He walked in the room and turned on the lights. His majestically decorated room was illuminated by the dim light of the central lights. Rubbing the nape of his neck, he dragged his body to the bed and let gravity do the work. Falling on the soft mattress, he stared at the white ceiling of his room without blinking. His body was very tired after the busy day. Every joint of his body was aching. The logical thing to do was to turn off the lights, turn on the AC, get under the covers of the blanket and let the fairy of sleep drift him to the valley of dreams.
But logic was one thing that was missing from his life nowadays.
Getting up from the bed, he walked towards the music system placed on the corner of the room. Humming a soft, random tune, he turned on the radio and walked towards the rocking chair placed near the system.
Sitting on the chair, he leaned it back and rested his head comfortably. He closed his eyes as a soft song killed the silence of the room.
Flash.
A small hand appeared. It was outstretched and playing with the falling raindrops.
He opened his eyes, not altogether shocked at what he had seen but surprised nonetheless. It was all because of the song, he mentally convinced himself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes again.
Flash.
A girl was running after a flying balloon. Her brown hair moving left and right as she ran.
He opened his eyes again and shook his head. He had just turned on the radio for relaxing his tired muscles, instead the song was doing crazy things to his head. He glared at the stereo angrily but couldn't find it in himself to get and turn that damn thing off.
"Duur...bohat duur! Ek jahan hai...bohat khubsurat. Bohat pyara. Main urr ke chali jaoungi wahan...!"
This time, he didn't have to close his eyes. The voice seemed to be coming from within him. He got up restlessly from the chair and started pacing in the room. This restlessness was suffocating him, he wanted some fresh air.
Walking towards his balcony window, he opened the sliding glass door and walked out. His body bathed in the light of the full moon. A soft gust of wind caressed his face. The cool wind made him feel better and he did the mistake of closing his eyes again.
She was standing with her arms wide open. The strong gusts of wind were making her wind fly. But she stood her ground. Even above the wind, he could hear her laughter. She turned around and he saw her face...
Udayveer opened his eyes. His heart was racing in his chest. Placing a hand on his chest, he heard the thundering heartbeats. He seemed to be breathing heavily, as if he has participating in a race. What was happening to him?
Walking towards the balcony wall, he put his hands on it and bowed down his head. He needed to clear his head. The face he had just seen had scared her. He wasn't stupid, he had always known that he was attracted to Manyata. He liked teasing her, liked to pull her leg, seeing her in pain was something he didn't like. It could be called an infatuation at best.
But this? Seeing her face when he closed her eyes, the racing of his heartbeats at her memories; what the hell was that? He was Yuvraj Udayveer Singh, the future king of Jaigarh. He was meant to rule with a calm and composed mind. He was supposed to never lose his cool and be controlled by anything. But right now, he felt like he was losing all his calm. The mere thought of her was doing crazy things to his body.
"Get a hold of yourself Udayveer!" He scolded himself and curled his fists. Looking up, he took a deep breathe to calm himself down.
It was a starry night. The tiny shining dots on the sheet of velvety black were creating a beautiful sight. He seldom took time out of his life to appreciate the Nature's beautiful sights and now standing here struggling with his disturbing feelings, it was a very good distraction.
"Pata hai, taaron ke peeche bhi hazaaron kahanian chupi hoti hain..." the familiar voice came from beside him. A soft smile graced his lips and he glanced sideways. She was standing two feet away from him, looking up at the sky. Her open hair, the way he loved them, were dancing with the wind.
"Acha? Tumein konsi kahani pata hai?" Diverting his attention from the shining stars, he turned his body to face him. She smiled at his question.
"Koi khaas nahin...kabhi koi kahani nazar aati hai, kabhi koi."
"Aaj konsi kahani nazar arahi hai tumein?"
"Aaj taare kuch zyada chamak rahe hain, jaise naach rahe hon. Khush horahe hon, jashan mana rahe hon. Lagta hai aaj koi deewana hogaya hai." She chuckled at the end of the sentence and looked at him. His heart skipped a beat. How could anyone be so breathtakingly beautiful?
He extended his hand towards her. She stood there, smiling. Her eyes were calling him towards her. His hand was just centimeters away from hers when he blinked. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.
He stood there with his arm hanging in mid air. He looked around, confused. When the reality hit him, he was so shocked he couldn't move. Was he imagining her? Did she find a way out of his mind and come in front of his eyes?
"Lagta hai, aaj kisi ka dil kho gaya..." The voice came from behind him. He turned around quickly. She was standing there, her hands behind her back and a mischievous grin on her face. Was she real? Or another delusion?
She was walking towards him, the mischievous grin hiding many secrets. She came close to him, so close he could hug her and hide her from the world. Looking directly into his eyes, she stood on her toes. He dared not close her eyes.
Moving her face closer to his, she whispered in his ear.
"Lagta hai...aaj kisi ko pyaar ho gaya..."
Before he could react to her words, she planted a kiss on his cheek and he closed his eyes at her dreamy touch. The wind blew around him, touching every part of his body as if it was rejoicing over something. When he opened his eyes, she wasn't there.
She was a delusion so why did she feel so real? Why were her words so clear? Why was his cheek still burning where she kissed him? Why could he feel her presence all around her?
And what had she said? In love? Who? Him...?
"Humein...pyaar? Wo bhi Manyata se...?" He mumbled to himself in disbelief. This couldn't be true...so why was his heart beating so fast as if echoing one word over and over again.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes...
Udayveer woke up with a start and sat up on his bed. It took him a moment to realize his surroundings. He was in his room, the sunlight shining outside the closed glass window meant it was morning. He realized that he had fallen asleep last night.
So, it was all a dream?
He felt like someone had hit his head with a club. His mind was confused. He couldn't differentiate between the dream and reality. He remembered all the details of the dream like it was crystal clear. Like it had happened in real.
"Lekin ye tou...ek sapna tha. Matlab it's not true..." He mumbled to himself.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
His cell phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. Reaching out for it, he saw Manyata's name flashing on the screen. Unknowingly, a smile graced his lips as he opened her text message.
"Kahan ho? Jaldi aao! Subah hogayi hai, kitna sou ge halkat!"
This was the reality, what had happened was a dream. But it felt real, because he wanted it to be real. The feelings he could never confront while he was awake, they were all resolved in his dream. Her reasoning about the shining stars from the dream was echoing in his head.
"Lagta hai, aaj kisi ko pyaar hogaya..."
So was she right? Was he in love?
His heartbeat replied as he got ready quickly to go meet her as soon as possible.
Yes. Yes. Yes...
Love,
Maisooma.