The Confession!

An hour and 45 more problems to go. "A Piece of cake", he thought to himself. He finished the test in time, albeit guessing three problems on the go. An otherwise social person, locking himself up in his room was a habit while he studied or did any important work. The clock struck an 8:30 pm on a formerly lazy Saturday evening.

These days, it was getting difficult for him to curb the anticipation of receiving a message or a phone call from this certain someone. He checked the phone to find 18 whatsapp messages on a family group, one reminder to pay the internet bill and a text message on 'Free car loans'. Nothing from her. Slightly disappointed, he turned to make himself some Maggi noodles for dinner. The cook had bunked today, fourth day in a row.  An episode of Modern Family ensued an hour later and a familiar ringtone jolted him to life.

"Want to get some Haagen-Dazs post dinner?". His lips said a 'Yes!" before he typed a forcibly-nonchalant "Well, sure" and agreed to meet in half an hour.

They both liked the same kind of songs. Well, almost. He would always be DJ on their drives together, sometimes forcing her to listen to songs she may not necessarily like. She would act grumpy but listen to them anyway, with a smile stifled in her eyes. It had been two months since they met at the Tennis Coaching Classes but only a couple of weeks since they actually 'met' elsewhere, informally. 

"Two scoops of Mango please", she ordered, waiting for him to pick. "Tender coconut. Make that a cone." He wasn't a fan of ice creams to say the least. It was her. It was her company that made him want the ice cream on a freezing winter night.

She turned up the heat in the car, noticing that he was cold yet not complaining. Initially, they ate in silence, intermittently looking at one another, speaking a bit and then pausing again. He could tell that she was nervous from the way she would clasp her hands together before having a serious conversation with him. She was having butterflies in her stomach for what she was about to tell him. She took a deep long breath, gazed him in the eye and finally said it.   

"I'd prefer to be blunt with you. I would be lying if I denied this untapped chemistry between us and I'd definitely like to get to know you better. This may be too soon, or not. Too much, or not. You don’t have to answer anything right now but I assure you that, you and I, 'Us'… is worth it."

As happy as he was, was partially surprised and more so impressed by her honest demeanor.  He looked at her for a minute, agape, not knowing what to say. He was waiting to hear this and now when she did say it all, he had frozen in time. She reached out to hold his hand and a sudden warmth, like never before, spread into his body. She undid her seat belt. A hug broke the ice in an instant and he was back to his senses. Neither of them wanted to let go.

  

Tucked into his bed, he picked up the phone to text her before he slept.

"Hey,
I had a great time today. Thanks…for everything"

"Hey, my pleasure. And likewise. So… if you want to talk about this later, we could"

"Well, I think we are on the same page now :)"

"I think so too.

Strong enough to stand alone, Different enough to stand apart, But wise enough to stand together. That's us.

Good night :)"

Carpe Diem!

You know what they say about life

Sometimes, life is one helluva roller coaster ride. On other occasions, a period of lull with nothing noteworthy instilling a feeling of stagnation. Troubled times feel like a bereft chapter from the book of life that we wish to get over with. Through all the highs and lows and the trials and tribulations, we pick up a lesson or two en route, which stay with us for the years to come. 
Here's reiterating a few etched into my psyche.

I've learnt to ignore the unimportant and value what really matters. I've learnt to let go, to not trust too blindly, to not fret over things beyond my control, to never give up, to be blunt and speak my mind, to differentiate between cost and worth, to not judge too quickly, to find happiness in the smallest of things, to acknowledge and appreciate a simple good gesture by someone else, to use my mistakes and failures as a lesson and to forgive and forget. I've realized that life is and will be unfair but that the metaphorical 'Karma' is for real. I've seen friends become complete strangers and strangers become more than just friends.

Nothing holds us back more than our own fears and insecurities. So, take that leap of faith; take that chance. The best things most usually happen to us when we least expect them to. Believe in the decisions you take, that would make them right in themselves.

Sign off each day with better hopes for what comes next,

And remember to Carpe the hell out of that one!