The Distance Between Us

Track Fifty - You Are The Reason

Previously On...

Rahul tells Armaan that he wants to confess to Muskaan, so Armaan asks for Riddhima's help in putting together a grand gesture for Rahul.

Track 50 - You Are The Reason, Calum Scott

If someone asked Riddhima what she did for the rest of the day, Riddhima wasn't sure she'd be able to answer properly. She'd spent the entire day in a daze, a fever dream. She'd watched Armaan, no, that wasn't it. He wasn't Armaan then. He was Reve. She'd watched Reve record the most heartbreakingly beautiful song that he'd written for Muskaan & Rahul. She'd watched him do it in less than an hour. He was so absolutely perfect in his beauty in that studio. He nimble fingers running across the piano and his silken voice crooning words of love and togetherness. Riddhima didn't clearly remember the words, nor the melody. But she remembered the way Armaan's eyes closed as he sang, a small smile on his lips, making him look majestic. She remembered the way his throat was exposed as he looked upwards to reach his mic, and swallowed as she recalled how it seemed to wrap around every word out of his mouth.

She didn't particularly remember which shops they visited, leaving each one of them with an armful of bags, little things that would make the day even better for Rahul and Muskaan, but she vividly remembered Armaan's exuberance everytime they did. The twinkle in his eyes, the happy laughter escaping from what seemed to be his entire being.

She didn't remember what he said as he kept on an endless chatter about his grand plans and what they needed to do, but she remembered how alive he was when he did that. Armaan spoke with his entire body and not just his mouth. The way his hands would move, the way he was practically vibrating in excitement... Everything was seared into her brain, never to leave her memories.

But, what she remembered with perfect clarity, and what she would always remember for the rest of her life, was the time she'd spent with Armaan at Central Park when they stopped to get something to eat.

Armaan had dragged Riddhima to one of his favourite places in the world... An ice-cream truck in the park, near a fountain, overlooking a busy street.

"I come here after every therapy session," he told her. "To treat myself to some ice-cream for a job well done and opening up about my petty issues and insecurities in front of a stranger."

"Your issues aren't petty, Armaan," she replied. "And after everything, I don't think your therapist is a stranger anymore."

"I think my issues are petty, you know," he answered. "I mean, there are people in the world who are dying because they don't have a roof over their head or food in their stomach, and here I am, living in a house that's too big for the 4 people who live there, with a designer closet that will actually put any actor to shame, and sampling the best delicacies there are. Yet, I still have issues. Don't you think that's petty?"

"Money doesn't buy happiness, Armaan. Or a peace of mind. I mean, yes, it facilitates both those things because if you have money, you can buy things that make you happy, and you're at peace because you don't have to worry about many things. But, just because you're rich doesn't mean your problems aren't problems. They are. Every person deserves to live a good life to the best of their abilities. Therapy helps you do that, and why you seek therapy is not petty or frivolous. You shouldn't think that way."

Armaan smiled brilliantly at that. "That... thank you. That was very nice of you to say."

"It was just the truth," she replied. "You don't need to thank me for that."

"What sort of ice-cream do you want?" He asked, changing the topic, clearly uncomfortable with the intimacy of what they were discussing. Riddhima smiled and let him divert the conversation to a lighter, safer topic.