The Rainy Night
Cold breeze shifting my hair, foamy, bubbly water touching my feet. Warm sand under me, ever beautiful moonlight shining from both the sky and its reflection in the water. Visiting the beach alone has always been a favourite for me. I could be all by myself, but most importantly, I can be myself. the peace and quiet of the sea all to myself. But that day, it was different. It was during the storm season and the weather felt like it could start raining at any moment. So, instead of staying till 10 PM as usual, I got up at 8:24 PM, and started travelling back home. I have barely made it half the way, when it started to pour down heavily. I quickly parked my bike near a bus shelter and got under it. As I was drying my hair, it was the first time I saw her.
It was dark then, but her face drew my attention. I never met her till that moment, but it felt like I always knew her. So I approached her, and asked, “Have we met?”. “Uh, No.”, she said with a faint smile. I must have taken her by surprise, because I am pretty sure there was a long pause between me asking her the question and she responding. Or maybe just time slowed down. I got myself together and replied, “Oh my bad. I was very sure I met you”, with a low dumb laugh. She smiled and we exchanged introductions. We talked about what we do for a while. She said that she is new in town, and she is staying with her friend until she finds an apartment. I don’t remember what else we spoke about, because I was too busy admiring her eyes.
We were interrupted rather rudely by a phone call that she received from her friend. She spoke to her friend, and after hanging up, she told me her friend has just finished work and will be reaching the bus shelter soon. All of a sudden, my heart began to pound. Is this the last of us? Am I even gonna see her again? With all these questions filling up my mind, I felt I had to do something. I had an idea, but I had to ask her something before proceeding. I got up and approached her. “Your friend seems to work late, do you always go home at this time?”. “Well she does work all day long, 7 days a week. I finish my work half an hour before her, so I stay here in this shelter everyday. It just feels safer with the CCTV cameras.” And it struck me.
“So, I guess you haven’t seen the city since you arrived here only weeks back.” “Yeah. I’ve been wanting to though.” “If you don’t mind, I would be more than happy to show you around.” “I am sorry, but I am not sure if I can. We just met!”, She exclaimed with an awkward expression on her face. “I understand. Well, if you feel like though, please give me a call.”, I said, handing her my business card. “Sure!”, she said. We sat down quietly and waited for her friend to arrive. During this period of awkward silence, many scary thoughts crossed my mind. What if she never calls me? What if she has to go back to her home town again? What if this is the last time we are meeting? I was never that nervous in my life.
Fate, as it seems, has a unique way of bringing people together. I never believed in fate, atleast until her friend arrived. When the lady on the bike took off her helmet, I felt a glimmer of hope appear in my life. As it turned out, her friend is Padma, my sister’s classmate in College. I have never felt more happier. Even before she got up, I walked over to Padma and greeted her. She slowly came forward and sat on Padma’s bike. “Be careful. The roads are quite slippery in your route.”(I used to drop my sister off at Padma’s apartment from time to time.) “And also get to home quickly. Have a Goodnight”, I wished them, before going back to my bike and starting my journey home. I kept thinking of her all the way home. Who would have thought, that starting a journey from the beach to my house would also start the journey of my life!
