When Stars Descend

Noor

It was 5 in the evening when he reached Mumbai. He was still sleeping but the noise woke him with a jolt. He knew it was a bustling city but the traffic!! He could not get his head straight. He was delaying his visit for the longest time because cities were not where he felt the best. He was from Shimla , the most beautiful city according to him. Even though tourists were ruining it nowadays. He felt at peace with the settling wind in the mountains as if they were trying to communicate with him. His house was at a really distant place from the busy streets, where he usually used to paint. Yes, paint. That was his passion, his only one he would argue. But passions don't bring food to the table, right? even now when he is a successful businessman at a young age and had enough money to not worry about it, he still felt lost with with art. He did try but that part of him just felt lost in something. So he sort of gave up on it for the time. He still reads though. Another thing he loved doing to keep him occupied. Ah yes, back to the reason he is in Mumbai.

As soon as he had heard that Ayesha Malik was coming for a book signing event here , he had tucked his copy of 'when stars descend' in his backpack and set out to meet that incredible woman. He had asked his assistant to schedule his visit and to alert the Mumbai client that he would be meeting early. Okay so he was very much obsessed with Ayesha Malik. Her books had been like a friend to him when he was alone , they had made him sob and laugh and feel a million other emotions . but 'when stars descend' had been the first book he had ever read of her and which got him hooked. He wanted to meet and thank her and fangirl for straight an hour! he had practiced how he would meet her in the mirror for a thousand times already. "do not fangirl too much Noor." he had said looking at himself in the mirror," you do not want your favourite author to think you are some creep" And then he proceeded to scream out his excitement. Well he was here at last. The event was tonight and he just wanted to reach his hotel and get dressed but the Mumbai traffic did not seem to understand the importance of this day. "how long is it going to take?" he asked his cab driver. "half an hour more" he yawned . "what??? we have been waiting since an hour!" Noor said annoyingly. The driver chuckled and said, "you sure are not from the city."

He reached the hotel and it was just how he liked it, away from the city side. He would thank his assistant later for that. He did not care enough to check out his room, he had done that a million times already. He crashed onto the soft sheets which smelled of fresh lemon and detergent. He checked his watch. It was only 2 hours left for the event. He groaned loudly in his pillow. He was too exhausted. He would probably drool in front of Miss Malik and be kicked out of the event. He ordered some strong hot coffee, no milk. Only the kick of caffeine could save his ass today. he decided to wear his best suit. The one which highlighted his broad shoulders and made him look a bit older. His mother had laughed when he had packed that suit, "are you going to get my daughter-in-law or what?" he had just rolled his eyes at her. Now here he was looking at himself in that suit, imagining how his mum would have complimented him right now and prayed to Jesus to keep him from any harm. As if a suit could land him in trouble! when it came to religion Noor had never been very religious. His dad had  been a Muslim and died a martyr when he was still in his mother's womb. His mother had raised him with stories of their love and his bravery and how he always wanted to name his child Noor . There were religious differences between them but they had respected each other's religion enough to not let it affect their love. Their families had not though. After dad's death, mom had faced backlashes when she gave Noor her surname. well you know it is not easy being a single mother in India. When Noor was older she did ask him if he wanted to change it but he had denied. He was proud of his mum for bringing him up so bravely and not being scared away by the patriarchal norms. He smiled and left thinking of what she would like about Mumbai.

The crowd was already there when he reached. His headache was already building when he entered the hall for his seat. He saw Ayesha Malik's poster there. She still had charm in her eyes even at the age of 70. He looked around at all the unfamiliar faces which still felt familiar somehow. Most of them had her latest books in their hands but he could not see a single copy of 'when stars descend'. Not that her other books were bad but he felt most connected to this one. He took his seat and shortly announcements were made and Ayesha Malik entered the hall. He felt his heart beating louder than ever. She smiled at the crowd and they all started cheering including me. He was definitely going to break the no-fangirling promise he had made earlier. When the crowd started settling, a girl rushed into the hall. The security checked her and motioned her to the seat just 2 rows ahead of me and the reason Noor D'Souza was paying such intense attention to her rather than the author for whom he flew across India to meet was because she was the only one holding 'when stars descend' in her hands. She was wearing a black, backless short dress which highlighted her sharp collarbones and her long legs, she had tied her hair in a bun and had a few strands falling onto her light brown eyes and her lips were muttering apologies to the people she was blocking to get to her seat. He did not know what it was but his eyes could not move from her face and her noisy silence. She took the seat and her seat read 'AAROHI TIWARI' in block letters and that is when his mind took him 7 years back and forth. The chances of this happening was as low as it could be. This could not be THE Aarohi Tiwari. Yeah, she used to live in Mumbai, but there were many Aarohi Tiwaris in india, right? This could not be her. He had completely forgotten about miss Malik. His eyes were on the face he had seen many times through screen. Of course she was here holding the copy of 'the stars descend'.  She was the one who had forced him to read it after all.

The event was over soon and everyone stood up for the book signing finally. Noor wanted to ask her many things. He knew this was Aarohi. He was denying it but who was he fooling? this was her. He was being told to join the crowd for the signing. Aarohi stood up and started walking towards the crowd. He ran to keep pace with her, and he knew he had to know, he knew he had to see her, to ask her, to know how she was, to know what she was doing. So he buried his anxiety, tapped on her shoulder and said in a low voice "Aarohi?"