Almost

Part 4

27/8/2016

So, I was early that day. I kept walking the pathway to and fro that it made the security feel insecure about his job. It was 30 minutes into 10 and I heard a peculiar sound from a bike that is usually seen as a motif for the guys who like to ride- A R15! I was pretty sure that it was him. Have you ever wanted the time to just freeze? I did want to see who was behind that helmet. I did want it to be him. But I was also highly awkward to meet that situation. Do I say Hi? Hello? Morning? You are late? Your shoes are untied? (It wasn't). After a long mental rehearsal, I resorted to "HI!"

Crimson red shirt.

Blue jean.

Hair messed up with a hasty hand fix being evident.

And a great smile that has not been erased from my mind yet.

Hi!

Hi!

Hello!

Hello!

That went on for another 30 seconds before we decided to stop.

My ethical mind wouldn't be pacified without mentioning how late he was.

"You are 15 minutes late!" I said.

"It was the traffic" he riposted knowing that I don't own a vehicle and will probably never know what it is to get jammed in a traffic.

We got the tickets and stepped into the park. All those months of texts and calls and here we are, meeting each other. I can sense that he was anxious too.

"Established in 1977" he read out from the board.

With an area of around 2.8km square and home to around 350 species of flora and a wide habitat for mammals and reptiles, Guindy was indeed Chennai's talisman.

(See what I did? I dumped unwanted UPSC facts to you)

We started our walk with the reptile section. Russell's viper was our first exhibit. It kept moving around nonchalantly in its glass box, looking at who's viewing his operation. Russell was followed by the common Krait and a bunch of cobras after which I had to move somewhere else because of my herpetophobia.

"Are you scared of reptiles? "he asked with a purpose of making fun out of it in the very next statement.

"I'm not scared, I just don't like seeing them"

I know. It was such a stupid thing to utter when you are meeting the guy you like for the first time.

He laughed like how the audience laugh at stand-up comedy shows. You laugh because you have to, you paid for it. You better laugh!

"Tell me something that I don't know "he asked to divert my nauseating thoughts.

"Rubbing your tongue against your palate keeps you wired to the happenings"

"Something non- biological, perhaps?" he said.

"Did you know that Neil Armstrong setting his foot in the moon is just a hoax to deprive Soviet's piggy bank?"

"Ha ha ha! Are you always this way?

"This way? What way? "

"Weirdly smart"

"I think there is a part in my brain that craves to know things like these"

"Things like these on a date?" he asked.

WHAAAAAT! It really is a date? My face ossified for a minute and it was almost impossible to pull words out of my tongue.

"Look at you! All shocked!" he said bursting out of laughter.