Under Purple Sky

Chapter 2: The Encounter

I had no expectations from this trip or even from life at that point.

A few days passed by. I kept myself to the house and only left for my morning jog. Whereas my parents were already getting acquainted with other people in town. They were out for a party hosted by one of their new acquaintances. 

I had an early dinner, not at the dining table with Ram and Shelly but in my room. It was hard to avoid any conversation if it were just the three of us. My phone rang; it was Sanjana aka Sanju, my best friend. Ever since my break up with that a-hole Karan, Sanju has been checking up on me even more frequently. She is the only person who knows about it and the only person I can rely upon for my secrets.

She was vacationing in Rajasthan with her grandparents. Turns out she met someone, and they were dating. Sanju said, "Noor, this guy is so cute. You would love him. We have only been on a few dates, but I have a good feeling about this one." I was very happy for her, but at the same time, it was triggering me, flooding all the good memories I had with him....

She continued, "For our recent date, he took me into this royal palace turned heritage site. His family is friends with the property owners. So, we had the VIP entry and all the exclusive access......" After a while, all the talk was sliding down my ears. I was filling the conversation with 'Ummm' and 'Hmmm' with the occasional 'oh wow.' 

I heard a voice of a car entering the premise. I knew I was acting pathetic, but I gave an excuse for a headache and asked her to call me back. I was happy for her but couldn't listen to her romantic dates while taking care of my broken heart.

I rushed to the window to have a look. Three people got off the car; it was the other family Ram mentioned. Muttering noises were coming from downstairs. I leaned on the staircase railing and see the top of their heads. Their son was the one wearing a black tee with grey trousers. I leaned a little further, and suddenly their son glanced upwards. As soon as his eyes caught mine, I jerked back in embarrassment. 

What he must be thinking about me? The nerdy creep with big round specs?

I don't know why his opinion of me mattered, but I reserved myself to my floor to avoid any more awkward moments. I was scrolling Instagram and came across Sanju's story. She was right about her beautiful dates. His stories were an ensemble of perfect royal experiences. Palace visits, candlelight dinner, dancing along with the folk performers, going on desert rides, camping under the stars. 

I was so jealous. I turned off my internet and slept.

I stuck to my morning routine. I was getting comfortable with the new terrain. Each day I would finish my jog just before sunrise, and each day, the sun would try to convey something new to me. I don't know whether it was the beauty of these mountains or I was losing my head, but if I focused closely, the sun tried to convey something to me each day.

Today it was projecting hope. After stretching, I came into the dining room and grabbed an apple from the basket. They don't have such juicy and sweet apples in the city. I bit a big chunk of it, and some of the juice was dripping down the edge of my mouth. Ram and Shelly had a good laugh about it.

Someone was in the backyard. They opened the glass door in the drawing room and walked into the kitchen. He was the son was our 1st-floor neighbor. My mouth was still full with the big bite of the apple. He extended his hand and introduced himself, "Hey, I am Ujjwal." I took his hand with still my mouth full. I gobbled it down my throat, and he chuckled softly. "Hi, Ujjwal. I am Karan." I have unfortunately yet successfully embarrassed myself a second time.

Once the moment of embarrassment passed. I really looked at him. He was wearing an all-black activewear outfit, and his body was dripping in sweat. He was built like a model and also had the face for one. 

He took a glass of water and headed to his room. He stopped after climbing a few steps and turned towards me, "Nice to meet you, Noor. See you around." I smiled back in return. He was handsome, well-built, and charming. So, I already hated him. Not that I was jealous of him, but I find all people with these three qualities to be the same. 

Complete Jerks.

After shower, I picked up my book, but something changed, and I felt like doing something else. I looked up popular tourist attraction spots online and, at the top, found a library cafe. Many notable authors have also visited this place. 

I would visit it later in the day. But first, a quick nap.