To read part one click here
This was by far the slowest weekend I had ever lived and my mind was racing like a sprinter. I wanted to fast forward button in my life right now, I was seeing her everywhere walking by a beach with me, hand in hand barefoot or picking her up from a street like a jumper and standing on the city’s watch tower feeling the cool zephyr overlooking the city. And then the very next thought would be what if she just looked at me turned and walked away or slapped me how was I to react then.
“Damn!” I said to myself.
Sunday I decided to finish all the work that I had been lazily postponing to kill time. Evening would have been worse so I left with Vikram and Karan for two movies back to back. I reached home at 2.00 am and then tossed in bed for long. When I got up I saw it was bright, the watch peeped 10.30 a.m. on me, the time was not far I smiled to myself.
I had rehearsed it several times but just to recollect again, 3.30 the Object Oriented Programming class would get over, another 15 mins I would be with Prof Gupta to submit the Basic Electronics assignment, walking to commerce wing would be 10 min and I would be well in time to meet her.
I looked for Prof. in the staff room he wasn’t there. Leaving the assignment wouldn’t make sense as I was to sign the submission sheet. 3.45 I sat there breaking my knuckles when he suddenly appeared from the rest room, “Sir, this is my assignment where do I sign, I need to go” I managed to speak in one breath.
“Hmmm.” Gupta adjusted his glasses and took forever to find the submission sheet. I quickly signed and sprinted looking at my watch 3.55.
Hopping on the stairs skipping two each I banged into a guy who was running down, my laptop bag fell with sheets of other submission and stationary. He too injured himself as his bag was heavier and spilled things too. I gathered all and scurried upstairs, I turned suddenly recollecting something but then preferred to meet her as priority.
I saw Kiran at the corridor, she never misses a chance to make money.
“hey” I waved to her.
“Boss can’t happen today.” her face dropped.
“Why” it was too much to contain myself.
“She has gone to the dean’s office sobbing, come back next week” Kiran busied herself on phone.
Have you ever ran a race where you were in the lead and then in the last stretch someone just overtook you? It exactly felt like that. I was somewhat ready with Ananya being sad but not meeting her was not something I had thought of in the many scenarios I had sewn.
I started walking back in baby steps to hostel. I saw her sitting on the stairs, I recognised her from her hair from the back. She was eating that looked like a homemade sandwich from a small box on her lap. I settled myselft next to her.
“Hey” I tried to talk.
She continued eating when I saw a tear drop fall I placed my palm to catch it and she looked at me.
“ Ananya, I am Rohan.” I gave my ever pleasing smile.
She looked down and continued eating.
“You are so much like me, I too eat a lot esplly when I am sad.” she looked at me instantly questioning how did I know.
“Ok I know, but can I release this tear in my palm to never return back?” I tried to smile opening my palm as she nodded lightly smiling.
She looked beautiful when she cried, I know that would be mean to say but she did.
“ I am Ananya.” She spoke forwarding her hand. “ Happy to meet you Rohan.”
The universe stopped the moment she spoke my name, the earth stopped moving in it’s axis, the Moon shone bright and Sun even brighter, the stars smiled and everything around just frozen in that nano second.
“I think I gave you my shayri for the vote.” everything again set to motion.
“yes you did” puzzled I questioned “was that for a competition?”
“yes, my roll number and division was thus written.” she continued ÿou didn’t vote, anyway I lost.” she pouted her lower lip. In that moment she looked sweeter.
“My bad, I didn’t understand it.” I wanted to talk more but there was silence.
“Why were you in tears Ananya?” that was definitely the right time to prod.
“Oh that!” she spoked in a soft tone “I lost my wallet”
“Damn….When, where” I built up quizzing her.
“Well I thought I left it in the hostel when I was at college on Friday then when I went to the room it wasn’t there, I thought I left it here in the college locker, waited for Sunday to pass and then checked today, it isn’t here. I think it would have got stollen on Thursday itself.”
I looked at her deep, lost in her voice than her story.
“Wallet….What did it look like Ananya? Was it brown small, leather with crocodile print?”
“y….how do you know?” She stood up tall looking down at me.
I pulled the wallet from my laptop bag, this?”I handed it to her.
“oh yeah…”she jumped in joy almost hugging the wallet, quickly opened it and checked something yayiiiii she jumped again and then realised what had happened.
“How did you get it, did you flick it from my bag when I gave you that paper?” she spoke bitterly.
“Sit first, if you remember you weren’t carrying your bag that day. Just sometime back I bumped into someone while coming here and everything from both our bags fell off. I think while gathering stuff I realised I picked up a wallet and then what surprised me was that it was a ladies wallet with him. When you spoke of it, I knew I had the right one.” I explained.
“Well thanks I believe you, I got my wallet and it had my Ma and sis’s picture so it is very precious. Thank you Rohan.” She lightly hugged as I got up too.
“So where is my treat for returning such preciousness back?” I chuckled seeing her break into a smile.
“Chai at the roadside stall?” she suggested.
“Sure, I picked my bag and walked along.” patting myself for the accomplishment.
Kiran in the few introductory sentences that she spoke about Ananya made sure that she wouldn’t talk to me just like that. I had to put my charm to test and it surely got proven as this pretty girl is taking your’s truly for a chai treat that too happily. Now when, where and how I managed to get the wallet back to her, I leave to your intelligence was Kiran my accomplice or the guy I bumped into, may be I flicked it myself. All is fair for a chai treat from Ananya especially when Rohan doesn’t drink tea :).
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Sometimes long fiction just makes my world beautiful 🙂
