by Kashish Sharma
There she was, standing in the crowd laughing along with the rest of the unknown faces. For a split second everything around him had phased out except her. He kept on walking, his legs were moving but his eyes had long fixated upon that beauty.
He knew nothing of love, but love sure knew a lot about him. He wondered what she was talking about, what intrigued her and moreover, why would she want to hang out with those pretentious douchebags who had somehow been gifted with her company. He could hear her talk, her voice had escalated from a faint whisper to a stream of verbal converse. Even though she was busy describing her day to her friends, her eyes were continuously searching for something or someone. He tried to take his eyes off her but she knew that he was watching her.
She looked at him and he returned her back with a shy nod. His persona wreaked of romanticism, and he believed if it was meant to be then something would happen. An attempt was made to force himself to approach her but as usual, which had now become a habit, he tapped out.
He knew nothing of love, but love sure knew a lot about him. He wondered what she was talking about, what intrigued her and moreover, why would she want to hang out with those pretentious douchebags who had somehow been gifted with her company. He could hear her talk, her voice had escalated from a faint whisper to a stream of verbal converse. Even though she was busy describing her day to her friends, her eyes were continuously searching for something or someone. He tried to take his eyes off her but she knew that he was watching her.
She looked at him and he returned her back with a shy nod. His persona wreaked of romanticism, and he believed if it was meant to be then something would happen. An attempt was made to force himself to approach her but as usual, which had now become a habit, he tapped out.
He went past her. He couldn’t see or hear her anymore, and he sure didn’t have enough courage to walk back. If only he had ... or so he did.
His heart was beating fast and he could feel the rushing blood flowing through his body as all of a sudden he decided to go up to her. The blunt and the cynical decision had taken control of him and his footsteps had regained their natural rhythm as they turned around moving towards her.
The briskness in his movement wasn’t habitual and in a blink of an eye, he stood right in front of her. He couldn’t help but notice her baffled eyes. So close, way too close … but this proximity was luxuriously comforting. He could hear both their hearts beating and he just knew that they were synchronized.
He had completed the hardest task, reaching out to her, but what was next? Now that he had for the first time decided to go against his innate behavior, was he to deliver some sort of corny pickup line and break the ice or wait for the ice to melt itself? Before it got any weird than it already was, he blurted out a simple,
“hi” ...
“uh hello ?” , there was a question in her greeting.
The darting eyes of the strangers which were at first invisible had now begun to pierce his morale.
“could I borrow you for a moment ?” he asked. Borrow ? borrow! Who says that anymore! This isn’t some fucking Bronte novel he thought, but it was too late to subconsciously scold himself.
“Sure, sure …”
He walked along with her, aimlessly he decided to take her somewhere serene, somewhere where he could just arrange his puzzled feelings into a human noise and make this encounter less awkward.
“my name is ..”
“I know what it is”, she had completed his sentence, but that didn’t bother him. He was surprised that she knew him and he wasn’t just some random kid at her college.
“I was wondering if you’d want to .… I dunno, maybe grab some coffee sometime? I would really like to get to know you.” There sure was a sense of desperation in his trembling voice which he had somehow managed to choke out of his throat.
“wow, coffee … uh I don’t think so” , she said regretfully.
There it was, the verdict. His courage and confidence, both had been shattered into bits and pieces. She tucked her hands into her jeans pockets as if punctuating her decision, finalizing it.
It hurt, a customary feeling. There was no point standing in front of her anymore, he knew what she thought of him. Though he couldn't feel his feet, he did hesitantly turn around.
“ice tea sounds good? It’s been hot these days”, she shouted back.
His heart was beating fast and he could feel the rushing blood flowing through his body as all of a sudden he decided to go up to her. The blunt and the cynical decision had taken control of him and his footsteps had regained their natural rhythm as they turned around moving towards her.
The briskness in his movement wasn’t habitual and in a blink of an eye, he stood right in front of her. He couldn’t help but notice her baffled eyes. So close, way too close … but this proximity was luxuriously comforting. He could hear both their hearts beating and he just knew that they were synchronized.
He had completed the hardest task, reaching out to her, but what was next? Now that he had for the first time decided to go against his innate behavior, was he to deliver some sort of corny pickup line and break the ice or wait for the ice to melt itself? Before it got any weird than it already was, he blurted out a simple,
“hi” ...
“uh hello ?” , there was a question in her greeting.
The darting eyes of the strangers which were at first invisible had now begun to pierce his morale.
“could I borrow you for a moment ?” he asked. Borrow ? borrow! Who says that anymore! This isn’t some fucking Bronte novel he thought, but it was too late to subconsciously scold himself.
“Sure, sure …”
He walked along with her, aimlessly he decided to take her somewhere serene, somewhere where he could just arrange his puzzled feelings into a human noise and make this encounter less awkward.
“my name is ..”
“I know what it is”, she had completed his sentence, but that didn’t bother him. He was surprised that she knew him and he wasn’t just some random kid at her college.
“I was wondering if you’d want to .… I dunno, maybe grab some coffee sometime? I would really like to get to know you.” There sure was a sense of desperation in his trembling voice which he had somehow managed to choke out of his throat.
“wow, coffee … uh I don’t think so” , she said regretfully.
There it was, the verdict. His courage and confidence, both had been shattered into bits and pieces. She tucked her hands into her jeans pockets as if punctuating her decision, finalizing it.
It hurt, a customary feeling. There was no point standing in front of her anymore, he knew what she thought of him. Though he couldn't feel his feet, he did hesitantly turn around.
“ice tea sounds good? It’s been hot these days”, she shouted back.