Slowly soft music started playing. The romantic atmosphere engulfed the surrounding as the music started reverberating in the hall while the bright lights dimmed. Soft blue stage lights covered the dance floor, as the sky blue tumblrs brightened.
The Roy Couple started dancing. The moving spotlight on them made their moves more prominent. Their slow yet steady movements, flawless steps, soft smiles they were giving each other were creating an impression of an authentic and pure love that everybody longed for. Hands in hands, eyes on eyes, they were looking like an immortal pair, directly descended from heaven.
People standing beside the outer line looked at them with mixed emotions. But one thing was common, admiration. Even it was hidden or overshadowed by jealousy or hatred, still the admiration had become so strong that the dance hall went into complete silence. Other than the music, and the clicking sounds of hills, nothing could be heard.
Mantisha was no exception. She could not move her eyes from them. She thought about the life they had spent. Her mother just passed half of her lifetime with dullness. Never in her memory, she saw her mother being this happy, and confidant. And Uncle Adi was also looking at her like there were nobody else, Sylvia was the only one in the whole world.
In her twenty three years of living, she never experienced a heartwarming love. Her first love was just a puppy love that everybody experienced in theirs teens. Afterwards on the dates she she went, not even a single one had impressed her. Mantisha thought that love was something like a spark that would click between two people when they met. But after seeing her mother and Uncle Adi, she realised how wrong was she. Love was a feeling what not only needed to be nourished and cherished, but also needed to be loved. Only by loving the feeling of being in love, one could stay forever in love.
By living in love, one's heart, soul, body, mind, spirit everything would start singing in one rhythm, with the tune of love. And such love, even after it was buried under soil or burn to ashes, even if ages had passed, would always wait, would always long for the missing other half of them. And the love she was watching in front of her, was one of them.
'If I were to find a love like this, I would not let that go, ever.' She thought as a warm smile formed on her lips.
"If I were to stand in front of my love like this..." Mantisha heard a voice uttering with utmost gentleness, that could only be heard by her.
"I would ask her for a dance with a bunch of..." He paused for a second, his deep hazel eyes never leaving hers, "Forget me nots".
Mantisha sucked her breath as she looked at him. She was stupified at the fact he mentioned 'Forget me not', her favourite flowers. She wondered if he was saying it randomly, remembering his moments with his beloved or he knew about her preferences in flowers. She felt like loosing her reasons while looking at his hazel eyes. Her mind seemingly loosing the calmness.
Sounds of loud claps filled the hall as the Roy couple ended the dance. They bowed towards the surrounded people, then took their leave from the dance floor.
By the sudden change of the atmosphere, Mantisha woke up from her trance. She felt like silly. She actually thought that known yet unknown man was looking at her, trying to hint something to her. But she just got to know a while ago that he could not see, nor did they know each other. Then haw could he possibly do that!
"I wonder how did you know about them, standing in front of each other like the way you just mention." Mantisha was tired of the roller coaster ride of her emotions today. So she thought of pushing the ball to his court.
"Isn't it obvious?" Steven replied with a unyielding voice.
"Mr. Roy get married at a age like this, with his first and only love. How else could he feel." His voice dropped after this, "Besides, I can only feel."
Mantisha bit her lips. She did not want him to feel down, she was just trying to change the topic.
"I am really sorry. I did not mean to hurt you. I was just... Umm... Kind of, curious." She said in a guilty tone.
Steven was amused. He knew that she lacked social communication skills, but he did not expect it to be this bad. Even in this situation, she was not trying to divert the topic, but worsening the situation by pointing her finger towards the problem by saying that she was sorry. Thankfully, it was not anyone else but him.
"Ahh yes. I am hurt. Every man wants to hold his beloved in his arms, but not being able to do so makes him hurt. You should not only apologize to me but to the entire mankind." Steven said with a nonchalant attitude, while holding his amused smile back hard.
Mantisha blinked in confusion. 'He was not talking about his blindness, yet telling me to apologize. Then was he really got hurt or not! Forget it.' She pursed her lips as she excused herself and go to Evelyn to the other side of the floor.
They were chatting for a while, but then Evelyn's date came again looking for her. With a playful smile lingering on his lips, he asked Evelyn for a dance.
'Darn it.' Evelyn made a dissatisfied face, "I will be back in a while." She threw the words to Mantisha, then took his hands to go to the dance floor. That man, glanced back to her, winking his brows, gave her a cocky smile.
'Another weirdo.' Mantisha deadpanned.
As the second dance started, Mantisha started feeling uncomfortable. She felt that known feeling of being stared was coming from somewhere. She started looking to her surroundings not so obviously. After a while, she stopped as she could not find any particular being to doubt, but a group of ladies suddenly cought her attention. She could identify a few. Three of them came to her earlier looking for trouble.
But what really cought her attention were their outfits. Why all of them changed their outfits? Was they copying her! She could not understand.
'This upper class people's parties are really full of strange and creepy people.' She thought to herself.
She was just going to retract her eyes, suddenly she cought a glimpse of the costume she chose to wear at first. To her suprise, it was worn by 'the future heiress of the Smith's'!
Mantisha was mind slapping herself for being paranoid for no good reason. Why would someone plot anything to frame her.
'This... Miss Smith is actually outstanding. This deep V necked cocktail dress with a bare back and a front cut to mid thighs, with a bright tangerine colour could be hold by someone as bold as her. It's a pity that I didn't manage to wear it even after getting the chance, but to be worn by her would really be a justice to the dress. Fashion is all about confidence after all. If it was me, I could not compliment it's value the most like her.' After reasoning with herself for a while, Mantisha felt alright.
"May I have the pleasure to have a dance with this beautiful lady?"
Mantisha's body stiffened just by listening the voice. Her heart started pounding vigorously. She knew who was it, she had experienced this kind od intense pain a few minutes ago. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned to her side, only to meet with a smiling face with a pair of deep blue eyes with round gold rims.
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Gold rims! That means rich, classy, studious, smart, intelligent, and blah blah blah...
Mantisha will scold me to death if she found out I'm judging someone like this.
Then again, some men look good with glasses on and gold rims make them classier. :p
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Happy reading <3