It was around 11pm in the night. He had been waiting for his watch to strike 12 ‘o clock. His anxiety left him in a state of confusion, and he totally forgot whatever work he was doing from the late evening. After a couple of minutes again he looks at his wrist, and mutters something to himself.
Slowly and slowly as the time went on its own pace. As if it struck him suddenly, he felt the need to calm down and thought of rehearsing his lines. His heart began to race against time as he started thinking of the next few hours. He never knew what was in store for him. Involuntarily he looked at the watch again. It didn’t help.
Earlier that evening, he went to the Mall. He picked a nice set of pearl earrings to adore the ears of his sweetheart. Took pleasure in picking a matching pearl set to adore her neck line. He realized that he was actually trying to match something that was equally beautiful, at least in his mind.
She doesn’t enjoy flowers. She likes chocolates, but not the regular ones. She doesn’t enjoy listening to music. But, She loves much smaller things in life-like having a cookie at her favorite bar. She loves to sip hot coffee from a coffee store. She enjoys the sight of a beautiful sky with a occasional rainbow. In short, she is Happiness which every one of us wishes to have. That was the only reason he wished to tell it to her that day.
His fingers searched for the number on the Call log and dialed the number his eyes found. He could hear the number being dialed and all of a sudden, he forgot what he wanted to tell. After a couple of rings, the other end of the line was making a pleasant sound. That sweet voice pushed him back to reality,
“Hello! you have reached Sowmya. I am sorry I am not able to pick your call right now. Please leave your name and number, I will get back to you”.
Certainly not the fact he would enjoy. He wanted to talk at that moment. He did not leave a message, hoping she would call back.
Minutes passed and was increasingly becoming difficult for Sharat, he wished to have spoken to her at that moment. He was becoming restless now. Hoping beyond hope, he dialed again.
“Hello! you have reached Sowmya…….”
11.37pm. After listening to her voice mail for another 4 times, he resigned to the fact that maybe she has slept off, or maybe she would be having her dinner right then. His mind never could make sense, anyway, or rather, nothing was making sense to him at that point in time. He was just waiting for her to pick his call. But it didn’t happen then.
In these days of the internet, it wasn’t tough for him to think of an alternative. He requested her room mates to hide the gifts he brought for her and trusted the creativity of them in finding the best places. It did work wonders, at least that’s what Sowmya remembers of that date.
Time flew by as if it were to catch up on all the lost time in this world. Sharat could not think of anything at that moment. He had been waiting for this moment of truth for a long time. It was his day, that night, at least that’s what he thought.
The most beautiful aspect of human mind is the ability to keep things in memory. The day Sowmya entered his life, sometime during last November, he was blessed to have that memories – the good ones to be precise. He could feel the beauty of enjoying simple and small things in life, and this made him to start believing in himself that he too can love someone more than he loved himself. He started creating a small world within the world he lived, only to cherish those memories. He carried those with the pleasure of the child collecting sea shells by the shores of a calm ocean. He can never realize what the ocean has in store for him, but he is more than happy being naive about the fact that the most beautiful shell he collected is the best in the world.
As the moments closed in and things fell in place, then it happened. His princess was on the line this time. Probably, she also knew what Sharat was waiting to talk to her for the whole evening. This time the conversation had awkward silences, which was a tad bit weird. Normally it was a breeze of words and storm of expressions when they talk to each other. Finally, he had the intelligence to realize what he wanted to tell all the while.
He asked courteously, if she is done with her dinner. Then asked if she can join him for a walk over a cup of coffee. He was wishing to have a conversation building up and was talking about absolutely insane topics like what movie they should watch over the weekend, and probably where to go over the vacation. Until something struck him
He blurted out. “Would you be my date…….ummm….tomorrow?”
Few seconds went away, with the elegance of dancing peacock. That was the beauty of the moments that flew by then.
She couldn’t control the joy in her heart. It came out through her voice. She choked first.
Then, she set her vocal chords to perfection and said, “I was waiting for so long to hear these words from you!! Oh my god!! I cannot believe this……”
“….Arey!! I am so excited. I want to see you right now!”
He was not able to express himself properly, and asked a stupid question – “are you saying…umm……u want to come?”
“yes u stupid…hell yes! I will..”
She started shouting at the top of her voice, probably want to share the news with her friends
“….Madhu where are you? ….you know what …..Sharat asked me to be his….. DATE!”
She then starts to speak over the phone, “Sharat….where are you? I want to see you right……….”
His phone went dead. He cursed himself for being so stupid, again for that night. He forgot to charge his phone and it was running over time.
Without hesitating he started walking to her house, rather, running would have been more apt.
Through out the street, those words were still ringing in his ears. She said ‘YES’, and she was interested in going out with him. He was overjoyed and beyond any reasons of happiness. It never occurred to him, that he walked all over a distance of a mile in like a couple of minutes.
Within moments, he was knocking on her door.
The time was 12.30am, and the day was 14th of February, 2010.
She opened the door, and hugged him tight, tighter and closer they moved. The flowers he got for her, were bruised and probably might have felt bad that these two were not caring them anymore.
“Happy Valentines day!”, he took out the pack of Ferrero Rocher chocolates from his jacket and gave it to her. She didn’t expect him to get those. Those were her favorite chocolates for years.
“Did you like them?”, he asked.
Then it struck to her. She saw something flashy lying in her closet a while ago. She rushed back to her room, to find the delightful earrings and the pearls for her neckline lying there. This day was getting more and more special for her.
She rushes back and cries out loud. “Thanks for making me feel special. I cannot believe you did this to me”
Sharat quietly nodded, as if in accordance.
And then, he completed his words..”So, where shall we go tomorrow?”
“You asked for it. This was the first Valentine’s day in our lives. I wanted to make it memorable, and really important”
“I wish to have brought the best flowers on this planet. The finest pearls to adore you. The sweetest chocolates for your taste. I felt, all those may not remain forever, and to give something befitting. I chose to fulfill your wish, and wanted to take you out on a date.”
He continued. “…and this is from me”
He locked her lips with his, and gave her the best gift on this planet.
Sometimes, it’s so difficult to understand, though simple to practice – A big hug is good enough to show that you care for them, and a warm kiss is more than enough to show that you love them.
They both went on a walk. As they usually do every evening, beating the cold nights of February in the city of Seattle.
There is something mysterious about love, perhaps, the feeling in itself is an embodiment of the universe. Nobody wants to talk about it, or rather, they want you to explore it by yourself. Probably, this is the right answer.
Tune your hearts, and find the right one. Sometimes, it’s just the hands that fit in properly, to make the walk memorable – hand in hand.
Good luck ye all!
Happy Valentines Day! Belated
