Posted:
Though he'd rather throw away all his toffees than admit it, but the fact was that when it came to girls, Omi knew nothing.
No, it wasn't a exaggeration. He really didn't know anything.
Because you see, fantasizing about girls anatomy and dealing with a girl face to face were two extremely different things. So, when he saw his enemy's good friend's best friend sitting in the secluded corner of the garden area of ICC, under the shade of a tree with a book opened on her lap but her eyes focused on a distant invisible point, he knew that something wasn't right. But the trouble was, he didn't know how to confront it.
Well, at this point the logical thing would've been that he turned his back to her and walk away like he hadn't seen her. And what they say about there being a greater power influencing our actions and decisions, turns out it's true because not knowing how, but he was standing right in front of her.
"Kya hua?" Not a bad way to start a conversation. Except he got no reply.
Okay, take two.
"Oye, Nonu!" He then looked at the point she was staring at. Nothing much of interest was there unless you counted a wall with pee marks as captivating.
"Zinda hai ya marr gayi?" And with that, he leaned down and pinched her cheek.
"OUCH!"
You guessed it, it wasn't done very gently.
She flinched and looked at him. As a reaction, he took a step back and watched as she winced in pain and rubbed her cheek which had gotten red. It looked kind of cute on her.
"Tabiyat tou theek hai na teri?" He had a rustic manner of speaking, he had heard this about himself from the mouths of those posh Dhakkan girls. A manner which wasn't very welcoming to all those well behaved, well mannered, well nourished girls. The kind of girl that she was. So when she looked at him and nodded slightly, without the least bit of disgust, he felt good.
At this point of time, he had figured out that not all was well with her because she continued sitting there with a lost expression of her face. He searched his pocket to take out one of the extra toffees he carried around with him only to find his pocked empty. Making a mental note to kill the guy who didn't refill his pocket with his toffees, he bit his lip in anxiousness and tried to find a way out of the thing his heart told him to do.
He had many excuses. Like, how she was the friend of the enemy. But nah, she was never a part of any group. Or, how she had all the qualifications of being a Dhakkan. Chuck that, she was too sweet to be someone who schemed 24x7. Oh yeah, he really didn't know her that well! But he was standing in front of her, wasn't he?
Crap. Confusion, confusion, confusion. How he hated that feeling.
He spared her a glance. There was no worry there, no anxiousness, just this feeling of hurt and loneliness. And he concluded that he didn't like that. He liked it when she smiled. Yeah, he had observed her at times in the college. Sue him!
Omi reached inside the secret pocket of his shirt and took out the small candy wrapped in a beautiful paper. He didn't look at it much lest he decided to change his mind and offered it to her.
"Ye khaa lo. Acha lage ga."
"Thanks but mera mood nahin hai." She gave him a half, melancholic smile and it felt like someone had punched him in the gut.
"Dekh Nonu, ye na meri favorite toffee hai jo main kabhi kisi ko nahin deta. Le le, tera hi faida hoga."
"Omi, kaha na...I don't want it."
"Kyun?"
"Kyunke mujhe toffees achi nahin lagti!" She retorted. He sat down in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes with a not so polite expression on his face. She seemed to have noticed it for he felt her move back a little. Well, the damage was done.
"Ye na! Mamooli toffee nahin hai. Badi special hai! Caraamel flavor hai aur iske andar chocolate hai. Sirf naam ka chocolate nahin, ke banda khaye aur chocolate ek second mein hi khatam hojae! Asli chocolate hai...jo ke chalta jae, chalta jae...chaltaaa jae!" He said passionately and as he said it, he felt the very taste of chocolate mixed with caramel which he had just described to her. How could she say no to something like this?!
Panchi looked at Omi in silence for ten seconds. Then, she snorted which slowly burst into full laughter. A laughter which seemed to echo in all corners of his world.
"Omi..." she breathed in between her laughter. "You are priceless!" And she continued laughing.
Well, he didn't get the meaning of what she said but it was bound to be something good. Else, why would that silly little smile creep on his lips?
She continued laughing for a while and when she was done, she wiped away the tears of mirth from her eyes. He hadn't moved at all and the toffee was still dangling in the air between them. She reached out and took it from his hand. Unwrapping it, she put in her mouth and put the wrapper in her bag.
"Achi hai.." She commented appreciatively and that silly little small smile turned into a full fledged grin.
"Bola tha na!"
"Naam kya hai iska? Main dobara khana chahoon gi..." She said and started searching her bag for the wrapper.
"Dobara chaiye tou mujhse maang lena, kabhi bhi." The words left his mouth before he could control them and he saw her moving hands freeze. Did he screw up again?
"Yeah, cool. I'd do that."
And she did do that. Every time she was sad or lonely, happy or excited or just in her everyday chirpy mood, she came to him for that nameless special Caramel Chocolate Toffee he so loved and before her, hated to share with anyone. But he never told her that.
And yeah, that day he didn't actually kill the guy who forgot to refill his pocket with extra toffees. Instead, he went to him and hugged him, leaving him bewildered. Because if it hadn't been for him, he wouldn't have gotten the chance of sharing his special Caramel Chocolate Toffee with his Special Little Lady.
...or Nonu as he loved to call her.
No, it wasn't a exaggeration. He really didn't know anything.
Because you see, fantasizing about girls anatomy and dealing with a girl face to face were two extremely different things. So, when he saw his enemy's good friend's best friend sitting in the secluded corner of the garden area of ICC, under the shade of a tree with a book opened on her lap but her eyes focused on a distant invisible point, he knew that something wasn't right. But the trouble was, he didn't know how to confront it.
Well, at this point the logical thing would've been that he turned his back to her and walk away like he hadn't seen her. And what they say about there being a greater power influencing our actions and decisions, turns out it's true because not knowing how, but he was standing right in front of her.
"Kya hua?" Not a bad way to start a conversation. Except he got no reply.
Okay, take two.
"Oye, Nonu!" He then looked at the point she was staring at. Nothing much of interest was there unless you counted a wall with pee marks as captivating.
"Zinda hai ya marr gayi?" And with that, he leaned down and pinched her cheek.
"OUCH!"
You guessed it, it wasn't done very gently.
She flinched and looked at him. As a reaction, he took a step back and watched as she winced in pain and rubbed her cheek which had gotten red. It looked kind of cute on her.
"Tabiyat tou theek hai na teri?" He had a rustic manner of speaking, he had heard this about himself from the mouths of those posh Dhakkan girls. A manner which wasn't very welcoming to all those well behaved, well mannered, well nourished girls. The kind of girl that she was. So when she looked at him and nodded slightly, without the least bit of disgust, he felt good.
At this point of time, he had figured out that not all was well with her because she continued sitting there with a lost expression of her face. He searched his pocket to take out one of the extra toffees he carried around with him only to find his pocked empty. Making a mental note to kill the guy who didn't refill his pocket with his toffees, he bit his lip in anxiousness and tried to find a way out of the thing his heart told him to do.
He had many excuses. Like, how she was the friend of the enemy. But nah, she was never a part of any group. Or, how she had all the qualifications of being a Dhakkan. Chuck that, she was too sweet to be someone who schemed 24x7. Oh yeah, he really didn't know her that well! But he was standing in front of her, wasn't he?
Crap. Confusion, confusion, confusion. How he hated that feeling.
He spared her a glance. There was no worry there, no anxiousness, just this feeling of hurt and loneliness. And he concluded that he didn't like that. He liked it when she smiled. Yeah, he had observed her at times in the college. Sue him!
Omi reached inside the secret pocket of his shirt and took out the small candy wrapped in a beautiful paper. He didn't look at it much lest he decided to change his mind and offered it to her.
"Ye khaa lo. Acha lage ga."
"Thanks but mera mood nahin hai." She gave him a half, melancholic smile and it felt like someone had punched him in the gut.
"Dekh Nonu, ye na meri favorite toffee hai jo main kabhi kisi ko nahin deta. Le le, tera hi faida hoga."
"Omi, kaha na...I don't want it."
"Kyun?"
"Kyunke mujhe toffees achi nahin lagti!" She retorted. He sat down in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes with a not so polite expression on his face. She seemed to have noticed it for he felt her move back a little. Well, the damage was done.
"Ye na! Mamooli toffee nahin hai. Badi special hai! Caraamel flavor hai aur iske andar chocolate hai. Sirf naam ka chocolate nahin, ke banda khaye aur chocolate ek second mein hi khatam hojae! Asli chocolate hai...jo ke chalta jae, chalta jae...chaltaaa jae!" He said passionately and as he said it, he felt the very taste of chocolate mixed with caramel which he had just described to her. How could she say no to something like this?!
Panchi looked at Omi in silence for ten seconds. Then, she snorted which slowly burst into full laughter. A laughter which seemed to echo in all corners of his world.
"Omi..." she breathed in between her laughter. "You are priceless!" And she continued laughing.
Well, he didn't get the meaning of what she said but it was bound to be something good. Else, why would that silly little smile creep on his lips?
She continued laughing for a while and when she was done, she wiped away the tears of mirth from her eyes. He hadn't moved at all and the toffee was still dangling in the air between them. She reached out and took it from his hand. Unwrapping it, she put in her mouth and put the wrapper in her bag.
"Achi hai.." She commented appreciatively and that silly little small smile turned into a full fledged grin.
"Bola tha na!"
"Naam kya hai iska? Main dobara khana chahoon gi..." She said and started searching her bag for the wrapper.
"Dobara chaiye tou mujhse maang lena, kabhi bhi." The words left his mouth before he could control them and he saw her moving hands freeze. Did he screw up again?
"Yeah, cool. I'd do that."
And she did do that. Every time she was sad or lonely, happy or excited or just in her everyday chirpy mood, she came to him for that nameless special Caramel Chocolate Toffee he so loved and before her, hated to share with anyone. But he never told her that.
And yeah, that day he didn't actually kill the guy who forgot to refill his pocket with extra toffees. Instead, he went to him and hugged him, leaving him bewildered. Because if it hadn't been for him, he wouldn't have gotten the chance of sharing his special Caramel Chocolate Toffee with his Special Little Lady.
...or Nonu as he loved to call her.
*~*'*~*
Happy Birthday Shazzy! 🤗
Happy Birthday Shazzy! 🤗
