Though they are poles apart and are rather involved with different people, Aditya and Nandini discover how easy it is for them to fall in love with each other.
~
Coming across each other in the exotic and vibrant city...
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"22 A... B... C! Yes! 22 C."
Aditya heaved a sigh and stuffed his bag in the overhead cabin of the aircraft. Having located his assigned seat, he plopped down and glanced at his watch, tapping his feet. He was already exhausted after the 14-hour long flight from San Fransisco to Dubai, and the other five-hour flight back to Kolkata hadn't even commenced.
Shooting a quick message to his mother, he switched the phone off and shoved it inside his shirt's pocket, putting the headphones on and tuning in to one of the Transformers movies. As the craft began reversing out of its spot, gaining speed on the tarmac, he found himself slipping into a slumber despite the interesting movie taking twists and turns in front of his eyes. He was too fatigued already, and he knew he would need a lot of energy upon reaching home. His loud family and an even louder five-year-old niece would most certainly pounce on him the moment he would reach. Hence, he didn't resist falling asleep.
However, the wire of the headphones tickled the sides of his cheeks before the noisy crackling of the radio announcement from the captain of the flight caused his eyes to snap wide open as the craft picked up speed, lifting off the ground, and shooting straight for the sky.
And that was it. He couldn't go back to sleep, all his attention now focused on how excited his family would get upon seeing him for the first time in one and a half years.
***
Aditya Roy had been away from his country and home for far longer than his parents liked to admit. He had his own ambitions, his own aspirations, and none of them held any cognizance with the publishing house his father owned in Kolkata. His interest in finance and management, his willingness to make a career out of it, had taken him to San Fransisco nine years ago. As soon as he had graduated high school, he moved to a foreign country, much to his mother's and grandmother's disappointment. However, his prolific degree and his reputable job profile earned him a crucial spot in a team at a multinational investment bank.
But all his achievements aside, he just wanted to rush back home after a daunting wait and spend time with his precious family. They hadn't really visited him in the last three years, and his visits to India were also sporadic. Hence, when the aircraft finally touched down on the tarmac at the Kolkata airport, he exhaled in relief. The five-hour-long flight had sapped him of the remnant dregs of patience and energy, and his first thought was to somehow make it to his home and drop dead on the soft, cushiony mattress with his head on his grandmother's lap.
Collecting his bags and moving towards the exit of the terminal building, as soon as he spotted his parents outside, waiting for him as impatiently as any parent could, waving at him, his fatigue vanished, and he sprinted ahead to greet them, beaming wide.
"My goodness! I am seeing you after ages," Sandhya said, shaking her head and pulling him into a hug the moment he was at an arm's distance. "Did you forget you have a family back home who worries about you?"
