Chapter 12 - 2am things
SidNi emerged from the grand hotel, hitting the soft breeze that flew by them as they stepped out. Roshni inhaled in the heavenly fresh air, relaxing her body followed by Siddharth.
She felt the cold air seeping inside her, it felt great for a change. Siddharth smiled at his surroundings, he believed true beauty could only be seen at night.
Amongst the peaceful streets were hidden secrets, feelings, that could only be revealed at night.
The weather had changed drastically from the day before, it was better. Fresher, and it gave both of them a unique feeling.
"Where are we going?", she questioned seeing the dark streets before her.
"I don't know, wherever this road takes us", he shrugged crossing into a narrow stoned pathway that revealed shops and bakeries. The aroma of newly baked cookies filled their noses making them famished.
It appeared to be friendly seeing that there were people passing by smiling at them.
Roshni wasn't used to this, the traffic in London would always be mad. There was no time to look at people and smile. Plus she'd be in her car most of the time. But for the first time in a while, it didn't make her feel uneasy.
Being occupied by people around her gave her a homely feeling. Like she belonged. Maybe because all those bitter memories weren't connected here.
Siddharth's eyes circled the place around him excitedly, "You know, I always wanted to come here when I was younger"
"Really?", she pulled a strand of hair from her face focusing on him.
"Yeah. My mom used to come here for her business meetings, I always wanted to go with her. I wanted to see the world", he exhaled in despair as if old memories came running back.
"Why didn't you?"
He passed on a bitter smile.
"Life doesn't always give you what you want, does it?", he avoided eye contact with her swallowing down the unwanted emotions whirling inside him. His hands were buried deep into his pockets.
Everyone had something that triggered them, something that hurt them beyond what words can express.
Roshni nodded knowing exactly how that felt. She didn't push further reminiscing over her mom's words about him. There was something about seeing his childlike smile disappear that made her feel uncomfortable.
"You wanted to see the world?", she stopped in her tracks.
"Yup.", he turned to her.
Her forehead lines creased at him, studying his face intently.
"What other countries have you been to?"
"This is the first time I'm travelling actually"
Roshni curved her lips and gave him a knowing look. She rolled her tongue, at the though of something.
"What?", he curiously questioned.
"Maybe this is where you start. Wait hold on", she pulled out her phone from her light beige jacket.
"What are you..."
CLICK..CLICK.
"Are you taking pictures of me?", he sounded amused.
"God...just wait."
Siddharth stood there awkwardly making funny faces at the camera as she clicked on the screen repeatedly.
"Let me guess, you have a secret album of me"
"As if", she rolled her eyes.
"Then what was that for?"
"I'm sending these pictures to the media", she teased.
He stuck out his tongue jokingly and stepped forward to snatch her phone.
"UGHHHH Siddharth give it back", she tried reaching up for it.
"First tell me, what was that for?"
"Look who's being uptight now?"
"Roshniiii"
"FINE"
She bit her lips, "You really want to know?"
"Hmmm"
"Okay...well", she started.
"I believe there are three types of memories we all have. Happy ones. Bland ones. And then, we have those certain memories that we hold on to for a very long time. Memories that fuels us. Memories, worth capturing. You said, you wanted to travel? You wanted to see the world? Well guess what? You've already started and you don't even realise it. Now everytime you look back at this photo, it'll remind you.", she explained in a soft tone.
Siddharth's mouth fell open mesmerized by her words, and grinned sheepishly while rubbing his temples. "Wow"
Roshni smiled back, "What?"
"Nothing. You just surprise me sometimes"
"I'll send you the pictures later"
"Something's incomplete though"
"What do you mean?"
"You said that there are memories worth capturing right?"
"Yeahh?"
"In that case you're worth it too", he handed her the phone back.
She shivered, "Damn that was smooth", she muttered to herself.
"Come on. Let's take one together"
"No way. You really want to look back at these pictures one day and see a random person there? It's weird Siddharth", the truth was, she expected him to leave, just like everyone else. So what was the point of taking photos with him?
He scoffed, "You're not random Roshni. Plus I have a feeling, you're going to be in my life for a very very long time", he sounded determined.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders posing for the picture, while her eyes fixated at him attempting to read his face. Everything about him seemed so real, so genuine. His words were innocent, yet they had the effect of so much more.
No one ever told her, she was 'worth it' before.
They went back to stranding down the streets, exploring the hotels, houses and restaurants that followed. They had golden lights running down their buildings, creating a blissful environment.
Eventually they found a sky blue bridge, the water beneath it was glowing under the blazing mood shadowing their figures.
There were red and yellow dahlias forming at the roots of the branches, creating one of the most extraordinary scenery they'd ever seen.
"Do you want to stay here?", he noticed her easing off into the bridge and touching the plants admiring them.
"Yeah"
They sat down on the wooden freshly painted bridge, and gazed below at the running water. How calm and peaceful it flew back and forth. You could get lost into it.
He leaned against the barriers and closed his eyes, breathing in and out.
"Siddharth?"
"Hmmm", he hummed.
"Why did you ask me to go with you? You could've easily gone alone"
His eyes pinched open at her and he crossed his legs, folding his arms across it. "I could. But what's the fun in going alone? There would be no one to annoy", he teased her.
"I'm serious"
"Who knows? Maybe I've started liking your presence."
She gulped.
"Plus come on I've seen how you are with nature. It's obvious, that nature is your safe spot"
"That it is", she picked up a broken flower from it's roots digging it into the soil.
"So tell me? What is it with you and plants and all that?", he brought up the question that's intrigued him for quite some time.
Roshni paused for a while before speaking, "Look around you Siddharth. There's a few people, buildings, shops. One day they're all going to leave. Even the ones you don't expect. Reality of life", she clenched her jaws.
"But nature...it doesn't leave. It stays, even if you abuse it, pollute it. It just stays there loyal to it's people."
He softened his face at her, "There are other things that don't leave Roshni"
"Not everyone's that lucky to have those 'other' things"
"Well then maybe you haven't found it yet"
"Have you?"
"Have I what?
"You know, found that thing that you know won't leave you?"
He pondered over it for a while, "Not exactly."
"Then how can you say, I haven't found it? I simply don't think it exists"
"That's where I disagree. You just need to believe"
"Belief. Trust. That's the problem these days. Trust someone and they'll make you regret it", she scowled.
"I'm not just talking about people. Dreams, careers. There's more to life that won't leave you, than just nature"
"Hmmm. Like you choosing this business even though you didn't want it?", she decided to throw that out there confronting him.
He separated his lips in shock, and released it, "Is it that obvious?"
"Of course it is. You're not the only one that notices these things. You don't want this business, do you?"
"Sometimes, you have to do things you don't like. It's just how life works", he stared up at the sky.
"You don't look like someone who wouldn't follow his own dreams."
He scoffed, "Maybe but for my parents?...my mom? I would do anything. Even if that meant going against myself"
Roshni grew surprised at the depth and the intensity of his voice. He might be distant to his mom, but the love was evident. The childlike longing to be with her. It pained her almost, thinking of her mom.
"Why is it that we have to do things we don't like?", she complained.
He shifted his gaze at her, and the plants she was holding in her hands. There was inner pain and anguish inside him too, but he knew how to control it. How to stop it from affecting his outer world.
But looking at her made him realise, not everyone has that tolerance.
"Like when did life get so complicated?", she distressed
"I guess we grew up"
"Wouldn't it have been better if we never did? Everything would've been so easy. No drama.", she sighed.
"No hard decisions", he added.
"No pain"
"No grief"
"No heartbreak", her heart turned numb and her tone shifted to a lower sound.
She violently cursed at her fate.
"Someone told me, if we don't go through these things, we're not really living. Sounds pathetic right?", she shook her head.
"In a way, it's true. We can't escape what comes our way. But that doesn't mean, we can't still find happiness in other things"
"At least everything would be normal"
"Normal's boring."
"Everything's boring to you", she rolled her eyes.
"You're not"
Her eyes widened, "I thought you said im a 50 year old woman", she mocked.
"Well you're not all bad", he chuckled.
She stifled a giggle slapping him on his arm, "I really judged you wrong"
"I know"
His eyes twinkled at her, why did he feel so hyper inside when she said that.
"You're not so bad either Ms.Patel.", he pierced his eyes into her, for the first time, her eyes matched her words.
She cleared her throat, "Okay we should get going. We have an early flight tomorrow morning"
She stood up, fixing her dress. Her head spun around the place searching for the road where they came from.
"Umm Siddharth. Where did we come from?"
"From there", he pointed to the right side, before realising it was a dead end.
"Wait what.", he scratched his head.
"Don't tell me we're lost"
He clicked his lips looking around, "Yup. We're lost"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS? What are we supposed to do now?"
"Relax relax. We'll just ask the people"
She passed on a meek smile, "Sure. Look around you. Tell me if you see any one"
"Shit", he murmured.
"I don't even remember the name of our hotel"
"Hotel Gaileo? Hotel Gal?"
"Do me a favour, next time watch where we're going"
"It's not my fault, you could've watched where we were going too"
"What do you mean it's not your fault? You're the one who told me to go on a walk?"
"So? You're not a child. You should've followed the way?"
"Fine fine. Just check your phone for maps"
"Amazing. Why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, there's no network!!"
"Let me check", she surfed her phone.
"Do you even have a working brain Roshni? How can you have network if I don't?"
"At least I didn't get us lost", she stood in disbelief.
"I didn't get us lost. We both got lost"
"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't ask me to go on a walk"
"Let's just walk ahead, to see if there's people around us"
"Are you crazy? I'm not walking with you again. What if we get killed?"
He burst into laughter, "You're delusional, you know that?"
"Thank god I'm not stupid"
"Come on, it'll be an adventure"
"Shut up Siddharth."
"And we're back to fighting. Tell me, are you seriously allergic to peace?"
"You started it"
He face palmed himself giving up. "You don't want to walk fine.. I'm going alone", he began stepping forward in the hope, that she'll follow him.
"I would never let a girl go alone", she mimicked his words from the after party walk during their merge.
"Why do you think I'm walking so slow? Just come with me Roshni."
"No"
"Don't be stubborn"
She rolled her eyes, realising she had no option. She could stay here, but what if he actually did find the way back to the hotel. And she doesn't know how to speak Italian either.
She reluctantly began walking with him, feeling uneasy about her surroundings.
It was about 4am and they had no idea where they were going.
"See. This is fun", he tried lightening up the moment seeing her discomfort.
"You must have a crazy definition of fun"
"Do you want me to start singing again?"
She laughed a little, unable to control herself. "Please don't. I'm going to die of embarrassment"
"Oh please. I'm a great singer"
"Sure"
"What's your favourite song?"
"I don't have a favourite...but there's one singer I like"
"Arijit Singh?"
"How did you know?"
"You mentioned him last time, remember", he had a sharp memory.
"He's... phenomenal. I used to blast his songs through my living room and wait for my mom to come home from work"
"I want to see that side of you"
"That side died a long time ago"
"I don't believe that. I bet you thought your dancing side was dead too, until the party", he winked.
Her cheeks flushed, "I'm going to kill you for that"
"You're an amazing dancer. The way you were moving your..."
"STOP STOP", she covered her ears in embarrassment. She hadn't danced like that so comfortably in a long time especially with a guy. It felt nerve wrecking.
"Oh thank god. I see someone", Siddharth pointed out.
"Excuse me Sir.", he called out to the person in front of him. The guy stopped abruptly and disconnected his earphones.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but we're tourists, and we got a little lost. Do you know where Hotel Galileo is by any chance?"
"Non so cosa stai dicendo. Mi dispiace. Buona giornata Ciao.", the guy replied and left. (I do not know what you are saying. Have a nice day. Bye)
SidNi looked at each other, "Do you know what he just said?", she pleaded.
"I know Ciao means bye. I think", he mentally cursed himself for not learning at least a little Italian before coming here.
"Also I don't think it's called Hotel Galileo", she looked on in amusement.
"Neither do I", he took a deep breath.
They were going to definitely miss their flight.
♡
Sooo long time, no see guys!!! I've been on a hectic schedule. I wanted to make you guys see, Siddharth isn't perfect either. He also has his own pain, he deals with. Although he doesn't portray it as coldly as Roshni does.
Okay no but on a really serious note, I really want to know how you guys are doing? How are your families?
I am always here to talk to and to listen. Hope you're all doing well. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves. Until next time :))
Also I googled the Italian dialogue on google translate..If anyone thinks that it's wrong or they know the correct grammar, then feel free to correct me.
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