The meeting

They met at a meeting, a professional one..in a complete professional setup.. 

There was something in him that she couldn't stop noticing..

She hurried back home because she had her 8 months old daughter waiting for her, but he thought she had an attitude!

She was often condemned in her office for this act of hers.- hurrying back home!

Few things that are typically said to females who work in professional setups are "If you have come to work, leave your reservations related to time, back home" "You can't complain everyday if you have some health issues, instead of wasting your and our time, why don't you resign?" And in case if she gets favored by a boss who is a little understanding... be it a male or a female.. the colleagues discuss "Oh, she must be having some personal terms with the boss, if not why would she be favored?"

She was used to this unadulterated sarcasm! 

Apart from this there was sarcasm on other fronts too! "You dont look good", "Gosh, you have put on so much of weight, why dont you go for some treatments" , "You know you should dress according to your size" and so on..

But she kept focussing on her work.. she was a columnist in a fortnightly magazine.

Social media has its benefits, she connected with him over the social media. After a few interactions, she found that she was addicted to talking to him... She then found out that it was not just she who noticed him, so much during that meeting.. even he noticed her and he admitted it!

But they didn't meet.. even if planned.. she cancelled the meeting due to just one fact.. She kept thinking "Texting and Meeting are different" "Why should I go and meet someone" But then she thought "But I am so comfortable talking to him!"

Time went on.. he moved to some other city.. they never met. She moved to a different city with her daughter. They kept interacting over messages, although the frequency of the messages kept decreasing.. one fine day.. both of them stopped messaging each other..

She started writing for a daily under a pen name. He shifted to her city. But they were not in contact.. so they never knew that they were in the same city.

Her parents also shifted to the city where she was, how could they leave their daughter alone, after all she needed a support-system to handle her daughter.

She was invited for a birthday celebration, she normally avoided going to parties..especially since her separation, but since it was a celebration at home and that too of a selected few, she decided to go. After a long time, she actually dressed herself up.. initially guilty..thinking whether she should get decked up or not..when she looked in the mirror closely she realised she had gained a better shape, all thanks to her regular exercise sessions! Leaving all reservations aside, she dressed in the most elegant way she could. When she stepped out of her room, her daughter exclaimed "Mamma ..aap kitni acchi lag rahi ho! Aap roz aise kyu nahi rehti?" She gave a quick peck on her cheeks and moved towards the door, leaving her with her parents.

She usually reached everywhere on time..and here too she was on time.. noone else had reached.. then the doorbell rang. Just to help her friend, she went and opened the door.. and guess who stood there.. It was Him!

She was at loss of words, just kept staring at him.. and talked to him in her mind "Why didn't you call or message? Its been so long"

He was indifferent.. neither did he say anything nor was he interested to talk to her.

And then the host exclaimed "Oh Wow look who's here!" The host introduced Him to Her as her distant cousin.. the party got over. It was very difficult for her, still she kept her calm. They interacted only what was accepted as a social norm. During discussions she came to know the fact that - He was supposed to leave abroad in the next few months.

With heavy steps she headed back home.. and while digging herself in the pillow, which had become wet because of her tears.. she kept thinking ... Should I tell him? What if its just a one sided affection?

The next day in some discussions the distant cousin came up, she so wanted to talk to the Host, about him, but she refrained. But then the Host herself told her.. you know my cousin is so talented, but he has become very quiet after his divorce and he's shifting abroad, forever!

She came home and decided, she wont ! There was no point...

Not all stories have an ending!