Walking the distance

Flowers - best way to express love

It was another mundane Monday morning. I woke up at the sound of my cell beep. 

1 new message. 

I read it sleepily “Good morning Vi. Wake up sleepyhead. Im already off to work.  I smiled and replied “Good Morning Da. Happy hours ahead ”  God, I wished I could see him. Now I can feel it myself, how my friends used to sulk over long distance relationships. I sighed and dragged myself out of bed.

I got myself busy with my daily morning chores and was getting ready for college when my cell buzzed. I smiled. “Hello Da, whats up?”. He sounded upset. “What is wrong with you? How can you be so careless?” I was surprised.

“What happened?”

“Didn’t I tell you that you’ll be receiving a courier? Can’t you even inform your hostel authorities?”

“Sure, I can, but what happen?”

“That courier guy has been standing at your hostel gate for the last 20 minutes and your gatekeepers won’t even let him in to take your signature.”

“Seriously? Wow…u never….er….ok….let me help him out. Don’t worry, I’ll hurry downstairs and see him. And, thank you.”

I ran downstairs excitedly. What on earth will it be? My birthday is 3 months away and there is no special occasion that I can think of. May be he sent me that book which I’ve always wanted. I stopped running as I approached the gate.

I was panting when I opened the gate and stepped out. I gasped for breath and stood there awestruck.

At first I could not believe myself. There he was, looking right at me, with some roses put together in a Maaza bottle. I felt breathless and reached out for more air. I just stood there gaping at him like a fool....words failed me. He came near me. I could feel a sharp tinge of tear.

“Oh….how could you? I mean you never…when did you…I am so happy to see you.”

“Really?” He smiled.

“Of course I am. But I never thought. You said you got held up in an important meeting last night”.

His eyes were glued on mine. “Yeah, that’s coz I didn’t want you to call me. You’d have found out that I was travelling and it would have ruined the surprise.”

“Hmm. You…and why are those flowers in a bottle?”

“Oh, I thought I will not get flowers here. So, I bought them yesterday from Delhi but it wilted on the way so I bought a Maaza bottle, drank all the stuff and poured some water instead, to preserve them. Nice idea, na?” He grinned and handed me the Maaza bottle filled with flowers.

I laughed and took the bottle of flowers from him. “You are crazy. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know what else to say”.

He smiled mischievously. “God, I am famished. Lets grab some food. U want to come with me?”

“Of course, I am coming. Just give me 5 minutes. I want to look pretty”. I held the flowers closely and smiled all the way to my room. That was when I realised that I was falling for him all over again.

HIM and HER

Hmm......so sat down to write a story....came out with all stupid ideas and held on to this one...realised how much more I need to work on :( 

She hated his guts and his arrogance. He had his own selfish ways of meeting his ends which she knew inside out. He was every bit of what she doesn’t want in a man. How can someone be so blunt about one’s feelings? He saw her twice and blurted out “I love you”. Is it even possible? Does he even know what “love” is? She politely refused but knew he would not give up easily. 

He first saw her on one of those nonchalant evenings when he was sitting idly with his friends talking, gossiping and enjoying their favourite sport “chick watch”. She walked past them without the slightest acknowledgement of him or his friends surpassing the macho image they flaunt and ignoring them in the most graceful way. She wasn’t the prettiest face he had ever seen. He was sure she was someone who will be oblivion after a couple of days. He wondered whatever happened to his charms to impress girls. He knew she would give lewd comments; talk rudely and dismiss him which was exactly what he wanted coz he found such woman amusing and loved the challenge. Never did he anticipated  that he was in for a tough call.

She paid no heed even when he appeared everywhere with his regular phone calls and messages. She wondered if he had nothing else better to do than to invade her privacy. She firmly told him not to call her again and assured that she was in no way interested. “Can we be friends?” he asked. “I don’t want to be. I have enough of friends whom I can’t even give time to” she replied sharply.

“You know you are a very proud girl” he said.

“Whatever, as if I care.”

He knew he should stop. He had bore enough of insult. She wasn’t even pretty enough but he liked the way she was all in the air. He dialed again and when she responded, he told “Look I don’t even know why I am calling you again. Consider yourself lucky coz I usually never do like this. I must be really liking you.” She laughed when she heard it. Gosh, how can anybody be so big-headed to say something like that? She asked “So, what do you want?” “I want you to be my girlfriend”? “You know you’re crazy!! What do you know about me?”

“I’ll know after you are my girlfriend. I like you”

She was so full of questions. It was impossible but she found herself drawn to him.  She didn’t want to take a chance though. As careful as she was in falling in love, as careless he was when it come to expressing his feelings.

He could feel the other side of her, the mysterious side beyond her pride and ego. Indeed this was the part of her that he found most appealing and attractive and worthy of the chase.

 (to be continued)

The night before……

There she sits on her bed, fearing and hoping that tomorrow never comes. She knew it was genuinely wrong to think of someone else when the next day she was to be bonded for a lifetime to another man.

Had she been given the chance to write her life all over again, she’d have happily grabbed it. With a broken heart she remains, not knowing what to do, her eyes tired of holding back her tears. They say, years later you don’t remember any but it seems so impossible now – whatever happened to the dreams she had.

Throughout her life she’ll stay – holding her broken heart close to her. If only he understood her, if only he realised that she’s a princess within, her life would have been much different and may be better.

Today for the last time she held her lost love close and cried one last time for all the times she was let down, all her lost hopes – one final time coz tomorrow she’s gonna be a different self and somehow she wants to shed her former self and start all over again. As tonight ends she is letting her memory slip from her hands like sands and letting the past bury itself. May be for the rest of her life she’ll compromise and sacrifice for the sake of happiness of a known stranger and bury all the pain in her heart but in nights like this she’ll cry hopelessly wishing for a hope – a miracle –may be – and will go on for the rest of her life.

But tonight her apprehensions got the better of her. There she sat alone and wandering away at the sudden turn of events in her life and realising how cruel life can be coz she deserved much better… much more beyond what she had ever had.