Love in a Time lane

I am standing here in the drizzle, waiting for her. I zipped my jacket and clutched it close, the wet red roses even closer. I dipped my hand to the inner pocket of my jacket, fumbled with the cigarette pack, and extracted one. While still struggling to find the lighter, I glanced at my watch. 15 minutes more. Though I consider punctuality as a virtue, I was never successful in adopting it as an idiosyncrasy. And here was I today, full 15 minutes earlier.

I was finally able to light the cigarette. I inhaled the lungful of smoke. It wasn't the first; but it was surely one of those very few times in my life, when I have been nervous. I could feel the time slowing down, eventually stopping. I could see each rain drop slowly sailing through the air, falling to the eternity, before hitting the ground. I was happy.

The exhaled cigarette smoke hung in the wet air, blurring my vision. This helped me in boarding the train of my thoughts to the past.

She worked with me. I haven't known her for ages, but unless I make a conscious effort to realize this fact, my wretched memory makes me feel the opposite. What I mean to say is, I feel that I have known her since ages. She is very pretty. I am not very good at describing beauty in words, considering the fact that unlike her I never prepared for GMAT or GRE. Of course, I am planning to do so in the near future, but till then, I can only say, she is very pretty. Ok, to be a little more poetic, let me say she is as pretty as an angel.

I was never a sucker for beauty. To me, the sense of humor, the presence of wit, the courage to withstand your decisions and some grey matter in the top floor always mattered more. And slowly as I came to know her, I found she has ample of all these. This made my feelings for her even more dense and viscous.

Finally one day after praying to all my idol superheroes, including Batman & Superman, (P.S - I have been a die hard fan of Superman, since childhood, however the Hollywood movies they make, do no justice to my favorite superhero) I gathered enough courage to ask her out for a coffee. And the mistake which I committed in dutch courage brings us to my present situation. Needless to say I was very nervous, and had cold feet; of course the weather was also playing some part in this.

A bright 'Hi' from the familiar voice, snapped me back from the heavens of my thoughts and dumped me in the chilly reality of today. She was looking Beautiful (Please notice the capital B). She gave me her all time, to die for smile, and ordered a cappuccino. I glanced through the menu, and then asked for the same. I didn’t wanted to take any chances today, even if it meant sacrificing my regular Espresso.

I gave her the Roses.

"Oh they are Lovely" She said.
'Not as lovely as you look'; my heart was screaming, but fortunately my mouth has a habit of malfunctioning on such occasions.

We got talking, regular things ...Some of them quite boring. I consciously stopped my self from bringing up any topic which had the slightest technical angle, knowing that she hated all computer talks. In midst of Coffee, I blurted out what I felt for her. I was waiting for her reply, expectantly. That was the last thing I remember.

I glanced at my watch again, and realized that it was close to half an hour since she had left. I fumbled in my inner jacket pocket once again, and lighted up the cigarette. I crammed my hands deeper in the pockets, and asked for an Espresso, from the passing waiter. A drop of rain grazed my eye, rolled down my cheek and hit the pavement below.

She had refused in a polite but very firm manner. She was seeing some one. What could I say to that? She had offered me her friendship as a token of 'no hard feelings'. I had smiled and said nothing. She was sympathetic. "You will forget me with time. Time heals everything. Just remember Time is a great healer".

The waiter bought the espresso. I placed the change on the table, and got up. I gulped my espresso, and threw the cup in a bin. I may have been a familiar customer to the waiter. The coffee was extra strong, which made it all the more bitter. 'Appropriate', I thought. Suddenly a thought occurred to me; this was the second occasion when time was stopping for me in a single day.

I got up and started walking. The rain drops making a beautiful noise as they plattered on the cobblestones. I was still cursing the time. Only if it had stopped before, so that I could be the guy she was seeing. But then again, would it have changed anything?

P.S - The writing style of this story is inspired by a book called "Einstein dreams" by Alan Lightman. Its a nice book, worth reading.

P.P.S - The motive of writing this story, is to be decided by the subjects of the story :))