See You Later

Chapter 22

The present: Maahi's cabin

There were a few things Maahi would remember from this reception. She was back in the backyard which was surprisingly neighbour-free.

The first.

It was probably the only event ever where the bride and groom had given her a gift.

The minute she entered Kajal's room for the pre-reception photos, Kajal brightened and turned around to say something. Turned out Vikramaditya was lounging in the same room.

Kajal said to him, "She's here!"

Vikramaditya got up and picked up a large bouquet of flowers from a corner to hand over to Kajal. She in turn handed it to Maahi and said, "We wanted to thank you for yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

Vikramaditya chimed in, "Yeah. We know that yesterday was an added event and you hadn't accounted for it. No one had because it was a surprise for Kajal. We just wanted you to know that we're grateful for that. And of course, we'll pay for it, incase Aarush didn't mention that."

Maahi broke into a smile. She looked at the wide array of colourful flowers. This was so sweet. She looked up again at them and said, "Thank you! And he did mention that. Please don't worry. I'll talk to you about this later. I'm sure you must be getting late."

Kajal laughed and said, "I told him the same thing. I said I'd give you the flowers myself but he insisted on being there as well to thank you because the whole thing was his idea."

Maahi set the flowers aside and said, "Photographer's orders. Please go and get ready."

Vikramaditya smiled the most charming smile as a sign of farewell and walked out.

The second.

The thing about candid photography was trying to get moments in their most unfiltered, pure form. But what does one do when one of the muses could sense the artist at all times?

Because that's what it felt like to Maahi every now and then. She and her team kept clicking pictures as per usual. And the bride and groom pictures were a dream. They after all, looked like they had stepped out of one. Her favourite picture of the two of them was just them sitting on a bench at the end of the event, just talking and laughing, eager to tell each other the next story.

But Aarush Iyer was a different matter altogether. Not that he looked any less of a dream. No. Another day, another gorgeous suit. This time, he had done away with the tie. It was almost unfair that she had to see him again in a setting where he was meant to look his best day after day. And because it was her job, she couldn't even properly avoid him. She just quietly stood behind the camera and took picture after picture of him fulfilling his best friend duties for the groom.

But every now and then, Aarush would pause and look directly into her lens and give her a smile. The one that appeared when he was really happy. And because it was too good a picture to not get, she would hit click.

If nothing else, these pictures would remember this crossing of their paths.

The third

After the reception, the memories that she hadn't thought of in a very long time seemed to have been resurfacing again because of Aarush's reappearance. She thought time had blurred these memories. She thought she remembered only a few of them. But as she lay there looking up at the sky, each one of them came back to her with vivid clarity.