TanshinaAfrin
Meaning: 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚
A prequel to 𝑳𝒂𝒇𝒛-𝒆-𝑴𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏
Can be read as a standalone, too.
𝐴 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑎
1943 was the year when the Haley's Comet of Indian Cinema set his foot in Delhi. The city of the Mughals welcomed him with dust, hunger and a dark lane.
That dark lane carried dreamers who were sold to satisfy people's lust. Yet, one dreamer dared to step beyond.
Yusuf Khan Dehlavi was fifteen years old. With a bright dream of the silver screen and the resolve of an iron, he arrived in India, only to be disappointed at the reality. Exhaustion and starvation replaced the awe and bliss he had cradled in his heart. Yet, an unexpected friendship turned the course of his life and carried him into the train to Bombay.
Badriyah was seventeen years old. With grey eyes and a heart that had stopped hoping long ago, she found herself caring for a stranger she had seen on a street. She did something she had never done before. She offered kindness without expecting payment. And, through that gesture, her heart learned something new, something people like her shouldn't know.
He had two days before the train to Bombay. She had two days before he walked out of her life. And, within those days, a white rose in the crevice of an old pillar and a brittle, unnamed bond grew between them.
But the world punished dreamers. And, their dreams only lasted in a breath shared between two people.