✔️The single housewife (Completed)

Love me, slowly

Era's POV

"Yes, ma, don't worry, I am doing great. Uncle's mansion is beautiful. I have also landed a job in a publishing company in our city. Trust me, I love it here. No, no, I don't want to come back. I am happy here. Never felt so liberated!" I talked to my mum on the phone while waiting for Neel's bicycle.

I cannot answer calls from anyone outside the world except in emergencies. And what can be more emergency than having a mother who is worried to death about your well-being? I had to assure her countless times that I was fine, and I didn't need to go back to my hometown.

Now that I was alone, they were planning to shift into this city, as papa had a transferable job in the bank. That way, they could stay close to me, albeit without compromising my own space. I didn't need that. They didn't need to compromise their already perfect life for mine.

Finally, I put down the phone when my mum felt relieved. I looked at the watch and wondered why Neel was late. He has always been more than punctual about timings.

I looked around to see him, riding his bike, coming closer to me every other second. But who was sitting behind him? Damn, it was Aisha, one of the Council members!

"Hi, Era!" she chirped as she got off from the bike,  waving at me cheerfully, although my mind battled to accept the fact that someone else sat behind Neel.

"Hi!" I tried to take the indifference, but Neel was too sharp to catch it.

"Aisha was getting late as her bicycle's tyre punctured, so I offered her a ride." he clarified. That was so sweet. But he wasn't my boyfriend, so it was unfair to seek clarification from his side.

"That's okay; I love to walk. I will go to the publishing house myself." I tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Na! That's okay." She said. "The office is hardly 10 minutes from here. Now I can easily walk."

"Na, you please go. I have a habit of walking, and I am way ahead of my timings. So it would hardly take me a few minutes to reach." I said, and Neel agreed. It was a big day as it was the Annual Council Review meeting day.

Neel and Aisha faded out of the scene, laughing merrily, teasing each other while I tensed, seeing their incredible chemistry. I walked a few blocks when I heard a sudden "trinnn trinnn".

I looked around to find Neel coming to my route.

"Hi!" I was never happier in my life!

"I dropped Aisha at her office, and now I need to drop you at yours." He chirped as he took my bag and put it on the black metal basket that hung ahead of his steering.

"You should start your passenger delivery services." I giggled.

"I should, I think. But I am interested in only one passenger in particular." He said as he made a special emphasis in the fourth last word.

I didn't know whether to smile or blush or be silent. My tongue took retirement, and my head spun gleefully.

"And how long is the validity of that service?" I was able to speak up after some minutes.

"Depends." He said.

"Depends? On what?" I asked.

Suddenly he stopped the bike and looked into my eyes. His eyes were smiling, and his ears were delightfully pink.

"It depends on how many years you live." He smiled into my eyes and looked into them for more than a few seconds, and resumed cycling.

"And what if we both grow old? Will you be able to carry my weight?" I joked about removing the sweet awkwardness.

"People don't grow old here." He let out startling revelation.

"What?" I asked.

"The average life expectancy here is 120 years. Even though people grow, they don't age. Meaning the land has blessed us with fit bodies. I don't know how many years you will live, but your body seems to adapt well here, so I guess you will be  around 116 years!" He laughed at my genuinely startled face.

It made sense the only sign of ageing was the dark colour of the eyes. That's it.  People are usually physically and mentally fitter.

"The mental health determines your physical health up to a great extent. Since we live on the top of the crust stuffed with sapphires, people around here are mostly influenced by the calm nature of sapphire. People here feel almost nil stress. Soon your body will fully adapt to the environment, and your mind too shall start showing the healthy signs of mental peace." He smiled.

That explained why people here seldom got mad or sad or frustrated.

"So Ummm Neel, I would be free early today as Satya air has given us a half-day," I said.

"So?" He asked playfully.

"Let's go out today. You know, hang out somewhere." I said.

"Okay, I shall invite Mihir and Nisha." He said, and my face fell instantly. I mean, I loved Mihir, Aisha and Nisha, and they were my support system. But I wanted to spend some alone time with Neel. To know more about him.

"I think I shall also invite our volunteers. We can go for ice hockey together!" He seemed to be over-enthusiastic.

And I didn't speak anything except a weak "yes", and he seemed to chuckle my torment.

We reached the building, and he got down from the cycle to hand me my bag.

"Good day, little soldier." He said as he handed over my bag.

As I turned around, I got reminded of something.

"Should I call Nisha and Mihir to inform them about the evening outings? You communicate with Aisha as I don't have her Walkie talkie id." I said. Everyone had a unique walkie talkie Id to connect. I didn't have Aisha's.

"You don't need to call." He said.

I began to say that it was okay to call them, but he said that everything was covered.