Starry night

Manya stepped out of the washroom, and twirled in front of the mirror to look at herself. The material of the clothes was definitely soft and airy, not to mention that the colours were amongst her favourites. The cherry red shirt had a picture of Minnie mouse printed on it, while the cream pyjamas complemented it very well. Pleased with how she looked, she decided to go and look for Arjun, before she realised that she was upset with him and had to sit in her dark den, waiting for her prey.

*Wait, why was she mad at him again? Oh yes, because of the clothes! Whom should she murder first, the person these clothes belonged to, or the one who had offered them to her like it was a perfectly normal thing to do?! The audacity- she would make sure that he wouldn't be left alive by the end of that night. But she needed the answer first, to decide whom she was going to deep fry first in the burning pan of hot oil, whose soaring temperature was fueled by her own anger. But before her anger roasted them alive, she had to tell him that the person she had encountered, or rather, the one who had found her- her Mausa, was alive! But the recent events that had made her aware of the flaws in her memory, made her somewhat hesitant to say these things out loud to him. What if she was wrong, she hadn't seen his face after all, not that she would have recognised him right away even if she had seen him. She hadn’t even gotten a glimpse, apart from his voice. She was trying to recall as many bits of the encounter as she could, when a voice inside her chimed in- “But then again, when have you ever been wrong about recognising people by their voices, Manya?” This time, she did not have a reply to that. She had indeed been able to recognize people’s voices from a mile away, ever since her childhood. So it was settled, then- the man had been Siddhant, her Mausaji, and not only was he alive, but also a probable suspect in the murder of her family. And yet, there was something that was stopping her from claiming that, as if saying it out loud to Arjun would make it real. No, Manya Rahal would not be one to be bound by these stupid self-placed restricitions, she had to do this for the sake of her family- equally to avenge the ones who had left, as well as to protect the ones she had left.* 

Deciding thus, she strode towards the doorway and opened it, only to have the light from the room spill into the hallway, illuminating Arjun’s silhouette.

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Ten minutes had passed, and Arjun found himself standing at the door to the room Manya was in, on the dot. And yet, he found himself hesitant to knock or call out for her, still a little distrubed about the way she had stormed out a few minutes ago.

He finally gathered up his courage and raised his hand to the door, not knowing which one of Manya's personalities he would be confronted with. He was just standing there for now, leaning against the doorframe in the dark hallway and preparing himself to knock.

*He didn’t even know why he was so hesitant, in fact this was the closest he had been to her in so long, and with both of them in their senses- well, mostly. She did not even feel like the grown-up version of someone he had lost contact with, because he could glimpse his Minnie in her every now and then, no matter how much some things might have changed. He felt like he had moments of clarity every now and then, as if she was simultaneously the same Minnie he had met at three years of age, as well as a compilation of every other persona she had taken on in the following years- some of which he was there for, some not. Still, the resulting mosaic was pretty familiar, and more importantly, very dear to him. But what he had heard from her a few hours ago, about her having feelings for him, had done a number on him. More so, because due to yet another twist of Fate, she didn't even know what she had blurted out. And as was typical for their relationship, this momentary lapse on her part had made him uncomfortable with his own feelings, which he had realised, doubted, examined, questioned, and settled with at least a thousand times in the last decade.*

Whatever conclusion his thoughts might have been heading towards, he was unable to find out because just then, Manya had opened the door and was now standing in front of him, her face slightly red and a wet towel in hand. He frowned for a second, confused about whether he had knocked on the door, and how did he not realise it? Meanwhile, Manya was now squinting at him suspiciously, crossing her arms across her chest.

She cocked an eyebrow and spoke, “Well, weren’t you supposed to come find me?”

“I was, but I thought you might be in the middle of perfecting your appearance for me, so I thought I should wait!” He yelped in mock pain after Manya smacked him on the arm, and then conceded with a smile, “Okay I’m sorry, I’m sorry! They do look good on you, though!”

Manya responded with an expression that conveyed ‘of course I do’ without her having to say it and Arjun was anticipating an equally haughty reply. 

He was momentarily surprised when she relented easily, “They are pretty good, I must say. And they fit me quite well, too.”

But he regained control immediately, saying “Why wouldn’t it be? My choice has always been great!”

Manya spoke up immediately, as if she had been waiting for this prompt. “Your choice, huh? Are you talking about the clothes, or their owner?”

Arjun simply smiled, “Both!”

“Oh, and may I ask you, where was this amazing sense of style when you roamed after me all day, pleading with me to help pick out your outfits?”

Arjun’s eyes became sincere all of a sudden, as he looked down and spoke, “It kind of emerged after you left me to pick out all my clothes by myself.”

“And whose fault was that?”

Arjun was puzzled, unable to decide how he should tackle this question. “Huh? What? Are you trying to say that this was my fault?”

“Of course, weren’t you supposed to find me? You knew I wanted to be a fashion designer, so that should have narrowed it down, making it easier to reach me!”

The mirth was back in his eyes as he regarded the accusation. “For your kind information, there are 206 countries in the world, which are further divided into even more states. And I would assume that there would be at least one institute each, that specialises in fashion design. I have an idea, why don’t you go back, and I’ll try to find you this time? But before you go, tell me how many centuries would you be willing to wait for me?”

Manya burst out laughing, and mumbled under her breath “Who was waiting for whom again…”

He leaned in closer as he asked, “What are you saying?”

She suddenly looked up, a glint in her eyes. “Nothing, I am wondering why you won’t tell me who these clothes belong to! Is there, I mean, are you-”

Arjun cut her off right there, shrugging and saying, “What is there to say, these clothes belong to me!”

She was certainly amused, and decided to take the bait. “Oh, so you go around wearing these kinds of clothes in your apartment? I mean, I am not judging, but…”

Arjun retorted instantly, “Why does it seem like you are? It is my apartment, I can dress however I like! And you are a fashion designer, so you should know better than to classify clothes and colours according to gender-”

“Well, I actually meant walking around in clothes much tighter than your fit, and the shirt that would barely climb up your arms, but…” She let the sentence trail off, started out with wanting to tease him but becoming a little self-conscious by the end herself.

Arjun, determined to not let the awkwardness take control, said “It is you, dumbo! It’s all for you- the clothes, and the apartment as well!”

Manya replied, wide-eyed, “Me? What do you mean? What!”

He just smiled and extended his hand out to her, “Yes, you are the one who used to nag at me that you wanted a place where you could see the starry night from, if you remember?! So here we are, come on, let’s go now! What are you waiting for?”

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Shikhawat started roaming about to get a better idea regarding the area and guards. He was now questioning himself, thinking that perhaps it had not been as good of an idea to make an abrupt plan like this, he hadn't done something like this before. Plans had always been very important to him, and he was not very keen on deciding on something and then following up at the exact moment.

*‘Go big, or go home!’ Adopting this life motto, he had always thought that he needed to achieve more and more, and for that a detailed plan was very crucial. Meticulous planning was involved even for plans that might seem abrupt to an outside observer, like Shekhar’s death for example. The boy had been annoying, but he had waited patiently and killed him at a time appropriate to deviate everybody's attention from the showstopper dress. And he had succeeded in that as well- the auction for the fall collection show stopper was yet to be done, and Manya wouldn't leave the country before that, effectively buying  him some time. Apart from that, he also didn't allow anyone to threaten his family. In any case she was his niece, and no one, no one- apart from him, of course,  was allowed to scare her that way. Right from the very first day, when he had hired Shekhar, he wanted to get that revenge from him. He knew that he was afraid of heights, just like his little Minne was afraid of the dark, so he wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. What did he think, that he was allowed to do anything, thinking that no one was standing behind her? Oh no, the boy had a massive misunderstanding then, because till the time he was alive, no one was allowed to touch them- or else, he would make them pay. Speaking of, and that Ishaan was a particularly significant debtor. He really needed to pay off the debts he had incurred so far, because he was the sole reason that he had to wait till now. And he would suffer for that. How dare he have the audacity to keep her away from them, to keep her there and not let her come back to India?! The poor boy was still under the illusion that he was somehow more well-off than Manya! Oh boy, did he really need a reality check!* 

But he could leave the list of his debtors for now, because he needed a new and compact plan for the kidnapping, and the already plans for everyone else were ready. He managed to go near the guards and stopped behind a pillar, from where he could listen to everything they were talking about, while still remaining hidden from their sight.

Guard 1: Sia baby is so sweet, isn't she? She is the most well behaved kid of the family, unlike Manya baby- she never listens to anyone.

Guard 2: Are you out of your mind, or are you not able to listen to what you are saying? They are our bosses and we should not bad mouth them.

Guard 1: But the truth is the truth anyway! Look at her, she is so gentle and always treats us like one of them , while Manya baby doesn't even treat her mother with kindness! She always argues with her, I wonder how these two are sisters.

Guards 2: They are not real sisters, they are cousins! Sia baby's parents have died at a very early age, don't you know? And Manya baby is also the same as Sia baby, she just doesn't like her mother.

Guard 1: What are you saying- they aren't sisters, they are cousins?! But that means that, Sia baby is not ma’am’s own daughter...?

Guard 2: Exactly!

Guard 1: She never lets anyone know about this, she always acts like she is her own daughter.

Guard 2: Are you totally new? Then how are you allowed to guard Sia baby, nobody is fully allowed to be her guard unless they are professionally trained to soothe and care for her, and are well-acquainted with her history!? No wonder I haven't seen you before! But anyway, I am warning you- don't mention it in front of anybody else, or your job will be at stake.

Guard 1: But you just told that she is not her original daughter-

He wasn’t even able to complete his sentence, when the Head of Security entered and spoke, clearing his throat. “Ahm ahm! I think you guys like chatting, so why don’t I give you a long vacation to catch up?

Guard 2: I am sorry sir, he is new, he didn't know about the rules!

This made the Head of Security a little alarmed, and he turned to the first guard, asking him, “Are you new here? Then how did you manage to get a place in such a high security team, tell me now!” 

The guard panicked badly and was about to spill, when the second Guard in charge of Sia's Personal bodyguards came to the place they were huddled around. 

As soon as approached them and became visible to Shikhawat from his hiding point, it was his turn to be shocked. He whispered to himself, as if to confirm to himself, “He is still alive!” 

*But how could it be? No, no, no...it couldn't be true. He couldn't be alive, he had killed himself with his own hands! No one whom he had planned to murder, could remain alive after his attack! How…was he mistaken? No, he couldn't mistake him, of all the people!*

He was lost in his thoughts, when he noticed a girl sneaking out from the back door, trying to be discreet.

“Oh, so someone is trying to sneak!” A smirk appeared on his face and he walked in her direction, whistling again.

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It was past midnight, and Manya was finally able to sort out her thoughts after gazing at the stars for the better part of an hour. She didn't know exactly what power the stars held, but they surely did something to her, which compelled her to be herself. This was probably the reason she had never opted for stargazing with anyone else. And she didn't know if it was Destiny or her own intuition, that she had never felt the urge to ask Ishaan for this type of thing. It was not that they had never sat on the balcony and looked at the sky, it was that they always sat there with a bottle of wine and some snacks and kept on chatting. Or perhaps, it was only now that she had returned to India, that she had been confronted with such overwhelming scenarios one after the other that demanded an escape in the form of a sparkling void. 

She let out a breath of relief and turned back to Arjun, who was also busy gazing at the stars, laying by her side quietly. He knew exactly how desperately she wanted quiet time, but at the same time, didn't want to be left alone, either.

“Juno!”

“Yes!” Arjun replied, turning his face towards her. They were both lying by each other, and now looking directly into each other’s eyes.

“Have you missed me?”

“Is that even a question?”

“It is. Just tell me, have you ever missed me?”

“Then you should ask if there was a moment such that I never missed you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. I didn't even stop at 'missing' you. All this while, I had been trying to live the life which was supposed to belong to both of us, and which the two of us would have contributed to, alone. No matter what situation occurred in front of me, I always tended to think, if Minnie were here, how would she react? What would be her decision...would she have liked it? And the list goes on…”

“I am sorry Juno!” Manya spoke, tearing up all of a sudden. 

Arjun quickly hovered over her, panicking and asked, “What happened!? Minnie, hey, what happened?”

*It was probably the first time he had seen her crying directly. The tears that fell from her eye felt so precious, that he wanted to preserve it because he definitely won't be letting this happen again, which means it would be the rarest thing on earth! But at the same moment he was so worried about her, that he was getting increasingly angry at himself only, as if he was the duffer who might have something that had made her cry.*

Manya tried to smile in reply to his question, but she failed miserably. 

*She didn't know what it was, but the only thing she knew was that there was something piled onto her chest, making it hard for her heart to keep beating. She needed to let it out, let everything out at the first opportunity. She remembered that she had tried it once when she was with Ishaan, but the hug...that embrace didn't give her the same feeling or the same protection she was used to!*

Unable to think anything further, she hugged him tightly and broke into tears.

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