PURPLE LOVE

2. BRIGHT LILAC

" Are you sure this going to work" , a familiar male voice was there in my ears .

" I think we should trust him" , another one vome in my support.

" I will bark with dogs outside if this didn't workokay ,now happy ", I smartly changed the topic and we exited the park .

Within the next split second we were being chased by a swarm of people ," catch them " shouted one of them , " today you guys are not leaving this place alive " added another , The air raid sirens wailed in the distance.

Suddenly , I started feeling tensing of nerves , my legs frozed and I was panting like a dog , a sudden uneasiness besiege me , " "What are you doing ? We don't have time , hurry up" , screamed the first one .

" Is he okayy ! , Are you there ? , Hey ,wake up!"

I was awoke, panting in the dimly lit room, my body was drenched with sweat. The house was silent, except for that alarm clock which was ticking , I wanted to stay under the covers after this , but going back to sleep may trigger another dream. so, I walked slowly into the bathroom, stripped off my damp pajamas and stepped inside the shower. I turned the water to lukewarm and leaned forward, with hands against the wall, the water kept splashing down my back.

A sudden realisation hit me, it was the same dream , I don't even know when it started but it kept haunting me repeatedly for a long time , my last novel came a year ago , since than I was unable to write anything , My parents proposed me to move with them but I simply wanted to live alone ,So I moved here in my grandfather's farm house ,which after his death was practically mine .

Today , after two whole months , I was forcefully dragged outside by Aadi, I paired up a brown button down shirt with grey pants followed by black baseball cap , my big round glasses and a pair of white sneakers and put my things into my black crossbody bag , I didn't wanted to step outside but his nagging was so irritating that I gave upon my argument .

After seeing the huge building of ABC media House my mind was wondering ways of going back , Aadi asked me to wait for him and went upstairs first to schedule my meeting with Mr. Kumar and his team , I bought a cup of iced Latte with lots of wiped cream , It had a rich aroma and a sharp, not unpleasant edge which I loved , while I was enjoying it , my phone beepeed a messege from Aadi that he is on the 3rd floor and Mr. Kumar was also coming there .

As usual, I was paying more attention to my phone than the surroundings . If I had of been watching where I was going, I think I would avoided the collision altogether when I turned that corner. I finally realized what was happening but it was already too late , I accidently bumped into someone my coffee hover into air and his face was drenched all over followed by wiped cream all over his blue blazer

"Why the hell is he wearing a blazer in the summer ?" My inner Ruhaan debated .

"Oooh ...I'm really sorry , I didn't mean to"

"Can't you even see ? " , His friend shouted as if he was the one who is at loss .

"It's ok" , Let's go " , That man glared at me and shifted his gaze swiftly .

I took some tissue out of my bag and tried to help him cleaning up as I cut a glance to him, his eyes were over me and a so called eye contact was experienced by me , he definitely exudes sexuality, intentionally or not I don't know but he was a compact, clear cut man, with precise features, a lot of very soft black hair, and thoughtful dark brown eyes.

My phone rang out of nowhere ,"Sorry I have to go , so sorry again for that" , I expressed my apology with an awkward smile ,which he didn't seemed to care . Then , I dashed as fast as possible leaving them behind as if nothing ever happened , Aadi and Mr. Kumar were on the 3rd floor waiting for me , after meeting him I was dragged in judging the audition which I hated like seriously I only went there to meet the dirctor and now this whole auditining thing was tormenting my inner self , Which Aadi didn't seem to care about and he was busy flirting around , I wished I had superpowers and the first thing I would do is killing my best friend even if I ended up in jail , I thought while staring at him and texted him " I gotta dip you i***t " , which he ignored again .

The main lead audition was completed ,But I had to wait for another one hour as selection of female lead was ongoing , I was simply goofing around , while flipping pages , a sudden uneasiness surrounded me I felt like I couldn't breathe with my heart ramming against my ribcage , and was feeling nauseous too I decided to leave the room and get fresh air outside , as I thought this was due to long hours of sitting ,But ,Suddenly , I felt someone's stare ,so I looked into that direction and saw a girl standing in front of me , I don't know why but after looking at her , I felt contentment and Relief and was pretty much relaxed .

" It is the first time I'm meeting you , but somehow you seem familiar " A voice in my head spoke.

"I think I have to go home , I need a good rest " That same voice argued .

My eyes somehow felt heavy and my cheeks were wet ," What the heck !!!" I shifted my gaze again in her direction , The woman that walked in could have graced any billboard or magazine cover, but she was better than those two dimensional photoshopped models , She had that movie star look, not overly tall and willowy, but more like an action star. Her muscle definition was perfect and she walked in with the confidence and young energy radiated from her . She wasn't just flawless in her bone structure but her skin was like silk over glass and she radiated an intelligent beauty.

Though, she looked interesting and beautiful I decided to go out to calm myself down , but then ,as I tried to move towards the door , she pulled me from the back , my heart fell into my stomach as she mentioned killing me while holding my hands , I became awestruck and was anxious at the same time , I tried to express that maybe she got a wrong person ,but as my eyes met her my mouth couldn't utter a single word ,I kept stealing glances with her ,but she on the other hand stared brazenly into my eyes as if her bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone.

Unexpectedly, everyone in the room started hooting and clapping vigorously , " Good one you really know how to act " , Mr. Kumar looked happy and satisfied while looking at the script.

" It felt so real as if the character got a soul " One of the team member happily looked at me , " Even the writer was indulged into the character ".

" What are your thoughts Mr. Ruhaan , She did justice to your character right?" .

"Yeah , of course , I mean she is a good actor" Another member looked at me .

" It was... good" , with an awkward smile I completed my sentence.

" I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable " , She apologised while letting go of my hands , while I didn't even noticed earlier was with her all that time .

"Uhhh... It's okayy , I blatantly excused myself and was finally able to leave the room , Aadi came hastily and hugged me from the back ' " Why did you do that ? " , He started mocking me while imitating Shija and recreating the scene .

" Are you done ? Shall we go home now ? We are done with the audition right ?" I questioned him in one go .

"No " , He simply answers me back in one word .

" What no ? , I anxiously questioned him back .

" We have a meeting to attend with all the actors and the main producer of the movie "

" Again !!! ,s**t! , it was really embarrassing" , a voice echoed inside my head figuring out ways to escape .

" Don't even try " , Aadi sarcastically smiled .

" What ???"

" Do I look dumb? I know you , You are thinking of excuses right now,leave that thought and c'mon let's go" , He forcefully dragged me into another room .

Everyone eyes followed me as I entered the room , I greeted them with a sophisticated fake smile but the first thing which come into my notice was Shija , she was busy taking to a man who was sitting adjacent to her and somehow seemed familiar , " Oh ! He is the man from the morning " , I recognised him and out of courtesy gave him a smile which he again ignored as such as if I was just a thin air around him .

" He is the writer of this story , Ruhaan Acharya " , Mr. Kumar introduced me , as I sat on a chair opposite to him .

" Oh! you are a writer ?" Finally that man spoke but was it a compliment or a mocking I was tried to figure it out .

" Yeah ", I replied in a timid voice and saw Shija who was resting her cheeks on her left hand and smiling at me which made me stiff again , "Why the hell ,is she giving me such looks ?" ,I smiled back at her thinking this .

" Do you guys know each other ? " Mr. Kumar broke the silence .

" No " , That man answered immediately , and again gave me that same stare .

" So , meet Mr. Chirag Ahuja he is the main producer of the movie " I learned his name finally by Mr. Kumar .

" I liked that novel by the way , thats why I'm investing " , I was surprised as I heard Chirag complimenting me .

" Thank you " again my eyes followed the direction where Shija was sitting , her eyes were fixed on me like a lighbulb on its holder.

" What do You like Ruhaan ? , I want to know you more " , she rested her cheeks now on upon her right hand gave me a sweet smile

Every person sitting there became obfuscate and astonished of her questioning out of context and kept looking at each other and I was completely jolted with her question before I could react she again rambled .

" I mean , knowing you will help me with a better understanding of my character as you wrote them , Am I wrong? " , She turned towards Mr. Kumar .

"Well , She is right , I think the same , you should help her" , Mr. Kumar acknowledged her , and everyone nodded in acceptance .

******************

After a long hour of discussion the meeting finally ended as It was late I decided stay at my flat in Bandra which was near to the media house than my grandpa's Farm house , Aadi dropped me at my place , after entering my room , as soon as I saw my bed ,I laid down on it and blatantly slept .

With the chiming of birds which was a melody in itself , the cool breeze and the warmth coming from the sun as it's first rays lit up my room a special aroma orbited around me , I took a deep breath before opening my eyes to feel the nature and looked up at the ceiling of my room afterwards , as I moved my eyes towards the window to enjoy the morning dew , They stopped upon a similar looking figure , who was sleeping next to me covered in blanket .

" Wait!!! , Who is this person ?" , I thought as I tried to look , that person remove blanket from the face , she was the same person whom I met earlier , Shija , I couldn't believe my eyes what is she doing at my room , she again gave me the same sweet smile .

"You are awake now , shall we go out for the breakfast , I feel like eating hamburgers today " .

I gulped , "what on the Earth happened ?????? " , And nervously looked at her.

*****************