Madness and Magic...❤️

4

At 6 pm on Saturday, she was on her bed, her eyes were fixed on a delicate silver baby bracelet ,embellished with an evil eye charm. This was a gift she had purchased for Armaan, her infant step-brother, with the earnings from her dance workshops at a nearby school. However, she had decided not to make the same mistake she had with Sara. This time, she was determined to maintain an emotional distance from Armaan, recognizing it as the only way to shield herself from potential pain later.

She was tired but she had a wholesome day, she had visit the slum in the late morning, to teach dance to the kids but it wasn't just the dance lessons that bought her peace. On her way back, she had dropped off the dresses she had stained in anger , and the dry cleaner had promised her that he would give her one dress by the next day. She didn't like being dictated, but this time ,she knew she went a little overboard.Staining the first dress felt liberating to her but staining the next 3 made her feel bad, she knew how the kids in the slum hardly get to wear new dresses and here she was taking her privilege for granted. Though she never had the feelings that the kids were ill fated,as most of them had a family they can say their own, a support system that she could only dream of.

Her eyes were shutting in fatigue but her eyes landed on the wallk clock.
6:15 was the time,she wanted to look good for the party ,after all she was the date of the host and Dj but somehow she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, she felt as if his date Raunak was amazing yet he lacked something , but what was it, she didn't know or may be she knew but didn't want to admit:Raunak lacked the captivating aura of the mysterious man she had encountered on the terrace. Raunak was undeniably cute, yet she suddenly realized that his cuteness paled in comparison to the strong,manly aura of the guy she met . To clear her mind, she went to her closet and started
searching for the perfect dress.

As she stood infront of the mirror, trying on dresses one by one, her mind persistently thought about the man. With a deep breath, she locked eyes with her reflection and began to reassure herself, "You are not smitten or anything, it's just your age... at your age its natural to be drawn to mature guys. But don't forget, Raunak is your date, and his age is same age as Mrs. Saini's..."

And then she finally settled for a knitted abstract printed bodycon dress that hugged her curves well,the dress had black,Grey,red and yellow irregular shaped prints on it's but it's bold black high folded neckline ,added a touch of sophistication to it. The dress was scooped out sensually on the sides of the waist, revealing just enough skin to create an sexy yet tasteful look.

"Perfect" she uttered when she finally saw herself in the mirror after doing her makeup and hair. She added some gold accessories to amp up her overall appearance.

"Laxmi maasi, how do I look?" She screamed from her room and soon Laxmi came running.

"Bohat sundar, kitne baje tak wapas ayengi aap?" She asked next.

"Not sure,aa jaungi by 12" she replied while choosing a hand bag to go with her dress.

"Thik hai main driver ko bol ke rakhi hoon ke aj overtime karna hai." Laxmi said.

"Driver ko maine ghar bhej diya, Mera friend pick karega mujhe." she replied nonchalantly.

"Kaun friend, Samarth baba bhi ja rahe hain?" She was worried about her safety and wellbeing.

"Nahin... Samarth nahin ja raha, I have a friend called Raunak, woh pick karega" she replied.

"Shehnaaz baby,Saini Saab ko acha nahin lagega, aap please 9 baje tak wapas aa jana" she requested.

"Maasi..I will be fine, Saini Saab filahal gussa hai,hall chal nahin puchenge, don't worry." Shehnaaz replied without paying much attention.

"Subhe se 4 baar call kar chuke hain, puchte rehte hain woh." she uttered.