Eight years ago
Maahi didn't realize that one of her of most endearing memories of Aarush would be one where he didn't speak to her at all. And it was.
It was honestly one of the most mundane days otherwise. She had grumpily woken up on a Sunday morning and had been asked to go buy groceries. With a sour face and an even sourer demeanour, she ambled over to the grocery store near her house when she spotted him from afar. It had become so easy to do that nowadays. Zero in on him in a sea of people.
She slowed down her pace and just observed from afar. Aarush was standing at the local pav bhaji wala, paying the vendor when a poor little kid came running up to the thela. He looked down and smiled at the kid who smiled back toothily. He then spoke to the thela wala and took another plate from him.
He waved the kid over to a small table that the thela wala had set up and sat down with the plates. He patted the seat next to him. The kid happily trotted over and sat down next to Aarush.
For the next few minutes, Maahi just sat and watched Aarush and the little kid eat pav bhaji together. The kid kept talking with food in his mouth and Aarush kept listening with a smile on his face.
She wished she had her camera to capture this sweet moment. Then she slowly turned around and walked over to the grocery store knowing full well that she didn't need a camera to remember it.
Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to a real life gentleman that my mother saw outside a grocery store, carrying out the same kind deed, almost 15 years ago. :')