Notion Press
Old No. 38, New No. 6
McNichols Road, Chetpet
Chennai - 600 031
First Published by Notion Press 2016
Copyright © Jerald Antony 2016
All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 978-93-5206-983-5
This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original.
All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author
and the publisher disclaim the responsibility.
No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles and reviews.
A Musician’s Story
A
ryan, an upcoming singer in Bollywood, had huge dreams to make it big
in the movie industry. His voice was simply amazing and left everyone
stunned every time they listened to it. One couldn’t say if his voice was better
or his looks. He had such extraordinary looks and a stunning physique that
would give other actors in the movie industry, a run for their money. He had
the potential to outstrip the popularity of the Khans, if he ever forayed into
Bollywood.
But Aryan had other plans. He was passionate only towards singing. Aryan
stayed in an apartment that isn’t exactly what one could call posh. The walls
were damp, the ceilings leaked during the rains but none of that bothered
Aryan much. He was happy that he had a place of his own, irrespective of how
small it was. Considering how he had originally lived in a slum when he was a
child, his new residence felt like a palace to him.
It was a fine Sunday morning. Aryan decided to take a leisurely stroll in the
park where he met the Apartment’s Secretary Mr. Nayar whom he thoroughly
respected. Mr. Nayar was a huge admirer of Aryan’s music and had given him
a place to stay. He believed in Aryan, believed that he would one day grow by
leaps and bounds in his career. His words had come true, as Aryan, initially a
struggling singer, had now amassed considerable popularity. Mr. Nayar was the
only one he looked up to after his father.
“Hello Sir. Good morning!” Aryan wished him.
“Very good morning, Aryan. How are you? I didn’t see you for the past one
week?” Nayar said.
“I’ve missed my dad. So thought it’d be nice to pay him a visit,” Aryan
replied happily.
“Oh, how is he? He’s such a great man. I saw him only once when he came
here to see you,” Nayar said, walking beside him.
Fly to Fantasy
“Yes sir, he is engaged with agricultural work. I bought him a new tractor.
He seems to be very happy with it,” Aryan answered, grinning.
“That’s really nice of you. How is your singing profession Aryan? I heard
your recent song, it was damn good and Jeni was literally singing it in the
bathroom over and over again,” Nayar commented, laughing.
‘Yeah, sir. That was my fifth song. It has really given me a huge break in my
career,” Aryan said.
“Great Aryan. At such a young age! The things you have accomplished are
really an inspiration to youngsters out there,” he said, patting his shoulder.
Aryan stopped in his tracks and said, “I got my first chance through
a friend’s reference. It speaks much more than real talent. I don’t think I’m
anything special.”
“Not special you say?” Nayar burst out laughing “You have no idea how
many fans you have, do you? I’m also one of them. Definitely you will have a
bright future. I’d like you to take more chances and try singing in all languages,”
Nayar advised Aryan.
“I already am. I’m committed with Mani Ratnam’s project now. He is doing
a film in four languages and I’m singing two of the songs in three languages,”
said Aryan, his face glowing with happiness.
“Very nice to hear that Aryan. All the very best for your future. When you
come up to be someone great, do remember me,” Nayar said with a sad look in
his eyes.
“I definitely will. You aren’t a mere neighbour or a secretary, you have been
like a godfather to me. Right from the beginning, you and your family have
given me huge support. I never want to lose my new family at any cost,” Aryan
replied calmly.
“Thanks Aryan,” said Nayar, smiling.
Aryan suddenly remembered something and asked, “What about Jeni’s
wedding, has the date been fixed yet?” Jeniwas Mr. Nayar’s bubbly 20-year old
daughter and was like the sister he never had. Pulling pranks on each other
and sharing every single thing with each other, Aryan and Jeni had developed
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a strong bond. She had fallen in love with a youth from their locality. It was
Aryan who had spoken to her father and explained the situation to him. Nayar
trusted Aryan so much; if Aryan felt the lad would be a good match for Jeni,
then Nayar trusted that he probably was. Jeni had gifted Aryan a new electric
blue Timex watch as a token of gratitude for speaking to her father.
Aryan wore the watch every single day. He had missed talking to Jeni while
he had been busy with his projects and visiting his parents. He had forgotten to
even ask when her wedding was scheduled for.
“In two weeks,” Nayar said. He noticed Aryan looking guilty for not even
enquiring about the wedding earlier and said, “Now there’s no need to look so
glum. Yes, Jeni is a little hurt by your behaviour but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Aryan continued to look a little gloomy for forgetting to even call up Jeni,
having been caught up in his work.
Nayar continued, “I’ll come around with my wife to invite you for it.”
“No formalities sir, I’m one of your family members. You only have to tell
me the date and I will be there,”Aryan said to him.
“You are one of my family members? Right? So, I have been thinking of
asking you for a favour,” Nayar said hesitantly.
“Sure, tell me sir. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to help you,” Aryan
said politely.
“Can you perform at my daughter’s reception? Jeni wished it badly but she
is too angry with you to ask you for it now,” Nayar said.
“It’ll be my pleasure. Sure, I will do it sir,” Aryan replied smiling widely. “It’s
for my sister, anything for her.”
“Thanks Aryan. The wedding is to be held on the 25th of this month at
Alappuzha, Kerala. I will reserve a ticket for you for a week before. You should
come, stay with us and help us out till the wedding,” he commanded.
“Ha Ha! Sure! And I love that place. I’ve always wanted to visit Kerala and
get a chance to enjoy nature. Sure, I will be there a week before,” Aryan said.
3
Fly to Fantasy
While they were talking, Aryan’s phonerang; he bid adieu to Mr. Nayar and
walked away to attend the call. A female voice rang out from the other end,
“Hello.”
“Hello Jeni.”
She hissed angrily through the phone. Aryan laughed, which seemed to irk
her even more. She said angrily, “Bye.”
“Hey wait up! Where are you? I wanna come over and talk.”
“In the juice shop,” she said abruptly and hung up.
Fifteen minutes later, Aryan sat across the table from Jeni trying to convince
her to forgive him for not calling her in the past few weeks. He had already
apologized to her more than ten times, but Jeni was stubborn. She just wasn’t
willing to listen.
“Go away Aryan,” she said angrily.
“Go away where?” he asked playfully.
“Find another girl to be your sister.”
“Okay sure! And I bet the sister is gonna love the bracelet I got for her.”
Jeni’s eyes widened at that. “You got a bracelet for me?”
“Yeah, it is for you. But now I’d rather give it to my ‘new sister,’” said Aryan
sticking out his tongue and getting up from his chair.
“Hey, wait! You can’t ditch me! You swore to be my brother and let me
torture you till your last breath,” she said loudly.
“Awwwww! Just when I was about to escape from your clutches, you say
you want me,” he said feigning sadness.
“I’ll kill you Aryan,” she said, throwing a spoon at him.
He ducked just in time and pulled out a package from his coat pocket.”
Here!”
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Jerald Antony
When she opened the box, her whole face lit up, “Oh Aryan, it’s just so
beautiful! Thank you,” she said and immediately wore the glittering bracelet on
her wrist.
“Wait till you hear about your wedding present.”
“Sorry? Hear?”
“Didn’t your dad tell you? I’m gonna perform at your reception,” he said
smiling at the expression on her face.
“Really? Wow! Thank you Aryan! You are the best!” she said “And I’ll sing
at your reception,” she added sticking her tongue out at him.
“No ways! You can’t sing to save your life!” Aryan said laughing. Jeni was a
truly horrible singer.
“Find a girlfriend bro and leave the rest up to me,” she said grinning
wickedly.
“You know I m not interested in all that stuff.”
Jeni rolled her eyes, “We’ll see.”
“Yeah you will,” he smirked. He seriously never thought much about
relationships and love and never thought he would be interested. No girl has
ever made him feel that way. He had a lot of girls swooning over him, thanks to
his amazing looks. Nevertheless, he never bothered with any of them.
Little did he know that when the love bug bites, it turns out to be the best
damn thing ever. And Aryan was about to discover it soon enough.
***
5
Reception Hall in Alappuzha
A
finger tapped the mike twice and a deep voice said,” Hello, mike testing,
1.2.3….”
Aryan began the program with a very famous Malayalam song. The
audience erupted in loud cheers as he hit the high notes. Aryan was truly
proving to be a hit among them all. The booming bass speakers were audible
even a few kilometres away.
The reception was being held in an open to air garden, by the side of a river.
On a boat in the river, a young girl held a camera in her hand and was taking a
shot of the water. Suddenly, she was interrupted by a song that seemed to play
from somewhere. She stopped her work, looked around and rowed her boat
towards the place from where the music came. She saw the place decorated with
vibrant lights and she guessed that it was a wedding reception. She admired the
voice, relishing every melodious word and made fervent efforts to glimpse the
singer’s face. But there was a long queue of people standing with gifts; he was
hidden amidst them, and she couldn’t see his face.
All she could manage to get a glimpse of was his fair hands, his blue shirt
and his extra-large wrist watch in an electric blue. All efforts to see the guy
went in vain. She finally sighed; giving up she shut her eyes and lost herself in
his voice. Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder.
She jumped, utterly shocked and turned. A young girl with curly brown
hair stood before her with a smile on her face. She said “Hey Sarah! How are
you? Don’t you remember me? I’m Asha, your school mate.”
Sarah’s eyes widened, her lips parting into a grin, “Hey Asha how are
you? There’s no way I could forget you. Did you come to this wedding?” Sarah
questioned.
“Yes Sarah. The groom is my colleague. And you ?” Asha questioned.
Jerald Antony
‘No. I didn’t come for the wedding. I only got here to shoot the river. I’m
doing my graduation in environmental studies. This is my final year and I
got an internship in a large company as a project coordinator to analyse the
backwater region,” Sarah explained.
“Wow. It sounds very interesting to me. I’m a commerce graduate and just
finished my exams. Give me your number, I’ll call you up. Let’s stay in touch.
Good friends are hard to find these days,” she said.” And by the way, did I
mention? You look very pretty!” she said, winking at her.
“Ha Ha! So are you Asha!”
“NO! Who could imagine? You used to look like a dummy back then,” she
said laughing. “No offense,” she added.
“Yeah, time’s change!” Sarah said smiling.
“I bet you could make any guy fall for you, except for one!” she said, looking
disappointed.
“Except for?” Sarah asked curiously.
“Heard that singer?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t able to see his face.”
“Well, his voice is only half as good as his looks. He’s simply dashing. Yet,
he never seems interested in girls. How I wish I could be his!” she moaned.
Sarah laughed trying hard to hide her emotions Why was it that she felt the
same emotion towards the mysterious singer that Asha did?
I wanna be his! Her mind told her. She tried to shake her head to clear it
from the thoughts. What the hell is wrong with me? I haven’t even seen the guy’s
face yet.
“Sarah? Sarah? You okay?” Asha asked, seeming concerned.
Sarah snapped out of her trance and looked at Asha sheepishly. Asha
continued like nothing had happened, “So as I was saying, this Aryan guy is
just…”
7
Fly to Fantasy
Sarah’s mind wandered off again…So his name was Aryan? What a great
name!
Snap out of it Sarah! she told herself angrily, bid goodbye to Asha and
walked towards the gate, trying to get as far away from the singer as she could.
She had no idea why she felt so drawn towards him and felt it would be best to
go as far away from him as possible.
A few more snaps of the river and I’m done, Sarah told herself, sighing.
***
The next day, in Mr. Nayar’s guest house: Nayar stopped by Aryan’s room to
introduce someone, “Hey Aryan, This fellow here is my driver. He’ll accompany
you to the railway station to reserve a ticket in Tatkal. Sorry Aryan, I’m a bit
busy here with relatives and I just can’t come with you,” Nayar said sadly.
“It’s ok sir, I will take care of it. Don’t you worry,” Aryan said.
“See you tonight,” Nayar said.
“Ok sir,” Aryan replied. After he left, Aryan shook hands with the driver
and introduced himself politely. This was one Aryan’s best qualities - he never
discriminated, never forgot his manners, irrespective of who the person was.
The driver, surprised, returned his hand shake with a smile.
At the Station:
The driver Kashyap and Aryan stood in a queue waiting to book the ticket.
The Tatkal counter opened at only 9 am. It was 8.30 then; they both stood
waiting in the queue whiling away the time chit-chatting. Kashyap’s phone
rang; he attended the call, and came back with a worried look on his face: his
wife had gone into labour and he needed to go the hospital right away. Aryan
understood and said to the driver, “I will take care of it. You go and look after
your wife.”
Kashyap thanked him and rushed off.
***
The alarm rang, shattering the calm in the bedroom. She raised one hand lazily
and turned off the alert. Sarah opened her eyes and saw to her horror that
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Jerald Antony
the clock read 8.35. She jumped up from the bed and slapped her forehead. I
overslept. She had set the alarm for 6 am, but she supposed she had turned it off
and rolled back to sleep. She was supposed to go to the railway station to book
a ticket by Tatkal.
Yesterday, when she had got back after meeting Asha, Sarah had received
a call from her project manager saying that he wanted her to go to Kashmir
immediately to study melting ice. It was a sudden decision; a senior member
had pulled out due to health issues and the project manager had chosen Sarah
to fill her place. It was a sure shot for her to go a long way in her career and she
did not want to miss out on the opportunity. Despite telling her manager, that
she hadn’t completed the current project yet, he was extremely insistent that
the Kashmir project was even more important. She had to book a ticket back to
Delhi to meet with the team, from where they would head to Kashmir.
Sarah was heartbroken. What if a few moments of sleep took away my biggest
career break?
Somehow, she managed to reach the station at 9 am. She spotted the long
queue in front of the counter and made her way towards it. She started urging
each person in the queue, asking someone to book a ticket for her to Delhi. But
no one was going to Delhi. Right when the last remnants of hope were about
to disappear, she spotted a fellow in a blue t-shirt standing right in front of the
queue. She walked right up to him and said, “Excuse me?”
“Yes?” He turned, staring at her. She froze; every muscle in her body seemed
to have been jammed as she stared at the guy, his fair complexion, his perfect
face and chiselled features. Wow! she said under her breath.
“I’m sorry?” he asked, his eyes widening.
Did I just wow out loud? thought Sarah, cursing herself.
She quickly recovered and said, “I said Hi.”
His puzzled expression intensified as he stared at her, wondering what she
was up to. He raised his hand, to push a strand of hair off his face, an extra-large
wristwatch nestled on his hand.
Sarah squealed with delight, staring at his hand.
9
Fly to Fantasy
“What is wrong with you ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked, seeming
concerned.
Sarah tried to contain herself. She had finally found him- her mystery man!
He wore the same electric blue watch on his hand as the singer at the reception
He again asked, “Yes madam, what can I do for you?”
She breathed deeply and said “I want to go to Delhi. Can you book a ticket
with you? Please? It’s kind of an emergency.”
“Ok, no issues. I will do it,” he said smiling at her.
After he had booked the ticket, he walked up to her and said, “The train is
tomorrow at 9 o clock. By the way, my name is…”
“Aryan! I know,” she said completing the sentence for him. Before he could
say anything, she took the ticket from him and rushed off, disappearing into
the crowd.
The next day, around 8.30 in the morning, Aryan had already arrived at
the station and waited for the girl. But there was no sign of her. Aryan started
pacing back and forth across the platform, waiting for her. There was something
about the girl that seemed so captivating. No other girl had looked at him the
way she had done. And he had never looked at any other girl the way he had
looked at her. Those shy eyes, those pink lips which quivered in excitement at
the sight of him was all he had thought about the previous night. It was ten
minutes to 9 o’ clock when he saw the girl rushing towards the train, heaving a
heavy suitcase beside her. Aryan ran forward to help her, and took the suitcase
from her hands. Sarah looked up, realized it was Aryan who had offered to
help, and blushed furiously.
After a few minutes, they were seated comfortably in the AC compartment.
For the moment, there was no one else in their compartment.
Aryan hesitated for a moment, “So being late is a habit?”
Sarah laughed and admitted, “No! I’m just a bit lazy and I sleep a lot. A
LOT!”
“HA HA! And may I please know your name? If you don’t mind.”
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Jerald Antony
Sarah looked flabbergasted, “Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s so rude of me. My name
is Sarah.”
“And you know me?” he quizzed her.
She started, “I saw you at a reception.”
“Oh, you came for that wedding?” he asked surprised.
“No. I’d just come to shoot some places. By the way, I was drawn there by
your voice. There I was in the middle of the river on a boat. Your voice pulled
me towards you like it was…” Sarah stopped, realizing that she had said too
much. Aryan was stunned, not expecting to hear this from her at all. He was
finding it hard to believe that a woman of such breath taking beauty admired
him.
“You have a nice voice,” she continued
“Thanks madam,” he said politely.
“You can call me Sarah,” she said. “Nice watch,” she added staring at the
electric blue watch he was wearing.
Aryan laughed, “You’ll have to thank Jeni for it. She gifted me this one so
that I would feel like she is constantly by my side.”
Sarah’s features clouded at once and she asked in a low voice, “Jeni? Your
girlfriend?”
“No no! She’s like my sister. It was her wedding that you attended that day.”
They chatted happily about different topics. Aryan suddenly asked her,”
Sarah, can I know about your family?”
“Nothing much to say about them,” she said bitterly. “Both my parents are
busy with their business trips. My entire childhood I spent in boarding schools
and hostels. Sometimes they talk to me via Skype; it’s only then that I know
which country they are in. But they love me a lot,” she said, trying to look happy
but failing miserably.
The smile Aryan gave was a little too sympathetic for Sarah’s liking. She
immediately changed the topic. Aryan noticed her discomfort, but he didn’t
11
Fly to Fantasy
show it and listened to her talking about her college patiently. He wanted to tell
her that he was there for her but refrained, knowing she wouldn’t believe him;
after all they were still strangers. They talked for a while and then fell asleep.
They reached Delhi railway station the next morning. They said goodbye to
each other, exchanged numbers, and wished each other the best in life.
Aryan extended his hand to her. Sarah stared at it for a moment and then
shook it. Ten seconds…fifteen seconds…thirty seconds…neither of them
seemed to want to let go. They stared into each other’s eyes.
Suddenly Sarah’s phone rang, which made them both jump and the
handshake broke loose. Sarah took one last look at him, said goodbye and
attended the call. She did not turn back even once. She was afraid that if she
did, she would never manage to look away. Aryan stood, watching her, her long
black hair bouncing in her wake, her silhouette growing smaller and smaller,
finally disappearing from his sight.
“Yes?” said Sarah answering the call. It was the project manager. She said,
“I’m on my way to the office now sir,” and hung up.
***
Months passed, both of them were busy with their own work. Sarah was staying
with a community of people whose profession was tea plantation. There was
supposed to be a huge ceremony to be held shortly for the tribal people to
celebrate cultivating the latest batch for harvest.
Sarah wanted to make it very special for them. After all, the people slaved
away under the harshest conditions and cultivated plants for the rest of
population to feed on: they deserved a truly spectacular reward.
Suddenly, she had a thought and called Aryan. The phone rang for a few
seconds and then a message came, ‘The person you are trying to reach is busy at
the moment. ‘She tried his number four times in a row but he kept disconnecting
the call. Sarah felt truly heartbroken. She never expected him to treat her so
badly. She tried calling him one last time. His phone was switched off.
She stared at the display on her phone; a tear fell from her eyes and splashed
onto the display. It showed the number saved as ‘Darling.’
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Jerald Antony
The phone rang. Yes, It was her darling calling her. She attended the call.
“Sarah?” he said.” Are you there Sarah?”
She remained silent.
“Yes,” she replied after a few seconds, very rudely.
‘Sorry Sarah, I was busy with my music director in a discussion,” he said,
feeling guilty.
“It’s okay, I may not be an important person to speak to.”
“Sarah?” he called her name again.
“No issues Aryan. I called you to invite you to perform at a program for
the tribals here. You may not get much money from them, but you can get their
love. They are very nice people. I promised them that I will make it special. It’s
okay if you don’t want to come Aryan. It’s no compulsion,” she said in a gruff
tone.
“Yes, I will definitely come. But not for them, I will come for you,” he said
and cut the call.
He had saved her name as ‘Sarah dear’ on his phone. He smiled at the
thought of gazing once more upon her pretty face in a few days.
***
Sarah lay in her tent, staring blankly at a corner. She blinked and Aryan was
standing in front of her, a huge bouquet of roses in his hands and a wedding
ring held in the other. This cannot be happening, Sarah told herself. She shook
her head and then realized there was no one there. It’s just a stupid dream!
She stepped out of the tent to get a breath of fresh air and looked around. She
noticed someone hiding amongst the shadows. She called out in a fearful tone,
“Who’s there?”
A guy was walking towards her. As he came closer, the light from her tent
flashed across his face, revealing him to be…
“Aryan?” Sarah whispered, stunned.
13
Fly to Fantasy
He came straight upto her and stood close to her, almost too close. Sarah
could feel the rhythm of his heart and that of her own, beating so fast.
“Hi Sarah! How are you? Thought of dropping in early to surprise you,” he
said smiling.
She said breathlessly, “I’m fine. Thank you for remembering me.”
“I could forget myself, my identity, my everything but not you,” he
whispered.
“Not a single call from you in the past one month. It was only because I was
stupid enough to call that you bothered to respond,” she said angrily, moving
away from him.
“Yes, I agree. I wanted to call you but stopped every time, since I didn’t
want you to mistake me,” he said.
“’No excuses Aryan! Let me be frank with you; each and every second I was
expecting your call. But you never did. Why should I mistake you for calling or
messaging?” she asked.
‘If I text a ‘hi’ or call in a friendly manner there’s nothing wrong with that,
but I’m in love with you Sarah. I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to you like a
friend,” he said softly.
Sarah gaped at him, thrilled beyond words. When she finally found her
voice she said, “You mean?” She knew exactly what he meant.
“Yes, I mean I’m in love with you. Will you marry me?” he said and took
her hand and held it in his.
She started crying with happiness and said,” Oh Aryan! I was ready for this
two months back and am even more so now, it’s you who’s late. I love you too,”
she said and flung herself in his arms. As Aryan held her close and hugged her,
he felt that he had finally understood what love felt like and how it had filled
the missing piece in his heart.
He checked his watch and said, “Time of proposal – 7:30 pm.”
Sarah burst out laughing at that.
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Jerald Antony
Looking at his watch had reminded Aryan of something else. He pulled out
his cell phone and placed a call.
“Jeni?”
“Hey bro, wassup?”
“Well, it’s payback time Jeni. I sang at your reception right? It’s time for you
to sing with that horrible voice of yours at mine,” he said, laughing.
Jeni screamed loudly in excitement, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
“No! not serious! In love,” he said beaming with happiness.
“Congrats! I wanna meet that lucky girl soon enough,” said Jeni happily.
“Sure you will.”
Things had taken a turn for the best.
When the love bug bites, it’s the best damn thing ever…Aryan thought.
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