CHAPTER~ 2
After so much gossiping and chatting everybody was exhausted. Most of them were sleeping. Chhavi came to the corridor gradually. Sitting on a couch, she shut her eyes. Suddenly the sound of steps stirred her up from her drowsiness. Startled, she turned. Viraf was there. He was also surprised to see her there, Chhavi smiled.
"Why are you sleeping here? Go to the room..."
"I'm ok...have a seat..."
He sat on another couch in front of her.
"Hmm...you can sleep here too...I won't mind."Chhavi looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"What made you think that i will mind with whether you mind,or not..."
"You are angry na? The way I argued there..."
Chhavi smiled,
"Not at all, I also like to think logically."
He nodded and then said,
"In reality, we are just modern in a superficial manner, but deep in our hearts we are the same old believer of scriptures and principles."
"Hmm...duality of modernism," she said in a soliloquy tone, "Parth's dad believes in these matters. This causes bad omen...that is untouchable." Viraf frowned,
"Parth? Your would-be?"
She nodded.
"Tell his dad that to eat after 1:42 is a bad omen." Viraf said winking at her.
"What?"
He laughed, and Chhavi joined him as well.
"My dad too laughed at a lot about these things, but what to do, most of the people are like this."
"Have you belonged to that 'most people's group?" She laughed.
Viraf took a deep breath.
"What fragrance is this? The aroma is very familiar...short on Brut type...but this is not Brut..."
Chhavi looked at him frowning.
"Do you have any interest in perfumes?"
"Not much...just for the sake of my career. I sell it ...make it too"
She was a little startled,
"You own a perfume factory?"
"You can say so." The way one talked to a small girl, the same way he was talking to her.
"One 12/12 room, 3 workers, including me, and two machines."
Chhavi nodded.
"Have I seen those perfumes in the market? What is the name of your perfume?" Viraf smiled.
"You haven't heard before, you people are foreign perfume users. I was thinking to steal this smell." He smirked.
Chhavi became surprised.
"How the hell do you do that?"
"It happens... What is the name of your perfume?" Viraf asked.
"Don't know that much, it was in Ma's drawer. I hardly use it...you like it?"
"Hmm."
"It's a floral smell? Isn't it?"
"No this is not floral, Perfume has many types..." Viraf was almost getting ready to start a long lecture. But he stopped at the middle. Then shaking his head said,
"Are you coming for the reception? Please try to know the name before you come, and take my number..."
How weird is this! She was almost going to say the word. But suddenly the lights went off. The illuminated room became dark in an instant. Chhavi felt uncomfortable. A dark room, an unknown boy in front of her, the passing moments seemed like infinity. Just a second passed,
he lit a matchstick, as if he read her thoughts. The matchstick burned out. Again he lit another and held it in his hand. In that chiaroscuro, their eyes met for a moment. Again the light burned out, that stillness, that furtive uneasiness. Chhavi got up from the couch.
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They both were walking on the front pathway. The darkness was so much, it seemed that an intense black sky and a cold darkness merging together. A silence was brewing between them.
At last Chhavi spoke, breaking the ice,
"Is it a new moon today?"
"Do weddings happen in new moon?"
"They have a generator.. ..Then why aren't they are running it?"
"Kumbkarna...sleeping.. .May be!"
Chhavi laughed.
They were side by side, just walking. In that darkness, they were looking like an effigy of shadow. Viraf lit another match stick.
"Don't waste the sticks." she said.
"Your would-be's name is quite good, Parth. Do you know whose name was Parth?"
He remembered the name! Chhavi thought.
"May be some demon...god!" Chhavi replied in a loose voice.
"Are no...no..." he smiled slightly, "Parth was another name of Arjun."
"Are you trying to impress me?"
He didn't give a reply, instead he asked, "What does he do?"
"Engineer... An employee at Wipro."
They didn't notice when they arrived at the main gate. The other side of the gate was looking invisible like an illusion. They stopped there.
"The road is looking so strange...isn't it?" Viraf's said in his sonorous voice. Chhavi looked at him, his eyes were on the road.
"Don't you think it looks like a river? Pitch dark flowing in this euphorial blackness?
Chhavi gazed at him, his voice was different. She was trying to find a word to say, but there was nothing to confine on, like the imaginary stream the moment was floating too. Suddenly the whole building got illuminated. The mechanical sound of the generator tore her knot of thoughts. She turned to the glistening building. Isn't it weird how fate works! When the lights went off, she was so uncomfortable with an unknown guy, but when the lights came, it couldn't feed her the same comfort as before.
"What do you prefer darkness or noise?" She was startled, hearing his question.
"Depends." She gave a little smile.
"Arre! Take my number." Viraf brought out his phone from his jeans pocket.
"My phone is in the room, I'll take it at the day of reception."
She turned to go, and with her casual steps her effigy became blurred.
"Speechless, my friend
Alone in the loneliness of this hour of the dead
And filled with the lives of fire
Pure heir of the ruined day..."
He enunciated it, and smiled in an unmindful way. Then he too started walking towards the hallway.
To Be Continued...
Edited by mon.sayan17.com - 10 years ago
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