‘Smile a gentle smile,’ she said. Madhav was held spellbound by her aura.

‘Let go of all your frustrations. Feel them seeping out of you and into the ground with each measured breath.’ She was quiet for a few minutes. Then she slowly opened her eyes to find Madhav gazing dreamily at her face.

‘Madhav Mehra,’ she said sternly, breaking his trance. He came back to his senses with a jerk.

‘This is cheating,’ she said.

‘No, I just finished two minutes before you,’ he lied.

‘Hey, I know you pretty well by now, so don’t try to fool me.’ She stood up and brushed away the wet grass from her pants. ‘There’s no point trying to get you to meditate. We might as well leave,’ she said.

‘Are we going to the New Year’s Eve party tonight as you promised?’ Madhav asked as they walked back to the parking lot.

‘Yes, we shall because you sort of held up your end of the deal,’ she said as he made a puppy face.

‘Be ready by eight,’ he said as she sped off on her Vespa.

Radhika had asked Suresh to cancel all her appointments for the next two days. She was going to devote this time to helping Madhav.

Radhika looked at herself in the mirror. Despite her best efforts to curb them, her insecurities about her looks had intensified over the years. She refused to frequent clubs or parties with a young, hip crowd as she somehow felt inferior in their presence. Intellectually, she was aware that she was smart and capable, but she was unable to overcome her inherent insecurities about her appearance.

She looked through her wardrobe in search of a clubbing outfit. Her cupboard was full of kurtas and trousers. She wondered when she had become old and predictable. Falling in love or partying at a club wasn’t her cup of tea. But when Madhav asked her out, she couldn’t refuse. She picked up a glittery dress and looked for a pair of heels that she could wear with it. Suddenly frustrated, she threw the dress on her bed.

She picked up her phone and texted Madhav. ‘I cannot go. I don’t have anything appropriate to wear.’

Madhav was desperately trying to finish his pending work, which had to be submitted on Monday morning.

He replied to her in a hurry. ‘It will be dark in the club and no one will care. Just come!’

Radhika smirked at his reply and searched for her best outfit. Even though she was an independent woman who was happy being by herself, it felt good to have someone who forced her to face her fear of opening up and trusting people.

That night, lights glittered in the streets and loud music blared out of the speakers set up for parties. Florists, bakeries and alcohol shops were packed with people stocking up on last-minute supplies.

Madhav put on a black jacket, jeans and ankle boots and went downstairs.