When We Met

Tu saaz hai, mien ragini...

"Siya, Anika...we will be late." Miraya tapped her foot in eagerness and yelled at her sisters, "Get ready quickly." while checking her watch every second.

From her room, Siya called, "Just a second di."

"So, you got the plan right?" she muttered, turning to face Anika. "We'll accompany her to the dance studio and you'll pretend to have a period cramp. We'll leave her there by herself with Ruhaan." The final sentence sounded much louder than it needed to.

"Are you sure it will work out? Won't she get suspicious?", Anika shooed her question.

"We'll get by. Well, we'll be good because she can't say anything in front of him." As they left the room, Siya gave her a wink and they both chuckled mischievously.

When Miraya noticed the two girls approaching, she scoffed and said, "Are you ready for the ball, my princesses? Hurry up now."

"Why are you obsessing over the time so much?", Siya asked sitting in the car. "Has Maahi di reached already?"

"She had to have. She's always on time, as you know. Today is the last practice. she wants everything to be flawless and all set." Miraya texted Maahi to check if she had arrived.

With a quick reply in response, Maahi said, "Baby, my designer called for an urgent trial. Vivaan is driving me to the trial. Please take care of everything at the rehearsal. Make sure all those monkeys do good."

When Miraya informed Siya and Anika about this recent event, they winked and exchanged knowing looks. "Maahi di did her part well," Anika said to herself in a whisper. "I hope the boys will as well."

At the dance studio :

"Why do you two keep looking at the door?", a puzzled, Ruhaan said. Kush and Luv turned to face him right away. Luv interrupted Kush as he stammered, trying to put words together. "Vo...bhai...we,".

"bhai we were looking out for Vivaan bhai and everyone else. They are late."

"Maahi and Vivaan will not be coming. They had to get to Maahi's trial. The girls must be coming. You know about the traffic in Delhi," Ruhaan remarked, ignoring them as he fixed his gaze on his phone.

"Sahi baat hai. Vese, aap kahan busy ho?" Kush took a seat next to Ruhaan and jabbed him in the arm. "Is Miraya texting from the car?" he said. (You're right. Anyways, what has occupied your time?)

Ruhaan flipped his phone around so everyone could see it and gave him an irritated look. "it's work related", he added.

They both burst out laughing. They approached the choreographer and began discussing the strategy with him. Luv said, "You know what you have to do right? Just act like you have an urgent family matter, and when the girls arrive, head out."

The choreographer gave a nod in return. Ruhaan was engrossed on his phone, but the sound of her laughter drew his attention to the door. He stood up, his eyes fixed on the door and his heartbeat quickened. The laughter abruptly ceased as she appeared in the doorway, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

She was a vision of elegance and grace. Her long, brown hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and she moved with a quiet, ethereal beauty. She wore a pristine white dress that literally made her look like an angel.

Their eyes met, and a rush of emotion washed over Ruhaan. He was captivated by her presence. She smiled, a soft and welcoming smile, and he felt his cheeks flush. It was as if the entire world had faded away, leaving only him and her.

She approached him, a strand of hair caught to her cheek as her hair flowed with the breeze. "Hey!" she exclaimed, brushing the strand delicately past her cheek to the back of her ear. "How are you?"