An Unknown Date

An evening, it’s hard to walk down the lane with heavy rains and gushing wind. Although, holding an umbrella, which is turned upside down, making my hair go messy and wet. I am almost drenched and my dark blue dress is losing its color.

It is all so messy and irritating that I wish I wouldn’t have come out of my house today, this is so frustrating and the hard blowing wind is just pulling over my umbrella off my hand and I startled to hold it back and my hair is all over my face.

All of a sudden, I feel one hand holding the umbrella back and the other to uncover my face by my messy hair, I am almost dragged by my unstable umbrella, In the meantime, I feel a warm wet hand over my hand with umbrella and a soft manly voice that says “let go of it, it is of no use now”.

In the next second the umbrella flew off with its freedom and I am left with shyness, fear, and awkwardness of me being so messy.

I am so sluggish that I still stand here with the feared and messy me all drenched and cannot even lift my face up and my jaws are shaking and shivering of cold.

The warm hands holding my chin raised my face up said “you are all wet, you need to go under a shade now” and pushed off my wet hair off my face.

I slowly raise my eyelids to see a man bright and tidy wearing his rain jackets covering his head, my feeling of awkwardness grew to its extreme the next minute my heart raised its speed and I am running off to shade without even being so generous to say a ‘thank you'.

As I came under the shade it is worsening more as I could see more of my dress color of the floor with the running water of my dress and my whole body is shivering of cold. I am feeling so miserably bad that I curse this day of being so brutal on me, it’s so frustrating and cold.

That manly voice followed me and said “I think you just don’t need the shade you need a set of dry dress and worm place” my heart started to ponder on the words he said and my anxiety that he is still behind me, I felt like burring myself into the mud and I am not able to make myself to turn and see at him.

I can hear him walking towards me and feel his warm breath over my shoulders that I just close my eyes as if everything will vanish by the time I open it again, but bad news, it is not a dream it is happening now and I am confused about what is going to be happening next.

He is speaking again “I can help you, just put up, I will be back in a second” and he raced in the door next to the shade we stood.

I have so many questions in the front right now, who the hell is he? Why should he help me? And how is he going to help me? Why should I take his help? Or rather why am I standing here? But how and where am I suppose to go in this condition, I am not even able to move my foot and just feel like coil myself like the baby in her mother’s womb.

On the other hand, I can see an Imaginary face of a naive a handsome young man with thick eyebrows that highlight his face and bright shiny brown eyes, sharp but broad nose, thick smiling lips with the sharply raised mustache soon I could see the man coming towards me with the bag in hand it is named “Reliance Trends” and said “thank goodness you are still here and ok, come with me” then he started to walk in the other direction under the shade.

The thoughts and questions in my mind frame continuously, why should I follow him? Where is he going to take me? What did he get from the Reliance store? Though all these questions appeared instantly and repeatedly I walked my shivering icy foot over his footsteps not knowing why. Is it because he looks handsome and good? Is it because he is trying to help me? Or is it because I have started believing in him and not knowing who he is?

We just happened to cross the road drenching again in the rain and are going into a “Tea Point (Café and dine) as we entered the door, he handed me the Reliance bag and said “restroom is towards the right of that cookie display box” pointing towards the cookie display box.

Soon he took a table before sitting on the chair “I am here, waiting for you”.

I am feeling a little embarrassed as many are looking at me all drenched and messy, I just walked into the restroom putting my head down and when I open the bag, there is a set of dress, inners, and towel inside it.

I change and put on the dress he handed me, it is a white shirt with small flowers on it here and there, then a honey color skirt below knee length. And wait there is something else in the bag it’s a hair clip, how silly.

Then walk out to the sink dried my hair up, gather all the messy hair and clip it finally, clean up the messy makeup and my face is nude without colors and that makes me a little depressed as I am going to be out without any highlights on my face.

I walked to his table again he is smiling at me and I feel a little anxious, do I look awkward still? Is he smiling or laughing at me?

As I move close he got up offered me the chair and said “do you feel warm in here?” and before I could replay anything there is the server who serves a cup of hot tea and two bowls of bonda soup and said “anything else sir?” the guy nods his head and the server goes away.

He looks at me and said “drink the hot tea and eat the bonda soup hot, you’ll feel better and good” all I can say at this point of time in a soft voice “thank you” and he smiled again and digging on his bowl of bonda soup he said “I am sorry I am not making fun of you but out there things were very bad for you but now you look beautiful and calm also, hoping that you are fine having your tea with me and hopefully, you liked the dress and it fits you comfortably”

I just nod my head “well the size selection was made by the salesgirl after seeing you so the credit goes to her but did you like the color and design of the dress”

I say “it’s perfect and beautiful”

It is 100% true that the situation was really bad out there for me and I know whoever saw me out there was and is making fun of me but one of them came forward to help me out and made me feel better that feels great and I stayed silent and sipped on my tea.

After I finished my tea and eating some bonda I am grabbing myself and ask him “what is your name? What do you do? And what made you help me?” there is a long pause.

Then he replied “I felt you very quiet but you were struggling with things that were not to listen you, I was in awkward situations too…, and expected someone to help so thought of doing so, And yes it's weird we have not introduced to each other yet Hi, (gave me his hand and we shake hands) I am Rithvick you can also call me Viky and I am a construction engineer……, What is your name?” I felt very comfortable and good “my name is Riya and I am studying fashion designing”.

“Wow, that must be fun in college even I remember my college days just went back and I miss all the fun we had then, now it’s good but not fun” says Rithvick.

“Yes we do have a lot of fun but we do also have challenges and achievements and maybe someday even I will be missing my happy college days” I say this.

Our conversations go on and on from job to family to friends to games and finally he says “will you join me for the skywatch” I am like??? And then when I peep through the window, it had stopped raining, the skies are clear.

It is night, ho god! I have to be at home by now I turn towards him and I say “yes, I would love to join you”

He is so happy that he starts walking and I am like what, why did I say that? I am late already and I am going out with a stranger for some skywatch.

He turned around “come on, let’s go” and I follow him it’s like I am just dragged towards his voice and kindness.

He drew us to a dark, empty park, not too far, he gets down opens up the back door of the car pulls out a leather mat and spread it on the grass in the empty place and he invited me as well, we sit down on the mat, though it is dark with no street light it was glowing with the light of the moon and stars, plenty of stars, it was so mesmerizing to watch them and felt the peace and calm in my heart that we all miss due to our busy schedules throughout the day and night.

I am so into this place that I can sit and watch the stars throughout the night, watching every single star, all the stars are different than each other, my wows are not stopping and after a long time of watching the stars comes in a cup of hot coffee from Rithvik and sipping on that we shared our feelings on the stars and sky.

Then he stands up so do I and holding my hands go over his knees he says “I like you and every moment we spent together makes me love you more it feels like a thousand stars surround you when you smile, your eyes glitter when you look up to me and Riya I feel I am out there in the space dancing with the stars when we speak and spend time together, I just don’t want this time to end and let no sun comes up back, all this is not out of attraction as I think I know you and my heart feels you every second that your heart beats, I love you, will you accept my proposal”

My heart is beating faster than ever, and it is feeling so full and happy that I could not stop smiling, he is not a stranger to me any more after such a long talk I know him better and I can feel the same for him as he does so my answer is “yes, and I love you too”.

I can feel that happiness like my heart is racing to the sky and as he took both my hands and grabbed me close that I felt his heart racing too, it is like he is in me I close my eyes and feel so secure in his arms like I would feel in the arms of my mother his words made me feel strong to fight like the words from my father and the comedy and support felt like friend and brother. I am with everyone and everything good that I know to be.

Furthermore, there is nothing to talk, all the talking is between our hearts and eyes the rest of the night passed silent, enjoying each other’s presence. After a long time with the unwillingness we have to move to our houses, so he dropped me at the corner of the street that my house was and said “can we meet again in the same place “Tea Point” tomorrow”.

“Yes, for sure and I am going to miss you, I wait for you in there in the evening” I breath the lung out and started walking.

I am having this flashback of what all happened today as I walk on the road and into my house, I thought was I on a “date unknowing” of what was going on which turned to love proposal……..

By

Sindhushree SG