Forever and for always (Beach tales)

It was getting darker by the minute. I walked along the sea shore, the waves gently touching my feet. I smiled. Nothing more to worry about. No nagging family.. No office work to keep me busy... No phone calls. Nothing. It was just me, and the sea. I liked it this way. Sometimes I felt that the sea was my only friend. I could sit all day long and soak up all the joys she could offer and yet she would expect nothing from me. Unconditional love. I felt all misty eyed all of a sudden. Plus I felt giddy, like the earth shook beneath me. I had to sit down somewhere.



The sandy beach shone under the moon. I plopped down on its velvetty surface, lost in thought . He suddenly appeared from nowhere taking me aback completely. He was mildly amused seeing me like this.



Brushing the hair that had fallen over my face aside, he asked me.."what is it my pet ? why so sad all of a sudden.. you know i hate seeing you like this"



I turned away with mild irritation.. "What are you doing here?"



He gave me a mock pout "I thought you'd be happy to see me"



I scowled and replied .."you know why i am like this..! its all your fault."



"Oh come on.. wont you forget the past?"



"If only you'd come..."



Now it was his turn to sigh .."you know.. there are lots of things I do wish had happened differently. One cant undo those things now, can they?"



"We could have made it happen... we could have.. if only you'd come".. I was angry and sad at the same time...I started crying..



"Shh shh.... dont cry now... I am here now, arent I?"



"Whats the point in you coming now" I cried out bitterly through tears.. "I have to go back.. to HIM!"



He took my hands and slowly wiped my tears.. " you dont have to" he whispered...



I looked up at him, mildly confused.."What do you mean?"





He looked at me with his watery deep eyes, eyes i'd die for, and said.."Remember, when we were together, those days...." his voice trailed as he looked away at the sea..



I cocked my head and looked at him.



Turning back at me , he said .." Remember , I told you that my commitment to you is for life. I would never leave you .. EVER"..



"Yes.... "



" When your parents forced you to marry him, you assumed I'd left you"



"Well, you didnt come to rescue me...I.. I.. what could I do alone? you were not there for me at that time.. It was like.. my heart just broke to a thousand pieces.. and .. honestly I didnt know what was happening to me anymore"



"So, you thought I'd failed you.. you thought I broke that commitment didnt you?"



I shrugged..."What else could I think ... I tried calling off my wedding.. I pleaded with my mother, my father.. no one listended to me... "



"But you now know why I couldnt come, dont you?".. He looked squarely at my eyes.



"... No.."



"OK.. Lets start with you ..what happened that day?"



I took a deep breath.."Well on that day, as we'd planned, I had all my stuff packed. I was to go to the wedding hall with my family. I sat through the initial rituals and when it was time to go back inside my room to change my saree, I asked for some time alone inside, changed into my salwar and called my friend who was to help me sneak out through that little passage we had already planned I was to get out through."



"Um.. hmm"



"Everything went brilliantly as per plan, I sneaked out and waited for you. You were to come there exactly at that time and whisk me away. .. I waited and waited.. you didnt turn up.. I called your number but it was not reachable..... I didnt know what to do... I broke down.. I must have been there for maybe 10 mins... people started to wonder where I was and discovered me .. I called for my mother and told her I couldnt go through this wedding.. I pleaded with them all... my father was furious.. I had never seen him like that.. they gave me something to calm me down... I just.. I just quietened down and got married.. I didnt.. I honestly didnt know what was happening..I was dazed".. I let out a loud sigh... "But why did you chicken out really?"



He shook his head slowly.. "I didnt.. As I was coming to get you, my bike got hit by a truck. The next thing I remember was a lot of people fussing over me and putting me on to an ambulance. I dont remember when I came around or how many days I was there in the hospital. I've come to get you now as soon as I was discharged "



Only then I noticed the ugly scar on his forehead. I touched it gently with a lot of feeling. "Oh My God, does it hurt?.. oh what have I done? oh God... it was I who should have waited...I made a big mistake.. and now.. now I am married!!"



"Doesnt matter... no no.. really... I made a commitment to you.. and I shall keep it"



'Its not possible...What do I tell them all..? I cant just come away like that"..



He smiled at me.."You can.. why not?... I now realize, this is what we should have done at that time too... we made a big mistake with that plan... we should have just left them all as soon as they objected to us getting married. To hell with them all. We should have stood our ground. Do you think in this world, people have the right to object to other people's happiness? Its a free world and we had a right to lead a life together. Instead we resorted to running away like cowards amidst full drama. I realize my mistake now. Its still not too late" he insisted.." We can get away from it all... we have a life together.. and we shall live it.."



My face must have glowed at this. I was smiling..."Really?, you mean it"



He got up and stretched his hand towards me.."I do... honestly I do... get up.. its a lovely warm night... just look at the sea will you"



I got up and dusted sand off my back.. the bottle I'd had on my lap rolled off and I could hear the glass break, but I didnt care...I took his hand...



He looked at me happily and said "Look at the sea... see how much joy she gives us... expecting nothing back.. such unconditional love"



I let out a whoop of joy.."Funny you say that, I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing before you came.. only I felt sad thinking of it at that time.. and now I am so happy"



He came closer to me and held me tight.. "And we will be happy... there is no more sadness in our lives anymore"



I looked ahead at the sea and playfully indicated to him that we go to the water. He was not too keen as it was too late in the evening . I pulled him along forcefully, laughing all the way. The water looked heavenly, bathed in moonlight... Unconditional love.. so much joy!



*************************************************



The Deccan Times

Chennai, Nov 10, 2012



A young woman was washed ashore and was found by few fishermen early last morning. Early reports indicate that Praniti, 27, must have been in a heavily inebriated state when she had got into the water. Her family has been intimated. Newly married, Praniti leaves behind her husband of two months, her parents and her younger brother. Police have concluded that this was a case of suicide. A close friend of Praniti's, under the condition of anonimity, has revealed that Praniti had been highly depressed over the death of her boyfriend who had met with an accident and died on the day of her wedding.

How it all began

She grabbed her coat hurriedly from the coat rack and rushed out. She was late. It wasn't really her fault, she thought angrily. Things could get crazy in the morning and she was just getting used to waking up early and making a meal for herself. Now if only she could beat the traffic and get to work fast.

Swinging her blue car out of her drive way, she hit 50 on the speedometer and raced past the other cars on the road. Her Identity card with a picture of her smiling to the camera and her name, E.Watson beneath it in bold , lay carelessly tossed on the dashboard where she had left it the previous day.
Traffic picked up some intensity and it was becoming increasingly difficult to weave past cars quickly. She cursed and switched on the radio. The Top 10 songs of the season were playing on and this cheered her up a bit. After all, she decided, she was being a little too nervous. There was no reason to panic and she could still reach work well within time. She adjusted the car mirror to check herself out and felt a little better. Yeah, smart, beautiful enthusiastic, shine in the eyes.. that was her. She was going to rock the world, yeah! She nodded her head to the music and sang along.
In sometime the radio jockeys voice rang out. It didn't sound like the regular RJ who hosted the show... this was someone with a deeper baritone and more serious sounding. Probably some stand in.

This voice said " Thanks for tuning in to us... and that is it for the day, now.. may I request you to pull over please?"

She jerked her head and looked incredulously at the radio for a second before focusing back on the road.

"I mean it.. now!! Can you pull over?" the voice persisted

"Yeah right!!" she giggled and pressed the accelerator harder and sped on.

"If you think this is a joke, then you are mistaken. I asked you to stop, not increase speed"

This time she was taken aback.... "Huh.... what the... who are you?" .. with one hand firmly on the steering wheel, she fiddled with the knobs on her player.

"This is really not going to work Miss Watson. Why don't you just pull over?"

Wait, what? Someone called her by her name! She licked her lips and replied

"WHO ARE YOU??? And I'm in the middle of a freeway. Where on earth can I stop? Besides there is a lot of traffic.."

"Look around you Miss Watson... " the voice was calm
She looked around, and the cars that were honking and driving along with her till now had miraculously disappeared. She was eerily alone in her little blue car on a big wide road. Now she was scared. Really scared.
"Is this... is this a joke? is this some kind of a terrorism plot??" she asked
The voice laughed out .. "Terrorism plot? to kidnap you...?? Don't flatter yourself. You do take yourself too seriously don't you? Do you really think you are that important?"
Now she was bugged.. "OK what now? I am late to work and if this is some kind of a practical joke then you had it"
"Calm down will you? Look .. I am sorry...It was a joke. No, I don't mean what you are thinking. What was a joke was the quip I made about taking yourself seriously. To tell you the truth, you should take yourself seriously. You are.. important.. for us.. Now, for God's sake please pull over will you?"
She did pull over finally. Next the voice asked her to step out which she did.
Miraculously the voice transferred from her car radio to the open air.
"OK.. Now we are all set"..
"For what?" she demanded. She felt around her pocket for her mobile phone and fished it out. Rats, there was no signal. Seriously bad timing, she thought in despair.
"Watson. If you are looking to call someone, its not going to work. Your plan as well as your mobile phone. You will know soon why"
"Could I get my lawyer or someone in here?.. I mean, this is like crazy!!!"
" I want you to listen up carefully. Now first off, where do you think these cars that you saw earlier were racing on to?" Deep voice asked.
"To work, like me perhaps.. or to school.. who knows?"
"OK.. you are right... but after they leave your sight, what happens?"
" they go to wherever they are supposed to go and do whatever they are supposed to do.. what the ...honestly I am a little bugged"..
"That is where you are wrong! They dont"
She just raised her eyebrows like she didnt give a damn.. "OK.. so what?"
The voice continued.. "They just disappear"
She crossed her arms and looked away frustrated wondering when this ordeal would end. Where was this madman hiding anyway? She could spot a single human being in the vicinity.

The voice continued: "This world, these trees, these birds, all the species, all the events in the world were created just for one person. To make one person believe it is true... well correction its two.. but one of them, is you, my dear Watson!"

"Hahahaha.. excuse me while I laugh"

"You may laugh .. but sooner or later.. and sooner rather than later, you must realize that what I speak is the truth" the voice solemnly declared.
"OK" she said "Lets assume here that for a moment I believe you. Why am I made to work for a living? Why am I not the richest person on earth? I should be wallowing in luxury, right?"
"Good question. If you were, you would not know what life is all about. You are neither filthy rich, nor dirt poor. You have to earn a living and interact with people , to understand life forms better. You were made to appreciate the good things in life. And by that I do not mean just materially - I mean nature, species, emotions, technology .. "
"OK.. next question. If things were made just for me, then why bring a life and take it away? I know scores of people who have got ill or died. Old relatives, celebrities, neighbours.."
"Like I said earlier..all of them disappear anyway when they are out of your sight. Neither were they born not did they die. They were all a figment of your imagination"
"Are you suggesting that I am mad?"
"No, my dear Watson.."
"The name's E...."
"Regardless" He cut her off... "you are not mad.. but you were ignorant till now. I've just brought you upto speed. You have existed so far to understand how this world operates. What are the various life forms, what is summer, what is winter, what are the kind of equipments that can be used for various activities.. case in point your little blue car which you use for transportation.
“You are totally confusing me now”
“ All this will be confusing now. But you will realize some day why you have been chosen for this mission. The mission being creating a new world, a good world.. with prior knowledge of the various possibilities of development. You know to read and write a language. You are intelligent and can understand numbers. You know right from wrong. You know about corruption, evil, deceit. You know happiness, anger, fear, disappointment .It is important that you are aware of all of this. Because you – this world – has to start afresh.. and you will decide what you want and what to leave out. How you want your dream world to be.. its all in your hands now. Simply put, you have looked into the future. You know how things could become.. and you know how to steer it to the right path”
“But ..” she sputtered.. “If what you say is true , and I have to start afresh, how would I create a new world. I mean lets take this car as an example. How would I know how to make one? I have no technical knowledge required for it ..”
“I understand” the deep voice bellowed.. “You are not required to know how. But you know it can exist. Document it. None of the texts and manuals, books etc will be available for you anywhere in this world. As I said, everything is imaginary. But you are aware that cars can be manufactured. Internet is a possibility. Television can exist. Houses can be built. Use your imagination. Create a new world and bring forth the possibilities. Filter the right from wrong. You may not get to see anything immediately. But you will live for centuries to see a whole new world. Your dream world. Its all, like I said, in your hands now.”
The voice abrubtly stopped. As she looked around she saw her car disappear. The road, the buildings, the toll booths, everything around her disappeared. She was left standing on barren plains with some trees around.
“Hello.. hello.. voice man.. are you there??”
“I am here. But not for long”
“I am scared. Please get me back to reality’
“This is reality. What you thought of as reality was actually an illusion."
“You mentioned there is another person apart from me in this world now. Who is he or she?”
“You will soon meet him”
“Where?”
“Walk a bit further down. You should be able to see a stream. You would get thirsty by then. Drink some water. There are some fruit trees beyond that. He will be there. I am leaving now. So long”
“Wait.. wait.. don’t leave me..”
But all she heard was the wind. Scared she trudged along the rugged path until she reached the stream. Ignoring the water she walked further down. Sure enough there were the fruit trees. Hearing a crunch she turned behind. Supporting himself against an apple tree with one hand, was a tall good looking guy biting into an apple.
“Oh” she said.. ” it’s you. So .. this is it huh”. She had never met him before.
Taking another bite he said “Looks like the voice got you too”
She shrugged and gave a weak smile.
He put his hand forward and said “Anyway, here’s to a long future. I am Adam Smith”
She smiled and shook his hand..”Watson. Eve Watson”

The man with the pink drink (Night club tales)

She sat alone perched on a bar stool leaning over the counter. A Jack Daniels on the rocks was placed in front of her. She could feel eyes looking her way appreciatively from young men and women alike. Her silky straight hair was cut in layers and styled well. Everything from her low cut sexy LBD to her designer bag and shoes screamed "Posh". High maintenance lady this.

It was only half an hour since she got here and  men were already trying to hit on her... in vain. She had given them all the cold shouder. As the night grew on the crowd started to mill away towards the dance floor. "Moves like Jagger" was playing now and the crowd was going wild. She remained seated.

An energetic man walked towards the counter, next to her and shouted out loud over the din to the bartender
"A strawberry daiquiri, please". Probably for his girlfriend.
LBD checked her iphone for tweets. She was bored.
"Your Strawberry daiquiri sir" the bartender placed it on the counter.
The man settled on a bar stool next to her.. "Thanks" and took a sip.
LBD raised an eyebrow and looked at him. The man raised his in return.

"I know what you're thinking"

She looked around her.. "huh"

"Yes, I was talking to you. Didnt you just think, did he just drink that?"

She rolled up her eyes.. "Perhaps"

"Next thought, is he gay?"

"Maybe" .. half a smile..

"Ah there you go, I get that all the time"

"Well, it isnt often we see men drinking pink stuff"

"The metro sexual man doesnt care for what society thinks. He does what he wants"

"Oh really" she cocked her head to one side.. "and what does he want?"

"Freedom from stereotypes. Lets take you and me. An average person would have thought your drink was mine, and mine yours"

"Mmm -hmm"

"But would you have this drink of mine?"

She gave a slight shake of her head  "I seriously doubt that"

"Exactly" He banged a fist on the counter.."and why may I ask? Women like colourful cocktaily stuff right?"

"Ok enough already, I get your point. I wont look at a guy nursing a pink drink and think he's gay "

"But whats wrong with being gay?"

"Listen mister, I've had a long day. I am not up for this"

" Hahaha... typical. I know your type. A long day means mall-hopping and splurging on clothes and shoes"

"Oh so now you go stereo typing huh?"

"So do you know who the President of our country is?? huh??.. Go on.." He smirked.

She closed her eyes tight for a few seconds and opened them.." What are your thoughts about the scam he's got into now? The public is having a field day over it. Think there's some truth in it?"

"Huh, what scam? I..."

She almost fell of her chair laughing.."Ha.. Got you!".. She wiped her mouth neatly with a napkin and took a bite of cheese toast.."There's no scam. I was just pulling your leg"

He slowly smiled.."So what do you do anyway?"

She took a sip.."I am a Boutique Wedding photographer"

"Interesting. What does that mean?"

" I take casual pics of the bride and groom. No doctored smiles and group photos.  Bride getting her mehndi done in her capris. Groom laughing over a joke the bride made.Groom secretly tucking into a chocolate on the stage. The works. And being a woman, its even easier, as I immediately put the bride at ease"

"People pay for stuff like this?"

"Hey, you get married only once. They dont mind"

"Hmm.. so are all 'boutique wedding photographers' generally so stiff or do they say ok to men who want to dance with them?"

She smiled.. "That depends.... if the man is interesting.. maybe?"

He held out his hand.. "Even if he drinks a pink drink?"

She took it .."Why not?"

They danced all night! He had never seen anyone who danced like her. What moves! The strawberry daiquiri and jack daniels kept coming.

Exhausted and on a high, they moved back to the counter.. laughing squeezing each other.

"So".. she said, with a coquettish smile.." are you planning to drive back home.. like this??"

He gave an exaggerated look.. like he was thinking hard.."Hmm... funny you ask... I am planning to book a room at this hotel.. maybe better dont you think?".. He winked.

"Shall I suggest an option that will save you some dough?"

"I am all ears" he tickled her

She pushed him off with a laugh.. "I already have a room up here. Big enough for two"

He bent over her and whispered against her ear "Then what are we waiting for? Lead the way.."

They were all over each other by the time they reached her room and fell on the sprawling double bed.

Next morning .She woke up to the sun streaming down from the windows. She opened one eye and looked at her side. He seemed to have already woken up.

A minute later he emerged from the bathroom, having just shaved.

In a groggy voice, she asked.."Where did you get a shaving set from Mister?"

"Oh.. my wife packs it for me. I always have it handy with me" he winked..

"Nice of her" .. she rolled back to her side going back to sleep..

"By the way, that is a nice family pic.. the one you have kept on the bedside table".

At this she reached out for the pic and gazed at it.. lying down on her back..

He jumped under the blacket and snuggled to her...."Is that your boy"?

She smiled.."Yes.. he's five"

"Sweet.. is he all alone now"

"Mmm.. no... I've left him with my parents"

"...and this man next to him.. is it his dad?"

"Someone's curious huh" she laughed .. Yes... my  husband"

"Ex?"

"No current"

'Really? Hmm.. wait a minute.. am I hallucinating.. or does your husband look just like me?".. he squinted and checked the pic from various angles..

She smiled broadly and pulled the pic off him and kept it back on the table. Cuddling upto him she whispered.." Husband dear... havent we fooled everyone enough... lets get back to where we left last night shall we..??"

A muffled.."Cant argue with that.... Happy 'start of Seven year itch'.. baby".. was heard from beneath the sheets.

The saviour! (Night club tales)

Yet another Friday evening wasted . What a shame! This is what, the fourth? no, fifth time this year we are out drinking as a team. After work.  And its been barely 3 months since the start of the year. Oh yes, I count each of these useless outings. Just like how I carefully keep track of the money wasted thus.

And its an even bigger surprise that we are part of the Finance team. We are supposed to be the role models to others in terms of spending. And here we are making fools of ourselves drinking and splurging on company money. I dont have any doubt this company would be taken over by a smarter company in a few years. 

Today we are all seated  in a large booth in our "favourite pub".

I dont touch alcohol or so much as take a puff. But I need to be part of these outings. Peer pressure. Else that silly woman in pink will get promoted and not me. Disgusting woman. What a slut! I am sure she slept her way through this company to get to the same level as me. Imagine, me, a rank holder in CA and she who passed the course after me, both at the same level. And being a woman, drinks whisky like a seasoned drunkard!
She's always the first one to say "yes" to coming to these dinners. Making loud jokes, pulling people's legs, she's always the centre of attaction. To me she makes herself a complete nuisance, but these silly buggers seem to love her and hold on to her words

 Today she is relatively quiet and even keeps giving me looks as if trying to tell me something but deciding against it. I ignore her. She's got the reputation of being a bit of a flirt. Probably got bored with the rest of her fan followings and targetting me. Jeez!! The very thought made me want to puke.

You might think I am jealous. Oh No! I am glad even. When it comes to promotion to the next level none of these would help. I will show her. Now we maybe equals as far as designation goes, but that will soon change.. soon.

I am one up on her now anyway. I had been given the task of consolidation and analysis of the company forecasts and present it to the CFO tomorrow. A task formerly handled by our manager. We would all do a quick review and release it to the Press by afternoon tomorrow. You have no idea how thrilled I was to have been asked to do this. So many things like Company share prices etc ride on this after the press release. Its a big responsibility and I am naturally proud. Things like this Miss Pink cant handle. Oh No! I had been especially smug when I had marked her in the mail I had sent to the CFO today, that contained the Forecast details.

Currently, to my right sits my manager. He is already on round 3 and egging the team to drink more. Stupid fellow. One day I will become head of department and put an end to all this. Oh yes!

To my left is this silly trainee. A small chit of a girl, but man, what a loud mouth. She is trying to make me drink.. "Hey, why are you not drinking ya... have at least a breezer no.."
I feel like giving her a tight slap. Breezer indeed! This one will be fired when I become head of department. Thats for sure. Somewhere in the table, a small group is doing a bottoms up.

Someone else is making a joke about how I am the only tee totaler here and the only thing I am useful for is dropping everyone back home. OK, the jokes on me this time... Some day, someday, I will show you..  I will show you all you son-of a bitches.

Woman in pink has been giving me stealthy looks the whole time. Finally she gets up and wriggles her way out of the booth. She touches my arm and asks me to step out a bit. I freeze, more out of apprehension than shock. But I dont want to create a scene here and leave with her. As I walk out so many thoughts fill my mind. I always thought she had the hots for me. Do you think, she would open up now? Oh My God, I dont want to get into all this. Now. Not with her... or...do I maybe?
We step out into the lobby and she turns around facing me.

"What is it?" I ask, as if I am dying to get back to the drunken party.
She chews her lip and takes awhile before answering "The forecast that you sent out today. Um, doesnt it look a bit on the higher side? Growth percentage Quarter on quarter has never been this high. Seems a bit strange, no?"
I give this sweet and sarcastic smile " The second quarter always is a lot higher than the first.Clients are usually still holding their purses at the start of the year making their own budgets. But Q2 is a different story. Oh buts its natural you wont know these things..."

She fishes out her ipad and taps furiously on it while I wait impatiently. I am fuming inside. Look at her, jealous woman. Trying to sabotage my career I am sure.
"This" she points to the excel file I had shared. "You see this? This business unit has more than 70% growth. I know this is not possible at all. I looked more closely and I saw a formula error in here"

I pull the Ipad off her hands and look for myself. Holy Cow, this pink woman is right! How did I miss this? Such a silly goof up. I did a quick math and realized that the overall growth percentage for the company should actually be 10% and not 14% as I'd calculated. And the Forecasts were off by $500M for the quarter. Thats big money and when actual revenue starts to flow in we'd be way behind forecasts. That would be a loss of face for the company! Especially in this age of cut throat competition.
My very first assignment of this sort and I goofed up. I would have looked like a fool if not Pink had shown me this now!!

I look up at her and simply say.."Thanks for pointing it out"

She waves her hand dismissively and walks back inside, to her whisky while I ponder outside. She could have easily saved this for tomorrow and pointed it out in the meeting with the CFO. I'd have looked like an idiot . But no, even though I have been a moron all along by branding her with cheap names she responded back with kindness. I am totally overwhelmed.

I go back inside and discretely bring my laptop outside. In ten minutes, I am done making the changes and double checking all formulae.

I resend the updated document with a mail.. "Dear all, please ignore my previous mail and use the attached file for your reference." I pause.. "Thanks Aradhana, for pointing out the error which I have now corrected". I smile.

I snap the laptop shut and join the team inside. I am feeling a lot lighter.
"Hey Ram, wont you stop from working at least here? We saw you take the laptop outside.. Chill dude.. like the lady says, have a breezer.." Loud guffaws ensue.

My face which would have broken into a frown before, merely smiles now.. "Who knows? Next time maybe??"

Too little too late (Night club tales)

Friday night. The pub was filled with young people leaving their hectic work week behind. Laughter and giggles filled the air, besides the groovy music and distinct "pub smell". Bartenders scuttled about clearing tables and bringing fresh drinks. Tanned, well toned bodies mingled about as I soaked all of this in sitting on a bar stool in an obscure corner by the counter. I was on my third glass of red wine (Dry not sweet as I'd warned the bartender) listening only partly to my friend who was rattling about animatedly about her day at work.

"My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure."

James  Blunt was singing in the background. Suddenly out of the blue I noticed him. Wait, was it really him?? I reached out for my goblet, took a sip and looked again. Yes, It was him alright!

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place"

He was with a bunch of friends in a booth across me. How did I miss him all along? Loud guffaws could be heard from where he was. 

I had seen him a few months ago at my workplace. I had enrolled myself in an Essential management skills workshop and he had been the external trainer. The man was handsome enough but that wasn't what attracted me to him. The moment he started to speak I felt an instant connection. I dont remember ever feeling this way with anyone. It was magical. I wanted to know more about him. 

"Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
F****** high "

I had tried to impress him with some brilliant questions that I normally would ask, but no, none would pop up in my mind. My whole body seemed to have clammed up. Before I knew it, it was end of session and he'd packed up and left. I felt like kicking myself for not going and talking to him. I felt comforted with the fact that this was the age of social media. I would get more details from Facebook/ Twitter.

I had set to work that very night immediately finding his FB Account. His wall was visible but he'd protected most other things.. like photo albums. How annoying! Nevertheless, I could learn a bit through his wall posts. I didnt add him ofcourse, but I kept following him on the sly. Everyday for the last 2 months I have been reading his witty posts bordering on sarcasm and reading up on stuff that seemed to interest him.

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true."

Today was probably the "now or never" day. I had to somehow speak to him. I ordered glass number 4 and sipped on it wondering how to go about it. Sometime later he seemed to get a call on his mobile phone. I saw him excuse himself and getting up from his table and walk towards the door.

OK, this is it! I would just casually walk out and "bump" into him as he is getting back. "Hey Fancy meeting you here!!!" A small smile spread through my face as I made my plans. I am sure he would remember me!

I cut my friend off in mid-sentence with an "I need to pee, will be back"

My friend was suggesting we call for the check as it was getting late. I gave her an "eyebrows arched up" sarcastic look "The night's still young, we are not babies. Another hour and we can leave". I left her behind, whining and walked towards the door. I paused, ruffled my hair, and walked on in what I thought was my "sexy walk".

My man was waiting by the elevator in the lobby. Good, I would get into the elevator with him and then go "Hey, what a surprise!"... and then...

I was brought back to reality when the elevator doors opened. A hot bod in mini skirt stepped out. The minute she saw him, mini skirt threw her arms around him. I froze in mid step. I realized I looked like a moron one step forward one step backward for a full 5 seconds which seemed like eternity. I turned back quickly as I heard him whisper " I missed you so bad , baby"

The doorman let me in and I walked back to my seat. I took a final swig of my drink and turned to my friend.. "Lets go, its getting late"

"But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.".. James Blunt ended his song as well...