invisible string ✓

twenty two

“You wanted to come here for once, right? Here you go!” He swung his hands to the bookstore, his eyes trying to read my mind.

Making a mental note to thank him later, I ran into the bookstore with the anticipation of experiencing the visual treat I had been seeing on Reels and heard through word of mouth. With my heart drumming at the thought of being disappointed after knowing it wasn't worth the hype of Bookstagrammers like every other trending bookstores, my eyes went wide looking round the bookstore adorned with classic books of every genre and languages written by authors of every nationality, living to the proverb of, “Old is gold.”

I, like always, went up to the Fiction section, and looked up at the stacked-up books while my eyes found an old-looking copy of Pride And Prejudice. I took it and ran my hands through the faded golden words, feeling the touch of old leather in the tips of my fingers and closing my eyes at the overbearing goosebumps running through my skin. For that moment, the touch felt like life. It felt like making love to the soulmate: breath-taking, sensual, and complete.

Greedy for the touch of leather, I went on stacking books until I felt my hands weakening with the weight I was bearing. I placed the stack on the floor and knelt down to count the number of books.

It was four. Four fucking thick books.

Astounded by the count of books I was carrying, I made a mental note of adding “Physical strength” to the Strengths section of my CV.

I sat cross-legged on the floor, giving a deserving rest to my legs, gaining Ishaan's attention while reading the names of the books I had chosen.

Pride And Prejudice
Jane Eyre
To Kill A Mockingbird
Little Women

He knelt down, the stack of books acting as a wall between us, and asked, “Hey! What's up?”

“I had shortlisted four books. But, I don't know what to buy,” I explained my plight to him and plopped my arm against the stack of books.

“Oh!” He went into his world of thoughts and sat upright when he was out of it. “You take the first two that come to your mind and go to the billing counter.

I carried Jane Eyre and Little Women and walked towards the bill-in counter. Placing them on the counter, I looked back, only to witness a sight that triggered my eyeballs to pop out of their regular position.

There was Ishaan, carrying the remaining two books while involuntarily flexing his muscles in front of the hopeless girls from the realm of reality and walking to the billing counter.

If it wasn't me in my shoes, you would ask, “Why did you carry these?”

He would say, “You buy all of these. I'll pay them for you.”

You would look down, giggle as though you were talking with Ryan Reynolds, look up again and ask, “But, why?”

And, he would say, “Anything for you.”

And there you go, blushing all over without any control over your hormones and giving him a soft peck on his cheeks. The most unhesitant ones would give him one on the lips.

But, I knew it. The moment he asked me to carry two books, I knew he would be doing this. He was a man created in ink. A certified green forest (literally). It should be a surprise if he didn't do this.

I chuckled at the thought of my philosophy, unaware that Ishaan was already waiting for me to step out of my delusional zone.

Noticing my chuckle, he asked, “What happened?” while I replied with a nod suggesting, “Never mind.”