Broken Beads

Prologue

Varun's fingers moved like magic on the strings of guitar, mesmerizing
the audience around him completely. All watched in awe as a young
gifted boy made everything look so simple.

He jammed for another minute before finishing it with a bang. The room
stayed quiet for a minute before erupting in applause.

'Music will not feed or pay your bills. Degrees will.' He recalled the harsh words of his very successful father. He smiled, taking in the love people
showered on him. It felt good to be wanted , it felt right to be better than a few, and it felt amazing to be able to do something many would just dream of doing.

Varun, a gifted musician, was born in the family of very successful nerds. His immediate and extended family had big names and success stories behind them. Being the youngest, his path was written and sealed by the elders, but Varun just as his name was free as water. He
rebelled, and as a punishment, he was shipped to the best boarding in the contry.

His father's logic is that Varun needed to be isolated to understand the worth of family. Only if he realized the boy he pushed, would never returned.

Some shook hands, and few elders blessed him,the as the crowd dispersed,
Varun's eyes fell on a young girl. She blushed the moment their eyes
met. He had seen her before, she was always there when he performed at
this small restaurant. He smiled, and she quickly moved away her eyes
pulling her companion out with her.

He watched her and then she tur. He he grinned wide while she just lowered her eyes.

***
Riya was living her dream. All her childhood friends had moved out of
her native small town for better education prospects. She as well
wanted, but her rich patriarchal home squished her dreams, but Riya
fought hard, and they allowed
her with a condition that she would bring no shame to the family and
when the time is right, she would marry as per their choice.

Riya let go of all worries as she decided to breathe in the air of freedom. She had a few years and would think of rest later.

Destiny had planned things differently for her. The rule-abiding good
girl fell in love at first sight with her senior. He wasn't aware of
her existence, but she didn't care. All she wanted was a glimpse of him
in a day. She never missed a single performance , whether it was in or
out of school and one day, their eyes met, sending her heart into a
frenzy.

Yes, in her mind, she just belonged to him.