Beyond the Whispered winds

By Arohita Prakash

Shridhar's rejection of Arohi in her late teens has left her with an emotional vacuum over the years. Now with her being a self-made entrepreneur and an empowered woman, would she welcome the return of the man for whom her heart still yearns for? Will he provide the leverage for her to steer her dreams, in his consciousness or will they move on

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9789362693747

Book preview

Beyond the Whispered Winds

A Novel

Arohita Prakash

Ukiyoto Publishing

All global publishing rights are held by

Ukiyoto Publishing

Published in 2024

Content Copyright © Arohita Prakash

ISBN

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

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Dedicated to my experiences in life

Contents

Chapter 1  Butterflies and Blunders

Chapter 2  A Bridge Across Time

Chapter 3  Symphony of Sneakers

Chapter 4  Serendipity’s Kiss

Chapter 5  Secrets Buried Deep

Chapter 6  Destiny’s Threads

Chapter 7  Secrets Whispered in the Dark

Chapter 8  A Whisper in the Wind

Chapter 9  Serendipity’s Intervention

Chapter 10  Words of Wisdom

Chapter 11  Crossroads of Choice

Chapter 12  Unraveling Threads

Chapter 13  Across the Pond

Chapter 14  Worlds Reshaped

Chapter 15  Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter 1  Butterflies and Blunders

H

e yelled loudly, feeling shocked, gathering the attention of all present, ‘who, her?’ as Amita nodded, he continued smirking at the same pitch with a tone of sarcasm, dripping in his voice. ‘Unlucky me’ pointing out towards Amita’s friend, seated among a group of girls in a corner.

Arohi had a vivid recollection of the evening her friend Amita had spilled the beans to Shridhar, without her knowledge. Arohi had candidly revealed her little secret to Amita. Arohi had nurtured feelings for Shridhar. Which girl would not?

He was everything a girl would ever seek in a partner. His dapper, fair looks and a towering personality with a 6ft 2inches height made him pull strings in young hearts. Girls yearned for him. Awaited opportunities for tete a tete with him. He was brilliant at everything that he laid his hands on. An excellent academic track record made him the most sought after. However, Arohi had no indication that Amita would reveal her sweet secret to him. His sudden outburst in public had created an emotional turmoil within Arohi that had left a permanent dent in her consciousness. This had occurred years ago.

Today, Shridhar’s words kept coming back, haunting her crystal clear. She was sixteen then, fresh out of a girl’s convent having almost no knowledge about love except that she liked Shridhar. He had girls swooning over him. Four years her senior, yet she had experienced butterflies when he was around.

Arohi was brought back to the present moment by a loud knock on her bedroom door. The door had been opened by her mother, who peeped, putting half her head inside the room, and stated have dinner Arohi nodded. Suprabha, Arohi’s mother closed the door to her daughter’s room behind her, moving towards the dining room. Arohi continued her reminiscing.

At twenty-eight, now, history had repeated itself. Akshit, her fiancé had called off their engagement, after being together for over six months. He had called her while she was at work Arohi, we need to steer away, in different directions. We are incompatible came his words, hitting her hard, yet again. Numb, she had not responded or reacted. She had come home and informed her parents.

After Shridhar’s response then, she had started fearing responses from men. She did experience infatuations, crushes along the way, all these years. But she had managed to retain her emotions to herself. With Akshit whom she had been engaged to, everything had been arranged by the elders. He was a man with ordinary looks, presumably sharing commonalities with her, she had thought, but things had come to a full stop.

Her heart fluttered and she experienced butterflies to this day on viewing Shridhar. Since inception, he lived with his parents, in the same apartment block as hers. Now, at thirty-two, he had qualified with an economics and management degree.

He worked in a Multinational (MNC) bank, as a senior vice president, and had been married for a year, to a colleague whom he had met in one of the many organizations that he had worked for. It had been a love marriage. She was equally qualified, with a management degree, a smart beauty. However, things had gone sour between them, and they had divorced two years back. 

Chapter 2  A Bridge Across Time

I

t’s been over six months now since Akshit had called off their engagement.

It is a Saturday. Amita is getting married. The wedding is scheduled to take place at 11 am. Arohi is present at the event along with her group of friends. Sitting next to her friend Smruti, draped in a mango color silk saree with a broad bottle green color zari (used for Indian ethnic wear) border, Arohi looks sweet, simple yet graceful.

The deep U cut of Arohi’s straight silky hair which she has left loose, lengths up till her waist. Light make-up with a slight touch of blush, eye shadow, lipstick, kajal (Indian word for a part of the eye makeup) and a decorated small bindi (Indian ethnic wear, adorned between the eyebrows by Indian women) that matches the color of her saree (Indian traditional outfit).

Arohi has adorned small gold jhumkas (Indian ethnic jewelry) in her ears, a delicate gold necklace that sits perfectly at the nape of her neck and two gold kangans (Indian ethnic jewelry) each in both her forearms. A small gold ring on the index finger of her right hand, a clutch that matches her saree and sandals having a gold zari provide her a complete look.

Both Arohi and Smruti in between turn their heads to converse with their other friends, who are seated in the row behind. Just then Shridhar enters. Arohi notices him.

Shridhar’s dapper