Part 2

By the time Aarohi entered her teenage years, music had become a bigger part of her life than she realized.

She still wasn't the kind of person who spoke much. In class, she answered questions only when teachers called on her. During lunch breaks, she usually sat with one or two classmates instead of large groups. She listened more than she talked.

People often assumed she had nothing on her mind.

The truth was the opposite.

Her mind was always full of thoughts.

Questions.

Dreams.

Doubts.

Things she never said aloud.

At home, nothing had changed much. Her father still listened to the radio while getting ready for work. Her mother still spent most of her day managing the house. The family wasn't rich, but they weren't struggling either. Life was ordinary.

And Aarohi's dream remained ordinary too.

At least that's what everyone thought.

Every evening after finishing her homework, she would put on earphones and listen to songs. Sometimes she listened to the same song ten times in a row. She paid attention to every detail.

The lyrics.

The emotions.

The way singers expressed themselves.

She wasn't interested in becoming famous.

She wasn't imagining crowds screaming her name.

She simply loved singing.

It made her feel understood in a way words never could.

One afternoon, while her parents were out, she stood in front of a mirror and sang an entire song from beginning to end.

No audience.

No microphone.

Just herself.

When she finished, she felt embarrassed even though nobody had heard her.

She laughed at herself and immediately looked around the room as if someone might have secretly been watching.

Nobody was there.

Still, her cheeks felt warm.

That was when she realized something.

She wasn't just singing because she liked music.

She was singing because she wanted to.

Because it mattered to her.

The realization stayed with her.

For weeks, she thought about it.

Could she actually become a singer one day?

The idea sounded ridiculous every time she said it in her head.

Not because she lacked confidence in her voice.

Because nobody around her talked about dreams like that.

Her classmates wanted to become doctors, engineers, teachers, government officers, and accountants.

Whenever adults asked children what they wanted to become, those were the answers they smiled at.

Nobody ever said "singer."

And if they did, adults usually laughed.

One day, her school announced auditions for another cultural event.

Aarohi stared at the notice board longer than she needed to.

Her heart beat faster.

A small voice inside her wanted to sign up.

Another voice immediately stopped her.

What if she embarrassed herself?

What if people laughed?

What if she wasn't actually good?

For three days, she walked past the notice board.

For three days, she argued with herself.

On the final day, she wrote her name down.

The moment she did, she wanted to erase it.

But she didn't.

The audition wasn't spectacular.

Her hands trembled.

Her voice shook during the first few lines.

She nearly forgot the lyrics.

Yet somehow she finished.

When she walked out of the room, she felt relieved more than anything else.

A week later, a teacher stopped her in the hallway.

"You have a nice voice."

That was all.

Four simple words.

The teacher continued walking.

For the teacher, it was probably an ordinary compliment.

For Aarohi, it became something much bigger.

She replayed those words in her head for days.

A nice voice.

Nobody had ever said that before.

Not really.

For the first time, her dream felt a little less imaginary.

A little less impossible.

She didn't tell anyone.

Not her parents.

Not her classmates.

Not even her closest friend.

She kept it to herself like a secret.

But every night before sleeping, she imagined the future.

And for the first time, that future had music in it.

Not as a hobby.

Not as something she did only in private.

But as something she truly wanted.

Something she hoped she would never have to let go.

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