When the stars align! (6)

*Click here for the previous Part(5)*

 Akash returned to his seat and found Tara absorbed in the photograph she was holding in her hand. It seemed like a family picture. Akash cleared his throat as he sat down. Tara's reverie was broken and she looked at Akash. 

"Missing your family?", Akash spoke warily, not sure of his words. He didn't want to ask her personal questions, sounding ambiguous or crossing any boundaries. He was mindful of the fact that the young girl was travelling all alone for the first time.

Tears rolled down Tara's cheeks. She hastily wiped them and put the picture back into the bag. "Hmm....I miss them....alot", Tara said. And she clasped the book in her hand. 

Akash sensed that he had hit the wrong cord. So to divert the topic he said, "So what are you reading? A love story?".

Tara looked at the book in her hand 'Once upon a heartbeat'. "Yes it's a love story", she said, trying to sound normal, covering up, after the emotional moment. 

Tara looked outside the window. "Can I click pictures of the view outside? Is it allowed?", Tara asked . 

"Yes you can. Do it during the landing. The aircraft will loose its altitude so you'll again see those cottony clouds and all the skyscrapers, which will appear tiny from here. You can click pictures then", Akash sounded excited as he spoke.

Looking at his radiant face Tara gave a simper smile. "It's for my memory of my first ever flight", she said.

"She looks excited now, for the first time, about her new experience of flying", Akash thought as he smiled back at her.

The captain announced that they had reached near the destination city and the airplane would be landing shortly. 

"Here, Tara, look at the view and capture it's essence".

 "The mist covers the sky, making it fainter....Shades of enormous hues, God's a unique painter....", Akash said looking at the azure.

"So you are a poet", Tara said looking at Akash. 

"Sometimes, yes", Akash smiled back.

Tara clicked some pictures on her phone. She was so engrossed that she was totally ignorant of the jitters of landing.

Akash was glad that he had distracted her from the anxiety. The aircraft landed smoothly but the harsh sound once again made Tara tightly shut her eyes.

As she opened her eyes, she could see a large space with hangars. Big aircrafts were parked in there. The airport seemed huge. "I'm finally here, in this big, unfamiliar city", she murmured. 

"Landing done right", Akash exclaimed. 

Tara looked at him. "How is he always happy and positive? He must be having a loving family!", she wondered. 

Tara saw passengers getting up and hurriedly opening the overheard space to get their bags. So she took out her bag from under the seat and started stuffing it with her phone and book.

"Hey! You need to switch off the airplane mode in the mobile", Akash said.

Tara facepalmed herself and removed the phone from her bag again.

She smiled and did the needful. As she enabled the phone's connectivity, texts started popping up. She had received 3 missed calls. Her phoned beeped many times. Tara looked at the phone and sighed. 

Akash glanced at her. 

They got up to leave the aircraft. As they stepped into the airport, "Thankyou Akash for helping me out, for making my first flight comfortable and memorable. I will cherish this forever", saying this, Tara started to walk towards the exit.

"Hey Tara wait....", Akash shouted. "You need to collect your luggage from the belt", he said. Was he trying to delay this separation? Akash wondered. 

Tara turned around. "Oh yes. Where do I collect it from?", she asked tapping her forehead. 

They went towards the conveyor belt and collected their bags. 

"Is someone here to pick you up?", Akash asked.

"Yes", she said, showing the text on her mobile to him.

"Okay then, see you and take care", Akash said, stretching his hand forward for a handshake. Obviously with a heavy heart. 

Tara shook hands with him."Bye Akash and thanks a lot, once again for everything. I wish you all the best for your endeavours", Tara said. Her phone rang so she walked away, speaking on the phone. Her parting words meant as if they both would never cross paths again. 

Akash stood there with his trolley and his phone beeped.

*Click here for Part 7*

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