Hello folks,
How's everyone doing???
It's a long long time since I posted something here. Yup, I was away but now I am back and trying to brush up my writing skills, which has gone rusty for sure. Before you ask me the obvious question, yes I do plan to continue with "Do I have to say the words" shortly.
For the time being, I am posting this OS which I started long back but managed to finish only recently. So do read it and let me know your thoughts. And yes, I want to know your honest feedback because it's months since I have written anything and this piece is a little rambling in nature (so in short, it might be boring ). But do bear with me for some time till I get back into the groove.
So I look forward to keeping in touch again.
Love,
Richa
The Serendipity Called Life
It was dot 9 by the clock when Riddhima staggered into the Delhi airport, after spending the last two hours battling the morning traffic. To say that she was just tired would have been an understatement for sure as she was much more than that. An almost sleepless night coupled with some last minute preparations for the conference she was scheduled to attend in Mumbai and a niggling headache were conspiring to make this one of the worst mornings of her life.
"Good morning Ma'am" beamed the cheerful looking guy at the check-in counter when he saw the extremely attractive lady dressed in a chic business suit approaching him for her boarding pass.
"What's so good about this morning?" Riddhima thought to herself. However, she was too sweet to voice this aloud and bestowed the guy with a sunny smile instead, leaving him dazzled for a few minutes.
Her flight was to depart at 9.45 AM but luckily for her, it got delayed by another thirty minutes which gave Riddhima enough time to grab some coffee and a sandwich for herself. She had been too busy to even think about filling her growling tummy earlier.
"Phew, finally I get some ME time" she whispered, making herself comfortable in one of the chairs in the waiting lounge.
She took a sip of the coffee which indeed tasted heavenly after her early morning travails and a genuine smile graced her lips for the first time in the last 24 hours. However, as she munched on her spinach corn sandwich and skimmed through the latest copy of the Economic Times, Riddhima suddenly became aware of someone's gaze on her. Normally something like this would never affect her, but today it felt different, as if the owner of this invisible gaze was looking straight into her soul. At first Riddhima brushed it off as a mere figment of her imagination but her curiosity soon got better of her and she started scanning her surroundings in a casual manner, the long forgotten romantic soul in her starting to explore a plethora of possibilities . However, much as she wanted, Riddhima didn't meet with any success there. So with a somewhat disappointed frown on her pretty face, she went back to her newspaper article, biding time till her flight's departure was announced.
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The business conclave at Hotel Four Seasons was going on in full swing. One of the most awaited events of the year, this event boasted of a good number of speakers who were some of the biggest names in the corporate world. No wonder, this was an excellent opportunity for rising professionals like 25 year old Riddhima Gupta to learn and grow. She was enjoying every bit of this experience but since it was tea break now, she was feeling a little lost. Her colleague who was supposed to join her hadn't turned up and there wasn't a single familiar face she could spot. Being a wonderfully attractive woman, she wouldn't have had any problem finding some company but Riddhima was just not interested.
Caressing the cup of coffee she helped herself to, she got busy reading her notes when a silky smooth voice called out, "Beg your pardon if I am being a nuisance but I wanted to check if this seat is taken."
Looking up at the direction of the voice, Riddhima's breath almost got stuck in her throat on beholding the tall stranger standing in front of her. Calling him handsome would have been an insult as he was by far the most extraordinary looking man she had ever come across. However, Riddhima didn't let that show on her face as she coolly said, "Most likely not"
"I beg your pardon?" the handsome stranger looked confused.
"Oops, sorry for talking in riddles" Riddhima said, suddenly realizing that his presence was affecting her in a strange manner. "I meant to say that this seat has been reserved for my colleague but there are practically no chances of him turning up now" she added with a smile.
"Oh I see. In that case, may I take this seat? Sorry to be intruding upon your privacy but I can't locate any other unoccupied seat at the moment."
"Of course" she said with a smile. Much as she would have denied it, her heart was doing cartwheels at this sudden stroke of luck.
Making himself comfortable, the stranger looked towards Riddhima and pleasantly held out his hand saying, "Hi, I am Armaan Mallik."
"Glad to meet you Armaan. I am Riddhima Gupta" she replied, taking his offered hand.
"The pleasure's all mine"
"So which company are you representing today? Or are you one of those bright young entrepreneurs who are making it big these days?" asked Riddhima.
"Well, I do dream of becoming an entrepreneur some day, but right now I am representing Sonic Telecom, which belongs to my Dad. What about you Riddhima?"
"I am representing the Vantage Group," she said, "and by the way, we do a lot of business with you guys"
"Yup and as a matter of fact, I am a member of the team that works closely with your company," then as if something suddenly struck him, "By any chance, are you the same Miss Gupta who handles the marketing department?"
"Yes, I am but how did you know that..."
Suddenly realization dawned upon Riddhima too, "Oh my God, that means you are the same Mr. Mallik I have often exchanged emails with, right? I think we have had a couple of phone conversations too."
"Bingo! It's a small world, isn't it Miss Gupta? I always used to picturize you as a serious, no nonsense lady and yeah, I never expected you to be so young"
"Would you believe that I thought the same for you?"
"Are you referring to the former or latter bit?" he asked with a smile.
"Of course the latter bit" she replied mischievously.
"Aha...there I hit a girl's ego...so it's tit for tat I guess" said Armaan with a smirk and both of them started grinning like kids.
This was the day when a beautiful bond came into being and promised to change Armaan and Riddhima's lives forever.
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It was New Year 's Eve and Riddhima was super excited at the prospect of having her close friends home for dinner. With her parents settled in Pune, she used to live all by herself in her cozy flat in Delhi. So this gave her all the more reason to look forward to ringing in the New Year with some of the people who were very close to her heart. Needless to say, Armaan was also an integral part of this special group.
The guests had already arrived by the time Armaan reached the venue. He knew most of them, thanks to the fact that Riddhima used to drag him to every event or party she attended. In fact, in the six months they had known each other, they had built up a rapport that surprised most of their friends who chose to remain quiet about it lest the two people in question got offended. But all of them had only one thing to say about this couple, "It's only a matter of time before they realize the truth for themselves." However, they were oblivious to the fact that Mr. Mallik had fallen for the beautiful Miss Gupta the very first day he had seen her.
As Armaan surveyed the party hall, his eyes rested on a man and a woman he had never seen before. On a regular day, he wouldn't have paid much attention but today he was a little disturbed by the fact that the guy was giving Riddhima a little more attention than necessary and it didn't look like she minded it at all. In fact, he could see that they shared a comfort level that surpassed the one he shared with her. Every word, every gesture and the way they looked out for each other pointed to the fact that it stemmed from a deep sense of affection. Armaan started fuming inwardly but better sense soon prevailed and he chose to clear out things before arriving at any conclusion. So he discreetly asked Muskaan, one of Riddhima's very good friends about this guy.
"Oh him" she drawled casually, "he is Abhi, the person Riddhima is closest to. They are childhood buddies and love each other to death. In fact, no one would be surprised to see them getting married to each other but the truth is that..." Muskaan's words pierced through Armaan's heart and he could no longer stand there listening to what she was saying. Quickly excusing himself, he moved to the balcony, lest people got alarmed by his suddenly pale face that had been robbed of all its color. But in that process, he missed to hear Muskaan saying "...Abhi is engaged to Nikki who by the way is here with him today."
A strange suffocating feeling took hold of Armaan as he stood in the balcony trying to steady his breath. The knuckles that gripped the balcony railing were white as death and the lone tear that slid down his cheek bore testimony to the fact that he was devastated. He inhaled deeply, wrapping his hand around the ring he had so lovingly purchased for Riddhima just a few hours back. Indeed, life could be so unpredictable at times.
"So everything was one-sided all along. She only wanted friendship and I read too much into it. Silly me!!! But now, I won't spoil the beautiful relationship we share by revealing my feelings to her" he thought with determination.
After standing there in silence for God knows how long, Armaan decided to take his leave as he wasn't strong enough to put up a brave front after hearing the most devastating truth of his life. But the hardest task he had to accomplish before that was to face Riddhima and tell her that he was leaving early. He knew that she would freak out after hearing that but on looking at his watch, he realized that there were just 20 minutes to go before everyone ushered in the New Year.
"Guess I can quietly slip away at midnight as I don't think she will miss me in the melee. Will cook up some excuse later" he said to himself.
He had just turned when he heard a sound near the balcony door and was surprised to see Riddhima standing there. With the soft moonlight accentuating her beautiful features, she was truly looking like an angel and he felt a pang of regret that she would never get to know what he felt for her.
"What happened? Why aren't you inside?" she asked in a concerned voice.
"Oh, it's nothing Riddhima" he laughed it off, "I was feeling a little suffocated in there, so I came here to get a whiff of fresh air."
"I see, but are you sure that you aren't hiding something from me? Is everything fine Armaan? You are looking a little washed out."
She gently touched his cheek and then his forehead to check if his temperature was normal. However, her touch was doing a lot of things to him and he had to escape from it before he blurted out the truth.
"No I am fine" he said, sounding more like he was trying to assure himself than her as he stepped back from her touch.
Riddhima found his actions a little strange but decided to ignore it.
"Great then" she smiled. "I know it's almost midnight and you might want to go in, but there is something I wanted to tell you. In fact, I have wanted to tell this for a very long time but never found the right moment. Also, I was not sure about your reaction..."
Armaan knew that she was going to tell him about Abhi. He closed his eyes, commanding his heart to get a grip on itself before looking at her with a smile. But he also knew that he was not ready to hear the truth from her. So to avoid her any pain or embarrassment he decided to act busy.
"Riddhima, I understand that you want to talk but something really urgent has come up and I need to go. I was just coming to tell you the same."
"Whatever it is, you are not leaving before listening to what I have to say. After that, you are free to do whatever you want" Riddhima said with determination.
"Riddhima, I am sure it can wait till tomorrow" the urgency in his voice quite apparent.
"No, I have waited enough for this and have realized that some things shouldn't be kept hidden for long"
Why was she making it difficult for him?
"Riddhima, look I need to go. I will talk to you later."
Saying so, he stubbornly headed towards the door, not daring to turn back even once.
"Even if I say that I am madly and irrevocably in love with my best friend, who for some unknown reason is just about to leave me all alone on New Year's Eve?"
Armaan stood frozen at his spot as he heard the words uttered by Riddhima. Not being able to believe that he heard her right, he turned around, the shock still visible on his handsome face. However, there was a second shock in store for him as the very next instant Riddhima came nearer and then knelt down before him.
"This is something I never ever dreamt of doing in my entire life" she started. "In fact, I would have freaked out if someone even suggested it to me, let alone doing it. But I don't know why it feels so right today. So putting my huge huge female ego aside, I wanted to ask if Armaan Mallik would like to spend the rest of his life with me."
Indeed, Riddhima was never the kind to take the first step, but her more than intense feelings for Armaan made her do so and she was truly very nervous about his answer. In fact, she almost died when she saw the hesitation in his eyes, without knowing that she was luckier than she thought.
"Only a person who is out of his mind can say no to this proposal Riddhima" said Armaan who was out of his thunderstruck state by now. He gently made her stand but the very next moment she was crushed in his arms.
Burying his face in her hair he whispered, "I love you too and what would I not do to share my life with you!"
Not surprisingly, Riddhima was in seventh heaven when she heard those magical words escape Armaan's lips. Happy tears forced their way down as her face broke into a beautiful smile. Wiping them away, Armaan gently kissed her forehead. He then proceeded to fish out a box from his pocket and on seeing her surprised reaction, he said, "You won't believe it but I had planned to do whatever you did just now, but you piped me to the finishing line"
"So what were you waiting for? For me to go down on my knees?" she said with mock anger.
"The right time baby but honestly, I for a few minutes felt that it would never come as I foolishly assumed that you and Abhi are together" he said with an embarrassed look on his face and steeling himself for the incredulous "WHAT??" that soon followed.
"How could you assume things just like that? Come on now, Abhi and I?? Oh my God!!! Abhi and I??? I can't even imagine it in my wildest dreams, he is like a brother to me. Make sure he never gets to know or else I will be embarrassed to death..." and she just went on and on. It was only when she paused for breath did she realize that Armaan was looking at her very intently. She slightly raised her eyebrows in question and it was then that he quietly asked, "May I?"
On her nod, he gently slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her hand, the winter moon and the dimly twinkling stars bestowing their blessings on them. With a shy smile Riddhima hid herself in his chest, trying to savor every bit of this moment and also control the crazy exhilaration that was threatening to drive her mad. His heart bursting with equal happiness, Armaan readily enveloped her in his loving embrace, protecting her from the chilly December cold.
"Armaan" she said in a whisper, as they remained in each other's arms.
"Hmm" he murmured contently, his eyes still closed.
"Can life get better than this?"
"Even I am asking myself the same question sweetheart," he whispered.
"Just think of it...it just seems like yesterday when we first met. Never did I imagine that the tall and handsome stranger I met by chance at that business conclave would end up becoming the love of my life," Riddhima gushed. "Bless the organizers who miscalculated their numbers and placed fewer chairs than required in that hall. Otherwise who knows, we might have never met."
"You think so?" asked Armaan with a smile.
"Yeah I do..." Riddhima started but suddenly stopped short when she saw something akin to a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "What is it Armaan? Out with it right now!!!"
"Ummm, well...Riddhima Gupta thinks that Armaan Mallik first saw her at the business conclave she attended in Mumbai. But what if she gets to know that he first set his eyes on her as she was hungrily feasting on a sandwich and a cup of coffee at the Delhi airport? And what if she also gets to know that he was a goner from that very moment he saw her?"
"What??? You mean to say that you were there at the Delhi airport the day before the meeting!!!!" she exclaimed with an incredulous look on her face.
"Yes dear and mind you, it was not like I was checking you out just for the sake of it, but the fact is that you pulled me towards you the very moment I saw you. Of course, I didn't know who you were at that point of time, but I saw the invitation for the business conclave peeping out of the transparent file you were carrying. And since I myself was going to attend that event, the rest was easy. By the way, there were many more empty chairs lying around the conference hall the next day, but you can very well guess why I chose not to see them but walk straight up to the pretty girl sitting all alone and then beg for the seat next to her instead."
"I just don't know what to say!!!!!" Riddhima said in a more than just surprised voice. "And you so conveniently decided to hide everything from me all these months we have known each other?"
"I know that was a big slip on my part. But again, I always believed that I should give you the time to know me better before I blurt out everything. However, I have learnt my lesson now. You are right, some things shouldn't be kept hidden for long," he said as he turned his eyes towards the sky, thanking the divine power up there that made sure that things took a right turn in the end.
A couple of seconds later he looked towards Riddhima who was smiling to herself with a thoughtful look on her face.
"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked in a teasing voice but it was totally lost on Riddhima as she was somewhere far far away.
"Oh my God'it was true all along!!" she finally said in an excited whisper, "Yes, it was!!!"
"What are you talking about Riddhima?" He literally had to shake her out of her excited state.
"Armaan" she started in a happy voice. "Yes, it's true that I didn't see you there but I could feel your presence for sure."
"Really?" he asked in a skeptical voice.
"All the time I could sense that there was someone nearby with whom I shared some sort of a connection. You must have seen me looking around, trying to find something I couldn't see, but believe me, I could feel that strange presence all the time and now I know that it was you!!"
"Well, in that case, this proves that we were meant to be together all along" Armaan said with a smile.
With that he lightly tipped her face upwards, gently caressing her cheek and taking in her delicately beautiful features that were imprinted in his heart forever. Lost in his touch, Riddhima closed her eyes, her whole being alive with anticipation. Till now she had only dreamed about how it would feel to be touched by him in this manner but now that she was experiencing it herself, she realized that it far surpassed anything she would have ever expected or imagined.
Armaan's eyes then moved towards her rosy lips that were quivering invitingly in the December cold. How desperately he wanted to savor their sweetness, but he hesitated.
"Is this the right time?" he asked himself, as he stopped himself from descending towards her lips and drowning in their sweetness.
He was lost in thought when he heard Riddhima whisper, "Guess I will have to pip you to the finishing line again"
Even before Armaan could make sense of her words, Riddhima raised herself and captured his lips in a tender kiss that took his breath away. Smiling at this surprise new year gift, Armaan's hands made their way inside her thick woolen jacket and drew her closer by the waist. Having done that, he kissed like no tomorrow.
As if on cue, that very moment the sky lit up in a plethora of colors as everyone joyously brought in the New Year. For these two it wasn't only the New Year but a new beginning as they embarked on a journey of togetherness.
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Shiv Shakti
23