Unwavering Desire

Chapter 14

ATHARV'S POV :-

And then I stepped onto the stage, ready to sing through the fire she lit.

"Hello everyone!" As my voice boomed through the speakers, the crowd started cheering.

"As your Atharv sir is not the best dancer in town, let's see what he can do to make your last day of the fest memorable." Saying so, I turned towards the band and told them the song I wished to sing. Within a few minutes, they were ready to play with me.

Turning towards the crowd, I announced, "This was meant to be a duet performance, right? But just a few minutes ago, it came to my notice that Miss Atreyi Banerjee is not doing so well and won't be able to perform. But still, she can at least stand by me in the form of moral support. So I kindly request her to come to the stage and grace us all with her ever-so-charming and enigmatic presence."

Having no other option but to oblige my request, she stepped on stage and smiled sweetly towards the crowd.

Then, slowly removing the microphone away from her face, she whisper-yelled at me, "What are you doing, Atharv?"

I passed her the same sinister smile she gave me just a few moments ago and said, "Just doing what you told me to do."

[Play the song Mascara - Paresh Pahuja (live from the Voice Notes Concert) from here]

Winking at her, I began to sing:

Saara jahaan hai jaise shor
Main teri baaton mein doobana chaahoon
Do aankhon mein hai teri saat samandar
Saaton mein doobana chaahoon

A hush spread through the crowd as the melody spilled out of my mouth and entrapped everyone present there. With feather-light steps, I made my way towards her. Hovering my hands over hers, I looked into her eyes, hoping she could see the yearning in mine. Slowly, I entangled our hands—and weirdly, she didn't protest. Warmth travelled from our hands to my entire body, and I began singing again:

Tere chhoone se mere
Dil mein uthti hain lehrein
Ek bas tere haathon mein doobna chahun...
Mujhko hai tum pe hi theherna
Aankhon se kabhi na utarna
Mujhko bana lo na tumhara
Mascara yara
Mascara yara
Mascara yara
Mascara yara
Mujhko bana lo na tumhara
Mascara yara

The crowd erupted in claps and cheers, praising my singing and gushing about us—Atreyi and Atharv. But why does that sound so good?

But as my eyes moved towards neonata, I saw the silver lining her eyes and the red blooming on her cheeks. Her eyes filled with shame, fear of judgment, and sadness. Yet, she hadn’t jerked my hand away. Instead, she pricked my skin with her nails—the slow burning sensation told me to take my hand away from her grasp, but I didn’t want to.

I wanted to know how badly she was hurting, as true embarrassment flowed through the entirety of her. I wanted to know how much her heart ached as she realised that I had played her instead of being played.

Slowly, she retreated her hand from mine, taking the warmth with her. Bringing the microphone close to her lips, she inhaled a deep breath and thanked me for performing and keeping the ritual alive. Flashing the most fake smile known to mankind towards the audience, her gaze turned towards me—and the smile melted into pure rage before she left.

I too stepped down from the stage, and the anchor took my place, thanking everyone for attending and asking them to move to the cafeteria where the communal lunch had been prepared.

As I made my way towards the cafeteria, my thoughts tightened their vicious rope around my neck. The last look she blessed me with will definitely haunt me tonight.