10/11/2019 - Sunday - At Chennai, Tambaram.

I was quite tired from all the work in the morning. Thank god, Rajiv's mom didn't ask me to make lunch too.

It has been two hours and I did nothing but scrolling through Instagram.

My phone rang and woke me up from my trance. It was Shwetha.

"Hi! " I said.

" Don't you dare hi me, you came here three days ago and you didn't bother to meet me. " She said angrily.

" Sorry, was caught up. " I said biting my tongue.

"Do you atleast remember my engagement? " She asked.

" I do idiot, I planned all that beforehand. I would be there. " I said.

"Good. Be there by 6 tomorrow. The Hall is in Porur. Don't get stuck in traffic. " She said.

"Okay, okay, my mother. " I said.

" I can't really believe I am getting engaged ! " She said merrily.

" I can't too! " I said laughing.

" Don't joke! Be there tomorrow! " She said in a blackmailing tone.

"Yes ma'am! " I said and she cut the call.

Oops, I forgot to ask her about the groom.

I went back to Instagram and a thought crossed on my mind.

Shwetha was the reason I met Shiva. It was a very small incident, but something I imagined a lot of times.

They say poems are a lot beautiful than essays, because of how they end short. That's the same with that incident.

A small moment between two strangers. But something unforgettable.

As time passed on, I even forgot his face, but remembered how it felt. Was that because of how close he was to me, was it because of that anxious moment of being with a stranger?

I am over thinking. But how did I end up with him now? He is partially married now, so it is literally a sin for me to even imagine all this again.

The calling bell rang and woke me up from my trance of thoughts.

I heard Rajiv's mom shouting at someone.

" You are worthless Shiva! " She was shouting at the top of her lungs.

I walked out of the room terrified . I looked down the stairs a bit scared.

I saw Shiva standing in the living room with a dreadful face.

His mom was standing behind him shouting.

" After all this, you shouted at Anjali? That poor girl went home on her own and she has been crying till now. What happened? " She asked.

Oops, seems like someone flopped the first date.

" Amma, I can't tell you all the things she did! Even If I did, you wouldn't believe! " He shouted back.

"What's wrong? She is going to marry you! Everything is going well. Now because of your stupidity I don't want any sort of obstacles in your marriage! " She said.

" I don't want this marriage! " He shouted back.

What? Why? How?

" Haan, as if girls are standing behind you with 100 poun gold begging you to marry them! Your life will be settled if you marry her! " His mom said.

The gold talk! I don't know why I feel so much interested to listen to their shouting.

" Amma! Why can't you let me handle my life? She doesn't respect my profession, she doesn't understand anything about my passion. I won't be happy married to her! " He said and a small tear escaped from his left eye.

"What profession? That useless company?, Shiva, wake up, your company is going in loss. Why should anyone respect that? As if you are earning in lakhs. The day when you shut that company and sit in your appa's shop is very near!" His mom said.

That was out of line. If my mom told me something like that, I would definitely make sure that, she would never say something like that about my profession again.

Shiva glared at his mom and walked up the stairs. He walked past me and forcefully opened his room door and shut it loudly.

I walked back to my room silently.

Shiva didn't come out of his room for dinner too.

" Let him stay hungry! How can he mistreat Anjali! " Rajiv's mom said as I was helping her with the dishes.

"If I may ask, what happened? " I asked her.

"This boy went with Anjali to the movie na . He dragged her out of the theatre in the middle of the movie and took her to his office. " Rajiv's mom said.

" It seems the office was empty, and he shouted at her ! He told that he wouldn't marry her anyday!" Rajiv's mom said.

I really couldn't believe that Shiva would do anything like that.

" But why would Shiva do it in his office?" I asked her.

"That's what I don't know too. He didn't like Anjali from the beginning. But he should atleast know some manners on how to treat a girl, right? " Rajiv's mom said closing the tap.

"Yes " I said wiping my hands.

" You go sleep, all this tension is unnecessary for you. Take rest. " She said.

I nodded and walked back to my room.

It was past 10 and Shiva's room was finally lit. I saw the light from my window. He should definitely be hungry.

I went down to the kitchen, made some dosa and took it to his room.

I knocked on his door. He didn't reply at all.

I knocked again and this time he opened the door on my face.

" I don't need dinner Amma! " He said and stopped midway looking at me.

"Sorry! " He said slowly.

" Can I come in? " I asked.

He got the plate from my hands and nodded his head.

I walked inside his room. It was something close to the dungeon. Everything was scattered and dusty.

He sat on the bed and placed the plate on the table.

"Eat! " I said as I stood near his bed. He smiled at me and started eating.

" What happened with Anjali ? " I asked.

He remained silent.

"It's okay if you don't wanna say" I said.

" No, just sit down Anni" He said slowly.

I sat on a chair near his bed.

" She is just not the right one for me! " He said.

" How do you know? " I asked.

" Intuition. She is everything my parents want and nothing that I want. She is just not the right one. " He said.

I nodded back.

" I always dreamt of my partner being someone who could be a part of my career too. My parents never understood my passion. I wanted my wife to atleast my dreams" He said.

" Nobody is born with knowledge on all fields. If you show her, she will know, right? " I said.

" I did show her! " He said sarcastically.

"Oh, that's why you took her to your office? " I asked.

He nodded back.

" Why did you leave the movie halfway then? " I asked.

" Imagine seeing a worthless movie! That movie had the review rating close to zero. It should have been negative. It was so boring that i couldn't sit! " He said and I started laughing.

" Why are you laughing? " He asked confused.

" Oh my poor child! So you left the theatre because the movie was boring? You told that to Anjali? " I asked.

He nodded back confused.

She is definitely a bitch, I thought to myself. She has twisted the entire story!

" Communication is everything. When something passes from one person to another, anything can happen. Do sit and talk with your mom directly! " I told Shiva.

" She cares more about this marriage than my personal interests. " He said.

The power went off suddenly and everything was dark.

" Don't move! Damn, my phone is missing. No torch. I will lit the candle. " Shiva said moving through his room.

I heard him taking the lighter.

He found a candle at the corner of his room and lit it quickly.

He turned to me with the candle in his hand.

At that moment, all I saw was his face and his rough beard. His nose with the perfect angle and the small dimple on his cheeks.

And it was no more 10.11.2019. We were thrown back to 7.4.2017.

Just the same as that day. He brought the candle closer to me and I looked straight at his glimmering eyes.

His face was shocked too.

Fuck! I told to myself.