Part 1
It's a lively day, people are taking peaceful morning walks, some are jogging, some are heading for school and some for work. Amidst all them, a single soul is pedalling her way through the neighbourhood.
With the chiming of the cycle's bell, few heads turned around to be greeted by a sweet honeylicious voice.
"Good morning, aunty! Good morning Candy!"
"Good morning Monami/ Monami Di!"
Monami stops pedalling and halts right beside the mother-daughter duo.
"Kahan chali aaj ki sawari?" -asked the lady.
"Arre aunty, kuch dilon ko jodne toh kuch todne, ultimately paap aur punniya dono kamane nikli hoon"
"Achcha woh aise ke?"
"Woh aise ke– (she stops in between and hands over a chocolate to the little girl and offers a rose from her basket to the woman) yeh joh phool haina, yeh agar aap uncle ji ko doge toh aapke beech ka romance badega... (whispers) aur shayad family bhi!" She said the last bit with a wink.
"(Gasped) Badmash!" The mother slaps her shoulder and blushes a little.
"Arre sachchi, aise punniye milenge mujhe aap jaise lovebirds se ke aap ko dekh ke single log toh mujhe kos kos ke paap chadha denge!"
She finishes with a pout and laughs at the poor woman's flustered face. Shortly after her phone buzzes with vibration which picks up immediately.
"MONU! KAHAN REH GAYI! PLAY START HONE WALA HAI, AUR ROSES KAM PAR RAHE HAIN, GET ME 10 BOUQUETS OF DOZEN ROSES EACH! SCOOT!" -the caller finished in a beat!
"Huh?! What the— shit! 120 roses kahan se laun itni jaldi?! Itne se toh iska adha bhi na ho... chal Monami cycle bhaga!"
And she zoomed out of the streets of her neighbourhood only to reach the traffic sector.
As the signal turned red, Monami anxiousness increased, biting her thumb nail & tapping her foot, she looked around randomly only to spot a little boy selling roses.
She smiled wide & moved out of the road only to head towards the kid.
"Didi didi aap yeh gulab khareedo na, aapke boyfriend ko achcha lagega"
"Par mera toh koi boyfriend hai hi nahin (she said with a smile but as she saw his smile fall she interjected another sentence) lekin main phir bhi tumhare saare phool khareedungi par ek sharth pe... tumhe mujhe 10 guldaste dene honge"
"Par utne toh mere paas nahin hai." -he said sadly, but smiled back quickly ran away.
"Arrey!"
The kid came back shortly but as she turned back to talk she was taken aback.
There were 9 other kids each holding a bouquet.
Monami grinned wide and bought the roses from them and gave them a good amount of money.
"Achcha suno, tum sab yeh paise apne boss ko toh bilkul nahin doge, issi waqt unn police uncle ke paas jaoge aur woh tumhe kisi achchi jagah bhejenge aur shayad tum sab apne apne ghar bhi chale jao" -she pointed towards a cop who was sitting inside his van stuck in the traffic.
The kids nodded and ran towards the van, it didn't take long for them to be taken inside the vehicle.
Monami shook her head with a triumphant smile but a gasped left her lips as she took a glance at her watch.
"Oh god! Margayi!"
She quickly got back on her pedal and raced towards her destination putting all the bouquets in her basket.
***
"Now we present act number 9 Saint Valentine by St. Xavier's college, directed by Faizuddin Siddiqui!" -the host had made the announcement.
Meanwhile in the backstage, everyone were rushing to prepare for the curtain raiser when they heard a loud bang.
All heads had turned to find Monami & the play's main lead on the floor with a bunch of bouquets around them.
"Oww, mummy!"
"WTF!"
Monami stood immediately and offered a hand to help the person floor. As she lifting the body back on its feet, all she heard were whimpers of pain.
"Aah! My ankle! I can't even walk now!"
"What's going on?! We are to present on stage &— Reema? What the—?!" -a girl roared in her most dangerous pose.
"So sorry Koel, maine jaan bujhke nahin kiya, woh—" -Monami tried explaining.
"Save the explanations for later, abhi we need a lead, raita tumhara phailaya hua hai toh sametogi tum hi! Go & change fast!"
"Arre par main— kaise? Mujhe na lines pata hai na kuch—"
"Hum prompt kardenge warna impro kar lena! Now go!"
With that she shoved Monami in the green room.
***
Scene 4
St. Valentine was thrown in jail , a day prior to his execution , he was lying on the floor gazing at the sunlight coming through the little window of his cell. When he heard two different footsteps, one heavy with a sound of a heel indicating that it must be the jailor while other was softer and slower but what caught his attention was the fragrance in the room. It smelled— feminine!
He looked through his bars & his eyes met a beautiful set of black— uh, green orbs?
What the—?! Who's she?! Where's Reema?!
Word Count: 840
Saraf
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