RAGINI: The brightest star (chapter 3)

Guys I am really overwhelmed by ur responses & its my pleasure that u all are liking it .Guys its not a typical love story it just focusses on ragini,-her dreams ,passion and love life as well
Ragini tapped her dadi,”dadi stop freaking out and tell me who it is otherwise I will surely die out of heart attack”
“That’s Karan Kapoor. He is the owner of Thunderz.Are u sure he asked u to sing”
“Yes, Dadi. He said I was pretty good and he wanted me to sing with them after everybody got done. Can I go? Please?”

At eleven, Mr Kapoor led Ragini back on stage and stood with his arm around her shoulder. He’d had to talk to Ragini’s grandmother for ten minutes to convince her, but he had. Ragini was elated and afraid at the same time.

“Folks, this little girl is Ragini Gadodia. You heard her and her sisters sing before. I think she sings real good, and I asked if she’d come on up here and sing with us. Y’all don’t mind, do you.”

A round of applause followed.

“OK, . Here we go. D’you know tum hi ho

Ragini nodded.

She had a little trouble starting out, but once she got the beat, Ragini got through the song without much trouble. He took her by the hand and led her off the stage.

“Girl, you did real good. You sing like a professional singeryou know that?”

Ragini blushed and looked at her shoes.

“No. I never thought about it much. I just sing.”

“Well, you do. You have good pitch and your voice comes clear and smooth, just like it should. You seem a little tense, though.”

“I guess I’m nervous. There’s so many people out there and –“

“Nah, that’s not a lot of people. Sometimes we sing for a thousand; sometimes two.”

“Gosh, I’d be scared to death.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad. You oughta try it some time. Probably like it. Say, you got any song you really like a lot?”

“Well…, I like Ajeeb dastan hai yeh’. Dadi sings it all the time. She says it was Momma’s favorite, too.”

There were whispers and titters from the audience.

“We’re gonna do one last song to send you off to bed. This is Ragini’s favorite, and I think you’ll like it a lot.”

Mr. Kapoorturned to Ragini. “You just sing your heart out. Sing like your mamma’s listening to you, ‘cause I’m sure she is.”

At the end of the familiar piano introduction, Ragini began to sing. The first verse of the old hymn sent chills running down her back, and tears blurred her vision as she thought about Mamma. rich guitar resonated in her chest and the soft, blended harmony of the other three voices brought her melody to life. Just before the end of the first verse, Mr. Kapoor leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“Remember, beta, your Mamma’s listenin’, so sing out.”

Ragini took a deep breath and began the second verse only to realize she was singing alone. The quartet was softly humming in accompaniment and the piano player was playing even softer. Her voice faltered for a second and she felt Mr. Wilson gently squeeze her shoulder.

At his touch, the emotions that had been building in Ragini flooded her mind. Momma was listening. Ragini felt her there, somehow. Her voice swelled to a richness that surprised her, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she sang the words. Ragini closed her eyes and let her voice become everything. She didn’t falter when the quartet joined in and started to repeat the first verse. There was no way to stop herself from singing. She just opened her mouth and the crystal-clear tones flowed out.

When the song ended, Ragini waited for the applause to open her eyes, but there was nothing but a few sniffs and carefully muffled coughs. She looked at the crowd. Some of the men were nervously fishing in pant’s pockets for handkerchiefs. The women already had theirs and were dabbing at their eyes. Mr. Wilson’s voice startled her.

“Folks, I just heard something special here, tonight. I know you heard it too. We owe this little girl a thank you.”

There was a clap, followed by another, then another. In a few seconds, all the people were standing and clapping.

Now it was time for Mr Kapoor departure…ragini was sad
“Bye mr Kapoor..it was nice meeting u”
“Don’t worry ,we will meet soon”
Mr Kapoor departed from his black shiny car leaving ragini mind with full of questions …….

PRECAP:Why did he said that they will meet again….will they really…where will ragini destiny take her ????

Guys chapter 3 ended …hope u all like it and pls do comment and guys who were previously reading my ff and are really curious about it …sorry for discontinuing it and I have really lost its track but if u all want I can make an epilogue of its end …is that okay for u all