A Princess For Christmas (Of The Dreams We Seek)

Thirty- Seven

Avni was still looking at the Envelope afraid to open it. Serafina told her, this was his last letter what did she meant by that? Does that mean after this he is not going to contact her ever again? Is that it? "Avni you are not going to eat that?" her mother asked. 

"I am not very hungry ma." She looked at the envelope again. "You miss him, don't you? I do not know what had happened between the two of you, but whatever it is, I do not think it is important than your friendship. Take it from someone who knows it, good friends are very hard to find." Avni smiled at her mother.

 "I have many good friends ma, I have Sneha, Nandita, Shalini. And I have Avi. I know the good friends." Geeta stroked her hairs. "Yes, you do but they are not you are afraid to lose, are you? It is someone else, the one who had made you put off of everything you love. The one who had made you this sad? It is someone you know you cannot just replace or live without." Geeta said. "That is not true I like all my friends and I treat them all equally." That made Geeta smile.

 "You do Avni beta I know. But this one is not someone you like; this is someone you love. And that is what makes it harder to let go of him." Avni looked at her and asked "How do you know about this?" That made her mother laugh.

 "I was once your age you know and I too had gone through many, many things myself. Made friends, and then I met and made a very special friend who had a special connection which I cannot find with anyone." Avni loved listening to the stories her mother and father told always. "So, what you did?" Avni asked. 

"I married him. And I am still very much happily married to him and we have a Princess for ourselves. And now we want nothing more than to let her find her own fairy-tale. We want her to be happy. And if her happiness means being with some king she met, then be it. We will do everything in our power to make you realise that dream you dare to see." Avni was in tears now. "Ma, how do you know about Callahan and me?" Geeta continued to stroke her hairs. 

"As I said once I have married a Prince too, he may not have a kingdom, or a crown but he had the biggest heart of all, that had power to make me happy. And that was what important, that and the fact that we didn't gave up on each other. You should not to give up on him. Avni you are my brave girl and I know if you set your sight on it, nothing is impossible for you to achieve" Avni wished it was that much easy. "So, you are telling me that I should accept the invite to the palace again and go there?" Geeta nodded and then kissed her forehead.

In middle of the night a phone went off in her cabin. She wasn't asleep at all. Avni picked up the phone and it showed incoming video call option. She picked it up thinking who is crazy enough to call her so late at night. She saw nothing at first and then she heard something, a sad music playing. Then she saw Callahan looking at her with bloodshot eyes. It looked like he hasn't slept for days. 

"Hello Princess, my call finally gotten through" His voice sounded raspy, tired, like he has been running for hours. "Your Royal Highness, will you execute me if I say you look terrible?" she asked. "No, I may not dare that your highness and you look beautiful. Your eyes still shine the same way, but those dark circle around your eyes doesn't matches. You look pale, have you been eating well?" He asked.

 "Where are you now? Why are you calling me in middle of the night?" He then looked at the time. "I am sorry my princess, I didn't calculate the timing I was just so excited that my call went through after so many days I can see you finally. I am sorry for waking you up at the wrong timing." She couldn't say she was awake all night long. That she cannot sleep even after being under influence of heavy drugs.

 "You wanted to know where I was right?" She saw him switching to the back camera. And she saw the room spilled with paint over a canvas. "I was trying to imagine you in a white dress. I was trying to imagine how beautiful you will look in that walking towards me." Avni kept herself from crying somehow. Why he looks like he is half dead? Why is he doing this? What is he trying to prove? "Since how long you have been awake for?" She heard a chuckle and then he turned the camera towards him again