Arshi FF: Tune Into Me-chapter:26 Updated Page 101 - Page 49

Found your blog today.. Will read soon..

Hi Dedee.

where are u dear? more than 2 weeks since your last update!!!!!!!

With music track, in link below :)

20. A Muse, A Spark:

Tune Into Me:

20. A Muse, A Spark:

As the early morning sun rays started to sweep through the window of his room, Arnav jumped back in with his one hand tapping the front of his pull-over and just as he entered his room, he was met by the sight of Sameer looking down keenly at a sleeping Khushi. Sameer was standing beside his bed, looking down at Khushi, his face masked with concern. As Arnav stood there contemplating his actions, he noticed Sameer bend to cradle Khushi in his arms.

"Uncle..." he called out causing Sameer's hands to still in air, and he turned to now direct his concerned confused gaze towards Arnav.

"Arnav" he said, his voice ending in a sigh. He then looked at Khushi, then at him and Arnav could sense he was struggling to come up with a question.

"Uh, we were at the beach and she, uh, fell. A sharp stone cut her knee. It's just a small injury" he spoke with a straight face.

"Are you sure?" Sameer asked, concerned.

"I checked the wound myself uncle. It's not that bad. We can wake her up, for your reassurance..."

"No no... do you hear that?" Sameer suddenly whispered, silencing Arnav and as the room went silent, amidst the rummaging sound of waves echoing in the external, Arnav heard her soft snoring.

"I've hardly seen her snore. We shouldn't disturb her. I need to recheck her wound, call up the doc and take care of a little medication. Arnav, can you help?"

Arnav was still pondering over the medication part for a moment before alerting himself to answer the elder man. "Yes, sure uncle, what can I do?"

"Please carry her back to her room; I'm getting old you see?"

"Uh, yeah ofcourse!"

Even as Arnav hesitated, Sameer moved to give him some space. He nodded and walked to reach the bed passing by his uncle. He bent, awkwardly and picked her up in a swift moment, when Sameer reached out and tangled her hands around Arnav's neck, in an attempt to help.

"Are you sure she wouldn't wake up?" Arnav whispered.

"Yes, she usually wouldn't wake up easily"

*

Arnav didn't understand if Sameer realized what he was doing. Maybe it was just seeking help from the boy who he had seen grow-up. Maybe it was his blind trust on someone who is as good as family to him. Maybe it was the sense that Arnav was the kid in his home. Or maybe nothing at all occurred to Sameer, expect to ask for a genuine help.

But Arnav was left wondering if Sameer realized what was happening in that moment. He had just placed his young daughter in the hands of a young man. A young grown-up man whose hormones are working in jet speed at that very moment and yet couldn't do anything about it. It was a moment of impact, a moment of spark. A moment when he was subjected to a rush of million emotions, all undefined but suffocating. It was not like Arnav was holding a girl for the first time. It was not like he was holding her for the first time either. This thought took him back to the waterfalls, when he brought her down. Nothing of it was new to him, but then nothing of it ever felt the way it did now. At that very moment.

Maybe it was the long night that stood before the morning. Maybe it was the impact of the little peck that left him hanging out there, craving for more. Maybe it was the sudden ignition he felt towards her. Only since last night. Yes, he had heard her snore, the whole night, which explains that he hadn't slept. Not a minute in the night that stretched long. The moment of their kiss, added to more moments before that, lead him to relive the time he had spent in that country. It was practically nothing. Yet it was suggesting something. He was desperate to find more answers, but he didn't know what the right questions were. There has been something unexplainable that was going on with them. And that was the thought that lead him to wander away into the islet in early hours.

But this very moment, as he cradled her, walked with her in his arms, taking the not-s0-longish way towards her room, all too slowly, kept him wondering there were more questions than answers which he had to figure out. There was more than the music that stands between them. The moment was filled with sparks, tingling reactions, evoking solitude that was evident on the way he looked down at her, all this just because of the chemistry that had started to cook between them. A chemistry as a result of the induced physics.

He was attracted to her. That's the direct statement. There is no denial to it.

And just like that as he carried her in his arms, the entire moment provoked him to think of a tune. He was marveled at the way his mind was working lately. Some guitar strings, beats and a soft flute tune, played in his mind and with that, he could no longer look away from the muse in his hands. Was she really? The Muse he might have always needed? And never really knew?

As soon as he placed her on her bed, his stance remained fixed in that bent position, and he looked down to find the reason being her strong grip at his collar. He tried to ease her fingers away, and as that moment lasted a little longer, a tune that started to nibble him in his subconscious mind has almost but burst into his senses. He was all but appalled with the ridiculousness of it all. That suddenly reminded him of the audition he was supposed to give.

"Arnav, I'll just be back"

He barely heard Sameer say. His gaze looked like it was fixed at her, but in real, it was fixed to an imaginary instrument which he visualized playing. He stood there, drawing an analogy of which strings to use to get that beat out of his mind. He stood there, visualizing which fingers he would use to let that tune come out from the flute, he imagined himself playing. All this in mere few minutes and he felt rejuvenated all over again. Absent mindedly, he tapped the front of his pull-over again and allowed his hand to reach inside the zipper, only to extract the thick black book of Khushi, which he had fetched early that morning from the Islet. He looked between the closed book and Khushi for a moment. He would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to open it. But he didn't. He brushed away the water droplets from the hard cover and walked to slowly place it in Khushi's hand. Her fingers tangled around the book, and he let her hand grip it harder, close to her chest. He smiled and turned to exit the room, with the tune still prominently thumping in his mind.

**

It was like, he suddenly was drugged. He barely remembered asking Sameer car and directions to key in into the navigator, to reach the venue, which was a different place this time. He didn't really have to go all the way to Edinburgh, the venue was a little in the outskirts that connects Belhaven to Edinburgh city. On his way to the venue, he looked desperately for a musical instrument store and he thanked his stars when he found one. Picking up an electronic flute has been easy and quick, and soon he was pacing towards the venue, hypnotized with the tune.

He enrolled himself into the instrumental music category. Just to support his instrument, he had been given a small orchestra team. He practiced with them not longer than fifteen minutes and what seemed like a day that had all passed until then in a whim, in some trance had suddenly paused. Froze, giving him his moment to finally explore the room within him, which was locked all these days. The beats kicked in, Piano, drums, guitar strings were set, the tempo began, and he blew air into the flute. The air flew taking his tune like butter on the bread, melted into the listeners years, soothing and captivating, took them all to the same trance in which he had been in the whole day. It was all pure magic.

**

He opened his eyes, forcing himself out of the reverie and all he could see and hear was silence. Prolonged silence to such an extent that it started to make him nervous, for once. For once in his life, he was nervous of some kind of judgment. The reaction of hardly any audience witnessing him, the statement to be given by the four important people responsible for his selection, had suddenly become highly important to him. After what seemed like a silence for eternity, the audience clapped, nonchalantly like they have been doing for every other audition before him. He looked up to see the chamber above the stage. There were four people from selection team sitting in there, and they have suddenly started discussing things among themselves.

In a fraction of second he recalled a wide range of audience back in India, calling out and roaring his name, enjoying everything and anything that is being played, even if he was just enacting, everything surfaced back into his mind and he found himself sniggering a little at the circle of it all. He started wondering why this was suddenly important to him. The deal with his father was only about him creating something on his own, for the audition. His father didn't even talk about him getting through the auditions. So, for all practical reasons, the purpose for which he had come to Scotland, have been served. He could show his father the recording of this video, and he would get all that he wanted from him.

That would also mean he was free to go back from here. But the question was, did he really want to?

He knew the answer. And it's a no. And the reason was simple. He didn't want to leave everything at this moment. He could sense he had started to discover something. Something into the art of music he was born with. Something involving the person he had known all his life. He didn't know what it was. But by then the reoccurrences of events had given him enough reasons to come to that conclusion. Today was just another reassurance. It had suddenly become highly important for him to stay back, discover more, and come to a conclusion; sort out the ridiculousness of it all. As illogical as it might seem, he couldn't help but think illogical. And for that he needed a reason. A reason enough to stay back. And hence, being in the Fringe Festival throughout has suddenly become important to him. It gave him a musical reason, a room to exposure, and music in turn gives him room to explore her, explore them.

"Arnav..."

He heard the middle-aged Scottish man say in his thick accent. He nodded in acknowledgment.

"So, is that an electronic flute?"

"Yes it is..."

"It sounds fascinating" A lady sitting beside him spoke.

"Did you use some Indian beats in the track of keyboard?"

"Yes, a sound similar to Jingles.." he answered to another man from the chamber.

"Well Arnav, it was amazing. Magical and I'm impressed."

He sensed a but in that statement. "But then, we seem to have a problem here"

"I see you have enrolled yourself in instrumental category. But then we already have enough contestants in this category this year. This is a limited members category and you are really very late" He could totally sense the apology in that explanation.

"But then, we can still take you further, however, you need to get into either the light music or the band music category. Which means, you will either have to create proper complete songs, with a prepared track and sing, perform in each of the rounds, or if you can organize yourself a band an orchestra, that is also good with us, so what do you think?"

He was confused and also desperate. He couldn't possibly organize a whole band in this country. Neither can he create proper songs without lyricists. What more options did he have?

"Uh, Light music..." he said still sounding thoughtful and unsure.

"You sure?"

"Uh, yes"

I guess.

**

To be continued...

lovely update
w8ng 4 more arshi conversation...
continue soon

Where is the update darling ... I clicked the link and it was empty there I mean updated till 19th chapter.

yes update isnt there...just the song...

just got caught up with this ff..i must say its one of the best here. khushi n arnav, their sentiments, their realities as imperfect human beings, the love for their dear ones, insecurities, thoughts are defined very beautifully. the musical backdrop in the beautiful coastal town in uk adds to the beauty. khushi though sometimes seems immature in her thoughts, does have her own vulnerabilities. looking forward to see how these two bond together n create music n love that becomes a success..

Commented in the Blog so here I give you this a warm 🤗

Dedee I am feeling sorry that I havent commented on last 2 chaps...My exams gonna start from tomorrow...Then after exams I will catch up with this story n Tune into it...:)