lazybugsbunny

[lazybugsbunny]

Yours Lovingly

“Hundred and fifteen participants from over seventeen colleges across the city, seven rounds of intense competition, ninety minutes into the quiz and it all comes down to two participants. Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for our finalists, Rishi from Xavier’s College of Sciences and Sanjana from our very own Imperial College of Engineering” announced the host energetically. The two finalists took their seats on the stage of the magnificent auditorium which was booming with applause. The competition was neck to neck and the scorecard showed no variation at all. “One question each, and if this ends in a tie as well, we shall move on to the rapid-fire round,” said the host anxiously as he pulled out the card to ask Rishi his final question for that round.  “Times Up!” exclaimed the host. Rishi had failed to answer his question. This meant that if Sanjana answered her question correctly, she would win the quiz. The host read the question out loud “In the Harry Potter series, what is the full name of the Headmaster who was killed by Severus Snape?”. Sanjana’s eyes were lit up because this was a relatively easy question to her when compared to Indian History, Modern world politics, arts and culture, etc. The Potterhead knew that the answer was Albus Dumbledore but she was trying to recollect his full name. The clock was ticking and while she racked her brains she saw a guy in the audience seated in the third row who was eagerly waiting for her to look at him. As the two made eye contact, she noticed that he was mouthing something, “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore” she understood instantly and said it out loud just as the host was about to yell TimeUp in his bold voice yet again. After a momentary pause, the host slowly chanted “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is… THE RIGHT ANSWER! We have a winner, put your hands together for the winner of Q-Fiesta-2016, Sanjana from Imperial College of Engineering.”  Most of the audience had left as soon as the prize distribution was completed but the guy from the third row stayed where he was, hoping that he could talk to the winner. Sanjana noticed him and quickly walked up to him and in an exuberant tone said: “Thank you, I would’ve cursed myself if I lost the quiz because of a Harry Potter question.” With a slight smile on his face, he inferred “So you’re a Potterhead too!”. “ALWAYS” she quoted and extended her hand to introduce herself “I’m Sanjana, Computer Science-Fresher”. He gently shook her hand and replied “Nice to meet you. I’m Arjun, first-year Electronics.” That’s how their friendship began. Over the next four years, they shared many more Harry Potter references and quite a few memories. From time and time again, Arjun showed Sanjana that in the veil of a friend, stood an ardent lover too scared to confess his feelings to her. Arjun was sipping his favorite chocolate milkshake while he listened to his friends talk about how quickly four years have just gone by. Dhruv was deeply involved in the conversation. “I have no regrets. I’ve done almost everything I wanted to. Made good friends, played my share of pranks, got decent grades” he said contentedly and added “Also found the girl I love and who loves me too” looking at Kavya who was sitting right next to him blushing at what Dhruv had said. Everyone started recollecting their memorable experiences in college while Arjun was lost in his thoughts. He realized that he might never get to see Sanjana after the college ends and wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. How he planned on doing it remained a mystery. After a lot of thought and reminiscing the past, he halted at his very first meeting with her. “Harry Potter” he cried hysterically. A week later, Arjun called Sanjana and asked her if she could meet him in the canteen during lunch. Sanjana politely agreed. The two of them sat in the canteen and had lunch together. As the crowd slowly started to disperse, Arjun slowly took out a package from his bag. The rectangular package was covered with a fancy crimson red gift wrap. He held the package out and slowly moved it towards her and hissed “It’s for you”. Sanjana was indeed surprised and asked him what the occasion was. “I…It’s something to remember me by after college,” said Arjun with a sigh, disappointed that he had missed his chance yet again. The grin on Sanjana’s face slowly faded away as if she was disappointed with what Arjun had said as well. She opened the gift wrap neatly and found a box of her favorite chocolates, and a book- ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’. She opened the first page of the book and found a note, “Dear Sanjana, I’ve been told by your friend Arjun that you’re a fan of my work. It’s overwhelming for me to know that my work has fans from across the globe, across all ages. Its people like you who encourage me to do what I do. I wish you all the success in life and I hope all your wishes come true. Yours Lovingly, J.K.Rowling” under which was the autograph of the renowned writer. Sanjana was ecstatic and her face was beaming up with joy. “Thank You very much, Arjun. This is the best gift ever!” she gushed at him whose face was red as a tomato. Before Arjun could say anything, he heard the bell. Sanjana quickly put the book and the chocolates in her bag, thanked him again and left. Arjun also went to his class but he could barely think about anything apart from Sanjana’s joyous face after she read the note.  As Arjun walked out of the gate in the evening, he found Sanjana standing along the sidewalk. She was baffled and completely out of breath. He understood that she had missed her bus. He offered her some water and allowed her to calm down. “Do you need a ride home?” he asked cordially. She looked around a bit and nodded her head with an innocent smile. She got on his bike, put her bag in between them and held on to the rear handle of the bike. With a hint of dissatisfaction, Arjun started to drive. The roads were flooded with vehicles. The journey which would otherwise take an hour took almost two hours. “Right here, that’s it” Sanjana signaled him to stop near the supermarket. Arjun stopped to the side and balanced the bike as she got down. “My house is a couple of streets away, I’ll walk from here. Thank you for the ride” she declared and started walking. Arjun parked his bike to a side and quickly galloped to keep up with her. “I’ll walk you home” he insisted. She did not want to risk being watched walking along with a male companion in her conservative neighborhood and explained the same to him. He reluctantly stopped and just stood there as she marched ahead. Almost instantly, her phone buzzed, It was Arjun. “Well, now we’re just two strangers walking on either side of the road” he grinned as he looked at Sanjana who turned back and chuckled at the hopeless romantic. The conversation was rather engaging and before she could realize, they had reached the corner of the street, from where her home was just a couple of houses away. Sanjana bid adieu and hung up hesitantly. As he walked back, he had an uncontrollable smile on his face which didn’t seem to wear off until the next morning.  Both Arjun and Sanjana found the next morning young and mellow. Both of them were eager to meet each other. Both of them were hoping that they would run into each other in college. But both of them were left disappointed. Just as Arjun dialed Sanjana’s number to call her, his phone chimed -I’m staying back late after college to work on my project. Can you drop me home today as well? He knew what he’d say, it was obvious. But what he didn’t know was that Sanjana had completed her project three days ago. By 4:40 pm most of the students had left and the few who stayed were in the sports complex except Arjun and Sanjana who sat alone in their empty classrooms, thinking about each other. At around 6 pm, Sanjana called Arjun to tell him that she has completed her work and was ready to go. As Arjun switched on the engine, she slowly got on the bike. Her hand was on his shoulder and her bag was not in between them. And this time, Arjun had a smile on his face. There was not much traffic but Arjun had no intention of driving faster. It was around 8 pm by the time they reached the supermarket where Arjun parked his bike the previous day. As Arjun parked his bike at the same spot and took out his phone to talk to Sanjana while they walked, she stopped him with an intense look in her eyes and smirked: “It won’t be necessary today!”  The street was completely isolated with nothing to be seen except for the shadows of the branches of the trees, that ran along on either side. Both of them silently walked side by side enjoying the cool breeze that whistled past them. Sanjana gently brushed her hand against Arjun’s. He swiftly receded his hand after which he noticed a livid expression on her face. He then slowly moved closer to her and gently held her hand and looked at her again. This time, she had a smile on her face as she clasped his hand. They continued walking hand in hand relishing the moment. When they reached the corner of the street, they stood there silently exchanging passionate glances. They refused to let go of each other. And in a whiff, Sanjana hugged Arjun tightly and murmured “I love you too!”. Arjun, who was initially taken aback, took a moment to process the moment and embraced her. He delicately held her face and looked into her deep black eyes. He pushed her cascading dense black hair behind her ear and whispered, “I love you!”. In his arms, she found the warmth she desired and with her in his arms, he found the peace he longed for. At that moment, their hearts surely did skip a beat.