THE BUS STAND
It all began two years ago, when I saw him for the first time at the very same bus stand. Spring was ending and the trees along the road were of any colour but green. The sidewalks were covered with colourful bands of shredded flowers. The subtle smell of jasmines filled the air. Jasmines were always my favourite and so were his, the boy standing just next to me. How did I know when I hadn’t even spoken to him? Because I could see the honest smile over his face as he breathed in the sweet scent of jasmines. His smile was infectious. It could bring bliss to even a stranger like me. He noticed me staring at him through the corner of his eyes. I felt my cheeks burn as I turned around on the other side in a swift move. The street was hushed, like always. We both heard the birds chirping as we waited for the bus. I took a few quick glances of him but couldn’t gather the courage to stare at him again.
The long wait ended at last, as I could see the bus arriving from the end of the street. As I stood up, I saw him moving forward. He got onto the bus and I followed him. Unknowingly, I had a smile on my face, for what, even I don’t know but what I know is... he looked at me through the window as I was getting on the bus. I adjusted myself on an empty seat while I hoped that he would come to me and ask, “Can I please sit here?” But that did not happen, and that was undeniably stupid of me to hope because the bus had only five people on board, including the two of us. Oh! I forgot to tell you where my destination was. I was heading to Richa’s house, my best friend since the time I could remember. Our exams were just over and I had tons of plans with Richa. Coming back to the boy who mesmerized me with just a smile, I glanced at him time and again and occasionally I could feel his gaze towards me as well. The bus arrived at my stop and I had to get down. The smile on my face had evaporated because I thought I would never see him again, I mean what are the chances? But silly me!
I shared everything with Richa, and she seemed ecstatic about the entire happening. She had this weird theory in her head that we were destined to meet and would surely bump into each other again. All the Bollywood movies had taken a toll over her. But only if I had trusted her instincts back then... I thought about a stranger the entire journey back home, for a stupid yet beautiful smile. How nitwit I might sound to you right now. But then I forced myself to sleep that night as I planned to pick Richa from her house the next day to visit my grandma. Grandma made amazing cookies and I could not imagine having them without Richa fighting with me to have my share.
The next day, I put on a sky blue dress with white frilled sleeves and a white silk ribbon running around the waist. As I stepped out of my house, I could feel the gentle breeze grazing my face. I walked to the bus stand and even though there was no logical reason but I expected to see him at the bus stand. Counter to my expectation, he was not there. I waited for the bus with a head drooping down. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Just when my hopes almost died, I heard a voice, both calm and grave, yet confident.
“Where are you heading to?” I looked up and oh boy! That smile had me again. I pulled myself up to frame a reply.
“To the Bourbon Street. What about you?” I asked. I really didn’t expect him to be so straightforward and to me, being the opposite, it was a great deal of matter.
“To the stop just after that”
“Gandhi Chowk?” I verified.
“Yes, I go there every weekend.” He confirmed. This seemed to be a valuable information to me. And slowly we engaged ourselves in a conversation. The awkwardness had faded. The bus arrived, and we both got up. Today I did not have to hope for him to sit beside me, because he already did, not breaking the continuity of our conversation. He might have not noticed it, but I was really happy. He had a charm which made me forget about everything. I could stare into his eyes all day long. They were like an abyss. Everything about him looked too perfect to be real. The bus was nearing my stop when he asked, “If you don’t mind, can we exchange our numbers? I would like to stay in touch with you” Well, I loved the idea even more. Now began the wait, wait for him to approach, a text or a call, even a missed call would do. Richa and I had the day well spent. And the cookies were as amazing as ever. We stayed at grandma’s that night. And I checked my phone every five minutes. Richa turned off the lights in the room when my phone brightened. I checked it quickly and yes, the wait was over.
“Hey! Sameer here. Did I disturb your sleep?” The message read.
“Not at all. In fact, I wasn’t even sleepy” I texted within few seconds. I might have looked desperate.
“That’s good then”
“Yeah, how was your day?” I asked.
“It was fine I guess, nothing different from the usual. What about you?”
“I had a great day at grandma’s today. Her cookies are unparallel and she’s fun to be around.”
“I have no doubts about it. I must try them as well”
I could feel butterflies in my stomach as the thought of meeting him again crossed my mind.
“Sure! I would love to share them with you.”
“Okay then that’s settled. By the way, are you free tomorrow? I know a great coffee shop near the bus stand. They have great hazelnut cookies. I could take you there if you want.”
“Why not? That would be a great idea. Anyway Richa has different plans tomorrow so I would’ve been bored to death”
“Great then, see you tomorrow at the bus stop at 6 p.m.”
“Alright, see you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night. Oh, and I forgot to tell you this in the morning, but you look pretty in blue. “
Oh my god! I was complemented many times before, but never have I felt the same.
The next morning I was all set to select the dress I would wear that evening and it had to be a blue one, the reason being obvious. I headed to the bus stand in the evening and saw him waiting for me already. As I approached him, I slowed down my pace. “Hey! How long have you been waiting?” I asked. “Not long, I arrived just a minute or two ago. You look gorgeous by the way.” I blushed heavily and tried to look away. “You don’t look bad yourself” I responded with a smirk. “Thanks! (With a subtle smile) So shall we go?”
“Yes, sure.”
We started walking and as we were busy talking with each other, I didn’t pay much attention to the car coming in great speed behind me. However, unlike me, he was in his senses. He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to his other side within no time. Just a second later, the car rushes past us and I was there, hanging onto him with my hands around his neck and slightly misbalanced. I felt that spark between us for the very first time. For a few seconds we did nothing but look into each other’s eyes. I could feel his muscles tense up as he clenched his jaws in nervousness. “Are you all right? You didn’t get hurt, right?”
“I am fine. Don’t worry.”
“Okay, be careful though.” He held my hands for the rest of our walk to the café. The café had the perfect lighting, neither too bright nor too dark. We chose the corner seats from where we could see the entire stretch of the street through the glass wall. He was focussing on the menu card when it started drizzling outside. The glass wall was now patterned with small water droplets dripping down the surface, almost as if they were racing against each other. It had set a perfect mood for our meeting. I knew he was gazing at me when I looked outside but I didn’t interrupt him, I let him savour the moment as I savoured mine. We spoke our hearts out that evening. And the cookies were really good, but not as good as my grandma’s. When we were about to leave it had already started pouring heavily. Fortunately, it was only me who carried an umbrella that evening. I might sound even more desperate now. But come on, I was just a teenager with some sweet fantasies. He hesitated at first, but gave in at the end. We were really close to each other, so close that I could hear his heart pounding. On the way to my home the raining stopped, but I still lent my umbrella to him just in case it rains again. Now again the wait began, waiting for him to confess his feelings for me. Everything was happening so fast. It felt unreal, but that’s exactly what I desired. I desired love that feels unreal and distinct from the conventional love. Days passed, and we kept meeting each other. We were getting to know each other better with each passing day.
In no time, the liking grew stronger, and it had turned into love. His smile could brighten up my mood and his sorrow could make my days gloomy. I grew dependent on him emotionally. And I knew my dependency was not good because I didn’t know if I was enough for him, if he had the same feelings for me. But now I had to get answers. I could not wait any longer, because this time the wait was too long to be painless. I wanted to call him and confront him about his feelings towards me but I was too apprehensive to do so, thoughts of rejection, losing him, not being able to see him ever again and thoughts of being alone engulfed me. But I had to do something and so did I. I wrote a letter to him, I expressed my feelings on that piece of paper. That paper was not enough to fit my affection, but it was all I got. I wrote the letter in the best handwriting possible, not that it would make any difference to his feelings, but I just wanted to give my best. I gave it to him that evening when we met at the Rainbow café, yes it is the same café he took me to on our first date. But I didn’t allow him to open it. He must have seen the uncertainty in my eyes.
“Is everything all right?” He asked.
“Yes” I replied as I sighed.
“Okay… come on I will drop you home, it is late now.”
To my surprise, he had brought his bike that evening. He seldom rides a bike. It had been over a year and I had seen him riding his bike only twice or maybe thrice. I wondered what was special that evening that he had brought his bike. I sat behind him and it felt weird at first to hold him by his waist or even his shoulders. So I just grabbed his shirt from the sides. Suddenly he pressed the brakes as there was a puppy crossing the road and I crashed against his back. And without even knowing I was holding him tight by his waist. But strangely enough, I felt at ease. And I could see a smile on his face in the rear-view mirror. I rested my head on his shoulder for the rest of the ride. As I was entering my house and he was waiting at the end of the gate, I turned around one last time and told him, “Don’t forget about the letter.” And I rushed to my room upstairs. I couldn’t sleep that night. My apprehensions did not let me. I kept turning over, gazed at the clear sky outside the window and asked myself, “Will he accept my love or will he forget me as a mistake?” I didn’t realise when my eyes became heavy and they simply closed.
The next morning, I woke up thinking to myself that this might be the best day of my life or it might as well be the opposite, still unaware of what was in store for me. In the letter, I asked him to meet me at the bus stand if he had the same feelings towards me as I did. I mentioned that I’ll be waiting for him at sharp 10 a.m. Even though he was a pretty face, I never urged seeing him this badly. But this time, it was different. It was about the acceptance which I longed for and my first love. I put on the blue dress which I wore to Rainbow café on the first day. I was ready to set forth.
I reached the bus stand and rushed my eyes over the place to catch a glimpse of him, but there was no sight of him. I was a bit disappointed but then I thought to myself, has he ever arrived on time? And I chuckled, lost in my own assumptions. I waited, it seems I’m always waiting for him. But that day, each second felt like hours. I waited for years, for what it seemed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Tears traced their way down. My fear turned into reality. I did not get the love I desired. The story was meant to be incomplete, is what I felt. I returned home feeling shattered and I could still feel his presence around me. His voice was clear in my head and his smell still persisted. I felt I was surrounded by him, but only in my imagination. You might ask me why I didn’t call him. I didn’t have the courage to. I cried for days and started hating the bus stand, blue was no longer my favourite colour and I hated the cookies in Rainbow café. I started hating everything but him. His eyes were still that beautiful to me, and his smile was as charismatic as before. But I knew I had to hate him in order to forget him. Again the wait begins, waiting for love to turn into hatred. I lost the reason to smile.
After a few months, I was passing by the bus stand, and as always I took notice of the bus stand. I passed by the bus stand every day and there hadn’t been a single day when I didn’t expect to see him sitting there even though I didn’t really wish to see him ever again, not because I hated him but I was embarrassed to face him. I could never turn the love into hatred. But that day changed my life forever. Yes, I saw him, but not in the condition I would ever want to. He had a bandage around his forehead and was sitting in a wheelchair with a face devoid of joy. My heart broke into a million pieces and I couldn’t hold back my tears. I walked to him as he slowly raised his eyes to see me standing before him. He was shocked to see me. He tried to stand up, but he couldn’t. He had an expression of helplessness on his face. Sameer had his sister helping him. I kneeled down and asked him in exhilaration, “What happened to you? Where have you been? How did this happen?” I felt the world falling apart.
“That night when I dropped you, while returning home I had an accident. A car hit me from behind. The next thing I remember is, I was lying on the hospital bed and I had lost the letter you gave me, as the hospital staff disposed of my clothes along with that letter. I tried to call you many times but couldn’t reach you. And they wouldn’t allow me to go outside.” he said as he looked towards his sister, “Today is the first day I came out of my house.”
“You are such a fool! I hate you so much! I thought…” and I burst into tears as I hugged him tight. “Don’t worry you will be all right, I’ll make sure you do,” I assured him.
“With you, I know I will” we smiled at each other.
“Can you write me the letter again?” he asked, expecting me to say yes.
“Of course I can!” I exclaimed. “I will visit your house this evening and I will give you the letter along with my grandma’s cookies” I said.
“That’s great! It feels like I got back my life,” he gave a sigh of relive.
I wrote the letter again with the same amount of effort, but this time I did not have the fear of rejection. However, I was really nervous. I went to his house and handed the letter to him in a basket full of cookies. He looked at me and gave a warm smile. That smile was enough to mend my heart. He asked me to stay, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to raise my hopes for nothing.
The next morning, I seemed to love blue colour again. I put it on one more time, it might be the last time. I do my hair and make sure I am at my best. I leave the house expecting him to be there at the bus stand sharp at 10 am. I was reliving the moment. But my worries were less. What for? I don’t know.
I reached the end of the street and turned my head to look at the bus stand. The long wait was finally over. There he was waiting for me at the bus stand to accept my love and to hold me in his arms and whisper into my ears those words which I craved to hear “I love you” .
My story was complete at last.
Comment down your suggestions or requests for upcoming stories. We would really appreciate your support and feedback!
ReplyDeleteHeart warming!
ReplyDeleteThat was so beautiful Narration
ReplyDelete