Eternal Souls

Chapter 22

Chehra Hai Tera Chanda,
Naina Tere Sitaare,
Ambar Tak Jaana Hi Fizool Hai

(Your face is like the Moon,
Your eyes are like the stars,
Going up to the sky is pointless)

Author's POV

It was well past midnight when the party ended. Ritika, who had an amazing time at the party, was soundly asleep. However, Tanu was unable to sleep. Even after the party ended, Sourabh didn't return.

Tanu stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze. Her hair was playing with the wind, and she smiled as she reminisced about their moments at the party. A blush crept onto her cheeks.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. She peeked into her neighbor's balcony and saw Sourabh talking on the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Sourabh noticed a beautiful pair of his favorite eyes looking at him. He smiled and waved at her, making her grin. Pointing at his phone, he messaged her to come out.

Jumping and dancing with excitement, she made herself presentable and left quietly so as not to disturb her friend's sleep. She met him at the door, but suddenly felt nervous. Gathering up the courage, she looked up at him and found him looking at her with admiration.

"H- ...*Coughs*.. Hi", she said. She mentally face palmed.

"Hi"

They started walking towards the entrance.

"Wanna go to seaside?", he asked.

"Sure"

The moon was shining bright in the dark of night. Its light was being reflected on the sea below, creating a beautiful dance of light and dark. The sky and sea were meeting at a single point. It was a beautiful moment like two souls that were coming together.

It was a magical moment that the two souls on the beach were enjoying. Sourabh was admiring her beauty under the moonlight and the wind playing with her wavy hair was making him little jealous.

"How's the party?", He initiated the conversation.

"It was good. But... Where did you go in the middle of the party?...Is everything alright?", She looked up at him. He was wearing a grey shirt that complemented the night. His hair was messy, moving along the wind. She so wanted to run her fingers through it.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Just work-related call. You know, it's hard to leave work behind for so many days"

"True, I can understand. If they could, they would make us work on Sundays too"

They laughed. Sighed, she looked around and said,

"The night is beautiful, right?"

He looked at her and said, "yeah, so beautiful"

They found a rock and sat on it in silence.

'Click'

She looked at him in surprise. He showed her the picture which he just clicked. It was her picture, her hair was flowing with the wind and the moonlight reflected on her wheatish soft skin made her even more beautiful.

"It's... It's so beautiful! Thank you"

"No need to thank. It's just.. You are beautiful", He said looking in her eyes. She blushed and whispered 'thanks', putting her hair behind her ear.

"Give me your phone"

Narrowing his eyes, he gave her his phone. She opened the camera and started taking their selfies. They went from decent pictures to weird ones in a short while. Tanu took his funny photo, he proceeded to delete it but Tanu took his phone and ran away. He started chasing her until he caught her but lost his balance causing them to fall. Their laughter could be heard in the silent night.

They were lying on the sand next to each other, laughing. She got up but fell towards his side. As their eyes met, the air became thin. The temperature felt to rise. Gulped, she lowered her gaze and saw her hair was tangled in his shirt's button. She tried to entangle it and tried not to touch him but all in vain. His intense gaze was not at all helping.

He put his hand on her making her jump. He sat, opened his button and entangled the hair without breaking the eye contact. She lowered her eyes and caught a glimpse of his chest. Instantly, she got the flashback when she saw his naked upper body. Blushing, she moved away and coughed a bit. A small smile came on his lips.

"...I think we should get back to our rooms. It's been a while now"

"Let's stay for a while. Please"

He replied, giving her an expectant look that she couldn't refuse. Sighed, she said, "Okay"

They sat on a nearby bench and started talking. After a while, they fell in silence again.

"Wanna listen to music", he asked.

"Sure"

He took out his earphones, which were badly tangled. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are these for emergency situation?", she laughed.

"Huh?"

"Earphones"

He laughed and looked away.

"Yeah, these only come in use when other ones are out of charge"

"And you kept them. I don't even know, where are mine"

He just chuckled.

Sourabh messaged her to come out. He then made himself look presentable, opened the first two buttons of his shirt, and ran his hand through his hair. Smirking at himself in the mirror, he was about to leave when he saw Ravi with badly tangled earphones. He snatched them from him.

"BAST*RD!" Ravi muttered, but Sourabh ignored him and left.

They shared the earphones and listened to music while looking at the reflection of the moon in the sea. After a while, Sourabh felt a weight on his right shoulder. He saw Tanu sleeping on his shoulder, her face covered with her hair. He placed her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek. A smile came to his lips, and he kissed her head before drifting off to sleep.

Tanu slowly opened her eyes and looked around, recollecting all the events. She felt a strong pain in her neck.

Ouch! My neck!

When she moved her gaze beside her, she saw that Sourabh was sleeping in sitting position on the bench. In fact, both dozed off in the same position.

She observed the golden rays of sunrise reflected on his face, rendering him even more captivating. Mesmerized by him, her hand reached out to caress his face. But he opened his eyes before she could reach him.

What I was doing? She faced palmed herself.

He looked around realising the same. They laughed as their eyes met. Then, they watched the sunrise together.

Hearing a sound coming from the phone in her hand, she checked the notification only to realise it was not her phone. So, she handed it to him. His expression changed from one of happiness to one of tension as he read the message.

"We should go back", he said.

"Yeah", she nodded.

Silently, he accompanied her back to her room. Not a word was spoken between them. As he was departing, he uttered "take care."

Tanu regarded him with a scrutinizing look. Who was that person? Aishwarya? Is she an acquaintance or colleague? But why was he apprehensive? She only wished to meet with him? And why at such an early hour? Had he been with her at night? He had worn the same expression then as he did now...

Her heart sank at the thought, and her vision became hazy.