''Driver uncle, driver uncle, fast fast''. Shouted he at the top of his lungs. His rough hair was unkempt & his uniform was dirty from the fights he'd had in school. The tie was half opened and a few buttons were undone. Everyone feared that wild courage and he enjoyed that fear. The bus was racing past narrow alleyways as driver uncle too had come under his spell as they were trying to outrun a faster SUV from behind. Driver uncle briefly came out of his spell as he tried to avoid a speed breaker & braked hard. The sudden momentum caught the boy off guard as he tumbled forward crashing onto someone. As he got up he was entangled in a mass of hair. He got up to get a glaring fearless stare from the most beautiful eyes he'd set eyes on. It was his turn to get mesmerised and ever since she became his first crush and his weak spot. She however never spoke to him since & left school in a week. Was it because of him he wondered. Bad boy !!!
Life moved on ...
The college trip wouldn't have been more fun had the group not been travelling on the coastal express meandering through the misty mountains in the morning. The lush greenery and tropical rainforests, tunnels, bridges and waterfalls were everywhere. The view was breathtaking. Despite all this his friends decided to camp inside the compartment asleep. He took a walk across towards the foot-board. The chill was nudging his spine, 'perfect ambience for a smoke' the thought as he pulled the pack of Dunhill cigarettes he'd had in his pocket & lit up. As suddenly and as subtle as a whisper, the tap of the wash basin behind him opened & he turned around to see the same pair of beautiful angry eyes he'd so longed for in school. Those eyes had grown older and much more beautiful with age. They were filled with rage beckoning him to stop polluting the compartment with smoke. He immediately chucked the cigarette down a ravine & as he turned behind she was nowhere to be seen. He frantically searched the train, compartment by compartment but never found her.
The clock ticked on ...
He always felt he looked ugly in a suit, but he'd had no choice tonight. It was the norm of the corporate world & so were air conditioned offices, computers, busy secretaries tapping their keyboards, shining floor, jampacked lifts & worst of all.. boring meetings. And that was the exact purpose of him being here at the corporate park skipping the party of a lifetime at his friends birthday bash for the sake of this meeting. After all this would determine the stepping stone he needed in his career. He then met some of his colleagues at the coffee counter & they began ranting on & on about the new appointment, a grumpy boss & were laughing their guts out at his eccentricities & failed policies, he laughed so much that he choked on his coffee, he turned away & with his eyes closed, coughed hard & the coffee in his mouth spilled out onto someone. As he opened his eyes he saw them yet again.. the same angry eyes & a stained dress. The fire in his heart lit up yet again & before he could open his mouth his boss beckoned him for the meeting & he watched her shoot towards the wash rooms. And yet again he searched for her around the offices & yet again she'd disappeared without a trace. Naughty luck.
The years rolled on ...
It's been ages since I'd stepped into a hospital. My health never let me down however there was good news in the family as my cousin had just delivered baby twins & everyone of us had rushed into the hospital to have that first glance. In a sense of jubilation & elation I unknowingly bumped into a group of people, doctors nurses alike hurriedly moving a stretcher to the operation theatre & by chance I looked at the person on it.Something about it struck the chords in my heart. Those eyes, I'd seen them before & they looked back at me, as if they had something to tell me. Amid all the chaos, my heart was a raging inferno. She was covered in blood & she raised a hand with something in it. A letter. I grabbed it with both hands and was stunned still as she was whisked away into the operation theatre. The pune next to me said ''Poor girl, she was rushing on the road without watching the road right in front of the hospital & she was hit''
The seconds raced on ...
With trembling fingers I opened the blood covered letter. The handwriting was as beautiful as her eyes. It said -
'' Dear Kartik, I first saw you in my school bus while you shouted & bumped into me. I was angry at first & then your courage enamoured me. I gradually started falling for you & I was so captivated that I shared this with my momma. As a result of which I was made to leave your school and join another one far far away.
I'd lost all hope of seeing you, I'd closed my heart to the world & decided to journey the country all on my own & hey presto, bumped into you again on the foot board in the train. I was elated at seeing you but ever since my father died of cancer, my hate for smokers grew more than my love for you & I made a big stupid decision & ran away from you. I regretted that ever since.
I bumped into you yet again in the office cafeteria, and yet again I was so happy to see you & my infatuation for you had grown into deep love. I was about to express my feelings but felt a bit shy in front of your colleagues & after I cleaned my shirt & came back looking for you, you'd disappeared into thin air & as luck would have it, I've seen you yet again today at the hospital & I'm in a rush to give you this note & express my feelings. ''
The seasons have a mind of their own & so do tears which wildly streamed down searing my face into dread as I watched the light above the operation theatre turn red.
