Chapter 4

Neal opened his eyes and looked around. He felt tired and dizzy but he was being forced to get up from his bed.It was coming from his study.

"Somebody's there" a feminine voice called out.

Neal made out whose voice it was. It was Ashwariya's. Neal removed the sheet over him and gently got up from  his bed. His feet were shaking. He heard her call out again, "Somebody's there. I am stuck." Neal couldn't find his pair of slippers and so he slowly walked towards the door to the study barefooted. He turned the knob of the door anticlockwise and then pushed it. The door squeaked open.  Neal made his way in trying to walk up to Aishwariya.

Neal's eyes fell on her. She sat on her knees, her hands chained to the wall behind her and there was a dog leash on he neck. Her body bled horrific because f the multiple  cuts on her breasts and he belly with a knife.  Both her ankles were tied to each other with a pink rope and her nipples clamped with electric wires connected to a battery. Her hair was tied in a french bun and the mascara on her eyes were smudged. A glossy wine red lipstick perfectly drawn on her lips.

"Make love to me, Mistress. Make love to me" she said in a low tone. Neal was frightened to see her in pain. He went back three steps and stuck at the door with his back. He heard foot steps -- tap...tap...tap in  a rhythmic manner.

A lady walked from another side in the room. She wore red leather boots and black leather underwear and a corset. He whitish voluptuous bosoms were left open. Her golden curls were knee length and were left open. She wore a set of emerald earrings and a necklace that Neal recognized. The jewelery is passed over to generations in his family. He trembled in fear as his eyes fell on the whip at the hands of the lady in corset. Her red nails added more fear of dominance in his mind.

"Come join us, my love...come join us" the lady said in an inviting tone. Chills and shiver ran through his veins as he heard her tone. He knew the tone too. He looked at her face. She was Palak.She sat down on her knees and pulled Ashwariya's chin towards her and kissed her. Her tongue penetrated deep in Ashwariya's mouth. With her right hand she pinched the clamps on her nipples to make Ashwariys go through immense pain as she kissed. Neal was stoned at the sight. Palak was back in their life and she was there to take her revenge upon him. She was neglected by him and now she sought all the attention from him and now she had that.

Fear trembled at his eyes.  He was weak and fragile and he didn't know what to do. He saw Ashwariya crying; black teardrops fell down her cheeks blending itself with the smudged mascara.
"Take me with you Neal..take me with you" she cried softly. She had lost all her energy, she was abut to faint any time.

"Pa...Palak, say away from her. Just stay away" he screamed gathering up courage. Palak was still there kissing Aishwariya again and then pulled her tongue out and licked Ashwariya's face and neck looking towards Neal.

"Come and take her Neal, come and take her" Palak dared him.  Neal walked towards them. He  saw a stick kept at a shelf to his right. He took the stick and advanced towards them. As he make his second step, he was in pain, deep unbearable pain. He had stepped on a piece of broken glass. His right foot bled. He took another step and he stepped on another piece of glass and injured his left foot. The floor was spread with pieces of broken glasses. The floor stained red with each step he took. The pain was going unbearable with every step but he didn't stop. He had take Ashwariya, the beautiful Ashwariya away from Palak.

"Come and take her Neal, come and take her" Palak dared again. His eyes were in tears and so were Ashwariya's. He came closer to them when Palak got up and smashed the whip at his face. Neal fell down on the flor helpless, screaming in pain.

The door opened and the doctor with two nurses rushed in. Neal lay on the floor with his hands at his face screaming in pain. "Leave me, don't hurt me. Aishwariya, Aishwariya" and then fainted. There was sudden silence in the room. Neals face was covered in blood. His right palm was bleeding. He was holding an inverted knife.

"You look so charming...in the suit" Aishwariya said as her eyes fell on him after she opened the door
"You won't even stop flattering in the early morning" Neal lend out a smile.  "You look beautiful too" he added.
"I am glad you came here. My surprise won't get ruined after all. We have to catch a train in thirty minutes so we better hurry.  No... you wait here at the door. I come out with the stuffs" she said all in one sentence and rushed to the kitchen to get the picnic basket.
"Hey young girl, mind if I know where we are going?"
"To Orchha"
"And where is that?"
"A little away from where you can see breasts and vaginas and phallus"
"I rather should Google it"
"You can keep on doing that, but right now hop in the taxi"
"Singh uncle, the prince is here. Now hurry, I don't want t miss the train"
"You won't dearie. We shall reach there in time"
"So, what are you doing?"
"Reading about Orchha in Wikipedia. It seems to be a magnificent place"
"It is...It's a picnic. You will have fun for sure"
"A picnic? So, it just you and me?"
"Yes, a picnic and no, we won't be alone. A bus full of people are joining us too. We go Gwalior on train and then from there we go Orchha by bus. Remember, I told you I was brought up in an orphanage?"
"You did."
"Well, this trip is between the families who have adopted children from the orphanage. Seventeen families are joining in this trip. Prithvi Pandey or Mr. Panda as we call him because he is fat and slow like a panda. He is also very cute. He is the owner of the orphanage and he had brought be up" she topped and looked at Neal who was sincerely listening to her.
"So, I asked him, in fact I demanded that I was bringing a friend along" she further added.
"You shouldn't have done all these. I shall really feel awkward in the trip"
"Oh! Don't be a sissy.  You have me there.  What more do you wish to have?"

Neal look at her eyes. They were silent. Singh was observing them from the rear view mirror and smiled as he drove. They were of different age for sure but they both knew how to melt into each other. Singh geared up the Ambassador and took them to the New Delhi railway Station. There was very little traffic ealy in the morning and so it was easy for him to speed up.

Aishwariya rushed down with her picnic basket and tiptoed on her boots. The Suited man too got down from the taxi from the other end.
"Single Uncle, I will talk about the dues when we are back"
"Sure, no problem dearie. You just have fun and bring in lots of pictures for me to see"
"Sure I will"
"Why are you standing Sir? Run, we have a train to catch"
Neal took the picnic basket from her and they both rushed towards the station.
"to platform six" she shouted out to Neal. They climbed  the stairs, walked to platform number six and got down. They were in time. The authorities just made the announcement of its arrival. The stood by the platform and waited for the train to halt. Aishwariya had booked first class AC tickets in the train. She did that because she was unsure if Neal had ever traveled anywhere without luxuries. The man who wore a suit even when he was asked to meet early in the morning have definitely not seen hardships with money.ends

Aishwariya and Neal boarded the train. Te temperature was controlled inside and they felt a sudden sense of warmth in them.
"So, all excited about the picnic?" Neal asked.
"Definitely, yes. I haven't seen my family, I meant the family I grew up with for almost a year now." she answered.
"Good" Neal replied back and yawned. It was unusually early fr him. He hadn't slept at night as he was busy with the files he took home from his office t replenish the time he had wasted thinking about his death. being there at the office.
"You haven't slept at night. Did you?"
"No"
"Very well then take rest now. The berth is all yours to sleep. Take rest. Its almost a four hour ride. "
"Its fine. If I sleep you will definitely have nothing to do"
"Actually I have"
"And what is that?"
"Play with your hair as you sleep at my hip. I will read you poems till you sleep"
"Your poetry excites me. Do you think I can actually sleep?"
"The poem I am going t read will make you sleep, dream and take you to a far far land of fantasy you definitely wouldn't want to escape" Aishwariya told him.
"Great then" Neal said in a soft tone and looked at her from a nose length distance. He removed his coat and folded the sleeves of his shirt and removed the shoes. He rested on her lap and closed his eyes.
"Take me to the fantasy land then" he replied.
"It is a poem by Mihai Eminescu- Luceafarul"
"What is it about? Never heard of it before"
"The poem is about a mortal girl and an evening star. I read it when I was at college. The poem is so artistic."
"Read it out then"
"Very well then...

There was, as in the fairy tales,

As ne'er in the time's raid,

There was, of famous royal blood

A most beautiful maid.

She was her parents' only child,

Bright like the sun at noon,

Like the Virgin midst the saints

And among stars the moon.

From the deep shadow of the vaults

Her step now she directs

Toward a window; at its nook

Bright Evening-star expects.

She looks as in the distant seas

He rises, darts his rays

And leads the blackish, loaded ships

On the wet, moving, ways.

To look at him every night

Her soul her instincts spur;

And as he looks at her for weeks

He falls in love with her.

And as on her elbows she leans

Her temple and her whim

She feels in her heart and soul that

She falls in love with him.

........ " she read as she played with his hair. Before she passed the thirty seventh stanza he was fast asleep. She didn't stop to read and continued till the end. Then she took his hand and kissed it. Never had she felt such warmth for a man. She was all in him, knowing the love will run short of time. 

Love is never about how many days you have spent on your lover's arms but on how much the lover had desired to hold you close to the heart. She was happy with the moments with resting on her lap. She never asked for more from the time she had seen him for the first time. The strange innocence in his grey eyes had captured her mind. The last line of he poem she read defined the love she felt, the love that will reside in her heart forever.

"You live in your sphere's narrowness
And luck rules over you -
But in my steady world I feel
Eternal, cold and true!"

[P.S: To read the complete version of the poem go through the following link'

http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/arts/longest_love_poem-world_record_set_by_the_Evening_Star_90145.htm] 

Chapter 3

Neal sat on the stool beside the piano. His mother had taught him how to play t when he was young. Music had vanished from his life. The piano was cleaned and dusted everyday by the maid but there was n one to play it. Neal pressed a key of the piano. The sound of the piano echoed across the walls for the fist time. Neal closed his eyes he saw his mother- a bright faced lady in a red sari, curly hair and bangles of ivory at both her hands. A subtle add of gold at the neck, ears and wrists made her a queen. She was a doctorate in contemporary Indian and Western music. She lived early years of her life at Shantiniketan. She used to sit at the same stood and sing for Mr. Roy, her beloved husband paying the piano. Neal would sit at the sofa besides his father and watch her mother play. He grew fond of music and her mother taught him how to play the piano.

Three years ago, he played for Palak; his love, his admiration. She sat there at the sofa and he played Franz Liszt's third Etude Un Sospiro. It is the third part of the Etudes- ll Lamento (the lament), La leggierezza(Lightness), Un Sospiro (A sigh). Neal closed his eyes and though about the one for who he would play the tune. He felt Aishwariya standing  behind him and he played, she wrapped her arms around his neck and bite his right ear. He felt a strange sensation as she licked his cheeks with her tongue. He felt an urge and excitement, his fingers ran across the keys playing the music. His mind was blurred, all he could see was the mole at her right bosom. He pressed the final stroke and opened his eyes. She wasn't there but he could feel her presence. He could not think anything else, anything but the fair toned sylph all bare before him, wet in the rain. The words "Have you ever felt the rain?" ringed in his mind again and again.

A December morning, Christmas is close and it was raining. The dampness of the rain added more chill. Neal stopped playing the piano and lookout of his penthouse. Drops of rain hit the glass window pane and then gently flow down.It was raining last night too. She went to the open backyard at her house and undressed herself in the rain. She felt the cold biting waters on her tender skin. She closed her eyes and looked above the dark sky, squeezing the clouds off every drops of rain to fall on her fragile lofty skin. She stood there in the shivering cold getting wet with the hands stretched sideways to embrace the nature at its best. Neal watched her do so but he couldn't dare to get wet in the rain. They were silent, enough nor to alert the house owners for it would be a shame if they saw her playing in the rain like a three year old in her twenties and he was watching every moment of that. She could catch a violent cold he feared but she wouldn't stop. She was enjoying very much. He was feeling strange, her sexual attractiveness encroach his pious mind and put seeds of lust in it. At the same time he admired her tenderness, he got inner peace in the turmoil of lust with a simple glance of her. The feeling was strange, the feeling he could not perfectly understand.

Aishwariya felt her privates in the rain, a sudden urge rushed through her nerves. She felt cold, she shivered but the shiver was in no match to what she was expecting, the shiver she felt a night before when she felt herself, when she had an orgasm. Neal was standing there in front of her, her admiration for her grew deep in her heart. She bit her lips and felt the drops of rain at her lips; she wanted to be kissed, she wanted to feel like the princess in fairy tales.  Thunder cracked loud and it brought her into senses. It scared her a lot. She rushed towards him and embraced him and felt a sudden warmth in her bosoms, a scent of a masculine arm embracing her.

She rushed in the room and sat in front of the electric heater. She took the bed sheet from her bed and wrapped it over her as she sat on the sofa close to the heater. Neal walked in and took he quilt and placed in over her.Neal took her right feet and faced it towards the fire for it to feel the warmth. He began to rub her feet to ad more warmth. Everything was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were of the thunder now and then, the rain, the rubbing of the feet and the chatter from her teeth as she shivered in cold.

Neal opened the door that led to an open roof space at his penthouse. He unclothe himself and stood there in the rain. He closed his eyes and he concentrated on the rain drops hitting his body. It was indeed a strange feeling as Aishwariya had told him to. There was  darkness in front of his eyes and he could feel every part on his body. He forgot the loads of work; all the loads of his life. He felt free. She might be born almost after two decades but she was someone that complimented him, competed him.

There was a sudden pain in his head, he felt dizzy. He screamed out in pain the world was swirling in front of his eyes and then there was total blackness, total silence. Neal Roy lay on the ground panting heavily but motionless.

Rings of smoke that faint away
As they reach the incandescent bulb,
Hanging out of the window, pouring light
Making a whisper, the home is not lonely.

I wish you are beside me, playing your fingers
At my back, feeling my milk toned skin
As I sit by window in just heels and stockings daring
The silver stalker, admiring me through the pane.

The intoxicating marijuana has got me out of senses.
I want you to push your hands from my back
And feel my bosoms as they protrude out, stiff out
And bite my neck and engrave a mark like you care.

You push in enticing me to make love;
The pain excites me when your flesh buries deep in.

Aishwariya woke up from her dream as the first rays of the sun fell on her face. She woke up excited. Her hair all messed up as she rolled on her bed from left to right. The thoughts from the dinner last night was lingering in her mind. Neal was handsome, someone she would want in her life. Neal was not  picture perfect considering he was about to die from something she was not aware of. But then she had met him for a reason, everything that happens has to have a reason; sometimes unexplained but yet has one. She had to get up from bed. Neal would be there in an hour and she had to get the surprise ready.

She went to the washroom to take a shower. She opened the shower to get herself wet with warm water and rubbed the loofah over her body. the body shampoo smelled of orchid. A pair of pigeons who have built their nest outside her bathroom ventilation watched and hooted and she lathered her body. She applied shampoo on her golden curls and rinsed thoroughly to cleanse herself of the shampoo. She came out in her yellow towel tied above her bosoms and dried her hair with a blower standing in front of the mirror. She took out a pair of skin tight jeans and a white tee. she wore them and then wore her grey  high necked jacket over the tee. It was a cold December morning after all. She then wore her ankle length boots to complement the attire.

The door bell rang. She knew who could be waiting at the door. She walked up to the door and opened it.

"Good Morning Sir...I meant Neal. I was just waiting for you"

Chapter 2

Neal waited for her at J W Marriott Hotel, New Delhi. Generally he met his clients at the K3 Private dining room but that day he preferred to sit at the open. He looked around the Cabana and admired the hotel view. He  took a lonely spot and swiped across his smart phone playing games trying to keep his mind distracted from the news he had got in the morning and that ha been churning his head out since then. He looked at his watch, something in his mind was pulling him. He wondered how she might look like, the blog had no pictures of hers.

Neal had hardly ever spent time waiting for someone in recent times. The last time he did that was with Palak. They were madly in love with each other but Neal had his priorities, wrong priorities. He was so much busy with his work that he hardly remembered Palak had need. She enjoyed shopping with the other girls, partying and going to fancy restaurants but she would have enjoyed everything better had Neal also provided the time she needed. Love ceased to exits or to be true, never existed. Love never exits with priorities; it is just there, always there. Tears were there in his eyes but they were unable to force them outside. Neal Roy had forgotten how to cry.

That day sitting at the cabana,he for the first time felt the importance of his life, the stuffs that he could have done the stuffs he had always wanted to do but he forgot things don't happen on their own. They need time and nurture for them to happen. Aishwariya walked towards him, the waiter had showed her the way. Neal didn't notice her, he was busy thinking about the things that were important to him but he had lost them in time without remorse.

"Good Evening Sir" a feminine voice cracked out.
Neal raised his head to look at her. She was very young,  a childlike beauty, white as talc and her hair auburn. She wore a yellow gown, blue leather jacket and a pair of silver shoes underneath. A  pair of beige stockings added sheen to her beautiful legs. She wore a pair of colored beads and a silver bracelet at her right hand. She was an absolute charm. Neal for a moment forgot everything around him and also the thoughts that gripped his mind only to stop and admire the girl- Aishwariya. She was very young almost half his age yet she seemed filled with maturity and charm.

"Please have a seat" Neal said and got up from his seat. He gestured the waiter to step back and he pulled the chair for her.
"Thank you Sir" she said as she sat on the chair adjusting her gown.
 "Please call me Neal pleasure would be all mine. I hope you have not gone through much trouble in the car" Neal spoke out soon taking himself back. He thought she would feel awkward as he is very old compared to her tenderness. Too much frankness can be perceived as a sign of desperation. He wasn't desperate he was just troubled.
"Yeah... I had a little bit trouble; my legs were itching to move up and down but all I could do is sit politely in the car." Aishwariya spoke out cutting a joke trying to lighten the mood. She could clearly see that Neal was not comfortable enough being with her; probably because he didn't expect her to be in twenties.
"Pardon! I didn't get you" Neal told her. He didn't make out what she was trying to say.
"I apologize but you wont. Its a kind of feeling you would have got if you had shifted from riding a bicycle everyday to all of a sudden in an expensive car " she said and passed out a quirky smile.
Neal burst out in laughter.
"You are really funny Miss Bakshi. I am glad to have met you" Neal said. He took a glass of water and had a sip. He needed to be alright for Aishwariya to enjoy the dinner, he thought.
"Your eyes say something else sir, You seemed to hide back something sad, something that is troubling you" Aishwariya said. Over the years, that was something she had perfected upon; reading people's faces.
"What shall you have for dinner?" Neal asked trying to avoid the conversation for a while about his disease. On the contrary he was sure sooner r later he had to answer her for she didn't seem like a girl who would give up on the quest of finding the reason and concentrate on the delicacies and a dinner with a page 3 celebrity tycoon.
"The services are fancy, I would be happy if you do the honors. You are a regular here. All I could do is settle into the ambiance", she replied

Neal took the menu card and ordered their dinner, a pair of mocktails, and dessert.
"You didn't answer my question. What is that is troubling you?",she asked
"Well, if its personal I won't ask you again, Neal" she further added
"Its nothing personal but I am not in comfort to share. Its...its painful" he replied back. He rested his hand on the table and pulled the fingers of his left hand with his right.
"You are a sadist" Aishwariya told him. She gave her a sly look as she said that.
"Sorry what! what makes you think that?" he asked. He was a bit surprised at what she said. He was not expecting a conversation as such.
"You love pain. Doesn't it make you a sadist?" she asked. This time she passed a cunning smile aware of the fact where she was dragging the conversation.
"Ha Ha, you really have an art to pay with words" Neal answered. He was perplexed he couldn't make out what she was trying to do. He had met several girls who had flattered to make their way in his pants but she was different, her approach was different if at all she was planning for that. On the other hand she didn't seem to be a girl who has any interest in his wealth, rather she seemed she was such open to everyone.
"I know a lot of art besides playing with words" she said and Neal gulped. The heat in the conversation has almost made him forgotten everything about himself and think about the girl in front of him; judge her, understand her.
"And what are they?" he asked. The heart was pumping hard, the music and the lighting around added to the mood of the conversation. His thoughts were running wild, he was nervous. He looked over and over again at his cellphone to unnecessarily check if her had received any client mail so that he could divert away from the conversation but at the same time he wanted to engage in the conversation. She was young yet she had the charm he didn't want to deny at the moment. No one was ever like her, he doubted if he would ever find any other like her.
"I love to paint, I love to eat and I love to feel myself" she replied. Neal wild thoughts came to a halt. She was a girl after all.
"You seem to have a very interesting life" she asked back.
"I bet not as interesting as yours but yes I loved my life" he answered back. Aishwariya could understand he was not happy with the life he was living or there was something else that was poisoning his mind. She wanted to press  the question again but he was still a stranger to her and it would not be proper for her to do that.
"'Loved' the life...yeah" she added.
"Any poem you had been writing lately?" he asked trying to liven up the conversation again.
"Yes, but I am not sure if I should share the one I wrote today" she said.
"Why not? I shall be very happy to listen to that" Neal said.
"Its pretty discreet, actually sultry" she said in a low voice but pressing the word sultry to make him realize what it was all about.
"I don't mind listening to it as long as you don't feel I am way passed you age" he replied back. He also thought if his words would now put her at a level of discomfort. He wanted to suggest her not to say if she was uncomfortable with that but before he could do so she spoke out.
"Years don't just define a wine, the texture and flavor defines it too" she said.
"Before I do I want to ask you one more question do you believe in God?" she added
Neal took a deep breathe. He looked towards her trying to decide what his stand was, "I don't Miss Bakshi."
"What about you? Do you believe in God?" he further asked her back.
"I never saw my parents. I was brought in an orphanage run by a temple. Yes,... I believe in God and so I guess, we are on the same page" she told him and then leaned against the chair and looked him in his yes smiling.
"You heard me wrong I guess. I said I don't believe in God" he told her trying to make his stand clear.
"I heard you just fine. Believing or not believing in God is just the same way as you not having control over being born as a boy and I had no control over being born as a girl." came the answer.
"You are truly way past your age" Neal told her. There was a charm in her that pleased Neal. Neal forgot when was the last time he was there sitting with a girl or a man and have a lively conversation. The world was so busy; he was so busy.
"Thank you for such words" she said.
"Ah! about the poem; this is something I wrote about as I peeped through my neighbor's bedroom. He was there all alone at his room. I went in to visit his wife but she  was not at home. I went into a curiosity when I head sounds coming out of the bedroom. I opened the door and bit and looked inside. he was there on his bed all bare. There was a bottle of whiskey beside him along with soda and ice cubes. His body is bushy with grey hair and his head all bald. His chest have fallen apart because of his withering age and his palms have winkles. He was playing with himself. I have seen many play with themselves, even I did a lot; but that sight excited me and forced me to write lines on what I felt. The feeling was strange and pumping." she said and halted. She kept looking at him, a part with shyness and a pat with admiration.
"Continue" Neal said and waited.

Aishwariya began to recite the words as she felt.

"A rub on the skin that lay all bare,
And feel the rush all that you care.
A leak of scent that excites the mind,
A whirlpool of thoughts, the legs intertwined.
You press your hand and tweak the privates.
You get all wet and spire your legs.
You close you eyes and bite your lips;
You moan when you get a thrust at the hips.
Your throat is all dry and flesh so warm,
As the fingers move around to do their charm.
You bend your back, an arch with the bed-
A louder moan, as blood rushes to your head.
A shiver run across your temple as you came;
Pouring water to the erupting body flame.

"Neal had a strange feeling as she said the poem. He felt excited, sweat ran on his body and he was trying to control the emotions that was protruding out. He adjusted his privates tucking them back in with his left hand, looking around and keeping a constant gaze at Aishwariya to ensure she wasn't noticing

"You..." she said and halted as if the words would not come out of his mouth.
"I think you are  feeling to be a bit judgmental now about my actions. For you its taboo, for me it was art. To write about passion, one needs to feel it or at best observe it. You have by now created a good idea about my character" She said. She had this idea as many talks ruthlessly about her, she felt the rich baby would not be an exception to that. The actions don't fit into the cultured society everyone wants to be a part of

"A kiss or a touch hasn't ever excited me like the words did. You are so young and I feel strange to having said this to you" Neal said and clapped his hands in admiration for her thoughts, admiration for her love for freedom.
"Yet you dared to say me what you felt. Its takes the same courage to tell about your pain, the one you have buried deep in you heart. pain are like seeds, one day or the other  they shoot out of the ground" she etched out the topic that he had left unanswered a while ago. Neal had no choice this time but to tell her that was troubling him, tearing him apart.
"I...I am going to die" he said in a feeble town. A drop of tear rolled out. He had no control over it then.
"Everyone has to" she answered
"I am going to die soon" he told her.
"I am going to die even sooner" she answered. At this words Neal was taken back. What was she talking about?
"What?" he inquired, trying to find out what was troubling her
"What if I die eating the food that's about to come? What if I die falling from a high ground now?" she asked.

"You have got a reason for your death but what if you don't die because of that but for some other reasons. The pain is not in dying, the pain is in the regret of not living the life you had a dream of" she further added.
"I...I want to roam free, break away from the shackles of the ordinary  life I am living" he said and stooped to drink water again.
"Ah! the food is here. The culinary art looks so marvelous. I hope it  tastes that good" Aishwariya said as she turned her head towards the food trolley the waiter had carried from them.
"Meet me tomorrow at my place early in the morning at six. I will work something out to make sure you run free" she passed out a smirk.
"And what is that going to be?" Neal asked as he neatly placed the napkin at his thighs.
"Let Tomorrow come" she answered

Chapter One

"Is there anything I can do for you sir?" the maid in a scanty french uniform asked.

Neal was staring out of the window, watching the park in front of his penthouse; young boys and girls running and playing there. The parents carefully observing each of them yet allowing them to get hurt, fall down, cry, get over it and run and have fun. He could see Smitha, the maid through the shade at the window  had made him scrambled eggs,  a bowl of cereals and his usual morning coffee. She had also carefully placed the Hindu and the Economic Times at the table.

"No, Smitha. You can leave" he said turning his head towards her and passing over a smile, unlike the usual one.

"Um, can I ask you something Sir?" the maid asked.

"Yes, why not?" replied Neal

"What's been bothering you, Sir? I noticed the lights at your room were on last night. You didn't sleep I assume" She asked showing concern for her master.

"I am not just feeling well but there is nothing to worry about" Neal replied back. She felt he was definitely hiding something from her

"Are you sure Sir? Should I call in Dr. Vandana?" She asked again

"That won't be necessary. I am just tired. A day's leave from the office won't hurt much" Neal smiled again

"Very well then sir, I shall leave you alone now and ensure no one disturbs you" she told him and began to leave the room

"Thank You Smitha" Neal said.

Neal Roy, the owner of Altman Cellular is a forty one year old millionaire. With a degree from M.I.T in Electrical Engineering and a Business Administration degree from Harvard University was hanging at his study. He lives in a five thousand square feet Penthouse at Lodhi Road, New Delhi. A Page 3 celebrity who is often catered with one most eligible bachelor of the city yet he is not much of a socialite. He could easily be characterized with Greek Gods; a broad chest, edgy face cut, green eyes, many grey hair, broad shoulders, a perfect waist assorted with six packs yet powerful is his dressing sense.  For a man of his age he has one of the attractive bodies every men envy and every women admired.

Neal walked towards the table and pulled a chair. He took the bowl of cereal and added milk to it. While he ate his mind was not in his control. There was something that was intriguing him. He would hear the words ring his ears over and over again

 'Have your ever felt the rain?'

He closed his eyes as his heart beat faster. Memories of last night flashed before his eyes. He had never felt such an urge ever in his life- an urge that excited him, an urge that distracted him from everything he had build up around him; even the life he had lived over the years.  The urge is sexual, the need is sexual but he knows it is more than that. It is something that is breaking way the shackles around his life. A week in his life and he feels he is not the Neal he knew. He is falling for her; yet he isn't yet sure if it is love or something else; yet assured he was falling for Aishwarya.


A week earlier:

Neal sat in his office chamber. He was going through blogs of poetry trying to diverst his mind away from the news he had heard a few hours ago. He hadn't met with anyone since then, cancelled all the meeting and had instructed his secretary not to allow anyone in his room. He should be undisturbed. He was going to die soon and that disturbed him. His brain was degenerating. Dr. Vandana called him a few hours ago to tell him that. She visited his house early in the morning to give him the news. It was distressing but she had to give that. He was suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. It was incurable, a form of mad cow disease for humans.  He was taken back to hear the news. He felt he had so much to achieve, and yet it was time for him to depart. he was suffering from dementia and hallucinations but he never realized they were the signs that his time had finally come.

He showed no anxiety in front of Dr. Vandana but she knew he was. She was after all her childhood friend. Neal told her he would visit her at her hospital chamber, as he had an important meeting to attend to at his office. He dressed as usual for his office only to shun himself at his office chamber reading poetry. There was one poem that intrigued him - Love with the Mirror.

If I die tonight, I want a miracle to happen
I want my mirror to remember who I am
Even if  my flesh burn down to ashes
Even if all memories about me wash away
I want my mirror to remember who I am

There might not be a stone carved in for me
There might not be words for my praise
There might not be one to follow my footsteps
There might not be a tear in my memory
I want my mirror to remember who I am

The mirror had always shown the truth about me
The mirror had for ever completed me.

Neal could relate this poem with him. He read about the one who had written the blog 'Aishbaks' - Aishwarya Bakshi. She identified herself as a Lawyer by profession but also a model, blogger and a foodie. She loves astronomy and cosplay. She is single and stays at New Delhi. She had left her email id at the blog.

Neal opened the email and typed her a mail.

Miss Bakshi,

I went though your blog and I read your poem 'Love with the Mirror'. I must say you write pretty well. Thank you and keep writing .

Regards,

Neal Roy
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Neal wrote the message and sent it from his official email ID of Altman Cellular. He then went ahead and read all the poems she had written at her blog. As he read he received a mail from Aishwariya. He opened it to read what she wrote him back.

Mr. Neal,

Thanks for liking my poem, Sir. I just kind of have a question. Are you 'the' Neal Roy, Managing Director of Altman Cellular. Oh my God! if you really are I am about to faint. I can't belive the man I have always admired has actually written to me personally.
Regards,
Aishwariya 
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There was a sheer laughter at Neal's face as he read the mail. He decided to reply her once again.
Miss Bakshi,
How about I take you to dinner tonight. In that way we can know each other pretty well. I would be happy to meet the one who had made me happy today. Please call at the reception and tell me about your plans. I shall be waiting for your reply.
Regards.
Neal Roy
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Neal buzzed his secretary. She came running in.
"Yes Sir" she asked
"Nisha, Make sure you pass me the call if someone named Aishwariya calls at the reception" he said to her.
"Sure Sir, Is there anything else?" she inquired.
"That would be all. Thank you" he said and His secretary Nisha walked out of the room.
For sometime now Neal had almost forgotten about his illness. There was finally something he had to divert his mind too. The news of his disease and that he was about to die had engulfed him since morning until he read the poem. The thoughts were there but he was forcing his mind to thing about the dinner with Aishwairya, the stranger he is about to know.

The land phone at his office desk buzzed. He picked uo the phone and heard the voice of the front desk receptionist.
"Sir, Miss Aishwairya Bakshi is on the line for you" said the receptionist.
"Connect me" he  told her. He was excited to listen to the voice of the girl who has written the touching poem.
"Neal Roy, from Altman Cellular" he said over the phone.
A gasp of air and then he heard a voice sweet like the words she pens down.
"I cant believe I am actually talking to you. I look forward to meet you in the evening. I apologize in advance for any sort of non-socialite behavior that might happen as I meet you. I have never met any page 3 personalities before" she said. There were a few fits and starts as she talked over the phone. She was definitely excited as well as nervous as she talked to him.
"I am just as human as you are, Miss Bakshi. My car shall pick you up from our residence by seven; if... that is okay with you" Neal said. He was equally excited to meet her. He wonder how she looked like from her voice. He was trying to make out what her age could be for her voice seemed a bit mature enough. It would be definitely unwise to ask her anything like that. A dinner is definitely a better idea to know her.  
"Yes...yes, its perfectly fine. I look forward to meet you" she said. He voice sounded quailed as she spoke.
"Very well then... 7pm it is. Please leave your address to the receptionist" He said politely.
"Sure Sir and thank you" she replied him back trying to find the right words for the conversation.
"Thank to you for accepting my dinner request actually" Neal passed out a small giggle as he spoke.
"I shall leave the address at the reception then" she said still wasting enough of her thoughts to choose the right words
"Very well then" Neal said and disconnected the call.

He made another reason to divert away his mind from the thought of his death. Neal Roy was going to die soon.