1 Chapter 1: The deepest desire

Ritika's passion for Samar dates back to 2012, when she first saw him and was mesmerized beyond limits. To get in touch with him, she followed him on Twitter, the only social platform that Samar used in those days. She would incessantly wait for his single reply to her tweets, just like thousands of other fans who followed him.

Yes, Samar Raina is a television celebrity, who had gained mass popularity for playing protagonist in a popular show those days.Though Samar had been in the industry for quite some time, it was this particular show that gave his career a hike and got him due recognition and fan following.

"Praised for his chiseled body, contagious smile, incomparable handsomeness and above all his amazing acting skills, Samar was a heartthrob of millions."

He already had a few hundred thousand followers on Twitter and a dedicated fan page operated by three female fans who also interacted with other fans, sometimes on his behalf.

Getting a single "Hey" as a reply from him, made any fan's day and Ritika too got lucky twice. But, isn't it just a normal course? So, what makes Ritika's story different from other people? Well, you need to read on, to find out.😊

Now, there is a twist to Ritika's personality. She was never among those people who desperately keep posting on a celebrity's profile, enough to irritate them or compromise their privacy. Even though actors are public figures, they do want their space and would definitely enjoy a meaningful conversation above usual flattery, this is what Ritika believed.

She wanted to talk to celebs she admired, more as a friend, than a usual fan. She inherently enjoyed being associated with famous people for a reason not known to herself. May be it was a reflex of her inability to join the acting industry due to her orthodox family. Her friends always mentioned that a pretty face like her, shouldn't be wasted. She too, always wanted to be a part of that world, surrounded by influential people, but couldn't help it.This desire never died even when she gave up hopes for the same. So, she took an alternate path to being a secret friend to them.

But why would anyone befriend a random stranger? Ritika had an answer to this too. Celebs are normal humans too. Even they want unconditional companionship, and friendship always takes place between people who were once strangers, brought together by circumstances or destiny.

This confidence, backed with a friendly demeanor and ability to engage someone in a conversation, played in her favour quite a number of times. She had befriended a few tv actors before and was a truly behaved online "friend" to them.

The only difference was that these people were a little less famous than Samar, and hence more easily approachable.

Does this mean that she made friends with any or every celebrity? No! To her, a good character and humility was way more valuable than good looks. She only approached the ones who were not just reel life, but real life heroes. She was instantly attracted to a person's kindness, selflessness and love for nature and humanity; and Samar was a complete package in this regard. This she knew from a number of interviews he gave and the testimonies of fans who personally visited him on sets. Oh, how much she loved him!

But then, 2 yrs passed and even the show went off air, cutting Samar's presence on tv, as he took a sabbatical from daily soaps for more than an year. Ritika dashed all hopes of connecting with Samar as she left twitter.

All this while, "the out of sight, out of mind" principle worked on most of the fans. Normal human tendency right? Life moves on with or without the presence of a person. So it did! Occasionally, Ritika saw news of Samar doing different kind of work on different platforms, that would bring a smile on her face every time, but nothing more than that occurred to her.

She got busy in her life and her love for Samar took a backseat.

And then came the national lockdown, that we are in! All the usual activities stopped in an instant and everybody became somewhat free from work. People were free to watch more tv, connect more with friends and family, cook more and so on.

Amidst all this, the tv industry shutdown led to re-run of old shows on all tv channels. Samar's show got a re-run too. For Ritika it was like living all those moments again with her passion rekindled.

It's 2020, and everyone is on Instagram, she thought. She searched for Samar and there he was, still as handsome as ever and as "single" as ever. How could a perfect man like him still be single? Has he not met anyone who could touch his heart, yet?

Though we know that we can't touch the sky, but the thought of even going near it excites us. Ritika knew she shouldn't even dare to think of romancing Samar, but still his being single made her happy.

Ritika wanted to take another chance and  decided to message him on insta direct. Her hopes were high because Samar used his free time to interact with his fans now, more than ever before. But wouldn't his inbox be swarmed with random messages, most of them the usual hi dear, hello dear not worth replying?

To make her message visible among the junk, she had to strategically work on it. The first line that is visible from the outer cover should be tempting enough for him to open and reply. What should she write?

After a lot of pondering she wrote this-

Hi, we interacted on twitter long time ago, when your show originally came on tv. I remember how your fan page gave us a platform to discuss and interact with you.

I don't know if i am entitled to ask this, but as fans we were used to seeing and hearing from a jovial and ever smiling Samar, onscreen and off-screen. But that smile seems to be missing in your pics and also in your current roles. May be it is the serious characters that you recently played in different shows and movies, that have affected you personally or the new bearded look that makes you appear a little serious these days. I hope all is ok on the personal front and we get to see you more like before. Please don't take it otherwise. You look dashing anyway.🙂 Every look suits you.

I don't even know whether you will ever see my message but if you do, reply with a smiley if you could.🙂

Yours sincerely,

Well wisher fan🙂

She thought this would be enough to invoke a reaction, good or bad. She was ready for both. When it came to Samar, all her charm seemed to fade. With a deep exhale she clicked the send button, and the infinite wait for his reply began.

Will she be lucky this time, or be dejected again? Let's leave that for the second chapter.😊

Note: The character names used are fictional but the inspiration is real. Please do let me know in the comments if you liked it, or whether I should improve it.

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