She was slender, but not thin, had no make-up on, and her
hair was let down, but looked like it could use a little combing. She had her
earphones on. If you observed her for long enough, you would see her right foot
tap occasionally to some beat that only she could hear. Slowly, but deliberately,
she walked up and said, “One McFlurry Oreo Crunch, please!”, and handed the woman
at the counter a hundred rupee note. She was in no hurry to collect her change,
taking her time to neatly arrange the bills and coins in their respective
compartments, in her purse. While she waited at the next counter for the man to
make and hand her the ice cream, her right foot tapped once again to that secret
beat. Once she saw the ice cream, impatience got the better of her and the
spoon was in her mouth before she took another step. Savoring the bite, she put
her dangling left earphone back on, spent a swift few seconds checking that all
her belongings were secured in place, and stepped out of the bustling food
court to begin her solitary stroll once again, ice cream in hand, slowing down
every now and again, for barely a fraction of a second, to make sure she wasn’t
stepping in something unpleasant.
So ignorant was she of the people around her, that she didn’t
notice the man watching her. He had had his eyes on her ever since she had
sauntered into the food court. All throughout the time she had spent mulling
over the menu, thinking of what to choose, he had watched her. He had watched
her as she had bent to pick up her fallen ID card, watched as she swept her
hair off her face to neatly tuck it behind her ear. He had watched her as she had
smiled at the woman after placing her order – a small smile; the kind that was
given without the realization that it was given. He watched as she toyed with
one end of her dupatta, plucking at the beeds hanging from it, while she waited
for the man to hand her the cup of ice cream. He had watched her pause and
glance all around her once, to check if she had left something lying around,
before traipsing back out through the exit. He then decided to act. Quickly, he
wrapped his sandwich in some tissues, and ran out. A few seconds of trotting
passed before he was beside her. She remained completely unaware of him, and
strolled on, immersed in the simple pleasures of her ice cream and silent melodies,
until he decided to walk ahead, turn around and say “Hi”. He was loud enough
that she heard him. She unplugged the earphone from one ear and, for a fraction
of a moment, she felt disoriented, owing to the jarring noise of the adjacent
traffic. Once her auditory senses were adjusted, she looked at this strange new
man who stood smiling at her, sandwich in hand. Not knowing what else to say, “Hi..”
she said. Although, it came out more like a question than a greeting. “Hi”, he
said again, grinning this time. She didn’t want to seem rude, but it had to be
asked, so she asked, “Uhm..do I know you?”; ending it with that small smile
again, this time perhaps, self-aware. Without missing a beat, he replied, “No.
But, I’d like to change that.”, and smiled again.
By that time, however, she had wizened-up. She knew where
this was going, and it was the last place she needed to be. So she smiled
again, for longer this time, as she didn’t want to seem impolite, but wanted to
be firm nonetheless. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.” she told him, half
expecting that he wouldn’t let it go that easily. But, he surprised her with an
“Alright, thanks”, and they both went their separate ways. A few moments later,
while she kept walking on the path home, she smiled again. This time, because
she was flattered, and because what had happened, had reminded her of a song...
“Did you want me to change?
Well, I’ll changed for good.
And I want you to know
That you’ll always get your way.
I wanted to say,
Don’t you shiver…”
~ Coldplay
