Observing her audition, he says, "There is something eerily familiar about you. Have we met?"
She confusely replies, "I don't believe so. Are you sure?"
He responds, "It is like a forgotten memory trying to resurface."
She says with curiosity, "Mayb...
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NEXT MORNING
Bright sunlight spilled through the curtains, landing directly on Madhav's face.
He winced, pulling the blanket higher.
But before he could bury himself again under the blanket, a very familiar voice pierced the peaceful silence.
"Madhav betaa~"
He froze.
"Madhav! Beta , good morning..!" More insistent this time.
His eyes snapped open.
Standing beside his bed, holding his phone in one hand and her chai in the other, was his mother with a wide smirk loaded.
Madhav shot up like he had been electrocuted. "Ma?! What--- why--- what are you doing here?!"
His mother raised his phone slowly like it was evidence in a crime case.
"Soooo...you tell me," she said with a too-sweet smile. "Why did you sleep with your phone unlocked on your chest?"
Madhav grabbed his pillow and slapped it over his face.
"Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god." Madhav prayed to disappear.
His mother tapped the phone screen. "Hmm. Interesting wallpaper... chat open... last message..."
Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
"Goodnight, Princess."
Madhav nearly fell off the bed.
"M-MA! Stop SNOOPING! That's private! Why are you---"
"I wasn't snooping," she replied calmly, sipping her chai. "Your phone fell when you moved in sleep. I picked it up. It got unlocked on its own. It's not my fault your face is the password."
"Ma..." he groaned, dragging both hands down his face.
She only smiled wider.
"So," she said, leaning closer, "who is Princess?"
Madhav considered dying on the spot.
He buried his face in his bed. "I... Ma... it's... nothing."
"Oh? This 'nothing' made you sleep smiling like a fool?" She pointed at him. "And you were blushing in your sleep. BLUSHING."
"I was NOT----"
"You were kicking your blanket and smiling like a male lead lover in a Bollywood dream sequence."
Madhav flung himself backwards onto the mattress.
"I can't live in this house anymore."
His mother laughed and placed his phone gently on side of his chest.
