The Exchange

Backstage

The plan for the night had been to open with some rock song that Maya had suggested. But in the heat of the moment, Akshara asked her if they could start with "Saans." For the first time in a year, she felt inspired...she felt motivated to sing. Even if her voice was no longer her own, sensing him at the airport, feeling him so deeply within her soul, had returned a piece of her that she had lost...however small it was. Maya had resisted, yelled in anger, but Akshara had convinced her that the crowd would love it, that it would be a super hit performance. And somewhere at the bottom of her heart, she wished that maybe...just maybe...he would hear her...maybe, just maybe...he would show up....

As Maya walked onto stage, Akshara peeked out from the curtain, making sure to stay as hidden as possible. Her eyes were searching for someone...they were searching for someone after ages. She shook her head when she saw the amount of people out there...what was she even thinking? How would she ever spot him in a crowd this large? She told herself to reign in her emotions...to preserve the version of herself she had created in the past year. And with that, she began singing. 

With every word she sang, she felt his presence closer and closer to herself. She felt him approaching her...as if he was just right there...as if all she had to do was reach out and she would be able to touch him, to hold him again. And for the first time since she had started singing for Maya, she felt the urge to run onto stage, to address the crowd on her own...to tell him that if he was here, he had finally found her. Her feet began inching closer and closer to the curtains...but just then, she felt Kunal pull her back into the center of the room.

"What do you think you are doing? You need to stay far behind the curtains. What if someone sees you?" He yelled once the song had ended. 

She simply looked at him and apologized, getting ready for the next set. But, no matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling of him being there...him standing in the crowd, it would not go away.