Cordially, Yours!

-44-

A bright sunny morning welcomed a new day filled with hopes. The sun shines into Fab 5's room and Mukti and Cabir being the first to bed were the first to rise. With the two bustling people up, it was hard for the others to indulge any further in their dreamland.

Busy in doing their daily morning routine, the clock struck 9 and Fab 5 headed to the buffet for breakfast. The lavish of the diner took them by a blow and being food enthusiast, they all divided in with their spoons and forks. Dhruv and Aliya had been stealing glances since morning and with things sorted among them, they wanted to break the news to Fab 5 soon. But, when and how were daunting questions that neither of them had a good answer to. Soon, it was time for them to head to the cafe to meet Stardust and the perform their gig. They hopped into the jeep and drove along the winding roads and fresh air of the valleys to reach a cafe.

"Morning, guys!" Adhira chirped at their arrival. The gang sat outside the cafe sipping on coffee and cake and chattering. Adhira's welcome drew their attention and they smiled widely at their guests.

"Morning, guys! How are you all?" Cabir spoke and removed his shades stylishly.

"Very well. But bas, tashan khatam kar. I hope you guys have realized that yesterday!" Samar said with a tease. Fab 5's faces dropped at the dig.

"No worries guys! It was the same for us and that's why to make you all realize quick enough that the market isn't like Space in the world, we are doing this! Of course, outside all this love and passion for music, we have to be practical and mature enough to talk the numbers, right?" Joe pointed clearly while Fab 5 nodded in acceptance.

"Good. So now, today's gonna be no different and your goal is to play by heart while en-capturing the audience. Good music, good hearts- everybody here is here to listen, today. So go for it and kill it. The show starts in about an hour and so, you have that to yourself as prep! We will be there in the backstage and in the audience, so calm down!" Samar noted.

Fab 5 had turned on their heels to enter the cafe when Nikhat interrupted, "Oh as a surprise! The audience would be changing in between, just so you know!" Her might tone didn't gel well with the information she stated , but her voice had clearly dismissed them. Trying to calm themselves, Fab 5 walked into the backstage quarters to devise a plan. Manik took the lead to decide on who should open and how they should transition. To be fair, each of the instruments had their own solo piece in the middle and since the vocals were all the time, they decided to switch between male and female voices. Aliya was a reasonable singer and thus, willingly stood up to do the vocals when Dhruv was singing and Mukti contributed to Manik's songs. Cabir was happy in his place of percussions and took the lead to cover up with beats and intensity when one of them faltered.

An hour flew by quick in revising the strategies and songs to be played. They were welcomed to the stage by the cafe's Manager. The stage and music was for their taking. Much to their shock, the audience looked in a chill mood and of course, with dim lights and candles, nothing but a love song would work here. Soft tunes was only brought by Manik's acoustic guitar and Aliya' s flute. They nodded at each other and started with an instrumental transitioning to soft vocals of "Meharbaniya".

Stardust sat in the audience in the back rows and were impressed by their judgment of music after analyzing the situation. They smiled at their success and let them handle the circumstance for the next 1 hour. Things went on in a similar way, Fab 5 got 30 minutes beak in between or more if a lucky improv singer came along. The audience changed drastically in between testing their abilities and versatility. They didn't pass each one with flying colors , they made mistakes but that was where Stardust was emphasizing on. They knew Fab 5 had potential and talent but, they weren't used to real time. And here that was being tested and explored and till now, everything looked great.

It was 12'o clock in the evening and the Manager announced that a nearby school teacher had decided to drop in with her class for a story narration. The class was a group 30 children and their English teacher wanted to teach some old classics stories in their cafe. The idea sounded absurd to Fab 5 but since they were the performers for the day, they had to pull it off. In the 45 minutes break they got, all of them intensively researched and practiced some classical tunes. It wasn't much help as they lacked the instruments but that was when, they called up Navya from the hotel. She had been chilling and was on her own trip since they had all arrived in Dehdradun. And it was now when she would be useful and badly needed. Understanding their situation, Navya made it to their cafe and agreed to back them.

The clock struck 2. Precise on time, an elegant teacher with long brown hair tied in a bun and wearing a long salwar suit entered the cafe while huddling her class around her. Her laughter was melodious and she seemed to be more of a friend than a teacher to the students. Manik's sense of familiarity knocked in again and the same feelings as yesterday came to bite him again.

In the hustle bustle that took over the cafe, Manik couldn't hear her voice or see her face. She was mingling with students and bent over to their height. She paid the cafe Manager her greetings and by the look of it, appreciated that he accommodated them. 

Soon, she settled herself in the middle of the circle the children sat in and flipped through the book. The manager signaled them to start off and Manik's attention broke away from the girl to his guitar. With soft music in the background, a smile crept her face and she began with her poem.

" Up into the cherry tree

Who should climb but little me?

I held the trunk with both my hands

And looked abroad in foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,

Adorned with flowers, before my eye,

And many pleasant places more

That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass

And be the sky's blue looking-glass;

The dusty roads go up and down

With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree

Farther and farther I should see,

To where the grown-up river slips

Into the sea among the ships,

To where the roads on either hand

Lead onward into fairy land,

Where all the children dine at five,

And all the playthings come alive."

Her mellifluent voice recited. She ended the poem with the credits to R. L. Stevenson and softly closed the book to look at children still immersed in the moment. She smiled at their innocence and granted them their awe. Not only had she gifted the souls their moment but Fab 5 too, especially Manik, who held tears in his eyes. The music had stopped long back, the moment her voice reached them back. They weren't expecting her to be here. She was least aware that the musicians were none other than a blast from the past and ignorant to them, she got up to break the magical reverie of her students.

She made her way out of the cafe and led back to the place she came from while, Fab 5 stood there aghast and lost in their memories and astonishment.

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Happy Reading!

Love,

H.F