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The eye-lock continued unless she was interrupted by a questioning hum. She just looked away for a second and said," If I feel someone provides me with a camaraderie like a friend, love me like a true partner, trust and protects me like a sister and stays with me even after knowing everything, I will say a 'Yes'.  " 

"You mentioned Trust in many of your statements. Is that any of the reason behind the breakup?" Rudra asked and she nodded as she replied," Sometimes, your eyes betray you and  I don't want to make the mistake of trusting someone random over my lover like the last time."

Saying that she just turned around after keeping her finger crossed across her nostrils and cleared her sinuses. She continued cooking while she asked," Do you know cooking?"

He said with a sheepish smile," I know to cook but it's rare that I cook something without burning."

"True! Men do not have the patience to concentrate on things when they forcefully enter the kitchen! Wasn't that a time when you entered forcefully?" She asked with a smile while he smiled sheepishly.

Maya knew emotions well. She could have been a good psychologist if she hadn't fallen into a trap, Rudra thought without letting them out. He had questions but she needed to trust him, like she said, An upgraded one.

As time passed, they smiled and talked about different things with her nodding her head and sometimes she passed a fake glare. His questions were answered even when she was cooking her heart out. Rudra got comfortable while Maya was still skeptical with her answers and refused to believe Rudra as a whole. She knew Rudra wouldn't let any personal information out and she could trust him but something was holding her back. She felt a true person in front of her! But only time will show as she concluded her thoughts.

As the time approached, she transferred everything to the bowl and they both assembled it on the table. As he sat down, he got a call. He clicked his tongue and looked at Maya. He declined it while his phone rang again. 

"Attend it! It might be urgent!" Maya acknowledged and he nodded. As he got up, she served him and waited for him to return.

****

As Rudra and Maya returned to their living room after their lunch, he noticed its peculiarities. He had seen it just like the light of a firefly when he had come because of the conversations they were having earlier. There was an absence of television which he noticed. Wasn't it strange? But it wasn't strange for the Maya Jaisingh!

As she ran her fingertips through different books, she finally took a black book and closed both of her eyes with a tight-lipped smile. She held the black book to him and spoke with a smile," It didn't take me much time to know who had kept this book in my bag! You know, some people know what might be boiling in other's and a perfect way to tackle it! (she walked towards the couch and sat down while he also took a seat)  A person who can understand me well can even take my interview well! Thank you for this opener! (She held the book with a fully bloomed smile) I love writing journals  and and this contains whatever I had penned down after you left me home."

She handed it to him and he just smiled before opening the pages," You are 27 years old but you are only completing your journalism course now. I'm quite surprised!"

"It really takes time to take some of the toughest decisions! The same thing happened to me! I was blinded by my passion and my family. So, I had to drop out in between my business studies and join Journalism! My brother knew everything about my passion and he encouraged me! But I couldn't manage it during the business studies and I felt a void same as you had gone through."

"How did you overcome it?" Maya asked in a serious tone while he just shrugged his shoulders and said," My parents were so understanding and when I had them, everything was possible. "

Maya just hummed as he spoke about his parents' supportive side while he just asked her," There was a sharp decline in your career but you flew like a phoenix 2 years back. I didn't know that you were suffering from depression unless you told me that. You are passionate about whatever you do. You smile, you do everything normally. Don't you think depression is over-rated for your life?"

"I agree Depression means being unhappy and all that sorts. The one year of the gap was hell. Sleepless nights, nightmares and things haunted me. The break-up didn't hurt or destroy me! The intermediate events, the person who made me do that and the way through which I tried to get up broke me.  There were suicidal acts and it happens when the 'stimulus' triggers me. "

She continued after a pause," After that, all I did was to escape from the mind which triggered me.  I had to take the medicines to keep me on track. And if it is about the co-relation between Depression and Passion in my life, then my answer would be :

Acting is my passion, one of them though, and Depression is for the mind when it is idle or when something triggers me. So, I equip my mind with whatever I can but when my schedules are over, there is nothing much. Sometimes, there is no reason to live when I drown with the accusation. It still haunts me!"

She looked down as she completed. She never wanted ro do this but she feels better but she was alert when her hand was squeezed which lay on her lap. She looked at him and gave him a sympathetic smile followed by a shrug of her shoulders.

He looked into her eyes and said after he left her hand,

"Maya, I understand that it might be difficult to acclimatize and trust me, even I have been there when I couldn't speak out! You spoke about depression and you are fighting it even now. If the ways you took to survive bothers you now, Let It Go!"

"I can't." She retorted it with her trembled voice for the two words she had uttered. He kept the diary aside and took both of her hands in his and spoke looking into her eyes,

" You need to let go rather than holding it inside. Don't avoid anything under a sudden or specific emotion because the temptation might increase and you may fall deeper. Walk away from the 'ways' by taking slow steps. All you need is a mind which does not need the 'ways' to survive! Forget the problems but don't forget the lessons you learnt."

"And these nail marks don't deserve you! " He said as he rubbed his thumb pad over the nail marks on her forearm.

"There is no need to trust me or reveal anything but the important thing is to get out of it! If the 'ways' are wrong, they will only make you guilty as time passes! As I described you like a phoenix, you are one but don't.. I repeat, don't take fast strides. Everything will be alright! " He finished and she just removed her hands from his hold. Before he could take them back, she held one of his hand and thanked him in a hoarse voice. He just blinked and smiled with tightly pressed lips.

As they remained in the position for a few more minutes until her phone rang. She excused herself and attended the call. He could see her talking or maybe protesting against something. As she came back after a few minutes, she sat on the opposite couch and spoke,

"It was a call from the  Director of the new movie! There are some errors in the visuals and I need to re-shoot as we are left within a few days.  I am really sorry for the inconvenience. What will you do now?"

"Can I also come?" He asked in the belief of getting a positive reply and he got the same after a few seconds. She told that she will be back within 5 minutes as she had to get ready. He was kind of excited to see a film shooting and that too of Maya Jaisingh!  Who knew that his life would change after this?

He scrolled through his phone and only knew that she was back when he had called her out. She had dressed out in denim jeans and a pink top.

She picked her phone from the table and asked him," Let's go?" He nodded and as she moved out, he switched the lights off. Locking the door behind her, Rudra looked around. She had a green and luscious environment which he had missed when he had come in the morning. Courtesy: Tension and Stress. He knew that she forgot or totally ignored embracing nature which would be the solution for a depressing mind. 

As she opened the gate using her fingerprint, she asked him to get in and they buckled themselves once they got in. The car smelled fresh like lemon and mint, unlike the first time he was inside this car. Just a day back, he had smelled the sweet yet cloy smell of his blood inside. She was a real cleanliness freak! He was snapped out when she asked whether they could start and he nodded with a smile.

As Maya drove the car, there was total silence as she concentrated on the road and he was looking outside the window and at times, scrolling through his Instagram. 

The car stopped and as Maya got down, Rudra followed her and a few people surrounded her. Soon enough, she walked forward after taking a glance at Rudra. She said something to her bodyguard and the muscle-man was going to him.

She met a person whom Rudra presumed to be the director and she was given a script board. He could see her conversing with her fingers or rather clearing her doubts. Her bodyguard broke his trance in observing her and said," Sir, Please be seated."

Maya entered her vanity. The shooting atmosphere was being set as it was an outdoor shoot. There was a huge hustling and bustling in the whole area. He was observing her as she walked a few strides to read and store those lines in her memory. Her bodyguard treated him well and kept him in the company, making Rudra jolly and they even exchanged numbers.. The bodyguard was hesitant but when he thought of Rudra's closeness to his Ma'am, he thought of giving it. The Bodyguard knew Maya madam's life.

As back-to-back scenes were shot, Rudra could see the effort she was putting in, even when there were a lot of cuts. She used to get frustrated but she didn’t complain even though she asked for a break. No, she didn't come to Rudra. He saw her closing her eyes and moving her fingers as if speaking to someone.

Perfecting is an art and only when passion and patience are present, perfection was possible. Not only her but the whole crew was also committed to doing different scenes according to it. It was a heated environment even when the thick dark clouds scudded the sky.

As a few hours passed, Maya didn't meet him and he could totally understand the scenario. He was currently sitting in her vanity van as she had asked him to sit inside when there was a break call. There was a small kitchen where there were paper cups and coffee. He even had a cup of coffee with Maya when she had a 10 minutes break.

Rudra was actually scrolling through his phone while listening to a few songs. Thank God, he hadn't forgotten his headphones. He was enjoying the atmosphere but at the same time, he felt a bit bored being alone.

Standing up, he looked for a source to entertain him and he saw different books and magazines. Before he could take the book whose title caught him off guard, something rang.

He was sure that it was a telephone. But he hadn't spotted anything before! Looking for its source, he finally found it and picked it up as he thought it might have been an important call.

As he picked up, a few frown lines appeared on his face within a few seconds. The call wasn't for him but he couldn't even be a messenger to pass this message to Maya. But what would happen if he wouldn't let her know?

Desperate times, Addictive calls!

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  Who do you think it was? Any idea?

A/N: Thank you for reading. I'll be waiting for your votes and comments. Negative criticisms are accepted. Your opinions matter to me.