Will YOU BE MINE?

It was a bright sunny day; I’ve gotten the first three quarters of the day relatively well. Late in the evening, I was sitting in a small café, with a batchie, who was also a very good friend. I was enjoying freshly brewed coffee, enjoying the crisp summer air. We were laughing at the usual predictable college gossip that is inevitably found in any college. My dear friend had recently left her abusive boy-friend and seemed quite satisfied with her painstaking decision.

Then an infectious smile attracted my attention. It was a laugh from a girl I had never laid my curious eyes on before, but she seemed so familiar to me. My intuition made me slowly look up to capture the being of this girl. She looked at me, wrinkled her nose and tightened her ponytail uncomfortably. I just smiled to myself and in no time I’ve seen her going out with a friend of mine. I pitied her as she deserved someone much better (atleast I thought so). Inspite of she being my friend’s girl, hardly did we talk except for exchange of smiles which didn’t last longer too. They were going steady and they didn't really care what the students thought of them.

*****

After a couple of years we happen to scrap each other on FB followed by exchange of phone numbers which was just for the sake of formality. It then came to my notice that she broke up with that friend of mine. I thought that she was far too sweet to be alone all the time. I tried to recall the last time she spoke to me, if ever she has. No memory. No flashbacks. No nothing. Where on Earth could I be?
After speaking a couple of times, she suddenly vanished and I didn’t bother much as I expected it to happen so, remembering the past where she seldom spoke to me for a longer time

*****

It was a Monday afternoon, we were breaking for lunch, and everyone was all but stampeding towards the cafeteria to get the warmest food. It was unbelievable how fast people could go when they were hungry. My phone rang, displayed an unknown number and I reluctantly picked up the call as I was exhausted with the typical Monday schedule. Yeah, it is her again! We hardly had anything to talk about and there was silence which didn't last long enough for us to completely wind down. We spent hours together on calls and could not do away without talking to her. Learning to enjoy the conversations and not want for more was incredibly hard for me. But I knew that was being greedy. We have finally decided to meet up and I’ve made the best plans ever, but was not lucky enough to make things happen. Was upset and pressed myself more under the thick blanket but could not help it. She promised to meet me after two months but I had my own apprehensions (which were quite obvious).
Finally the day arrived; I was all geared up to meet her, the long awaited moment. For a second I stopped breathing. A gasp of air was stolen from my lungs, from my soul. A loss of a moment, a breath, that would stay embedded in my memory forever. There she was. My eyes were smitten, intensely satisfied, like a child finally receiving a lollypop, after craving the pure sweet sugar sensation all day. My tongue automatically went to lick my lips as they had instantly become dry, a lack of saliva of no account of her own.

She was talking to her companion. They were engrossed in a deep and thoughtful conversation. This stranger, was casually dressed, in a crisp and clean blue shirt, and from what I could see smart denim jeans. Not anyone I would look at twice. But he had distinct features, his hair was jet black, his eyes mysterious and she did not seem comfortable with the conversation she had with him. She came to me shook her hand; I had a glint of mischievous childish joy.
Her lips were pure and soft that I imagine would only sing sweet lullabies to her lover. A lover surely would cherish and adore her. I could not help but stare into her eyes. They were a passageway to her soul.

A soul that could never have known me, but which created an instant yearning in the pit of my stomach. I felt nauseous. I felt uneasy. I felt vulnerable. “Do I like her? Does she like me? No she doesn’t,” I asked myself perplexed.
Then I noted that she looked directly at me, her brilliant black eyes were looking me up and down. It created a sense of absolute familiarity and discomfort. Her stare felt like a piercing sword, thrusting through my heart in one single violent blow. A smile beamed across her incredibly pretty face. She was caught in mid sentence, for she too had lost his train of thought. I viewed her, as if we were past lovers. Her eyes had a distinct knowing.

It was a knowing that startled me, I was never like this before but this girl’s energy destroyed all that was familiar to me. It was peculiar. The sensation that she created in me, forced me to question my future. I knew that in her past, trust and love had been very torturous and unhappy paths and didn’t want her to go through the same again. After having thought enough, one evening I went on my knees

"Will YOU BE MINE?”

I whispered these words to her as I softly caressed the hair off her face. I stared deeply into her eyes, into her soul, as a tear slowly trailed down her cheek. I kissed her tear away.
She had been buried in darkness not wanting to let anyone love her, but I guess, I found a way in. I am almost there, just waiting for the right key to open it.
But fear set in. Would this love stay? It would always remain in my heart. I do not know the answer to this question. All I do is to plead with the universe, “please let her stay a little longer. Let me enjoy her company a little longer.”