Sidharth stopped the car in front of a recording studio after almost an hour of drive. The studio was almost at the end of the city. Shehnaaz and Sidharth both got out of the car but Shehnaaz was very nervous. She was looking at the studio with eyes widened in both shock and surprise. She had mixed feelings. She was nervous, unsure about what to do, happy and scared at the same time. She had no words to explain how she was feeling at that moment standing outside that studio. Sidharth held her hand tight bringing her back to reality. She said with a trembling voice, “Sid...Sidharthhhh...Ye sab kya hai… Why are we here??” He replied with full confidence, “Is that even a question to ask?? What does a person do at a recording studio?? We are here to record your first independent song…” She replied in a low voice, “Par ye sab aise ek dum se…” He held her shoulders, made her face him and said, “Yahi life hai Shehnaaz… Yahan cheezen kabhi bhi batake nahi hoti aur na hi hamare time ke accordingly… Yahan sab kuch suddenly within a blink of an eye ho jata hai… Humein usko accept karna hota hai pure confidence ke saath...Come on smile now… I know you are very talented… I have heard you sing… You have a melodious voice… Success ki pehli seedi tumhari awaaz banegi… You can do it… Aur phir as promised main hun na tumhare paas… Jaise ghar pe ek dum confidently bina kisi ki presence ki parwah kiye hue gaati ho vaise hi yahan gaana… Sochna tumhe koi nahi dekh raha ya judge kar raha… Just sing!!” He boosted her confidence but still found questions in her eyes…. She said, “Sidharth par mom-dad, Noor, Shehbaaz kisi ko iss baare mein kuch nahi pata… Mujhe aur kisi ki toh nahi par dad ki bohot tension hai… Pata nahi jab ye sab unki knowledge mein aayega toh vo kaise react karenge…” He offered her water and said, “Shehnaaz agar itna sochogi toh kabhi kuch nahi kar paogi… Pata hai mere career ko lekar ke mujhe mere ghar valon ne support nahi kiya tha starting mein… I had to manage things all by myself… Eventually sabne mujhe samjha and cheezon ko accept kiya…. Tumhare case mein bhi vohi hoga… Relax… Aur main khada hun na tumhare saath… Aaj tumhare dad ko tumko bahar laane ke liye kiya na maine convince… Aage bhi karunga main tujhe support… Abhi chalo aise udaas udaas sa face mat banao… Cheer up…. Don’t think much… Chalo…” She again stopped him by holding his hand and said, “Par Sidharth; main gaungi kya… The song should be original right…” He cupped her face and said, “Tum vahi gaana gaogi jo tumne apne diary ke last page par likha tha… I suppose you never tried singing that…” She looked at him with moist eyes and said, “I did but I could never complete it…” He smiled and said, “Today, you would surely complete recording it if you would only and only think about your dreams while singing it..” With this they went in and Shehnaaz was sent to the recording room just beside the glass that was between both the connected rooms. She wore her mike and looked at Sidharth for the last time… He smiled at her, blinked his eyes and made a thumbs up… She wore her headphones, closed her eyes, started thinking about each and every moment her dreams were shattered in front of her eyes and started singing with the beats….

~~”Ae zindagi teri meri khataon ke kisse toh purane hai… Tu kyun hai mujhse khafa-khafa…. Na jaane kyun hamesha mujhe udte hi neeche phenk deti hai… Ek jhatke mein mere sapne tod ke mere zakhm khured deti hai… Main hun bhi ya nahi teri raahon ki musafir jo mera katra katra juda kar deti hai… Main suraj ki pehli kiran hun ya chand ki bewafa chandni… Main aag se nikalne vali krodhit lapton ki garmi hun ya khakh mein mila hua koi afsaana… Meri pehchan tujhse hai ya teri pehchan mujhse… Kaunsa hisaa hun main tera?? Ae zindagi teri meri khataon ke kisse toh purane hain….”~~

Shehnaaz didn’t realise when did the song end… She just stopped with the beats… Her eyes were closed and a lone tear escaped from the corner of her eye. She came back to reality when the producers and the recording crew stood up and clapped… She hid her face behind her palms in happiness and surprise… She had definitely not thought that the song and it’s lyrics would be loved this much… She was very under confident when she came in… She gained a bit of her confidence back. She was rooted at her place when Sidharth ran to her and gave her a tight hug in excitement… She also reciprocated the hug and said, “Haaye Sidharth… Main sachi select ho gayi… Mujhe toh ab bhi believe nahi ho raha…” Sidharth didn’t care about the surroundings and twirled her around in his arms in the same position while saying, “Haan meri jaan...Tu select ho gayi… Ab aisi cheezon pe believe karna shuru karde because you are very very talented…” Both of them straightened themselves realising that there are people around… He kept his hand protectively on her shoulder and took her out to the parallel room… Everyone praised her and her song was finalised for an OTT release… The producers had decided to keep Shehnaaz as the lead seeing her innocence and purity. It had to be a journey based song. Shehnaaz was happy but was very scared to talk to her family at the same time… Sidharth noticed her mixed expressions. He took her to a tea stall after the meeting and signing of contract papers. He asked her while sipping tea, “Kya hua?? Kya soch rahi ho itni der se??” She replied with nervousness, “Sidharth yahan tak toh sab sahi se ho gaya par parso se shoot shuru hona hai… Shoot yahan nahi Paris mein hai… Agar India mein kahin hota toh baat alag thi… Hum jaise taise explain kar dete dad ko and permission mil jaati… Lekin travelling abroad looking at the present nature of my dad seems to be impossible… Agar mere haath se ye mauka bhi chala gaya na toh main toot jaungi…” He held her hand and said, “Tumhare dad ko convince karna mera kaam hai aur hamare paas hai abhi parson tak ka time... Tumhe toh khush hona chahiye ke tumhari last family holiday to Europe aur crew members ke last Europe visit jo shoot reasons ki vajah se hui thi visa issues nahi ho rahe hain and tickets bhi available thi… This is a big break Shehnaaz… Career ke iss early stage pe tumhe apne talent ke dum pe ye kaam mila hai tum uski respect karo aur baaki mujhpe chhod doh… It’s a matter of 5 days and zyaada se zyaada kya hoga… Your dad will ask your brother and sister to accompany you… Unke visas hain and your dad has ample approach to get a private jet ready… Ab sochna band karo aur travel ki taiyaari pe focus karo ghar chal ke…”