My So-Called Bollywood Life(47)
“How could you?” she whispered.
“He wasn’t for you,” Raj said calmly. “We were meant to be, Winnie. Bracelet, name, everything. And we still are. It’s your prophecy, but I’m part of it.”
“You only gave me that bracelet because you thought that’s what was expected of you, Raj. What does that say about you and me? And it was really easy for you to go to Jenny when I wasn’t around during the summer. The minute we met again at the first film-club meeting—no, when you heard Dev comment on how I looked at that meeting—all of a sudden you were interested again.”
“That’s not true.”
Winnie walked to him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his smooth cheek. “If I don’t see you in the halls, I’ll meet up with you next week before the fund-raiser to help the committee set up.”
She walked away, ignoring his protests, his apologies, everything. Raj was behind her now, and she needed to start acting like she believed it.
* * *
—
Winnie wore a white tunic top, a white chuni, and white balloon pants. Her frizzy hair fell in waves past her shoulders. She stood in the middle of a mustard field, a farmhouse in the distance. The sound of a cowbell and familiar chords playing on a mandolin rang over the wide spaces. There was nothing but blue skies, the smell of fresh, clean air, and music.
“Shah Rukh Khan, if you think I wouldn’t recognize one of your most famous scenes from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, then you’re crazy!”
She started running toward the sound, hoping that she could find him, find the one person who might be able to provide her with some insight into her life. She stopped when the field cleared and she saw the actor wearing a leather jacket and carrying a polished mandolin.
“Why, hello there, se?orita,” he said with a bow.
Winnie ran just as gracelessly as Kajol had, and dove straight into his arms.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” she said.
“I came to tell you two things,” he said, stepping back.
“Okay, hit me.”
“If you walk on the wrong path, then maybe in the beginning you’ll achieve a lot of happiness and success, but in the end you’ll lose. If you walk on the right path, then maybe at the start you’ll get rejections at every step, but in the end you’ll always win.”
Winnie threw her hands up and got caught in her chuni. She pulled the shawl off her face and crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously? The only advice you’re giving me is a movie quote? I thought we were past that.”
“Think about it,” he said with his signature shaky laugh.
“If I travel the wrong path, then I’ll lose, but if I travel the right path, there will be pitfalls but eventually I’ll win. Okay, so even though Dev isn’t part of my prophecy, things are going to suck for a bit, but in the end I’m making the right decision?”
Shah Rukh Khan backed up even farther, arms spread wide. “I don’t know, se?orita. You tell me. It’s your life, your destiny. After all, I know how much izzat means to a woman.”
Respect. Her mother and father had spoken about izzat when they’d told her to pay back Raj. That was another line from the movie.
“Wait, so even if I don’t love Raj, I should still respect that he could be my hero?”
Shah Rukh Khan didn’t say anything else. He pulled the strap of his mandolin over his shoulder, resumed playing the tune from the movie, and faded into the distance, leaving Winnie alone again.
* * *
—
Winnie woke up slowly, letting out a shuddering breath. “This sucks,” she said in the dark. She’d been asleep for only a short period of time before the dream interrupted her rest.
After ten minutes of tossing and turning, she was still wide awake. With a groan, she got up and pulled her copy of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge off the shelf. It took only another moment of debating before she opened her bedroom door and went downstairs, where the sounds of conversation mixed with Indian soap operas.
“Winnie? I thought you went to sleep,” her mother said.
“I did, but I had a weird dream again.”
“I hope it involved an eligible bachelor,” Nani said.
“Not unless you consider Shah Rukh Khan to be the bachelor.” She held up her copy of the movie she’d dreamed about. “I was going to watch this alone. It’s long, but anyone interested?”
Winnie’s father raised his hand like a student. “Yash Raj Films at its finest.”
“This calls for more…ah, lassi,” Nani said, holding up her steel tumbler.
“You both are going to be tired for work and school tomorrow,” Winnie’s mother said. “It’s already eleven.”
“So?” they replied.
“Okay, then. Just this once and only because I haven’t seen it in a long time, either.”
Winnie grinned and went over to the TV to put in the movie. If she was going to have another sleepless night, she couldn’t think of a better way to stay awake than to watch movies with her family.
16
KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI / SOMETHING HAPPENS