New Beginnings- Chapter 6

Previous Chapter: New Beginnings Chapter 5

Take me to the Index 

Pritam continues reading..

I lost track of time. Not because I was enjoying someone's company. My mind was so preoccupied that I was least bothered about anything other than him. Preshika is my best friend. Should I be happy for her or should I be angry that she always takes away my little happiness. Perhaps I am not the kind who will be liked by any. Maybe I am supposed to spend my entire life alone. That thought made me break down. I wept and wept until I went blind. Oops! now that is embarrassing. Trying to hide my obvious misery I rubbed my eyes pretending to clear the dust that blinded me. As I kept walking, I stumbled upon something that helped me regain consciousness and the first thing I saw was a beautiful garden that immediately cheered me up. Yes nature talks to me. I am gifted that way. Many say loneliness is their companion whenever they are depressed. But me, I am never lonely. The swirling leaves, chirping birds , flower's scent everything seem to talk to me.
I walked faster to get a closer look of the place.I looked around for a place to sit. There it was. A lonely bench.Sitting down, I started doodling. I was so engrossed in writing that i never saw him approaching me. A voice disrupted my writing. I knew it was him. The first time I heard him utter a syllable I had recorded his voice in my mind and have had so many conversations with him in my mind. I lifted my head trying hard to suppress the happiness that was so apparent on my face. My heart literally skipped a beat. I couldn't help but admire his looks. So many thoughts were running in my mind. Will my eyes give me away? Does he already know that I am very much into him? Has he come here to shout at me? What could it be? Or maybe he wants to know about Preshika and hence is approaching me. Nevertheless I should not let him know about the way I feel in the first meeting itself. Maybe I can give him cold shoulder. Yes I will talk like he is the last person on earth I would wanna talk to. 


Hey I am Pritam, he spoke. Oops now how should I respond? Probably a hi would do good. Hi, I said and I continued writing. I could tell from the look in his face that I had pissed him off. He gave me a sick-woman look and left.
That left me thinking. Maybe he really wanted to talk to me and i had pissed him off. I spent the rest of the day guilt-filled. The next day, after classes I went to that same place hoping he would come and I will apologize. To my astonishment, he did come . But I sensed something was wrong in the way he walked. Yes I am currently doing a thesis on him :P As he approached me, he bellowed at me. I looked deep into his eyes and all of a sudden, he stopped yelling and looked at me apologetically. 
Then to my surprise, we spoke and spoke like the world is gonna end the next day. This is the story of how we became friends.Although,something deep inside kept telling me, he is much more than a friend. Never let him go. And I promised to myself, I will never let him go..


Finally I get a reply to that look of your's that made me change my mind, he said. Sorry what? she quizzed. He smiled and said , never mind.. Trying to divert her, he spoke, you told me I will find the answer to whether this was love at first sight or mere crush, but I still have no idea. When will I even get to know..? She gave him a are-you-that-dumb look and said I thought the answer was right there in that note. He tried to think hard and finally gave her a coy smile. She looked down trying to avoid his eyes and spoke, yes I never have believed in love at first sight and I still don't but I will never deny the fact that you attracted me like iron attracts magnet. So I still call it "just a crush" 

Just a crush, he repeated. He opened the book in his hand, took a sip of the cold coffee in his hand and started reading the book for the umpteenth time.
He missed her presence. He missed everything about her, but he just wouldn't man up and approach her to resolve the issues. Slowly he drifted to sleep..



So what exactly happened between them? 


Next Chapter:New Beginnings Chapter 7