Siya had refused Radha's idea, saying that she would never deceive Anurag in any way. But despite that, her mind was still occupied with thoughts of him. Anurag's personality had started to attract her. On the other hand, Anurag too was getting affected by Siya. For the first time, a girl wasn't trying to impress him or look at him with longing eyes. Usually, people referred to him as the playboy of the class.
Since childhood, Anurag had taken great pride in his looks and charm. He would spend hours admiring himself in the mirror. When girls gazed at him with admiration, it gave him a royal sort of feeling—as if he were a prince. No one had ever dared to ignore him before. But Siya's indifference was bothering him now.
The next day, the school announced the Annual Function. Various competitions were going to be held—mimicry, dance, drama, singing, musical instruments, etc.
Kabir, who had loved singing since childhood, signed up for the singing competition. Shreyanshi, who knew how to play the piano, enrolled in the music instruments category. Siya was still unsure. She couldn't sing, nor could she dance. All she had left as an option was drama… So she registered her name for the drama competition.
The teachers decided to perform a romantic play to help the young generation understand the true meaning of love. They selected the legendary love story of Prithviraj Chauhan and Sanyogita as the theme.
All students gave auditions, and Siya was selected for the role of Sanyogita. But most of the boys were scared of her, so no one could confidently play the role of Prithviraj Chauhan. The teachers were frustrated and even considered replacing Siya as the lead heroine.
Just then, Anurag entered and said to the teacher,"Ma'am, I would like to play this role."
Teacher: "Alright, then please give your audition."
Anurag smiled and picked up the script, and after a brief preparation, he walked up on stage to give his audition.
Siya delivered her first line:"Maharaj, I love you with all my heart and soul. I can't even imagine anyone else in my dreams… If I don't marry you, I will sacrifice my life."
Anurag gently placed a finger on Siya's lips and said:"No, Princess. Don't speak such inauspicious words. Our love is true, and no force in this world will keep you from reaching me—not even your father himself."
The drama teacher clapped and said,"Amazing… Anurag, you are the best!"
Anurag, brushing the hair off his forehead with full attitude, said confidently,"I know, sir."
Siya burned with jealousy from within—not just because of Anurag's praise, but also his arrogant attitude. She agreed that his acting was good, but that didn't mean she had no contribution! Yet everyone seemed obsessed with only praising Anurag.
Days passed, and the rehearsals were at their peak. Everyone was giving their all to win. Even Siya would go home and spend hours practicing her lines in front of the mirror—determined to act even better than Anurag, so that she could win all the praise and attention.
Finally, the day of the Annual Function arrived. All the children were dressed up, excited to showcase their talents.
After the function began with a prayer, the little kids started their performances. Then came Kabir's turn—he stood with his guitar, ready to perform.
Right in front of him were seated Aman ji, Chandrika ji, Raj ji, and Yamuna ji.
Kabir smiled, ran his hand through his hair, adjusted the mic, picked up his guitar, and then closed his eyes to remember something his brother Raghav once told him:
"Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. Not for attention, not to be seen, but for your own joy."
Kabir's lips curved into a smile. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, cleared his throat, and began to sing.
🎶"Chahe main rahoon jahan meinChahe tu na raheTere mere pyaar ki umar salaamat raheChahe yeh zameen, yeh aasmaan rahe na raheTere mere pyaar ki umar salaamat rahe, o hmm..."🎶
Kabir stepped down from the stage and began singing among the audience.
🎶"Dar hai tujhe main kho na doonMile jo Khuda toh bol doonMain do jahan ka kya karoon tu bata...Tu jo mere paas hai, mujhko na koi pyaas haiMeri mukammal ho gayi har dua"🎶
He sang while walking through the audience, engaging everyone, and then returned to the stage.
🎶"Chahe mere jism mein yeh jaan rahe na raheTere mere pyaar ki umar salaamat rahe"🎶
🎶"Tere tukdon mein jee rahe, tum jo mile toh jud gayePankh laga ke ud chala mann mera, o...Tujhmein main hoon, mujhmein tuAur hai saansein roobaruKuch bhi nahi ab dono ke darmiyaan"🎶
After finishing the song, Kabir spread his arms wide and bowed his head. The entire hall echoed with applause. The loudest claps came from Aman ji, while Chandrika ji had tears of joy in her eyes. Seeing this brought Kabir peace—at least he had done something that made his parents proud.
At the same time, Kabir deeply missed Raghav. Had he been there, he would have patted Kabir on the back and made his happiness even more special.
After coming off stage, Kabir started looking for Siya, but she was nowhere to be found—not even outside.
Muttering to himself, Kabir said,"Which wall has this lizard gone and stuck herself to? She's nowhere to be found... Don't tell me she's hiding something from me. She's been acting very different lately... Alright, time to put my inner detective to work. Let's find out what's going on."
He was lost in his thoughts when suddenly, he heard someone sobbing. He stopped in his tracks and tried to listen carefully. It was a girl. He followed the sound and saw a girl sitting with her head buried in her knees, crying. She was wearing a pink frock and high heels—one of which was broken.
Kabir softly asked,"Hello Miss... is everything okay? Can I help you with something?"
When the girl lifted her head, Kabir jumped back in fear, stumbling two steps behind and screamed,"Ghost! Ghost!"
Then correcting himself,"No no, sorry—not a ghost, a she-ghost!"
As soon as he stepped outside in panic, he bumped into Shreyanshi. She saw him so disoriented and asked,"Kabir, what happened? Why are you running like that?"
Still panting, Kabir replied,"Ghost! There's a ghost in there—no wait, not a ghost—a ghost-lady is sitting in there!"
Shreyanshi stared at him in confusion. Kabir dramatically placed a hand on his throat and said,"I swear on my voice—it's true!"
He looked so innocent while doing that, Shreyanshi burst out laughing.Kabir, making a face, said,"Don't laugh at me! I'm telling the truth."
Barely holding back her laughter, Shreyanshi asked,"So, where is this ghost—sorry, ghost-lady of yours?"
Kabir pointed toward the room, and Shreyanshi grabbed his hand and started walking that way.Kabir quickly pulled his hand back and said,"I'm not going near that ghost-lady! If you want to go, go. But take my advice—don't go either. Let's both run away from here."
Ignoring him, Shreyanshi went inside, and Kabir followed nervously, mumbling,"Ghosts and demons stay away when Hanuman's name is chanted..."
As Shreyanshi entered, she saw the same girl. She quickly went over, sat beside her, and asked,"Hey, what happened? Are you okay?"
From behind, Kabir muttered,"Who asks ghosts how they're doing?"
Hearing that, the girl suddenly jumped and said,"Where's the ghost?! A ghost...?"
Kabir, even more terrified by her reaction, staggered back further and clutched his chest.
Shreyanshi stepped forward and said,"Don't pay attention to him… You tell me, what happened? Why are you crying?"
The girl glanced briefly at Kabir.
Her tears had smudged her eyeliner, her hair was messy, and with the dim lighting, Kabir had mistaken her not just for a ghost—but a full-fledged banshee.
In a soft voice, the girl said,"It's my dance performance… and my heels broke."
Kabir jumped in and said,"Is that something to cry over, Miss Ghost-lady? Just get a new one!"
The girl glared at Kabir, and he nervously started whistling and looking up at the ceiling.
Shreyanshi shook her head and asked,"What's your name?"
The girl shyly replied,"Aadhya."
Shreyanshi smiled and said,"Oh, Aadhya… it's just a broken heel, right? You can get a new pair."
Aadhya wiped her tears and said anxiously,"But my performance is up next… and it'll take too long to go home."
Shreyanshi looked at Aadhya's heels, then smiled and said,"Hey, look—we have the same color heels. You can wear mine."
A small smile appeared on Aadhya's face, but then she asked hesitantly,"But what will you wear? It's cold too…"
Shreyanshi glanced at Kabir, who took two steps back and said,"Don't even think about it! I'm not giving my shoes! My brother gave them to me."
A little while later, all three came out of the room:
Aadhya was wearing Shreyanshi's heels
Shreyanshi was wearing Kabir's shoes
And Kabir… walked barefoot with a pout, muttering,"This is pure injustice, man..."