Our World Our Way! - An AnuPre Tale

Part 9

"May I come in sir?" Rahil knocked at the door of Anurag's office cabin. Engrossed in work, Anurag acknowledged his presence with a nod.

When Rahil seemed hesitant, Anurag spoke, "Yeah Rahil tell me".

"Sir.. I thought I should myself inform you this before you get to know from somewhere else.." he trailed.

"What's the matter Rahil?" Anurag was now thinking of all the unfavorable news Rahil could possibly give him and silently prayed this was not one of them.

"We did not win the Best Magazine Award this time.." he dared to utter. 

"What!" Anurag looked enraged at this.

"How did we miss it? We have been winning this award for the past 5 years. We are the BEST, there is absolutely no one in the industry who could come close to our standards let alone win over us! Who dared to challenge Basu Publications?" 

"Prerna Sharma".

Rahil smiled as he saw Anurag's expression softened. He gave him a copy of the magazine which he had been hiding behind him and began to leave the cabin.

He heard Anurag say firmly, "We are winning it the next time, absolutely no excuses!".

"For sure, sir".

Anurag sat with the magazine reading each word that was printed and understanding the deeper meaning of her writing. The smile didn't leave his face. He felt immensely proud of her work and achievement. The feeling was so overwhelming that his eyes turned moist. He was a proud man today. He grabbed his coat and the magazine and headed out of the office. He had to see her.

"This was not possible without your support Vikrant.. thank you so much" Prerna was talking to Vikrant over the phone pacing her room. 

She felt excited about the victory, anxious and hopeful about the possibility this had opened and restless about having no one to share it with. She truly missed his family and Anurag at this moment. 

She ran to her bedside table where a picture of her family was placed. It was taken at their home on one of the functions with Naveen Babu. Though she or her family hardly smiled during that period, this one was an exception where everyone seemed to have a happy family moment. Though she had other family photos too she chose this particular one to frame because Anurag was a part of this photo. They all looked like one big happy family, her family, her world. 

She touched her dad's face in the photo. "Papa aap mujhe dekh rahe h na? Aap khush h na apni Priyu ki pehli kamiyabi se?" She choked hugging the frame. 

This is when she resolved that she would sort all differences with her mom and family today. She didn't want to feel alone in this world when she had a loving family. 

She rummaged through her wardrobe to take out her old long kurtis which she used to wear in her college days. She found her blue-white kurti with a flowing dupatta to go with it. She smiled to herself and got dressed, leaving no trace of her mangalsutra or sindoor. Today she was celebrating being Prerna Sharma. 

The happiness of meeting her mom and family and celebrating her success with them was evident on her face. She wore her bangles. It had been long since she heard it's jingle. She wore a tiny bindi and couldn't help imagining Anurag's reaction. She hurried out of her room through the corridor with her dupatta flowing behind her. She reached the top of the stairs when she saw Anurag standing frozen in his tracks.