When he woke up, he thought the day was special. That was not new. Every day seemed special to him after he realized that she was special. He had started shaving more frequently and paying more attention to his hair lately. He arrived on time and waited patiently for her to come. This was a moment of highlight in his every day - the first glimpse of expression on her face when she turned around the corner to enter their aisle of cubicles. She would be excited about something trivial that they would then discuss in detail, or amused at an incident that happened in the fourteen hours they were apart. It was his way of drawing inspiration from life - like a child turning to her bedroom plant every morning to see what new bud or flower it has brought forth.
He was in for a treat that day. She rushed to his cubicle and swirled around to show him her new haircut. He had always noticed that her hair started out straight but fell into gentle curls at the ends. With the haircut, the curls were even more pronounced and danced around her face. She was smiling radiantly and it was inducing mad passion in him. He would have wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her right there if he had dared to admit such wants in his mind. They had movie plans with a friend that afternoon. They went on two bikes and feasted on long bread pizzas. The busy city relaxed in the weekend and the citizens were in a stupor even though it was past noon. The movie theatre was old-fashioned, with ornate cornices and wood-panelled counters that were peeling off. But, somehow English movies played only in theatres like this, which can boast of legacy and heritage, but not upkeep or a good sound system. It was not his choice of movie either, because he didn't care about all that anymore.
He secretly wished to sit next to her but was afraid of her friend's taunts. He could not focus on the movie and got distracted frequently. When the actors broke into song, he would sneak a peek at her, watch the light rays from the screen reflect off her cheeks. If it was a funny scene, he would quickly turn to catch her laughter. It was as if he was watching the movie through her. It happened such that he continued that onto life. When life bored him with its stillness or failed to surprise him with its invariances, he learnt to live life through her. She had a knack for finding the most thrilling rapids in a placid river and he simply rode with her. She would have said something innocent or nice just then that made her friend so fond of her that she gently touched her chin. It was as if his feelings had found expression in that touch. He delighted when others gave her compliments as if he was the recipient. He never felt jealous because when others gave her love, he only saw it as a late acknowledgement of his first discovery - that she was special.
Later that night, they ran into each other when they were with their separate group of friends. He did not venture into her company mainly because he was embarassed of elaborate introductions. But it also made it obvious to him how different their cirumstances were. She had grown up in a different community, spoke a different language and probably held values vastly different from his own. Though he told himself that they seemed to coincide on the values he held most sacred, how was he to be sure that these reassurances will hold for life. He told himself that none of this mattered because his was a lone pursuit - she was not interested. Even if she was, she would not be able to give in to the passion and summon courage as he had managed to. After all, not everyone is a romantic in search of romance.
~Him
© 2019 Subhash G