Chapter 1
"Sharon, it's already been an hour." Swayam complained on
the phone.
"Swayam just one more question. Which shoes will suit me? An
orange Prada or pink Jimmy Choo..."
"Jimmy what?" Sharon heard Swayam snort on the other side.
"Choo." She snapped defensively.
Swayam burst off laughing making Sharon feel flustered.
"Stop acting like a jerk and tell me." Sharon said indignantly.
"Okay..." Swayam gasped short of breath, "Instead of carrying
something from a certain Choo I suggest Prada whatever would do. Because
otherwise, I don't think I will be able to take that." He chortled.
"You know that is strike one, Mr. Boyfriend. Insulting my favourite fashion brands. You
have two more strikes before being dumped."
"Hey hey now. Don't get on that page."
Sharon laughed. "Well, now that you have given me life long
commitment, you should be well versed with all my favourite brands. That's my prerequisite
for any potential boyfriend."
"I am your boyfriend."
"On probation." Sharon said, pretending to be nonchalant.
"Anyway, when do you plan to tell me all the rules of cricket?"
Swayam smiled. "Sharon you really don't have to do this."
"But I want to do this. I want to understand what's so
amazing about cricket that you can forget our three-month anniversary. Maybe I
may enjoy it as well. And if that day comes you can treat me by taking me to
Wankhede stadium." Sharon ranted cheerily.
There was silence on the phone. Sharon checked the screen
for network and then placing it back to her ear, "Hello?"
"I love you." She heard Swayam say very softly from the
other side. Sharon immediately felt her lips curve into a smile. "I am just
using you for my personal reasons." Sharon said, laughing.
"Hmmm... then why don't you come to my place and use me
again." Sharon felt herself go red when she heard Swayam on the phone.
"Desperate, Swayam." She chided him, jokingly while she
heard Swayam chuckle on the other side. "Okay now. I have to drive. Cutting the
call. Bye." She said, still blushing.
"Bye."
Swayam ended the call not without a wide beam stuck to his
face. He simply could not believe all this was happening. Three years ago he
remembered having loved Sharon from a distance never daring to be anywhere even
within her line of sight. He had always believed her to be a dream best left
untouched. And now after three years of feeling dejected, concerned, regret,
anger, frustration, hopeful and what not but above all love, his dream was
finally coming true. The girl he had loved with all he had loved him equally
deeply.
He still remembered that day at the auditions when he had
finally mustered the courage to talk to her if only to give her best wishes
from his side. The way she had taunted him, insulted him had embarrassed him,
to put it lightly. Honestly, he had not really expected anything else because
he knew her insecurity of losing her status in college. He knew she pretended
to be ruthless only to be coveted by people around her. What he never
understood was the reason behind her wishes. Why did she want attention from
people around her... More importantly, why did she work hard towards gaining
everyone's attention. Sharon Raiprakash was good enough to attract the lime
light just the way she was.
He still remembered all the hardships he had to suffer. He
remembered the way she looked at him, so vulnerable each time he felt connected
to her heart. He remembered how much his heart yearned to be with her each time
they fought. He remembered wanting to stand on top of the college terrace and
shout out to the world that he was in love with the most beautiful girl on
earth. He remembered how hollow he felt, how his world fell apart right in
front of his eyes whenever they fell apart.
But he knew it was all to make them, their love stronger. He
knew with each passing second she was falling in love with him a bit more.
Occasionally, he did question his heart if it had been right, if she indeed
loved him, but her love was always evident beneath the veil of haughtiness. And
he knew he was madly in love with her, right from that day in junior college
when he had found her soft, innocent self, lurking behind the tough and cruel
leader of the Dazzlings.
He had always known her crudities were simply a
manifestation of her fondness of his attention. There were a number of boys in
the college who desired to garner her focus but somehow her anger was
specifically focused on him. It always made him wonder if Sharon Raiprakash
could ever love him, the way he did.
He remembered spending hours in front of mirror trying to
perfect his steps. He danced only to make himself capable of her. He could have
easily joined the Dazzlings. Life would have been much more simpler for him.
But he wondered if she would have ever loved him the way she did now, if he had
done so.
She loved him. Sharon Raiprakash, not the diva but a simple
girl loved him madly and irrevocably. If he had struggled to gain her love, she
had struggled to change herself, to fight against her inhibitions only for him.
He had never imagined she could ever make him feel special but today he was the
happiest person in the world because he had the most beautiful girl with him,
in love with him.
In his musing Swayam picked up his cell phone and gazed at
Sharon's picture. The twinkling eyes, the beatific smile.
Suddenly, the image on the screen changed as Swayam's phone started
ringing with Sharon's number. With a huge smile on his face he picked her call
and brightly said, "Hello?"
But the phone slipped out of his hands when he heard a deep
but detached monotonous voice from the other side say, "Hello, I am Dr. Mehta
from Parel Hospital and I am sorry to inform you that the patient has met with
an accident. I informed you because yours was the first number in her log..." but
he did not hear anything after the word accident'. His limbs went numb and he
felt paralysed to the
spot, and his head started spinning.
comment:
p_commentcount