*stars*

She had lost the sense of time this night & did not know how late it was! She never could, when she was star gazing. The sky seemed clearer tonight, the stars closer OR was it her. But again, today was special. She had no dinner to prepare. No dishes to wash. No before bed time discussion / arguments, with the man to make. No one to please or unwillingly agree to ! She was alone AND Free ! She could lie on this roof for as long she wanted, drinking her favourite beer ‘from the bottle’, (Ya she wasn’t ‘allowed’ that, well until today). She suddenly seemed to get a sense of deja vu.She could see it, a night like this, a sight before her wondering eyes. She was much younger then AND the night was her mistress!

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There was something about night fall that aroused her mind. It was something that she could not explain. She would stay awake night after night and she still found each night too short for all the thoughts & all the walks. She could be her best at this time AND with night came ‘Stars’ !!

Oh Stars… It was like her daddy’s legacy!

As a kid she would always answer “Chaukidaar aka Night Watchman” with shiny eyes when asked “What would you like to be when you grown up, Beta?” by elders or guests. Needless to say they thought she was insane. The only one who smiled was her Father. Why wouldn’t he, since he was the reason for her unusual answer.

Then the worst happened … LOVE was its name. She forgot all about her aspirations & dreams and followed him. How could the 14 year old not! The 6-feet tall, terribly handsome school soccer-team captain, with a voice that made even the She-professors at high school weak in their knees, had eyes only for her. She, the girl with the big butt who drove to school in a Mercedes, felt like a ‘Star’( HA . Damn Stars again)! On second thought, he had a lot of luck too, since he happened to be the first man who held her hand after her Darling Father passed away when she was 15.

Her Father- well that will be another story to describe the phenomenal man that he was ! Long story short, this is when she began living ‘her’ life on ‘his’ terms! She led this life for about 16 years only to wake up one day & scream ! Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters. And NOW all that mattered to her was happiness, freedom, the open sky, liberation… simply put ‘Breathing’ !

Don’t misunderstand the situation, he was a good person, not just a good partner. Life with him became everything that she did not want it to!

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When she decided to end this 16 year long relationship, she broke many hearts. But this was her journey & she was not ready to risk it by waiting any longer! It was today morning when she told him it was Good bye from her !

Lying under the stars tonight, she could not help but smile! She was insane!!! She had just bid goodbye to a super rich, luxurious life full of exotic holidays, latest I-phones, Vegas trips etc. But as her father always referred to her, in his notes (yes the father daughter loved to communicate the old school way) to her, “For my beautifully out of place Star“!

The phone buzzed again. Her eyes were so heavy they ached. She turned to one side & took a look at her phone with half open eyes. 127 missed calls. 125 from two known numbers, Mom & Him. The 2 unknown ones made her wonder. Out of boredom she dialled it. The voice barked back “Can’t you guys pickup the f*****g phone. I am waiting for your driver to deliver my cake money. You Morons!”. So, he was a stranger, he had dialled a wrong number, which she had re-dialled AND he was mad. Too tired to explain the confusion, she said “Ok” & hung up. He immediately called back, this time fuming, “I will come to your office tomorrow to collect my cash & make sure you are sorry”. She responded smiling”OK”.

She woke up with the early chirping of birds. But her head still felt heavy. She checked her phone. Another 50 calls from Mom & Him. She switched her phone off & went back to sleep.

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We look up at the same stars & see such different things. Like tonight she saw the outline of a lady’s face turned sideways & at another end of the sky a beautiful carriage. According to a Greek mythology / myth people become stars after they die. As she star gazed tonight, she wondered again if her daddy was there somewhere & could watch her now. Impulsively she jumped & hid the empty wine bottles. Her thoughts were interrupted with the buzzing of the phone, & she regretted switching it on !OH, The cake guy from last night. She picked it up ready to blast him, when he said softly “Sorry about last night. You should have said something”. Irritated she said “Ok” & hung up. Out of anger she saved his number as ‘Mr. Wrong’ in her address book, to avoid taking his call again.

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It was a cloudy night & she felt low. She needed some sugar rush. HA & nobody to stop her. But it was late & all the cake shops were shut. She thought of the cake guy. Without giving it a second thought she looked up ‘Mr. Wrong’ & dialled it. Almost instantly he answered “Hey. So you forgive me”! She felt strange. Had she made a mistake, she thought. Was he a psycho rapist!! When she didn’t answer he spoke “How about I get a chef’s favourite cake delivered to your place now?” She chuckled to herself, answered “Ok” before hanging up. He messaged a second later asking her address. She texted back the information. 30 minutes later a cake was delivered to her doorstep. Hmmm.. ‘Neil’s Cake Shop’. So the psycho rapist was called Neil, she thought while opening the deliciously smelling cakebox.

A tear trickled down her soft cheek. “For the beautifully out of place” said the tiny star-shaped sugar name card on the cake.

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Thank you guys !

Hope you enjoyed reading it !

Love, Neha XX