Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?

3. Bholi Si Surat

Bholi si surat, Aankhon mein Masti,
Door khadi sharmaaye.

(Innocent face, mischief in her eyes, blushing from afar.)
~ Bholi si Surat from Dil Toh Pagal Hai

T

he halls of the Ram Lodge in Ram Tekri aren't usually the easiest to navigate but, for the girl carrying a canvas with a bag of art supplies slung over her shoulder and a camera bag across her body, it's a simple matter. She's been walking through these hallways for as long as she can remember, knows them like the back of her hand – though, really, she thinks she probably knows them better than the back of her hand because who really even looks at the back of their own hand? Just yesterday she'd spotted a freckle that she'd never noticed before on the back of her left hand so, yes, she probably knows the layout of the halls far better than she knows what the back of her hands look like.

But that's beside the point.

The point is, she knows how to get through the corridors pretty fast, easily navigating to wherever it is she's trying to get without fail every time.

Until today that is.

She's in a rush to get outside; she's been carefully timing the sunset, figuring out how long the light lasts and scouting the best spot to set up her equipment so that she can get the best lighting and view of her surroundings. She has less than three minutes to make it outside to be able to set up before the sun gets to just the right spot in its descent and lights everything up in a way that never fails to take her breath away. It's a moment that she's been trying to capture on camera and canvas for years, ever since she first discovered her penchant for such things, but has never been able to get quite right. This time though, she's equipped with the brand new, top of the line camera that she'd spent a year saving for and her never-failing determination.

Every day for the past week, she's been doing the same thing, rushing through the halls of the lodge to get to her spot on time. And every day, she's managed, navigating the halls with an ease that comes from years and years of careful practice.

But today she hadn't realised what the time was and has ended up running out of the door to the rooms her family are occupying with less than five minutes to spare, not nearly enough time to be getting through the ever-crowded halls safely.

Which is why, as she reaches the door that will take her out of the building, Nisha is fighting with her camera bag, trying to extract the camera so she can sling it around her neck now instead of wasting time once outside and missing the perfect shot. 'Stupid bloody bag,' she mutters, tugging at the zip. 'What is this thing stuck on?'

She turns her attention to the bag for half a second – half a damn second, she swears! – and, of course, it is at that exact moment that someone walks through the very door she is exiting.

Her attention is completely diverted from her camera as she collides with what she thinks must be a wall until she feels hands on her waist stopping her from hitting the floor. Startled, she looks up, completely stunned when she's met with the warmest chocolate brown eyes she's ever seen. It's like she's in a Bollywood movie, time freezing for a minute as they look into each other's eyes and then, when things begin to move again, everything seems to be happening in slow motion. Gently, he rights them, setting her back of her feet and slowly lowering his hands. 'I'm so sorry, I didn't see you. Not that you're small or anything – not that you're not either. I just, I looked away for two seconds and then... I'm sorry, I'll stop talking now, ' he apologises, lifting a hand to the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He's kinda cute, she thinks, holding back a smile as she looks at the boy. Wait what? No, he's not. He almost knocked you down! And since when do you think of boys as cute? Internally, she grimaces, shaking her head a little to rid it of the thought.

Still though, his nervousness is endearing and it was partly – okay, mostly – her fault that they'd ended up running in to each other so she opens her mouth to apologise too and tell him it's okay, she should have been looking where she was going too. But, before the words can leave her mouth, she glances past him and catches sight of the sun, which is lower in the sky than it should be she thinks. And then she realises that running into him has probably made her lose a few minutes and her window of opportunity is quickly disappearing. 'Shit!' she exclaims instead of apologising, 'Do you have the time?'

'Uh, yeah,' he says, more than a little confused, showing her his wrist. She grabs a hold of his hand and looks at the watch, eyes widening when she sees the time.

'Crap, crap, crap!' she mutters, dropping his hand and darting past him, adjusting the strap of her bag as she goes, still trying to pull the camera from it.

He watches her go, completely bewildered. Just as he turns away and moves to go inside, he hears her call 'hey!'

'Yeah?' he yells back, pausing and turning to look at her.

'Sorry!' He has time to notice that she's blushing faintly, seemingly embarrassed by their run-in but, before he can say anything, she's off again, running like a madwoman, tripping over thin air as she messes with her bag. For a moment, he stands there, watching her as she runs before shaking his head to clear it and finally making his way into the building, humming a song as he goes, one he thinks rather fits the girl he's just met. 

'Bholi si surat, aankhon mein masti,' he sings under his breath, unable to stop himself from grinning as his thoughts stay stuck on the girl who's name he doesn't even know, wondering at the feeling he has that they're going to be seeing each other again even as he hopes that they do. 

A/N: Surprise (really short, I know) update! This wasn't supposed to be up until the 17th but then I decided to cut this chapter off here instead of making it longer so I figured I would post this now and the rest on Wednesday... 

Speaking of which... 

FOUR MORE DAYS FOR KALANK!!!! 

I can't believe it's almost here, it's all gone by so fast and at the same time, not fast enough...

But that's all for today and I'll see you all on the 17th hopefully.