A Special Day

The White Rose

With ample of good memories and happy thoughts inside them, Reyan and Shivi couldn't wish for a happier Sunday. Both had unique thoughts for each other in their heads and both wanted to shout them out but something stopped either, be it their past experiences or risk of going too quick.

Reyan was perhaps worried about going too quick and ending up hurt while for Shivi, long distance was a big factor, the zero difference in their heights also poked her but the happiness they enjoyed around each other couldn't be ignored, it was just too strong and beginning to overpower the limiting factors. Both of them being over imaginative and story makers had something or the other going on inside their heads but then, the time they were spending together wouldn't come again in a very long time, so that's what they had their attention on.

The clock gad gone beyond five by the time the two walked out of the palace from its exit which lead to a crowded marketplace setup along a street sloping down to ground level, it was a long walk and the good winter weather had them both walking along, admiring the local craft products. Often, they stopped by at shops; sometimes of jewelry and sometimes antiques, fascinating both of the exquisite.

One such shop had Shivi stuck, full of fancy girly jewelry, from stone necklaces to anklets, from finger to ear rings. She just couldn't get her eyes off a variety of them. Every now and then she would pick up something and try it, looking herself in the mirror and then turning to Reyan for his opinion. Once she wore this beautiful choker, studded with red stones on a golden base, that was when he lost his all.
It looked perfect on her tall neck, the red coupled with her fair skin just right and the golden, well it complemented her hair in the perfect way.
"Wow" the word that dropped out of his lowered jaw.
"No matter how hard i try to avoid flirt, you just wouldn't stop would you?" He said, "this jewelry suits you so well."

She giggled like a little baby, "thank you very much sir" she said.

She did do some shopping there, including the choker and some earrings. Perfect at the art of bargaining, she wouldn't stop until she had the seller lower the price to almost one fourth the original.
While bargaining was never a big suit of Reyan.

Took them good fifteen minutes to walk down to where the slope ended and whence they did, Shivi begun speculating about where to go next. Reyan meanwhile had already their plans set, he immediately asked for an auto- rickshaw nearby to take them to the next destination, the Bagore ki Haveli.

Bagore ki Haveli was where one could enjoy the authentic Rajasthan culture, puppet museum in reality, Reyan had known of it since long but even he hadn't been to the place till date, he wanted to experience it and so did Shivi.

If viewed from the Sajjangarh palace, one could notice that Bagore ki Haveli was situated right next to the city palace, one side of it being the Pichola lake while the entrance was far from close.
At six they reached there, Reyan was particularly there for the cultural evening they had, which was to start in another half hour and so till then the two went around admiring the puppet museum, the ancient art works and architecture of the place.

Often they saw men and women dressed in Rajasthani attire, guessing them to be preparing for the performance and thereby getting even more eager to see it.
It was to be held in the central courtyard of the Haveli.

They were only roaming around near the balcony that oversaw the lake when the thought crossed Reyan's mind.
"Oi, where's the jewelry?" He asked Shivi.
"Which jewelry?" She asked
"The one you just bought baba" he said.
"Oh that" she said, "it's right here" she brought her little bag in front.

"Why don't you wear it?" He said
"Of course i will wear it." She said
"I mean right now" he said
"What? No!" She exclaimed and moved forth.
"Why not?" He said, following her "You'll look amazing, look at all these ladies"
"No Reyan, never" she said, "they are here for the show, "besides, i am not even wearing any appropriate dress either"

"Do you trust me?" Reyan halted
"I do but i won't wear it" she said

Reyan moved towards her, looked into her eyes and said "let me judge how you'll look today, listen to me. This white kurti you're wearing looks absolutely stunning on you. I have been wishing to say this since the moment i laid my eyes on you but you're like a dream of mine that i wouldn't wish to wake up from. This jewelry will make you look like a queen, my queen."

The magic worked on her, she herself couldn't take off her eyes from his. The eye contact worked like an exchange of spells between two magical souls.

She wore the jewelry and off the two went to the event where no one, not even the performers could avoid gazing at her. Reyan himself felt overwhelmed and lucky to have known such a person, let alone spend a day with her.

The event was full of charming music with local instruments playing including tabla, harmonium, sitar and what not. The singer's voice, if not better was as good as any superstar of the cinematic world. The performance was much more than anything one could find on the web, the experience of being present there was the cherry on the cake and the two absolutely enjoyed it. It could be considered similar to the feeling of enjoying a live set of opera in one of the famed European houses.

Towards the end of the show, the performers had the audience join them in the dance, including Reyan and Shivi and so delighted was Reyan to see her this happy, he could see her heart happy and at that moment he felt like making this girl the happy of the hippie he has been.

Picking the right moment after the dance ended, he brought another flower out of his bag, a white one this time to show her the appreciation he had of her inner and outer self.
He lifted her hand this time in full confidence and laid the flower on her palm which she was again surprised to see, a sparkle had taken over her.
She then kept the flower safely inside her own bag and held Reyan's hand as she began walking out of the Haveli.