ArHi SS/FF: Time After Time - Pt22 Pg 98 - Page 6

A short one - with that said i am going to head off to the NYE celebrations :) Have a safe one all - the next update in the new year.

Chapter 5

Arnav reclined back in his chair looking through the designs. He his mind flashed back to a couple of months ago;

"Arnav Bhaiyaa apse kuch zaroori baatein karne the, yeh lijiye chai aur baithiye." Payal came into his poolside garden and sat beside him on the swing. "Thanks for tea, I was just about to send for RP. Bolo kya hai?" Arnav looked up from his files.

"Well you know how Diwali is in a few months time and I was thinking it would be really nice to do a special collection showcase for the Indian Woman. I mean we do a lot of the runway stuff and have the best designers for that ... but we haven't really had a solid traditional/heritage collection in years. What do you think? It could be a special Diwali showcase?" Payal looked at Arnav hopefully,

"Payal, you know I don't involve myself in these matters anymore. Ask your hubby whatever he wants to do is fine by me. I don't really know how I could help anyway. I have a lot of work to do with the AR Trust, our scholarship programme is going to launch in December in time for the new school year so I have lot of legal and political matters to care of before then" Arnav brushed it aside simply.

"Well Arnav bhaiyya apne humesha hume ek choti bahen ki tarah treat kiya hai. Aur aaj ek choti bahen hone ke naate hum apse actually kuch mangne aye hai. Ap pehele wada kijiye aap is bahen ko mana to nahi karenge?" Payal took Arnavs hand in hers, "Payal, please don't you start with this emotional blackmailing. I have lost a lot in my life thanks to emotional blackmailing. I kept all my promises to everyone except the silent promise to the one girl who needed me the most. Sorry but you should know better! I don't make promises. What do you want?"

"I want you to design the heritage collection. Bhaiyya before you say no, I just want you to think for a second about how many years its been since you picked up a pencil. How good would it feel to create when everything around you is broken? Just think about it...give it a chance. It's a one off special collection. It would mean a lot to me." As Payal walked off she purposely let something fall from her fist onto the poolside floor.

She hurried off. Arnav heard the sound of something dropping and went to pick it up. He held up the object staring at it in wonderment and then gazing towards the door. It was a payal, not unlike another one he had found a few years ago and returned to their rightful owner. "Payal!" he called out and she came in quicker than expected "haan bhaiyya?" She was obviously standing outside waiting for this reaction. He shook his head and laughed, you are not very different to Khushi Kumari Gupta, you know that?" Payal smiled and looked at him waiting,

"Ok. I will do it. BUT I have a few conditions. I design everything. I pick my team. I will not show ANYONE the designs until they are ready. This collection will be a charity collection... for the trust. And we will name it..." he paused picking up the payal from the table turning around his back facing Payal with his eyes closed

"...The Khushi Collection"  

Payal beamed and punched her fist in the air, she knew he would do it, he just needed the right motivation. And it helped that he had confided everything to her over the last few years. The payal dropped by the poolside did the trick.

Arnav turned around, took her hand and put the payal in it and smirked, "nice touch with the payal. Nutcase." With that he strolled out the room.

 His fingers brushed the sketches again. He was sure he had noticed a hint of familiarity in her eyes even if she couldn't quite tell what it was. All these designs were made for her. Every single one them reminded him of his Khushi. There was a pompom on every lehenga and every blouse. The colours were bold like she had been. The designs tried to capture the essence of a woman, the passion of a woman, the simplicity of a woman and the love of a woman.

When she said she thought they were amazing, to say he was over the moon would be an understatement. While he was the creator of the designs she was the inspiration.

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For PMs - Buddy me.

Part 6: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/2644932?pn=13