He removed his Ray-Ban aviators and looked keenly as he spotted a lady walk past him and run down the stairs. His bluish shirt which he had paired with faded denim enhanced his milky-white complexion all the more. It was a sunny morning and he could not see the face properly. But somehow he felt a strange familiarity, the scent in the air seemed a little intimate.
“Was it her? But here!”He thought to himself.
He walked towards HR and enquired about her.
“Sikha Mishra, Creative lead, signed the joining letter just now. She joins work this Monday.”
He walked into his cabin and sat on his chair with his eyes closed, yet he could see everything clearly!
****
I saw her standing on the highway in the dead of the night. She looked ethereal even with her disheveled hair, her Kajal smudged all over her almost teary eyes. Something within me shifted and I put my foot on the break. She looked into my eyes and said nothing. I unlocked the door of my car and she rushed inside as if she was in desperate need of it. I looked at her confused unable to decide what should I ask her. And then before I could ask her where she needed to be dropped, I saw her turn towards me and ask me to drive her to some safe place quickly.
‘How could a girl trust someone so easily and what is with her in lehenga and choli?’ I had wondered but did as she wanted me to do. She probably had a spell on me the first time I saw her.
“Is it okay for you to spend the rest of the night at my place? I promise it will be safe for you. I stay alone by the way.”
I remember informing her and seeking her permission in one go.
“Can I trust you on this?” She had asked me.
“Of course. I won’t break your trust.”
“Promise !!” She had exclaimed and laughed out so loudly that eventually I was taken aback. Then I notice some tears well up in her wide eyes. Her messy hair somehow had a magic spell on me. She looked sassy, angry, innocent, lost, and determined to find her path in that look. I had never seen a girl like this before and there was an invisible string that kept pulling me toward this stranger that I had met a few minutes back.
I kept quiet and drove straight to my apartment. We ordered food and I could sense that she was famished from the way she shoved morsels of food into her mouth.
She checked my apartment on her own as if she owned the place. And then she changed into one of my T-shirts that was huge for her. It reached below her thighs. She looked sexy and almost drove me crazy. I requested her to sleep on my bed. And only I know, how I had resisted myself when all I wanted was to undress the sleeping beauty and make love to her, probably plant a kiss on every scar that had made her this helpless! But the gentleman in me had urged me to keep my urge under check and as I was switching off the lights of the room before leaving the room.
I heard a sleepy voice announce, “Please do not forget to close the door, Sir. I can not sleep properly when it is open. And I just eloped from my own marriage! So you are free to think anything about me.”
I turned around in shock. I could not believe my ears. I wanted to know it all but then this was not the right time. I could only manage to say,“ I am Manav. Manav Awasthi. Please call me by my name. No need to call me Sir! Let us connect tomorrow morning. You sleep well.”
“Sikha Mishra, here. Yeah, tomorrow is good. Goodnight.” She said.
****
Manav Awasthi opened his eyes in his cabin. everything was so fresh in his memories, her smile, her tears, the scent of her presence, her messy hair ! Everything!
‘Yes, Sikha, after all these years! We have to talk. We have to talk someday for sure!‘Manav thought to himself as he brought himself back to the present and tried very hard to focus on his emails on the laptop.
PS: To be continued.
This blog post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z2023
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Love,
Chinmayee
Chinmayee's Creations 
Ran from her marriage?! Whoa, Sikha has a dramatic past it seems
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Sikha is a chhupa rustom! She ran away from marriage!!
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That was a revelation! Waiting for further details!
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