“Hello?” “Hello, ma’am? Here.” Mahesh tries to grab the attention of an old lady standing at the end of the bench he was seating on. As soon as that old lady realizes that he was the one who was calling for her she responds in her weary voice “Sorry, are you talking to me?”
“Yes ma’am” he replies and asks “Would you like to seat here while you wait?” She nods in agreement and walks towards him. He stands up from his seat and offers her his seat. All the other seats were already taken. She sat down and thanked Mahesh. He smiles and again asks her whether she needs water or something. She smiles back and says “No. Thank you.”
** **
Once again, Mahesh looked at his watch to calculate how much he needed to wait for the flight. He still needs to kill 20-25 mins before the boarding starts. He starts looking around, it’s a busy and crowded day at the Mumbai airport. Since Christmas is around the corner, the airport is decorated according to it. There’s a beautiful Christmas tree decorated with colorful lighting, stars, and a big Santa.
** **
People are rushing toward their respective terminals. Kids are admiring the Christmas tree with beautiful smiles on their faces. Those who have time to kill are waiting in the waiting area. Few are enjoying their snacks and beverages around the cafeteria. Some are busy buying souvenirs and books. Then there’s the airport staff trying to help others in every way possible.
After watching the rush around him for about a minute or two, he decides to read the book which is almost finished. He opens the zip of his bag and takes out the book. It’s the Biography of Steve Jobs and he began to read the remaining pages. The reason why he loves this book is that he liked the imperfect part of the life of Steve Jobs, he finds it more relatable to him. After all, Nobody’s perfect!
** **
After reading a few pages, authorities announced that the boarding for the flight has been started. He starts gathering his belongings and says goodbye to that old lady. He finishes the hurdle of several checkpoints and the terminal entrance and finally gets on board the plane. The air hostess directs him towards his seat and he stuffs his handbag in the overhead locker and sits in his place.
Now he’s just sitting and watching others go on with their sits. The seat beside him is empty and he’s a little worried that his co-passenger should not be annoying. In the meantime, he checks his phone for the last time before putting it on airplane mode.
** **
Suddenly he realized someone is trying to fit her luggage in the overhead locker. As she is trying to put her luggage into it, Mahesh can barely see her face. The girl was wearing a beautiful salwar suit of sky blue color. In his own mind, he admired her dressing sense and even wondered why she was wearing a salwar suit in this modern age. At this point, he hasn’t even seen her face but he still finds her attractive by her slender figure and silky black hair.
** **
“Umm, can I help you?” he gives a break to his thoughts and offers her his help. She brings down the bag which was blocking his view from seeing her face. For a split second, they both look into each other's eyes, and Mahesh gets completely mesmerized by her beauty. She has nice fair skin, brown eyes, a small but attractive nose, and beautiful pink lips matching that oval-shaped face!
** **
“Yes please,” she responds after that split-second eye contact. He again controls his thoughts of admiring her beauty and stands up to help her. He was certainly not the most handsome guy but he was still looking good in that Grey hoodie paired with blue denim and casual shoes. As soon as he comes a little closer to her, she kind of backs up a little bit. Somehow she knows him and the moment she realizes that she knows him, her smile fades away.
** **
On the other side, Mahesh always feels happy whenever he helps someone. That’s just his nature of him. But this time, it’s a little different. He was delighted to help her out as he was feeling attracted to her. After a few adjustments, he finally manages to put her bag in the overhead locker.
** **
Now he goes to his seat, she thanks him and sat beside him. It took him a minute or two to realize something was off. He did notice that somehow he made a little uncomfortable.
To break that awkward silence, he started to introduce himself, “Hi, I’m Mahesh. Nice to meet you.” She replied, “I’m Sakshi.” Usually, Mahesh is not very talkative but today he wants to talk with her anyhow.
** **
After a few minutes, the flight is about to take off. He rechecks his seat belt cause he always has been a little afraid to take flights. On the other hand, she can clearly notice his nervousness. The take-off starts and now he looks more worried, he holds the armrests tightly and almost closes his eyes. He is trying to cover up his fright with an awkward smile but she knows very well what’s happening to him. She finds that amusing and keeps on smiling.
** **
Now that plane has achieved its altitude, he’s praying to God that she starts talking. Luckily, she does. “Is this your first time on a flight? Cause you seemed a little stressed while taking off.” She asked.
“Yeah, I mean it’s not my first flight but I always wondered if this might be my last one” he replied with humor. Both laughed.
“So what’s in London? Work or leisure?” He asked.
“Kinda both.” She continued, “Actually I have a conference in London in January. Before that, I’m just gonna visit my cousin and do some sightseeing around the London and UK.”
“Great!” he replied, “I’m also visiting my friend and might see a few places there.”
** **
After some small talk about each other, she started to check her phone and didn’t seem that much interested in the conversation. Mahesh realized that quickly and tried to convince his heart that she was out of his league and that she must have a boyfriend or something. He was a little proud of himself because this was one of the longest conversations he ever had with a girl he liked. Deep down, he was still hopeful that she might start talking again.
** **
After a few minutes, he wanted to try again. He didn’t know on which note he should restart the conversation. Then an air hostess came with meals. She gave them meal options, and Sakshi selected and took her meal while Mahesh was taking too long to think. He somehow came to a decision and took one.
** **
After the air hostess is gone, he dares to restart the conversation. He says “Fun fact, on this much altitude, our brain and taste buds don't work at their full potential which leads to food tasting bad.”
“Really?” she finds that interesting. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, it’s true.” He added “You’ll agree with me more once you eat that!” Both chuckled and started eating. After eating one or two bites, she smiled again and nodded her head in agreement.
** **
After having meals, she was trying to get some sleep. Whereas Mahesh was still hopeful that the conversation restarts somehow. But deep down he knew she wasn’t interested in him at all. He was in doubt that she was trying to avoid him and was hesitant to interact with him. So he finally gives up and decides to watch a movie to keep his mind off it.
** **
After an hour or so, the announcement is made. The plane is about to land. Once again, Mahesh goes into panic mode and rechecks the seat belt again. Sakshi is awake now and watching him doing that. “Don’t worry, today’s not the day! Just sit back and relax.” she tries to comfort him. He wasn’t expecting that but he still responded with a smile.
** **
The plane lands, and everybody is now moving out. She takes her bag, smiles at him for one last time, and starts walking away. He was expecting at least a proper goodbye but that didn’t happen. She takes her bag and starts to walk out of the plane. After the security checks, he connects his phone to airport wifi and starts checking texts.
** **
“Hey my best man, just come home directly. I am not at home right now but Nisha will welcome you when you get home. I’ve come out for some last-minute preparations for tomorrow. I will try to get back within an hour or two.” That was the text from Aakash. Aakash is his best friend. They have been friends for the last 10-12 years. They first met in college and then from that day, they are inseparable. Even though they work and live in different countries, they always stay in contact no matter what.
** **
Aakash just got married to Nisha last month. They have both been well-settled in London for the past two years. Aakash is a big fan of western culture and always wanted to have a Christian wedding in a church for him and his wife. So tomorrow, he is getting married again but in Christian style. He has invited all his local friends and colleagues to tomorrow’s wedding and he has been making preparations for the same. That is the reason that he couldn’t come to welcome his best friend at the airport.
** **
Mahesh is out of the airport now. He takes a taxi and tells the address to the driver. After he sat in his seat, he realizes Aakash is not home and will be back in an hour or two. He decides to take a little detour around the city for an hour or two. He tells the driver to drive around famous places to visit around the Christmas period. The driver agrees and starts driving. The driver drives around most of the famous places in London like the Tower Bridge, the British Museum, the Big Ben watch, the Houses of Parliament, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the London eye. Mahesh was trying to capture everything in his eyes and was enjoying this little detour. The driver was also proudly showing him around and tried to be the tour guide.
** **
After two and a half hours, the taxi arrives at Aakash’s house. Mahesh gives a decent tip to the driver and he accepts happily. Then Mahesh takes his bags, starts walking towards the door, and rings the bell. After a minute, the door opens.
** **
As soon as the door opens, he sees Sakshi. They’re equally shocked and surprised to see each. They just kept wondering how can they bump into each other again within just a few hours! For a minute, they just stood there and look into each other's eyes like their eyes were talking to each other.
** **
“You?” they both asked the same question at the same time.
“Sakshi, who is it?” a woman's voice interrupts their eye gazing and they come to reality.
“Umm wait, is this Aakash and Nisha Patil’s home?” he asked to confirm whether he was at the correct address or not.
For a second or two she just stood there and replied, “Umm, yes. But how do you know them?”
“Well, I’m his best man for tomorrow’s wedding,” he replies with a smile. “But what’s your reason to be here?” he cross-questions her.
** **
Suddenly Aakash comes, “Come on man, what took you so long?” Aakash asks and directly hugs Mahesh. They both hug each other with smiles on their face. “What are doing guys? At least let him come inside.” Nisha also comes to the door and asks Sakshi and Aakash.
** **
Mahesh comes in and sits on the couch. Now he’s eager to know how Sakshi got here. “Aakash, why is she here?” He asks. “Ohh she, she’s Sakshi. Nisha’s cousin.” Aakash answers.
“Actually she couldn’t attend our Indian wedding as her mother was hospitalized at that time. So now I decided to give her another chance at our English wedding!” Nisha explains it with a little humor. They all laughed a little. Mahesh and Sakshi made eye contact again.
** **
Later that night, they all had long chats about each other. Aakash and Nisha told Sakshi all about Mahesh and their friendship. Firstly when they met on the flight, she was trying to avoid him a little due to some reason. But now after Aakash and Nisha talked about Mahesh, she’s understanding his good nature. She was starting to like him now but there was something that was pulling her away.
** **
On the other hand, Mahesh is now more attracted to her. He feels like they were bound to meet again as some kind of destiny. His hopes were high but he was still doubtful whether she feels the same as him.
** **
The next day, they all get ready for the wedding and reach the venue. It’s a nice day. They are all waiting in the garden. Both bride and groom are looking lovely in their respective wedding dresses. Mahesh is looking sharp and handsome in his dark blue suit whereas Sakshi is also looking particularly beautiful in her light yellow gown. Mahesh can’t keep his eyes off her. It’s like every time he sees her, he falls in love again.
** **
After the wedding, both Mahesh and Sakshi decide to take a walk around the garden as the bride and groom were meeting their guests. There were two kids playing around the garden. They were plucking the beautiful flowers. Mahesh goes to them and convinces them not to pluck those flowers.
** **
Sakshi is watching him and how he gently handles the kids. The kids run away. Mahesh comes to Sakshi again. This time, she asks, “Why do you stop the kids from plucking those flowers? They are kids and they were just playing around.”
** **
He smiles and answers, “See I have a philosophy of my own, I like flowers on plants rather than in some bouquet or garlands. Beauty should only be admired in its natural form. The flower always looks beautiful on plants rather than on someone’s bouquet, table, or garland. Actually same goes for most beautiful things, and the same goes for the beauty of women too.”
** **
He continues, “See if a girl is beautiful, then her beauty should be watched and admired every day. But some people like those kids often get blinded by lust and try to pluck their beauty in an unnatural way. The only way to enjoy the beauty of something is to keep it as it is, watch it, and admire it at every moment. That is just a way I think!” he concludes.
** **
Sakshi is now just mesmerized by his thought process. She never expected such an interesting and beautiful thought from anyone. She’s impressed by his nature more than ever. She just kept on smiling and wondered how beautiful his mind was! She was totally liking him now.
** **
Mahesh can clearly see her being impressed by his thought. He decides to tell her his feelings at that very moment. He gathers all his courage and speaks out.
“Can I ask you something?” He continues without even listening to her response to his question, “You are beautiful! I want to see your beauty and admire it every day for the rest of my life!”
He stops for a moment, she’s surprised and doesn’t know how to react.
“I know we’ve just met and don’t know each other much. But trust me, I’ve never felt this, I've never asked this of anyone unless you. I know I’m rushing things up but just think about it. No need to give the answer right now.” he ends his question.
** **
She just stands there surprised and confused.
Suddenly the bride, Nisha comes and says “There you are. I’ve been looking for you. Come with me.” She takes her hand and they both walk away from Mahesh. While he just stands there watching her go away. He stressed and prayed to God that she says yes to him.
** **
The next day, Aakash decides to take everyone out for some sightseeing and lunch. Everyone gets ready and gets in the car. Aakash is in the driver's seat and Nisha is beside him whereas Mahesh is behind her along with Sakshi. They were all having a normal chat on their journey but there’s a hidden tension between Mahesh and Sakshi. They both just can’t stop thinking about each other.
** **
Mahesh is worried that he rushed unnecessarily to approach her. He’s worried that she might have got a boyfriend or something. He also fears that she stop being a friend to him. He’s in emotional turmoil and wants to make things right. He is already thinking of apologizing to her for rushing these things so fast.
** **
On the other hand, Sakshi is also in her own emotional turmoil. She has never felt this much attracted towards anyone. For the first time in her life, she was so impressed with anyone. But there’s something that’s eating her. There’s definitely something that’s keeping her away from him.
** **
Aakash stops their car at a nice restaurant after a few sightseeing. Mahesh and Aakash sat at the table while both Nisha and Sakshi went to the restroom. Aakash was noticing his change of behavior from yesterday and finally decides to confront him.
“What is it? I’ve noticed that you’re in a different world from yesterday.” Aakash asks.
Mahesh looks at him, takes a deep breath, and starts telling him everything from the moment they met each other. “Do you have any idea whether she has a boyfriend or not?” Mahesh ends his part of the story with this question.
“Not that I know of. But she and her family have been looking for proposals for an arranged marriage for the past couple of days.” Aakash answers and continues “I have never doubted your choices. She’s a good girl. I hope you get her.” Aakash stops as soon as he notices Nisha and Sakshi coming back.
** **
After Nisha and Sakshi joins them, they all have their lunch. After lunch, they all start walking towards the car parking. After walking a few steps, Aakash stops and says “Darling, I forgot something inside. Could you please come with me?” Nisha is a little confused and asks “Why? What did you forget?” “Just come na. You two go ahead. We’ll be back in 5.” Aakash grabs Nisha’s hand and takes her inside.
** **
Mahesh understood his motive and Sakshi guessed the same. They both looked at each other nervously and smile a little awkwardly. Mahesh opens up with his apology, “Sorry I shouldn’t have rushed things so fast. I just wasn’t thinking straight.”
** **
Sakshi looks at him nervously and starts talking after a few moments. “See, there’s something that you don’t know.” As soon as she stops, Mahesh lost all hope and his mind instantly goes to the conclusion that whether she has a boyfriend or fiancé. His disappointment was clearly visible in his expression. He interrupts her and says “That you have a boyfriend or fiancé. I should’ve known better.” he ends his sentence with a smile.
“No.” she stops him right there and continues, “Actually…” She stops again but he’s eager to know what she has in mind. “Just tell me what is it,” he asks her to clarify.
“Actually…” she again takes a stop for a moment and continues “My family is looking for a suitable boy for my marriage for the past couple of days. I don’t if you know this or not, but almost a month before, we did receive your biodata for the marriage proposal but my father wasn’t much impressed by your job profile and salary so he rejected it at the very first moment.”
** **
Mahesh now realizes that he was already rejected before he ever knew. He’s frustrated and disappointed but tries to hide his pain by bringing a smile to his face.
“It’s Okay. I understand. Our parents always think for our own betterment only.” he responds and tries to control his inner anguish. “I respect you and your family’s decision. I won’t be thinking about it now and you should forget too. Anyways, I will be leaving for India tomorrow so let’s just act natural in front of them.” on that note, he ends his speech.
** **
She still has something more to say but she doesn’t know how to say it. her heart is beating fast and her mind is struggling to figure out a way to speak out her feelings. She takes another deep breath and says, “At our first meeting in flight and at their home, I was being hesitant to talk to you. I didn’t know you. I had no clue how good your nature was. But slowly slowly, I understand you and somehow I started to like you.” she stops.
Mahesh didn’t see that coming. He was surprised and thrilled to hear it. His eyes were glowing with happiness and his smile was very bright at that moment. He couldn’t believe it.
She captures his happiness in her eyes for a moment and continues with her feeling, “Mahesh, you’re the only one who has impressed me this much. I have never felt this much attraction towards anyone. In fact, from the moment I met you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Your kindness and helping nature towards that old lady at the airport and me was the first thing that caught my attention. Also the way, you see things impressed me a lot. I must say your philosophy for those flowers and beauty was one of the most important things which made me fall in love with you.”
Mahesh was flabbergasted to hear this. This was one of the best things that has ever happened to him.
Sakshi takes another pause and continues “I know, I just admitted that I have fallen in love with you. I’m not sure whether love is the correct word for what I’m feeling but I do enjoy your company. I love being with you, even when we are both silent and not uttering a single word! I have never felt such things in my life and I think you feel the same too.”
Now she stops talking and just watched the joy in his eyes. Both of them are having happiness that they’ve never experienced to date. They just looked at each other with happy faces for around a minute or two and then he asks, “I’m not sure what to do in such scenarios, should we hug or not?”
Sakshi chuckles and hugs him tightly!
** **