May be forever

Prologue

December 31, 2013
Visakhapatnam

' This is suffocating' Avi thought as he scanned the perfectly arranged hall and perfectly clothed people around him.
The walls of the banquet hall of The Gateway Hotel, were covered with golden and silver antiques and mural paintings which Avi couldn't recognise . And white flowers decorated each and every corner and tables which in turn made the atmosphere ethereal. Soft music was playing in the background which is slowly speeding up to the hip hop songs as the time slowly ticked away and the new year is almost on their door step. The crowd , which included , the cream layer of the south Indian business industry, who were gathered to pose themselves as the potential and influential people to each other. Business man, politicians diplomats and even film stars, it felt a bit overwhelming to Avi, considering this was his first time attending an year-end party hosted by the renowned industrialist Krishna Reddy. When they, Avi and his business partner Arjun, got the official invitation for the party , they were ecstatic about it . The invitation felt like an affirmation for their success and it made him a bit alarmed too.

Past two years, Avi and Arjun had worked their asses off to make their start up company
Curry tree , which is an online food shop , which has its own kitchen with expert chefs and offers a great range of meal options ,and they deliver it right at the customer's doorstep in no time, on all days of the year. They made the company a reliable and trustworthy from the time of it's inception.

And after initial struggles , they made a steady progress in their venture and they won the start up of the year award a month ago. Certainly that lead them to this extravagant year end party of Reddy industries.
Avi and Arjun had reached the party early and unlike Arjun, who loved parties and free drinks whenever possible , Avi felt his initial enthusiasm wearing off bit by bit as the time passed and it felt more suffocating and forced to him.
As he grabbed a drink from one of the counter and sipped it while looking for Arjun who was busy flirting with a girl in a knee length dress, he shook his head as he was sure Arjun is in no mood to give a company and decided to take a walk outside the hall and get some fresh air.

As he walked out of the hall , to the open pavilion for the guests in the hotel, which further lead to the private beach of the hotel Avi let out a sigh of relief. It was another evident sign that Avi can't handle a crowd, they made him nervous and uncomfortable. He wondered weather he has agoraphobia as Arjun believed.
It was still hot outside but the cool breeze from the sea was comforting.
Avi unbuttoned his jacket and loosened his tie gazing the full moon and scattered stars , which looked like they are having an year end party too.
That thought brought a smile to his lips...this is definitely more enjoyable than Reddy's party. He murmured as he closed his eyes to feel the wind in his face.

'Yeah.. it's definitely better than Reddy's party '
A soft voice said near him and Avi nearly jumped out of his skin. He didn't notice anyone else there before, so the voice really startled him.
As he turned to his side , he saw the girl who was sitting in the bench. The area wasn't properly lighted, where she was sitting , may be that's why he didn't see her. He was annoyed that the calmness he felt a second ago was gone for good.

With a bit of irritation he studied the girl who was sitting on the bench. She was wearing a simple skirt with a denim jacket and her hair was in a careless bun. Since it's the private beach, definitely someone staying in the hotel..but the way she was referring about the party meant she was here to attend the party, but her attire didn't seem something that matched with the crowd he left a few minutes before. His brows creased in confusion and the girl laughed.

'Dont worry I am not a ghost. I am just like you , enjoying the new year Eve in peace. Come join me' she smiled as she patted the space near her in the bench.