He started to whistle as he crossed the street. Today was
going to be a good day he thought. It had to be. For far too long the days had
been the same. He would wake up go to work get back and think about how
different he wanted his life to be but then carry on anyway. But off late he
felt a change in the tide he felt himself moving towards the life he hoped for,
nothing significant had happened but the he saw little signs here and there
growing ubiquitous and today there was a smell in the breeze (which usually
made him think of all the pollution in the city and the garbage and even death
on occasions) which reminded him of the open country and probably waterfalls
and just everything related to nature for some mysterious reasons. Today was going to be a good day he thought.
She left his house in tears. It didn’t work again. She
wanted him back so bad, he didn’t. It had been 11 months since they broke up,
or rather since he walked out on her with another woman. That was a bolt from
the blue, they had been planning their vacation and were due to leave in a week
when suddenly he dropped this bomb. She
felt heartbroken, shattered and since then has been trying to win that guy
back. He’s tried to blow her off by humiliating her, insulting her and abusing
her but she would not go away. This time
it had been 7 months since they had spoken and she was taking one step forward
but two steps back during this time with respect to moving on. So she decided
to try one last time, maybe time had changed his feelings. They didn’t. Thus
she left the house in tears. Today was going to be the same day as yesterday
she thought.
He was wearing his new Jacket today as he entered this café
to pick up his favorite caramel flavored cold coffee. The smell of the café and
the food that was being made got to him though and he decided to grab a bite.
He ordered waffles and ice cream to go with his coffee. Today was going to be a
good day he felt it, today was going to be a good day he thought.
As she was walking aimlessly on the street wiping her tears
away thinking about how much time of her life she had wasted trying to get
something which was never hers to begin with and how she failed to understand
that and also wondering if after a few days, weeks or months she would end up
doing the same thing again. She was tired of going after that person, then
being heartbroken and repeating the same thing again. She needed a wind of
change, something or someone to tell her that better days were coming. As she
was walking along the footpath she saw a woman, maybe in her mid-thirties. She looked
really very happy, she was walking along the road with her headphones on. She
had this strange sense of magnetism about her and when she was looking at her
she felt a kind of attraction towards this woman for a reason she was trying to
find out. Maybe she just looked pretty in her beige overcoat with a grey scarf
going over it, maybe it was the boots she was wearing or was it her
exceptionally pretty smile? No. It was the fact that to her she seemed really
happy without any person or thing causing that happiness, which is what
attracted her. It may very well be the
case that she was going to meet her boyfriend and that’s why she was happy or
for some materialistic reason, but to her at that moment she seemed happy
without a cause and that triggered a switch somewhere deep inside her. She suddenly
thought that one person who didn’t deserve the slightest place in her life
could not dictate her happiness. She had a lot to be happy about, she was one
of those who could keep her personal and professional life apart and was really
doing well at work. It wasn’t also as if she wasn’t pretty. She was tall, fit
and was quite aware of the fact that she’s attractive. Apart from that she knew
she had really good qualities as a person and a lot of people would like being
in her company. That was it, a switch had triggered and she was on her way, on
her way to happiness and this time there would be no backward steps. Today was
going to be a different day she thought.
She crossed a café she really liked and decided to treat herself for her
new found and long overdue happiness. As
she was sitting at her table eating her food, suddenly something caught her
eye. It was the corner table next to the window. A man was sitting alone going
through his meal of waffles and ice cream. She had seen him somewhere, somewhere
a long time ago. She tried hard to remember, while the man totally oblivious to
this woman observing him continued to stuff his belly with his food, which he
was more than enjoying. Then it suddenly
hit her that he was a person from her school but she still could not recall his
name, partly because his face was slightly hidden behind a pillar. Then it all
came like a wave. His name was Sarthak;
they had both shared a decent friendship back in the day which ended for a very
stupid reason (like most high school friendships end). It was something on the
lines of, he said xyz about her and she said abc about him and they were both
told this by other people. So yeah, stupid to say the least. While she was
drowned in her flashback, Sarthak had also seen her. Now as they both became
conscious that they had seen each other they passed an awkward smile acknowledging
each other. Seeing that they both were alone and now they probably had to talk
a little atleast having recognized each other, he gestured her to come to his
table and she awkwardly obeyed. Today was going to be weird day they began to
think.
It had been over 2
hours since they had been talking in that café. It began with the usual pleasantries
of how they’ve been and what’s been going on. They then discussed why they had
stopped talking for a reason which now seemed nothing less than laughable
almost 8 years down the line. They gossiped about what their friends from back
in school were upto . Time flew and it subtly hit both of them that even though
they were never really the best friends kind of thing in school they did share
a certain spark that made them instantly enjoy each other’s company. Sarthak asked
her if she had the time they could take a walk around and continue their
conversation. She had all the time in the world for something that took her
mind off all the negativity she had been surrounded by recently and this was
doing much more for her than that, she was actually having fun. So they split
the bill and left the café for a walk around.
As they crossed a
baker, enjoying the smell of fresh muffins, Sarthak told her about his job and
how he was planning to get out of it. When asked what he planned to do, he told
her he always wanted to be a writer and was going to give that a real
push. When pressed about if there was
any particular stimulus which made him take the radical decision of quitting
his job he answered “ There was no particular stimulus as such, it was just that
he was just so tired of misconceiving of what else his life could have been and
he finally decided to act on it.” They crossed
a government building which was built in the early 20th century and
briefly shifted topic to admire the architecture before Nandini returned by
asking him about how his love life had been.
Surprisingly to her he answered pretty readily telling her he had been
in a couple of relationships which were nice at the time but they fizzled out
with time. He then asked her the same question to which she said she will talk
about that another time but when pressed a little she said she wasn’t involved
with anyone presently . Sarthak decided
not to press the matter any further for now sensing the discomfort.
They spoke for about 10 minutes more before
she had to leave. They exchanged numbers though and decided to keep in touch. They
both then went their respective ways. Today was a good day he thought. Today was
a good day she thought; sometimes stars decide to reflect in puddles in the
dirt she thought.
They didn’t meet for a week post their
impromptu meeting as they were occupied in their lives. They texted everyday
though, talking about anything under the sun. They discussed music, movies,
sport, politics, school days, philosophy and even reality TV. They finally did
meet the next weekend and went out for a drink. Sarthak felt a sense of comfort
around her and more importantly her take on how life should be was inspiring in
a certain way. Her principle was simple, if something does not give you happiness
then don’t do it. He had heard this cliché a million times before but it just
somehow made sense when she said, maybe because she was the only one who
followed it herself according to him. However that’s when Nandini told him
about her relationship and how she struggled to deal with it. He thought that
she was a girl symbolic of a paradox, as she herself in one of the most
important areas of life was not getting happiness from something but did it for
much longer than she should have, but then he guessed everyone has a weak spot
and that’s just human nature, our wants sometimes blind our needs and happiness
and that’s just normal.
They spent the evening drinking LIIT’s and talking
about love and how relationships in modern times were increasingly becoming
feckless and usually end with a feeling of rancor. As the night went on they fell more and more
in tune with each other. Its like their thoughts and opinions on most things
were aligned. They felt really comfortable and happy around each other and
could truly be themselves. He offered to
drive her home that night so that they could continue their conversation in the
car and so they did. Old English songs from the late 90’s were playing ever so
lightly in the background as the street lights lit up their path home. She felt
as if she was really lucky that her ex turned her down that day, otherwise she
would never had met Sarthak again and to him he would be just another douche
from high school. Sarthak on the other hand had no qualms about admitting to
himself that he was falling for this woman and hard. She was ever so
encouraging about his idea of quitting his job and to pursue his dream to
become a writer. He himself was sure that he needed to do that but they were understandably
a lot of moments of self-doubt and whenever he spoke about the same to her she just said something that made his doubt seem quite stupid and petty. As he
dropped her off that night, he wondered how Nandini felt and how she would
react if he told her of his feelings. However he wasn’t one to keep things
bottled up inside and decided that the next time they meet he would tell her hiws
feelings for her. He did. That was a great day he thought.
They spoke for the next two weeks everyday
on the phone and via texts, and then the day came when they were going to meet
and Sarthak decided to tell her evertything . They were in the car, going to
have some breakfast, when suddenly Sarthak said. “ I need to say something to
you.” “Yes, of course, Go ahead”. She replied. He tried to control the
butterflies in his stomach, but gave up failing miserably and decided just to
go for it. This is what he said.
“I have thanked your ex-boyfriend everyday
since the day we met at that café and probably will for the rest of my life. (Her
eyes grew big and her facial expression was a very perplexed one). Not because of
the nature of your relationship but because he refused to take you back (eyes
grew bigger still). Because if he did take you back we would not have met and I
would not have been the happiest man in the universe, that day started a virtuous
circle for me and I hope it never ends (Eyes shrunk slightly, but her jaw
dropped, it was hard for Sarthak to not be distracted by all this). I have
fallen for you Nandini and I fall for you more each day, I can’t help it and I don’t
want to also. I love being in love with you (still the same look). I would do anything to keep you happy and to
be with you for as long as I can. I don’t know how you feel and I will not pile
on but I have to let you know how I feel. I love you. I love you more than
anyone can love anyone. I would empty the ocean with a spoon for you and would
do it over and over again if it gave you a smile. Praying, hiding my feelings, suppressing
them or denying them won’t knock you out of my head. I will always be there
whenever you call me, without reservation. Every cell in your body is worth it
(awkward smile coming on). Your presence in my life is enchanting and I want
you to enchant me for as long as possible. I’ll be anything you need; I’ll be
everything you need and more. I want us to live these days that we’ve been
having and I want to live them everyday. I prepared this speech and this how
much I remember by the way so a response would be good now.” He saw the awkward
smile grow wider still.
It had been a month since they had been dating. He had just put in his
papers at work and they were going to celebrate. They obviously decided to go
to the same café where they met, which then started this series of events. Through a series of random events,
conversations, drives, dinners etc they somehow coalesced.
That wasn’t a good day though , that was miraculous day the y though t
