It was another hot day. Because of the Indian climate. Rhea was sipping her orange juice, sitting on her bed.

"Di?" Noor shouted as he jumped in front of her.

She examined him head to toe for a moment and went to the balcony to drink the juice, ignoring him as always.

"Di!" He followed her to the balcony as he picked up something from the floor that he had dropped after entering the room.

"Idiot. What happened?" She asked, looking at the road beneath the balcony.

"I've got something for you." He smiled excitedly, showing his front teeth as she glanced at him. She hated his presence in her room because his breath stinks!

"What?" She asked annoyedly.

"Curtains!" He said as she jumped with excitement.

"Oh my god! Really? That's great!" She smiled. "I was SO needing this!" She put her glass on the cemented railing of the balcony.

"Here, the chocolate colored one is for you and this white one is mine!" He said.

"But I want the white one!" She pouted and snatched it from him.

"Hey please! This isn't fair!" He snatched it back from her.

"Uwa! No!" She cried. What's next? The siblings fight has started! They fought till the end of the battle. How did they battle end, you ask? They were fighting at the balcony! The curtains flew away!

"Shit!" Both of them said as the reason for their war, the curtains, flew away and hit the neighbor's window.

"Run! Run! Run!" Rhea panicked as Noor had already run away.

"Noor, let's ru-" She turned back to see that he was long gone.

"Son of a-" She cursed him and ran downstairs.

They stood below the neighbor's balcony in hope that he/she might return their property.

"Who the hell did this?!" A harsh voice was heard as the footsteps walked to the balcony. She gazed at the balcony, above her head with a nervous smile. The heat was scorching as she faced the direct sunlight.

"Hey lovely boy!" She waved at him as he glared at the Laghari siblings. Noor passed her a look. She laughed in a weird way, thinking that she could use some tricks. But girl, did she know that she is not so good at flirting?

"So it's you, huh?!" He yelled at her, making her gulp, as a drop of sweat rolled down her face.

"I-It was a mistake," She mumbled. "Sorry." As she started to melt by the heat.

"Do you think 'sorry' is enough?" He folded his arms in front of his chest.

"So...?" She raised her eyebrows and put her hand on her forehead to block the sunlight so that she could have a proper look at him.

He looked at her for a while and then went to his room, after throwing the curtains off the balcony.

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion "Pretty harsh!" She said as the curtains fell right on her.

Noor had already disappeared. She somehow managed to get the curtains off her and stood below her own room's balcony. She huffed to calm down a bit in the shade. But soon enough, she realized that some sort of tacky, orange liquid was poured onto her. She looked upwards to find Noor, finishing her whole drink!

"NOOOOOORRRRRRRR!!!!" She roared as she raged in anger. "You mother-f***k!"

After beating Noor to death and teaching him the lesson of life, Rhea finally took a shower. Then she went to her room and the next thing she did was calling Alicia.

"My bestie!" She shouted "I'M BACK AND I WANT TO SEE YOU! COME HERE! NOW!"

"Pff-haha, are you planning to make me deaf girl?" Alicia laughed. "Wait, what?" Then realization struck her head. "YOU RETURNED TO INDIA?!?!?!?!???!?!?!?!?" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I thought that I was dying to see you. But I'm really dying after hearing you scream! Now YOU are making me deaf!" She chuckled.

"I'm coming right now! Where do you live?!" She said excited as if she was just five minutes away from her.

"At home."

"Oh." She giggled. And with that, she hanged up the call. Rhea lied on her bed and closed her eyes. To recall the memories of the past year. She was ready to tell her childhood best friend all of that.

"Ember...."

* * * * *

"So, who will decorate the Christmas tree?" The teacher asked as the students on the trip, gathered at the hall room.

"Let me choose a boy and a girl. You are in-charge of the Christmas tree. You have to decorate the tree over night." She said as the students agreed. "Okay so...." She looked at everyone's faces.

"...Ember?" She spoke as Ember stepped forward. "...and..." She looked into her attendance register.

"...uh...Rhea." She announced as Rhea peeked from behind the Christmas tree. Ember's eyes were widened as Rhea joined the group of students.

Ember and Rhea stood there in the hall while the others were leaving for their rooms.

"Rhea?" Ember turned to her.

"Ember." She called his name, in response. It was too innocent how she spoke his name phlegmatically.

"Where did you go that time?" He asked with a serious look on his face.

"I was right here." She smiled and nodded sideways as, no. "Always here. I was always here."

"I'm not getting you."

"One day you will get me. For sure." She nodded, yes.

"I'm-"

"Let's start the decoration of the tree." She cut him off as she picked up some baubles and started putting them on the Christmas tree. Ember looked confused as he picked up the tinsels from the decoration basket and started wrapping it around the tree.

"Rhea, Do you like songs that are played on guitars?" He said as he took a break after almost an hour.

"Yes." Rhea answered phlegmatically again, without any emotions as she selected some more ornaments to hang on the tree—some decorative snowflakes and angels.

"♪Do you want to listen to a song
That's written by me?♪" He said in a melodious tone.
"♪Tell me that I'm not wrong
While your decorating the tree♪"

Rhea gazed at him, awestruck as he pulled out a guitar from behind the curtains.

"♪This is the song that I wrote for you♪" He sang as he struck the strings of the guitar.
"♪I like it and I know that you like it too♪"

Rhea sat down beside the tree with cushions on her lap to listen to his melody.

♪"You're sitting there and I want to sit there too♪" He continued singing.
"♪I wanna hold you tight and put my arms around you♪" He sang and slowly walked towards her with the guitar.

"♪Close your eyes, feel this harmony." He said with a much soothing melody.
"♪Promise you won't go away,
We'll re-write our destinies♪"

Rhea closed her eyes to feel his voice and the harmony surrounding them. Ember slowly touched her hand, trying hard to manage playing the guitar with one hand. Shivers ran down Rhea's spine. But this kind of feeling is what she felt was needed.

"♪With our hands interlocking
And my eyes on you♪" He said with that look on his face as he gazed at her. 
"♪I'll show you what I feel,
And my love for you...♪" He paused. "♪...is trueee~♪"

Rhea slowly opened her eyes, as Ember sang, "It's trueee~♪"

"It's trueee~♪"

"For you~♪"

"For youuu~♪"

Rhea flushed red and got up.

"♪I hope by now you've understood me♪" He continued with his symphony.
"♪It's midnight but nowhere else I'd rather be♪"

Rhea looked at the clock after listening to his lyric, as the clock struck twelve. Midnight.

"♪Singing this song that I wrote for you♪" Now he played the instrument with both of his hands.
"♪I hope you like me like the way I like you♪"

Rhea blushed. She moved away from him and tried to carry on with the decoration of the tree.

"♪Every moment I feel like you're going away♪" He got up and follow her all the way to the Christmas tree.

"♪I'll hold your hand to make you stay..." He stopped playing and put the guitar against the tree to hold her hands with both of his. "...and listen to what I say!♪" Both of them locked their sights into each other's eyes.
"♪Close your eyes,
Feel this harmony♪" He sang the second pre-courus.
"♪Promise you won't go away
We'll re-write our destinies♪"

Her lips parted into a sweet smile.

"♪With our hands interlocking
And my eyes on you
I'll show you what I feel
And my love for you is...♪" He paused.

"It's true." Rhea spoke and he smirked with amusement.

"♪It's true♪" Ember sang.

"♪It's true♪" She repeated after him.

"♪For you...♪"

"For me?" She asked and replied, singing, "♪For you too...♪"

"♪For you...♪"

"♪For you too...♪"

"♪It's time to let go all the negative emotions♪" Now he began with the bridge of the song.
"♪I remember when you said you felt my eyes are like oceans♪"

"Yes they are..." She whispered shyly, with a blush appearing on her face.

"♪I'll hold on to your words which you said to me
You know, my love isn't fake and it can never beeee!♪" He hit a higher note.
"♪Cause all the feelings that I have for youuu-♪"

"♪Is true...♪" Rhea smiled as she joined his song.

"♪It's true oooh♪" Ember sang, more melodiously. "♪It's true oooh...it's true true, true true, true true, for you uuuh!♪"

Rhea stood on her toes and tried to kiss Ember on the cheek.

"♪I'd wanna tell you to close your eyes and 'don't you let go'♪" He said as he realized what she was up to. "♪As I'll kiss you tonight underneath the mistletoe♪" He said in one breath as he noticed a mistletoe leaf falling from the top of the tree. He closed his eyes after her and pulled her in for a kiss. The leaf split into two and each piece landed on their heads as he pressed his lips softly on hers and brushed them against each other.

"♪The feeling that I have for you....♪" He whispered, breaking the kiss after a few moments.

"♪I know, it's true♪" She smiled, ending the song right there.

-to be continued...

Song Credits:
Title: It's True
Song written by ItsMistar
Will be on YouTube soon

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