[DO NOT SKIP THE A/N AT THE END! IT'S IMPORTANT!]

Chapter 16- "Don't Call Me That, Idiot."

I pulled on the blindfold. Surprisingly, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Made from silk and having a smooth texture, it was extremely easy on the eyes. Which could only mean one thing.

He had thought this through.

And I, for once, was surprised. Because why would he, the one who has probably everything he could want, go through all the pain to set up one proper night out with me? Me, who is yet to leave a mark on the silver screen. Me, who is yet to even get close to his ranking as an actor. Me, who is yet to have as huge a fan base as him? Me, wh-

My thoughts were broken in line by Raghav's voice. "What do you say to some music?"

I chuckled. "Only if it's from the nineties."

I could feel him do a double take beside me. Almost slamming on the brakes, which he thankfully didn't do, he exclaimed, "Wait, seriously?"

Feeling as though I'd said something wrong, I went about rectifying my sentence. "No, I mean, yes but if you don't want to that's all fine. After all, it's your car and it's totally up to you wh-"

"No no! That's absolutely alright! In fact, that's amazing! I personally love the nineties too! They occupy most of my music storage. No song can compare to what those songs used to embody. Even Gaurav and Tanvvi used t-"

He stopped midway. I felt him tensing up beside me but I had no confirmation, owing to my tied eyes. I was confused initially but then I realised why he had stopped. Tanvvi. Her name making him stop must mean that there was something wrong with them. But how do I understand him? Last time I tried, he went ballistic. There was no surety that he wouldn't do the same now.

If only he was a bit like Gaurav. Open, inviting, warm, happy. If only he could learn to control his temper. If only he learnt that some people really do care and it is not always about scoring for gossip. If only he learnt to trust a bit more.

"What's gotten you all worked up?" He asked, shifting into his comfortable manner.

"N-Nothing." I said and turned towards the window and realised I couldn't see. I heard him shuffling around and the next minute, the car was enveloped in the sweet tunes of nineties music. A smile spread across my face as I leaned back into the seat and started singing along.

Soon, Raghav joined me as well. We had a whale of a time singing and I couldn't be happier at that point. Well, I could be, if the blindfold wasn't there but hey, we cannot have everything can we? While we were on our sixth sing along, Raghav switched off the music.

"Hey! Why? I wanted to listen to it!" I whined.

"More like sing with it. Also, I wouldn't call that singing. You almost made my ears bleed. I would have begged you to stop but the arrival of our destination saved me." I could here him smirk.

"Speak for yourself. It was you who sounded like a dying seal and I totally pulled it off better than you."

He laughed at that. "Okay Miss Better-Than-Me, you can get down now."

"What about the fold?"

"Patience, darling."

"Don't call me that, idiot."

"How charming." He said and I heard him opening my side of the door. He took hold of my hand and guided me out of the car and towards wherever he was taking me.

"How much longer?" I said and almost fell down when my heels almost sank down into the ground. "Where are we? Quicksand?" I joked.

"You wouldn't be talking to me for so long if it was quicksand. Where do you get these ideas from?" He laughed.

"The place which you don't bother to use at all."

"Hahaha, very funny."

"I know, that's why I said it."

"Could you be more obnoxious?"

"I could, considering you as an example."

"I would love to continue this wonderful chat you have going on but we've reached." He said and walked behind me. He undid the knot behind and gently removed it. My eyes fluttered open and they fell upon the most beautiful thing to be seen.

Set against the background of the night sky, dominated by the moon and twinkling with stars in abundance, in front of the waves which crashed calmly onto the shore, was an abandoned lighthouse. Guessing from its appearance, it must have stood through the storms of time, broken at places and in need of serious repairs. The area was deserted with no one in sight, which meant it was no longer in use.

I walked towards it, entranced by its sheer beauty and touched the surface. It was made smooth rock and as soon as I touched it, my hand felt the coolness of the rocks. I looked at my hand and there was not a speck of dirt. Someone must be keeping it clean.

I gasped. Of course. Raghav.

I turned towards him. "Raghav, i-it's beautiful." He smiled and walked to where I was standing, hands in his coat pockets.

"Yeah, I know." Even in the little moonlight that came our way, I could see that his eyes were glazed.

"Hey." I said and moved closer to him. I entwined my fingers with his and gave his hand a little squeeze. He looked down at me and smiled, albeit a sad one. "Hey." I repeated. "Hey, we don't have to stand here, if you don't want to. Let's go back." I said, sensing his sadness on seeing the lighthouse. I tugged at his hand.

He stood there firmly, resisting my pull. "No Mira. We have to stay here. I mean, I have to be here to show you something. Please."

I looked at him. His eyes, although glazed, were resolute. And at the moment, I knew. I knew this was important to him and that if not for anything else, I had to be there.

"Okay. Okay. Go on." I urged. Still holding my hand, he pulled me along. We went towards the face of the lighthouse near the sea. An almost invisible doorway was pulled open by Raghav. He walked in and I followed close behind. The base was huge and circular and like the outside, was unbelievably clean. It had cosy armchairs scattered about. A large built-in-the-wall bookcase adorned the area. A small portable fridge was placed in a corner.

And in the centre of it all, spiralled up a large staircase. Once again led by Raghav, I started climbing up. But these weren't those normal stairs you will find in apartments and offices. These staircases were straight out of a horror movie- they had yawning gaps between two stairs. One wrong step, and you could be wedged in between with an uncomfortable yoga posture.

I took deep breaths to steady myself and clutched his hand tightly. He looked down at me and blinked his eyes, reassuringly.

After what seemed like an eternity but lasted only a few minutes, Raghav helped me onto a humongous balcony. The ceiling was a half dome, allowing anyone sitting on the floor a clear view of the stars twinkling overhead. Just like the base, this place was welcoming as well. Instead of the armchairs, yellow and black rugs topped with cushions were spread out on the floor. Fairy lights decorated the ceiling. A small table stood in the centre, complete with coffee and takeout bags.

I let go of his hand and walked towards the open part. I held on to the barricade and gazed out at the open sea, calm, cool and composed. Unlike me. I was the opposite of what the Arabian Sea represented tonight. I was confused. My heart and head where in an inner war. I couldn't place why he would bring me here.

My head told me it was an important place for him and he wanted me to see it.

But my heart argued back. Why the yellow and black rugs? Why the fairy lights? He hardly looks like someone who would opt for fairy lights. Why the blindfold?

It all sounded like something straight out of a Bollywood movie where the guy does all this to win the girl's affection with his charm. But Raghav isn't trying to win anyone's affection here. Then what was all this?

I felt a slight pinch in my heart. What was that? What was happening to me?

"You like it?" He asked and I saw him standing beside me, our hands inches away.

"Yeah. Yes, I do. It's amazing. Thank you for sharing it with me Raghav." I smiled at him.

He smiled back, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Then he took a deep breath as if calming himself down. And then he spoke.

"Mira, what you see around you is a broken building. A lighthouse which used to be the guiding light but isn't anymore. A light which used to bring happiness to the tired eyes of the sailors. You see a broken lighthouse, I see myself.

This lighthouse is much like me. A shadow of what it used to be. People have forgotten about it now, the same way people have forgotten the caring me. But its them who made us this way. They broke us, Mira and now they don't even repent. They bury our past images and come up with their own. They call me cold and the lighthouse haunted."

At this point, I had to stop him. I had to. "H-Haun-ted?" I asked, taking a step back.

He laughed. "It's just a rumour Mira. And I never bothered clearing it up because it serves my purpose. Nobody comes here which makes it my safe place." Taking note of my relief, he continued.

"This lighthouse has been my refuge for as long as I can remember. You must have heard from the media about my father?" He looked at me and I nod.

"Yeah. Well, he wasn't that way from the beginning. He loved Mom. He loved me. He loved our little family. He attended all my school functions, indulged in every whim of mine. Heck, he even did lovey-dovey things for Mom." I saw his features soften, reminiscing about those lost moments.

"Until he changed. His change was not his fault. He changed when he held his dying mother in his arms. The one woman he could die for was dying in front of him, knocked over by the car he was driving. He was responsible for his mother's blood on his hands.

He couldn't come out of the shock. A later investigation informed that she had had a fatal heart attack when she was knocked down. If the heart attack hadn't happened, the cut on her head was minor. She would have survived. She was knocked over, not run over. But my father held himself responsible. So he drank. He gambled. He distanced himself. He abused my mother.

But I was oblivious because she hid her tears well. And being the seven year old boy I was, what did I know about drinking and abuse? That was until I discovered what was happening. Soon after that, whenever I saw my parents together, I knew what would happen. And I ran. Away from that hell, away from those screams, away from those evil laughs.

I used to come here. My native place is not far. Seven kilometres south. This became my haven. And when I acquired enough money, I rebuilt the interior a bit. Furnished it. Left the outside although I send some people once a week at one in the night to do the cleaning. I like it here. The sound of the waves, the light from the stars, the gentle roar of the winds. It makes me feel myself. It makes me feel happy." He stopped and did not turn back.

Finally I got up from the rugs, where I had sat during the story and hugged him from behind. "Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it."

He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry to break the moment but there's noodles and brownies in there and I am hungry. So mind if I finish up?"

"Hell no!" I laughed. He quickly ran towards the table and opened the box containing the brownies.

"Shall I?"

"Of course not!" I screamed at lunged at the box.

"Very unladylike."

"Very ungentlemanly." I retorted. "But I gotta say, leaving your hosting capabilities aside, you designing abilities are fine."

"Thanks. Mom helped me." He said and looked around with love in his eyes.

In that moment, I realised what had happened to me.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

A/N

It's happening! Let's see where the Mirag ball rolls!

Also thank you so much for 2.12K views! Thank you for making this happen! I feel as if a celebration is due? What do you think?

So as a thank you gift, I've agreed to do any two of the below listed things:

*1* A face reveal (not exciting because there is always Instagram).

*2* A chapter from any other character's point of view (very exciting because I've never done that before).

*3* A later book on Mirag making it into a sequel or a prequel whatever you'd like (this is a far term gift to be done after I finish this book).

*4* A spin off having a completely different plot and setting but still about Mirag (you can comment what you want to read in it. Also, if i do a spin off, it won't be related to the actual book. So if they end up together there, it is NOT a clue that they will end up here).

To vote, comment beside the option. I'll tally them up and deliver. Choose wisely!

I have also started writing a confession book. It's on my page and it's called CONFESSIONS OF A LOQUACIOUS INTROVERT! It deals with the darker and the lighter themes I had to travel through. I hope you will give it a try!

Another request is to tag. Tag people here and let them know why you love this story and why they should read it!

LOVE, HUGS AND MOONLIT BALCONIES,

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT, RECOMMEND AND SHARE!!