1.2 | Under The Hazy Winter Sky | ✓

22 | mothers

MAYA WATCHED as Ved frowned at his phone. He blinked twice before he raised his eyes to the sky, his countenance wearing an exasperated expression.

"I'll be back. Keep the equipments ready." Ved yelled at the crew. He turned to Maya. "Looks like my mom and her sister is here. I'll escort her to a lodge."

"Oh, alright."

And he was gone at the speed of light. 

"He must be really scared of his mom, huh." Her assistant commented, squatting next to her, munching on peanuts.

"I remember this one time." Maya started. "It was during a blind date. It was going good and all of the sudden, the guy went pale. He had, apparently, caught sight of his mom."

"What happened then?"

"He took off."

A pause.

"Took off?"

"He dashed out of the restaurant. He literally ran for his life."

She and her assistant burst out laughing. "A grown man running away from a tiny,  stout lady..."

"Oh, I have a story too." The lead actress joined them, fanning herself with her script.

"So, Atharv there." Kiara nodded in the direction of Atharv. "Apparently, his family didn't know he was acting. He had already signed the contract with Ved. On one of the days of filming, his family happened to come to Bundok to investigate his progress on his made up group project. His mom, who's extremely against acting and the film industry, saw him shooting his scene."

The packet of peanuts in Maya's assistant, Radha's hand had become equivalent to a packet of popcorn. Both of them munched on it and eagerly listened to Kiara's story.

"So, when he wrapped up his shooting, I pointed to him that there were a bunch of people staring at him. He looked at them. In a milli-second, he grew pale."

"Oh, What happened after that?"

Kiara tried her best to not laugh. "He squeaked. He literally squeaked and began running."

The trio's shoulders shaked.

"Can you believe that guy, who's the national heart throb and literally such a calm person, made a dash for it?"

Their shoulders trembled, widely grinning mouths covered by their hands. 

"I guess all men are scared of their mothers."

Nearly 15 minutes later, two old ladies wandered into the shooting set. 

"Is the shooting set for that Bundok movie?" One of the ladies asked. Maya noted her clothing. It was quite flashy but fit her well. She was quite fashionable for an old lady.

The cameraman smiled. "You must be Varaya ma'am?"

The lady nodded and glanced around. Her gaze landed on Maya and she eagerly proceeded in her direction. Plopping down next to Maya, she smiled at her.

"What's your name, young lady?"

"It's Maya, ma'am."

"Ah, no need for ma'am and all that. It sounds so formal when we are all going to be very close, isn't that right?"

Maya glanced at her assistant. They were going to be...close?

Varaya noted her reaction and leaned towards her companion. "Sis, it looks like my son has been progressing very slowly. We shouldn't have let him do things on his own."

His sister, with the attitude of diva, shook her head haughtily. "I told you, we should've meddled."

Maya blinked and turned her eyes away.

"So, you must be working as the costume director?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Didn't I just tell you drop the ma'am? You can call me Varaya ma or just ma too, if you're ok with that?"

Maya blinked and nodded, obediently. She hadn't much experience with older aunties and ladies. She was simply going to imitate whatever she had observed Anu do.

"So, you must know my son fairly well? Ved?"

"Yes, I know him. We're...acquaintances."

They stayed silent for awhile. Kiara, meanwhile, had been fiddling with her phone, a mischievous expression on her face.

"So, is it true that you wanted to see a happy ending for the couple in the original movie? You're here to see the scenes live?" Maya decided to make small talk.

Varaya stared at her. "Which scene? What movie?"

"12 Days in Bundok? This is supposed to be the shooting for the sequel of that movie."

"Ah." Varaya blinked. "I've never watched the original."

Maya processed that. She had never seen the original movie...?

"I haven't seen that particular movie. He asked me not to watch it until the sequel came out." Varaya glanced at Maya's expression. Her sister, the more intuitive one, decided to prod at what Maya had just said.

"You said Ved had mentioned that Varaya wanted to see a happy ending for that couple?"

"Ah, yes. That's what he told me."

His sister immediately understood what had transpired. She tugged at Varaya and whispered, "We may have messed up things for Ved."

Varaya glanced at her sister. "You think so?"

"I have a fairly good idea what he had planned." 

The two sisters sat quietly, in guilt.

"Ma, you're here?!" A panting Ved stared at his mom, in disbelief. 

"Well, I didn't see you anywhere in the station so i thought I'll take a stroll on the beach. Then, I saw the crew and sat down here."

Ved let out a sigh and lightly palmed his forehead. "Well, alright then. Govind, Take them to the sunlight lodging in town's square."

His assistant nodded and immediately ushered them back.

Maya watched Ved, with narrowed eyes. He gulped down a bottle of water. 

"Your mother said that she has never watched the original movie."

Ved closed the bottle and took the seat his mother was previously seated on.

"You knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you? You knew I was that 4th grader."

Ved asked his cameraman to get the cameras ready. Then, he turned to Maya and gave her a smile. 

"Our story was never supposed to end there. On the train station's platform."

And he walked away, as nonchalantly as the way those words were offered to her.

Maya finally understood what it meant to feel one's heart fluttering.

She felt it that day.

˚₊ ❄︎

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