Love Started With A 'Boo' | ✓

Episode 13

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘩, 2017
𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘢

Clouds dominated the morning azure leaving transitory patches of blue. Though they were mostly chalky there was a hint of greyness, a suggestion that rain might play a part in the day to come. Sunday would be again a rainy day.

The messianic Gurbani was antecedently chanted conscientiously and I was just perching on my bed, examining a few of the answer sheets of my pupils of standard ninth when I came across two particular answer sheets which belonged to Agampreet Kaur and Amish Jain ─ the two patronymics which were extremely precious to me.

Jain & Kaur!

Divyaant Jain & Pritika Kaur!

I was again deported to the streets of the past testimony of our love.

~

I was awaiting Divyaant near the roundabout of Sector 11 as we had decided to coincide now. Today was second Saturday and our institution was closed and today's subterfuge for the meeting with Divyant to my family was ─ movie day with some of my old friends.

After falling in love with Divyaant, I had started to lie a lot to my parents as they were still unknown about their daughter's relationship with a non-Sikh man. No one in my family was aware that their prankster Pritika was now wholly hooked to a man. Every time we had to meet, I used to fabricate one excuse or the other. Although a part of me always felt immoral that I was lying to my people but another part used to sympathise me saying that I was doing all this for my pure and irrevocable love for Divyaant.

As philosophers say and I quote, "Everything is fair in love and war".

Before I could've deliberated more, I saw a very familiar car accosting me. Giving an effervescent and cheery smile to my hippo through the windshield, I opened the door and slid inside his car which was blasting invisible snow from inside contrasted to the outside blistering humidity and temperature.

"Hey, chewing gum," taking my right hand in his hands and dropping a kiss on my knuckles, he whispered softly, smiling through his eyes. And I knew what he'd be doing next ─ he'd not drop my hand, rather would still be holding it and keep it on the gear. It was our modus operandi of expressing our love for each other ─ taking several oaths of love and loyalty with just one single hold. Once I had his hand in mine, I never wanted to let it go. He interlaced my hand and kissed on its backside again.

Another rivulet of oxytocin passed through my system and I smiled joyously and peered at him ─ his features roaring extreme exuberance and fineness at my clumsy and gauche self.

Divyaant had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. I guess he must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course, the blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it made the girls fall for him all the more.

Despite all the opportunity that came his way he was a one-woman-man who prized genuineness and thoughtful conversation above lipstick and high-heels. And I was blessed that he was all mine.

I was an illiterate who had called him with so many names in the past ─ he was anything but a grumpy grandpa, hippo and whatnot. After knowing him and spending many hours with him, I had come to know how exceptional of a person he was.

He was handsome alright, but inside he was beautiful.

Divyaant was handsome from the profundity of his eyes to the blue-blooded expressions of his voice. He was handsome from his generous opinions to the touch of his hand upon my own. I loved the way his voice used to quicken when he sparkled with a new idea or was so enjoying one of mine that he used to lose himself for a moment and quite forgot the mask he wore for others. The mask of his grumpy and hostile form which he had worn when our paths had collided in the initial few encounters of ours.