Candy Cigarettes, Baby Love|✓

Chapter 7

"I'm afraid." "Of what?" "Happiness."

Happiness is contagious; fast-spreading and healing. However, it's also an emotion that Mahi is completely and thoroughly afraid of. 

These three months, since the day she's met Arav - have passed so quickly. The baby who was three months old is now half a year old. Mahi, who was bored out of her mind working on the sets, now spends hours yearning to go back to her work and meet those two amazing beings.

Oh, how she loves those giggles of the baby, his big, sparkly eyes and small, soft limbs. She loves the banter between her and Arav, the freshness of their interaction and his contagious laugh. It has all been so good, so amazing - that something bad is bound to happen, isn't it?

No one gets only the pulp of the fruit and not the seeds, only the petals of the flower and not the thorns. Pain is inevitable, something that's bound to happen and today, she's scared, has that itch beneath her skin, the thought behind her lids that something's going to happen and she's not gonna like it.

Mahi's train of thoughts is soon broken by the pinging of her phone.

It's a message from Arav and so naturally, a smile crawls on her lips and her running mind comes to a halt.

From: Arav
Another party, wat say?

To: Arav
Who's organising it this time?

From: Arav
Why, the baby of course.

To: Arav
I'm in :D

From: Arav
\(๑╹◡╹๑)ﾉ♬

Mahi can't help but giggle in the darkness of her room, her face illuminated by her screen, and her teeth on full display.

It's these small instances of happiness that she's afraid to lose but she guesses that she can't do anything about it. She should cherish this till it lasts. As long as it lasts.

*

"I know, baby, even I don't understand what your father is doing on the screen. I don't see any romance in that." Mahi exclaims to the baby lying in his crib, both their eyes stuck to the tv screen.

It was Arav who had suggested watching a movie as soon as Mahi had arrived at his house. In return, she had insisted on watching his movie, his very recent and new project that had just been released.

So here they were, watching the movie, sitting in Arav's room, on his bed with Arav cringing at almost every scene and Mahi busy criticising every action where the female lead seems to get too close to the onscreen Arav. Not that she minds. It's just that they don't suit each other.

The baby, while in his crib, is trying to sit, holding the tiny bars that circle all around the furniture, his eyes stuck to the tv. Mahi has her hand placed on the baby's back just for precaution.

"This is so cliché and doesn't make sense at all." Mahi continues her rant to the baby, totally aware of Arav snickering beside her. "Dancing without the music? What even is that and how is that romantic?" she huffs as the onscreen Arav pulls the female lead - whose name Mahi doesn't know, neither does she want to know - closer to him, swaying to and fro like a hit me toy.

"A hit me toy," Mahi says voicing her thoughts, "that's what you guys look like. Don't mind but you could've chosen a movie with a better script and screenplay."