In the middle of a deserted road surrounded by heavily branched trees, Sidhanth could see himself standing with a cycle as if he is all ready to ride, but his eyes are searching for someone.
"Mini, where are you?" He screamed through the gushing sound of the leaves. The wind slowly started to speed up, so his heart. He peddled through the deserted road, shouting her name.
"MINI… MINI…" but all he got was silence.
"DEV…" His ears picked up the faint scream of his name, and he rode towards the voice and saw that deadly man forcing his Mini. Before he could reach them, his cycle skid leading him to fall on the road scratching his skin. All he could see through his heavy eyes were her tear-filled eyes pleading him to save her and the smirk on that bastard's face.
Cold sweats broke out on Sidhanth's face as he sat up, panting heavily. Another day of surviving in this world without her. He took out his wallet from the nightstand drawer and opened it. His eyes filled with tears looking at her innocence filled face. He took this picture of her without anyone's knowledge when they were putting up a stage drama. She was playing the role of a Bengali mother who is explaining to her daughter's white friend about the culture of India. Only he knew how much he burned in jealous looking at the boy who played the husband role. For him, she is the epitome of beauty and innocence.
Always.
She is posing sideways with her one hand on the hip and the other on her neck. Subconsciously, Sidhanth's thoughts drifted towards the day he met Sitara. For a second, he stunned, looking at her. She was wearing a turmeric yellow designer saree with sliver zari works draped in Bengali style. He couldn't move his eyes away from her when she was tending his wounds. He felt her shiver every time his hot breath fanned her face. In short, she looked like his Mini, but reality sunk in, making him realize she is nothing but a pawn in his game.
"I know you have nothing to do with your step-father, but to get him out of his den, I need to play you in such a way that you will be broken beyond the limit." taking a deep breath, Sidhanth kept the wallet inside the drawer and walked towards the balcony.
The sky is clear as it's the time for the sunrise. He could see the sky getting painted with the red color; as the sun slowly rose, the sky became orange, and the fresh air hinted with the fragrance of morning dew filled his nostrils, which calmed his tension-filled mind.
Closing his eyes, he savored every minute of this spectacular morning, but his trance got broken by the commotion happening in the garden. Leaning a bit over the railing, he could see Lakshman talking to his friend Sunder and giving him a parcel beautifully wrapped in a gifted paper.
"Sunder, listen carefully, make sure this gift reach Sitara's hand and not Revathi's. I know for the past few days, she is feeling low. I tried to ask her so many times what is the problem, but she didn't open her mouth."
"Dude, from when you and Ms. Fireworks became close?" Sunder asked with a teasing smile wiggling his eyebrows while Lakshman scratched his neck, trying to control his blush.
"Well, all thanks to Sidhu Bhai, I started to meet her on the pretext of discussing Bhai's case. You know even she started to be friendly with me."
"Dude, then what about Revathi?" Sunder asked, which made Lakshman's smile falter.
"I don't know Sunder, but one thing I am sure about is- Revathi is not the right choice for me. Two more weeks are still there, then I will be able to decide between Sitara and Revathi. Ok, now go fast, today is Her Birthday. And I don't want her to miss the fun I planned for her," Sidhanth saw Sunder leaving the Maheshwari compound, and his grip on the railing which turned his knuckles white is the proof that he didn't like even one percent of whatever he heard.
Sitara watched her mother happily serving breakfast to her family. Technically it's her family also. But somewhere, she felt like an outsider.
It's been a week.
Since her father married her mother in front of the people who bad-mouthed about her whole life. Two days later, Revathi, along with Dada and Dadi, visited her house and proposed the idea of living together in Vasthav House. Sitara was skeptical about living under the same roof as Shekar and Dadi, so she asked Sonali to move forward in her life and stop worrying about her [Sitara] and Dida, but she visits the Vasthav House every morning and joins them for breakfast. From the time her mother started to live in the Vasthav House, Sitara missed their alone time. Just she, her Dida, and her Maa.
"Sitara, can you come here?" Sitara, who is about to step out of the colony, went towards Dadi.
"I know whatever happened in the past, I can't change it. But the truth is you are my eldest granddaughter, and I don't want you to roam around late at night. Try to reach the colony before dusk." Sitara looked at her mother, who is standing a few steps away from them, signed her to accept whatever Dadi told.
"Ok, Dadi. I will try to come early from now on." Sitara came out of the colony and went near her scooty but stopped seeing a beautifully wrapped box placed on the seat. She took her phone out of her handbag and saw Lakshman's name flashing.
"Hello, Lakshman,"
"Did you open the box?" His chirpy voice made her smile. She could find a good friend in Lakshman because, from the time she helped the Maheshwari's with Sidhanth's case, He is trying really hard to mend the mistakes!
"So, what made Mr. Great Lakshman Prasad Maheshwari present me a gift?" Sitara asked, giggling while slowly unwrapping the box.
"Well, today is my best friend's birthday, so I thought, why not gift her for the 20 birthdays I missed" Sitara's hands froze as she realized today indeed is Her Birthday, and that's why Dida was acting weird.
"Hello, Sitara! Are you there?"
"Haan, I am here only. Lakshman, it was not at all needed. I mean, how will I repay you if you gift things which are beyond my status." Sitara said, as her hand caressed the designer saree, which has the tag stating 'Happy 21' st Birthday.'
It looks expensive.
"Oh, come on, Sitara. You should always see the heart of the person behind the present, not the price tag. Anyways leave it. It's a waste of time talking to you. Around 5 pm, a car will be waiting for you outside your academy. Get inside the car silently, and reach the venue. Don't throw your tantrums to the driver as he knows nothing about our surprise."
"Ok, Boss. I will come wherever you want me to." awkward silence followed after when they realized the depth of the words Sitara spoke. With a quick bye, Sitara ended the call and kept the box inside the storage compartment. With a content smile playing on her lips, Sitara drove to the Durga Devi Temple to seek blessings from the almighty.