Neha's POV:

"I can pay you for it as your first client in your boutique." Upon hearing Afsha Bhabhi's words, I froze for a while. This is going to be my first order at ARAYNA Boutique.

"Neha, are you listening? Can you make it?" Bhabhi's voice brought me back.

"Yeah, Bhabhi, I am listening." I quickly replied, Bhabhi, but again activated my overthinking zone.

'Shall I accept the offer? Can I fulfil it? It's my freaking first order. How can I not accept it? But what about the fulfillments? I don't have any proper setup yet. It is just one order, and it is Bhabhi's order. Who has helped me every time? What would she think if I denied it? But it is not about her; it is about her brother's outfit, and I have to make it in a limited time. What if I fail?', many thoughts surrounded.

"Bhabhi, as you said, the party is this weekend, and today is Wednesday. How can I make the outfit in less time?" I hesitated and asked her.

"I know it is difficult, but can you please try? My brother is choosy over outfits, and he is not liking any of the outfits. So I turned to you."

"Bhabhi, what if he doesn't like my designed outfit also?"

"He liked your shirt, which you selected in London; he won't dislike it. I am quite sure," Bhabhi answered positively but again became low while saying the last sentence, showing her uncertainty.

"Neha, Saniya would have helped him in purchasing the outfit, but she is out of town; even my schedule is packed as I am leaving for Bangalore on Friday, so the last hope is only you; please help me," Bhabhi pleaded again. Guilt covered me after hearing Bhabhi's pleading voice.

"Ok, Bhabhi, I will try to make it." I agreed. "Thank you so much, Neha; you made me stress-free about this issue, and don't worry, I will pay you double," Bhabhi replied happily.

"It's fine, Bhabhi; there's no need to pay double; after all, it's my first order. I want it to be fair" I replied. I could have denied the payment as well, but I know Bhabhi will not agree to it, so I just told her to pay the exact amount.

After talking with Bhabhi, I got ready and went to the studio to start the design and preparation. Though I have six years of experience, I am nervous about the outfit as it is a male party suit, which I haven't designed for anyone till date. 'Neha, though you haven't designed, you have helped many in selecting the outfits. Don't worry, just think of it as a task and start your work', my inner self replied, but it also reminded me of one of those flashbacks that I am trying to forget and regret getting introduced in their lives.

Flashback starts

Mumbai

"What happened, Why are you off?" He asked me handing me a pack of Bhelpuri; we three came to Marine Drive after a tiring day. While He and Sana went to buy some snacks, I sat on one of the pod stones, thinking of today's events.

I took bhelpuri, covered myself up, and replied, "I am fine, thank you; I am just tired from the day."

"If you don't want to say it's fine, but you know right, we are friends; you can share anything with me" , he said, and sat at one of the pod stones making some space in between, looking at the seashore.

I felt guilty enough to rudely cut him off. "Where is Sana, by the way?" I diverted the topic by asking about her. "I am here." As soon as I finished the sentence,  Sana arrived holding cucumber slices sprinkled with some masala powder.

"I was looking for something healthy; I have a shoot next week, so I can't have much junk," said Sana, sitting between us two and giving a slice each to both of us, and, Alhamdulillah, the topic got changed.

After having a good view of the sunset, we started our journey to home by hiring an auto. After getting down at the auto stand, we started to walk to our apartment. He got a call, so he slowed down his speed, me and Sana walked ahead of him, and yes, he also stays in our apartment.

He stays a floor below our flat, and we gradually become friends. He was the one who introduced himself to us. At first, I used to ignore him, but he was persistent with both of us. I still remember how Sana fought with him when she thought he was following her, but later it was clarified that he wasn't following, but his flat was also in our apartment. Slowly, me and Sana included him in our little friendship gang. Both Sana and him had similar personalities; both were protective, playful, and foodies, and the main thing their not so hilarious bantering. They both made my life so blissful and memorable here in Mumbai.

"Wait, wait", When we almost reached the gate of the building, he shouted at us. We stopped our steps and looked at him, he was running towards us.

"What happened?" Sana asked, panicking.

"Everything is fine; it's just that I'm stuck in a situation and I need help from you both," he assured Sana and looked at us, asking for help. "What happened?" Sana asked again, becoming alert.

"Actually, I have a lunch party tomorrow, and I gave clothes to laundry in the morning. Now I got a call from him saying that he got stuck in some emergency and can't deliver my clothes."

"Uff, that's it. Wear another t-shirt or shirt. That's it," Sana cut him off and replied.

"Let me complete the sentence first. Err, the issue is that I don't have any proper ironed shirts, nor do I think I have any shirts wearable for tomorrow. Can we go shopping now?" He said the first sentence irritatingly towards Sana, and the next sentence looking at both of us in a pleading way. It kind of looked funny though, unable to control  we both started to laugh.

"You are looking funny by pleading like this, but I am not coming with you. Neha can go with you if she agrees; anyhow, she is the one who chooses my dresses as well; she can be helpful to you rather than me," Sana denied, and making me a scape goat.

"How rude of you to call me funny! and I don't need your help either," he huffed at Sana and turned towards me. "Neha, can you please accompany me? Please, please, if needed, I can buy you a dinner as well, and it is only for you, not for her. Please, please, pretty please." He started pleading continuously, making me awkward. Before anyone outside thinks something else, I accepted his offer.

"Ohhhhk, I will come with you." After agreeing, I moved near Sana in order to give her the keys.

 "And you don't think you have escaped; I will take revenge for this." I whispered to her so that he could not hear it, but I was wrong; he heard it. "Yes, yes, I will also take revenge on you" He imitated me, showing a tongue at her. Soon, they started a teasing game by showing all the finger and tongue gestures as if they are some toddlers. Did I tell you guys, they both fight a lot, and in their fights, I always become the monkey in the middle.

"Stop, both of you. Sana, you go inside, and you mister, you need your shirt right, so come, let's go before the shop gets closed." Sending Sana inside, I scolded him and turned towards Main Road in search of some open showrooms. Both of them obediently agreed and stopped their fight.

Thankfully, the showroom nearby was open. Fun fact: he literally doesn't have any idea about any fabric and don't let me not start about the colour; he just chooses either a black or white shirt. It took me an hour to make him understand that there are other colours except those two. "All these colours are for girls, not for me." This was his dialogue if I showed him some bright-coloured shirt. Finally, after two hours, we selected one nice blue coloured shirt for him to wear for tomorrow's lunch.

After paying the amount at the counter, when I started to move towards the apartment, he stopped me. "What happened now?" From now on, I will not be accompanying him for shopping again, his tantrums never stops.

"Did you forget our dinner is pending? Come on, let's go to that restaurant." He dragged me towards the restaurant, which was on the other side of the road.

After giving our respective orders, "Thanks, Neha, for helping me today, and you know what? You have done the masters in fabrics, colours, and designs. You will be a famous fashion designer one day. He thanked and praised me, which involuntarily made my lips rise and my heart relax. Unknowingly, by his appraisal, my heart, which had been restless for many days, started to function, pushing the boundaries as if some dear had hugged me. His words gave me hope, strength, and a positive affirmation that my passion and love for fashion design have some meaning, and they built hope that I am going in the right direction.

"I am glad you liked my selection, and thanks and sorry,"

"Huh, why are you thanking and apologising?" he asked, confused.

"Thanks for the compliment, and sorry for the evening. I was not in a good mood, so I diverted the topic when you asked about my mood."

"It's fine. It was my mistake as well. I should not have asked you about your personal matter; I just got worried, so I jumped off.".

"It's not...." I was about to reply when the waiter came up with our orders, halting my talk after he was done with the serving. "Can you please pack one plate of steamed chicken and some fresh salad as well?" He ordered, making me confused. To whom is he packing it?

"Ok, sir, anything more?" "No, that's it; you can bring the bill after we are done," he replied, sending off the waiter.

"It's for Sana, actually," he answered my unanswered question, making me feel guilty for involving myself in his personal matters and happy for his care.

"Oh, sorry. I just got confused about the order, and regarding your earlier statement, you haven't jumped into my personal matter. It was just some office matters that were disturbing me." I apologised for my behaviour and tried to clarify the previous topic.

"If you don't mind, is everything fine? You were highly disturbed at that time." This was the last string to make me remember those words and taunts.

"Actually, I am not fine. It has been 6 months since the completion of my training and a year since joining the company, but I am still unable to understand my manager. I am designing the clothes as per her own description, but still, she is not satisfied with my designs; she just always taunts me about my knowledge of fashion. Today, mistakenly, my designs got interchanged with those of my teammate, and you know what? My manager liked those designs and praised them in front of everyone. Later, when she got to know it was designed by me, she simply threw those designs, stating a mismatch of design and fabric, and chose the other design, which boiled my anger, but I was unable to do anything." I threw out all the frustration and everything I was feeling at that time.

"Is it done, or is there anything else?"
"Huh"
"I mean, I wanted you to pour down everything, so is it done, or do you want to say more?" I got irritated by his words. What does he mean? Is it done, or is there anything more to say? What does he want to prove?

"Easy, easy. I just wanted you to vent out all your feelings so that you could be lighthearted. Did you get relaxed?" He questioned me. Thinking about it, he said that right, now that I vent out everything, I feel relaxed and lighthearted. As a reflex, I nodded at him, agreeing to his statement.

"See, I told you; now you listen to me carefully. Neha, there will be many people in your life who try to pull you away, but it is you who should take those pull-offs as a challenge and grow in your journey. These people are just some obstacles or stones; it's you who need to make them a stepping stone and cross the stream." He explained the situation in a metaphorical way, but this is life. How can illustrations match real life? Both sound similar, but in reality, both are different. How will both situations be the same? Not to extend the topic, I just nodded and simply ate the dinner to leave the place as soon as possible. Remembering the whole incident awakened all the backlashes and taunts, and I need some lone place to sit and evaluate the situation.

After completing dinner and grabbing the parcel for Sana, we returned to the apartment, and, Alhamdulillah, he didn't put forward the topic again.

After tossing and sliding on the bed, it was confirmed that I would not be getting sleep today. So, I got up, made a strong black coffee for myself, and went outside to sit on the stairs. As I was sipping on the drink, my nerves got awakened, and a lush of thoughts got interconnected, knocking up the sense of words and situation. Indeed, he was right: Why am I affecting my health by some mere manager's biased behaviour? Instead, I should focus on my skills and passion and prove to the world my worth with newly found determined energy, I looked forward but was shocked to see him standing outside his house door, and he was already gazing towards me.

Seeing my eyes on him, he came forward and asked, "What are you doing at this hour here?",  making me come out of his gaze.

"I was unable to sleep, so I sat here. What about you?" I asked him sliding near the railing to give him some space to sit.

"I was working on some files, and later, as the time crossed, I am unable to sleep now," he replied, sitting a step below mine and resting his back against the wall facing me. It reminded me of my recent realisation, and I should thank him.

"Thanks for the advice; it actually helped and made me realise my worth." I thanked him for his support and advice; it actually helped me heal that part of my heart, which I didn't know was affecting me.

"It's fine, and thanks to you too for helping me buy the shirt." He thanked me, smiling; it just reminded me that today was a very tiring and lengthy day, yet it never felt uncomfortable instead I enjoyed it.

Even right now, I don't know what time it is or when I will go to sleep, but I know one thing: with the person beside me, I can forget all the surroundings, yet I will never regret this moment. That moment, a new feeling took birth in my heart, opening all the gates and welcoming a new person. Who can see my worries in thousands of masked-up layers and still console and heal you. Who motivates and thanks you each and every minute without getting irritated. who can accompany you any time and makes you forget all the negativities around and showcases the positivity around. 

Flashback Ends

That night, I mistook everything, I mistook the care into something else, and I let myself into the valley of dungeons in such a way that I am still figuring out the way to come out of it. That night, my one decision to help him choose a shirt for a lunch party made me fall into a pit called love, and now I have agreed to design a male suit for a party to someone else, I don't know where I am going to fall, and if I fall, do I have the strength to come back again? 

Both the situations and persons are different, yet the incident looks similar; both times I agreed by pressure, both times I gave up on the other person's pleadings. This time I will make sure not to fall into any pit. The Neha 4 years ago is different from the Neha now, and with this determined energy, I resumed my work to quickly complete the task.

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I will try to update the next chapter with in two days, trying to come back to regular scheduled updates as promised earlier.............

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