Please do read Part1 if this is unclear anywhere.
Prelude
The two of us were sitting on a park bench, the faithful Coke Can fizzing in my right hand. I took a swig. She looked sideways, then looked at a flower that was blossoming in a shrub, and then back at me.
’’What’s up, Tina?’’ I asked. ’’You look uneasy.’’
’’Boy, nothing gets past you.’’
….Dukaar!…. I shifted in my seat so that I could look at her better.
’’What’s wrong Tin?’’
’’It’s this Coke thing, you know!’’
…………Dukaaaaaaar!………… Now where did this come from?
’’What coke thing?’’ I asked. I was completely bewildered.
’’It’s this Coke…. look I don’t know how to explain but I keep getting the feeling that you and I come together only for a drink. And I don’t like it. We never do anything else!’’
’’Aww, come on Tina, it’s not true.’’ I knew that sounded like a retort.
’’Oh well it is.’’
’’No, come on, it’s not. We do get together to do other things…’’
’’Like?’’
Like what? I didn’t know what to say. She was darned right. We did get together only for coke. I was stumped for words. So I began mumbling incoeherently when she just got up and said the final verdict- ’’It’s over Laxman, I’m sorry!’’ and walked away.
The ’’Dukaaaar!’’ had claimed another relationship. Seventh break-up.
It had been a plague that had followed me ever since I took up the can. For a while I thought it was gone. But it was a wrong belief. It had stayed.
I had to, just absolutely had to, do something about it.
Creativity
I believe I am a very creative individual and that my creativity can be seen in all aspects of my life. Sometimes I overdo my creative work. Sometimes I do it in the best manner. I knew I had to use my creativity to win Tina’s heart over. The only question was: How? A whole week passed by after the event but the question remained unanswered.
Till the golden day arrived. I was flicking through a quotations compendium one fine morning with my friend Ashish (he happens to be the I-quote-others-to-express-myself-better types). It was full of lot of ’’Chinese Proverbs’’ that were actually things he’d cooked up from his brain. But among all of them, one like struck me as the solution to my crisis:
The river breaks the stone not with force but with time.
’’That is it!’’ I shouted loudly as Ashish finished reading the saying. ’’That is what I need!’’
’’What?’’ asked Ashish exasperatedly as I continued ejaculating ’’Yes!’’ and ’’I got it!’’ loudly.
’’I have the solution to my problem! I know how I can win Tin over again!’’
I left him to that and ran home (well actually rode my Kinetix Style rodeo-style and reached home) to begin preparations to what I was confident would be the perfect way to win her over.
Thumbs Up for 7 Up!
The real story starts in the same park and on the same bench where I had found Tin battling a sunstroke and offered her my Coke (yeah Coke, and make sure it isn’t mis-spelt. Now think why this is a joke). This time, it was I that was sitting on the bench with a 200ml pet bottle of 7Up instead of Coke. I had bribed Tin’s friends into helping me with the problem- one of them lives very near my home. She was supposed to ask Tina to accompany her on a little evening walk around the park.
The sun was scorching the back of my neck and I was beginning to get exasperated- the whole attempt better be worth risking a nasty back-of-the-neck tan. I waited and waited and waited…. Till finally, at exactly four in the afternoon, I caught sight of four girls walking down the street toward the park. It was Shruti with Tin. I knew it was.
I bent over. I held my head in my hands and bent so that my head touched my knees. I better look like I’m sad and devastated, I thought. I was of course devastated at not having Tina with me. But she had to know that. I wanted to tell her how much I liked her and how completely inseparable she had become (oh yeah I’m so absolutely cheesy).
It seemed to be working. In the sleepy silence of the afternoon park, I heard Tina’s voice asking- ’’Isn’t that Laxman? Why is he sitting like that? Is he alright?’’ Shruti replied she didn’t know. And just as I had guessed, my crush decided to find out. She asked her friends to wait at the gate and she approached me alone. It was going exactly how I wanted. The most thrilling part of the evening was about to begin. I held on to my 7Up bottle tightly. It was the only thing I had to support me in case the whole thing went wrong. I only had that to drown my frustration in (now I do sound like an underage Devdas, eh?).
’’Laxman?’’
She called out so sweetly. She actually sat down beside me on the bench and called out once more, sweetly and kindly.
’’Laxman? Are you OK?’’
’’Eh?’’ I made a huge gurgling noise as though I’d just come out from a bout of tears. ’’Oh, hi Tina, ’’ I said pulling myself together. I had sort of begun to get emotional (danger sign).
’’Hi, ’’ she replied looking concerned. ’’Are you fine?’’
’’Yes, ’’ I said smiling though I knew I didn’t look it. ’’I’m just as fine as fine can get.’’
’’Are you alright?’’
’’In a manner of speaking, yes.’’
She noticed the bottle of 7Up beside me.
’’You changed your favourites?’’ she asked, certainly diverted.
’’Oh yes. I sort of fought with Coke.’’
She thought it was a joke. So she laughed out.
’’It’s not funny Tina.’’
I don’t know how I looked when I said it. I don’t recollect my _expression or my tone. But it seemed to have had an effect. She didn’t speak, she didn’t move. She sat still, her eyes looking straight into mine. I thought I noticed a tear in the right one though I did not speak. Her gaze had made me silent (for once). Slowly, she shifted on the bench, leaned forward towards me. Then, she bowed her head low. Evidently she was fighting something. I was hoping they were tears. I had begun to feel that she had not liked separating so much at all.
And as I was thinking about things, suddenly, unexpectedly, she said:
’’Oh Laxman, I’m so sorry! I was wrong!’’
I was taken completely by surprise.
’’About what?’’
’’About us!’’
And before I could say anything, before I could even register what that meant, she said something I had been dying to hear: she said something that rarely gets out of the girl’s mouth before the guy says it. She said:
’’I love you!’’
Continued in the comments section