Chapter 1 ~ At The Lover's Footstep.
He opened the front door to his house with his key, and she walked in. Anjali gracefully walked across the room towards the cabinet in which he had kept a wine bottle for special occasions. She had a figure that any man in this world would die for. She was rich, powerful, pretty and slim. She opened the bun made at the top of her head; letting her black, silky hair fall down to her shoulders. She turned around and smiled at him. He smiled back politely but nodded 'no' to her. All of a sudden her expression changed its colors, and she frowned.
"What's wrong? You don't look very happy today?" she continued to frown.
How was he going to explain to her his situation? How would he tell her that he had just seen the most beautiful woman out there in the world? That he was going to tell her that he wanted to end their three year relationship because he had now fallen in love with a woman who he had only seen for three minutes! He took a deep breath and hung his coat.
"Listen Anjali, I need to seriously talk to you."
She put the wine bottle down on the table and concentrated at his face. Then she smiled broadly and ran across the room towards him, "Oh Armaan! I knew you would finally do this! I've been waiting for so long!" she kissed him on the cheeks and hugged him closer.
He pushed himself away from her and looked at her feeling extremely confused, "What are you talking about?"
"You were about to propose to me right?" she smiled eagerly.
"Propose to you? I don't understand. Propose to you about what?"
She laughed as if he had said the funniest thing ever, "Marriage, silly! Please don't think I'm that nave and innocent!"
"No wait. I'm serious. I wasn't going to propose to you about marriage?"
"Oh?" she seemed shocked and backed away slightly, "then what?" she didn't seem interested in what he was saying anymore. He had to get her attention quickly before things slipped away.
"Listen Anjali? maine aaj tak sirf tumse he pyaar kiya hai?pur aaj?" he didn't know what to say next.
Her face became serious as she slowly processed what he was saying, "PUR AAJ? Iska kya maatluv hai ARMAAN?" she was getting tense.
"Anjali, I just think it's time that we?"
"HUM KYA ARMAAN? KYA KEHNA CHAATEH HO TUM??"
"Anjali?" he decided to just get this over with, "I think I'm not happy with this relationship anymore?I just need space?I need time?"
She became dead silent. Her blank face revealed no emotions, "Kya? You need?SPACE?" she quieted down, as if she was thinking hard, finally she spoke again, "There's someone else?right?"
"No Anjali, it's just very complicated, muhje samaj nahi aara ke mein tumko kaise yeh sub kuch sumjahoon?"
"It's ok Armaan. Jo meine sumaj na tha, who meine sumaj liya?"
"Wait Anjali," he put his hand on her elbow to stop her from leaving, but she pulled her arm free and left in a hurry from his apartment. What was going on with him? He never felt so incomplete, yet complete at the same time.
Instead of thinking about how Anjali might be facing this; he was concentrating on the images appearing before his eyes.
He could not forget her black, long hair flowing softly in the breeze as she walked her dog in the park, while he jogged. How beautifully her pale skin reflected against the sun's rays. How he loved seeing the tiny bit of perspiration on her forehead, with her hot pink cheeks from sweating. He sat there for a while replaying small images of her in his mind. He had only seen her today for the very first time, yet it had felt that he knew her since ages. She looked absolutely EXTRAORDINARY amongst all the other ORDINARY women in the world that he had seen and met so far.
Then it occurred to him, he didn't even know her name! Besides that, he had no clue who she was, where she lived, how she lived, what her job was?all he knew was that she was destined for him and that she had an annoying dog that dropped some feces on the pavement area, on which his new NIKE shoes had stepped on; the feces under one of his shoes was the only thing he had of hers?and the unfortunate thing was, was that the feces wasn't even exactly hers.
He decided that tomorrow he would have to go and find her; at all costs.
CHAPTER 2 ~ Hidden Mystery.
He woke up extra early in the morning and put on a large grey loose shirt with black high shorts that revealed his legs. He finished tying his shoelace, and then jogged out of the building, across the street and into the park's area. His rent for his apartment was quite expensive regarding the fact that three blocks down was a shopping area, six blocks down was the beach and across the street was a park.
He remembered that the first time he had met his landlord, the Indian man had said, "Son, that's my final offer?" at that time, the man had seemed to be a crack case?but now they both were good friends. Armaan thought at that time, that it was acceptable for him to live in expensive suite; since his earnings per month were above the average expectancy.
He made his second lap around the park. A bead of sweat was already running down one a side of his face. Why wasn't she here yet? His eyes were set forward on the pavement in front of him, but his mind was wandering to places and consequences of her absence.
He stopped and bent his back, with his hands touching his knees. He realized that he was so busy with trying to keep Anjali happy all the time that he had forgotten to jog regularly and work out. Now, he had time to himself. Now, he would do those things again. As he stood there, bent over, he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He had never felt so tired in his life.
All of a sudden he heard a sound from behind him. His pulse was beating so hard in his head, that he ignored the sounds and continued to look at the playground in front of him, in search for her. Finally, when he could no longer ignore the sounds, he turned around and made an ugly face. Yet, that ugly expression did not last for long; because a shocked face replaced it within seconds?it was HER! He felt so stupid. The annoying sounds earlier were coming from her dog. He had been blocking her way to get past!
He grinned at her directly, but made an apologetic face, "I'm terribly sorry?" he said; not able to catch his breath at her beauty.
"Dek kar nahi chaal sakteh? Hum yahan pichle panche minute se karein whoein hain! Kya aap behre ho??"
He laughed out loud and then turned serious, "Sorry Ma'am?actually mein kuch hor soch raha tha?tho mujhe paatha hee nahi laga ke aap kub aayein?"
"No need to act over smart, ok mister? My dog and I have been screaming at you for like an hour, and the least you could do is say sorry?but instead you obnoxiously block our way and ignore us!" she was already having a bad day, and to top it off, this jerk was killing her alone time.
"Hello? Who's acting over smart, huh? Number one, it's not even been 15 minutes since I started jogging! So I don't know where YOUR HOUR came from?plus, yeh public space hai, mein kuch be karoon, tumse kya maatluv, huh?" he had not flirted this way for a long time?
"Public space hai, tho phir wahaan jaa kar maro na!" she pointed towards the playground where a few parents were sitting peacefully with their children playing together. He looked at the setting, and imagined what she had just said. He couldn't stop himself from laughing; which just made her madder.
"Deko Mister, main nahi jaanti ke tum kyon ho, pur PLEASE let me be, or mere rastey se haat jayo!" her voice's pitch got higher.
"Theek hai baba?" he stepped aside like a gentleman, and bowed in her honor. She sniffed her nose in the air and walked quickly away with her dog.
He began to jog again?following every turn she made. Once in a while, she would turn around and see him. She glare at him evilly for a while, and then turn back to face the path ahead of her. After almost an hour of jogging, she stopped and stepped aside from the pavement onto the grass. She let her dog's leash go, and it ran towards a tree to do its business. She sat down on a nearby bench, and looked at the colorful garden placed before her.
He smiled to himself, and stopped jogging. Then, he went up to the bench and stood in front of her. He continued to smile, but she turned her head away in frustration and looked another way.
"Is this spot free?"
She looked at him for a while angrily, and then answered, "Yes, but not for you." Then she continued to look at her dog to make sure it didn't get too far.
He happily sat down next to her, and edged a bit closer when she wasn't noticing. "It's a great day, don't you think?" he tried to initiate conversation whenever he got the chance. He realized that when the dog returned; she would leave. This meant that he only had this small period of time before the dog came back to find out who she was and why he couldn't stop thinking about her.
"Aap ke pass hor koi kam nahin hai, kya? Jub bhe deko, aa jateh ho, pareshaan karne kay liye?Aap ko koi hor yahan nahin dikta saatane keh liye??" he swore that he saw her smile a bit when she turned her head back towards the direction of the barking rascal.
"Kya karoon? Hor koi itna soonder nahin hai na?" he looked up at the sky as she studied his face carefully.
"Dikne mein tho ache lagteh ho?pur aadat tumari achni nahin hai?" she frowned and kept looking at him. He brought his eyes down to meet hers, and she quickly turned away.
"Such? Dikne mein aacha hoon kya?" he smiled widely. Finally he had some success in his research: she thought he was handsome.
"I just meant presentable, ok? No need to feel so proud about yourself."
"Wah?kya dialogue hai tumara?very good, very good." He felt childish. Why was HIS dialogue so lame? He never had so much difficulty in thinking of what to say to girls before?why now?
"Hoyega? You know, my Nani Ma told me once, that if you don't know what to say?then there are two choices: Either you ask the person you're talking to about what he/she wants to hear?OR you just keep your mouth shut. In your case, maybe option number two will be best for always?got it?" she got up for a second when she thought her dog was done and was coming towards her. Fortunately for him, she had assumed wrong and sat back down.
"Option number two mujhe etni bee uchi nahin laaghi?option one ka kya karien? Aap ka suna chaateh ho?" he looked back at the sky, afraid to see what her expression might say to him in silence?now she would HAVE to talk?in order to express what she felt.
"Excuse me?pur mein aapka naam bee nahin janti?tho iska matluv kya hooa? ISKA MUTLAV YEH HOOA KEH?HUM DOONO KO BHAAT NAHIN KARI CHAIYEH?ok?" she got up and quickly ran towards the far tree where her dog was pissing away carefree. They she scooped up the dog's feces form the ground with a plastic glove and disposed of it in a public garbage bin. He sat there for a while and continued to watch her as she walked away.
He remembered that his dad had told him once about a female policy before Armaan left home to go to university: "Armaan beta, ALWAYS when it comes to ladies?if you want to know whether the first mulakat brought spark or not?then she'll turn around and look at you before completely disappearing?remember that my son?"
He sat there waiting for her to turn around. She continued to steadily jog at her normal pace, following her dog. He kept looking after her?waiting?waiting?waiting?until she finally disappeared around the street's corner. She had not looked back. According to his dad's knowledgeable advice?she had felt no spark between them, even though he had felt fireworks.
He got up and started to turn to jog back the other way; opposite from the direction he left his life. When he was about to start running again, he heard a soft voice calling from a far. She quickly came closer with her dog following right behind, "Hey buddy! Is my water bottle there on the bench?"
He looked down at the bench to find a red transparent sports water bottle sitting there perfectly, "Yah, it's here!"
She reached up to his side and smiled, "Thanks?" then she turned around and started jogging back in the opposite direction.
He gave up and just started jogging back towards his apartment to get changed for work; where he was expected in an hour and a half. Just before turning around the street's corner, he had a reply of the scene in his mind in which his father told him to always see if the woman looked back or not. He stopped moving and turned around. She also stood at the other corner of the street and smiled back.😊
HERE'S THE NEXT PART!! SRY FOR THE DELAY! ENJOY!!Chapter 3 ~ A New Discovery.
Armaan woke up again at about 6:00am. He had phoned my boss and told him I was sick. It was decided that today he would keep a close eye on her and find out where she lived exactly. He remembered another saying from his dad, "Son, people can often figure out your class and style from the place you live. So always keep yourself clean'UNTIL you find me a good daughter-in-law'then you can leave that responsibility to her!" Armaan laughed to himself as he kept a far distance between her and himself while jogging.
Finally she turned the corner of the street leading to another route away from the park. He noticed that she had not brought her dog along today. That was strange. Where had she left it? Was there someone else in her life that she trusted upon to keep it safe? If so, was it a male? All these questions popped inside Armaan's head. He quickly shook them off and concentrated on not losing her path. Finally he noticed that she had led him in a huge circle and they were back at the park! Did she always jog so much in the morning? It was 7:30am now, the time that he would normally be waking up and then rushing to work while brushing and changing in the car.
He began to walk, since she was also doing the same. He could feel his old muscles reappearing quickly'good, he would be back in shape no time. All of a sudden, she crossed the street, towards an apartment building. He stood behind a tree and watched carefully. She dialed in the secret code to her apartment's door to open, and then ran up the stairs inside.
He quickly looked up at the building. It looked so familiar. He felt like he had seen it so many times before. Then he realized the fact. THAT WAS HIS APARTMENT BUILDING! This could only mean one thing'HE AND SHE LIVED IN THE SAME BUILDING!
He quickly ran across the street and punched in the secret numbers that only the residents of this habitat knew: 2, 8 and 18. He rushed to the front counter where the tired security guard sat after his long shift on a high stool. Armaan rushed over to the counter and looked at him directly in the eye, "Hi! Aapne woh lardki dehki?" he pointed up towards the stairs.
"Haaaaan'woh Riddhima madam?" the guard looked at Armaan suspiciously, "Kyun?"
"Riddhima'.Riddhima..." Armaan repeated the name to himself a dozen times. It rang in his ears like church bells and brought colorful images to his mind.
"Excuse me sir, aap theek hain na?" the guard thought he was drugged.
"Yes! Riddhima, kaha na aapne?"
"Woh madam? Haan, Riddhimaji. Kya bhaat hai?"
"Uska ghar kiss floor pur hai?"
"Sorry sir, hum aapko yeh nahin bhata saktein'humara boss hai na, usne humko permission nahin dee'lohgoon ko private information dhayne kayliye'"
Armaan grew frustrated. He stuck his tongue out at the security officer, and then turned on his heels. He marched out of the door and punched in the secret code again to lock the door. Then it occurred to him, when he saw the list which consisted of all the names of the residents of this building. The list had names and phone numbers on it. Visitors who didn't know the secret code and came to see the residents could phone them at their room with the phone numbers listed here beside the attached building's phone.
He ran his finger down the list and looked carefully. There were two people listed there by the name Riddhima. He picked up the phone and dialed the first number.
Someone picked up the call from the other side'it was a male's voice, "Hello?"
"Hi, can I speak to Riddhima please?" Armaan answered in reply.
"Excuse me? Who are you, huh? Kyun tum bar bar humare ghar phe phone karte jaa rahe ho? Do you not have any sense or manners? Tum upne aap ko kya sumaj te ho Rajesh? I have told you several times that Riddhima will never see you again. And that is my final decision. Tum apne baap se pucho kyun'phir se apni shukul mut dehkalana'OR I WILL KILL YOU!" before the man hung up the phone, Armaan heard a girl's voice in the background, "PAPA PLEASE! GIVE ME THE PHONE!" and then the call was disconnected.
Yeh kya ho raha tha? Armaan had thought that his love story was bad'but unfortunately he was nowhere near the point at which some other poor fellow like him, apparently called Rajesh, was at. Armaan laughed silently, and then quickly prayed to God to bless whoever this Rajesh was.
So the first Riddhima did not turn out to be who he expected. No worries, he still had the other one to try. He quickly lifted the phone again and dialed the new number. It rang a few times. Just when he was about to give up and hang the phone, he heard another male's voice on the other side, "Hello?"
"Hi, um'can I please speak to Riddhima?"
"Sorry Riddhima is in the shower."
Armaan was about to answer, until he saw someone opening the entrance door. IT WAS HER. He quickly turned his back to her, as she walked across the street towards the white car, in her dark red coat. She was formally dressed and wore high heels. She looked as if she was the classiest person on Earth. He stared at her in astonishment, and then turned his attention to the annoying voice repeating, "Hello? Is anyone there? HELLOOOO??" when her car pulled away into the distance.
"Yah, sorry yaar'what were you saying?" Armaan asked. He didn't want to talk on the phone anymore, now that he knew that there was no point if the person he wanted to talk to was not there on the other side.
"Meine kaha ke Riddhima is in the shower'please phone back after?"
Then it occurred to him. How could Riddhima be in the shower if he had just seen her drive away about two minutes ago? "Riddhima is in the shower?" he asked curiously.
"Haan baba, Riddhima is in the shower. Koi message leave karna hai kya?"
"But I just saw her leave a few minutes ago, right now!" Armaan grew angrier by the moment.
After a long pause, "Who are you?" the man still had a bit of daringness to ask this.
"Anyways buddy, mujhe koi shock nahin hai tumse bhaat karne mein'so just please tell Riddhima one thing for me, ok?"
"Who are you?" the man repeated in a monotone expression.
"Kya yaar? Why are you being so annoying? Just tell Riddhima that'" Armaan thought of some sly remark to make'
"Tell her what?"
"Ek second yaar'soch raha hoon'"
"Can you please hurry up with you analysis'because I'm not a free man, you know?"
"Haan haan'ok, just tell her that'THAT SHE OWES ME NEW SHOES BECAUSE HER STUPID DOG RUINED THEM'ok?"
"Excuse me?!?" the male seemed shocked at Armaan's sudden rudeness in his tone. Armaan hung up the phone and smiled. Then he quietly went back inside the building; returned an evil glare to the annoyed security guard, ran up to the second floor to his room; lied down on his bed'and went to sleep for the rest of the day.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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