An Encounter

Preface: Contemplating an event and thinking about the things that could have been done differently is something every person does. We tend to subsequently blame ourselves for the wrongs that happened. 

It was one such night for Rihaan Khanna. He's Rihaan, The Rockstar for the world, but on the inside, he's a broken man with a broken past. He is passionate and dedicated to his music, but the glamour of the industry doesn't fascinate him. He likes to keep his personal life under wraps and doesn't have too many friends.

After a great concert, all he wants to do is spend some time alone. But nature has other plans and as he bumps into someone unexpected. He hates her guts initially. However, as the night progresses, he learns a bit more about her with every other incident. It's a night that gives him his redemption and opens the doors to the future.

All it takes for his life to take a turn upside down,again, is An Encounter!

Chapter 1:

Once more! Once more! Once more! Once more!

The chant echoed through the crowd as I strummed my guitar one last time in closure. I raised my guitar in salutation and blew a kiss to the crowd, making them scream some more. Slowly walking towards the mike, I detached it from the stand. As I moved towards the front of the stage, a few enthusiastic fans reached out, trying to get a piece of their Rockstar.

“You-guys-have-been-awesome-tonight!” I pronounced each word slowly, making the crowd scream louder. “A huge round of applause for all of you for being the best fans!” The crowd cheered with enthusiasm. “Another huge round of applause for the entire team of ‘The Rihaan Tour’. This would not have been possible without each one of their efforts”

“As I bring this India tour, my first, to an end here in my home city Mumbai, I want to dedicate this to the one who dreamed of this. She may not be here to watch me perform at the moment, but some day, she will. It is her dream I’m living and I would want all of you to do me this one favour. Whatever supernatural power you believe in, whatever God you trust, pray for her!

Until next time folks! See you around!!” I ended my speech, returned the mike to it’s place and turned around to walk back. I could sense the heaviness in the air. Maybe, I should’ve ended the concert on a high! Shaking my head, I turned around, strummed my signature tune on the guitar and bowed down one last time before walking backstage. The crowd was cheering again as I walked into the green room with her thoughts clouding my brain.

There's only so much time one is allowed to grieve. Everything has to fall back to place after a period. Everything becomes a part of the past and you move on. That's what the world expects. That is the social norm. That's how the human brain is built. You learn to cope. But only you know how much that person mattered to you. Only you know how much at loss you feel because that person is no longer around. On you know the pain you feel when you remember the days and nights you spent with them. Only you know how much you miss them.

I closed the door to my room and slumped down on the couch. I could feel my eyes tearing up as I remembered that night. How could I have been so careless?

I wiped my face as I heard a knock on the door. My best friend and manager - Kabir came waltzing in, his stupid smile plastered on his face as always. I envy this man most of the times. How can someone be so cheerful, so happy at all times? How can someone be smiling in the toughest of situations? Answers to these questions is what I had been looking for, ever since that night.

"Rihaan, great show buddy! I'm so proud of you!" he came ahead and hugged me with all his might. I smiled back at him, returning the brotherly affection he showered on me. He has been my constant pillar of support over the years and has seen me in my best and worst alike. We met in school and were inseparable since.

"Listen, i'm going to rush to the hospital now. Meera has been having regular contractions. The baby could be here any time now. She's going to need me around." Kabir spoke with obvious excitement, the joy of being a new father shining in his eyes. I appreciate his commitment to our friendship, but at times like these, a whack is what he deserves. He should have already been at the hospital, besides his wife right now.

Sensing my exasperation, he smiled back sheepishly, running his hand through his thick hair. “I know, I know. I'll take care of Meera and the baby. I'll let you know once the baby arrives and you're coming there tomorrow anyway. Khambhata is waiting for you at the studio for the press con. The press has been briefed. It’ll take 15 minutes max. Can’t save you this time around.” He winked at me. I mock got up to give him a piece of my mind and he ran out of the room laughing.

I went into the washroom and splashed water over my face and took a deep breath, preparing myself for the onslaught of questions after the launch of my album during the concert and my emotional speech towards the end. How I wished Kabir could have handled this for me today. My part of the job is making songs, composing and singing them. The rest is all Kabir. He handles the media, my PR and the contracts. He’s been my best friend since we were in school and knows me like no body else. Besides, he’s the best at his job.

I took another deep breath and wiped my face. Quickly changing my sweat soaked tee shirt into something fresh, I picked up the jacket from my bed and walked out of the room. The ground had been cleared and the fans had left. The only people that remained were frenzied media, a few bouncers and my producer with his team.

Kabir had done his job well and the questions were restricted to the album. No personal questions were entertained. It was well almost midnight when I walked out of the venue, over two hours since the concert ended. The ground that thronged with people a couple of hours ago now looked deserted and lonely. I reached out towards the door of my car when I could feel the cool breeze of the sea on my face. I pulled my hand back and slowly walked towards the pavement. I could see the silhouettes of the high rises at a distance. I could hear the waves crashing against the tripods placed across the shore. Being at one end of the Queens Necklace, I could see the entire length of the area, shining bright. I could see some crowd further away, towards the more accessible beach area. There were a few people sitting on the pavement, at a distance, enjoying the pleasant wind and the smell of the sea.

I walked further, towards the darker deserted end of the pavement and stood listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Oh, how I love the calm! Taking in a deep breath, I spread my arms out to absorb the serenity. A few moments later, I heard some commotion nearby. I could hear someone shouting and cursing but chose to ignore it. I fail to understand this generation and its ideology. Drinking and smoking is a fad and a drunken brawl is a trophy. I snapped out of my thoughts when I thought I heard a woman's voice along with the others. I was immediately reminded of that night when I almost lost 'her'.

I started moving towards the sound instinctively. Further down the block, I could see a woman being forced to get into their van by two men. They were arguing among themselves. The men tried to pull her along and she was resisting them and pointing fingers at them. An immediate instinct to protect her took over and I immediately covered my head with the hood of the jacket, running towards them. "Aye!" I called out. The men stilled as they saw me approaching. Since there were no street lights in the area, they wouldn't have been able to see my face. I was sure of that.

"Aapa ka aadmi hoga. Chod isko chokri ko warna ye maar dalega" [Must be Aapa's man. Let this girl go or he'll kill us!] I heard one of the two men telling the other. "Lekin,bhai ka kya? Ye nai mili toh woh maar dalega" [but then, what about Bhai? He'll kill us if he doesn't get her.] I heard the other man argue."Are bhai ko bol dega ye nai mili. Abhi chal. Woh aare la hai." [We'll tell Bhai we couldn't find her. Now let's leave. He's coming here.] the first guy said and the two of them left in their van. I had no idea what they were talking about but by the time I reached the place the van was at a distance. I remembered the girl they were trying to pull along and turned to ask her if she was okay, but she wasn't there. I searched her for a bit but couldn’t find her anywhere. I looked up as I felt a few drops of water on my face. In no time, the drops turned into downpour and I ran towards my car. Quickly getting in, I removed the hood from my head. My thoughts went back to the girl. I hadn't seen her properly due to the dim lights, but she looked fragile. I was sure she had worn something in red. Hoping that she was okay, I turned the key on the ignition and started driving. Where was I headed, I didn't know, but I didn't want to go home tonight. I couldn't. I was thinking too much about her tonight and home would only aggravate the memories.

I was driving through an unknown lane, not thinking of anything in particular when the rain became fierce. Thunder echoed through the sky and I could see flashes of lightning too. A few meters ahead, my car stopped. I looked around, but the rain was so heavy that I couldn't see anything beyond my car. I turned the key a couple of times to get the car started but nothing worked. 'Dammn!' I banged my hand against the steering.

The rain took me back to another night, not so long ago. It was pouring just as much that night. That night when.. Well, rain and I have never been in good terms. I didn't like the mess and crowd that came with monsoon. Hours of traffic jams and diseases, that's what the downpour brought. But now, I hated rains. It always reminded me of that night.. 

I decided to get out of the car and look for some other way to reach home. It was late into the night and I was exhausted. I needed to sleep. Pulling the keys out, I pulled up the hood and quickly dashed out of the car and ran straight into the shelter in front of me.I brushed the water off my jacket and got out my phone to call someone for help. Usually, I would call Kabir in such a situation, but since his wife was in the hospital, I let it be. I decided to call some staff from the concert. Maybe they could help. 

"Purab, listen, I'm kinda stuck. My car broke down and I need help. Yeah.. What place?" I looked around to see if I knew the place, but no, I didn't recognise the area. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere with no humanity in sight. I was straining myself to latch on to any form of help available when I heard someone behind me. “Kya hua saab? Kisko dhund rahe ho?" [what happened, saab! Who are you looking for?] .

I saw a woman, walking under the same shelter, dressed in a skimpy red saree. Her colourful blouse had a deep cut, clearly exposing her cleavage. Her plump lips were painted in the darkest shade of cherry I had ever seen. She held a black umbrella in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. She looked salacious and and her flushed pink cheeks only added to the effect. I instantly felt disgusted standing around her. No, I had never met this woman before and held no grudges. Yet, I was repulsed at the sight of her.

"Rihaan, you there?" I heard Purab on the phone, breaking my thoughts. Helpless that I was, I asked her about the place. “Madanpura" she said. I was about to say that to Purab when I realised that there was no signal on my phone. "Dammn! Stupid network!" I cursed. I heard her chuckle and was immediately aware of her presence. I cursed my luck again and looked around.

The rain had subsided a little. I looked around and saw myself standing on a porch of sorts, that looked like an entrance to one of the many warehouses in the street. There were lorries parked on either side of the road and the place reeked of garbage. I stood there waiting for someone to pass by so that I could ask for help, hoping that help arrives sooner rather than later. The rain was still heavy enough to drench me if I went out to look for options and I couldn’t afford to fall sick with upcoming recordings in the next couple of days.

"Cigarette lega kya saab?" [Do you want a cigarette, saab?] the woman asked me. I turned around and shook my head. She smirked and slyly walked towards me, extinguishing her cigarette on the way. . She then ran a finger on my face and I instantly stepped back, glaring at her pointedly.

"Kya saab.. Khulle me sharam aata hai? Chal idhar hotel me mera pehchan hai. Discount bhi dega." [what saab? If you're shy to do this in the open, let's go to the hotel nearby. I have my contacts there. He'll give you a discount.] she said and that's precisely when I realised what she meant. 

If I repelled her before, I hated her presence now. "Apna haath door rakho, don't touch me!" I shouted and turned around, walking towards the other end of the platform. When I looked back, I could see that she was stunned. Her annoyance was visible on her face and she scowled leaning against one of the pillars.

"Aaj ka din ich kharab hai. Pehle woh Shakya ka aadmi ke wajah se late ho gaya upar se baarish ke wajah se boni bhi nai hua. Ek bakra aya, woh bhi nikamma nikla!" [Its a bad day. First, Shakya's men got me delayed and now, I can't even find a client because of the rains. I thought I got my business for today but this guy also seems useless.] I heard her curse. 

Ignoring her prattle, I tried holding my phone at various angles wishing for the network to be reinstated when I saw a car approached us. It slowed and I saw her rush towards it. I half ran towards the car too, wanting to ask for help. She stood there, flirting with him and I could see the guy motion her to get into the car. 

"Excuse me, I need help. My car broke down.. Could you just help me get a mechanic?" I asked the guy who was shocked and scared as soon as he saw me. He immediately rushed off. "What went wrong? Am I that scary?" I thought and chuckled.

"Saab aap jao idhar se." [Saab you go away from here] I heard her again. "Kyu?" [Why] I asked."Saab ye dhande ka time hai. Aap mere customers bhaga rahe ho. Aap ko dekh ke bhag gaya woh." [Saab, I need to work. You are driving my customers away. The guy ran away because of you.] she said. I just shrugged and stood against another pillar, a little away from her. I saw her extinguish yet another cigarette. She looked tired, exhausted. The rain had washed away quite a bit of her makeup and could see patches of black under her baggy eyes. She looked up at me and her eyes reflected pain. I felt bad that she had to let her customer go because of me. I pulled out my wallet from my pocket.

"Umm.. Suno.. Meri wajah se.." [Hey listen, it's because of me that you..] I said offering her some money. She chuckled at me and shrugged."Dhande wali hu saab.. Bhikari nai.." [Im a prostitute saab. Not a beggar.]"Naam kya hai tumhara?" [What's your name?]"Koi chanda bolta hai, koi rosy toh koi chameli. Tumko jo bolne ka bolo saab. Hum jaison ka naam nai hota." [some people call me Chanda, some call me Rosy, some call me chameli. Call me whatever you like. We people dont have names.]"Tum rehti kahan ho?" [Where do you live?]"Udhar hi jidhar mere jaise kahin sare hai. Kamatipura me.. Yeh toh din ka address hai saab. Raat ko kabhi hotel me, kabhi kisi ki gadi me toh kabhi kisi ke ghar me." [i live where everyone like me does.. In Kamatipura. That's my address during the day. Nights are spent in hotels, cars or random people's homes.]"Aur tumhari family..?" [And what about your family?]"Kya bolu saab.. Acha khasa ghar tha Nashik me, maa bauji the. Bauji ko lakwa maar gaya. Unhone bahut karza liya tha mere liye. Wapas karne ke paise nai the. Upar se bauji ki bimari. Ek rishtedaar ne kaam ka lalach dekar mujhe bombay laya aur sale ne bech dia idhar."[what do I say saab.. I had a nice house in Nashik, loving parents. And then, father got paralysed. He'd borrowed a lot of money for my education. We had no money to return. Moreover, father's illness cost a lot. A relative of mine got me here with a promise of getting me a job and that asshole sold me off.]

I was stumped. I didn't know what to say or how to react. Life was unfair! That’s all I could think at the moment.