Jan 24th 2019,Banjara Hills,Hyderabad.Time:6pm

“I have just reached. Where are you?” I enquired.

“Stuck in the traffic.Will be there in 15 minutes” She replied.

“15 Minutes..?!!Oh God..!!” I gasped aloud.

“This place is very boring and no interesting faces around. This pizza shop looks like a get together for ‘Plus 100 Kg’ Ladies, a wanna be Sumos” I chuckled.

“Stop being a moron. Dont judge People by their looks” she acted her anger.

“Oh Dont start it again Please!!” I retorted.”I heard the same Preachy line hundred times,Probably.

“I would repeat it million more times if I need to” She made her stand.

“I know..You are quite capable of it” I submitted to her.

“He He..Hey Wait a second.Where are you sitting right now?To the Left?or Right?or at the Centre?” She enquired acting excitedly. 

“Left Corner, Facing towards left.Why?” I replied 

“Turn 150 degrees towards your right and I strongly feel you can spot someone Interesting there.” She passed her instructions carefully.

“Forget 150 degrees.” I said hastily. “I have spotted a hottie towards my right..Let me hang up the phone”

“There you go..Is she sitting there alone?” 

“No,she is standing..appears to be a POS operator and cashier” I replied 

“God Help this man..!!” She said aloud and cautioned. “Make Sure that you don’t get beaten up and thrown out”

“I will get what I deserve!” I said in a confident tone.

“See you in 10” she said.

“It’s okay..I can wait for 20 more..Take your own time..No need to rush up” I chuckled.

“You never change..!!”She complained “Don’t act so uninterested. We are meeting after 3 years you idiot!”

“Yeah..” I replied her and remained silent for a couple of seconds.

Sometimes Silence means more than 1000 unspoken words.

Am waiting for this day from Oct 15th, 2015. Counting each and every day my dear. I said to myself

“Hello..Are you there?” She enquired.

“Yeah..”I replied. “See you Ananya” 

“See you Surya” she said and hang up the phone,

I kept looking at the Ananya’s contact Pic in my mobile. A Tsunami of memories hit me strong.

3 years Ago. Oct 15th, 2015. Uppal,Hyderabad. 8 PM

I parked my bike and got down to get into the Pizza Shop and stood near the entrance, pulled my mobile out to call her.Then suddenly the door sprung open and there she was waving at me with a broad smile on her face.I was surprised by her cheerfulness.I kept her waiting for half an hour.So I came prepared to take the beatings,but a warm welcome is what I received Instead.

“Helloo..!!” I greeted her and said “Sorry for making you wait.”

“Hi..Its okay, it is I who proposed for a meeting after all.So no problem in waiting” she said wearing the same warm smile. “So this is how Surya looks in real?” she said.

“Yeah.. and this is how Ananya looks in real?” I said.

“Without Photo edits and without any Filters” she added and laughed aloud.

Not only her face but also her laugh showed no signs of any hypocritical distortions.

I know her for past 2 years.But Never met her in person.We met online.We were assigned to same project in an online assignment for a common client.I was working as a free lance journalist back then.The Project was about “Marriages in Modern Times”.She was the free lance design artist for that particular project.The project span was 15 Days.But as they say when you meet the right person,connection happens in milli seconds. I liked her Ideas. I respected her thoughts.I loved her sense of humour. It was fun working with her or rather I should say “spending time with her”.Although we happened to work only on a couple of assignments since then, we stayed in contact all these while. Thanks to Facebook and Whatsapp. Yeah we used Mark Zuckerburg waala Internet messaging services to stay connected. No, we were not always on the phone. We minded our work.We did not sacrifice our time in order to just chat. But when there is something interesting or important to share, she was my first go to person. She was way matured than her age. Her understandings and interpretations of varied subjects made me go in awe of her. We talked about Modern Arts, Psychology, Politics, Philosophy, Parenting, climate changes, Corruption, Relationships, Marriages,healthy diet, Food Recipes, books, movies, and what not. She kept listening to me for hours. She Proof Read all my Short Stories,that I published in my blog.Whenever I go to her with a problem, she gave me the courage and strength to fight it and I always came back smiling.She always said “Surya, You dont know what you are capable of..Why don’t you look at it this way…..” She made the Baahubalian Shiva Lingam that is forcefully put on my shoulder to crush me, suddenly feel like a light weight shawl wrapped to protect me. Whenever I said, “Fuck…!!I can’t write an apt climax for this story”, She was there suggesting a most interesting ending, that would somehow perfectly connect all the dots. Whenever I want to build fictional female characters that I need to create for the sake of the Job I do, and couldn’t conclude  on the  Characterization,I would ping her and ask, “Okay..You are a 28 year old woman, facing so and so situations in her life, how would you act then?” She would readily get into the shoes of the character and provide her most sensible inputs.She was the one who corrected my wrong notions and made me a better person.So you might ask me what sort of friend is she?Its tough to find a right word may be.Work friend? or Online friend? or friend in need? or Partner in crime? or a Soul mate or Companion in Crisis or a blessing in disguise,or just an accidental friend who stuck up unfortunately with this dirty rotten scoundrel.

I kept staring at her. She doesn’t belong to earth..Does she?

“Hey Mister..!!”She waved at me saying “Are you lost some where?Can you please come back?I am afraid that I don’t have much time to spend.Aunt want me home by 10 pm” she made a sad face and  pointed her wrist watch towards me.

She looked damn cute.I cursed myself for not possessing the power to pause time at my will..

“So finally the busy Surya is here, after being requested for three times.”She stressed the word “three” widening her eyes.

She works in Delhi. She came to Hyderabad to attend her cousin’s wedding.  A couple of weeks ago, She intimated me that she will be coming to Hyderabad and asked me if I will able to meet her. My response was not so pleasing to her. She want to meet her new best friend whom she had found in me lately.I respect her wishes, But I had my own reasons.

“Not so busy” I retorted

“Then Shy?” She inquired.

“No..It’s arrogance” I clarified.

“I know it’s not arrogance. She resisted saying “Don’t give me all those stupid reasons of yours.Whatever,You are here,am glad for that”

I hesitated to meet you out of fear. After being known you for 2 years, I know some where deep in my heart, that I like you. I like your mind and soul. I like your thoughts and Ideas. I like your perspectives and attitude towards life.So If I start experiencing your physical presence, I fear that you may sweep me off my heart and mind. I fear that I may start realizing that it is not just Liking, and that makes things complicated.My strong desire for Unification of my mind and soul with their perfect match, will manifold, if I get to know their Physical address. I Fear of being addicted to your mind.I  Fear of being clung to you. Fear of emotionally and physically attached to you forever. Fear of falling in love with you…..

“Me too”..I said slowly.

“So you wanna stick to those single word answers throughout the day?” she complained.

“I don’t wanna spoil the occasion with my rubbish” I clarified.

 She was taken aback by my choice of words and said “What?”

Every word you speak has a melody in it,The way in which your graciously painted red Lips and evenly spaced almond eyes are racing against time and competing with each other and complimenting your speech is the most synchronous periodic motion I have ever seen. My desire for wanting it more, is forcing me to keep my mouth shut.

“I want to play the role of a listener for today” I said in a plain tone.

“But we are here to talk. To talk in person. To feel the real presence of each other.Right?” She came back strongly at me.

“But I am in no mood to talk.” I retorted quickly. I want to see how she looks when in anger.Now am enjoying this.

“So there is nothing to talk about..Right? Okay then,,Shall we leave?” She said  narrowing her eye brows but maintained her cool.

Your thinly plucked eye brows suited you very well.They formed a long arc.and the length of the arc changed when you changed your facial expressions.Can I touch them once. Do they prick my fingers if I dared to touch?

“Surya..!! You want me to really leave?why are you so silent?oh now I know. You are angry with me right?I forced you to meet me against your will. So now you are in no mood to talk.Is that so?” She said innocently.

I laughed aloud and said “No Ananya..Not at all..I was just..”

“You were just……?”

“I was just speechless.!! I said.You are so beautiful..So I was looking at you in admiration”I emphasized pressing my two hands. I spoke out the first truth of the day. I couldn’t control myself from saying that.

She Laughed aloud and said”Stop kidding..Don’t play your tricks on me.I am not a stranger anymore.”

“You are a smart girl. Its tough to cheat you. Yeah I was just kidding” I smiled.

I mean it. I mean that yours is the most pretty face I have ever seen. I mean that I can’t take my eyes off you. I mean that your beauty has just made me speechless.

“Shhh..!!” She had raised her Right hand, placed the index finger on her lips and said. “Its better you keep silent than talk this crap just for talking sense.”

That’s the problem with you. You know me very well. two years is a pretty long time, you see. So let me remain silent before you start reading my raging thoughts. That is the last thing I ever wanted.

“I said so..Talking for talking sense is not my cup of Tea.Let me stick to my favorite role of Listener for this time..Agreed?” I played the role of a deal master.

“Aaha..As you wish.But am Hungry right now. You wanna have a Pizza?”She said picking up the menu catalog.”Double Cheese Margharita or a Mexican Green wave?” she questioned looking at it.

“Neither” I smiled. She raised her head slowly and then gasped aloud.

“Oh..My bad.I completely forgot that you don’t eat Pizzas. Am Sorry.” She said cursing herself. 

“Should we go to another place?” she asked apologetically.

“Not a problem.I just wanna meet you. I am comfortable here listening to you. Now you take care of the eating part.I chuckled

“So you want me to put on weight but you wish to stay slim and healthy forever. Is that so?” She raised her voice aloud.Suddenly her sharp eyes, turned big.

Oh Man..Her eyes speaks a lot.They know that universal language of conversing with people of different cultures and ages. Her eyes had that charisma.What are you?A proud owner of best eyes in the Universe?

“I don’t wanna comment on that” I said with a tongue in my cheek.

“Why can’t you have pizza for only this time?She pleaded. “Let us share one. Come on..Only for this time?Pleaseeeee”

The way she sounded that “please” made my heart sank into my stomach.

Is this a celebration or a Torture. With every passing second, My fondness for her is growing in exponential.or Do I already like her a lot and I am starting to realize it today?May be my fears are coming true. I am starting to realize that something is bad with my Vitals.Its not at all a good sign.

“Okay..Only for this time.” I said Gaily.

“So sweet of you Suryaaa.” her cheeks reddened.

Suryaa..Oh God. This girl is making me crazy. The sweetness in her voice made my Name Sound like as soothing as ever. May be I should record it and preserve it for my haters.”Surya is a pretty common and boring name”, said my old friend once. May be I should grab his collar, hold his ear and made him listen to this girl uttering my name. He may then confess it as the most beautiful name in the world.

She stood and walked towards the POS. She had placed the order and stood there waiting for the order to be delivered. I sat there staring at her. She signaled at me asking “Do you need anything else?”.

I want you. I want you for my life time. Not only in this life, but in the coming ones. They say beautiful woman are dumb and Intelligent woman are ugly. But this one is an exception. A beauty with brains. A one with the purest of the souls. 

I waved at her signalling that I am fine.I always had this sadistic pleasure in allowing the girls to pay for my food. I happily glued my seat to the chair, when pretty girls take that pain of ordering the food. But today it was special, because this girl is so special. So I stood and started walking towards her.

She waved at me and inquired “Is anything wrong?” 

“You go and take your seat. Let me take this forward from here” I said reassuringly. 

She hesitated to Leave and said. “No..Stop being so formal. It’s okay. I can stay here and accompany till the order is ready.”

I smiled at her words. She smiled in return. Some people bring warmth in your life. This one is definitely one of them. I know that I am recognizing and raving at her every action. When you like and trust someone, these things do happen, and my trust on her is not superficial.

We finished having our pizza.

‘
“So how do you like Hyderabad?” I asked her.This is the second time you are here right?” 

“Yes.I like Hyderabad. It has many similarities to Delhi.This place do possess a sense of belonging. The climate is good” She said looking to my left and suddenly she lowered her voice and said “Surya..Slowly turn backwards towards your left.Two Pretty girls are sitting across me,  nearly 120 degrees towards your left. Not now,wait for 3 or 4 seconds.The girl in yellow is staring at you from last 10 mins.She is pretty too.I think you must go and talk to her”

The yellow one? Yeah.She was interesting enough to ask her out.But now I know you.If competed  in a the same beauty pageant,you would kick her butt off.Why should I stare at others when I am sitting with the most beautiful girl on the planet?Huh?

“Yeah,not bad. But I like looking at the red one instead.Due to ‘man reasons’.So Done with all the marriage celebrations?” I said as fast as possible.

After waiting a couple of seconds, to decode what I actually meant, she smiled and said “Can’t you keep your dirty mind aside for just once?Women are more than their body parts”

“We, men are dogs” I made a statement.

“Cannot agree more”

“Yes.In terms of loyalty” I said withholding the pride of all men community.

“Achaa..!!Keep it up Beta..!!”  She said in a mocking tone.”and to answer your question,Yes, Celebrations ho gaya. But I have my personal work to be taken care. I have an interview tomorrow. It’s about a animation VFX project, the field which am willing to step into future. Graphic design is a tempting area for our artists” and she raised both her hands and to adjust her hair which she had tied in a bun, She removed the clip holding the hair intact,held the clip between her teeth, and looked aside, after realizing that I was staring at her with my mouth open.

Wait. Please hold on to that pose. Let me click a photo of you, and post it online, it will definitely go viral and can make the so called super models run for their money. I am not exaggerating. and your eyesss…Are your eyes lashes naturally that dark? How many girls envy your birth?

I was about to ask her something, and suddenly her phone rang.She picked her mobile. It was her cousin. He was here to pick her up.

She(On Call):”Yeah..I am done. Will be there in 5 mins. Hmmm…Hmmm..” Then she signalled me, pointed at her mobile, as if she is sorry for interrupting me, as she could not avoid that particular call,because she don’t want to keep her cousin waiting.That is a token of respect which she always granted to everyone. “Yes..Towards right side of the Road, No wait there..I can walk..Yep..See you”

“Probably its time for me to leave. Hey..You were saying something?” she asked

“Okay..Did any one say you that you are a rare combination.? A person with Beauty within and outside, equipped with a wittiest mind and charming soul?

“No..None..But no problems..I already know it..” She said in a confident tone,laughed aloud and got up.

What girl?Are you an alien or what?wont you get flattered with praises?

We walked out. She asked me to pose for a selfie.Then she clicked a couple of photos.She bid me good bye.

“It was nice meeting you Ananya”

“Someone Don’t wanted to me meet at first place?” she smiled complaining.

“This once again proves that am a very bad fortune predictor” I said coldly, The truth that she was about to leave made me restless.

“No problem Surya..Mai hoo na..!! she chuckled and waved me a good bye.

She Came.She Conquered and she left.

 

Jan 24th 2019,Hyderabad. Banjara Hills. Time:6.10 pm

I felt a hand on my shoulder and quickly turned around.

“Excuse me? Did you see anyone with the name called Surya? We lost him in his thoughts. By the way, this is Ananya, Surya’s Best Friend” said a familiar tone.

It took me 2 seconds to recognize her presence. She has the same aura and same charisma till date. She put on a little weight, but it added an extra quality to her personality. It brought royalty to her looks.

” Helloo Darling..”I stood and hugged her.

“So here I am, after 3 years. How are you? How is India? How is Hyderabad? How my best friend is doing?

“You see how I am. Pretty pumped up in terms of energy and spirit” I said raising my both hands with a huge smile on my face.” So How is US? How are Ashwin and Aayuh doing? A happy family huh?” I said warmly,

Oh..Didn’t I tell you? She got married to her childhood love Interest a couple of years ago. Then they moved to US.His name is Ashwin. A good chap. They are in love since their college days. I mean since 2009. 8 years of Love and then they got married on their parents’ approval in early 2017.

They have a 8 months little champ named Aayuh. Although she was thousands of miles away, we never lost contact. I would call her once in a week and discuss about happenings here. She was my support system in lot of ways. She is on a short trip to India, to attend her sister’s wedding.

She hit me with her hand bag. I said “awwww..No…what is this?”

“You promised me that you would attend my wedding and gave it a mess, You Idiot.!” She hit me again on my hand.”How can you miss your best friend’s wedding? You deserve an another blow from me.”

“Ohhhh…I am sorry. You know I had to travel to Nepal on a work assignment in short notice. It was very important. I could not help. So you need me to apologize you for the 101th time?” I can do that. I spoke making a sad face

“Okay..Chalo chod do..Maaf kiya..” she said raising her right hand

“So what should we order? A veg Pizza or a non veg one?” I asked her.

” Since when Surya started eating pizzas?”

“This will be the third pizza in my life. and am glad for having these pizza memories with you. Probably I should write a book titled ‘Pizza with Ananya'” I chuckled.

“Hey that’s a nice idea, and I shall edit that book” she said in her typical commanding tone.

“It will be an honour my dear..an honour” I said playing with my both hands.

 We have ordered one and done with our eating.

“Hey..I need two more days to make adjustments for the money..Will that be a problem?” I enquired.

“I wont mind even if you don’t return the money at all. Ashwin is in need of it, not I” She chuckled.

An year ago, I have borrowed 20 lakhs from her. I had to quit my job and start a school in Hyderabad. A School of its own kind. I needed the seed money. Many friends contributed their best.I could not avoid Ananya’s Contribution.”These dollars are more valuable to you,than us here” ,she forced me to accept that money.

“Couple of days are all I need” I said calmly.

“So here is the wedding invitation.The wedding is on Feb 1st  and no excuses this time. Akshaya would kill you, if you are don’t show up in Delhi by 30th of Jan.” she said handing over the card.

“Yeah..No excuses”  I Imitated her”…and I am very excited to meet the Little Aayuh”

“..and Ashwin” she added.

“..and Ashwin..ofcourse..” I said gaily.

“So when is the most eligible bachelor of Hyderabad going to marry?”

“Let the right time come..I am in no hurry. I am just 28 now”

“That’s a surprise to me.You finally changed your answer from ‘Marriage is not my cup of tea’ to ‘Let the right time come’ I should appreciate Aunty’s hard work on this.”

It’s pretty much the same. But this is a nice way of saying a harsh thing. I am pretty happy being busy with my school now.Let me have fun for some more days” I retorted.

“I will come with a bride someday and will marry her to you without your consent.” She resisted.

“My Pleasure..I will be waiting Ananya” I said and smiled at her.

“Get Serious you Idiot. Chalo..I will leave now . I Have to visit Mama’s home now” she said.

“Okay..Convey my wishes to Ashwin, Akshaya Aunt and Uncle.See you in Delhi Ananya. “

“Sure.See you Dear” she said and left.

Then I left home.

That Night. At home. 9 pm.

I was working on my desk. My 9 year old niece came running to me handing over me my phone.

“Mama You got a Call”

It was Ananya. She needed some information. I told her and hang the phone.

“Mama..Can I take your mobile back? I am playing a game”

“Yes Ammu. You can Take it”

“Thaaank you..” she said

“Maama..?”

“What again?”

“Who is this girl in this Pic?” she asked me pointing at the contact Pic,the Selfie Image which Me and Ananya had clicked three years ago.

“She is my friend darling”

“Oho..She looks very pretty”

“Yeah..She is the most prettiest girl I ever know and a beautiful human being. Look at this Pic.Her  beauty has just faded away the moon which is in the back ground.”I explained her pointing at the full moon in the pic.

“Then,why don’t you marry her?” She said in her childish yet sharp tone.

I was taken aback by what she had just said.

“haha..She is already married beta..”

“Is it?So Sad..!” She said sadly.

“Yeah So sad” I Imitated her tone,

May be in our next lifetime.

“Okay.I will go and Play now” and she left.

I laid back on my chair and kept staring at the full moon through my window.

What if I met her,say, ten years ago? What if we went to the same school?or the same college? But it is always an ‘What if’.

“For mutual love to happen between two, you need not be the perfect couple, you just need the perfect time. You fall in love with the person just because he/she was there on the right time.Miss the train, then you miss the person for forever. I was not little late,but one-full-lifetime-late to catch the train of my life.“