldn't have brought me straight out of bed so early in the morning." I yawn.
He ignores me and opens his car door to walk around to my side.
"I can open the door myself you know," I say.
He opens the door and gently lifts me out of the car. Even though we share this casual bond, it makes me giddy every time he touches me. I feel weak in my knees when he puts me down on the ground and I have to hold on to his arm to keep myself upright. I feel my cheeks getting warmer as I feel his gaze on me, waiting for me to say something. I wish he would stop looking at me.
"Stop staring."
"Why do you think I am staring at you? Don't I have anything else better to look at?"
"No. Not when the prettiest girl in Mumbai is standing with you." I grin at him.
I slid my fingers into his and he grips them tightly. His fingers make me feel safer and stronger than I am. Is that even possible? Everything seems possible when he is around.
He leads me towards our destination. My unknown destination. I do now know where the road leads to. But it is soft. Bits and pieces of the wet grass find their way through my sandals and my feet start feeling damp after a while. I put my hand out towards the unknown and immediately feel the soft leaves of trees brushing against my fingers. I don't know where we are but it feels like a forest. He probably sees me touching the trees, because the next moment he pauses and says, "Wait."
He lets go of my fingers and puts his hand around me, taking hold of my right hand. His fingers curl around mine and he whispers in my ears, "I want you to feel it. With me."
He takes hold of my left hand in his other free hand and guides me along the path. I smile as our entwined fingers touch the passing leaves, flowers and branches. Stray raindrops left on the leaves end up on our fingers, leaving them wet.
I can only hear the faint rustle of the leaves as the wind blows through them. They sound like whispers, as if the woods hide some sort of a secret from us. Birds start chirping as we get deeper and deeper into the trees. Their melodious voice mingles with the whisperings of the trees and it blends into a beautiful song that I have never heard before. It is so beautiful, I want time to stop right there. I want to hold on to this memory, and keep it forever, safe in my heart.
He pauses abruptly, bringing me to a stop as well. For a moment, I wait for him to say something, but he doesn't. Instead, after a while I feel him holding out my palm and putting something soft and light on it. It feels fragile, like a flower.
"It is a dandelion." He says. His voice is as soft as the flower feels in my palm.
He gently takes my fingers and brushes them over the soft petals of the dandelion. It feels like I am touching a cloud and a laugh escapes me. He then makes me hold the stem of it and then brings my hand closer to my mouth.
"Make a wish and blow."
I laugh and say, "Like on a birthday candle?"
"Yes. Except, it feels different."
I close my eyes, even though it makes no difference whether they are open or closed. I do it because it feels different, almost...normal. I know what I want to wish for.
I smile and wish for his happiness. And then, I blow on the dandelion.
As I blow on it, he brings my other palm so that it falls in the way of the petals that now stray away from the little dandelion. Some of the stray petals brush against my palm, and I laugh.
It almost feels like I can see it - the empty stem of the dandelion left on my hand and the bits of it being carried away in the wind, taking my wish along with it.
***
We are on a boat, lying on our backs, in the middle of a lake. My hand is outstretched, touching the water of the lake. The little waves created by the wind gently break against my fingers and I move my hand around in the water, creating more waves of my own. I love to hear the sound of the water hitting against the sides of the boat. He is lying with his head on the other side of the boat, so his feet are dangling over the edge of the boat, on my side. I can feel them moving now and then when he tries to touch the surface of the water with his toes. He tells me there are white clouds in the sky. He tells me that if I look out with my head just above the surface of the boat, I can see the exact replica of the blue sky reflected on the lake, complete with the puffs of white clouds. He says it almost looks like the sky is never-ending. And that it starts at the edge of the boat, and if I reach out, I would be able to touch it. I am bored with lying around quietly. So I scoop a bit of water out of the lake and try to aim it on him. I know the water hit its mark because he exclaims loudly.
I laugh and say, "Hah! You didn't see that one coming did you?"
He doesn't reply. Instead, I am hit with a spray of water.
"Two can play at that game, Sakshi." He says.
We start a water fight of our own. I forget that I cannot actually see him, the boat or the lake. I do not need eyes to see everything. Not when the feeling is so beautiful.
When we emerge out of the lake, we are completely drenched. My stomach hurts from laughing.
***
"You aren't allowed to come in!"
"Come on, just a peek."
"NO!" I shout at him from inside the kitchen.
I block his way when he tries to sneak in. His curiosity gets the better of him sometimes. When he tries to duck under my arms that block the doorway, I whack him with a nearby newspaper.
"Ow!" He exclaims.
"That teaches you for trying to sneak in! Don't get smart with me ACP Arjun Rawte."
"Fine!"
I can hear him walking away into the living room. I smile and retreat to my kitchen counter. I love doing experiments with food on Sundays. Some have been successes and some have been failures when we ended up ordering pizzas and then laughing over it. I do believe you should try every odd combination in this world. Life isn't about sticking to the same rules.
I hear the radio being turned on in the next room and I smile. Sometimes I don't know if he does something because he likes it or because I do. I don't even think it matters anymore. His interests have blended in with mine. And mine with his.
As I find my way to the microwave with my bowl of dark chocolate, I hear his feet approaching the door. I immediately abandon my bowl of chocolate and make my way towards the door. I am almost thrown off balance when he collides into me.
"Ow! What are you doing, Arjun?"
He takes my hand and brings it over his eyes. I gasp when I feel a cloth covering his eyes and I say, "What? What is this?"
"You said I can't see. But, at least I can listen to you cook!" I know he is grinning. One of his mischievous grins.
I shake my head in response and say, "Fine. But, don't disturb me!"
This time, I guide him over to an empty space on the kitchen counter. He lifts himself on to it and settles there.
"Now, don't move!" I say.
I feel his hands reaching out to find my chocolate bowl, the same time my hands land on it.
"Leave!" I try to whack his hand away, but I know he manages to grab a piece of chocolate from it.
I laugh while he takes a bite out of it and says, "Yuck! It is bitter."
"Well, its dark chocolate. And it serves you right for stealing it!"
"Ugh. I think it will be pizza day again today."
"You underestimate my cooking."
***
"Mmm. It smells nice." He takes a whiff of the salted caramel I have just prepared.
Before his finger dips into the bowl I snatch it away and pour it over my sweet spaghetti. I add my chocolate and hazelnut cake pops to it. Yeah, it is my version of "spaghetti and meatballs". The entire kitchen smells of chocolate and caramel, which equals happiness for both of us. He has a sweet tooth, and so do I.
We settle down on our window and I feel him taking his blindfold off.
"Wish me luck!" He says and I offer him my cheese and tomato muffins.
I hear the surprise in his voice as he says, "Oh wow. You squeezed a pizza into a muffin?"
I laugh at his description and say, "Yup. Now you know that I can cook well! Say it! You know you want to!"
"It actually tastes nice, unlike some of your weird experiments. Like that pani puri ice-cream we had last week."
"That was actually nice! You don't have any taste."
"I am normal. Normal people don't have interests like you," he says teasingly.
I munch on the cake pops, lean back on the window pane and say, "Life doesn't say you always have to follow the rules and do what everyone else does."
***
We are sprawled out on our backs on my little balcony. I listen to him as he counts the stars and describes the city lights.
"They look like your eyes," he says.
"What?"
"The lights. They twinkle like your eyes. Blinking, beating...like my heartbeat feels."
He gently takes my arm and puts it on his heart. I can feel its rhythmic beating against my palm and I smile, imagining the stars beating.
I want to keep on feeling his heartbeat. It makes me feel alive. Because when I feel his heartbeat, the world doesn't seem like an illusion that I can only hear. It feels living, breathing. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't met him.
His phone vibrates then and I hear him answer it.
"Hello?"
There is a brief pause. I try to find his face, to feel his expressions, but he shakes it away.
He jerks upright abruptly and I hear him say, "Really?"
His voice sounds different. Excited, happy. So I sit up and wait for him to finish his call.
When he hangs up I ask, "What happened?"
"It was Dr. Rastogi. We found an eye donor for you. It's the perfect match."
You better leave your comments and hit the like button if you do really like it! If you dont leave comments, i wouldn't know how badly i am writing lol, so you better!😛
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