Raastein

9. Feeling Alright?

4 days had gone by. Firdaus and her group of dancers had been preparing for their performance later tonight. The dancing really brought back memories of the multiple rehearsals she had had with Imran in preparation for their wedding—which never happened. Firdaus had to keep a straight face and lead her team as they had elected her as the leader.

Their dance number was to a Bollywood dance song. It was a slow and seductive dance, which definitely put Firdaus out of her comfort zone.

Later that night, Firdaus made her way towards center stage to mark out the middle. She was really finished when she overhead to people talking. Weirdly enough, it was her voice. Only it wasn't hers, it was Shayla's.

"You know I, I can't look at him anymore. It brings back too many memories," Shayla trembled.

"Hey its alright Leela..." said the other person. Her voice was raspy and deep giving off a mysterious vibe. Leela was clearly a pet name...

"Why don't you tell him? He'll understand won't he?"

"That's the thing Jazz, what if he's changed?" asked Shayla.

Firdaus couldn't hear anything else, assuming the conversation was over; she left and walked back to her room.

✿✿✿

"Hey," said Aakash as he knocked on the door to the girls' room. The door opened and there was Shyra looking like she had just woken up. Her hair was tied back and she was wearing blue and red pyjamas. It was only after staring at her for a good fifteens seconds did Aakash realise that Shyra didn't look good. She looked upset.

"Hey Shyra," he said again with a bit more endearment and a heartwarming smile.

"Hey Aakash, good morning," she said with her eyes beginning to water.

"What's wrong Shy, please don't cry," he said going in for a hug.

"Please don't call me that..." she replied. Her head still lowered. "I don't even know why I'm crying. It's really stupid actually." Tears had begun rolling down her cheeks. Aakash attempted to brush them away with his thumb but Shyra pushed his hand away from her cheek. She was trying really hard to stay strong around him, but it wasn't work as well as she hoped.

"I'm alright, really. Don't worry about me, I'm just dealing with a few things here and there,"

"When a girl uses the word 'alright' in a sentence like that, with that tone, it means the complete opposite of alright," said Aakash sounding a bit harsh.

Aakash had heaps of experience with girls and that was mainly the case because of his stepsister, Kyra. Though it was unusual for a brother and sister to get along, and that to, stepsiblings, Kyra and Aakash were each other's best friends. They were two peas in a pod. If only it was like that between all the three siblings. Aakash and Aryan never got along from the start. No one knew why it was like that. The two boys were known to be the peacemakers in the family, so it was a mystery as to why they never bonded.

It was the complete opposite in the Singh family. Alia, Shyra and Dharam got along very well. Since the beginning, they all played with each other. If one were to be upset, the other two would console and comfort them. Their childhood was rough considering their father was a strict business tycoon who didn't care about anyone but himself. Alia was always the troublemaker as a child, so she was the one who was abused the most. Slapped, smacked and punched almost every week. It soon reached the stage where Alia was too weak to eat. She had lost her appetite and she wouldn't speak to anyone for months. Dharam, Shyra and their mother were there to support Alia. They sent her away to America for two years until she came back and finished her teaching course in Istanbul at the age of 22. During those two years, the family had been moving from city to city, country to country. From India they moved to Pakistan. After a year they moved to Dubai, and then finally ended up in Turkey. 

Although the family seemed a bit messed up, the real reason Shyra was feeling 'alright' was because she missed her parents. They had taken another ship and who knew if they had made it onboard safely in the first place. She needed her mother at this current state, considering how she was feeling about a boy. She was never the cheesy romantic like her sister, she believed in second chances even after her past two relationships escalated downhill.

When she first saw Aakash, her heart skipped a beat. His hair was a chocolate brown and his yes were a mahogany. They reminded Shyra of the changing seasons. A little bit of everything, but nonetheless, beautiful. She didn't believe in love at first sight, but after seeing Aakash, Shyra saw things with a different angle. She felt like she was in a Bollywood movie, with violins playing in the background and autumn leaves flying around her. She was basically reliving her childhood, and that was why all this seemed too perfect and surreal for Shyra. That was why she needed her mother.

Shyra was lost in deep thought. What if Aakash felt the same way? What if he didn't? She wanted to find out without being too clingy, and the best way to do this was to befriend the rest of the girls onboard, specifically Kyra. The best way to do this was to go to the performance tonight. By herself...