Blind Date

It was her 21st birthday and call it fate or karma, she was still single, which seemed a curse to her, with all her friends already hooked up with at least one guy.

And, there she was today; going on a blind date with someone she met on a dating site. They had been chatting just for a week now, and she didn’t know much about him, not even how he looks. Yet, she was all set to meet him for a date at the café.

“Richa?”

She looked up. It was Karan Mehra, her senior in school. Tall, fair and dashing- he was the guy Richa had the hots for. He didn’t know her.

She was on cloud-nine. It was that part of her past which she had long forgotten. Karan seemed a forbidden fruit to her and she never even tried to talk to him. And today, destiny had brought Karan to him on her first ever date.

“ I should tell him that I knew him from school”, she chirped in her thoughts.

But her subconscious intervened. “Are you crazy? Goddammit, you are a girl. In school, you didn’t have the courage to go and talk to your crush. But, today the ball is in your court. Don’t come off as a desperate single now.”

Her dilemma was reaching heights. But, there had to be a conclusion.

She spoke.

“Yes. You are? Karan?” She asked ignorantly.

The female ego had won again. She had to pretend not knowing him.

***

The first date went off quite well. They talked about their lives, likes, and dislikes, although not much was common between them, except for their school, a fact Richa still behaved ignorant towards.

Numbers exchanged, they bid each other goodbye.

That night, Richa kept waiting for Karan’s message upto 12 o’clock, but there wasn’t a single message from him. She was about to doze off, when her cellphone buzzed.

1 Unread Message from Karan.

She sprang up from her bed.

“Hey, you awake?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

All of the one hour that they were chatting, Richa just couldn’t stop smiling. After wishing him goodnight, Richa hugged her teddy and started thinking about how it had all started.

In school, Richa belonged to the studious species- the girl with those round glasses, long plaited hair, skirt below the knee, and found only in the library after classes. She never believed in love and infatuations; until she saw Karan Mehra, the head boy of the school and the basketball team captain. She wasn’t sure of what she felt for him, but surely there were was this feeling which she had never experienced before, the feeling of being noticed by someone.

A makeover for herself, a more chilled out attitude, passing by the basketball court every time she went out of class for some work, and what not- she had not left any stone unturned, except that she never gathered the courage to speak to him. That was Karan’s last year in school and she soon got over him. She just thought of that as a part of life which had better not been.

But life had other plans for her.

***

Richa was loving this phase of her life. They had moved on from chatting to talking over the phone for hours on. There wouldn’t be a single day when they wouldn’t talk; daily happenings, friends, family problems, dreams, aspirations- there was nothing that they would not talk about.

They even met up regularly. Richa was again falling head over heels for Karan. She wished time would come to a standstill when they were with each other. The studious girl, who could never compromise on her studies, had started bunking classes just to meet him. He too would wait for her patiently outside her college until she came out.

It was a Monday morning, and they had not met from the past three days, and to top that all, there plan for that day was also cancelled due to some family get-together at Karan’s house. Richa was feeling very low on her way to college. She had become so used to meeting Karan from the past few weeks that staying away from him was pissing her off.

She was thinking of all the happy times they had spent together, when her subconscious remarked, “Why are you thinking of him so much? He considers you a friend, and don’t make the mistake to lose such a good friend by imposing your feelings on him.”

Yes. He always used to say that he didn’t believe in relationships. Then, why was she even thinking of something that would probably never happen.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the screech of the bus as it reached the stop she was supposed to get down at. She got down the bus and started walking towards her college.

***

Earphones plugged in and lost in Karan’s thoughts, Richa was strolling down the street towards her college. She gazed to the front and saw a man hastily prompting her to shift to the left. She turned around to see what the man was trying to say about; but within a split second, a car hit her and she fell down unconscious.

When she regained consciousness, she could hear many hushed voices around herself. She opened her eyes to see herself surrounded by her family and a nurse. She was in a hospital. She could faintly remember the sight of the car hitting her. She looked around the room and she was shocked by what she saw. There in the corner, stood teary-eyed Karan.

Who brought her to the hospital? How did Karan come to know about all this?

So many questions were running through her mind. Her mother sat beside her and held her hand, asking, “Are you alright dear?”

“Yes mom”.

“God bless your friend, Karan. Had it not been him, what would have happened to you? He brought you to the hospital and called us up. You should thank him. Come here, Karan.”

Karan came forward and sat beside her.

Richa asked, “How did you reach there?”

“I was not feeling good at home. So, I made excuses and came to see you. But when I reached there, I saw a commotion and found you lying on the road.”

“Thank you so much, Karan. You are a savior.”

“You need rest. Take your medicines and go to sleep. I am with you”.

That one sentence ‘I am with you’ made her feel so special that she was dancing around in her mind.

***

It took five days for Richa to be discharged from the hospital, and throughout this time, Karan stood by her. From bringing her fruits in the morning, to watching movies with her on his laptop, and reading out books from her favourite authors- he would do everything to make her feel happy and normal.

Though Richa did not like to be dependent on any one, she loved it when Karan looked after her and cared for her.

She took rest for the weekend and had decided to go to college on Monday. She had to spend just two days without meeting Karan, but it seemed a lifetime for her, more so since she had spent the last five days seeing him every day at the hospital.

Excited about meeting him on Monday, she took out her chart papers, pencils, and colours- all set to make him a Thank You card. Yeah, it may sound child like, but who cares when all you wish to see is a smile on the person’s face you love.

She was awake even before the alarm rang that morning. Karan was supposed to drop her to college. She rushed outside with Karan’s call. There he was- blue jeans, white shirt, hands in pockets, and wearing his million dollar smile- the smile that made Richa go weak in her knees.

Richa sat in his car and gave him the card. Karan was filled with glee as he read the card. He thanked her, and said, “Even if you don’t make me a Thank You card each time, I will keep caring for you always.”

Having said that, he started to drive. Richa’s college was just at a distance of forty-five minutes. For the first time in her college life, she was cursing her college for being so near to her home, because that meant less time with Karan. Suddenly, Karan took a left turn.

“Hey, I didn’t knew you forget directions. The way to my college was to the right.”

“I know that”, he smirked.

“May I know where are we headed to?”

“Yes, of course. But you have to wait a while for that. Till then, keep guessing.”

***

Richa’s curiosity peaked with time. The way seemed familiar to her.

“Yes, I remember it. It’s the way to my school. But, wait, why is Karan going towards the school?” ,she thought.

Before she could ask anything, Karan stopped the car in front of the garden that overlooked the school, and got down.

He held her hand and took her inside the garden.

“Karan, why are we here?”

“Look there.” Karan pointed towards the school’s basketball court.

Richa was shocked. She spoke in her mind, “Does Karan know that I knew him from school?”

She looked towards Karan.

“Sit.”

Richa sat down on the garden bench.

“Richa, this is the place where I saw you for the first time. Mesmerized by the innocent glare behind your round specs, I missed the basket as I saw you passing by. I know that you knew me from school. I had caught you looking at me many times in school. I recognized you the day I saw you waiting for me at the café. But, I don’t know why I just couldn’t tell you that. I wished to get to know you more. The time I spent with you after that brought back many forgotten thoughts and feelings. I was again falling for you, but, I wasn’t sure as of what that was- love or just an infatuation.”

Richa had tears in her eyes. He continued, “That day, when I came to surprise you at your college and saw you unconscious, I just couldn’t stop crying. I was scared. Scared to lose you. Only I know of the relief I felt when the doctor said that you are alright. Those five days at the hospital made me realize what you mean to me. Life is too short, and I realized it is high time I confessed my feelings for you.”

Saying this, Karan got down on his knees and looked up to her face.

“I love you Richa.”

Richa wiped her tears. “I love you too”.

Karan couldn’t believe his ears. He stood up smiling, his eyes full of bliss.

“Are you serious? You love me?”

“No. I’m not. Stupid.” She bent forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Do I need to say something more?”

“No, Richa.” He hugged her.