The Unlove Stories

LS 1 : For Her

I saw her from the corner of my eyes, making sure she won't spot me staring at her. I was standing just a few inches away from her at the Chandni Chowk bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive. I never really admire strangers like this. But this girl was different. Yes, I knew her. And not just that, she used to be my crush in high school. Yeah, from the very beginning, I knew it's never gonna work out. For she used to be one of the most popular girls in the school and I was such a nerd that anyone hardly ever noticed me.

Ahaana Sharma, the mention of her name was enough to spark the fire that almost had me burn to ashes two years ago. And there she was! Still so beautiful, gorgeous and divine. Perfection dripping all over her body. Perfectly styled hair, pale white complexion, mesmerizing dark brown eyes, light pink glossy lips, perfectly manicured fingers. Just...perfect! This word alone is enough to describe her.

She was still oblivious of the fact that a guy is continuously staring at her. A guy from her high school. She had no idea about that. But the truth is, even if she knew about my presence, she won't recognize me in the first place.

Even though I used to be her classmate for four years, she was always surrounded by her friends and rarely talked to boys. Yet she was the center of attraction in the class. Everyone in the class wanted to make acquaintance with her. The girls. The guys. The male teachers, even the female ones. The girls either liked her for her charm and simplicity or envied her for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, most of the girls fell in the latter category. They pretended to like her but they envied her a lot and would bitch about her at her back.

With boys, the situation was a little different. There were 3 kinds of boys in the class if they are to be categorised in reference to her. The creepy ones. The geeky ones. And the dreamy ones. The creepy ones would fantasize her all the time, would pass foul comments on her and even flirt with her several times. I hated those guys and I always had an urge to break their nose and cripple them up. But useless to say, I could only think about doing that.

They geeky ones were the toppers of the class. They would show as if they have no interest in her but were often caught staring at her with those lusty eyes during the classes.

The dreamy ones like me could only dream to have a girl as pure as her to be with them. But they knew that they could never get her in reality.

But I was a little different from these guys too. Yes, I dreamt about her every single night. But I never wanted to get her or win her over. I just wanted to be with her. All the time. I cared for her. I loved to see that smile on her face. The smile that would entice even the gods from the heavens. And whenever I saw her sad face or when I saw her crying, I had an intractable urge to take her in my arms and wipe off her tears. I didn't know if it was love or just the infatuation. But whatever it was, it's beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Yes, it was something extraordinary. Something magical. And it still is. And will always be.

She seemed a little annoyed for the bus being late than usual. I could tell that seeing her face expressions. She was constantly looking at her wrist watch and then back at the road in frustration. And then the bus finally arrived and I followed her as she hopped in.

Luckily, I occupied a seat just behind hers which was diagonally opposite so that I could capture a few of those moments. For this might be the last memories of her.

The conductor came and she asked for a ticket to ambience. I could see she was constantly texting someone. Probably her boyfriend. I wondered if she was still dating Karan.