"Haaye.. Itna miss kiya maine terrace pe aana.." Shehnaaz chuckled, holding on to the metal railing. Breathing in the fresh and cold air, enjoying the post rain weather. 

"Toh kisne mana kiya tha aane ko?" Sidharth cross questioned. 

Resuming their terrace meet up felt blissfully nice after the worked up day they went through. After they had hugged each other in the car, a day ago, their tiff was long forgotten. Shehnaaz wouldn't hold grudges with anybody for too long and for her Sidharth was somebody who held her at her low, who comforted her when she felt alone and paid attention to her stupidest blabberings. So what, if he hurt her, he didn't do it intentionally! And moreover people make mistakes, don't they? One could mistakenly hurt someone. And when he was genuinely sorry, she readily gave in. "

Haa yaar.. Aa jana chahiye tha.. Yeh terrace meri favorite jagah ban gaya hai.." with this she took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and felt something burning around. 

"Ha! Ye bhi miss kiya maine!" she sarcastically smirked, pointing over the white cylinder in between his lips. 

"Maine toh kuch miss nahi kiya boss.. Mai roz aata tha yahan.. Badhiya apna walk karta tha aur wapas.." he stretched his hands freely, walking around like a stud. 

"Tune kuch miss nahi kiya?!" she charged towards him.  Not even me?

"Nahi.. Mai toh daily ground jata tha.." he shrugged. 

"Mai ground ki baat nahi kar rahi! Tune uske alawa aur kuch miss nahi kiya?" she asked. How could he not miss her and dare he say, he didn't! 

"Nahi.. Aur kya miss karunga mai?" he said, looking confused. He definitely got what she meant, she was asking about herself. He won't be able to describe how much he missed her and this, messing with her, was the thing he had missed the most! 

"Ahaaan! Sidhaaarth!" she fisted her palms, irritated with his calmness and punched his hard chest. Oh, her fist was so so small against his frame yet it hurt, her bony knuckles made him wince while laughing. 

"Abey! Bas.." he said, while stepping back. 

"Bol tune mujhe miss kiya!" she demanded, stepping ahead and trying to grab his hair. Couldn't she see? He thought. 

"Toh kai ke liye tere ko manaya mai?" he asked, holding her hands. She made a face, he could just have said it simply! 

"Aur bata! How's work?" he asked, changing the topic. 

"Abhi toh school meitna kaam hai na.. Mat puch! Itni saaaaariii test notebooks hai.. Unko check karke marksheet banani hai.." she answered, worriedly, that she was given a deadline to finish them off. 

"Teko pata sirf chaar din me mark sheet banani hai!.. Upar se meri performance bhi hai sar pe.." she added. Handling two different kinds of work was only making her tired. Tired as hell. 

"Oye..Konsi performance?" he asked. 

"Tujhe nahi pata? Haye.. Meri pehli performance hone vali hai finally!!" she gushed. Since they weren't in talking terms for a few days, he didn't know but she was glad because she had so much to share now. 

"Ye Monsoon fest hai.. Har saal na barish ke season pe based ek dance event hota hai.. Like thode bade level pe.. Iske liye audition di thi maine.." she said, filling him with a few more details about how she got selected by a renowned choreographer and she's been working hard for this now. 

"That's just great!" He congratulated, being very happy for her. 

"Last time bhi aisi khush thi mai.. BabaJi please is bar mere to koi siyappa na hoye.." she prayed, joining her hands and closing her eyes like a child. Well, Sidharth silently wished the same, he still remembered how much she sulked over the entire week she couldn't walk and then cried when she had to back off from the group dance last time. 

"Apne dance ke baare me batana.." he asked, diverting her mind. 

"Mera dance.. Semi classical hai.. Matlab thoda contemporary.. Thoda classical.. Aur na barish ki theme hai toh bada hi pyara sa act hai.. Matlab ke do log milte hai.. Dono ko pyaar ho jata hai barish ke mausam me.." she explained. 

"Nice.." he commented. Tv,cinema, fictional worlds, the screens had fantasised rain with romance into people's heads. 

"Tu aayega mera dance dekhne?" she asked, he was listening so keenly maybe he'd like to come and see her performance too, she thought. 

"Yeah..why not! Tu bulayegi to aunga.." he replied in affirmative. She smiled widely listening to him, she definitely needed someone in the audience who'd be supporting her, who'd come more for her than just enjoying the show. 

"Ha.. Tu aana.. Mujhe acha lagega.." she replied. Their conversation paused when it started raining all of a sudden. 

"Lo! Hum abhi abhi barish ki hi baat kar rahe the.." she chuckled, spreading her hands in the air and facing the sky, letting the raindrops wash her face. 

"Chal!" he gained her attention by grabbing her wrist. 

"Rukna! Mausam kitna acha hai.. Aaj man kar raha hai bheegne ka.." she replied, not budging from her place. 

"Chup be.." he chided and dragged her off to the shade. She cupped her palm in the air, collected rainwater in it and threw it right into his face as soon as he turned back to see her. 

"Abey! Pagal.!" he scoffed, whereas she giggled the loudest. 

"Barish pasand nahi hai? Tujhe bheegne ka man nahi karta? Aise jab thandi thandi hawa bhi chalti hai.." she asked. 

"Kabhi nahi!" He forced a smile, he was never into typical Bollywood shit. 

"Kasam kha? Bilkul bhi pasand nahi? Rain makes everything so beautiful.. Romantic.. Pleased.." she debated. 

"Not necessarily! Yeh to bas beliefs hai.. Nazariya hai logon ka cheeze dekhne ka.. Not that I hate rain, just that I don't love it either.." he shrugged. He found it slightly overrated because he never found rain beautifying things for him. But she seemed to be fascinated by it, the cold rain drops, the wind and the clouds, fantasising Bollywood logics! That's what cinema did! Overrated unnecessary things, a lil bit of the rainy season does feel good but not as people talk about it, he thought. 

"Hmm.. Not everybody thinks the same way.. Barish se na mera mood acha ho jata hai.. Jab tez hawa.. Toofan ke baad barish sab shant aur saaf kar deti hai.. Aisa lagta hai life ki problems bhi ek din solve ho jayegi aur sab kuch thik ho jayega.. You know.. I'm just being optimistic.." she replied. 

"Right..sahi hai.." he nodded, walking towards the lift with her. "But how's it romantic?" he asked. 

She giggled before answering, "Movies me dekha hai.. I know it's cliché and not true .. Still I like those sorts of moments in my head.. Kisi ke sath bheegna.. And then you get to have a cozy moment.. You two kiss and then.. " she was answering while blushing like a schoolgirl, when he cut her words. 

"And then you catch a cold!" he said, he was expecting her to say that, cinema surely serves unrealistic and over expecting scenarios. 

She laughed, "Hahaha.. I was just saying.." The two entered the lift and she pressed the button to the 13th floor. 

"Ye real me kabhi nahi hota.. I know.. So umm.. How did you get your.. You know.. Tune pehli baar kiss kab kiya tha?" she asked, the question crossed her mind suddenly and she took the courage to ask it. 

"Hmm.. (he took a minute to recall) it was our School's farewell party.. Exams aane wale the.. We all knew is party ke baad hangout karne nahi milega.. So I went to drop her off and then yeah.. We hugged and kissed.." he said, he could hardly remember that moment in detail, it had happened years ago. Still, it was his first kiss. 

"Wow!" she commented in awe. 

"Tu bata?" he asked. 

"Teri jitni lucky nahi thi.. pehle toh it was a girl's school.. Co-Ed toh college me mila.. Vaha bhi campus me teachers aur guards.. Aur hostel aao toh warden! Sports ground se ek corridor tha.. Vaha gaye the aur kiss karne ke baad check kar rahe the ki kisi ne dekh toh nahi liya.." she recalled those days from her college and laughed, sharing this particular anecdote. He laughed too because it sounded more adventurous than romantic! 

"Itna struggle?" he joked. 

"Haa!" she pouted that made him laugh again. They didn't realise until a sharp lightening that they had reached the floor and were standing outside the elevator. 

"Chal.. I'll leave now.. Good night.." he wished, calling it a night and she wished him back before walking towards her apartment. The two had a sound sleep these days after they used to meet up at the terrace.  Mazey kisi jagah se thodi aate hai hai.. Mazey toh logo se aate hai.. Was rightly said. 

Shehnaaz eagerly awaited for Sidharth to pick her up from her dance academy everyday, for the last 2 days. But maybe today wasn't her day when he texted her that he's stuck in traffic and rain. She huffed, making her way towards the metro station hurriedly because it was pouring cats and dogs. She had an umbrella though, his umbrella, the one he had offered her last week. She was returning it but he refused to take it back and asked her to keep it. She was upset that he didn't show up today. She cursed the weather and rain she used to like. Because she had something to show him today, she had so excitedly bought this one thing to give him. Thankfully the rain didn't last for long and she reached home without any delay. 

Sidharth had just reached his apartment, exhausted from work and then traffic, he threw himself on his bed opening the top 3 buttons of his shirt and finally got up to take a shower when he heard the doorbell. 

"Hey!" he opened the door to Shehnaaz, standing timidly. She on the other hand forgot to greet him back when a glimpse of his toned chest was on display. He looked tired, yet his sexiness didn't budge when the curve of his bicep bulged out when he leaned against the door and crossed his arms. 

"Andar aa!" he said, breaking a trance. 

"H..ha.." she nodded, making her way in. "Mai ye dene aayi thi.." she said, handing him a paper. It was a ticket, ticket to the event she had been preparing for. 

"Kal meri performance hai.. Shamko 6.30 sharp!" she told him, smiling sheepishly. She didn't know if he'd find it any special but his presence for her was going to be very special for her. That was really sweet! He thought she could have just told him about the time and venue but she got him the ticket herself. Just a front seat auditorium ticket, but it meant a lot to him. 

"Okay! I'll be there! And best of luck!" he smiled and pulled her into a hug. 

"You're gonna be fine.. Bahut badhiya karegi tu! You know you have it in you..right?" He patted her back, cooing softly into her ears because he could see her biting her lips, maybe she was nervous. She managed to humm, yes she was nervous but more than that she was missing her mother. It was going to be another performance, she'd be missing. 

"Sunn rahi hai?" he asked in the hug, she hummed again in response before parting away and tucked her hair strands behind her ear. 

"Yeah, just that.. I..I'm just missing Maa.." she said. That was obvious. 

"Tu hi bolti hai na.. She'd be watching over you.." he said, she nodded, her throat was getting heavy with emotions. Her strong belief that her mother's still with her, in the form of a star in the sky, still keeping an eye on her had made him believe in it too. 

"She'd be happy for you.." he added, making her smile again. He had cupped her face to comfort her and she had kept her hands on his. Breaking out of the moment, they felt awkward with so much proximity and yet nice. They had hugged a few times but now, especially after the party episode it felt intimate to him. 

"See ya.. Bye!" she said before closing the door after her and releasing her breath. The next day passed in a jiffy in anticipation of performing on a big stage. Her choreographer and partner were experienced ones and they had faith in her too. She should be happy that they kept encouraging her every now and then but it gave her immense responsibility to prove herself good enough though. 

Sidharth in his hospital was very keenly keeping an eye on the clock to leave at 6 timely. After appointing another doctor in his place in any case of emergency, he wrapped up his stuff to go home, freshen up and change. He was happy that he was on time until the very irritating traffic got him when it was 5 minutes to 6.30pm, abey yaar! He impatiently tapped his foot and twitched his thumb, praying silently that he didn't want to miss even a second of her dance because it'd hurt her as hell. He didn't open the messages she was sending him on his way, hoping he'd make it in time. Where the traffic kept it's record and he reached the auditorium by 6.40pm. He ran inside when he didn't see anybody outside but a muffled announcement could be heard. There was a man on the stage, standing on the podium and he was probably the anchor. 

"If I were the rain that joins the sky and the earth that otherwise never touch.. Could I join two hearts as well..? Presenting to y'all.. A dance performance by Shehnaaz & Amit.." he said before getting off the stage and the lights were dimmed. Sidharth in the meanwhile found his seat and felt someone patting his shoulder. 

"You are late! Kabse wait kar rahi thi vo tumhara!" It was Arohi, whispering a shout. He didn't reply because he was late, he could have wished her luck one more time if he had arrived a little early. But he let it go now, glad that her performance hadn't started. 

A guy walked in and then Shehnaaz appeared, following him. In a plain baby blue long anarkali kurti and held out her hand for him. The two moved in sync in the slow beats of the famous song Rimjhim Gire Sawan. Amit would get close to her in the course, Sidharth hated the fact that this tall and fair guy looked amazing with her. They were pretty comfortable, of course they had to but still. Mehfil mein kaise keh dein kisi se.... Dil bandh raha hai kis ajnabi se.... He found his heart tugging at this one line. The way this extremely beautiful Shehnaaz would swirl herself, sway her hands in the air and her footwork. It was extraordinarily amazing. As the dance was nearing its end, the sprinklers were turned on to depict rain and the two dancers did the last minute of their dance in the rain. A few minutes later, his phone chimed with this particular message. 

'Come backstage with Arohi' he did as told and met her backstage, her roommate literally jumped on her to praise her. 

"You were great! Superb ya! I'm so impressed! Tu itna acha dance karti hai.." he gushed and she excitedly hugged him. 

"Sachi bol!" she asked again, laughing! 

"Ha baby.." he nodded, he was left dazzled and astonished after her splendid performance. 

Her happiness knew no bounds then, as soon as she had stepped out of stage, both Komal mam and Amit had hugged her. After all the praises she was receiving were making her go mad. It was surely the best day of her life! 

The next day, she went to her school as usual and started preparing the marksheet after taking classes. Her day wasn't as busy as it used to be because there were no rehearsals for a few days. On her way back home, she saw a small kid crying his eyes out in a bus stand, all alone. She walked closer to him to notice his left knee scratched. She immediately crouched down to him, patted him and pulled out her handkerchief to disinfect his wound.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vote and comment!!