"Amaya!
Amaya Sharma!"

"Wow, I'm listening this name for the first time. What does it means!"

"A nigh rain, according to what I remember my parents told me!"

She shrugged. I tried not to sound like a flirty man, but couldn't help saying,

"Ohh, is that why you met me in a rainy night, or you meet people on rainy nights only!?"

She laughed so loudly. And her laughter was more beautiful than her smile. I was mesmerized. It kept ringing in my ears, for ever.

"Nothing of that sort, it's just a coincidence!"

She had said after a long laughing session, which I had enjoyed completely.

"Beautiful coincidence!"

I winked at her. The courage needed for that action was no less than fighting ten men. And as icing on the cake, she had blushed. A bit only though. Then again she looked out of window.

I had switched on the radio, and it had played the song. An appropriate song.

"Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si,
Soti raaton mein jaagi si,

Mili ek ajnabi se, koi aage na peeche,
Tum hi kaho yeh koi baat hai!?

Dil hi dil mein chali jati hai,
Bigdi bigdi chali aati hai,
Jhunjlati hui, balkhati hui,
Saavan ki sooni raat mein!

Mili ek ajnabi se,Koi aage na peeche,
Tum hi kaho yeh koi baat hai!?"

An appropriate song which suited the situation. I kept glancing at her throughout the song and she also seemed to be enjoying.

After a few minutes, when the song ended, and habituated of doing that, I stopped the car Infront of my residence, as always.

That is when we realised it and looked at eachother, as if a blunder happened.

"I was so lost in song that I didn't notice anything!"

Amaya said, a bit scared maybe cause she would be more late now.

"Same happened with me!"

I said and looked out to take U turn and go back to wherever her house was situated, but maybe Almighty didn't wanted that, because within a little span of time, it was raining as if there would be no tomorrow for clouds to get rid of weight of the water, or crying dangerously as if their father denied to give them their favourite sweet.

It wasn't possible to drive through that heavy rain. I looked back at Amaya, who probably already understood the matter and kept an expression as if she was going to be dead within a minute.

"We can wait, I'll drop you home once the rain slows down a bit!"

I said trying to not make her scared. She was already too afraid of her father, it seemed.

"I don't have any other choice!"

"I've to cook my dinner, till then I'll finish that!"

"Do you live alone?"

"Yes, my parents live at our ancestral home, I had to shift here because of my job!"

I said getting out of the car and leading her inside as fast as possible, as I didn't have any intentions to fall sick. I had left the car outside the building itself, so I would drop her as soon as possible.

I opened door of my apartment and brought her inside. She looked around with her observing eyes. I gave her a towel to wipe herself and said,

"I Will make tea for us you can sit there till then!"

I pointed at the balcony where one round bamboo table was kept with two bamboo chairs. That was my favourite place in whole apartment, one could look outside view of the city and the plants kept there would spread the freshness in the atmosphere. I went to the kitchen after she smiled and nodded.

After ten minutes when I came back to the room, I found her in a state which I couldn't have imagined ever. I just couldn't believe my eyes, as if they had just betrayed me. I just turned around to avoid what I was seeing, while she was just smiling all the while. She was smiling, shamelessly. She was lying on my bed, in an inappropriate condition.

I couldn't breathe for few minutes, and felt like I would explode. I didn't get anything in my mind, what to do.

I didn't turn back. Immediately I took my wallet from my pocket and threw it towards the bed, without caring where it would fall of. She would get it if it was all that mattered to her.

"Take it. Take whole of it, I don't care.
But, just don't ever do this to anyone else. Ever!"

I had said while gritting my teeth, while trying to control my anger.

I couldn't care where she'd go at that time of night, in that heavy rain. After a few minutes, I heard the voice of door being closed. She was gone. When I turned back after trying hard and composing myself, I found my wallet was lying on bed.

The song has ended and it was a Radio Jockey who continued blabbering after that, bringing me back to present.

She had changed so much. She wasn't that girl anymore, whom I had met that night. Everything about her changed, from her dressing to her behaviour.

I sighed, deeply. Trying to renew all my feelings with that breath!

"What have you planned?"

I couldn't help asking, I was curious.

"About?"

She asked as if unaware of everything!

"About the boutique!"

"A lot of things, which I would make sure to do in the best ways!"

She sounded so determined. I found myself smiling, I was happy that she was trying to change her life.

"I'm glad, you took this decision!"

"I didn't have any choice. After my father too left us alone in this world. He was sick since many years and I didn't have any other choice to earn money. But after that night, I had decided to leave all that. I had decided to fill our stomach with money earned by legitimate works. I also have determined to be a good elder sister for my baby sister."

I felt terrible, knowing what she had to go through. Though she didn't do it unwillingly, yet it was wrong. But the fact that she was helpless was also right. And I felt bad for not being able to do anything for her.

I kept my palm over her palm, I knew she was silently sobbing. And I wished so badly that I could do anything to change the past, to just do something which would vanish her every bad memory.

She had stopped sobbing, maybe after she felt the support I was trying to promise by keeping my palm over her palm. She didn't took her palm back so did I. Though the Rj still kept blabbering, I didn't switch of the radio, maybe cause I was waiting for that same song again, which I'm sure I'll listen with a smile now.

"Stop the Car, we reached my home!"

She had said jolting up from her seat!

"The Car will stop only at our home now!"

I had said while grabbing her palm back and winking at her. She just smiled bashfully.

This Amaya was totally different from Amaya whom I had met eight years ago, on the same rainy night, on the same road, in same car, with same destination.

After sometimes I was sitting on the bamboo chair of my balcony, And Amaya was in kitchen, making tea for both of us.

I played the song on my phone and kept it on table. This time my favourite, old version,

"Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si,
Soti raaton mein jaagi si

Mili ek ajnabi se, koi aage na peeche,
Tum hi kaho yeh koi baat hai!?"

We hummed the song together as we finished our tea, while it was still raining outside!

🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️

The End!