Friday, February 24, 2017

Goddess of spring

Goddess of spring
The first time I saw her I only noticed her laugh. She had the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard and at that moment I felt that it was the kind of laugh I wanted to hear for the rest of my life. I saw her in Viharamahadevi park. A group of girls that I guessed to be her friend were all listening intently to what she was saying. Her expressions were beautiful and had a grace that magnified her beauty. I could not help noticing that she had the most glorious shinning eyes. It was so happy and fresh, that I felt the vibe of her ecstasy bringing a breeze to my soul.
 My idiot friend pulled me to show the boring plan that he had been droning about for the past few hours so I turned my attention to him for a few minutes. When I was too tired with his nonsense I turned my head to look at the goddess of spring few feet away from me and I was extremely shocked with the result. SHE WAS NOT THERE! I turned to the fiend that I call a friend with a snarl and said, “You know what you idiot? All your stupid plan sucks. Throw it in the bin and come up with something fresh and breezy.” Fresh and breezy? What am I talking about? Urgh I’m messed up today. So I turned to my sulking friend and said, “Look Nimal this plan for the project is not going to work. It’s not what our boss expects. He wants to combine the technology to our new project. So let’s think of making this system work mostly with cloud computing or something much more easily accessible. Okay buddy?” I can see Nimal relax so I leave him to enjoy my weekend in my lonely style.
It was around 5.15 p.m. when I reached the independence square for my evening jog. I parked my car near the Arcade and took a stroll to the square.
 I should say that I had completely forgotten about the goddess due to the pressure in the mind but when I saw her again in Arcade I was determined to go up and get a close view of her. Well I know I do sound creepy but I wasn’t in a state to control my thoughts. So I took a couple of steps but it seemed like the gang had changed their plan and they left. As I was not a real stalker I left the place and retraced my steps to the square to take my jog. I went around six laps around the park and I knew I was all sweaty and reeked to high heavens. But come on, most of them in the park were in my state too and I was not in a mood to muse over olfactory welfare.
So I slumped on a stair and watched the people jogging, walking and running in the lamp lit darkness. I startled when I heard a commanding girl voice say, “Can you move out of the way?” “No please, no excuse me, no would you mind, the attitude of this girl!” was the first thought that came to my mind before I rise and make space. After I shot up I noticed the commander in fact was the goddess I had just started to think about. A smile slowly crawled over my face when I re-played the co-incidence or the work of cupid that had brought us close three times in one day. I shook my head when I realized that I was bringing cupid into the story and said quite aloud “Co-incidence, definitely co-incidence.”
Suddenly the goddess turned and smiled at me. “Woaahhh”, was all that escaped my mouth, when I thought that she too had seen me but she decided to spoil it all. For she turned to her friends with a “That guy is speaking to himself, must have escaped from some asylum.” It added oil to my already blazing fire and I thought “Yes an asylum I call an office.” That was the end of our co-incidences and I never got to see her because my work consumed me up completely.
After three weeks I had a meeting with one of my college buddy in the China Town restaurant. It was just a catching up for past time’s sake but the idiot took a long time to come. It had already been fifteen minutes since I came here and the aroma in the air was not helping the situation either. So I swore to myself that I would make my order if that bull takes any longer. When I was impatiently waiting and checking out the customers my eyes stopped a table near the window facing the beach.

It’s the goddess, I was determined to know her name. For calling her goddess made me feel archaic though it suited her very well. But something was wrong about her countenance today and that was when I noticed that she too had been waiting and that too with a single rose in her lap and sad eyes on her face. That evoked my doubt, “Is she really waiting or has anyone proposed to her?” That idea brought something heavy to my heart that astonished me too.
My phone suddenly vibrated from my jacket pocket and I saw that it was the punctual friend whom I was expecting.” “Where the hell are you, you dumb bull?” “Calm down man, my girlfriend suddenly called me and wanted to hangout. I can’t turn down that or I’d have to face consequences. Please understand machan.” He begged. I did not understand what these bossy girls wanted from their boys. Always messing with their plans. Well at least I’m single, free and happy. So I took pity on him and said that we’d meet another day.
I put my phone back in my jeans pocket and was ready to make my order but then I noticed a streak of tears running through my goddess’s cheeks. “My goddess? Where are you going on with this Eshan?” asked my brain but it also noticed a family with a sleeping baby on the shoulder of the father waiting for a table near her. So I got up from my table and smiled at them signaling that they could have the table. The couple smiled their thanks and took the table. I was really very hungry so I decided to have my dinner and so made a plan in mind.
“Hi godde… I mean I came here to get my dinner but as that family over there waited for a table with that baby in hand I gave them my table. Would you mind if I join you. I am really hungry right now and there’s no tables around and you seem to be alone too.” Puff, I said it didn’t I? I really made it. The goddess gave a look over me a couple of times and shook her head and showed her hand towards the chair opposite her. I sat there with a thank you and a smile but she just continued to ignore me along with her corn soup that seemed to have turned cold now and looked out of the window. I felt like I was slapped right through my face but my brain said, “You asked for it bro!” So I made my order and waited till it came.
It did come finally. The steaming saucy oodles with devilled prawns and crab along with the steaming corn soup made my mouth water and told me that the wait was worth it. I started dishing out the plate while moaning forgetting that there was a goddess in front of me. “Humph… these men”, she said with a shake of her head that made me raise my eyes to her and suddenly I felt disgusted for not having my table manners. She too saw this and her face changed and she started “Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean you. It’s just that I had been waiting for this boyfriend of mine to come as we planned but he left me out again without any explanation.” She explained with a shrug and a dab of her hanky to her eyes. “Oh! This would have been how Roshan’s girlfriend would have looked had he dined with me. Thanks to me she escaped it”, I mused.
The goddess saw that I was just chewing while staring at her without reacting. So she returned her gaze back to the window. “So this is not the first time is it?” I know I startled her with that question but I decided to play this game in a monotonous tone and style. For I really wanted to help her out and I knew that if I get all caring and consoling in her emotional state she wouldn’t be encouraged to speak up.
She looked at me for a some seconds and shook her head with an “Eleventh.” “Are you kidding me lady?” was what I wanted to ask but I did not blurt it out, instead just shook my head understandingly. “I know I look crazy but I really love him that I can’t accept the fact that he’s not interested in me anymore though I comprehend it.” That bloody idiot is going to cry for rest of his life having lost a girl who really cares for him. “Did you speak about this to him?” She shook her head and answered her no. This brain of yours needs some shaking lady!
“Okay , don’t mind me but can I tell you something?” I asked her. Like she understood what came next she was about to rise up but I stopped her with a signal. “Listen, being a guy I understand the mentality of guys better than girls. So just listen in patience and then you can do what you want I won’t stop you. If this guy had walked out on you more than five times without giving you any solid reason it’s high time you understand that you can’t make it work single handedly” She froze in her place so I continued ,“Furthermore I think that moving on in life would take you to the right person who would cherish you for what you are. Also understand that if you underestimate your value and wanna anchor your whole life in a place where it’s not recognized you’re gonna make your life a living hell.” With that I stopped and looked at her to see her reaction.
She smiled at me and I also noticed a clearness in her face. She ate the cold soup in a hurry after asking the waiter to bring her bill all the while I was staring at her shocked. For she looked like the goddess of gloom some minutes ago and now in a spur of moments she’s back with the vigour of the goddess of spring. This lady really is a Sudoku. Her bill came, she paid with a generous tip for the waiter who had not been of much use and left the table. That attitude again! Not a thank you, no good bye and no not even a simple smile of courtesy.
A sudden “My name is Akshara. Thank you and you startle a lot!” did startle me. She left the restaurant with that and that was when my tortoise brain fired up. “You startle a lot?” So she did remember me as the guy out from the asylum? Oh, why cupid? Why me? With that I rushed out of the restaurant and searched for my goddess but unlike the movies in reality love at fourth sight never works out easily and she wasn’t there. “Aksh-ara”, I tasted her name and smiled with the feeling that “Goddess” suited her best. For as much as she looked like one she had the attitude of one too. I went back into the restaurant smiling like an idiot. For I was sure that cupid would not leave his work unfinished and most of all I had complete trust in my hacking talents. “I’m a network engineer baby. I’m sure I’ll find you”, I confessed to the air she breathed and opened the door of my car to go home to start on my current most mysterious and interesting project I had ever done in my life.

Author:- Badurdeen Fathima Ayesha


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