How long would she be able to keep herself away from the one who knew her inside out?
“You’re joking, right?” I asked in fear. Vishal responded with a helpless look.
“Didn’t he request us to dance...so we have the right to refuse.” Faisal reasoned.
“His request sounded more like an order to me.” Vishal confirmed guiltily.
“Well, then I can’t dance; at least not with….you know what has happened, Vishal...so please don’t complicate this any further.” Faisal explained blatantly, offending me. My patience had a limit, and this was it.
“What do you think of yourself, huh? Are you a charming guy girls dream of?” I spat, expressing my anger. He had the courage to reject me...me?!
“Don’t give yourself so much importance, Mr. Faisal Khan...for you never know where you’ll end up!” I threatened, pointing my index finger at him. We glared into each other’s eyes, conveying nothing but animosity towards each other. I hated him for making me so weak, so vulnerable. I hated him because he was the reason for the melancholy in my life!
“Roshni….calm down…” Faisal gritted his teeth and spoke very softly as if hinting towards my eveready aura. Was he aware of my truth….of my real identity? I became thoughtful as Vishal approached towards me.
‘Roshni, calm down…” He put his hand on my shoulder, repeating exactly what Faisal had said five seconds ago. Perhaps, Faisal’s voice was only audible to me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Vishal, I can understand your dilemma. You can’t really refuse or object the director’s request when he was the one who rewarded us with fame and popularity.” I was alarmed at what I said; such maturity was never a part of me.
“Moreover, I don’t want our fans and co-stars to get disheartened. Many people are oblivious to the complications between us, and I don’t want them to know.” It felt as if I was delivering a dialogue rather than saying what I wanted to. I wanted to expostulate Faisal...but here I felt as if I was being hypnotized.
“Which is why-”
“Which is why, we will dance together...for the sake of our fans and our team. They have been a family to us, and it is our responsibility to take their requests into consideration.” Faisal interrupted, finishing my thoughts. How did he know what I ‘wanted’ to say?
“You know, this may seem very bizarre...but you both just sounded like the brave Maharana Pratap and courageous Maharani Ajabde Punwar. The maturity, the wisdom, everything resembled your reel characters!” Vishal seemed amazed. I smiled inwardly; somehow his praises were directed towards me...towards an unknown part of me.
“Guess we learnt a lot from our MRP days!” Faisal commented to reduce the suspicion.
‘Okay, so now that you both have enlightened me with your wisdom and knowledge, could you both please choose a song and think of some moves before the actual performance? You both have half an hour and I have kept a room vacant for you to practice.” Vishal finished and turned to leave.
“And yeah, try not to fight...” He winked at me before checking on the other arrangements. That wink had to be a friendly one; what else could it mean?
“Does your co-star have any problems with this?!” I asked annoyedly, trying to avoid saying her name.
“She shouldn’t actually….she is quite cooperative and supportive….defines a great friend, y’know?” Faisal smirked as he took his iPhone 6S out to message her.
“Whatever!” I scoffed, trying to maintain my cold behavior towards him.
“Let’s go!” He ordered as he slid his phone back into his back pocket. I stayed still and crossed my arms. Faisal turned and spotted me and held his head in impertinence. Was I so irritating? I looked away to hide the brimming tears that were always ready to spring out and reveal my inner emotions.
“God Roshni! You’re still the same, aren’t you?! You still don’t follow orders! Just want to do what you feel like?!”
“I don’t change for anyone! And you have lost the authority to even try to change me long ago!” I gritted, stomping past him.
The room was very plain and boring; white walled with just one sofa placed at the far end. It was sufficient enough to fit at least 10 people comfortably. I scanned the place to find no windows; no ventilation!
“Okay, so let’s pick on some song…” I suggested, not waiting for his input on my idea. I took my sleek space grey iPhone 6 out and started browsing through my music.
“Hold on, wait a second…” Faisal spoke as he approached towards me.
‘Can we please select a genre before choosing songs?”
“Of course we’re dancing on some funky pop song!” I simply shrugged.
“No we aren’t...do you expect me to lift you and carry out some stunts?” He asked, bewildered.
“Isn’t that what you did in Jhalak Dikhala Jaa? Or was that all just fake?” I was questioning his capabilities.
“There is a difference between you and some professional dancer!”
“Are you doubting by dancing skills?!”
“Roshni, we aren’t dancing on any funky song….end of discussion.” He decided.
“As if we were having some kind of discussion….this seemed more of an argument to me.” I spoke to myself
“You’re right...because we can never talk without arguing!” He justified, raising his voice.
“Stay within your limits, Faisal! Raising your voice might be fine with her, but not with me!” I grunted.
“We are dancing on some slow song, where we can waltz or do something similar to it.” Faisal announced.
“I don’t have any such songs.” I admitted meekly.
“I should’ve known….slow, romantic songs have never been your preference, right?” He stared at me, his eyes conveying a wave of emotions.
“Don’t worry, I do. Let me check…” It took him nearly three minutes to finalize a song we were dancing on.
‘We’ll dance on ‘Kuch Toh Hai”. It’s slow and meaningful; clearly describes our relationship…..as PrAja.’ He corrected himself on seeing my shocked expression.
“Gosh, Faisal! Such a drowsy song!” I complained as he rolled his eyes at me.
“Let’s practice once….and we can come up with steps once we get on stage.”
“Umm, Mr. Faisal Khan...I guess I should inform you, that I am wearing a gown….and pencil heels! How am I supposed to come up with moves on the stage?!”
“That’s why I suggested we should practice once.”
I nodded in approval as he came near me.
Aahatein kaisi yeh aahatein
Sunta hoon aaj kal aye dil bata
Faisal’s hand slid through my waist as I placed both my arms on his shoulders. We sashayed to the soft beats of the song, waltzing around the room.
Dastakein dete hain dastakein
Kyun ajnabi se pal aye dil bata
His hand raised for an unexpected twirl, and I could sense I was about to fall. He immediately grasped my waist again, confidently and with pure concern.
Kuch toh hai jo neend aaye kam
Kuch toh hai jo aankhe hai nam
Kuch toh hai jo tu keh de toh
Haste haste marr jaaye hum
I turned my back towards him as he lifted my while twirling. I felt his warm breath on my neck as I realized how smoothly he was carrying me. Faisal twirled me again, and this time caught my bare back rather than my waist, sending tingling sensations throughout my body.
“Faisal! Stop!” My disapproving eyes met his confused ones.
“I warned you that you have no authority on me, which means that you have no right to touch me.”
“How am I supposed to waltz with you, then?” Faisal frowned.
“You are not allowed to touch….the areas which expose…..my skin.” I said, hesitantly.
“What’s wrong, Rosh…? You were fine with Vishal and Yash hugging you….but you have problems with me?”
I couldn’t believe him...his words! Anger filled in me as I mused at his thinking.
“When I clarify or request something, I expect it to be respected by everyone, including you.” I felt myself entering into hypnosis again.
“Why? Why can’t I be treated as Vishal?”
“Because there is a difference between you and him!” I screamed. “He is my best friend, and you are…”
“I am….”
I was clueless at what to say. His angry glare was too powerful for me to think properly.
“Don’t consider Vishal something more than a friend!” He threatened.
“Really?! Who are you to decide? You and I share no relationship, so-”
“Yaad rakhiye…” Faisal interrupted. “Jo humara nahi hai, usse hum lete nahi...aur jo humara hai, usse hum kisi aur ko lene dete nahi!” He stared into my eyes, giving me a sense of deja vu. I knew I had heard this, not in the show, but in real life. I knew this was directed towards me, but I couldn’t pin-point when.
“Kunwar Pratap?” His name automatically escaped my mouth.
“Ajabde!” He gasped and I noticed that he had pinned me to the wall in anger. Just like he did when he accused me of betraying him. Those memories enraged me as I commanded, “Back off!”
“Roshni!” He gasped.
“Faisal!” I hollered in the same tone.
Our auras flared around us, surrounding the room with exceptional brightness.
“Faisal!” I whispered exuberantly at discovering his aura! His body was outlined in pure gold, shielded by a beautiful shade of turquoise followed by Royal Blue. His attire changed, and matched mine. He wore a golden armor with wisps of blue and turquoise at his wrists and ankles. He had a turquoise cape that flew relentlessly in spite of the lack of breeze in the room. I gazed at his new look in awe, as Ms. Maria’s words flowed in my head.
“The Exceptionally Specials category has certain conditions and rules. A person who is rare is bound to come across another person with the same qualities. That person is most likely to be someone familiar, someone whom you know inside out. You, Roshni, are an extraordinary person, because you not only passed both obstacles, but have also achieved powerful colors as a part of your aura.” Maria Gold spoke calmly.
“You might have noticed, that gold is a more prefered color with colors such as red and orange than silver. And this is the most crucial detail you have to remember in order to find your partner. Your ‘soulmate’; as we term it, will have the complete opposite yet rarest colors than you. Which basically comprise of gold, blue, and green. The more specific and unique the color is, the better chances of he being your real partner.
The relationship you’ll share with your partner will be exceptional and above all human relationships. Stronger than ever, you will never be able to leave your partner...you will support him in every situation, and will be able to communicate in supernatural ways. I can’t elaborate on your powers for they are your and his responsibility to discover.” She finished with a smile.
Ms. Maria’s descriptions matched Faisal’s aura perfectly. His aura colors were as specific as possible and were the complete opposite to mine. But how could the person I hated the most be my ‘soulmate’, my partner?
“Ro.Dee…” Faisal realized with a victorious smile as he gazed at me. He knew my name, my identity which was supposed to remain secretive.
“Fai.Tap!” I beamed as he was about to introduce himself.
“How did you….?” He left his question unfinished.
“It was easy to guess….” I responded casually, shrugging my shoulders. I could feel the calmness in me, but my aura refused to relax, to die away.
“Roshni, Faisal?” Vishal knocked at the door as our eyes widened in unison. Our auras flared together adding on to the tension. We were in our real selves, with Vishal at the door! I looked at Faisal in tremor to find his eyes replicating my emotions.
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