Book 2 of "Destined To Be"
[Winner Of Tweet Your Story India]
In the hustle-bustle of the Twenty-First Century, where everyone forgets about themself, two people experience their most beautiful encounter with each other. But, is this encounter enoug...
Without wasting a single second, not bearing her embarrassment, she lowered her head.
She saw him dragging his trolley bag, obviously oblivious to her reaction, and placing it opposite her berth, under the seat reserved for her father.
Clearing her throat to gather his attention she plotted an excellent scheme in her mind, "Umm... Can you take this one?", she forwarded her cup of steaming liquid and continued, "Actually I don't have a change.", her voice was husky, the almost murmuring plea sounded funny to her ears, and she felt annoyed by this whole act of hers.
"Drink it... I'll give him ten rupees...", he replied in a calm tone, receiving his cup from the tea vendor. He handed a Ten Rupee note to him and then raised his cup in front of her, "Cheers!"
"But...", mumbling to herself, she silenced as a sudden jerk of the train made her aware of its departure from the current station- Kamptee.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed that he was holding onto thin yet strong supports of the upper berth to balance himself from falling off.
"Have it as a loan.", he said as he removed his blue sneakers swiftly, along with white socks. He randomly pushed his shoes under the seat and her face scrunched at the term 'loan', "Repay me whenever possible. If we ever meet again.", that was his last reply, after which she observed him settle comfortably in the seat.
He had a college shoulder bag with him that he placed on his lap as he sat and plugged in those small earphones. Tilting his head back against the thick blue cushion of the berth- the best way to rest in a train- he got lost in his world.
She meekly nodded to herself. Holding that delicate cup in her petite hands she slowly sipped the sweet lukewarm drink. It was the perfect blend of milk and tea leaves which made her seventeen-years old of taste buds work actively and send tingling information to her brain.
Gradually she slanted her head towards him to envision his lazy form sitting across her. His eyes were focused on his brand-new smartphone- a trending gadget in India at that time. Holding it in his right hand while drinking tea with the other, he swiped its touch-screen continuously.
She felt as if he was searching for something desperately and found herself to react on it, an urgent need to help him anyhow, to soothe his restlessness. But she resisted doing so, refrained from talking to a stranger.
Brushing off her instincts, she looked at his head. A mop of wavy, inky-black hairs covered his head and some of them were even splayed over his forehead. She saw his chiseled jaw clean of any masculine hair, not even a shady mustache above his lips- and she thought a handlebar mustache would have done wonders, but again, it was just her opinion.
Her left hand unconsciously moved to her neck and her fingers started to twirl the thin gold chain -which she had bought from her years of savings. It also had a heart-shaped pendant gifted by her two best friends, who were also her seniors.
She gulped a large lump of her drink when his prominent Adam's apple rhythmically bobbed with each slurping sip he took. Shaking her head to clear her imagination she rapidly blinked her eyes and continued to imbibe on her drink, trying to concentrate somewhere else.
Traveling was her favorite part of summer vacations- though that particular time it was not a vacation or entertaining journey, giddiness enveloped her when she watched the surroundings.
She enjoyed the fun social activity provided in a sleeper compartment- continuous gossiping of two strangers, a family brawling for their dinner, kids jumping with unknown enthusiasm, and most importantly sudden invasion of sellers.
She loved every part of it- a small world within the four walls of the moving train compartment always made her happy.
Sighing, she drank the last essence of her sugary beverage and threw the empty disposable cup outside through the ventilated window of the side berth. However, this time she was careful to leave it low enough so that it wouldn't tumble back through another window due to rapid air current.
When she sat back to her place, the elbow of that lover-boy neighbor clashed with her side. Gritting her teeth in irritation, she moved to the farthest corner, near the aisle. She rubbed her temples as she heard romantic chats of her neighbors.
Well, this time she got an excellent idea to deflect her attention. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and started recalling all formulae of physics and chemistry- now, that would be a perfect time for revision and preparation for the next day. How else could she distract herself now...?
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