First time they saw each other at the metro platform, waiting for the train. He worked in a press & she, a salesgirl in a jewelry showroom. It was 9 am in the morning & as usual the rush hour. As the train doors opened, crowd gushed toward the train
Unlike other days when she carried a handbag, she had with her a packed painting for the showroom she worked with. Walking fast towards the train, her left foot got twisted & she fell. He was standing next to her. Before she could get up & gather her things, train had left
To her amusement, the boy whom she was while waiting was still there helping her. She smiled & thanked him. That evening coming back from his factory, he bought a branded perfume for the first time in his life
Unlike other days, before going to the bed, she was not chatting with her friends over the phone. Her heart was pondering fast & she was unable to forget him & his simplicity, his smile. Next morning he reached at the metro station at half past eight in the morning
Not that he never spoke with any girl in the past or she was never proposed by any boy but this time love was budding and the fragrance was in the air around them. She too never wanted to miss the 9 am train, reached much before 9
As he saw her approaching the platform, his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to waive at her but pretended to be decent and waited patiently. She too was looking all over to find him and when their eyes met, she felt her heart jumping out of mouth, blood in her veins running fast
Looking at her, he smiled. She smiled back and lowered her eyes. As she stood close to him, he was almost shivering with the never experienced before extreme ecstasy, excitement & exuberance but still didn't have enough courage to initiate a conversation
And as the girls are generally more confident than the boys in such matters in particular, she quietly said "Hi, thanks for your help yesterday". He, almost trembling, took a few seconds to grasp and respond before saying "Yes, it happens sometimes"
Immediately after, she asked him if he works. Normalcy was slowly returning but the level of joyful anxiety was still at the peak. This was an expected question & he promptly answered "Yes, I work in a press, I'm a technician"
It was obviously his turn & he asked her the same question, "I work in a jewelry showroom as a salesgirl". There comes in every man's life one or more occasions when he finds the woman he is infatuated with or fallen in love with, the most beautiful woman in the entire world
It was that moment for him when she appeared to him the most beautiful girl of this universe. And while he was shyly smiling, she asked him his name, "Gautum", he said. "What's your name", he asked her. "Fatima", she said
Ever since Gautum has not gone near that metro station, hasn't traveled by metro. He has bought a second hand Honda bike on installments, rides the bike wearing a full face helmet with dark black glass covering his face
