And She Smiled....!! (Episode 3)

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Episode 3

I was thinking hard to come up with something to resume our conversation. The last few words exchanged between us were,‘yes.. It is’, when I had replied to her ‘It’s so dark right?’ .Well, that was five minutes ago.

‘So why are you out so late at night?’ I wanted to ask her. But what if she tells me to mind my own business!

“So why are you out so late at night?” she asked interrupting my thoughts. Oh Shit, what if she could read my mind!! ‘You stole my thought!’ I wanted to complain. I imagined myself replying to her that it’s none of her business.

 “Office! And while leaving my car broke down. So...” I replied promptly. Later I felt, the car part was unnecessary though. Now she would think that I had said that deliberately to tell her that I also own a car.

“Oh... This late! Why do they make you work so much?” she asked me innocently. So, she must be a student.  Because an employee would never ask such a question –‘Why do they make you work?’

“Ah..! I mean, I own the company with my friend. Usually we stay this late” I told her. For the second time in a span of sixty seconds, I was needlessly declaring my assets in public.

“Seriously..!! You own a company? That’s great! So I am sitting in an auto with a big man” she laughed gently but I felt the need to correct her.

“It’s not a big company though. It’s a startup. We quit our jobs two months back and then started it. We just have five employees working with us currently and we are yet to launch our product” I again divulged more details than required.

“Oh! So what do you do? What’s it all about?” she was curious to know what this guy’s small company does.

“The company’s name is ‘FOUNDit’”, I paused anticipating her spontaneous response.

She didn’t respond, instead waited for me to complete. And I continued. “Well.., it’s a website where we offer space for people to report things that they have found or lost.” I kept my answer short and looked at her.

She raised her eyebrows and twirled her lower lip which suggested that she couldn’t comprehend much. I tried explaining it in more detail.

“Okay let’s assume that I find your school report card in a mall” I started off.

“But why would I lose it in a mall?” she asked.

‘Seriously, do you have any problem in assuming?’  I wanted to ask.

“Okay. Let’s assume that I find it in a bus. Now, I will go to this website and search if anyone has reported about their lost mark sheets. I will see that you have put up a post regarding it, and then I will check if the specifications of the reported item and the found item match. If found matching, I will contact you using the messenger of the website”. She didn’t look convinced.

 “Also, if you lose your marksheet, you will check for any found marksheets reported. If so, you verify the details and then contact the person through the messenger of ‘FOUNDit’. And the way you search will be similar to the way you do it in google search. And you can also filter your search results by locality, date, item type etc.!” I couldn’t have come up with a better explanation.

As soon as I finished, I expected her to exclaim something like, ‘Wow! Such a brilliant Idea! Great..! Fantastic..!’ and much more lavish adjectives. But she proved me wrong, yet again.

“Oh. Okay”, she kept it short. I wasn’t sure if it was an ‘okay’ or ‘k’. But I was certain about one thing- She wasn’t impressed yet. Hence, I decided to stay quite rather than explaining her more about the website.

“You don’t talk much” she spoke after about a minute. It’s so hard to understand the fairer sex.

“No.. It’s just” I smiled. “So, what do you do?” I asked.

“Studying. Engineering. Final Year”.

“Oh! So done with your placements?”, I asked. Call it my over confidence, but a weird idea crossed my mind. I thought of going to their college for campus recruitment.

“No. I mean I am not trying for placements”. She disappointed me.

“Oh. Nice. It’s a trend now, isn’t it? To go abroad and pursue MS” I smiled, hiding my disappointment.

“No... No. I am not that ambitious”. She continued, “My parents are getting me married as soon as I am done with my studies. So” she said. I was not in love with this girl, yet I felt heartbroken. I also felt pity for her.

“Oh. Sorry!” I said. I felt the need to offer my sympathies.

“Sorry for what?” she laughed.

“They are forcing you into getting married so soon. I know it’s hard” I spoke emotionally. I thought of quitting my business and starting an NGO that fights for girl child rights.

“Who said that they are forcing me?” she looked surprised. “Even I want to get married as soon as I am done with my studies” she laughed.

“But why at such a young age?”, Now it was my turn to look surprised.

“I am already 22” she replied.

“But now days, most of the girls prefer getting married after 25. Till then they try to achieve their career goals.”

“That’s true. But I won’t buy this concept. I mean why to push yourself into achieving everything only before marriage? And does it mean that I shouldn’t try to pursue my goals after I get married? No, even after I get married, I’ll continue working towards my passions, till it interests me. Look, I know that marriage brings in those extra responsibilities, but that holds true even for men. In spite of that, you men will always manage to strike the balance, right? I believe that along with the extra responsibilities, marriage also brings in the much required, an extra ounce of support”. Her logic seemed right to me. But it was too lengthy a speech. I simply nodded.

“What happened? You got bored right?” she asked me.

“Well. Yes! I mean a little. But I am with you. I like your philosophy. And yeah, even your smile”. I don’t know why I said that, the last line. What was I trying to do? Flirt with her?

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“I told you not to flirt” Nitya complained.

“Well. It’s just... you know...” Akshay grinned and acted helpless.

Nitya started walking towards the bill counter and spoke “Fine. At this point of time the auto reaches the destination. The girl’s dad is seen there with his car. She gets out of the auto and walks towards the car. And the guy is caught in the dilemma of choosing between staying in the auto or getting down from it”.

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I had almost stepped out of the auto when my inner self ordered me to stay inside. The car was roughly twenty meters far. I was expecting her dad to walk up to me and thank me for taking care of his daughter all this while. But it seemed he didn’t even have the courtesy of at least looking at me. His eyes were taking turns between his mobile and his daughter. He had completely ignored our presence. Yes, he didn’t even look at the auto.

I felt like shouting at the top of my lungs to remind her that she had forgotten to pay the auto fare. It’s not that I wanted my money back. But I wanted to have one last word with her. I knew that once she’s gone, she’s gone forever.

Her dad got into the car. She opened the door. My eyes were still gazing at her, waiting for her to look at me.

She had almost got into the car, when she quickly turned in my direction.

My heart stopped beating. I quickly got out of the auto and stood there looking at her.

She smiled and thanked me through her eyes. That was perhaps the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. If it was a Bollywood movie, maybe I would’ve danced and sang a romantic number. And since it wasn’t, I just raised my hand and waved her goodbye with a pale and emotionless face.

She waved back at me and got into the car. The car left and she was gone, once again, perhaps forever.

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“Stop near that bakery. I will get down there. Have to go to my friend’s room” said Akshay pointing at the bakery near the main road.

Nitya stopped the vehicle once it reached there.

“Okay. Let’s meet tomorrow. And I hope you would come with the screenplay done. Blue waters Mall. 10 in the morning” he said.

“Fine” Nitya agreed. “But  ...” said she and paused.

“But? What?” he asked.

“Don’t you think the story’s lacking the “intriguing” factor? We should try to bring in an interesting plot that would engross the audience and leave them curious about the climax. It’s just an opinion you know, but you can choose to ignore that”.

“I think.., I will have to ignore it.” Said Akshay and got down from the vehicle.

Nitya seemed not so happy with his curt reply. “Let me tell you. That was really rude” she said.

He looked into the rear mirror and spoke as he adjusted his hair. “I have to Nitya, because you have ignored the most interesting aspect of the story”.

She couldn’t understand. “I didn’t get you” she said.

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The auto stopped in front of my house gate. For the past thirty minutes I was recollecting every moment that I had spent with her. I had even managed to scribble a four liner in her memory.

Strands of your hair that danced in the breeze,

I wish those moments, I could freeze..!

Formula of water is H2O,

Stay with me and please don’t go..!!

I looked at the meter and pulled out a few yellow notes from my wallet to give them to the driver. He grinned displaying his teeth that shone bright even under the dim light.

‘Kya bhaiya, itni derr baat kiya Ladki ke saath, aur uska naam bhi nahi poocha usse’( ‘Hey brother.! You spoke for so long with the lady. And you didn’t even ask her name’) he said.

Words of his, stirred mixed emotions in me. I was angry at the driver because he seemed to have overheard our entire conversation. But I also felt like thanking him as he made me realize such an idiot I am. I hadn’t even asked her name.

“I... I forgot..!” I said trying hard not to hang my head in shame.

“phone number liya kiya uska?” (‘Did you take her phone number?’), he asked me.

I said no.

“Aur aapko na toh uske ghar ka address pata hai aur na hi college ka” (‘And you neither know her house address nor about her college’) he threw some more light on the things that I had foolishly missed.

I didn’t reply. I just put up a disappointed face.

“Mujhe pata hai ki aapko vo ladki pasand hai. Par ab use dhoondonge kaise?” (‘I know that you liked that girl. But how will you find her again?’).

He seemed to be more concerned than me. Probably he had a failed love story too. I checked his auto’s back for any proof. Auto drivers have this ritual of painting the rear part of their vehicle with some filmy lines. And these lines usually reflect the state of their love stories. But here, apart from Salman Khan’s poster, I couldn’t find anything else.

I don’t know if I had fallen for that girl but I had already begun to miss her. I had begun to miss the girl with whom I’d had my longest conversation till date.

But here was the biggest question that was dancing in front of me-Will I ever find her again?

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“Interesting!” she said.

“Thank you” said Akshay and bowed in acknowledgement.

“But is the twist credible enough? How is it possible that the guy forgot to make a note of her details? Normally you would at least ask the name”.

“Not necessarily! I have had my experience!” Akshay chuckled and revealed his source of inspiration.

“Oh my god..!! Seriously? But why didn’t you ask her name? Were you scared? ”she sneered at him.

“No no. This is what happened. We met in a bus. We spoke for about four hours. I had asked her name. But poor thing, she had forgotten to ask mine. And then we never met again” he replied.

“Oh.!! I really pity. But not so romantic” she laughed again.

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It was seven in the evening when Akshay left from Kunal’s place. His house was just a kilometer away. He was in the lift when his phone rang.

“Yeah Mom, Tell me” he answered the call.

“Get Chicken from Usman’s stall. 2 Kgs” his mom placed her order. Some news channel had aired a program on how chickens are bred. After watching that, she had grown conscious and insisted that everyone in the family eats only organic chicken- unstressed, zero hormone fed poultry. And Usman’s stall sold organic chicken.

But, the shop was two kilometers away. “Maa. It’s late. Let’s eat veg today” Akshay tried to convince her. This act of his, could have well earned him a nomination for the PETA award.

“Arrey..! Vinod uncle is coming home tonight. How can we serve him veg food!” she expressed her concerns. For her, feeding Guests with Non-veg is an unwritten rule, which would attract a serious penalty if violated.

Before he could say anything, she added “And what’s the use of your new bike! Make it run some distance”.

It was then that he remembered -He had left his bike back in the restaurant. Here is what had happened in the morning- He wanted to spend some more time with Nitya in order to discuss more about the story. So he lied to her that his bike had some trouble. And when she didn’t believe that it was his bike, he just played along.

It was hardly a week since he had bought his new bike and when he realized that he’d left it in the restaurant, he grew panicky. He quickly called his friend and both of them dashed into the ‘Fresh Air and a Coffee’ restaurant.

When they reached the place, it was quite dark. The restaurant was buzzing with customers. Both of them quickly raced to the parking lot.

“It was here. I had parked it exactly here”. Akshay became jittery when he couldn’t find his bike there.

“Don’t get tensed Akshay. Let’s search the whole place properly. Yours is a Pulsar right?” Kunal asked.

“No man. It’s the FZs”, Akshay replied.

“Which color?” Kunal asked again. Akshay was tensed and his eyes were busy searching for his bike.

“Red” said Akshay.

“Red! Oh okay! Which red? Sunset red is it?” Kunal asked again. Akshay who had already lost his cool over the missing bike, got completely irked now. He furiously looked at Kunal.

“Red right..! All rite, All rite..!” Kunal gabbled.

They spent over an hour in the parking lot, that was cramped with over a hundred bikes but alas, there were no traces of his bike! Akshay was soaked in sweat by now. He was certain that his bike was not lost but stolen. He looked at his mobile and found fifteen missed calls from his mom. Vinod uncle should find resort in Rasam and pickle, he felt pity.

Both of them decided to lodge a complaint in the police station. When they reached there, there was already a long queue.

“Look at them! All no parking cases.” said Kunal in a low voice.

He looked at the queue. There were at least fifteen people standing before him in the line. ‘Is there a possibility that my vehicle was towed away?’ he wondered. But this was highly unlikely given that he had parked it in the parking lot. Half an hour went by.

“Where are the documents?” the policeman sitting behind the table asked through his fat moustache.

The guy in a red shirt standing right in front of Akshay scratched his head. He had not got any documents.

“Sir, the documents are there in my house” he replied.

“Look”, Kunal spoke into Akshay’s ears. “This guy is not carrying the documents. Now the cop would signal him for the bribe”.

The guy and the cop had a muted yet animated conversation. And he pulled out three blue colored notes from his wallet.

Kunal looked at Akshay and smiled victoriously. Akshay didn’t react to it.

“Vehicle number?” the cop asked.

The guy pulled out his phone and after a few seconds read out the number.

“KA12 @#$%” he said.

The very next moment Akshay jumped and grabbed this guy by his collar. Kunal stood there frozen, staring at them.

“Hey what are you doing?” the guy yelled.

“What’s happening?” the cop screamed.

“Shut up.! Else, I will make sure that tomorrow you do get your farewell party from this department! Bas**rd takes bribe!” Akshay screamed at the cop and then slapped the other guy twice on his right cheek.

“Akshay look!  I understand that corruption should be curbed. But you should not get so emotional about it in a police station” said Kunal looking at the annoyed cop.

“Shut up Kunal” shouted Akshay. He then opened his bike’s registration papers and pointed at the vehicle number.

“Ah..!”  Kunal exclaimed.

The guy in the red shirt had stolen Akshay’s bike from the parking lot. After stealing it, at around 6 pm he had parked it near the TMG road in a no parking zone from where it was towed away. One must laud sheer guts of that guy for; he had turned up in the police station to pay the penalty to get the stolen vehicle released.

After a few more minutes of tussle with the guy in red shirt and scoldings at the cop, Akshay happily walked out of the police station with his bike.

“So, what happens to Raj? Will he ever meet that girl again? Will he even try to find her? Or is it that the girl makes an attempt to find him?” asked Kunal before getting on his bike.

“Don’t know! Let’s see”, smiled Akshay enigmatically.

When Akshay reached home it was 8.30 pm. His Dad and Vinod uncle were already at the dining table.

“Have some more Rasam, Bhaiya ji! You haven’t even taken pickle. One more spoon of Rasam please”, his mom was standing next to Vinod Uncle and forcing him to take some more servings of Rasam.

 Uncle Vinod was trying hard to put up a courteous smile as he struggled through the veg food.!!!!!!!

[Proof Read By Archi Garg..]

-To be continued…….!!

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