अधूरी मुलाकात |
Before I could take my first sip, my eyes fell on a scooter that had just stopped on the opposite side of the road, barely 10 feet away. A girl was riding it, dressed in a lavender kurti with golden embroidery and baggy pajamas that matched. She wore minimal makeup—just eyeliner—and her jhumkas sparkled in her ears. Her hair was straight, maybe from a smoothening or Keratin treatment. She wore black jootis. A true beauty.
She had stopped because it had started raining heavily and was looking for shelter. Another friend was with her, but the kurti girl's beauty made me ignore her completely. Her eyes were searching for a place to stay dry, and before I knew it, I blurted out, "Excuse me, you can stay here; there's space."
Without a second thought, she ran over, wiping her hands and face with her dupatta. I still hadn't taken my first sip of tea. Her hair was half-wet, and somehow, her beauty only seemed to increase. My friends were watching me, knowing I was falling for her. She thanked me, turned her back to us, and started talking with her friend.
For reasons I can't explain, I found myself moving towards her. I said one of the famous lines from *The Peanut Butter Falcon*: "Excuse me." She turned, raising her eyebrows, and I continued, "Ma'am, you'll have to forgive me for staring at you. You just look beautiful." She smiled, thanked me, but seemed in the mood to avoid further conversation. My friends, as friends do, started laughing, making it impossible for her to take me seriously. I asked if she wanted tea, but she declined, and they giggled even harder.
I returned to my group, and they started teasing me in front of her. Honestly, I don't know if all this happened in just 2-3 minutes, but it felt surreal. Suddenly, her bike fell over—it turns out she hadn't fully opened the side stand in her haste. She shouted, "Shit!" and two of us quickly set our cups aside and rushed to lift the bike. We parked it properly and came back, but I refused to accept her thanks. I just shook my head without making eye contact. The truth is, I was dying to look into her eyes and have a conversation.
We finished our tea, and as I was putting the cups aside, she thanked me again for helping with the bike. I looked into her eyes and replied, "Dua mein yaad rakhna." She smiled, calling me funny. I wished the rain wouldn’t stop so I could continue the conversation. I told her she was really beautiful and had a great sense of style, to which she replied, "I know. Thank you once again." My boys weren't easy on me—they kept making weird sounds, egging me on.
I asked her again if she wanted tea and assured her that it was on me and that I wasn't interested in her number or Instagram ID. I genuinely wanted to compliment her beauty. She agreed, and I brought two cups of tea for her and her friend. As they were finishing, and just as I was about to continue the conversation, the rain stopped completely. She thanked me for the tea, walked towards the bike, and gave me one last smile. Her friend was watching us both intently. My friends urged me to get her Instagram ID, but I decided to stay put. I just waved my hand, said, "Bye, have a great day," and gave a small salute—that’s my style.
Those 15 minutes weren't like me; I was completely bewitched by her beauty. For the rest of the day, my friends kept teasing me about how I was too chicken to ask for her Instagram ID. I don’t know how many more days I'll have to hear the same, but I just wanted to be a man of my word.
Thanks for reading!
Ps- Story may be imaginary or may be not.
-Suraj
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