Seas have a different level of tranquility in them.The constant buzz of the waves crashing on the shore, the never ending nature of them, the feeling that it is so vast and so beautiful. Those waves, created somewhere in between the water body and then they travel this far, only to crash and rebuild again. It gives me hope and immense strength, the oceans and seas. The hope that life is actually vast. That there should always be a drive to build yourself up from scratch and never fret for the fall and crash. It doesn't matter if you are shattered. Just retreat a little, go back, relax and rise again. Just like these waves. Just like me and my mother. We are literally trying to rebuild our life from the scratch. We have fallen and had shattered, only to rise again from nothing and build back again a life with a zest to never stop.

The ocean and seas, they fascinate me with their every little hidden mesages for life!

I am lost and sucked into the endless waves when a loud cacophony of something catches my ears. I look to my side to see the source. A wide grin spreads on my lips to see the most eccentric scene in front of me.

Eccentric, yes. Because there stands a boy, tall and muscular surrounded by two dogs who were following him as he was running towarfs the place where I sat trying to escape them.

What a fool! Didn't he know dogs chase you more if you try to take off through running! Did he really think he could escape them on foot?

He looks exhausted by the time he came and pant about a foot away from me behind my back. The dogs stood by his side again, panting exactly like him and barking in between. It is a sight to behold! Hilarious to the core. Especially the way they three looked similar, panting out of exhaustion.

" Abe yaar, ja na yaar. Bhakk yaha se.!" I chuckle to hear the way he is dismissing the twin dogs. It was funny to watch how such a big guy looked so sacred of such petty and adorable animals.

Yes adorable. I am an out and out  lover of animals, specifically dogs. They fascinate me to no end.

" Yaar kya chahiye yaar. Why don't you two just fuck off!" His constant trial to shoo them off all ends in vain. The dogs keeps on wagging their tails and barking at him, the intensity of their barks intensifying with each passing  moment. I sit there, silently watching the entire scene. It was hilarious. Especially the frown on his face and the beads of sweat that formed on his forehead.

An idea strikes me suddenly. I rise up from the place I was seated and walk to where he stood, looking as if he would pee on his pants anytime soon.

I crouch down in front of them and start with every tricks I knew around dogs to calm them down. I take my hand and scratch the place just above and between their eyes and below their chin. The exact place they find solace. Dogs have their own way of judging people. As far as I know of their habits, touching them here makes them calm down, until and unless they are of ferocious breed.

And these two were mere Rhodasians. I scratch their fur and mumble sweet incoherent nothings into their ears. In no time they purr and gather around me, like two perfect obedient pets. I crane my neck to watch the boy stand gobsmacked. He is looking at me with this unbelievable look in his eyes.

" Stop ogling and please can you get me a packet of biscuit?" I scowl to break his stupor and vest my interest back to these two munchkins . These dogs.... I don't know if they have been fed or not. Rhodasians have a tough life. Sometimes they are overloaded with food and sometimes they are not. My love for them wanted then to be fed.

" Um. Yes. But what for?" He frowns, his gaze still latched at me as if i am an alien not a human.

" Biriyani banani hai " I roll my eyes at his stupidity. What an idiot!

" Of course to feed them!" I scoff.

" Um yes. Yea. I. I think I have a packet of biscuit in my backpack." He fumbles, pulling the straps of his backpack off his shoulder and takes out a packet of biscuit, half eaten. No wonder he was attacked. These sweethearts were hungry and he just presented them with something to drool for.

I take the packet of biscuits and start to feed them in no time. They seem to be so so hungry and munch and bite on them.

" Do you have something more in there?" I ask him again. The dogs were still insatiated and their eyes were fixed on his bag.

" Um..yes. I guess I have a burger." He takes out a half eaten burger this time. I spare him a duh look taking that from him. Total idiot!

" Is that why they were chasing me" he dare to ask. I roll my eyes at his stupidity.

" Nops. They have fallen madly in love with you and wants you to father their kids that is why!" I couldn't find any other answer. Don't mind my sarcasm though. I have a really dry one. He stood there with his mouth wide open for a minute before he threw his head back and laughed. I craned my neck again and watched him.  Fuck! He looked so good laughing unceremoniously.

For the first time I realise what a good looking boy he is. Probably years older then me, but boy his charms. That dimple across his left cheek and that deep boring eyes that was glimmering as he laughed his heart out.

The dogs are well fed once I had split the burger between them.

" You have water?" I ask. He complies taking a bottle out of his backpack.

" Please pour it into my hand." I instruct cupping my hands and creating a place for him to pour some water. He follows obediently. I move my hands in front of those two munchkins. They lap up the water directly from my cupped hand.

" Eww.gross." I hear him chide.

" Shut up and pour some more." I retort back. I was a little rude I know but how can one gross out from such adorable creatures!

" Are you an idiot, do you know that!" I washed my hands as he kept pouring water from his thermal bottle. The dogs were well fed and now they are lying on the ground, satiated and lazy.

" What do you even mean ?" The boy frowns. He even looks pissed. Normal it is. He just got to hear himself called a certified idiot from barely a teenager. Every sane man would react to such a taunt right?

Ok, so I have to be a little cordial with people around me. This is Mumbai and not Mohali where everyone was aware of their dwellers.

" Uh I mean... fool. Yes fool, you are such a fool you know!" I correct my statement at once. Why take risk with strangers!

Why even talk or help strangers! My conscious brain growls. I take a deep breath and get a grip on my overtly obedient brain who seems to be in synch with every parental advice my mother comes up with.

" Huh. Cowards." I hear him murmur. What the fuck! I even mutter that aloud, only controlling my impulse to quickly change the fuck to heck at the last moment.

" What the fuuuuu... heck?" I turn and glare at him.

" What?" He scowls.

" You just called me a coward! Why?" I am practically on the verge of loosing my cool. What does this boy think of himself? How can he call his savior a coward! Did he just forget how he was sweating a while back with these predators on toe! Bloody idiot! I was so right about him. He is an idiot. A certified idiot.

" And you called me a certified idiot!"

" No" I deny immediately. " I called you a fool." I justify back.

" Yea, right right. As if i didn't hear you." He scoffed back. The hell of an attitude he has.

" Ok fine yes. I take my words back and stick to what I said earlier. You are a certified idiot." I give him a frown.

" Oh really. Care to explain." His eyes roam all over me. Taking a glance at me from top to my bottom. A shiver runs down my spine. Is he checking me out!

" Who carries half eaten burger and open packet biscuits to a beach? Didn't you know you will be hounded by strays here. They are good deprived and you give them a reason to just follow and growl at you and then you are all scared. Wow. Great presence of mind you have. " The sarcasm was on point. I gave myself a tap on my shoulders in my imagination for being this upfront and brave.

Well, not that I am a very introvert kind of a person although. Back at Mohali, people knew who Shehnaaz Dhillon was. A child who never backed out to give people a piece of her mind when required. But this is Mumbai and this boy, a practical stranger. What if he attacks on me! Here goes the brain all hyper again.

Get a grip brain! I scoff at myself, but all imaginary.

He opens his mouth to defy, but closes without any word. Probably not having anything to justify his stupidity. He stands and fumbled for a while before coming back with a reply.

" How was i supposed to know that they were hungry?" He shrugs. Huh, common sense. You have none , boy..just loaded with charms and good looks with an empty brain.

" Because strays are always hungry. Imagine yourself living on leftovers and trash. How would you react when you smell good food after like...ages?" He stands there, dumbfounded with a 'are you for real' look so evident on his face.

" What?" I ask him for his expressions.

" Did you just compare me with a dog! A street dog?"

" Rhodasians!"

" What?"

" Rhodasians. They have a name!" I assert.

" Really. Are you serious?"

" Do I look like I am fooling around you?" I'm no less if he thinks. I am Shehnaaz, the sherni from Punjab!

" They are living animals for God sake. Breathing creatures and not just any object that you can call them with any names. They have heart too.. aapko idiot bulaya toh kaisa laga! Imagine them going through the same. You have a voice to raise and protest, they don't even have that. All they can do is growl and bark. And when they do that, people start to imagine that they are being beasts and can attack them. Why would they  without any cause. Pagal hai kya woh jo bina reason k they will attack. They are exactly like us, retailing when in danger. He good to them and watch them become your best friend. Like they say, there is no one who can beat dogs when it comes to trust and friendship!" The entire thing comes out in a monologue. I can feel his stare on me but decide to overlook that. We have started walking by now, without any conscious decision and like an intrinsic call, he has started to walk beside me as well. Probably mesmerized with everything I had to say!

No, not probably definitely mesmerized with my monologue because this is exactly what he conveys to me the very next moment.

" Wow. Like wow." He halts and says. I too stopped and turn to lock my eyes with his appreciative ones.

" I mean I have never thought this aspect ever. And the way you made me realise their hidden feelings.. that was amazing." I feel my cheeks heat up. They suddenly feel so warm and tingling.

The fuck! Am I blushing! 

Oh no no no. Shehnaaz never can blush. There is no man on earth who can make me blush. What the fuck is wrong with me that i am blushing with a few words from a stranger!

" Thank you " I give him a feeble smile and start to walk back the route I came from. He starts to follow my steps at once. I turn to glare at him again

" Why are you following me?" I ask, aware and alert, just the way my mother asked me to. He can be harmful! Is he harmful?

He stops for a while and whoa! Breaks into a hearty laughter throwing his head back. I keep on standing there, looking flabbergasted.

" You haven't started to imagine me as a stalker did you?" He was relentlessly laughing still. I consciously extract my gaze away from him, flushed. Boy, he caught me there!

" Oh f....fish. you did !"

" Umm no..mmm yea.. I mean.. I .. I don't know you right? How would I know! "

" So know me then.. Hi myself Sidharth and you.." he gives me a sweet sweet smile, extending his palm cordially for a shake. I keep on flexing my gaze from his face to his palm, dubious to think what i should be doing when he assures with a wink.

A wink? The Fuck again!

But it was his words that brought an instant smile to my face as he said " common, I don't bite too without a reason you know." Exaggerating on the word bite with a hidden sarcasm and I just couldn't contain myself from laughing out loud at his insinuation. The joke was harmless and so looks his eyes, expecting and twinkling with a charm that I simply couldn't resist.

" Shehnaaz." I said extending my own palms to shake his hand. He nods and human my name again dralling on the a like a beautiful hymn. His own personal hymn.

" Shehnaaaaaz."

And we started to walk back once again, with a smile plastered on our faces, the onset of something beautiful, something so profound and beyond the petty relationships of this world. Something we both didn't know till then.

***

Hey guys, hope you will like this version of the story as well. Someone told me to give this book as a sequel to Ala Rasi original. The idea was compelling, but but but, there is a change in the whole scenario, the equation between the two protagonist . Ab kya woh mat puchna but hai and i started this version as the final edited draft that will shift to the desk of the publishers. Dekhte hai agge kya hota hai ya fir main kaha tak isko merge kar sakti hu purane Wale k saath. Agar kar payi toh isko second version k hisaab se rakhungi, as a prequel.

One more request. Jinhone first chapter padh liye ho already, please go through it once again. There is a slight change over there that could not be published because of Wattpad glitch. Do give it a read once again if possible.

And please give your comments on how do you find this reprised version of Ala Rasi. Please don't look at it from the point of view of Sidharth and Shehnaaz, the real people. Take it as solo book with characters who have a same name. And then you will find two beautiful people with a great bond, inexplicable in an earthly way. Please don't judge the book as a sidnaaz fan. Read it as a Sanu fan who just loves to give tribute to them both through the pages of a book.

Until the next chapter,

Take care
Love you all

Sanu