It took her all of her will power to not cry. She was in a park after all with music blasting through her head phones. She was sitting in the far corner of the park where there was one weird looking bench which resembled a square and right now she was leaning on the square’s side.
Staring into the space ahead of her she thought about her life. She won’t say she was always sad or she was never happy. But her life was a little tough and she got no help as she lived through it. She always used a chance to enjoy and smile. But then things come crashing down when she witnesses the cold war that goes on between her parents.
Such a thing has been going on for as long as she could remember. She has even felt that quarrelling parents were way better. It was far worse when they won’t even tell how they feel about each other. She was in no condition to find out whose fault it is or to find out a solution to this family issue.
Stuck in a loveless marriage, her parents never loved each other truly. They cared for the other, but didn’t love the other. It never made sense to her but that was how her family was and still is. Being born in such a background, she never got the love she deserved. But she never complained. She cried silently at nights. Without a sibling to share the love, she felt lonely. Things started getting out of hand when she reached her teens.
With the hormones surging through her veins, she found herself getting frustrated with her life. Being the open girl she was, she never had good friends. People found her frank comments as a bad assert. There were a few people who tried to be with her, but fate decided against it and separated the forming friendship by making them take up college in various cities.
So here she is the typical loner girl who is going through a small hell at home and has no one to cry to or even talk to.
Just then a guy sat on the spot opposite to her. He never noticed her and was immersed in his book.
If it were another day, she would have tried to notice the cute guy sitting opposite to her and would have tried to strike up a conversation with him as well.
But today was a day she almost ran out of her home to get some peace of mind. And he didn’t seem to notice her so far. So all she did was lean back and close her eyes trying to get lost in the music that blasted through her ears making it almost possible for him to hear as well.
He looked up for a moment from his book and saw the angel sitting in front of him. Being the charmer he was, he always got attention from the female species. But for the first time in years he saw a girl who didn’t care about him and just minded her own business. Now this is something that attracted his interest.
Closing his book, he started observing her. She had this slightly tanned skin but it went really well with her jet black hair that reached her waist, he noted. She was sitting cross-legged leaning on the side of the square and every now and then she would shake her head to the music. For some reason he couldn’t take his eyes of her. He was waiting for her to open her eyes.
Too bad, she decided to open her eyes the very moment that thought hit his mind. Looking straight ahead of her, she saw a handsome guy staring at her. Giving him THE LOOK, she turned away and averted her gaze to some plants nearby.
He didn’t care if she had glared at him. He simply kept seeing her like she was his favourite movie with his chin resting on his right palm while the other hand clutched his book.
From the corner of her eyes she caught a glimpse of his features. On paying attention she noticed that he had these intriguing blue eyes that were fixed on her. ‘He does look good!’ she thought.
“Hi I am Venkat!” he extended his hand towards her with a wide grin plastered on his face. She looked at him and his hand that was extended. While he expected her to shake his hand or at least introduce her, she just shrugged it off and turned away.
“Do you stay nearby? Because I have never seen you in this neighbourhood…” he asked. She didn’t hear much of his question but she could make out the words by reading his lips. Taking off one of the headphone from her ear she glared at him again. A look that clearly stated What the hell do you want now?
“I thought you needed some company… So I am going to give you exactly the same…” he stated and leaned forward so that he was somewhat near her.
He spoke about a lot of things. In just fifteen minutes she learnt that he was doing his final year in college and stays nearby with his friends and a lot about his college which happened to be a famous college in that city while she studied in a college that was run by the same management that ran his college. He kept talking about a lot of things. He knew that she was listening to him inspite of the music that was still blasting on her other ear.
Little did he know that she stopped the music after that fifteen minutes and was intently listening to every single detail he had uttered. ‘Who said girls are talkative?’ she thought amusingly but she liked it. He did not expect her to talk back. He stuck to his word and just kept her company.
Soon it had gotten dark. It was time for her to leave. Silently she got up and muttered a small bye before leaving the dazed Venkat at the bench. While walking back to home she thought ‘Guess from now on I will be coming here every day sharp at 6….’ with a smile on her face.
Aratrika