SwaRon SS You Me and Dreams

Chapter 11

Swayam sat alone at a coffee shop not far from the studio reading a book. Few people came here and that's what made it special. All the people who came there regularly or even once a week had some special connection to the place, a sense of familiarity and a feeling partially like home. The thing that bound him to the place was his grandfather.

It was during one of his many visits to the theatre as a child that his grandfather showed him this place. Since then it had been his second favourite place, the first being the theatre. The place could get overwhelming sometimes with all the memories that it held. Whenever the memories hit home, close to his heart he avoided the place for a few days. He couldn't ignore it for more that few days because something always pulled him back.

It was a quaint little place and the silence it provided was refreshing amidst the noise of the city. Swayam would close his eyes and listen carefully. Even if it felt silent, a little observation would tell you that the surrounding was bursting with life and that's what Swayam loved to observe. The birds that sang, the cats fighting for food, puppies playing around , the wind bristling through the leaves of trees and of course the little chatter of humans that one couldn't escape. He must have spent hours here either observing or reading along with sipping a good cup of coffee.

He was so engrossed in the book he was currently reading that he failed to notice Sharon sneaking behind. Sharon enjoyed troubling him, it was sort of a payback to the times he irritated her. As she thought of ways to surprise him she had flashbacks of times she spend with the boy in front of her. She realised he had changed since the time they met and more so she had changed. She slowly learned to trust people with her secrets, the importance of dreams and mostly to believe in your dreams.

"Hey what are you doing?" Sharon said. Swayam jerked up in his seat visibly shaken only to see a smiling Sharon.

"Sharon! You scared me." Swayam replied keeping the book aside.

"I thought you might have noticed me. Didn't you once say you could sense people around you?" Sharon said with a smirk. She was smirking a lot since she met Swayam, one of the many effects he had on her.

"Umm...No, not ringing a bell." Swayam said.

"Oh look at you lying so easily. Deny it all you want Shekhawat. Now will you ask me yo sit down and accompany you in this beautiful little shop." Sharon said.

"Like you need my permission." Swayam replied. Sharon just stared blankly at him.

"OK well please Miss Sharon Rai Prakash have a seat and do me the honours of spending time with you." He finally said sighing. Sharon could get very weird, very quickly sometimes.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear." Sharon said sitting down. "So what were you reading?" She asked.

"The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." He replied.

"I love that book!" Sharon started saying but was interrupted by Swayam.

"OK but please do not give me any spoilers. I just started reading." He said.

"OK OK!" Sharon said holding up her hands. "Well you should know that Mr. Hyde is..." Sharon continued.

"No please don't." Swayam said plugging his ears shut.

"Huh! Look how the tables have turned. You did the same to me when I didn't watch the finale of PLL and you did." Sharon said accusingly.

"How do you remember all this stuff? I said sorry, didn't I?" Swayam said.

"Yes you did." Sharon said after which they sat in silence for a few moments with Sharon busy thinking about what she could eat and Swayam admiring her. "How did you discover this place?" Swayam said breaking the comfortable silence.