Zephyr~ A Short Story Collection

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The whole stage was covered in darkness as the spotlight shone over a white Anarkali clad figure swirling smoothly to the tunes of the semi-classical melody playing in the background. The entire hall was silent as the people sat enamoured by the magnificent performance unfolding in-front of their eyes.

Apart from the enchanting dance, the dancer's beauty was another sight to behold. Her beautiful face with deep brown eyes and the mole near her lips was a weakness for many. Her swan like neck which stretched every time she raised her head up, her slim waist and perfectly curved hips which swayed to the beats of the song was a sight to behold.

The auditorium burst with loud claps and cheers as the performance ended. Well wishers gathered around the stage along with eager parents who wanted to enrol their girls and boys for learning Kathak.

Haseena Mallik was a renowned dancer, her love for the art and her skills were the talk of the town. Coming from the weaker section of the society, her hard work has helped her gather a lot of name fame and respect at a pretty young age.

Her Dance Academy "Hunar" was one of the most famous dance academies in New Delhi, and she was known for her beautiful heart and her positive attitude towards everything in life.

She had a part time job at a corporate sector for extra income, which was very much needed to maintain her nani's health fees and also to fulfil the unending demands of her so-called family.

She provided free classes to poor children and all her students had an extremely heartwarming bond with her. She was their "Haseena didi" and they were her world.

But what we see on the surface is not always the truth! The waters are actually deeper. The happy go lucky girl has her own fears and problems. Nobody knows the deep dark heartaches that lie beneath her beaming blooming exterior. She radiates warmth yet she fights her demons all alone.

As if all this wasn't enough, fate had tied her in a bond of marriage to the devil himself.

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The room reverberated with a gunshot causing the inhuman cries of a man to die down. Well, the person didn't deserve to be called a man, for he was a lowlife, a rapist who did not deserve to live, but the man who shot him was a devil sent by God on this earth to wipe out dirt like these people.

A sinner born to wipe out sin, a monster clad in suits, Anubhav Singh was the devil himself.

With looks of a Greek God and a chiselled body which would put any Hollywood actor to shame, he was the heartthrob of almost every girl in India and abroad. CEO of a billion-dollar multinational company in daylight and a government appointed mafia at night, Anubhav Singh wasn't someone you could afford to mess with.

He was known for his ruthlessness and thirst for winning, people called him "The lion" behind his back. They feared "Raag" like anything but they didn't know who he was, but people had suspicions about "the lion" and "Raag" being the same people, but who dared to question? nobody.

Anubhav has never laid a finger on an innocent but for criminals he had no mercy, the government never intervened and he was one amongst the top assents of the country. One of the youngest entrepreneurs to set up his company on his own accord from scratch, he hated betrayals and his verdict for any sin was death.

He had his own scars and demons lurking beneath his tough exterior but nobody had any hint of that. He thrived on ruining people and making their lives hell, and he hated anyone invading his personal space.