“What does one have to do to watch a movie in peace?” shouted the movie buff who vented his accumulated anger on the woman who accidently stepped on his foot in the pitch-black movie theatre.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to be careful next time.” exclaimed the woman. The screen which suddenly went pale white due to the brief technical difficulty in the operator room, made sure that the man had enough time to catch a glimpse of the young woman’s face. But that mere glimpse triggered more questions than answers for the man who had earlier struck out after pitching his idea to film producer. “That’s okay...” stretched the man as his curiosity had begun to swallow his attention away from the movie.
His head had turned nine o’clock rather than looking at the screen right in front of him, which was obviously noticed by the woman, “Last I checked the movie was in that direction.”
“I did not mean to gaze. I was just curious that you would prefer coming to watch this... I think.” Replied the man who was kind of intrigued with the woman’s eyes, ironical for someone who found the over use of those particular body organs in romantic situations a little clichéd. “Alright, tell you what. I will consider getting a bite to eat with you, if you promise to look that way.” proposed the woman.
The man smiled, “I can do that. But can you keep your eyes off me?”
“That’s a joke right?”
“Depends on the number of times you have heard it.” smiled the man as he was dead set into having dinner with the woman.
A little later at an almost deserted diner, “So you are trying to be a director?” asked the woman, who was kind of surprised to hear that. “Why do you sound surprised? Even I wasn’t surprised when you announced that you were an Artist. Did I? ” asked the man who was more surprised to see the surprised tone coming from the woman who had not ceased to surprise him.
“Just your demeanor and the way you talked. I figured that you would be some kind of Lawyer or a Politician. You have a unique way with words. Even enough to brainwash people at times!” exclaimed the woman, only for the man to smile, “Thank you. But I wish that my persuasion skills were enough to bowl over someone to fund my movie.”
“Don’t lose hope just yet. It might be just around the corner for all we know. So what’s the concept?” asked the woman who was kind of fascinated with the man that she recently acquainted with. “Usually dinner is the concept where people eat food before they sleep. But I am beginning to think from the look from your face that you are asking about my screenplay?”
The woman sarcastically answered back, “You are a mind reader, aren’t you?”
“It’s a romantic drama. The protagonist has hidden feelings about a woman that he wants to tell out to the whole World. Both of them meet in a movie theatre. The rest of the movie shows the crazy night that they both passionately share. They agree for that one night of romance that is too real to be true. No it does not involve sex. They just want to enjoy an evening in each other’s company. Though they agree that they do not want to see each other at the end of it, they fall for each other but both of them are kind of apprehensive about telling their feelings because of the biggest villain in their lives.”
“Who’s the big villain in his life? Is it his father? Is it the girl’s Mother? Or is it some high school jock who just kept entering the picture for no apparent reason?” asked the Woman who was kind of intrigued, natural to a sucker for romantic movies.
“For an interesting woman, you chose to connect with the most uninteresting versions of soap drama plots. And no the biggest villain in this story is TOMORROW.”
“Tomorrow?” asked the woman got more curious from the response. Unfortunately for her, her caliber wasn’t that equipped to understand the hidden messages encoded within the theme of the story that the man briefly explained.
“I thought you would be more puzzled on why they both wouldn’t want to see each other after hanging out. I’ll tell you about the reason behind Tomorrow being the villain here a little later” smiled the man, only for the woman to reply with a smile on her face, “I could detect that you are passionate about this story. But isn’t it kind of too much for the audience to believe that romance could be kindled in a matter of hours?”
“Every storyteller is passionate about his work. And no, it is possible for a couple of strangers to fall in love within a matter of seconds, let alone hours.” said the man which kindled the flame inside the woman who remarked, “Why do I have the feeling that you want to prove me wrong?”
“Those are your words not mine. And I declare this in the beginning that I shall not indemnify you for any reason whatsoever, should you fall in love with me at the end of this night.”
“Let me guess. You want to make your fantasy come alive. Sounds fun, so what’s the first stop for your hero and heroine? And just for the record, you are going to have to try harder to make me fall in love with you.”
“The first scene takes place inside a movie theatre. They bump into each other and they come out of the theatre to avoid disturbing everyone. That is when the hero starts to draw himself towards the heroine like a magnet. Nothing draws a movie buff like a moth to a flame than a chick who quotes his favorite movies. On a totally unrelated topic, you never really told me about your taste in movies. And yes, my opinion on you depends on your answer. What is that one thing in movies that makes you go crazy about them?”
“Other than the screenplay? It has to be the sound behind the story. Can anyone forget the haunting soundtrack behind the tension that arose in the screenplay of Black Hawk Down or the playfulness of the keyboard, sax and banjos behind Ocean’s eleven?”
“I’m not surprised with your answer. I could see that you are more into sounds than the visuals. Take a breather, you are in my good books, at least for now.” laughed the man. “If that is your move, I have no apprehension in even spending a whole month with you. Even then it would be near impossible for you to woo me.”
“Not after seeing the view that I am about to show you. It inspired the most important scene in my story.”
“I doubt that I would be impressed with the view. But give it your best shot. It’s not like it is going to cost me anything. How long do we have to walk there? I am kind of tired and this is not part of my usual route for me to be familiar with.”
“It’s not too far. My friend used to stay there before he relocated out of this city. I still can’t figure out why anyone would leave Coimbatore. I mean, what’s wrong with him? This is one of the most beautiful cities to live in and to think that he threw it away to take up a job in Jaipur. You must bear with me a little. I tend to go a little hyper when I try to project myself in a good manner with beautiful women.”
“That’s alright. You had me at beautiful.” smiled the lady who went for the routine question that any woman would ask on a first date, “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
“Real or made up?” joked the man, as the Director was silently scoring with witty answers. “Either one would do. I know it is kind of a clichéd first date question. Citing the fact that everything about this date is unconventional, it was kind of called for that I revisit the usual stuff asked in a normal date.”
“I have had no real girlfriends. To be honest, I am pretty much sure that this is my first date. I know that I sound confident for a rookie. But I have seen movies. If that answer sufficed your question, do you mind if I asked you a question?” The man continued on receipt of a nod from the woman, “What do you hate most about the dating process? Tell me so that I can avoid it.”
“Direct! I kind of like it. The first thing that would come up to my mind based on past experiences would be to ask your date whether they find you attractive. It just makes the moment really awkward. But it does not make the moment as awkward when your date asks why you are still single. But the real worst one that anyone can ask on a date is whether they are afraid of commitment.”
“Not to disrupt your flow. I am learning a lot about the art of dating. But isn’t asking someone whether they were in a relationship ranked in par with all those questions?”
“Not if I ask it.” giggled the woman. “Here we are. The place is pretty dark. So watch your step.” announced the man, only for the woman to reply, “Why don’t you just act as the guiding light?”
“Care to join me for a breathtaking view, my fair lady?” asked the gentleman prior to clinching her hand and escorting her up the makeshift ladders.
“The air here….It is just too….”
“Refreshing?” finished the man who couldn’t help but notice how the gentle breeze made her hair to fly out just enough to liberate her pale blank face which illuminated in the moonlight making her more beautiful than she actually was.
Removing her glasses, the man gently touched her face as he made his way down her hair and parked his fingers near the ears just enough to hold her face still. The woman sensed that he intends to lean in and seal the deal. Even though she craves for the same, she said “If we kiss, it becomes real.”
“The whole part of the experiment is to create the perfect night that is too good to be real, isn’t it?” asked the man, only for the woman to continue, “If we kiss, we would start comprehending the dynamics of the kiss itself not to mention the fact that it will be followed by decoding what the kiss actually means for both us.”
“Dynamics of the kiss?” asked the man who was clearly lost with the terminology used. It was as if he was not bummed already. The woman clarified, “You might use too much tongue. I might bite by accident. How about this? The best part of any kiss is the lead up to it. The moment right before the lips touches.”
The duo couldn’t stop giggling as that moment could not have been more perfect and realised that they would have ruined the unparalleled passion with a mere kiss.
“I was expecting something anticlimactic but it makes perfect sense. It creates the perfect conflict for the scene that I had in mind. You just described the one missing element in the scene that I visualized. Ever thought of working as a script doctor?”
“Sshh…. Stop talking.”
“Sorry.” replied the man, as he couldn’t stop being drawn closer and closer to her. “Tell me to stop, Meera.”
“Stop, Vikram.” replied the woman as she leaned in more than her male counterpart only to rest her head on his and smile in unison with her man under the moonlight, only to be joined by the slight drizzle which made arrangements for the celebration of the occasion where the man and the woman fall in love.
“I wish I really could. But….?”
“Nothing would make his moment better than that. But we both know that I have a destiny. A destiny to be nothing more than the subject of your next story…”
“Yes. You are part of my story. But I want to be there with you to make the story happy and complete.”
“You don’t mean it….”
“I’m stuck between making a choice… I am afraid Meera..”
“And Cut!” yelled the man with the big hat.
He continued, “Great scene guys. The movie is officially wrapped. Thank you everyone for your cooperation. I will see to that the final cut is done fast. Thank you”
The Director was ecstatic that his dream was finally taking shape thanks to his efficient cast and crew.
“So it’s done?” asked the beautiful dame who was extremely happy for her man who was finally living his dream. The man hugged her and said, “Yes. All thanks to you.”
“What did I do?” smiled the woman as she was curious on how she influenced his decision of tweaking the screenplay just enough to convince the producers and some of the mainstream actors who were more than happy to be part of the project.
Zooming back to terrace, the events that transpired came back to his eyes at that moment when his better half asked the question.
“Close your eyes, Vikram.”
“If I close it, I am afraid that I won’t have a reason to open them again, Meera.”
“Do you realize that there was one little flaw in our experiment?”
“Yes. We are going to home tonight with a lot of great memories. But we are going to be stuck with one sucky memory which overlaps the rest - you walking out of the terrace.”
“Close your eyes and count to five”
A little while later, Vikram who couldn’t help but pour his heart out to his roommate said “When I finished counting, she was gone. She was completely amazing. She was amazing and funny and we connected on every level…. And I am never going to see her again.”
“You should have kissed when you had the opportunity dude. When did you turn into this wuss anyway? So how are you going to find her?”
“Why would I want to find her?” asked the man, only for his roommate to look rhetorically.
“Yes. You are right. I must find her…. She’s an Artist. If I find her gallery, I will find her.” remarked the man, only for a sharp smack in the head and words from the instigator, “Do you have any idea how many artists are in Coimbatore? It’s like looking a drop of water in an ocean.”
The very next day much to his surprise, “He said he would find you and he did. I am kind of surprised that Coimbatore is smaller than we expected.” exclaimed the roommate who was finding it hard to catch his breath after roaming the streets with his hopeless love-struck puppy of a Director friend. But he didn’t realize that Meera got lost in the trance after realizing that Vikram amongst her presence looking for her.
Meera with a smile cute enough to make the empty hallway filled with happiness on arrival of Vikram asked, “How did you find me?”
Vikram replied, “There aren’t lots of blind artists in Coimbatore. And all I had to do was look for one special one.”
On hearing those words, she leaped in and hugged him tight enough to squeeze him into a diamond.
“Remember when I said that the story’s greatest villain was Tomorrow?” asked Vikram as he snapped out of the flashback which drew similar comparisons to the current event as the happy couple were still hugging their affection out.
“Yes. When are you planning on telling me?”
“The protagonist is supposedly afraid of the commitment that awaits him tomorrow. He is afraid that his present actions would rupture his tomorrow. But it took him a special someone to realize Tomorrow is something to be eager about. He realized that tomorrow is going to be a better day than today only after realizing that there is no tomorrow without the today. And his today is the woman. Just like my today will always be you, Meera. I love you.”
“I thought I was the one who was blind as a bat. It took you this long to realize that.” smiled the woman.
“So when am I getting that kiss?”
“Do you need to ask?”
The rest is history..


Karthik Sreeram Kannan

#WritcoAnthology