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I really super love all your updates ,each update teaches so much about life ,I don't think anybody can know life better than you do and I really can't stop reading it over and over again!
Complete Mayhem in the house!!!!!
Alya's house... to be precise, as it was the venue for the so called musical night, a modern day twist to what's normally known as Sangeet. Friends and family had split into two. So while Navya and Mukti teamed up with Nandini, dragging along Ranbir, Alya and Dhruv were to be on Manik's side. Nandini would have her uncle and brother, but Chachi, as promised, was waiting to switch sides from her soni kudi to her Sona Munda.
The day had just begun and Alya was already a house on fire. On one hand, her trusted tailor, master da, had been sick. For over a week now, the poor guy had not been able to turn up at her boutique, and the junior lot she employed, as she discovered now , were a bunch of good-for-nothing-selfie-obsessed-college-interns. So without much of a choice, she herself had to chip in at the very last moment, to give the finishing touches to the attire she had designed for Manik and Nandini to be worn on their Sangeet.
Had it been only that, she would have managed just fine. But she also had a whole house to decorate, and absolutely no idea, how. How is one supposed to decorate for a Sangeet? Even though she was a designer and a pro at these things, she had never really experienced a traditional wedding, or the functions around it, forget hosting one.
It was a little after 4 am, and she was holed up in her basement amidst sewing machines, measuring scales, tiny bits of clothes, a bottle of sequins strewn on the sewing table , needles, threads and a dozen odd garments hanging from multi-coloured hangers, with a large mug of coffee in her hand, hair pulled up in a bun and an oversized pair of glasses adorning her sleep deprived but still pretty face.
That's when she heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs . Who could it be this late or this early?
Who but Dhruv...
"Dhruv...You here?!! So early in the morning??"
"You didn't sleep the whole night na?"
"How do you know?"
"I called at your bedside phone couple of times...just to check.. No wonder no one picked it up" He saw a faint hint of a smile curving up on her lips." So miss Alya..what kept you up all night?"
That's all she needed, a pair of patient ears, willing to listen. And that's what men often don't understand, that they need not always hunt for a solution, need not always jump in to help. At times merely being present, just listening & watching over, that's all a girl wants from them.
"See na, I got busy doing these dresses.. And I have no idea how I am going to decorate the house for the Sangeet. And what sort of food should I order with Nandini's family coming over." She was fretting.
Dhruv threw a glance at the white kurta and the accompanying pale blue jacket, and then at the beautiful churidar set in the same shade of dreamy blue, with a hint of Gold thrown in. "Wow beautiful Alya!"
She moved her gaze from him to the dresses and back at Dhruv. "Thank you!" she replied with a coy smile.
"I didn't know you were such a pro at designing Indian wear. I have always seen you wearing western. When can I see you in a dress like that. I can't imagine how beautiful you would look in it Alya."
If anyone else had told her the same, maybe she wouldn't have taken it kindly. Yes the dress was beautiful...modern and traditional at the same time, but just not her style. Yet something in the way he looked at her, made her feel, He wasn't appraising her.. he wasn't deprecating her style, or lauding Nandini's. He wasn't even flirting with her. Whatever he said, he seemed to mean it. May be he indeed wanted to see her in something similar. She took a mental note without replying to him.
"Can you help me with the preps Dhruv?"
"That is why I am here Alya. You don't worry ok. Together we will sort it out."
Dhruv thought for a while and then said "You can never go wrong with flowers Alya."
Why had it not struck her? She got so excited with this sudden idea of decorating with nothing but flowers, that she innocently pulled him into an impromptu hug, without much of a second thought. Dhruv, though pleasantly surprised, didn't let it show on his face. He patted her gently on her back, as if to reassure her of his presence. He was going to be around, he wanted to tell her. She took his hand and rushed upstairs to take a better look at the lower level of the house.
"White and blue? What do you think? It will match with their attire too.." she asked enthusiastically.
"No Alya, not white and blue... If everything is in white and blue, they will not stand out. Something contrasting..may be.."
Seldom did she go wrong with these things. But today, it seemed like it wasn't one of her best days, but what amused her more was how Dhruv was filling in the gaps for her. "Makes sense Dhruv!!... Today to you are making so much sense..may be I need to have another mug of coffee to wake up my brains. Shall we go for roses then?"
"Will see" Dhruv knew it was not going to be roses, because everyone did roses and he didn't want to do it like everyone else. For him, this wasn't about Manik and nandini's Sangeet anymore. That was just the excuse he needed to open his heart to the girl he had the softest corner for. The girl he had been friends with since forever, the girl he had had a whirlwind of a romance with, the girl he had left heart broken, the girl who meant so much to him and yet he had chosen to remain blind to... he wanted to do it for her, without even telling her so. He could do anything to see the sparkle back in those tired eyes. He wanted her to feel loved, and every bit special..he wanted to steal a few moments from this mayhem for her, just for her.
"Ok so bandra mein we have this flower shop, lets go there..I will take out the car."
"You just keep calm and follow me." He said as he grabbed her hand. They didn't take her car, for he wanted to ride his bike with her sitting next to him, and feel her tender arms coil around him with warmth. They didn't go to Bandra, to her flower shop, because instead, he wanted to take her to the flower mandi in Dadar, something so normal and yet so grandiose, he was sure she would love it. The roads were rather empty, that early in the morning so they could just zoom through, throwing caution to the wind. It was cool and the roads were still wet from previous night's rain. It seemed like the parting gift from the retreating monsoons, as if it had known all this while that this morning would turn out to be special. Dhruv couldn't stop smiling from under his helmet and Alya, was giggling, like a child in an amusement park. Her bun had come loose, letting her silky hair fly in the morning air. Her shorts...damn!! she should have worn a pair of jeans or something, for she had goosebumps all over her skin, from the chilled air that mercilessly engulfed her, as they sped through. But then in those rumpled clothes that ordinarily she would have never stepped out in, and her face without as much as a touch of a gloss, she was somehow feeling ALIVE, in a way she had not ever before. Those tiny butterflies doing somersault in her tummy, she was having a hard time making sense of any of it... what was it about this morning, that made it so different? so magical?
When they reached the Dadar market, her jaws literally dropped. Never, as in NEVER had she seen so many flowers at one place. It was like someone had brought down Eden's garden from wherever it belonged. Was this even Mumbai? How come she had never known that a place like this existed! She wanted to jump up and down, twirl around and squeal, she wanted to run around but at the same time she wanted to stay there and inhale the insanely beautiful sights and smell.
The higher her spirits soared, the more his heart swelled. The more she smiled, the cloudier his eyes grew. It wasn't pride but a sense of worthiness that her happiness gave him..worthiness and purpose. He wasn't as small as the world had made him to believe.
She took three rounds around the market, hopping before every stall, smelling and touching every single variety of flower. She wanted to take roses but he wanted carnations and he knew exactly what he was going to do with them. He had an eye for details, something very few people have. Once, three roses had cost him Nandini, today he hoped these beautiful carnations would return him his Alya.
They bought three sacks carnations in every possible shade and had to get it delivered because there was no way they could carry it along on the bike. But as they prepared to return, Dhruv saw her face fall through, as if she wanted to hang around longer, as if this beautiful morning was coming to an end and things would go back to being miserable again. He saw and took a deep breath. No he wasn't going to let that happen, not today.
Once they reached home, that's when the real magic began, because here, there was nothing around to cheer them up, nothing except the two of them and three sacks of flowers. Dhruv took charge and Alya for once was more than happy to follow. He wove a bunch of garlands and hung them at the entrance and the across the glass door that led to the balcony, overlooking the garden. He asked Alya to fetch as many glass jars as she had tucked away in the store room, shape , size and colour notwithstanding, and then he filled them up with more pastel shaded carnations. Little by little, Alya saw her entire house transform into a mini heaven and the magic had happened right in front of her eyes and how much she cherished it. She had always been the one to commemorate every small milestone of Fab 5. NO one had ever asked her why, and she had never told them that that's how she created happiness, in small things, in smaller moments. No one had ever understood that these small things took the biggest room in her heart, these small gestures were the most priceless ones. And a little birdie told her, Dhruv wasn't doing it just for the occasion.
She felt good after ages, Manik had never done anything like this for her. May be he wasn't even meant to.
"Hungry?" his voice broke her sweet reverie and brought her back to the present.
"Not much" She lied.
"Let me make something for you."
"No Dhruv, I 'll order some sandwich and coffee.."
"Give me a chance Alya" She backed off. Was he just looking for a chance to prove his cooking skills or another chance to carve his way back into her life?
Sometimes in the middle of routine life, when all of a sudden, life showers too much happiness all at once, it feels scary. Scary because then we start expecting this magic to happen again and again and when it doesn't, it breaks our heart.
She watched Dhruv make yummy cheese sandwiches and two cups of piping hot ginger tea. She watched him talk endlessly of his childhood, something she had never seen him do, she watched closely as he smiled in between the stories he told, and how he ran his fingers through his hair. She watched as he sang a song and she silently hoped it wasn't all a dream. The clock was ticking away and he had to go, first to Nandini's place and then to manik's to deliver their respective clothes.
She had begun to miss him, even before he left, a little something was tugging at her heart.
She quickly excused herself and ran downstairs. When she returned, she had something else in her hands.. "This is for you Dhruv, wear it tonight."
And they hugged...knowingly & longingly..and they both held on for a minute longer than a hug like that would ask for.
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A/N: Dear readers, I have bad news for you. I might discontinue the story here on India forums. This portal is so user unfriendly, i hv problems in uploading pics and linking videos. i have been doing t for 9 months, but with the current response i dont think its anymore worth it. For my loyal readers, I would request you to shift to Wattpad.
this is the link of my profile:
i m sry but d responce is too paltry for d effort i take. Y dont u switch to wattpad.Originally posted by: manancraze
Love it. Pura chapter DhruLiya pe focus tha..their moments were so blissful. Plz cont here..don't discontinue...ðŸ˜
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