Hidden Hues Of Henna

Ajnabee haseena

"Shit!" Raghav heard Farhaad curse as he brought the car to screeching halt. He took a moment still sitting in the car and taking a gulp off the whiskey bottle as he watched Farhaad and Harish hurriedly rush out.

The drive had been absolutely fun.Hyderabad roads way after midnight were meant for speeding and drifting.Nobody can change Raghav's mind about that.

He was feeling a little tipsy but he was relaxed.Until now. Because just a moment ago he had skid past a loaded two wheeler closely causing the other vehicle to go out of control and drop on to the roadside. In his defence,the other driver had infuriatingly been riding right in the centre of the road and had been alternating sides continuosly which caused his patience to snap and he ended up drifting past in proximity to the two wheeler which ofcourse threw that pathetic vehicle off balance.

Finally deciding to check if the other driver was injured or not,he got off his car, the whiskey bottle still in hand,and turned back to see figure standing about twenty feet away from his car. As he walked closer his eyes captured the fallen scooty and the scattered goods. A woman?

He walked a few steps further, watching the back of the woman dressed in a day blue saree,the drape of which flowed almost dramatically in the silent wind of the late night.Assuming from her upright stance that she was not hurt,Raghav relaxed a little. But then as he took another slug at the whiskey,he decided to let the woman know how to drive.

"Oh ladki! Ofcourse it had to be girl."

The said girl who had her back to him,stiffened upon hearing his voice and Raghav concluded that his tone had probably scared her. He decided that he should let her go easily.Scaring a lonely girl or making a scene on the road in the dark was not something he wanted.

He took a sip from his whiskey bottle and watched as she kept on looking down on the scattered bolts of cloth which had fell down on the muddy road.What a pity!

"Nobody except women drives this horribly." He scoffed taking another swig from his bottle. He got no reply.

Raghav was utterly confused,why was this girl not responding. Had she hit her head or something?He was about to speak up again when suddenly she whirled around and he was met with a burning pair of eyes.

Raw fury sizzled within those strangely coloured pair of eyes. Raghav was startled at the intensity of expression they held. His gaze was completely captured in her's. What is that colour in there...? Golden? Grey? Gree—

His thought was broken by a rather  loud roar which only seemed louder in the quiet night.

"It's not me who was driving horribly! It was you! You are the one who hit me! You are the one who was practically spinning his car behind me! Not me,mister!" The girl fumed.

Where have I heard this voice before?

Before waiting for his response,she spun around again, facing her fallen vehicle and scattered goods. Her hands went upto her head as held her head in distress.

"My whole new stock! Oh my god,it's all ruined now!" He heard her speak to herself.

Raghav opened his mouth to comment when the girl again turned around and marched up to him. What is wrong with her? Raghav could not fathom if it was his drunkenness or was it really a chit of a girl glaring fire at him.

"Do you have any idea about what you just did? What loss you have caused me!?" She gritted out." Do you even know how important this was for me?" She pointed downwards to the ruined cloth bolts.

Raghav did not like her accusatory glare and words. Nobody ever talks to Raghav Rao this way. He would not allow it. This girl was crossing the line.

"Do—"