Unkept Promises

Chapter II

It was just another normal day for Meenakshi. She woke up early to help father clean the house and prepare breakfast for guests. Busy season had just started. People were flocking into the town, to celebrate the annual lantern festival.

Each 7th day of 7th month of the year, couples from around the town would visit their small town, Moors to take part in the lantern festival. Couples would buy or prepare paper lanterns, write their names and love notes on them, light them and let them fly high above in the sky declaring their love and commitment towards each other. Thousands of lanterns would float in the sky doubling the brightness of the starry night sky.

Years after years Meenakshi had watched couple in love come in to show their love for each other in this peculiar way. She had often sat by a big old tree watching couples prepare their lanterns together, writing their love message on it, light it together and watch it fly holding hands and kissing each other. She had hoped someday she will be the one doing all those things. Someday someone will come into her life and love her unconditionally and she would love him the same with everything she had. She had often tried to picture a face but had never been able to do so, however a sweet feeling of having someone and being loved by him always gave her a great satisfaction. She was confident it would happen to her after all she was born to love.

"Meena! Clear out table 4 and 7 quickly..." father spoke standing at the counter while taking new orders. It was quite hectic with just father, one cook, one server and herself to manage so much of crowd. They would bake the pastries early in the morning and lay them out neatly in the glass counters. Rest of the simple orders like coffee, tea, and omelette would be prepared upon request. Rest of the year it would just be father and her as the guests would be very less. However during lantern month they always had to hire extra, usually a cook and two helpers so that father could just look after cash register. This year though one of the guys who always helped them had left the town for employment leaving them shorthanded.

Meenakshi had been doing her best to act as swiftly as she could but it was very tiring. She carried plates and cups from table 4 and 7 as father asked. Walking towards kitchen with armful of dirty dishes, she saw him for the very first time. She saw his face and felt as if time froze. She could not take her eyes off of his face and he was looking at her the same way. All the chaos of crowded café, sound of the customers, clatter of dirty dishes, everything went silent as she kept looking at him and she knew the very moment that he was the one she had been waiting for all her life. She would love him till she had breath in her. She knew it!

"Meena!!" shouted the father shrugging his shoulders and pointing towards dirty dishes on her hand. She walked slowly towards kitchen with her eyes still fixed on him. It felt impossible for her to take them off of his face. She was bewitched!

She went inside the kitchen and put all the dishes for wash, quickly brushed her apron and hair. She then walked near the door to peep at him. He was standing next to Sabin, who was Shila's; her best friend's brother. Sabin was talking to father and he just stood there silently listening. Meenakshi did not know what the feeling was that she was feeling right then, "how can stranger's face give you so many emotions all at once?" she thought. She had never felt that way before, she wanted to caress his face and hold it on her palms and just keep looking at it. Her heart started beating faster and she felt as if that was what she was born to do, to love him.

Father called out for her again and her heart started pounding even faster with the thought that she would be standing in front of him. After few more calls she walked towards them trying very hard not to look at his face. She concentrated her focus on father and on Sabin at times but she could see his face staring at her from the corner of her eyes and her face started getting hotter and palms sweatier. She tried very hard to focus on what father was saying but all she could hear was her own heartbeat.