Author’s Note:
Hi!
Glad you loved the first chapter of this brand new love story.
Before you dive into the Abeer-Roshi world, I have a question to ask:
I don’t know why, but I am quite inclined towards converting this story to a full-fledged novel. Let me know your thoughts in the Comments section below about whether these two interesting characters deserve a full story or not? What’s your take?
So, grab some popcorn, tea/ coffee (if you like to :)) and let’s go. Let’s explore the world of Abeer & Roshi together.
If possible, do share the story with your friends who love reading.
Love
P.S: Happy Valentine’s day!
Episode #2:
Abeer asked Roshi to wait for a minute. She lied down on the bed with her legs still on the ground as she watched the stars and the half-moon which looked magnificent from inside the room. She just realized she had heard the sound of the beach when they were outside. Juhu beach was visible from where she was lying down. Glittering stars above her head, she had begun to enjoy the site which she had missed since she had moved to Mumbai. Her eyes closed.
After a couple of minutes, Abeer walked with two coffee cups in his hands and almost shouted in enthusiasm, “Your coffee, madame!” Roshi got up immediately.
“Oh! So sorry. Did I wake you up?” Abeer asked.
“No, no. How can I sleep here? I was just thinking that how you came up with such a brilliant idea. Must say, it’s beautiful out here.”
Abeer offered her the hot coffee mug which was in his artificial left hand, “Here!” She instead chose the other one, written on the mug was – One-sided love, Coffee. Their fingers touched. Abeer smiled. She reciprocated with a ‘thank you’ to get a ‘my pleasure’ in response.
Abeer gestured with his hand, asking her to join him outside. She got up and started walking gradually towards the side of the terrace that faced the roaring beach. Few people were still on the beach as Abeer and Roshi’s eyes could see and understand from far.
Abeer looked at Roshi while her gaze was still at the beach. What Roshi’s intense-looking eyes spoke to Abeer’s in their first encounter that day was she was not the girl who the whole world knew of. Unlike her curly hair that evening, she aspired to be straightforward and sorted in her life. That’s why numerous times she was misunderstood by the media, and that made her refrain from talking much to them now, except for whenever her new movie was about to release. What the world understood of her was just an iota of how beautiful she was from the inside with her own set of flaws.
“She’s like a child’s innocent laughter. A pearl in the shell of an oyster.” Abeer smiled at his own thoughts.
Roshi moved her mysterious gaze towards Abeer to make him come out of his fantasy world quickly. “So, you were telling me about some incidents, I guess?” She kept the coffee mug on the terrace’s railing. Her flowing black hair, just like the eyeliner on her eyes, looked utterly beautiful.
Abeer began injecting his voice with enthusiasm. “Before I tell you those, you must know that when most of these incidents had happened, then my hand was not this advanced. It was a simple one. Unlike now! Now, whenever it’s something like that, it’s mostly when I want that to happen.”
Roshi took a sip of her coffee and nodded.
“So! It was when I was in college. Once a friend of mine, while he was driving his bike and I sat pillion to him, was telling me jokes. He kept patting on my thigh after every joke. So, fed up with this guy’s PJs, and his continuously telling me haath de, haath de whenever we were supposed to turn at some or the other lane, what I did was… I opened and gave my hand to him keeping it on the petrol tank. I quipped – le, haath lele! He – shocked, just like you were some time back, applied brake all of a sudden and…”
“And?”
“And… We fell down. We two on the ground and my hand thrown some feet away. For some strange reasons, it was okay for boys to fall down in a crowded square. But for a hand that can fly to any direction, on a dimly lit street, was not. As soon as everyone saw my hand sliding, jumping here and there on the ground, there was not one but many people who had their hands on the mouth. People from around five feet radius or so stepped back. Must tell you. It was… It was… Hilarious.”
Roshi kept her hand on her forehead. “You are…”
“Amazing! I know.”
“Nope! Leave it.” Roshi brought the cup to her lips. Abeer picked the coffee cup from his prosthetic hand and sipped as well.
“Coffee?” Abeer asked with a thumbs-up. Roshi moved her head in approval.
“In another incident, when I was in my college – IIT Roorkee, we all were dancing after an intercollege dancing competition…”
“You are an IITian?” Roshi asked, surprised. Abeer nodded. Roshi was impressed knowing this. “I thought just like every other rich guy, you would have chosen the Harvard or the Oxford or the Stanford. None of them?”
“That’s a long story. Maybe, some other day.” Abeer was super excited to just tell Roshi the incident. “So, we all were dancing, and, someone pushed me unknowingly. This thing again fell down. This time, not my fault.” Abeer pointed his finger towards his limb. “The crowd around us literally stopped dancing, and even the singer and his team with guitars and everyone on the stage stopped for a second too.”
“Baap re!”
Abeer laughed. Roshi smiled as well.
The sound of the waves crashing against the beach amused their ears, this time accompanied by the soothing sound of the leaves ruffling. The star-studded night sky and the sea had become one, with the half-moon illuminating everything perfectly, making the sea waves, the sand grains and their silhouettes glisten with a subtle fluorescence. Roshi’s nose caught the fragrance of night-blooming Jasmine, with the cold wind touching her cheeks. There was silence for a while.
She saw a pet running towards Abeer. Abeer bent forward to catch hold of her.
“Aww! My baby,” Abeer said, as the dog came in his arms.
“Roshi! Meet Maddy. She is my sweetheart.” Maddy’s one paw was stretched at Roshi who didn’t take time to shake it. Black, with a few light brown stripes on her and with her tiny, brownish eyes, she looked like a street dog more than it looked like a Labrador Retriever. Clad in blue denim and a shirt made of the colours of England’s flag that clung perfectly to her torso, she looked smart, lovable.
“She is so cute. Is it a Labra?”
“Street dog! And, my sweetheart,” Abeer replied, keeping her down. She danced around Roshi’s legs.
“Baba, woh…” Maddy’s caretaker called out, standing far away near the guest room.
“Madhav! Aap jao, You go. And, ask Maharaj to pack the food,” Abeer replied.
He then grabbed the ball that Maddy had in her mouth and threw it for her to go and fetch. Maddy ran at full speed, brought back the ball, asking him to throw it again. He did the same.
“By the way, am sure, there wouldn’t have been only funny incidents related to your hand.” Roshi asked.
“Ahh! Certainly, there are different experiences as well. Want to know more?”
“Why not?”
Abeer thought for a moment and started. “Okay! So… It was in Goa. Two of my friends and I were in our car, roaming here and there when we were stopped by the police, asking us for the papers. My friends who were in a rush to pee gave the license and everything to the officer, then they sprinted to a public toilet nearby. Right when I lit a cigarette while still in the car, I was called by the officer to come out and collect the papers. I found it stupid to throw the recently lit cigarette, so I went with it in my hand. The officer who had some stars on his uniform pushed the papers towards me. In my one hand was the cigarette and my other hand, at that time was a simple prosthetic, like a dead object, no movement, nothing. In short, I couldn’t grab the cigarette or even the papers with it. So, naturally, I put the cigarette in my mouth and forwarded my right hand towards the officer.”
“You mean, a cigarette in your mouth and you are taking papers from the police officer like that?”
“Precisely! It was the obvious option. And, I must add, with a handsome shade on my eyes.” Next, what the police officer said made me laugh like nuts in my head. He said, “you don’t have one hand and still you are smoking,” Abeer quoted and laughed.
Roshi found that stupid as well. “What did you reply to this?”
“I said – but, I have lungs, sir.” Abeer kept laughing. Roshi joined him this time.
“Next, he didn’t give me the papers and asked us to collect them from the police station!”
They both laughed for some more time, before Abeer asked Roshi to hush, pointing towards the guest room where Juhi was asleep. Maddy too came running and danced around them, barking as they kept on laughing softly.
Roshi felt as if she was talking to a long-lost friend. Abeer had made her comfortable like no one did in a long time. It was nothing he did specifically, but just the vibe she got from the man standing next to her.
“So, a rich boy who loves street dogs, nature…” Roshi pointed towards the beach. “And, who didn’t go to study abroad. And, what else?” Roshi asked, looking at him curiously.
“Umm… You can use the word rich brat. I wouldn’t mind,” Abeer replied.
“C’mon! You didn’t behave like one since I am here. You don’t drink, neither do you smoke, as I could see. Seems as if your only intoxication is making money. Is it?”
“Making money?” Abeer chuckled. “My dad says, he is born to make money and I am born to spend it,” he said and giggled.
“Ahan! Now the rich brat is coming into the picture.”
“So, what’s your passion, Abeer? Where do you like to spend your time? Now don’t tell me, you are like Tony Stark… As in Iron Man! Or… Or like Batman, who loves to make gadgets and all. “
“No, no. Not at all.”
“Then? What is it? Tell me.”
“Umm. I cannot tell you. That, I need to show you.”
“Show me? Show me what?”
“Come!” Abeer walked, along with him sprinted Maddy in her own elegant style. After a ‘but’ that went unheard, Roshi followed them.
“Where are we going?” Roshi asked, curious, yet thinking whether this guy was crazy. Abeer shushed her politely.
They went to the eighth floor by stairs. As they stood in front of the elevator, Abeer turned to see his friends still dancing, this time by playing songs over their phones.
“Are they going to dance like this the whole night?” Roshi asked. Abeer nodded. The gate of the lift opened right then.
Soon Roshi was sitting beside Abeer in his car while Maddy took the back seat. Maddy was all trained and understood all the signals that Abeer gave her. Roshi asked Abeer several times as their car headed to the almost empty roads of Mumbai. He asked her to trust him and that she’s gonna love it where they were headed.
Apart from her work, which demanded Roshi to be ready to go out at any time of the day, or even night, she was on the streets of Mumbai at this hour after a long time. Until the last week, since she knew her mother would be waiting for her at home, she always rushed back home early. This suspense that was blooming with Abeer’s company was giving Roshi a different kind of rush.
Soon Abeer’s shining, black Range Rover stopped at the Siddhivinayak temple where he got out of the car and took something from inside its boot. He then called the beggar kids sitting there. Roshi too accompanied him like a curious kid.
Abeer then asked the kids to sit and listen to him if they wanted free food and some money. They happily agreed. With kid-like earnestness and zest in his eyes, he then sat with them on the road and started telling them the importance of education and standing on their own feet instead of begging. Roshi saw a strange sort of peace on his face while he was spending time with these street hustlers.
That night, Abeer took Roshi to a temple, then to a mosque and a church, and then to a railway station where they both spent some time with the street kids. At some of these places, they had to run soon as Roshi’s fans recognized her and started posing with her for selfies.
That night, Roshi was unequivocally impressed with Abeer, and who he was as a human being. His thoughts, his talks, his views, his loving, caring attitude towards each and every being on the planet, his at times notorious attitude which was enough to bowl her over. Not that she hadn’t met anyone like this before. But, this time something was different.
“Was that the beginning of a love story? Or was it just another night spent with a beautiful soul?” both of them thought while lying on their beds in their own houses as the first rays of the sun kissed the earth.
“Was that the beginning of a love story? Or was it just another night spent with a beautiful soul?” both of them thought while lying on their beds in their own houses as the first rays of the sun kissed the earth.
Abeer’s diary:
In the world of chaos, be someone’s respite.
Between infinite maybes, be someone’s forever light.
I’m hooked
“Quality content” . The intricacies and subtle details of Abeer’s room or the outside ambience, all built up a tinkering effect…A very cute love story, beautifully carved within the parameters of being a Short Story.
Sir! Looking forward with a hope of getting some psychic stories in near future…
Good wishes and Regards from one of your Dumb Reader 😄
Thanks for a detailed feedback, Neeta. Glad you loved it so much. Keep reading. 😍
Very promising and interesting too… Abeer 💖 very down to earth and Roshi full of dreams(who lives in boundaries of her social image)
They both deserve a full story…..😍😍
It’s like they both are in search of peace and together they found it!!!!
Thanks for the suggestion, Meghna. Point taken. Keep reading. 😍
Loved this episode.. Wish people like abeer exist in this world 😍😭😭😍.. Would love to read if this is turned into. Novel
Undeniably, it’s such an alluring love story ❤️Liked this chapter so much. The flair and elegance of your writing is so engrossing. You must think about converting your blog into a book soon! Good luck in advance 👍👏
Thanks a lot, Rekha. Point taken. 😊 😊
I too agree that they deserve a full story. I think you should convert it to a novel ❤️
Point noted, Sonali. Thanks for reading. ❤️
As accepted another chapter is also interesting and yes definitely it should be converted into novel cant wait to read more about wat will happen next in there lives. So dont think start writing nxt chapters and release the book soon. All d best.❤
Point taken, Avani. Thanks for reading. ❤️ 😊
Falling in love with Abeer…😍
Aww. I for Roshi. 😊 ❤️
I’m not that keen at storyliners but academics…
But still couldn’t interrupt the link to read the whole at once….
You’ve put so much of sweet infusions in their diversly inclined lives to bring closer their hearts…
Love is eternal, novel and even its sequel is just insufficient…
Thanks a lot. Happy to know what you felt reading it. ❤️
Trust me this story is divine. I just wanna read more. Please I need a novel on this story now. It’s so damn connecting and I am just feeling the urge to read more and know the entire story.
Please turn it into a novel…..
Point taken, Ritika. Thanks for reading. Glad! ❤️😍
Amazed!
Was totally engrossed with the characters as if I was watching them in real.
Please do not release all the chapters in this way. Form it into a beautiful novel.
Best Wishes!
Mousumi
So sweet of you to say that, Mousumi. Glad you liked the story. Your point taken. Thanks for reading it. ❤️
Wow now eagerly waiting for third part, loved reading second episode.
Anxious to read more bout abeer character
Ahan. Abeer! ❤️ Thanks again, Jinal. Keep reading. 😍
This story is very interesting and I loved it.
Both characters mentioned are interesting and they definitely deserve a full story.
This chapter shows how the character Abeer a rich guy, is very simple in his life and down to earth.
About his incedents in life with his artificial hand and situation which he takes positively and in funny way. Problem are present in everybodies life, how we deal with it is all that matters.
Would wish to read this novel soon sir.
Keep writing,
Lots of luck,
Suraj A
Point noted, Suraj. Glad you loved the characters so much. Readers like you make me post these short stories time by time. Thanks for reading. ❤️
This chapter was so good. Loved the chemistry of Abeer and Roshi. I strongly agree this should be converted as novel. I am excited now what will happen in their lives. Hope third chapter is releasing soon!! ❤❤
Point noted, Arohi. Glad you loved the characters so much. You are kind always. Keep reading. 😍