Kyon ✓ (Abhira)

7. Unimportant Things

7. Unimportant Things

'Akshara Goenka,' Abhi said as he warmed his hands by holding the hot coffee cup, 'doesn't it sound like a real ancient name?'

'Abhimanyu ranges right back to Mahabharata,' Akshara quickly said, stirring the sugar in her coffee. 'So please, don't even talk about ancient.'

Abhi chuckled, knowing she got him right, 'Yea, but come on, Abhimanyu still sounds real classy if you think about it.'

Akshara couldn't help but chuckle at how the man in front of him just smirked and raised his eyebrows, mocking her name. 'And I thought you said you were a real gentleman.'

'Yes, a real gentleman who only speaks the truth.' His answer with a shrug made Akshara narrow her gaze at him, not knowing whether to be annoyed at him or laugh it off.

But she hardly took offence in anything, so she laughed it off.

Abhimanyu Birla never thought he'd interact with a girl, he only met once before, with such light laughter and fun. He wasn't much of a fun loving guy not because it was his nature, in fact he was a lot more jovial and jolly in his youth but things happened which ended his love for fun and interactions. All he thought he'd do today was meet up with a doctor, sought out misunderstandings and get his files.

All he did was have fun with a fun loving anxious girl.

She was wearing a long A-line yellow kurti over her white leggings, her hair this time were messily tied in a bun and few strands fell on her face as she kept brushing them off. Her smile was as usual, the brightest and her eyes were quite different than the ones he saw last time.

Now they had some twinkle in them, like a vivid spark.

'Well, Akshara was my late grandmother's name,' Akshara said, a little sad over her fate. 'My mother would often say that I reminded her of her late mother and they named me in her honor.'

Abhi nodded, still not knowing how to react to the news of death. 'Maybe Akshara isn't a bad name then.' Abhi said, cheering up the girl who was now a little anxious over the death of her mom. 'And then, I'm sure, your mother probably loves you a lot than other kids, now that you have your grandmother's name.' Abhi said, smiling as he sipped his coffee and Akshara's face fell.

Abhi could see how teary her eyes were getting and Akshara fisted her hand, hoping to not cry again in front of the stranger. 'Wait, did I say something wrong?' Abhi intervened, and Akshara quickly shook her head, blinking her tears away and smiling again.

'Nothing,' She said, barely making it through, her voice was choking. 'My parents are dead too... so... I don't know whom they loved more.'

To avoid eye contact, Akshara excused herself to order something from the counter and Abhi cursed himself, hoping he hadn't crossed any line. After all, who knew better about a losing a loved one than him.