The vibe in "Love Hunt" bar was thick with an intoxicating blend of smoke and fragrant cocktails. In the shadow of soft amber lighting, as loud music melted into the room, laughter and cheers soon faded into a cocophony of whispers.
The hands of the clock struck 8'O clock, and an atmosphere of anticipation and admiration bloomed among the patrons.
A pair of toned legs, clothed in denim jeans ascending the stage, a black guitar slung over his shoulder. As he stepped up the stage, gleaming glints of stage lighting shattered over his back that was dressed in fitted black jacket.
"Abhay! Abhay!Abhay!Abhay!" The bar echoed with euphoric whooping and fervid cheering.
With his muscular body, that whispered both strength and grace, Abhay settled himself on a wooden chair, and adjusted the microphone stand. His movements summoned attention, an magnetic and majestic aura that lured people in, like moths to a flame.
As the glimmer of yellow light touched his chiseled face, his playful grin and his teasing wink jolted both customers and bartenders to enter in a phase of frenzy.
He moved his legs, a subtle apart and braced the strap of the guitar to adjust it in his lap. As his brown eyes gazed the eager faces before him, his crimson lips formed an enchanting smile, a smile that harbored the spells of charms, making both men and women lose their breathes.
Ahem! Ahem! He cleared his throat.
"My beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen!" Abhay said, his voice mellow and enthusiastic, "and my breathtaking fellas! Well, today's is a special day. So I will play two songs instead of one. Are you all thrilled!"
"Hurray! Hurray!" The barflies cheered.
A gracious lady, who was a regular, was seated in the front table. Her tender legs crossed and grape wine in her glass. Unable to kill her bug of curiosity, she posed a question, "Abhay! Did you finally got selected in a band? I would love to see you sing as a star. You deserve huge stardom, not a few patrons."
"What band! Nah! I don't wanna!" Abhay responded, a seductive grin beaming on his face. He leaned in, as if sharing a secret. "Well...it's a birthday." His gaze flickering with intense passion, as if this was a day, he cherished and waited for his whole life.
"Your birthday is on 25 August. And that's almost 2 months away." The lady took a sip from her glass wine, the diamond of the ring occupying her ring finger dazzled like a star, reflecting the lighting of the room. "Your girlfriend? Then, you are gonna lose your popularity." Her peircing stare was bold and sharp, as if an eagle had lost its prey, when it was just about to catch it.
"My enemy!" Abhay locked his gaze with the lady, a sneer was shining on his face. "And nobody needs to worry about my popularity," he continued, stroking the bridge of electric-acoustic guitar his lap was supporting, "as long as, this guitar is in my hands, people will drag themselves back to me."
"Now it's time for my performance, Miss Naina! We can always catch later about my relationship status." His voice, a smooth hiss of sultry. "Do you mind, laterrrrrr!" With a blink, he blew a playful kiss, provoking a chorus of shyful giggles in response.
As Abhay's delicate fingers began strumming the strings of his guitar, a hush fell over the bar.
The first notes floated through the air, captivating both minds and hearts of the listeners. The song was a popular cover of 'Voilet', a band that was the heartbeat of India and the singer and lyricist was Sameer Raina, the pulse of that heart. The song's title was "A brutal dream" and it was the first song Sameer Raina had sung after coming to the band.
The mesmerizing voice of Abhay and the soul-stirring lyrics written by Sameer Raina intertwined. The result was a divine melody, swaying the hearers, their worries momentarily forgotten.
As the final notes faded into hushed murmurs, a hint of bittersweet smile graced over Abhay's face.
"Have you guys ever felt such intense emotions for someone to the point that you would rather be consumed by their darkness than live a quiet life without them." He said, his voice deep and smooth.
"Aww! Our little Abhay has fallen in love with someone." The bartender, Prateek who was busy pouring drinks to customers, yet he took time from his hectic toil to tease him.
"What love, Prateek!" Abhay scolded him playfully, his jabs a gentle chiding . "It's not always love that can devour people."
"Not love, then what is it!" He paused, anticipating an answer from the audience.
"Anger!"A man among the customers attempted to answer.
"Nah!" Abhay nodded, dismissing the response.
"Sadness! I mean, if that person had hurt us in any way." A lady who was seated beside Ms. Naina, shot another answer.
"How can it be sadness, you silly girl!" Naina smacked on the back head of the lady. "Come on...use your tiny brain."
"Abhay! You tell us the answer now. No body here is smart enough not to answer your question." Prateek teased, his words stones of sarcasm. "You are the smartest person! You are the smartest person alive! You satisfied? Now Answer!"
"Odium" Abhya finally let the cat out of the bag. "That's the title for the song i have written."
With a faint smile, he looked at the people he was entertaining.
To them, "Odium" was just a blend of musical verses they were eager to listen but to Abhay, it carried the strains of sorrows from his past. A past that had been shackling him every moment he lived. A past that had been peircing him at every chunk of air he inhaled.
He closed his eyes, allowing the music to take him away, away from the stares that demanded answers, away from the world that was longing to hear the lyrics yet not a single soul willing to lighten his burden.
His voice resonated with his raw emotions as he poured his soul into the lyrics.
Deep within the heart of a black sea,
A dark wave, dark enough to block my vision,
Piercing me;
And,
My tired body surging in.
The lyrics flowed from him like a dark river, pulling the listeners into a world of despair and bitterness. Abhay's voice was an anguish melody, each word dripping with agony, evoking images of his internal struggle and plea for help.
Rebeling against the current,
I want to leap up,
But....
But..
Plague of past clinging onto my skin,
Heaps of torrent arms pulling my limbs,
Pulling me into a endless pit.
An attempt that was bound to fail,
A turmoil of survival in vain.
As he sang, the crowd stayed still, lost in the haunting beauty of his words; naive and unaware that each verse indicated the storm that was torning his heart beyond repair, and his silent scream for survival.
Only if,
the heaven pities me;
Only if,
a kind soul sees me;
Only if,
someone hears me,
Only if,
Only if,
a pair of hands could reach out,
I am still waiting there,
On the brink of drowning,
Tossing by the waves of agony.
As the final note lingered in the air, a profound silence fled over the bar before it blew up with applauses and hootings.
Abhay smiled, placing his guitar down. A satisfying grin beaming on his face. "How was my song? Did you all like it!"
Along with tidal waves of claps, the words of appraisal echoed in the bar:
"That was beautiful!"
"Great job! You played really well."
"You should try more original songs, not only covers."
"Booze alongside performance of Abhay, a perfect weekend."
Abhay unclasped the strap of the guitar and moved the microphone stand, placing it aside. "That's it for today. Let's see each other next weekend. Till then, work, eat, sleep, and repeat."
As he walked out of the room, his charming smile went off. A smirk formed on his lips as he saw the strings of his guitar glittering in red.
Long live my guitar.
................
In the manager's office, a woman was sitting, dealing with some documental work. Her shoulders leaning towards the desk, and laptop screen reflecting on the glasses of her spectacles. A blue ball pen spinning in her right hand.
She was Richa Mahajan, a 36 years old lady and the owner of the "Love Hunt".
"Ahh! This month, again!" She let out a deep sigh.
"What happened?" Abhay who had entered into the manager's office not so long ago, still standing, saw her groaning in frustration. "Why are you frowning?"
"Well! It's my b*stard husband. He took my savings again and wasted it on drinks and gambling." Richa lifted her left hand and rubbed her wrinkled forehead, her right hand continuously flicking through the pages. "How long do I have to put up with him?
"Why don't you just divorce him? He is not worth to keep!" Abhay said while laying down on a sofa, his head resting against the backrest.
Richa broke her gaze from the piles of files and looked at Abhay who was immersed in the process of rejuvenating his energy. "Well! I can't live without him."
"Damn you! Richa! I didn't know you were a masochist." Abhay jolted his back up from the headrest.
"Haha, You can do better!" Richa retorted, her eyes returning to the set of papers she was preoccupied with. "Whether it's your Odium or my masochism, we both can't live without them!"
"How many years has it been!" Abhay slanted his back against the cushion, again diving into the phase of relaxing. Closing his eyes, he visited the graveyard of his memories. Regardless, how much peircings and stingings his heart had to bear, every now and then, he frequented the lanes of his misery.
"Almost eight." He said.
"And here, I was 22 when that b*stard took my heart and now I am 36. Mine is still longer." A faux laugher swept across the room.
The door slid opened through which two people entered. First one was the waitress, Anjali. A 20 years young girl, abandoned by her parents for her teen pregnancy. And second one was Prakeek, the bartender. He had been working in Love Hunt for 3 years. Besides Abhay's guitar and voice, Prateek's skills at making cocktails lured people in.
Prateek took off his outercoat and hung it on a hanger. He lounged on the chair near the couch on which Abhay was resting. "Wow, Abhay! You should join a band. What the h*ll are you doing in this tiny bar!"
"That's what I am trying to find for eternity. Still no answer." Richa said, while her attention and her eyes fixated on her documents.
"This tiny bar took care of me when I was homeless." Abhya answered, his eyes still closed. "And as for joining bands and having fans, i don't have a reason to do that."
"Reason! Who the f*ck needs a reason! Doesn't everyone wants that?" Prateek picked up the water bottle that was resting peacefully on the table and took few sips from it.
"No... Not everyone!" Abhay replied. "Some people just wants peace. Peace from people. Peace from this cruel life."
"Arghhh! If I listened to you anymore, I might want to end my life." Prateek snorted, placing the water bottle on the same position from where he had picked it up.
While these people were busy solving the mystery of why Abhay didn't want to join a band. Meanwhile, Anaya pulled out her phone and logged into her intergram. Scrolling, a post caught her attention.
"Heart of the 'Violet' got his heart broken"
She clicked on the link and a video popped out.
"A man who is heartbeat of the city, throb of the country, whom people loves, is deprived of love from his personal life. The girlfriend of Sameer Raina, Diya Mehra broke up with him. Today on Sameer Raina's birthday, they were supposed to get engaged yet our beloved singer had to spend his birthday alone drowning in the agony of his breakup."
"Oh! my God." Anaya's body went rigid and her mouth widened. Her scream gained the attention from the people over there.
"What happened?" Abhay parted his back from the soft cushioning.
"Sa....Sa..Sameer Rai....Rai..Raina....got dump....dumped... again." Anaya's voice trembling with disbelief.
"This was bound to happen. If not today, then maybe tomorrow. He is such a playboy." Prateek commented, a smirk crossing his round, youthful face.
"Shut up! You don't know him. He is such a sweetheart." Anaya defended the singer whom she had been admired since her teen years. "The woman who will get him would be the luckiest. That b*tch, Diya Mehra just kicked her own fortune."
"And do you know him personally?" Prateek shot back. "You crazy fans always defend your idols even if you guys have to tarnish the image of others."
His upper body leaned farward from his chair, staring into Anaya's warm, hazel eyes. "And I guess, you are one of those crazy fans."
"And do you know him enough to attack on him?" Anaya frowned, her hands gripping the edges of her seat.
"Why the h*ll are you defending him? Is he the owner of your big b*oty!" The last shot of Prateek blasted all nerves of the young girl who was taking side of the musician she highly favoured.
"F*ck you, Prateek!" Anaya slammed her palm on the armrest of the chair on which she was seated.
"Shut up! Both of you!" Abhay jolted up from his seat, anger flashing in his eyes. "Damn you guys! Your noise is disturbing my peaceful time. You guys asked me, what is the reason of mine not wanting to be an idol? Well, people like you are the main reason, who think lives of stars are their rights to discuss."
"Bloody j*rks!"Abhya rose from his comfy seat and wore his jacket.
"I'm taking my leave." He announced.
"Did the cab arrived?" Richa who was swamped in her own work, finally spoke.
"No it didn't. I would rather wait outside than staying here listening to these f*ckers." Abhay slung the bag of his guitar over his shoulder.
Prateek sprang up from his chair and approached Abhay. "Dude! Why the long face? Did we gossip about you?" He was wondering why Abhay who never gave a damn to what others talk was now this enraged to the level of cursing.
If considering his rest, both Anjali and Prateek had argued tons of times while he was asleep yet he never bothered to stop them. But this time, he was not even trying to sleep. He was just laying.
Abhay ignored him and headed for the door.
"Brother! We won't argue. Please stay." Anaya insisted, her voice smooth and angelic. Guilt flashing in her eyes and her voice.
"Let him go. He needs to attend his enemy's birthday party." Richa chuckled, a flicker of mischeif in her tone.
"Wonderful, another one!" Abhay sighed, his voice tinged with resignation. This time he ignored three of them and went out, leaving giggles and chuckles behind.
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