Baarish, Coffee aur Kahaani

And suddenly, it began to pour. Torrential rains accompanied by gusts of wind that blew stray leaves and litter away. Pedestrians suddenly caught in the downpour hurried to seek shelter under dusty, dripping window awnings. Those with umbrellas huddled together. A streak of lightening quickly followed by rolls of thunder elicited gasps. Some of pleasure, some of frustration. After all, it isn't supposed to rain in October. Is it?

He hurried towards the mall, the closest building in sight. Not that it would help now, as he was already soaked to the bone. However, instead of hurrying home, he felt the sudden need to seek some respite from the drops pelting his skin. And not like there was anyone waiting home for him, he thought with a wry smile. His roommate was out with friends and would return late. He had time to kill. Plus the next day was a holiday; he realized hurrying towards the entrance with resolute footsteps.

He almost dashed into a cab in his hurry to get away from the rain. He didn't know why the sudden urge to get away. He usually loved the rains. And enjoyed getting drenched. 'Perhaps I’m conscious because I’m wearing a white shirt'; he chuckled at his own lame joke. Passing through the security check, he decided to quickly grab a coffee. Luckily for him, a new coffee shop had opened on the ground floor of the mall, right opposite the entrance. He quickly made his way over, only to discover the shop was full. Well almost. There was just one empty chair.

And that is when his eyes fell on her. She was seated at the table with the one empty chair, lost in her cell phone. She was dusky. Her skin was as beautiful as the coffee she was sipping. The straw was caught between her teeth, as she slightly bit an edge. Her lips were perfectly done in some glittery goo women everywhere seemed to adore. And that was the instant he fell in love with it too. Her eyes, lowered to the phone, gave him a view of her lids which were achingly dark and bare. He wondered what her eyes, when on him would look like. What colour would they be? However, he quickly abandoned that chain of thought. 'Black or at the most brown. You don’t generally find green eyed dusky beauties in this part of the world. Unless, they use lenses of course.' He seemed to be doing a lot of talking to himself that evening.

He slowly cleared his throat to draw her attention. Her attention directed towards the phone snapped and she looked up, one perfectly arched eyebrow raised. He could see the confusion in her eyes while trying to place him. “Could I… Ummm… Could I grab the chair?” He quickly cleared his throat once again, wondering why his voice came out like a squeak. “Sorry, could I grab the chair?”

“Oh. Sure! Please.”

She went back to her cell phone.

He quickly pulled back the chair, showering droplets of water from his hair to the table. As he sat there waiting for the downpour to halt, he couldn't stop staring at her. She was nearly perfect, he mused. Her chocolate skin did not have any blemish except for a tiny mole on her neck. She was thoroughly engrossed in the phone, he noted. Whoever it was, was sure a lucky person! Surprisingly, he did not feel any jealousy or envy. Just amusement. Amusement that outside the world was in a frenzy and here, for her, time seemed to have stilled. He traced her every movement with his eyes, almost afraid she might look up and catch him staring. But she seemed oblivious to her surroundings and continued tapping away on her phone.  

He looked on as she suddenly smiled, obviously at the latest text or message on her screen. It wasn't an earth-shattering smile. He did not feel the urge to move mountains and part the oceans just to see her smile, he admitted to himself. It was a very, very regular smile. No dimples, no cuteness, no lighting up of the face or any of that shit novels seemed to keep advertising. He however liked the way there appeared a slight indent on the left side of her chin every time she smiled. That little detail captivated him. Just like how, when she frowned, she seemed to gnash her teeth ticking a vein in her lower jaw. He studied her. Almost like an archaeologist reveres a mummy. He absorbed her every move. Every expression. Suddenly, she grinned. He looked on transfixed, as one side of her mouth quirked up and slowly spread to a smile. He was now truly mesmerized.

“Excuse me sir?”

He almost swatted the person away as one might an irritant fly. Luckily, he quickly checked himself and turned his gaze towards the server, patiently waiting with a menu card in hand. “Yeah?” He managed an incomprehensible grunt.

“Would you like anything sir?”

“A vanilla latte. Thanks.”

He resumed his observations as the server walked off. He found it amazing that she hadn’t looked up once and caught him staring. Or perhaps she had, and just chose to ignore it. Women are weird creatures…

Her hair, he admitted, was not the best he had seen. It was pulled back in a messy bun and looked uncombed. However, for reasons he could not fathom, even that little aspect captivated him. He continued to look as she stubbornly pushed a rough, stray strand behind her ear where it refused to stay and promptly bounced back. She frowned as she absentmindedly tried putting it back in place, where the strand, equally stubborn refused to stay. The little game of smile and frown quite amused him and he wondered if she would give the lop-sided grin again. As if on cue, her lips curled up and she almost giggled.

The server arrived with his latte. It was just like her. Creamy, smelling of vanilla and heavenly. The warm coffee gliding down his throat felt good after the cold shower. Suddenly he noted, her ears were bare. There was nothing dangling from any hole or piercing. He couldn't even spot a piercing.

He took a gulp of the coffee and for the first time, moved his eyes away from her face, down her throat. She was dressed in an over-sized black tee, with words printed on. He couldn't read the one-liner on it though. Her arms were bare and glowed like the rest of her skin. 'Wonder if she's an angel', he once again mused. His eyes traced down her bright orange shorts and purple sneakers, and began a slow, upward journey again.

Suddenly, his attention was captured by the waiter waving out to him. He signaled for the cheque and was amazed at the speed with which it was delivered. He quickly pulled out a Rs 500 note and resumed his observations.

She seemed to be having an argument. Her brow was furrowed together, lips caught between her teeth. 'Not a woman worried about wrinkles', he once again chuckled at his lame joke. She bit her lip hard, almost drawing blood, typing furiously on the phone. He wanted to tell her it was alright. Nothing to worry about. He moved his hand slightly, hovering over hers as it rested on the table, holding the cup of coffee. Just then, the server arrived with his change. Out of habit, he began counting the amount returned.

The server had given him the wrong amount, he realized and tried calling out to him. The server however, was busy and did not pay attention. His eyes strayed back to her and she looked like she was about to cry.

He quickly left his seat and hurried to the cash counter. It took some time to get the cashier’s attention and longer for the cashier to find the required correct change. But finally, the problem was solved. He had the right amount. It was when he turned back that he realized the rain had stopped. The café was now almost empty. For the first time that evening he smiled, and headed to his now empty table. She had left as quietly as the rain. He could however, see a drop on the table. Was it from the rain or was it her tears? He would never know. He quickly pulled out his laptop and began to write…