Love and Music

Confession

The evening had just begun with a cup of coffee. Rahul and Arshi were sitting in the balcony. They were talking about the concerts that were to come up the next month. They had a series of special concerts celebrating the 10 Years of Akshat Amit Live Band. They were talking about general stuffs and suddenly both of them became silent. It was an uncomfortable one. They seemed to have just nothing to talk.

The evening was a beautiful one with the entire disc of moon brightly shining in the sky. There were a few stars that added to the glory of the night. The balcony was done up beautifully with terracota paintings and some greens. There were a couple of wooden chairs and a table at the centre equidistant from both the chairs. The breeze played with their hair and they both looked at each other.

Rahul broke the silence and mumbled slowly,"Arshi, I wanted to talk to you about something. I don't know if I am right or wrong to say what I am just going to, but I am sure that I need to just get it out of my heart.I don't know how you will react to this." Arshi could not understand much but knew that he was going to tell something important . She encouraged him by nodding. She went close to him and held his palm in her. She liked holding on to him. The feeling of Arshi's hand in Rahul made him even more sure about his feelings. 

He continued,"We know each other for a couple of months now and we are touring and working together since a few weeks too. But the level of comfort that I feel with you makes me feel as if we know each other for ages. You have been such a good friend, supporting me through the thick and thin.  I have always had people who have been with me during my good times but there are very few who stayed with me during my dark phase. You are one of them, Arshi. You have been my support system since the day we have started working. You have given me a shoulder to cry on and a heart to rely on. You were always there with me. You held me during my difficult times, supported me emotionally and given me so much love as a friend.You have helped me heal myself. The midnight studio sessions were never this fun before. You taught me new ways to drink coffee. You are the one who helped me become a better person and a person I personally like so much more. Your presence in my day and life just changes it so much for the better. I really don't know how to put my feelings into words. I just want to tell you that I love you a lot and I can't see it any other way. You are someone I can imagine my entire life with and I don't think I will be the same without you. You just make me want to be a better person." 

Arshi heard each and every word of it and was speechless. She had never expected him to feel the same way that she did for him. She was happy but too numb to react. The enormity of what he had said was slowly sinking in within her. She was silent. 

Rahul misunderstood her silence as a negative reply and hesitantly stammered, "Arshi, It is n..n..not necessary for you to feel the same way that I do. But all I knew is umm...umm...I could not keep it in my heart for longer. I really respect wh..whatever you decide but I..I just wanted to confess my feelings. I am sorry if you felt bad but I couldn't help myself. I will tell you something, Just forget what I just said. Don't think about it at all. Just let it go. I hope nothing changes due to all the things that I just said." Arshi just got up from her chair and hugged Rahul tightly. He got up too and they hugged each other tightly for long.

Now Arshi spoke,"You really don't know how happy I feel Rahul and the thing is I love you too, but I never had the guts to confess it. I always feared losing you as a friend so I always side lined my feelings for you. I need to thank you for making it easier for me by confessing . I am so happy to have you and I love you to the sun and back infinite times. I will always be there for you. No matter what we do, we will do it together. I love you." Arshi had tears in her eyes. She was overwhelmed with whatever had just happened. Rahul just wiped off her tears and hugged her again. 

The evening was so unanticipated yet so great. It was already 9:30 PM. They sat for dinner . Arshi served the food and both had their dinner chatting with each other. 

Rahul said,"Arshi, Can I ask you something, If you don't mind"

"Yes,Please go ahead."

"When did you realize that you actually liked me?"

"I realized it on the day when we actually sat in the studio alone,just the two of us and when you told me everything that you were going through. I had never seen a person so vulnerable and I feel for the vulnerability that you showed and I never thought that I would be so overwhelmed seeing someone just express themselves. I love you for the fact that you trusted me emotionally and you had the ability to express your pains. That is what made me fall in love with you a million times that day itself and since that day I could not help but think about you. Funnily, I had never thought that someone's smile,laughter and happiness would matter so much to me."

Rahul smiled listening to her answer.

Arshi asked"How did you realize your feelings?"

"Well, I realized it on the same day and I had to thank you big time for your support that day without judging me and the fact that I being a guy became emotional in front of a girl. You know something that I have felt for you is that, You were always there for me and you shielded me in such a way that I could heal myself and emerge back strong. I love you for being that. I never knew that we were making wonderful memories when we sat in the studio chatting for  hours. I just knew that we were having fun. I am so thankful to you for everything."

Arshi smiled ,"Will you keep your mouth shut. Enough of thank yous for now and you have also helped me immensely. You just said that you love me and here you are speaking a list of thank yous. Enjoy the food. That will be better"

Rahul loved the food and said that he was craving for pasta and thanked Arshi for making it. 

They both loved the dinner and took their desserts to the living room where they sat on the couch an had the muffins which Arshi had made. Rahul loved it and jokingly said,"You are such an amazing chef. I need not worry about good food now" and winked. Arshi laughed. 

They had a lot of fun that evening. Rahul left Arshi's place at about 11:30 PM. 

Once Rahul left,Arshi was just reminiscing the events of the evening that had just ended. She was grateful to her stars to have found love. She was thinking of all the good times that they had spent together. They were now in a relationship which was not something she could come in terms with. She was also wondering if she should inform her mother or not and she finally decided otherwise. She wanted to keep it a deep secret that just she and Rahul could enjoy. 

As soon as Rahul reached home, he sent a message to her. It read,"Thank you for the amazing food,Coffee and all the lovely conversation. I love you loads and loads. PS:- We have work at the studio tomorrow, so I shall pick you up by 10:00 AM. See you. Bye. Good Night. Love you again."

Arshi smiled reading it and replied," I shall be ready and see ya at 10:00. Go off to sleep. Good Night. Take care. Love you."

Both of them were happy to have found love in each other. They loved each other and were happy to be with each other working in the studio , having cups of coffee with jaggery and laughing at each other's jokes. It was truly the most memorable day for each other. 

They both went off to sleep smiling, thinking about each other waiting to meet each other the next morning.