RiKara OS - His Dream Girl

Winds were blowing hard outside, making the soft transparent curtains fly in the room which was dimly lit. In the center of the room, in front of a large canvas, stood a long-haired man with spectacles perched on his nose, as his hands, which were covered in paint, continued to work on the canvas. The scrunch of his nose and frown on his forehead was clear, as he worked determinedly, trying the get the respective picture he had in mind, perfectly on the canvas. The table beside him was filled with paint bottles and different sizes of brushes while the chair which he usually sat while working was pushed away as he stood, his complete focus on the portrait of a particularly beautiful young woman.

A young woman his eyes fell on while strolling on the beach. Omkara, an artist, who usually had an eye for nature and beauty, was strolling around when he was struck by her enchanting beauty. She was dressed in a light blue salwar suit with a dupatta around her neck and was paying the vendor, taking a balloon from him and handing it to a little girl who looked as excited as her, getting it. Soon, she was surrounded by a whole group of little kids who wanted to be pampered as well. She simply giggled and bought everyone a balloon happily.

Om stood there in a trance, admiring the delicate girl from afar. Her eyes were the most attractive feature about her, those big, hazel orbs, deep enough for him to drown in. Her frame was tiny, so much that his frame would completely cover her and that moment Om wanted to feel how she felt against him. His gentlemanly side quickly chided him and he shook his head at his thoughts. He saw the little girl tug the woman's dupatta, who turned around and bent down to her level, giving all of her attention. The girl gave a quick peck on her cheek, making her surprised and then she threw her head back in laughter.

Om had never seen a girl with a more beautiful smile. Her radiant smile could light up anyone's world within a second. Her giggles were soft and tinkling, that made a smile appear on his lips as well. She then took the little girl in her arms and kissed her cheeks. His smile widened at the loving act as the little girl giggled in happiness too.

He then saw her lift her head up as someone called her. She looked up and nodded, then waving the kids goodbye, she walked over to a man, who smiled at her as they made their way towards the car. Om frowned, feeling an unease settle in his chest as he saw her walk away with another man. Nevertheless, this did not stop him from admiring the sheer beauty she is.

His visits to the beach became frequent and more than earlier, just in hope of a glimpse of that pretty girl. He couldn't get her beautiful face out of his head and then is when his artistic stride kicked in as he started to pour his feelings on the canvases, painting her face. Sometimes it would solely base on her enchanting eyes, or sometimes it would be her radiant smile and the way she threw her head back in laughter, or maybe the way she flicked the strand of her long, silky hair behind her ear.

He sighed as his hands worked on the most enchanting pair of eyes he's ever seen. It was always that he spends more time on her eyes because he wants it to be nothing less than perfect.

"Om!" He heard his brother's voice and looked up to him entering the room, with two mugs of steaming coffee.

Omkara Singh Oberoi smiled, as he wiped his hands with a cloth, placing it back on the table and covered the canvas with a light sheet. "Shivaay!" He exclaimed, "Tu yahan?"

"Kyun? Mein yahan nahi aa sakta kia?" He asked, knowing the obvious answer, as he handed him his mug.

Om chuckled as he took it, "Nahi, I meant it's late...I thought you must've slept till now. Bhabhi told me you had a meeting tomorrow morning" He said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah I do...but kia karun? Neend hi nahi aa rahi" He shrugged, "Tou meine socha yahan aa jaun...was sure you'd be awake" He said and Om nodded as they sipped their coffees.

"Waise...what were you painting?" He asked.

"Nothing, just..."

"He must be painting his dream girl." The third Obro, named Rudra Singh Oberoi walked in with a smug smile on his face, making Shivaay frown in confusion at his words while Om simply rolled his eyes.

"Dream girl?" He asked, confused while Om shook his head, glaring at Rudra "Nothing yaar..."

"Kia nothing? So this portrait is nothing?" Rudra asked, pointing to the canvas behind him, "And those bundles of sketches in your drawer are nothing?"

"Fhat the wuck!" Om stood up, "Tu meri drawer mein ghusa?!" He asked angrily.

"Arre nahi, O! I saw you once quickly put all the stuff away when I entered your room...aap ko laga meine kuch notice nahi kia but meine notice kia tha" Rudra replied with a smirk, proud of himself while Om smacked him on the head.

"Hold on!" Shivaay stopped their banter, "What am I missing here?"

"Mein batata hun..." Rudra started to speak when Shivaay interrupted him, "Tu chup kar! Om, tu bol" Shutting Rudra up, who pouted angrily at him, he ordered Om to start off with an explanation.

Om sighed, knowing he had no option left but to confess. He never hid anything from his brothers, neither did they. Knowing each other in and out, it was a known rule between Obros that they'll never keep secrets from each other. Taking a deep breath, he started to tell his brothers about his muse, his inspiration who has started to invade his mind as well and refused to leave his thoughts. All because of a simple glimpse of her, which was magical enough to work her charm on him. And the best part, she did not even try, it just happened.

Shivaay rose his eyebrows in wonder as Om finished with a serene smile, while Rudra pursued his lips, deep in thought.

"Wow..." Shivaay exclaimed, pulling Om out of his reverie. "Aur tune mujhe nahi bataya?"

"Arre yaar bataya tou iss gadhe ko bhi nahi tha...khud hi dimagh chalaya hai issne!" Om smacked Rudra once again.

"Aur dekho mera dimagh ne chalte chalte mystery solve bhi kar li" Rudra boasted, pulling up his collar as both the brothers sighed.

"So...did you meet her again?" Shivaay asked while Om shook his head.

"No...Never saw her again" He muttered in disappointment.

"Never saw her again?" Rudra asked, "Was she a ghost or something? Vanished in thin air?" He chuckled at his own joke while his brothers turned to look at him, their faces spelling murder which made his mouth shut.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Shivaay probed him further, while Om sighed in frustration.

"What is there to do?" he questioned, "For all I know, she could be married or something" He said, remembering the man she went with at the beach. "Plus, I don't even know who she is." He made up excuses because maybe he didn't want to hope for something that wasn't supposed to be his to start with.

"I have an idea, O!" Rudra jumped in, "Aap ne uss ladki ki itni pictures bana tou li hain, tou hum isse police mein de dete hain. Wo log hume yeh ladki dhoond denge"

Om and Shivaay looked at each other with the same expressions, and then turned to Rudra and spoke, "Shut up, Rudra!"

"Arre, I'm trying to help!" He argued.

"Please don't!" Om begged, "Faaltu ke ideas de ke dimagh kharab kar raha hai bas!" He sighed, feeling tired, which Shivaay noticed.

"Chalo phir, it's getting late. Mujhe jaana hai kal subah" Shivaay said, getting up, realizing his brother needed space, he decided to leave.

"Par mujhe nahi jana kahin" Rudra spoke, who was lying on the bed freely. "Tujhe waise bhi koi kaam nahi hai...faarigh insaan" Om taunted him as Rudra made a face at him and Shivaay laughed as he pulled Rudra up, and started pushing him out of the room. Midway, he stopped at turned to face Om.

"Om...you sure you don't want to find her?" Shivaay asked him once again and this time Om smiled, looking downwards. Then looking towards the covered canvas that held the girl of his dreams, he spoke,

"Kuch khwab sirf khwab hi rehne ke liye hote hain...unke sach hone ki umeed na bhi ho, par dil ko sukoon hota hai" The philosophical Om made an entry, explaining his brothers that even if he did not have her in reality, he is at peace knowing that she is at least in his thoughts and he felt lucky enough to have that. Rudra rolled his eyes, because as always he did not understand a word of what his brother said, but Shivaay smiled at his words and taking a step in his direction, placing a hand on his shoulder, he questioned,

"Lekin agar wo khwab sach ho jaye...tou harj kia hai?" Om looked at him in confusion, it was very rare that someone managed to make shayar sahab speechless like this, be it his own brother.

"I hope you find your dream girl soon" Winking at his brother, Shivaay walked out with Rudra while Om stood there, contemplating on the situation. He then uncovered the canvas, revealing those captivating eyes that had also managed to capture his heart. He was fine with the fact that he might never meet her again, but after what Shivaay said, a hope started to infiltrate his heart, that he just might meet her.

Running his hand gently over her eyes, he spoke, "Will I ever meet you again?"

***

Om sighed heavily as he looked around the place filled with people who were, dressed heavily, gossiping around. He observed his surroundings with a completely bored face, clearly not interested in whatever the event was.

"Man, the girls here are hot!" Came his brother's voice, who threw his arm around his shoulder and kept ogling the girls passing by with his sunglasses slipped off of his nose.

"Shut up Rudra!" Replied an irritated Om, pushing his arm away. "Why are we here anyway? And what event is this?!" He further expressed his frustration. An introvert, he liked spending his time indoors to himself, and not waste time attending functions of the people he barely knew.

Rudra laughed at his condition, he knew his brother hated such crowded events. "Because everyone is attending...and Mom asked you to attend too" Which was the truth. Some old relative of Dadi which he had never seen ever, had invited them to his son's wedding and Dadi was only happy to attend. Not only that, she wanted the whole Oberoi clan to attend a wedding of someone they don't even know.

"O! Aap apne exhibitions bhi tou attend karte ho na? So just imagine, you're attending your exhibition. That way you won't be bored" Rudra said, making the ever famous logic' sign, while Om looked at him with gritted teeth, wanting to smack him. Trust Rudra Singh Oberoi to give the most stupid solutions. He just took in a deep breath and ignored his idiot of a brother.

His cell rang and he pushed his brother away who frowned at him, and attended the call. Rudra kept smiling at the girls who were passing his gaze, when one of them winked at him. "Lag gayi lottery" He mumbled happily to himself and walked towards the girl. Once Om was done with his call, he turned around to see his brother missing.

"Ab yeh kahan chala gaya?" He asked himself, as he walked forward and looked in search of him.

As he walked further, his eyes wandering around in search of his brother, without realizing he bumped into a tiny figure, pushing the tray of rose petals in her hands as it went flying away, leaving the petals showering over their heads. The tiny figure clung onto him, hiding her face in his chest as he immediately caught her by the waist, preventing her from falling down. Slowly, she lifted her head, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

Om forgot to breathe as his gaze collided with hers. Dressed in a pink embroidered suit and hair pinned neatly, looking at him with those captivating orbs and clinging onto him for her life was his dream girl.

The girl who managed to capture his heart in a single glimpse. The girl who invaded his thoughts and refused to leave them. The girl who inspired him to paint when he had lost all his inspiration. The girl he was dying to meet, who was finally in his arms.

Realizing she was saying something, he came into his senses and pulled her up, making her stand, "Uh...are you okay?" He asked, still dazed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You okay?" She asked and Om smiled at her and nodded.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just clumsy like this" She apologized for bumping into him, "Thank you for saving me" She smiled at him and his heart soared at the sight of her bewitching smiled, which was directed at him.

"It's okay...no problem" He replied, "By the way, I'm Omkara" He forwarded his hand, introducing himself, not losing a chance of finally getting to know her.

She smiled and shook his hands, "I'm Gauri" She said.

Gauri. He smiled. His dream girl had a name. His dream girl was no more just a dream.

"I'm a friend of the bride" She chatted, "Waise, aap ko pehle kabhi dekha nahi. Are you from the groom's side? Ya phir sirf muft ka khaana khaane aaye hain?"

Om was taken aback at the comment, and immediately denied, "No no...I'm from the groom's side. My family is related to his father somehow...I'm not..." He stammered to explain, in case she misunderstands him.

"Relax!" She laughed, "I was just kidding!" She said cheekily and continued giggling and Om sighed in relief, smiling himself at her laughter.

Merely two words were exchanged and Om knew she is a firecracker. She is the mixture of all the bright colors on his palette, and he couldn't help but admire her. He was about to say something else when they heard someone call out her name.

"Aayi!" She shouted back and turned to look at me, throwing me a smile. "So, I'll see you around" She said and he nodded, smiling back. I'll make sure of it.

As she walked past him, a gush of air flew making her dupatta fly which touched his face softly and he closed his eyes at the touch, smiling when it gently slided over his face as she kept walking. He kept watching her retreating back with a soft smile on his face.

He saw her halt in her tracks, and wait for a moment before turning around and facing him. As their eyes collided, she smiled at him one more time before running away with her friends, while he was left standing there, a serene smile playing on his lips.

Dreams can turn into reality after all.