The Story till now :-Rishav and Shree - Part 3

As the day dawned, Sheeru began to get ready for the “meeting” as she liked to call it in her head; afraid to call it a date, for the fear of disappointment. Rishav, on the other hand was battling jet lag. His soft plush bed at the hotel was calling to him. An urge difficult to resist after the arduous journey, but one that he had to. Sheeru had chosen the café. A quiet place in the plush corner of the city, decorated with paintings by upcoming artists from across the city. A place that was just enough public, enough private.

Sheeru discarded 15 outfits before finally settling on the Rani pink saree. She knew that she looked great in sarees. This one, especially, was becoming to her very much, complementing her dusky complexion. He would like this very much. Rishav, stood in front of the full length mirror in the bath, holding a shirt in each hand. Blue or Brown; Brown or Blue. What would she like? He picked the blue one. She couldn’t get herself to eat even a bite before heading out. Her stomach was full of butterflies. She would throw up if she even thought of food right now. The only thing she could think of right now, was if Rishav would like her.  The drive was 30 minutes from where she lived. Thirty long onerous testy minutes in the city traffic. He was having a tough time keeping still. What if Shree wouldn’t like him? He wanted to push that possibility out of his head, but couldn’t think of anything else. He had to wait ten minutes for the cab to arrive, and thirty more to get to the café she’d picked. Had to be the most anxious forty minutes of his life. He had to remind himself to breathe.

As He got into the cab, he received a text. “I’m almost there.” Damn. His data had just run out. He couldn’t reply. He was now going to make her wait. Damn it! Way to go, first impression. She worried as the blue ticks appeared, but a reply didn’t follow. Was this guy going to stand her up after all they had spoken about? Perhaps not. She would wait some more to find out. She kept fidgeting with the end of her saree, glancing repeatedly at the entrance to the café. What if he showed up, and a look of disappointment flashed across his face? She didn’t know what she would do then. He spoke to Rashid the cab driver, to keep himself from tearing his nails out. He was more nervous today than he had been on his first job interview. He visualized happiness and unhappiness in alternation, reflect across her beautiful face. He couldn’t deal with the latter. Everything would be in vain.

She memorized the menu as she waited. She ordered a Latte for the want of something to do. As she looked up from the menu, He walked in, across the pebbled path, into the café; not taking his eyes off hers, locking her in his gaze. And that’s when Rishav and Shree knew. This was it. This was fated. This was something. This was great and more. This was other-worldly. This was Love.

As the moment dawned,

Dawn it did upon my being,

This was to be cherished. For safe-keeping,

Locked forever, key lost to the world.

The fleeting thumping,

The soaring highs,

The laughter ringing in my eyes.

Laugh I did, in yester-years,

Falling in love? In a moment?

Hah! A thing for the movies,

And myriad dramas, only for novels.

Today withal, I saw the light.

Love knew no reasons,

Love knew no checklists,

Love knew no boundaries,

Love knew no symmetry.

Love is to love, just to love.

And fall, I did as hard as they fell.