Jai Kapadia

There were many times I had imagined this day. The day when I would open the door of my car and let my hand out to Mitali, who would smile at me warmly and take it, her soft and small fingers fitting in perfectly in my large ones, as we would make my way towards our first date.

And now with this day finally here, I couldn't even feel anymore thankful and happy to the almighty.

"I couldn't think of any better place than this, just come with me you will know." I said and smiled at Mitali who just rolled her eyes at me and said,

"Did I complain?" and that was that. It wasn't required of me to be all that concerned what was it that would be needed to look best in Mitali's book. I smiled at her as we walked inside the building.

I was sure she had been here many times, the last time that she was here, I am sure wouldn't had been the best, and it was surely confirmed the way she blushed as soon as she walked inside the elevator and fiddled with her fingers.

The ride to the 15th floor seemed a bit weird, it wasn't uncomfortable, it was just that the two of us were still reminiscing the day when she had barged into my cabin fully drenched and her cheeks flushed with anger.

That was the time when this girl had made me almost die in shock, I loved how she didn't cover from showing the dirty side of her to me as well. Though I was aware what was her ulterior motives, but it only made me more fascinated about her.

As the bell of the elevator rang, we walked out towards the destination. The lights of the floor were dim, with most of the people gone, I was sure there would be hardly anyone in here now. I opened the door for her and let her walk in, this time in a much decent manner.

And as she passed me, it was quite difficult to not notice the gasp that left her lips, a smile automatically appeared on my face, I knew she would like it...

She had to.

"I see you like this." I asked, as she moved around, the lights that were turned almost dim, helped the beauty that lay below us to reflect on her face as she walked closer to the window.

"Today I could have taken you anywhere, there were many places that were even beautiful than this, but you wanted to know me... and this is the place where you could know me the best. Ask me whatever it is that you want to know." I said and walked towards her, as she gazed down.

The queens' necklace that was studied with the diamond like streetlights twinkled and sparkled onto the window in such a beautiful manner. The car and people that waltzed downstairs would make you feel as if you were in the air, this building... my office was meant to feel something like this.

But more than that, this was the place that help me be me!

"so you love your work." It wasn't a question, or a statement... it was an understanding. I could see the way Mitali tried to breath in and out, she looked calmed, but it only made me wonder what it was that she was thinking.

"I do." I breathed out, my voice sounded so scared, as if I had walked a hill top in just those few seconds after she had asked me the question.

It made me wonder why it really made me scared.

But as she turned around, her face glowing due to the hue of light that fell on her face and the bright smile on her lips, I felt even more breathless.

She was a beauty.

"Even I love it, the best part, when it is me who select all those paintings, curate a theme and then when someone comes and says ' it was such a beautiful theme and work... we loved it.' That's the best part of the day." Mitali smiled at me as she than began to explore the room.

She would stop at something that would seem interesting to her look at it and than once again walk ahead. It was as if she was that beautiful deer in the woods who was on its own spree, with nothing in the world to be worried about.

As she neared the book shelf that was kept in one corner, I walked towards her and stood beside her as she raced her gaze from one end to the other.

"you even read books, I thought it was just Veer."

An involuntary laugh escaped lips, veer and reading seemed as if she was saying a Brahmin was eating chicken.

"Veer never reads, he was there to get this for me." I took out the set of books that Veer had got for me, and chuckled at the way her mouth fell open.

"And that idiotic prince made me feel guilty." Her lips fell into a cue little pout which I so much wanted to dissolve with a kiss.

"it's his thing, when he would do something that would end him into trouble he would compensate for it, for me he will get books, for Naveen it would be the latest video game and for Daksh some kind of painting."

"Paintings aren't of just some kind." Her eyes narrowed in a possessive manner as she tried to act scary, as the time ticked by her lips as well as mine turned into a full blown laughter.

That night we talked, she would ask me questions, I would answer. She would smile I would keep on looking at her, how she would scrunch her nose right before snickering or how her finger would end up to push the nonexistent hair of hers behind her ears before she would ask a question.

She was the most beautiful woman in my eyes.

Everything about her pulled me towards her in such a manner that the thought of departing from her gave a pain in my chest, while the hope of a lifetime together and her one smile would burst my chest with happiness.

****

Mitali Jain

The worst thing in the dark silence of the night is the loud click of the clock. It has always been the loudest whenever you would want to sneak in.

As I turned the knob of the main door and walked inside the house, my eyes went up to the clock in our leaving room. It was almost 12:00 at night, and though mom and dad would be asleep, assured that I was with Jai, I was sure my brother would be up like that of those vampires ready to suck each and every drop of blood from inside me.

As I tip toed to my room, with my success right at a distance of a centimeter, I heard him calling out to me.

"Come sit here with me Mitali." Naveen said, as he sat in the same place where few nights back I and dad had sat and had that heart to heart talk.

"You haven't slept yet?" I asked, as I made myself comfortable beside him. And it was then that I saw the bottle of wine and a glass filled with the red colored drink.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to drink?" it annoyed me every time he would sit by himself, all alone, with a drink in his hand.

Many would think he is the reincarnation of 'dev das' the legendry character from movie dev das who was ditched by his childhood lover. But it was me who knew him well.

It was nothing like that; he just loved his solace too much to let it spend in a company with someone. The starry nights, a warm blanket, a piano cover playing in the corner and a perfectly chilled glass of wine or sometimes whiskey.

But the only worst thing would be that he would always loose the count of drinks that he had taken, and even though he had a high tolerance it worried me he might fall ill.

"I am glad he dropped you off in single piece, but it's late." And the best business man of the year as usual changed the topic in the most perfect manner.

"He is your friend, and you were the one who always played cupid." I taunted, only to hear him chuckle.

"Everyone plays some kind of cupid in someone's life, it's you who have to decided if you want to be played or not."

"You can't get all philosophical just like that, now spill it what is it?" the way he took a deep breath I realized this talk was really going to take a while. I pulled up the blanket and wrapped my legs into it and rested my head on his shoulder as he said,

"Did it go well?" he asked in a small voice. My brother had never been a person to express his emotions, but it had always been like this, he would always come and sit by my side and ask me the same question whenever I had been through something important in my life.

"Bhai, Jai is a very nice guy, he is understanding, admirable, and handsome... everything a girl would want in her life partner or someone for whom she would fall for. And at the same time he is prideful, bossy, competitive and most of all he is quite stubborn."

"but then, when I think of it, with his profession its needed that he should be the way he is. Everyone has some or the other flaws, he can't really open well with other quickly, while I can... and then there is still much more to him than what he shows."

I heard Naveen chuckling as he said, "Over a nights talk you got to know so much about him and yet you say that there is so much more to him?"

"Yes Bhai, I came to know about his habits, his likes and dislikes, I know he is a very family person... but I really don't know how he is as a man. May be that will take some time... one step at a time would be more great I think."

The two of us sat there in deep silence. I didn't know what my brother was thinking but I knew one thing which I had been contemplating from the time I had known Jai, there was one thing that was really amazing about Jai.

Jai was a good listener. He would listen to you calmly as if your words are the last one he is going to hear, he won't really judge you, he would just accept what you have to say, he would surely have a say or two... but there was one thing that still made me confused.

What was it that my Brother said to him that made him realize that he liked me. My brother's stories would have surely included his stupid little sister who was clumsy, crazy for paintings, our fights over small things, and I wasn't really that different and unique for someone to find me so interesting to develop feeling over my talk.

Jai was a good listener, but with the instances that he said he fell in love with me, I was scared, he as well had a habit of believing what people had to say as easily as the kid believed in the fairy tales.

"So I can conclude that you will be no longer requiring my chauffer services?" Naveen asked all of a sudden bringing me out of my thought.

"Why?"

"what do you mean why... you now have a boyfriend why would you want me to bring you anywhere?" the way he looked at me with those big shocked eyes would have made me always laugh if it wouldn't had been the fact that he mentioned me having a boy friend.

I rolled my eyes at his exasperation and stood up to leave, and said, "don't get your hopes high, we haven't reached that level in our relation...he still has to pop up the question."

"You really want to go the traditional way... damn I guess I forgot to mention that my sister was a sucker for perfect romance." I could hear the small voice of the liquid being filled in the glass once again. I turned around and said,

"No matter what we both like each other Bhai, but he has to go all the way, and please stop drinking I might need your services in my old age as well."

With that said I walked off to my bedroom as I heard him curse me to die soon, and something down the line how he should find another girl for jai.

And people say I have a great brother