Rain

[10 years ago…]


It was raining. I was waiting for my daily shuttle. I was on my way home. In India, rain plays an integral part of many a story. It did the same that day, to mine.

Even as the raindrop splattered all over, I saw her.


Like it happens in every movie we see, every book we read, every story we hear, it was happening. She was beautiful, so much at that, that I could see, dream of me being with her, for her, loving her, forever and ever. She was there for a good couple of minutes. Whilst I was still dreaming, I could see her getting into a cab and vanished.

Oh, by the way apart from the fact she was blissfully beautiful, what she was wearing was no less. I can still close my eyes and can see her in that long gown, a black one, typically angel wear. She was carrying a book, trying hard to keep it dry by draping it with her shawl.

There’s something with this kind of girls, whom you fall for at the very first sight. They appear again soon enough to tinge your senses. It was the same in my case. I spotted her a couple of weeks later at the very same place I first saw her and was unable to come out of her thoughts all those days. This time I could see her for long, may be a couple of minutes more than the first time.

This went on, for a couple of months, 9 weeks to be precise totaling to 5 times I saw her. She was irregular in a way she responded each time after the first time. A couple of times, she winked, once she smiled, and the other times didn’t bother at all to exchange looks, forget about pleasantries.



[Today]



I saw her again today 10 years later, 6000 miles away from the place it happened. It was a jolt for me, in all these years I could never forget her face. I wasn’t expecting even a glance from her. Come to think of it, I felt she would have never even remembered me, forget about forgetting.

Luck like it is, I was again waiting for a cab this time, to catch hold of my old buddy.

Me being me, I glanced at her and then suddenly turned away when I noticed she was reciprocating this time too.

She was beautiful as usual, like age-proof, not a bit of glow and bliss gone with time. She came to me in a couple of quick steps and said:

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“Hi” “Do you remember me?” said she.

“Hi” said I “I am ‘D’”.

“I used to read Erich Segal a lot those days” said she.

“I didn’t get you” said I.

“I thought I would help you out at least today”, “Those days, you used to stare at the book I carried quite a bit”

“Oh!! The book”,” Yeah!!! The book” I mumbled.



Silence [An awkward one, for 60 seconds]



“Nice to see you again” said I.

“I was seeing someone” said she.


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Her mobile started buzzing and she left.



It started raining.

Ipod playing :

"You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun"

- Time, Pink Floyd