She was standing with her luggage, looking for me, near the main gate of Chandragupta Prabandha Sansthan. The moment when I saw her after 1 hr long waiting at bus stop, was just breathtaking. She was looking stunningly beautiful. And I got very very nervous. I had thought many options for my first reactions like, to saying Hi with a funny comment or shaking hands together or a tight warm hug. But all I could manage to say a feeble Hi and to ask about her wellbeing. I literally prayed to Bhole Baba but before he could do any miracle, her teeny tiny bindi on the forehead and redder lips caught me unguarded. My situation was similar to Ta’challa when he saw Nakia after a long time in Marvel’s Black Panther movie. Well, I too was about to freeze. Somehow, I managed to hold my mind straight and told her about the dinner plan and booked OLA cab with the little sense I could manage to recover. And then just when my senses were returning, she smiled and coerced them go away, too far to catch. Now at that time my nervousness was at peak, making everything around me nebulous except her. I was not in situation to locate our ride but thank god she located that quickly. I thought it would end well once I’d ride in cab but sometime things cease to happen according to your plan. Cab driver asked me for OTP and I told him cab’s car number. It’s not a big deal but at that time I felt surge of embarrassment. Then finally we reached at Kapil’s Eleven and we adjusted at our reserved table. She ordered Chilli baby corn for starter. The situation was a mess, she was seating in front of me at dinner and I was busy in hiding my trembling hands and trying to not say anything senseless. And the worst happened then, her father called and asked her whereabouts and she told the truth. Her father got angry and instructed to leave immediately for Danapur Railway Station. She told me that her father hadn’t known about that dinner plan and she could not lie to him. There was nothing remained to do for me except instructing waiter to pack the food. She was literally feeling tensed and little bit embarrassed, I think. I wanted to hold her hand and to say some calming words but I couldn’t do that as I was not sure about her reaction. Anyway, believe me it was me who needed comforting hands holding mine, more. Then I booked OLA cab for Danapur in share instead of normal booking. It was the highest stupidity so far. Driver was indeed not a gentleman and it was taking too much time due to other co-passengers. I could sense her tensed and little bit scared thoughts. Usually she claims herself as chatterbox but at that time she could manage only to breath heavily. Then we asked driver to not pick any other passenger and leave us to station first and offered some extra cash. He agreed and drove us to station as soon as he could. When we tracked back at main road to Station, her smile came back and it was comforting. We reached at station within time limit. We headed for enquiry counter to check timing and expected platform number for the train. I first read the information at notice board and asked for that at enquiry counter to confirm train details again. I conveyed that info to her and to my surprise she just didn’t believe that. She asked me to confirm that again and I was about to move then a nearby person told the same details. And surprisingly she believed that, I mean, seriously? But what I got thinking that she might be unique girl or might preferred sweet dishes over spicy ones, but after all she was like other simple girls who generally used to doubt their companions’ mental ability often. Well train was at platform so we entered and adjusted her luggage under the seat and then continued our interrupted dinner. At the end I bid adieu and wished her safe journey. Believe me, I wanted to give her a tight hug and say, “you look perfect tonight and I wish if I could dance to beat of the song PERFECT with you. But I simply said bye and bid adieu. I have said goodbyes to many persons in my life but that goodbye to her, was the most painful. I wanted to hug her tightly and never let her leave but it was just a wish which happened to be nothing less than a fairy tell. It was great time and probably the last, when I got to meet her. In the end when I was returning from there, I could only think about Lord Byron’s poetry,
She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that’s best of dark and bright, meet, in her aspect and her eyes.


© Saket