Undying Love |✔

Epilogue

Epilogue. (From Avni's POV.)

"Here. Take this."

I hand him the glass full of crystal clear liquid I fetched for him. He looks up at me from his sitting position and smiles. From this angle, his lower lip gets hidden from the view, and I take a minute to admire that genuine, serene smile. He looks exhausted, but the fact that this makes him happy prompts an involuntary smile to break from me too. I stand to the side after he takes the glass.

"How much did you win tonight?" I eye the open hat beside him and see it's full with notes and coins to the brim, maybe more so than usual.

I know the answer, yet I ask in the hopes he would say otherwise.

He chugs down the entire glass of water in three large gulps and shrugs subtly. "No idea, Avni. Besides, that's your duty to count them." He passes me the hat with a wink and stands up from the pavement.

"Could you please see if some money is left on the floor?" He asks eyeing the pavement. It's already dusk, and I know how tired he is. So, I nod. "Sure," and smile.

He gives me a quick peck the lips and goes inside the shop, but not before tracing the carved silver flute while smiling. Like always.

I collect whatever that's left of his winning money, and heads inside as well.

When I'm sure I've counted them all, I put all the money in the donation box and goes to sit beside him. That's the routine. He, watching me silently all the while I count the money, and then asking, after I have put them in the donation box, the total amount.

This started a few months ago when he had a sudden urge to entertain the kids that were outside the shop, sitting on the footpath, looking tired, and trying to see in their plastic beans anything they could play with.

Amit had just come to the shop after his Uni. He had his flute with him, and that led to him playing for them.

What he hadn't expected was for the money he would see beside his feet after he was done playing. Not only those kids, but the people shopping from various shops nearby had stopped to listen to him play. The money part was actually the one I remember the most. The first person to put money beside him was a little girl around the age of eight. I could see her mother going red with embarrassment seeing her daughter put money on his feet. In India, we only gave money to beggars, and not to the handsome musicians playing their instruments for the little kids.

But that little girl's gesture had prompted the other adults, who were listening to him play, to put some money as well.

That day, all the money that he had collected, went to those kids. Their bright smiles were the absolute highlight of his day. From that day on, his passion, and his will to do something for the kids merged, and half an hour concert became the daily routine.

I know today too, some of his money went to the kids, and the rest of the money would go to the small charity his mother ran for the women and kids in Unnao, and some would go to those same kids for their education.

It took time and efforts, but he wasn't complaining, and when he wasn't, who was I to even say a thing about it? Not that I would ever say a thing. I loved him for what he was, and for what he did.

"So? How much did we collect today?" He always says we as if we are both involved in this. What he doesn't see is, we're not. He is. I just support him the best I can.

"Five thousand," I say with a bright smile. He's never crossed the 3k mark before. But after his video went viral online, the crowd has thickened.

"That's good. I hope it's enough after the end of the month for the kids."

"It'll be. Don't worry." I say reassuringly, and take his flute from his hand.

"When are you going to play for me, Mr. Meena? Am I not that important to you now?"

I tease him with a smile so that he knows I'm only kidding. I know for a fact how much effort he put for us after he approached me on the hill that day. It wasn't easy for him to take my mind off the doubts. But the fact that I was willing to give us a chance, made him work double hard for us. And I can't be more thankful to him for it.

"Oh, yes. Money speaks, Ms. Avni. Don't you know?"

But his words and his actions are contradictory. He takes the flute from me and asks. "Ma'am? What would be your demand?"

I already have the answer ready, and I say with a smile. "Play the same tune I'd heard you play for the first time on your fresher's eve."

He doesn't need reminding. His bright smile says it all.

"Fair enough." He says.

I settle on the couch while he plays the same symphony. Only this time, I know with certainty it's only for me.

~*~

Note: - At the time when I'd actually written the Fresher's Eve scene, I didn't have any song in my mind. I only thought of it when I was attending a wedding a year ago, and I heard it playing in the background. I thought it was fitting the description. I was thinking of putting it sometime in the story later, but that type of scene never occurred again. It was only two days ago, an idea for a small scene played, and the song was fitting in it. Funny, how a writer's mind works.

I hope you enjoyed reading the small Epilogue! I definitely enjoyed writing it because! It was so good to write for Avni and Amit again. :)