Chapter 7
‘Good
luck for Monday!’ said Sanika taking the juice-tray from their familiar Aunty of Sweet Zuse.
Next
day – Saturday – Pritam and Anish were to catch train to Bengaluru for their
paper presentation event.
‘Thanks!’
acknowledged Pritam, clad in new t-shirt on his birthday. But he was quickly
searching for grey-eyes!
Surprise
again! She was sitting alone, without her regular companion, near the sandwich
shop.
That
was not the part of surprise, but her attire was! She was in a perfect ethnic
outfit that day! It was surprising for many reasons! One, it was Friday and few
people missed the opportunity to wear casual dress! Two, all these while,
Pritam had observed very typical of her – she was seen wearing business-formal
wear most of the days! So much so that he could not imagine seeing her in
ethnic wear!
He
looked at her; his eyes wide open! He was not good enough to understand the
type, pattern, or design of the cloth. All he knew was she looked amazing! Rest
did not matter to him!
‘That
is Bandhani,’ said Sanika
instinctively ‘her dress!’
Just
a smile was Pritam’s reply as he continued to enjoy the sugar cane juice with
renewed taste!
‘Happy
Birthday, boy!’ Sanika started ‘Raghav’s trick seems to be working!’
He
glanced at her once, before turning his eyes again towards Sanika.
‘Somebody
knows that it is your Birthday!’ winked Sanika ‘and the best part, she is
waiting alone there!’
‘It
cannot be true!’ Pritam replied with mixed emotions, though he wished it was
true!
‘Yeah,
cannot be true’ faking a sad-look Raghav joined in ‘but I saw her glancing at
you a few times already!’
Pritam
could not believe with what was happening around. However, for inexplicable
reasons, he was not ready to accept that she was waiting for him.
As
they kept discussing the possibilities with all permutation and combination,
grey-eyed beauty got up from her seat and headed straight to Sweet Zuse where
they were standing!
‘Aunty,
one ginger-flavored’ she placed her order standing right behind Pritam and
group. He heard her voice for the first
time! Not sure how that sounded to others, but for Pritam, it was the sweetest
he had ever heard!
She
kept staring blankly at the vending machine as the juice was being prepared.
Sanika and Raghav seemed restless!
Both
of them gesturing to Pritam ’Talk to her, NOW!’ obvious from their
body-language though they did not speak it out.
He
was not in a state to react though. Various emotions were dancing down in his
heart, making him physically stand-still! He failed to figure out what was he
feeling at that moment – Happy that she responded! Nervous to talk to her!
Proud that somebody valued him! Guilty of putting someone into this, without
even knowing her name! Excited that all these were happening in real! Mistrust
because of swiftness of the events!
Even
before he could think of anything, he certainly lost those golden moments! She
was having last sip and about to leave!
Sanika
and Raghav were really puzzled at his response or the lack of it.
Just
when they thought she was about to leave, as she was putting the used-cup into
dustbin, she stood back and started checking out her phone!
Both
of Pritam’s friends were growing impatient as if all these happening with their
own lives.
Not them, but the
level of rapport between them to be blamed for that!
Still
confused and not into the normal self, Pritam started to move, signaling others
to join, as if all these were not about him! Now they gave up and decided to leave
the place.
While
those grey eyes were still on the screen of her blue-cased smartphone, Pritam
left the place without realizing that he would not be seeing her for next few
days!
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