Somewhere in a song : Chapter 5

‘Oh my God! Where am I?’

Emma woke up to find herself in a strange place. Well, it was not an unfamiliar place, though.

‘Averyin Park. Why am I here?’

It did not take much time for her to realize that she had time traveled again.

‘Which year is it? It would be awkward of me to ask for the year. People would think I am retarded. I have to find it in some other way.’

She wandered around the park for sometime, smiling at random strangers. She then proceeded to the entrance and fervently hoped that she’d see the Victorian mirror. But it wasn’t there. There were no celebrations going on. She only knew that she was dressed in a Persian pink jumpsuit. She never knew if she had her makeup on.

‘Now what should I do? Why have I travelled back? What made me travel back? Yeah! Kevin’s cruel words. So, why am I in Nottingham now? Should I find him and scold him for the words that he’d say to me in the future? Shit! That’s awkward.’

She was perplexed, not knowing what do next. As she was wandering, she had an idea.

‘Why don’t I visit Kevin’s studio? Maybe I’ll get a clue why I am here.’

As she entered the studio after explaining to the guard, she noticed a digital clock displaying the time and year. It was November 18th, 2000.

‘2000? I think ‘There’s nothing left to do…’ was released around this time.’

She entered his studio, hoping that he’d have forgotten the girl’s face who had given him the scratch tune. She was 23 then. Now she was 34. Her physical appearance had completely changed. She even wore cat-eye glasses.

“Hi, Kevin.” She said, carefully.

He turned around swiftly. It seemed like he was in the midst of a recording session. There were musicians around him and the recording room was surprisingly empty.

“Hello. Is that Kristina?” He replied. Emma’s face was not visible to him. She was in the common room, which was dark. She stepped inside the musicians’ room and showed her face.

“No. I am not Kristina.”

“Well, then, who are you? And what are you doing in my studio?”

“I..I just came to see the recording.”

“What? You just came to see the recording?” Kevin drew his eyebrows together.

“Yeah.”

“How can you just drop in like this? What did you bluff to the security guard? What if you are someone who would leak my songs out?”

“Trust me, Kevin. I wouldn’t do such a thing. I am not from the media. I am just a curious fangirl who’d like to see your recording.”

“Fangirl? My guard would never allow fans to enter my studio. Tell me the truth. Who are you? Did you pay my guard to come here?”

“No, I did not. I swear I wouldn’t do such a thing. I am against bribery. I am just a fangirl. I was curious to see one of your recordings.”

“Something is so amiss here. Okay, I’ll deal with my guard later. At least, tell me, can you sing?”

“Yeah, I can. I am a struggling amateur singer.”

“Wow! Actually we are in a tough situation now. The lead singer Kristina is unreachable right now. She has to record today. I think God has listened to my prayers by sending you. A fangirl who can sing. Let me listen to a sample.”

Saying so, he started playing the opening of ‘A Christmas-y Dinner’, originally sung by Marina Corte. Emma crooned along to it. She reached the sopranos with ease. Kevin had a jaw-dropped expression on his face. As soon as she finished, he stood up to applaud. The entire team of musicians applauded her performance.

“That’s it! You are the singer I am looking for. Just give me an hour. I’ll train you in this song. Get acquainted to it and start recording.” Kevin jumped up in excitement. “By the way, you look familiar to me? Have we met before?”

‘Of course, we have. I gave you a scratch tune and you’d have probably recorded it by now.’ Emma thought.

“No, we haven’t.”

“Okay, maybe I am confusing with some other girl. I’ll play the tune now.”

Kevin adjusted the keyboard settings and started the tune. A few seconds into it, Emma realized that the song was ‘There’s nothing left to do…’.

*****

“That was beautiful! Everything was soooo perfect.” Kevin shrieked in joy.

“Thank you so much, Kevin. I never knew I could do this.”

“Hey, c’mon, you are going to be a celebrity. Oh shit! I didn’t even ask your name in my excitement. What’s your name?”

‘If I reveal my name as Emma Justin, my past self would get confused. Then she would turn mad. I can’t allow this to happen.’

“Hey, I asked your name. Where are you?”

“Sorry, I just got carried away. My name is Em..uh, Sarah Jane.”

“Sarah Jane? Good name.”

“Thank you.”

‘Oh my God! Now I will disappear to my present and Kevin wouldn’t find me. Wish I can stay here. But then Harry and Tessa would have a tough time.’

She smiled uneasily at Kevin.

“What? Do you want to say something?”

“Umm…Nothing. When is the release?”

“I have planned for a Christmas release. It will be a grand song, Sarah. I am sure it would break all the records.”

“True, Kevin. It’s gonna break all the records.”

‘I have already seen everything, Kevin. But it’s so depressing to know that you wouldn’t find Sarah Jane.’

“Okay, Sarah. Let’s meet again on Dec 1st for the sample release. Be here on time.”

“Su…Sure, Kevin.”

“We are going to rock, babe. You will be recording more songs. You will become popular. I have lots of hopes on you.”

“I promise to extend my full support, Kevin.”

Emma knew that those words weren’t true. She would never keep her promise. Kevin would never find Sarah Jane, though he will go ahead with the release of the song. She even knew that he would search for her desperately, but there wouldn’t be a trace of her, for she would have travelled back to her present right after her exit from the studio.

*****

“Thank you so much.” Emma thanked the waiter. She was in a high-class restaurant named The Ritz. She tapped her fingers on the table impatiently, as she waited for him to make his appearance.

He came after ten minutes. He was dressed in a stunning black cowl neck t-shirt with sap green jeans. He also wore a baseball cap to protect his identity. He waved at Emma and took his seat opposite her.

“Hi, Kevin.” Emma said, nonplussed, though she knew what was to come.

“How do you even have this casualness in you? I am burning over here. You promise me that you’d support me till the end and the next moment you are gone. Do you even realize how much I had to endure?”

“I am so sorry, Kevin. But I had issues with my health. Hence, I had to go far away. I had to be incognito. I am really sorry that I couldn’t inform you.”

“Sorry cannot undo anything, Sarah. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know that. But I am back. I can make amends, Kevin.”

“What amends are you going to make?”

“You can tell the media that you have found Sarah Jane. You can even compose a comeback song for her. Won’t that be good?”

“It sounds so simple, Sarah, but I just cannot forgive you for what you have done.”

“What if I buy you a delicious lunch now, consisting of your favourite dishes? Will you forgive me then?”

“So, you know about my favourite dishes?”

“Of course, here they are.”

Emma signalled the waiter to bring in the dishes. It consisted of Dover Sole, made with Dublin Bay prawns, grapes and oyster. It was a specialty dish of The Ritz. There was also a lobster dish and roast scallop.

“Wow! Prawns and lobster. How did you know I love them?” Kevin asked, a surprised expression decorating his face.

“Just a little inside scoop. By the way, the scallop is for me.”

“Well, thank you, Sarah. Though I cannot completely forgive you, I wouldn’t hurt anyone who gives me food. My favourite food, that too. I’ll give you a second chance. But don’t run away this time. Whatever your health issues are, I am there to help you. Live your dreams. Okay?”

“Oh my God! Thank you soooo much, Kevin. I never expected the food to change your mind. You are really good at heart. Good at stomach, I must say.”

Kevin chortled. He gorged on the dishes and ordered desserts for both of them.

“Okay, Sarah. I have composed my next song. And I was actually searching for a singer. Now I don’t have to worry about it. Give me your phone number. I’ll tell you the recording date.”

“Sure, Kevin. Give me your number. I’ll send you a missed call.”

*****

Emma returned home after the success meet of Kevin’s new song ‘Trailblazer’. Tessa ran towards her and hugged her.

“Mommy! I saw you on the TV. You sang so well. Love you, mommy.”

“Love you too, Tessa cutie.”

Emma pecked her on the cheek.

“But, mommy, why are you called as Sarah Jane? Your name is Emma Justin, right?”

“She’s no more Emma Justin, Tessa.” It was Harry. Emma turned around and hugged her husband.

“She’s Sarah Jane. The world’s most sensational singer. The woman who realized her dreams.”

Emma Justin aka Sarah Jane smiled at him and pinched his cheeks lovingly.

“But you never told me the story of Sarah Jane who sang ‘There’s nothing left to do…’ and suddenly disappeared. Was that really you? If so, why did you disappear? If that’s not you, what if the real Sarah Jane shows up? What will you do then? This is so confusing, Emma.”

“That’s a longggg story. Unbelievable. And it would stay only with me.”

“You and your secrets.” Harry laughed.

Emma winked at him. She was truly happy, finally. She was in good mental health. That’s what mattered. She would never travel through time again.

~THE END~

So, that’s the end, friends. How was the story? Please let me know your feedback in the comments.

Love,

Kavya Janani. U

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