A sky full of stars

My mom left us when I was just eight.

Growing up I felt alone and confused. I coudn’t make much out of the world, it was just getting through everyday, I did not play much either I used to just sit in classroom reading something.

I had little female interaction growing up and very few friends. It was very mechanical life I led in college too, except for drama club which I was a part of . I loved to act it’s the only time I felt something.

After college I worked in a construction firm and also joined online acting workshop. In fourth month of worshop we were preparing improvisation and my mentor teamed me up with a girl named Sakshi. She was sophisticated girl with high paying job and she looked like a spoiled and pampered kid by her rich family.

She was from Delhi and we skyped to prepare the improv. We did not get off well, she was bossy and seemed to care very less about me.

We had many arguments and maybe on third or fourth call I hanged up to her face after getting angry. I thought of requesting my mentor to change my partner, but somehow I didn’t.

Its been 6 years since then and here I am writing this from my bed and lying next to me is Sakshi , my improv partner and now my beautiful girlfriend.

Thank god I didn’t change my partner then, life would be so different if that would have happened.

So what happened back then?

Well, first few discussions with her were terrible, but after that , one evening we were preparing our improv and we discussed our background and past as part of the exercise. She started opening up about her and I was surprised to hear.

She hailed from a very remote village in North India and her father, a small time farmer worked very hard to put food for his family. Growing up she stayed at her uncle’s and could hardly afford school or college. But through hardship she cracked prestigious engineering college exam and studied on loan. She completed her college and bagged a very good placement and now she was helping her father financially and also paying for her younger sister’s education.

My whole perspective changed. I looked at her very differently and there was immense respect for her now.

Everything between us just mellowed down.

We enjoyed talking now, We called about random stuff even. I felt like the time paused whenever we talked and we couldn’t get enough.

But we met first almost after an year, in Mumbai when we attended a play of our mentor. Either of us had no clue that the other was coming as we hadn’t talked in a while .

It was very exciting to see her. Things escalated between us after that, we grew very close. And 2 months later we were in a long distance relationship.

I planned on quitting my job and focus on acting full time. But to leave my job and move to Mumbai for entertainment industry was a scary step and a gamble.

Sakshi said that if I wanted to do so I should go ahead and she got my back always. She encouraged me to talk to my dad. I was very hesitant but things worked out.

But after a year, all my savings exhausted and my dad made it very clear before, that he won’t be able to support me financially for acting.

I was struggling very much to make ends meet. I did not discuss this much with Sakshi but I always felt that she could sense it somehow.

One evening there was knock on the door and I opened to see Sakshi standing there with two suitcases. I was surprised as I talked to her this morning and here she was. She hugged me tightly and said she switched and got a job in Mumbai.

I didn’t say much then, but later I mentioned my displeasure about her leaving Delhi to support me.

She said she wanted to be in Mumbai with me and try some acting gigs for herself. I knew inside that she came here solely to support me, but I did not say much, instead I made a promise to myself to give this woman everything in this world. I promised myself to never let her belief in me down. Earlier it was just my dream but now it belongs to both of us.

I am doing well nowdays, not a big star but people know me in the industry and one day I believe I will be moving mountains for her.