See You Later

Chapter 13

The present: The cocktail venue

It took Maahi a while to get used to the theme of the evening. Because it had been a while since she had felt like she had emerged into an evening from the 1960s.

She was relieved that her routine required her to come extra early to check out the place. She was glad that her process ensured she spoke to the wedding planner about the event up ahead and if there was anything she needed to keep in mind. The fact that she knew very little about this wedding made her feel a little underprepared. Getting a sense of the vibe was always helpful. She was more in her element now. She had discussed the plan with the freelancers who were now spread across the venue.

Maahi secretly loved what Kajal was wearing. She was slowly growing envious of the woman's wardrobe. Every pick seemed well thought-out and understated but always highlighted her looks in a soft way. She was dressed in a beautiful peacock blue Banarasi saree with gold work. Naina had leaned in when she saw Kajal check out the outfit earlier and whispered, "It's our grandmother's. Trust my sister to follow the theme to a T." Teamed with the saree, she had worn long gold earrings that were shaped like leaves and a statement neck piece. Her hair was in a bun with fragrant jasmine flowers framing it.

Kajal had entered the exquisitely framed archway decorated with roses on the arm of the groom. Vikramaditya was dressed in a gorgeous black three-piece suit. Maahi loved looking at how they were around each other. Individually, these were two good-looking people. Put together, they seemed to shine.

As all the people assembled around them, Kajal looked at Vikramaditya and smiled. She then asked for the mic. She turned around, looked at her fiancé and held his hand.

She said into the mic, "Everyone who really knows me, will know that I am a bit odd. I...have never really been into music. People usually get shocked when they hear this. But it is also the odd thing about me that led me to this man. Everyone who knows him, knows how much he loves music. And his insistence for everyone around him to love it too."

Everyone around them laughed at this. Vikramaditya laughed himself and said, "Well, it's true."

She continued, "Don't I know it. Anyway, um...as I was saying. He loves music. And ever since we started getting to know each other, he wanted me to...fall in love with his world of music too. So, he did the one thing he knew that would possibly lure me in. He got me to read the lyrics. Of all the songs he loved. Of all the songs he continues to discover. He...he wrote down lyrics that stood out to him on sticky notes and stuck them all around the house. Even today, he does this. And slowly...slowly I started loving them too."

She looked at him and smiled.

She then said, "Today...I want to celebrate this beautiful man in front of me and his love for music." She looked at him, raised the hand that was holding his and held it close to her heart.

She then leaned in and said to him, "Look up."

Just as he looked up, the song 'Aapki aankhon mein kuch mehke hue se khwaab hai...' started playing.

He looked up and saw that there was a net covered with little threads all over. Each thread held a sticky note. Maahi quickly captured his awe-struck expression as he looked at the notes. Even if Kajal hadn't asked her to do this, she would have done it herself. His expressions were priceless. He looked like he had just seen a sky full of stars for the first time.

Kajal said, "These are all the notes filled with all the lyrics you have ever written for me. You make me fall in love every day in newer ways, with newer words. Before, looking at the sky was a thing I did. This...this is my way of telling you that that sky, my sky got a whole lot brighter when I met you."

He looked down as she said this and looked into her eyes. He let go of her hand and enveloped her in his arms. Maahi zoomed in the lens to capture the moment. She could make out that he was whispering something in her ear but she couldn't figure out what. She smiled and clicked away.

The evening had commenced. Maahi was so busy that she had forgotten all about a certain blast from the past.

She was weaving her way across guests when she crashed into someone. She looked up to see the woman from the elevator.

"Maahi!"

She brightened and said, "Oh, hi aunty! I was looking forward to bumping into you again. I just didn't know I would mean it quite so literally."

Aanchal laughed and said, "I don't think I would have been able to catch you any other way. You seem to be all over the venue. I hope you've had something to eat or drink."

Maahi nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'm used to this. I know how to take care of myself."

Aanchal smiled. Maahi could almost detect a hint of pride in that smile as Aanchal said, "Good, I'm glad!"

Just as Maahi started to say something, she did too. Maahi laughed and said, "You first."

Aanchal said, "Oh, I was just saying I spotted my son and wanted to introduce you to him. But I think he's talking to someone."

Her attention went to someone behind Maahi. Maahi turned around and caught him talking to someone.

Oh.

Aanchal tried to catch his attention by waving at him. But he was looking another way. He then broke into laughter. The same laughter that Maahi remembered from all those years ago. It's funny how some things just didn't change.

Aarush looked like a dream. Trust him to walk into her life again dressed like he was headed to shoot a magazine photospread. His hair wasn't a casual mess anymore like before. It was carefully styled to suit the evening, not a hair out of place. A beautifully tailored, well-fitted blue suit with a neatly knotted red tie and a silver watch peeking at his wrist. She almost wouldn't have recognized this version of him if she hadn't seen him laugh before.

She shook her head and turned back to face Aanchal. She shrugged and said, "He looks like he's busy. I'll take your leave. I have to..."

Aanchal smiled and said, "Of course. I'll catch you again once. Might just bodycheck you again."

Maahi laughed and walked away.

But all throughout the evening, she kept seeing him through her lens. He was clearly close to the groom. In a lot of her favourite shots of the evening of Vikramaditya, she invariably captured Aarush too. Their friendship was easy to see on film. It was effortless in the way Vikramaditya laughed as Aarush regaled their small tightly-knit group of friends with stories of the past. It looked like the kind of friendship that had been nurtured over the years. He looked at great ease with the bride and her family as well. Kajal's earlier nervousness from the mehendi was definitely much lower around three people: Naina, Vikramaditya and Aarush. The previous conversation from the lift now gave Maahi background as to why she may have seemed stressed around a wedding party. It must be hard to relive a wedding of this size again.

As the evening began to wind down, Maahi was pleased she hadn't run into him yet. She was beginning to believe her plan was actually working. He didn't recognize her and she could just escape this odd predicament, unscathed. She was quickly checking her output screen when she noticed a scrap of paper on the ground. On closer inspection, she realized that it was one of the sticky notes from the netted roof above.

Oh, one of the lyrics!

Maahi couldn't resist. She bent down and picked it up to read the lyrics inside. It was from one of all-time favourite songs 'Ranjish hi sahi'.  

The lyrics penned spoke of a love that existed in hiding. But the lyricist then requested for a confession. Even if it were to take place in hiding, no matter how much the heart hurts.

It was like time stopped still for those few moments. And only the breeze picked up pace. A little. Her hair rustled a little out of her bun as she tucked it back. She wondered how the universe worked for her favourite lyric from one of her favourite songs to find its way to her in such a miraculous way. She smiled and held the note close for a moment. After all, she knew she had to return it to the bride. But for a moment, she could savour the work of art in her hands.

She then tucked it into her pocket to return later and walked away. But unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes had finally caught sight of her. And then, they were unable to look away.