Then I have recognized a 35 year old man staring at me for a long time. He may have the role of a senior manager. I Quickly glanced at my t shirt wondering if I my body has developed boobs last night.I was amused with my thought. But I could not figure out what was wrong with me and why everyone was staring at me. I preferred to ignore. Then I realized how pretty girls feel when men stare at their body.I have reached my cubicle and switched on my machine.

I turned to my colleague and greeted him. He did not notice my presence. He performed a salute raising his hand.

“Dude, What happened to your face? Have you mistakenly stepped into a ladies beauty parlor last night?” He said laughing aloud.

“What the fuck are you saying?” I asked bewildered by his words.

My other colleague who was busy checking her mails turned towards us expecting a nice drama to be unfolded there. She was in her late twenties.

“Your skin has got that unnatural glow and Oh My God…!! Look at your lips. They turned reddish pink.” he said.

“Reddish Pink?” I cried and after a pause of 2 seconds.I spoke again. “Oh..That may be due to these cold climate. You know that Hyderabad has turned into Delhi from past three days,” I dismissed his claim.

“No, He is right. Your lips look blood red. But its not due to winter cold. I cant figure out the reason” she said staring at me. Her eyes switched between my eyes and my lips. I felt embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Oh..Cut the crap. We have got lot more important things to do. Anyone for a cup of coffee?” I asked them changing the topic.

They pointed their fingers at the wall clock in unison and said that they have a meeting to attend.

“Okay then let me go to the Pantry and be back by 15” I raised from my chair.

Then I ran into the wash room and stood in front of a mirror. I was shocked at the sight of my face. My Face has had turned into Pale white. But it looked surprisingly attractive. My lips turned into pinkish red as if someone had applied a “Kashmiri apple” paint on them. Then suddenly something struck my brain. A memory from past night flashed into my mind. I could not remember the whole scenario right at that moment. But I knew what it was. I could figure out the reason for this red lips. It was due my  to last night’s dream.I could not recollect how the whole dream has started. But I could figure out some dots. I stood there connecting all the dots with my hands on the wash basin and my eyes staring at myself at the mirror.

The Dream:

I was totally asleep on my bed. I covered myself with blanket from my shoulders to toe.Suddenly I felt someone adding a weight on to the bed. I realized that someone was sitting by my side. I turned slowly aside to check who it was.Just before the moment I open my eyes, they were closed by a hand.The palm was velvet soft and warm. I sensed the presence of estrogen in the air around. I readily realized it was a girl’s hand.Her fingers were neither short nor long.

“Who is it?” I asked in a loud voice. My tone was complaining rather than inquiring.

I thought for a second. There was not a single person I could remember with a familiar voice.

“No..I dont. I could not recollect your voice” I said hiding my zeal.

“Dont you feel my touch ?Was it not a familiar one?” she spoke with a marvelous precision.

“I remember no one’s touch. I keep myself distanced from females” I said in a loud and sharp voice.

“So you did not touch any women till date?” she shooted her first arrow at me. and it hit the target succesfully.

“I have the privilege of shaking hands with few of them” I said sarcastically.

“Oh come on..You know that is not what I am talking about?” she said gaily.

“Its none of your business” I shouted aloud mocking a fake anger.

“Dont you want to know who am I and why I came here at this odd hour?” her voice sounded like  a lab technician who got my HIV report in her hand.

Normally I would had thrown her hand aside and kicked her out of the room. But her peculiar voice and the austere way in which she had delivered those words made me wanted to listen to her more and more.

“I had one. But I no longer remember how that felt like” I said calmly.

“Do you hate her?” she asked me as if she was my childhood friend.

I laughed aloud and said “No.I dont hate her. Hate comes from heart. It is much more stronger feeling than love.My feeling towards her is indifference. I feel nothing about her.My heart responds to no emotion if it is related to her. She is like those white lines drawn on black tar of our city roads. The white lines exits but no one cares about them. Your vehicle dont get hit even if you cross over those lines. Oblivion is the best tribute that she gained from me” I spoke my heart out for the first time.

She remained silent. Then she said “I am in Love with you Surya” with a very honest voice.

“Haven’t you got any other words to choose? There are far better words like ‘admire’,’attract’,’respect’ or ‘like’ which I approve of. I appreciate people who use right set of words to express what they feel”

“I have used the right words then?” She said me with a confident tone.

“But I am not rich” I dont know why I chose those exact words. But that was my only reply. I replied abruptly as if I knew the answer long before I had listened to her complete question.

She Laughed amusingly. There was no hint of mockery, pity or contempt in that laugh. It was a plain laugh. I Loved that sound.

” I haven’t come here to get your approval. I just wanted to see you and let you know what I feel about you” She said in a low voice.

“Okay. I acknowledge your feelings. But I cant give you mine.If you are done with your talking I will get back to my sleep” I said casually with no emphasis on my words.

“I am almost done. But dont you want to see my face and know how I look like?” she asked excitingly

“All I can say is you better invest your time on something more purposeful and meaningful” I said like a pastor in a church.

“Sitting beside you and staring at you like this is the most purposeful act of my life” she said as if she is making her award acceptance speech.

“You sound like me when I was 20. I was stupid then. Just check yourself. I am not mentioning these to  hurt your feelings. But let me tell you that people never act the way they speak. They dont mean what they say. Its tough to keep ones promises. and the phrase ” I Love You” is the most difficult promise to be kept. Dont ever use it for using sake. I seriously doubt that this is some sort of careless prank that you are playing out of boredom.If you claim that its not a prank then I am confused to figure out what had caused you to feel that way. But I am sure that you are wrong. You never knew me. I am not the person what I look like. I am not the fancy love material which you are looking for” I said assuringly.

“I agree with every word you have said. I know you are hard to get and pretty strong to be convinced. I knew you for years.You are a man of reason. I also know that some feelings are better felt than to be expressed in words. I have waited all these years and probably this is the time. So let me reason you the best way to answer all your questions” she said with a tone of maturity.

Before I realized what was happening, She bent over my face,and laid her lips on mine. My heart beat raised in exponential order.I started to feel the warmth of her breath. She was not in a hurry. She behaved like an archaeologist who knows what to and where to search in an excavation.And I can surely say that she is a true artist at her work. Dont ask me how I knew that. That was the moment when I finally grasped what was happening between us and I started responding back. “I was taught in school that our lips and tongue has got taste buds. They are present to taste five flavors namely salt, sour, bitter, sweet and Umami. But I never knew that there is this new kind of flavor which my lips are experiencing for the first time.I dont know what it is called but now I surely know how it is produced. It is experienced when four lips met at the juncture of two souls clubbing into one” I thought to myself at that moment.Our four lips played their part as if they are programmed into a software code designed by worlds greatest developer. The precision and timing at which they were moved was similar to the parts of the world’s most sophisticated motor invented by man. There were no hassles, no confusions about the rules of the sport which we are playing. It was one of the greatest games that  the sport has ever experienced by any standards. I had wondered realizing that was the first time I have spoken to her and  I did not even know her face. So I started pulling her hand away from my eyes. But surprisingly I could not feel it when I tried to touch her hand. I waved both my hands into air in front of me. Then suddenly my lips were set free. There was no prior intimation or nothing. I took a deep breath. Soon I opened my eyes and she was gone by then.

 I dont know when I went back to sleep.Then the alarm tone shrieked for the first time. I pressed the snooze button and was asleep.

Back to Wash Room:The Mirror and me

Then I smiled at myself in the mirror.It was a beautiful dream I thought to myself.Then turned on the tap and splashed the water onto my face. I was shocked at what had happened. The water had never reached my face. I tried it multiple times. But they got sucked into some unusual sponge like material between my hands and my face which was invisible to the naked eye. Suddenly I felt and sudden jolt on my left shoulder. Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned towards my left. I cant believe what I saw. It was my Mom.

“Mom..What are you doing in my office?” I cried at her.

“Wake up..its 8.30. You have got only 30 mins to get ready to your office” My mom said in her casual tone.

I sprung up and sat on the bed in disbelief.

“Was it a bad dream?” inquired my mom.

“No, I dont know. It was not bad. But It was complicated” I said trying to recollect the dream.

The End.

”