What Love Feels Like
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Akshara taught her to scrapbook when she was 10. Her mother was a lawyer, but she never lagged behind on keeping hobbies unlike Abhira. She played the guitar and sang for the guests in unattended weddings, she cut pictures of her annual days at school, which she took with great toil in different dimensions and stuck them with glitter in hard bound scrapbooks against coloured pages. She would sometimes do it, late in night. Abhira caught her mother doing things of tireless variety- in the middle of night- sometimes prepping her cases to- scrapbooking. She never understood why her mother never felt sleepy. She was up doing everything and anything. But still she made a point to lie down with Abhira- and carress her head before she went into fairy dreamland.
But now Abhira- understood her mother's turmoil. Her life wasn't something someone would want for themselves. She belonged to a family with generational wealth- but found happiness away from it. She was an exceptional woman.
Abhira let her thoughts spill. She laced her graduation photograph with glitters. She had forgotten to scrapbook most of her past year- the tornado of lonliness that had hit her- kept her away from recording any moment. She wanted to forget everything about it. But slowly she realised, that her mother only had her daughter who could keep her memory alive. So she started singing- firstly in the bathroom and then with a teacher. She ocassionally even moved her hands over the guitar strings when everyone in the Poddar house was fast asleep. And she went back to scrapbooking.
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Armaan entered his room, all tied up in formals- tired with a long day's work. He loosened his tie and let his bag be thrown in the chair sitting at the corner. He learned throwing things at there target from Abhira. It felt relaxing to him- like throwing off his worries without messing things up. He wasn't a good thrower initially but Abhira helped him through. He looked at her- scrap booking. He loved it. He had gone through all of her scarp books secretly, or she would have murdered him. But he was sneaky enough to not let her know.
'That' Armaan came behind her 'Is something.' he remarked sending a smile across her face.
'I am a lawyer now.' Abhira squealed at her photograph.
'Yeah, for the past 15 days now.' Armaan bobbed his head. 'When are you going to start your internship Abhira.' Armaan once again picked up the same topic- he has been picking for the past month now.
'Not at your firm.' Abhira had a stern reply to his enquiry.
'But why?' Armaan was irritated.
'I have applied elsewhere.' Abhira stood up from her seat and closed her scrapbook.
'We are the best firm in the city and we always take up graduates from your college as our interns. And you, for your kind information- has topped your batch. We want you. In the most formal way possible.' Armaan tried to make her see logic.
'Do not be so gulliable Mr.Poddar, I am not going to work in a place where I can't face my own challenges. You will make everything so comfortable for me.' Abhira made her point.
'I am going to make tea for you.' she rushed to the kitchen before Armaan could say a word more.
He changed into his night dress and went to see Abhira stirring his bedtime tea. She looked so beautiful in her mehendi coloured kurta. She hated wearing sarees, it was almost as if she was nauseous at the mention. But that made her so different from everybody in the family. She stood apart. Not that - her clothes were the only differentiating feature. He loved the way she talked, the way she wore light jewelery- the way she defied everything- but still stood her part.
Initially it was a shocker. He was troubled by her out-spoken-ness. He himself- being a lawyer- never spoke against his elders, even when he saw them going wrong on so many lines. The puzzle of his family- remained a mystery to him, so he put every piece in his bag and roamed around accepting it to be destiny.
But it was Abhira who put things into place. She solved the puzzle and made him the see the clear picture. She had the guts to stay, till proven wrong, her words didn't change with the wind, they stood like mountains.
Armaan grabbed some cardemom and smashed them in his hands. 'Put this in.' he handed it to Abhira.
Abhira took it and mixed it with the boiling tea. She let it boil for a minute.
She looked at Armaan and took his hand in hers. She had come to the conclusion- that she couldn't have found a better man. Her mother's death wish became the best decision of her daughter's life.
'I know you want me around you.' Abhira rounded his arms around her waist. She could smell his colonge strong in her nostrils. It was her favorite fragrance.
Armaan nodded and closed his eyes, resting them on her forehead.
'I'll mentor you Abhira, I swear- I won't make your job easy for you.' Armaan chuckled how the sentence sounded. Weirdly sexual.
'I know, with this - fine looking mentor, I'd hardly hear a word of work.' She looked at him with ravenous passion. She had loved him- with great curiosity. Studied every move he made. She fell for him in the court room when she had started accompanying him to trials.
When his uncle said that he was the best Udaipur had seen, he wasn't lying.
Armaan in the court room- was the definition of what they learned in their lectures at college. He walked with precision- talked seamlessly without a breath disturbing his flow. She was enamoured by him- head to toe. He commanded the defense or the prosecution- with his aura. If you had him, you were the winning side.
She saw the same man bringing breakfast for her.
She saw the same man- revising her notes with her.
She saw the same man- wiping her tears when the memories of her mother came rushing to her.
She saw the same man - being enamoured by her unfiltered being.
He was so concious- so keen- so detailed- when he spoke. He was articulate- still he loved her spontanity.
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'Why do I feel like a teenager.' Armaan laughed as he held Abhira in his arms. They lay in their bed, like some lovelorn and raged youngsters.
'Yeah, you are too old to feel that way.' Abhira nugged his cheeks.
'You better measure your words.' Armaan warned her before kissing her a ziilionth time that night.
ps- I am so sorry for the typos, if any.
wrote in a hurry.
Sampoorna
Bindi
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