Part 11

"Itni jaldi mujhe bhool gayi Anamika?"

Did he just say that!?

Shock, Surprise, Joy, Content, Sorrow, Anger...Multiple emotions erupted on hearing him say that. All my bottled up emotions battled with each other to prove which emotion is the strongest.Finally Anger was declared the winnerHow dare he? How dare he ask me that?

I am the one who has been living every moment of my life remembering him for last 11 months and 3 weeks.

He is the one who bhulaoed me and now he asks me Itni jaldi bhool gayi?How dare he?

Tears pooled in my eyes and found its way through my cheeks as I decided to confront him.

Ajnabi's POV (on Readers demand)"Sir apki pehli book Char Kadam ke publication ke silsile me Sunshine Publishers aap se milna chahte hain. Appointment book kar dun?" My PA asked as I sat in my cabin glancing at the calendar.

"That's great! Kab milna chahte hain?""6th Feb"6th Feb...What a co-incidence! It is the day when I actually experienced the Char Kadam and my publishers want to meet me on the same day.

"Kisi aur din possible hai?""But kyun Sir? 6th Feb ko apki koi appointment bhi nahi hai aur na hi koi aur important kaam""Hai kuch, bahut important. Kisi aur din possible hai to dekh lo, warna let it be""Ok Sir" She turned to leave.

"Aur haan make sure ke agle ek ghante tak koi mujhe disturb na kare. No calls and no visitors please""Sure sir"I glanced back at the calendar when my PA closed the door behind her.

6th Feb...I traced the date with my thumb as the memories of the most beautiful day of my life replayed in my mind.

I was in Bangalore for an acquaintance's wedding.

Weddings do not fascinate me but this was one was a close friend from college and I agreed to attend the function on his insistence.

To get away from the hustle bustle of the celebrations around, I reached the railway station way before the scheduled time.

I detest travelling by trains but my friend had booked tickets for the train in advance and I had to oblige.

I sat on a bench and was checking for work emails on my phone when someone plopped next to me on the bench.

I did not bother to look at the person, so went back to my phone.

I could hear the crinkling of the bangles and jingling of the anklets after a while. So it's a girl I concluded.

Ripple Ripple Tap Tap I could hear the tapping of the touchscreen. Oh she owns a Samsung phone I realised as I am very familiar to the ripple tone.My sister owns a Samsung handset and I won an I Phone.The never ending Apple v/s Samsung War between me and my sis is the talk of the town

After about 15 -20 mins the tapping of the phone stopped. She must be bored with her phone I assumed.

The jingling of the anklets sounded loud and frantic.She is shaking her legs frantically in boredom I smiled.

My eyes were fixed on my phone but my mind was consciously analyzing her every moment.

I hadn't seen her yet, nor had I spoken to her but something pulled me towards her like a magnet attracting the iron fillings.

My eyes craved to see her but my mind said its inappropriate to check out someone like that.

My heart wished to initiate a conversation but my conscience warned me of leaving a bad impression on her.

Just when Eyes V/S Mind and Heart V/S Conscience war was taking place, I heard her say I Hate Waiting.My mind said This is your chance. Grab the opportunity Dude! and I immediately turned towards her.

The moment I saw her, my brain seems to have caught an FM signal as it started playingMai agar kahoon tumsa haseenKayenath me nahi hai kahinTareef ye bhi to sach hai kuch bhi nahiBeautiful is an understatement, Divine would not describe herKisi zaban me bhiWo lafz hi nahiKe jinme tum ho kyaTumhe bata sakoonI waited for her to turn towards me. She didn't.She is not interested. Mind your own business dude! My mind prodded and turned back to my phone.

My eyes were not ready to listen to my mind.They wanted to see her and keep staring at her.My mind exercised its control over my eyes not letting them move.My eyes threatened to rebel and stealthily glanced at her from a corner.

She was looking intently at a hoarding.She must be trying to read the instructions I guessed.

Does she know Kannada? Is she a native of Bangalore? Questions plopped.

She turned back to her phone with a frown.So she does not know Kannada I understood.

"I hate my phone" I heard her say.

Wow another chance! You are luck dude! Go for it my mind said and my eyes immediately obeyed by turning towards her completely.

She was looking at me from the corner of her eyes.So she has noticed my presence I gathered.

My conscience showed a green flag to initiate conversation.Just as I was about to start speaking, her phone rang.Bad luck dude! My conscience mocked.

My ears straightened. It is wrong to eaves drop my conscience butted in.I am not eavesdropping, she is loud enough for a deaf to hear my ears countered.

Akka she said.So she is a South Indian I discovered. Not a Kannadiga though I remembered.Must be a Tamilian I suspected.

"pichle adhe ghante se mai train ka wait kar rahi hun. And you know how much i..."hate waiting I completed for her in my mind.She paused for a moment.Must be checking if I turned towards her I concluded.

"Whatt?" she screamed.Her Akka must have revealed something shocking I imagined.

"You know ke mai shadi nahi karna chahti" she complained.Oh she has got a proposal I sulked.

"Use promise nahi emotional blackmail kehte hain" she fumed.So she is being forced I smiled.

"Ayyo Amma! I am going to kill you" she shrieked.She is dangerous I gulped.

"Iska matlab kisi se bhi meri shadi kara denge kya? Yahi value rehgayi meri?" she sniffed.Drama Queen I chuckled.

"Akka maine is saal Dr.Batra ke kam se kam 100 patients ko treat kiya hai" she announced.So she is a Doctor I grasped.

"Waise to mujhe chinese khane ka bhi shouk hai. Iska matlab ye to nahi ke mai kisi Chinese cook se shadi kar lungi?" she mocked.Great sense of humour I guffawed.

"Kavitha likhnewala kurta jhola types hi hoga na?" she declared.Judgemental I squirmed.

"Amma ko to Tamil daily soap ka villain bhi handsome lagta hai" she accused.I was right. She is a Tamilian I confirmed.

"Just because I love SRK & Novels I am not going to marry some stranger" she threatened.Sounds romantic I smirked.

"I hate strangers" she yelled.

Golden opportunity to initiate a conversation. Now you know her enough to make an impression on her. Go grab it dude my conscience permitted and I took the opportunity by declaring"Itni nafrat achhi baat nahi hai"She turned towards me.Mission Accomplished I rejoiced.

"Itni choti umr me apne dil me itni nafrat paalogi to is khoobsurat se chehre pe 2-3 saal me hi jhuriyan ane lagengi" I said pointing to her face.

She reacted but did not respond.

Don't let this opportunity go. Do something rather say something my conscience encouraged.

"Waise saare ajnabi bure nahi hote" I said whatever came to my mind.

And then the convo continued.She is the one for me I realised.

Somehow I convinced her for the Char Kadam.The most amazing Char Kadam of my life.I will savour it all my life.

I wished the Char Kadam never ended. But it was supposed to end.I prayed her train never came. But it had to come.I hoped to stay in touch with her. But it wasn't destined to happen.I dialed her number but she had no currency. The call didn't get connected.As soon as her train left, I ran to a mobile shop outside the railway station to get her phone recharged

Crash...Oh shit...how did this glass fall down..."Maanvi please send a cleaner to my cabin. A glass broke" I instructed my PA over the intercom.

I did not realise when the help arrived and cleaned the shreds of the broken glass. I was lost in My Anamik's thoughts.

Why am I feeling so restless? Why do I feel this incredible pain in my heart?Does she remember me?Does she miss me?Mechanically my hands reached for my phone and dialed the Favorited number on my phoneAnamika"Hello" her voice sounded like music to my ears.

"Hello" I said nervously. Will she recognise me?"Koun?" she doesn't recognise me. Did she forget me?"Itni jaldi bhool gayi Anamika?"She didn't reply. Doesn't she want to talk to me?"Sorry wrong number. Yahan koi Anamika nahi rehti"Did she just say that!?