~It is funny when day by day nothing changes but suddenly when you look back you find everything's changed~

We live in novels that have been created just for us. Worlds woven by words that we circle as though we are the Earth and they, the sun. Stories we tell ourselves become who we are, and suddenly, we are orbiting time and space like we are following a script.

There was absolute hustle and bustle in the Manhattan School of Music as it was the Annual Function Day. Not only it was a barometer to test the super-management skills of the professors without losing their calm but also for the students who kept roving everywhere with flourish of trumpet without reluctance.

Tightening the ponytail for one last time, I kept walking through the corridor of the large Auditorium attached to our Academy. My wandering feet suddenly desisted as I heard my name being called.

"Ms.Baker?" And I turned finding Gabrielle who strode towards me gaily.

"Mam, have you seen the arrangements? How do you like it? It's my first year as the Students' Secretary here and I want every single thing to be faultless." She uttered blithely; I rested my hand lightly on her shoulder.

"It is nothing but perfect. Relax." I assured.

Apart from teaching students music here, somewhere I became a part of them and thus with the littlest of things I found my presence interlaced. She heaved a breath of relief as we started walking towards the music wings.

"Mam, you have no idea how stressed I am right now." She expressed throwing her hands in the air and I simply studied her raising my brows.

"C'mon relax now, sweetheart. I know for every little thing you are called upon, yet I would advise you to catch some breath." I smiled.

"No mam, nothing..absolutely nothing can go wrong today. It's not about me operating as a Secretary but it's also about representing our Academy before our special guest. I can totally imagine how heavenly things are gonna get when he will be walking in with all his aura. Oh my god!" She grinned with moony eyes.

But somewhere who that 'he' could be, gave birth to a puny dubiety in my heart although I shook my head trying my best to not roll my eyes.

"Gabrielle, who is this gues......" I couldn't finish what I started because of a tap landing on my shoulder. Just as I turned around, a warm smile played on my lips.

"How are you Mrs. Williams?" I asked while Gabrielle managed to sneak out of the scene giving instructions on her walky-talky.

Mrs. Williams, apart from being the Dean of the Academy was the single person being with whom I didn't miss my family. In her childless middle aged life, she embraced me showering all her love as she would have on her own child.

"Audrey, how are you? How was the Summit in Ibiza?" She asked me signalling to walk.

"It was totally worthwhile." I smiled.

"And you didn't say how you are." She politely teased the question again.

"Ah.. I'm all fit and fine Mrs. Williams, thank you." I replied.

"You could have taken a little break though." I shook my head.

"Then I would have missed the Annual Day and you already know how I love this even more than Christmas." She happily agreed nodding her head remembering the bond between this celebration and me belonged to the days when I used to be a student in here.

"I know, I know. But for now I'm scared of the disorganisation that may happen after our special guest arrives. You know, how these teenagers act wild at times!" She fretted. "It's about this academy which has an aristocracy to maintain."

"I'm there, Mrs. Williams and nothing will go wrong. I will just see if the students need any of my help and then will be join you shortly." I stated. Patting on my shoulder, she marked her exit.

The backstage was a mess. Every student who had a performance to do kept jumping on their places in nervousness at the thought of performing before 800 people. I was never a teacher rather a friend and thus they dumped all their tantrums on me starting from their outfits, hairdo, makeup correction and mental dysfunction.

"Don't worry, you will just be great, trust me." I repeated for the nth time to those scared kittens.

"Ms. Baker?" I turned around to discover Professor Ethan approaching me.

"Mrs. Williams wants to see you in the Assembly Room." Creasing creasing my eyebrows, I bobbed my head feebly.

"I'll see you people around, don't chicken out okay?" Turning my head to the students, I mouthed before making way towards the Assembly Room.

It was some five minutes walk which needed to cross one large corridor and one cemented bridge connecting the two huge buildings.

"Mrs. Williams, you called me?" I quizzed, soberly gaping at few other faculty members gathered there. Slowly she turned around wearing that ravishing smile she looked best with.

"Oh Audrey, come. I want you to meet our special guest." She welcomingly slid her arm around my middle back while an abstraction built inside my stomach.

"Won't he be performing?" I asked nonchalantly trying to maintain the decorum.

"Yes, my child but I won't be able to introduce my faculty members with him properly amidst all the chaos of the students as everybody would be wanting his attention then. Thus, I'm taking this opportunity, after all, we being the teachers have that right prior to our students." She and her witty comments would not give anyone the idea of her age.

Guiding me a little, she walked ahead of me to tap the shoulder of a tall gentleman who was busy calling someone over phone with his back at us. As he received the tap, putting the phone on other ear, he proceeded to turn around and I lowered my head gaping the mosaic tiles underneath.

I failed to comprehend why certain thing was seeming off about the whole situation. Meeting new people wasn't big of a deal considering I was never a lady who would shy away but there was something ticking off. There was a different hitch in the bed of air which tantalised some steam on the dusted window of my life. There was a knock on that door, the keys of which I buried ten feet below the ground. Mrs. William's giggles broke my jar of thoughts but I kept fidgeting my fingers.

"Audrey, meet him, the world-class musician whom we are privileged to have here with us tonight.." Plastering a benign smile on my face I chinned up "Mr.Luke Evans." She announced.

It was like watching a movie being played on the blank screen of my mind; with the only similarity being his forever strangeness.

Luke Evans.

I repeated that again in my mind. I repeated it like a song without lyrics.

The name was enough to set my caged, tamed feelings go havoc causing ruckus in the median of my heart, all again.

6 years.

6 long years.

And there he was, the past that I buried in the coffin of life never knowing it would again stand facing me uprightly. It was the moment I felt everything then there was the moment next, I felt nothing and I didn't know which was worse.

He stood before me 6 years later and nothing made sense anymore.

"Mr.Evans, meet Ms.Baker, the most precious faculty member we have in here. Trust me, she absolutely is one gem." He nodded partly raising one of his brows as Mr.Williams broke the ice.

I went so blank plunging deep into my thoughts that the people around including him gave me all awkward stares. Shaking away my thoughts, I had to look composed and smile vibrantly like my heart was not breaking under my chest, only if they could see the thousands of moons dying forming a graveyard under my skin.

"Hi, Ms.Baker." I smiled gulping the lump in my throat and he extended his hand for a formal shake.

"Luke Evans" He uttered smiling as charmingly as he always did.

Some chapters are never closed.

~The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of words being there, written in invisible ink and clamouring to become visible~