Arhi FF 'Sandcastle' #2 Reposted all parts - Page 37

Brilliantly written👏

really loved reading it!

Awesome updt.

Arnav n his family knw abt shona.

I m curious is Shona the pseudo name Khushi gave him in the notes.

The way Arnav ws talkin abt khushi clearly shows he's in love wid her tho his mind hs nt registered the fact his heart hs felt for khushi.

However I dnt knw how these so called love is tht 2 people share with each other without meeting or seein the other.

I dnt knw wht exactly did Arnav n Khushi exchange in those notes tht they fell in love.

I can understand Khushi knws Arnav is Suriya. However Arnav who knws so much abt Shona thru notes tht he knws he loves her n wnts to spend his life with her bt wht he saw thru written communication in her He is nt seein any of it when Khushi is in front of him in person for 3 weeks n the whole day they spend. Dint he say he loves Shona who is full of life yet nt see tht in Khushi bt at the same time feel for khushi wnt 2 protect her n see her happy bt nt believe it anythng more thn friendship.

BTW hs Arnav read Shona's msg.

Chapter 16

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"It's natural to want someone you love to do what you want, or what you think would be good for them, but you have to let everything happen to them. You can't interfere with people you love any more than you're supposed to interfere with people you don't even know. And that's hard... because you often feel like interfering - you want to be the one who makes the plans."

By John Irving in The Cider House Rules

***

He sat on one of the benches with his head buried in his hands.

His mind failed to register the surroundings, the chaos that no man would miss. People with various moods that passed by him, roadside vendors shouting at the top of their lungs, vehicles that seemed to be in hundreds with their constant horns or the dark clouds... nothing registered in his mind. It was numb. So numb that he could hear silence and nothing else. He could reach for it if he allowed his hands leave his head.

Words swirled effortlessly; as he flinched at the sharp pierce they brought with them in his heart. He had stayed there for almost three hours before leaving, only to be seated just few feet away from the Rock of Gibraltar' as it was not called as. Fifteen minutes in the boat ride and half hour of tries to leave the place altogether were futile and he gave up, his body collapsed on the bench.

You are not late, Suriya. You just reached the wrong girl.

It had been hard to breathe when he read those words... words that he hated the most. Bile rose in an instant. He had hissed every curse aloud, ignoring the glances he attracted. Nothing mattered to him the most. The happiness that knew no bounds, when he realized she had been there, read his message, and replied, was killed brutally with that line. As his eyes took the rest of them, bile had been replaced by an unknown happiness. If he was angry at the way she decided that she was the wrong girl for her, the anger was nowhere to be seen as uncertain fear filled his heart. She loved him. She knew he was in her city. And she had met him.That was all he gathered through her message.

That was all really mattered to him. Rest would fell in place and he would fight with her, if required, to show her what was there between them - that strong connection that they felt. He would make sure she not only acknowledge it but also accept it.

I love you, more than you will ever know

Arnav let a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. She loved him. To hear those words from her, even if that meant in such a way, felt right. His family had discarded him when he confessed his love for the girl he hadn't even seen. His friends had discarded with a teasing laugh. Yet, he knew, it was love that he felt for his Shona. Love and nothing else. They hadn't met, but it didn't mean theirs wasn't love. In a way that even he failed to describe... he was in love with her. His parents had said, after he confessed everything that he had shared with his Shona through those letters, that he liked the persona that she was and it might turn out to be nothing. Truth to be told, Arnav had the similar doubts. He had tried every way possible to see what he felt for Shona. He had dated girls he knew, and had gone to blind dates regularly, to the point that he had literally certified insane. After doing everything in his vicinity, he gave up, as he was unable to forget Shona but tried to draw similarities between her and the girls he met. He took months to understand what he really felt. Once he made sure that he was indeed in love with the girl he hadn't even seen, it was then he took up the offer and flew to the city of pearls - just so he could search for her.

He looked around then. The cloudless sky stared back at him as the road was barren with few vehicles passing by, with roadside vendors closing their stalls.He realized he had been sitting there for hours without a care for the world, as he was too involved in trying to find possibilities as why his Shona, right after confessing that she loved him, wanted to do nothing with him. He knew her enough to understand that it was something serious that was making her to keep her distance with him. She wasn't a kind to regret after the happenings. She was a kind to take a risk for what she believed. He smiled a little at the kid, who had been sitting beside him but didn't speak a word.

The kid was wearing a threadbare vest and a short. Arnav watched as the kid extended his hand with a paper roll. He shook his head, wondering how had be become the man that he was in that moment. It was not him, to stay in a public place in such a way. Yet, he didn't feel embarrass. Instead, he felt relieved as he let his mind come out of the initial shock he had been with her message. He was, by each passing second, relaxed as he knew facts.

The girl he was in love with reciprocated his sentiments, and Arnav Suriyaprakesh Raizada would reach her, whatever it might take.

He turned his attention to the kid when he heard him shouting and followed his gaze to find an elderly man at a distance, who seemed to be busy in closing his chat bhandar. Other than the words like Thatha (grandfather) and Kanna (it's an endearment), as those were similar to his language, Arnav understood nothing, but nonetheless, he welcomed the distraction.

"Why can't he understand that I am 14 now?"

Arnav stared at the kid as he asked him. "You know Hindi?" He asked in surprise, but shook his head at his own foolishness. "Of course," he asked himself, "I would have known better than to ask that question to a kid at Tank Bund."

The kid chuckled as he replied, "well, if your mind is in this world, I am sure you would have created wonders during the time you sat here since late evening."

Arnav watched the kid, surprised that he wasn't as embarrassed as he thought he would have at being caught but the way he had caught the understanding without any teasing in the voice.

"Did you find the solution about whatever that is bothering you, Bhaiyya?"

He nodded, impressed the way the boy was speaking. Matured more than his age."How do you know that something is worrying me?" He asked, wanting to know his reasoning.

He watched with a smile, as the kid focused on the empty paper in making a paper plane, his hands working, folding it effortlessly. "My grandfather forced me to listen to that stupid radio for a month."

"Huh..." was all Arnav managed to say.

The boypaused his actions and faced Arnav as he explained. "There is this RJ named Megha who's show, Sandcastle, is very famous in our city."He shrugged and added further, "it deals with life in general. First few weeks, my grandfather wanted me to listen to it so that I could make something out of my own life with its inspiring message and encouragement."

He nodded, remembering how Khushi had informed him about the same show and how he had, without much interest, listened to it on that noon. "Then what changed after few weeks?" He asked curiously.

The boy looked straight in his eye and said, "I found myself tuning to her words, Bhaiyya. She has some magic in her that it is musical and soothing... and the way she explains about life and its value," he lowered his head as he whispered, "it's so sad that such wonderful Di has very less timewith her."

Arnav snapped his head at the boy at his parting words. "Less time?" He asked, unable to stop himself. "What do you mean by that?"

"She will die," the boy informed, "if she don't find a donor for her heart transplantation."

"What?" Arnav found himself asking further, his voice low and full of surprise."You can't say that," he said gently, "it might be just a rumor..."

"She goes to the same hospital as the kids from the orphanage go," the boy informed with a sad smile, "I know this because I met Megha Di in the orphanage as the orphanage helped us financially for my mother's treatment.She said that life doesn't stop for people who live, and she helped me from moving on after my mother died."

Arnav sat there, not knowing what to say or how to console the boy at his loss. But he was a little surprised when the boy shook his head with a cheerful smile. "I said this to you because I felt like I know you, Bhaiyya." He said softly while placing a hand on Arnav's shoulder. "Remember that life goes on, whatever might happen with us. Now, I need to listen to Di's new show which started a good ten minutes ago. You must leave too, it's late." With that the boy shouted back to his grandfather something in their language and the next moment, the voice from the radio filled the air, disturbing the silence around Arnav.

Waqt bhi thehra hai

Kar de idhar bhi tu nigaahein

The lyrics filled the air around him, as the boy drummed on the bench with his fingers slowly. It was not the lyrics that held his attention. He was never a fan for such Bollywood stuff. But what held his attention was the pain in her voice. It was as if she was singing with her soul... to her soul.

Arnav didn't realize that he closed his eyes unknowingly. The world didn't end at any point for anyone and the boy said the same. Arnav knew nothing could halt the time. Yet, he wished to happen that. No one could say how long one would live and it was foolish to run away from death. And it was foolish to let things come between two loved people.

Sunn raha hai na tu

Ro rahi hoon, main

Sun raha hai na tu

Kyun ro rahi hoon main

He would tell the same to the girl he loved, he thought with a hopeful smile. His Shona might have problems but no problem was bigger than life itself and he would be damned if he let such problems force him to let his love walk past him.

On a lovely night, with one of the most romantic songs ever... to start this show is really... I might be blessed to have such a wonderful offer.

His head snapped at the direction of the radio as the words hit his mind, bringing him back to the present. The change in him was sudden and clear but he was in no position to notice the way the boy stared at him. He didn't know what it was that held his attention. He had already listened to RJ Megha's show once before, but the voice was something that he seemed to know. It was too familiar. He would never forget or miss that naughtiness... that carelessness that she had the whole world waiting for her. It was not the serious one he had heard on that noon, in middle of his mind's chaos as he gave the show a shot in order to push his thoughts off his Shona. The voice now, in that moment, was jovial and nothing from what he had heard the previous time.

Well, I would like to clarify one thing before I start the show. I have been hearing the phone calls throughout the day, listeners asking about this. While I am overwhelmed at the response in the shortest time, before I express my gratitude... don't think that Megha is going to have this funny show. No, my dear friends. It's not the case. I could never forget Sandcastle as it is what I am into... it is the word that is apt to me. Sandcastle... While the weekend noon's show, Sandcastle, showcases regarding the life in general, this two hours daily show showcases about one aspect in particular... and that is love. So come on, same old questions and debates that we are so used, with a slight change... we are going to follow the same old rules book of Sandcastle and implement them in this Sandcastle-love's corner... by the way, how's the name...

If there were doubts in him when he first heard the voice, there were none at the end. He knew the voice. He knew the person with that voice. With that carefree laughter.With that personality that enjoyed every moment of her life.With that hardcore fan of the concept love and in love with the very idea itself. And he heard himself whispering that name aloud, without his consent or knowledge.

"Khushi"

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