Maharani Of The Skies Chapter 5 (Please Crit)

Jason took her hand and led her onto the dance floor.
There are times when pure joy becomes a conduit for magic. When people are in a sublime state of happiness, it may become possible for them to experience an illusion of being in most a romantic environment and perhaps dancing in a park or in the shade of palm trees on a tropical island. It soon became obvious that the couple was oblivious of all the others on the floor.

The musicians played their rhythmic ching-ching ching-ching. Then the beat was reinforced by the tablas and finally all the instruments together wove a spell of joyful sensual music that matched perfectly the excitement of the developing love shared by the young couple.

Jason dancing right up to Haya, turned away from her slightly to give her a teasing sideways look at her. Haya, however, play acted as if she was content to dance on her own but when he came very close to her again, she gave him a hint of a smile and held her hands shyly to her cheeks as if they were doing a pantomime act. Then her mood changed and as she danced up very close to him and began to sing very softly. She seemed to be a little hesitant at first. It was as if she was making up the words while she was singing.

"At last we're doing our dance
How near you are now, my flyer?
Always you've ignored my glance
What are your thoughts dear Sire?

You walk past me as if I'm air
You don't even say my name
And you don't ever see that I'm here?"

Jason danced up close to her with his face close to hers and whispered softly.

"Are we not pawns in a game of fate
Is it at all our story to relate?
Is it not to destiny that we're subjected?
Does fate not say if we part or stay connected?

Look up dear artist of the air
You soar here and there like a zephyr
Know me, love me, don't despair."

They danced away from each other and then he moved behind her. He gently placed his head on her shoulder as he continued with his song.

"Although we're here and quite overcome
Forces act on us and we're struck dumb
When we're out of sight, what will remain?
Are our souls connected by a chain?"

As his song ended so did the music. While Jason continued to look into Haya's eyes reality slwly set inand the imagined romantic scene behind them changed and became a dance floor again.
Haya looked at him with wonder in her eyes. She remained silent for a while and then whispered.
"What happened to us Jason? What was that? Did you feel something too?"
"Of course, Haya. It was a special moment for us to share and remember. A moment away from reality."
"So what we sang about was not even partly real?"
"Haya dear, songs are written to inspire us. It's up to us to make them come true or not."
"Oh Jason, I don't understand what's going on. What is it that we must do?"
"I'll give you that answer. For now, come with me and we'll go and sit on the bench outside in the garden. Let's just be together, OK?"

They sat silently for a while and then, suddenly, both began to speak at exactly the same moment.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Jason. You go first. I'll ask my questions later."
"OK, Haya. I just want to tell you that I have followed your progress with great interest. I know many important people and I can tell you one thing. You're already having a profound effect on your community."
"What do you mean? My community? In what way?"
"Think of this. Someone from Chatsworth is succeeding brilliantly. An Indian woman pilot has been accepted in the air force. A fighter pilot of the future. It's never happened before, you know. And now she's even doing heart stopping aerobatics."
"Think of all our Indian women. They look up and see you looping the loop over their suburbs. Wow!"

"Oh stop, Jason. If my mother were here now, she'd say that none of that matters. In fact, nothing that I do really matters if I can't cook a decent Indian meal."
He looked at her and laughed.
"I know exactly what you mean... but don't worry. You will be able to do even that one day."

"Now, Haya. It's your turn. Ask your questions, please. I'm listening."
She looked shyly down at her hands.
"Jason, I've been wondering about something over and over again. I feel that I must know the answer. That time, in Oribi Gorge, why did you land your hang glider on the mountain top and then play the flute, dance and sing. Did you know that I was there... hiding behind the boulders?"
"Of course I did, Haya. You see I had a special reason for flying that day. I was doing some official testing of a pair of new vision-enhancing goggles. I found that they were indeed most effective. I saw you arrive at the top, look around and sit down among the boulders."
"Oh hell, I can't believe it! You saw all the silly things I did up there?""

"You'd better believe it. Those goggles, with their remarkable zoom feature, gave me the sight of an eagle. They're really incredible... so off I went. To fly with the eagles and see what they can see."
"What did I see? I saw an intrepid and agile young Indian girl, wearing a spectacular golden track suit. She clambered up a steep path merely to experience the wonderful view from that great height. I decided to give her a taste of how happy one can be up there."
"So, Jason, you felt that it was a duty to please me?"
"Oh no! Not a duty. I enjoyed every minute of the experience. My song just now actually came straight from somewhere in my heart."
"Oh from your heart, Jason? Your heart? What's really there in your heart?"

At that most inopportune moment, a smiling Rakesh appeared before them.
"Aha! Here you two are. Just a little bit of dancing and you're both totally exhausted. I thought that you were fitter than that. Well, if you've rested long enough Haya, it's now my turn to dance with you.
Jason, go and ask one of those pretty girls inside there. They've all been asking me about you. They seem to be fascinated by you. Go and make their day. Go and dance with them, my friend."

He began to lead Haya away. She turned briefly once to look back at Jason. She had a frown as if she was afraid that he would indeed go off and flirt with the other girls.
In response, he gave her a faint smile, shook his head and blew her a kiss.
She looked for him later but did not see him again that evening.

During the weeks that followed their graduation, as incredible as it may seem, the paths of the three very close friends parted far too often for their liking.
While the bonds between them were never broken, strong forces of destiny seemed to always pull them apart. All three had graduated successfully and had then entered worlds that kept them physically active during the day and exceedingly tired at night.

By the end of each day, they were all usually so exhausted that they often went to bed early.
Nevertheless, at no stage did one of them believe that their separation would be of any long duration. During this period, one habit began to form. Communication between them was left in the hands of Rakesh. He was the dependable middle man who regularly contacted the others at frequent intervals.

Rakesh had by now fully taken over the running of his mother's farm.
Unfortunately, he had found that his mother, due to her inexperience, had neglected several important farming activities during the past. Because of the backlog of work to be done urgently and the general need for improvements, he was kept busy from sunrise to sunset.

Haya had finally been accepted as a full-time fighter pilot and , what's more, been invited to join the exclusive air force aerobatics team... the celebrated Flying Tigers. She was extremely thrilled and had immediately told her father about it.
"Papa! It's happened! We've done it! Oh Papa. If only Mama was here now."
Their joy was great and the two of them had danced around the dining room in a moment of carefree joy.

Her inclusion in this famous group had awakened the interest of almost the entire female population of South Africa. She was asked to give opinions in the media. Every newspaper featured articles on her. During talk shows, hundreds of listeners would phone in. They wanted to know her views on several social issues from the trivial to the serious. On many occasions she was asked to give her opinions on matters such as the Aids epidemic and the abuse of women. These subjects upset her at first but she soon learned how to handle these interviews with some aplomb.

At air shows, thousands of visitors came to see their heroine do her daring manoeuvres in the sensational gold and green Z Lin 50 aerobatic aircraft.
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