When We Met

Tu jahan, mien vahin

Miraya arrived at the restaurant to discover that a sumptuous breakfast had been served, and everyone was seated at one of the larger tables. As she got closer to the table, everyone turned to look at her, but her eyes were looking for him. He wasn't there. She asked herself, "Where is he?", and cast a hopeful glance around.

When Maahi saw that she was looking for him, she pinched her lips together and remarked, "Miru, who are you looking for? Get your breakfast na?"

"Yeah", she responded not really paying attention to Maahi's words. She picked up a plate unconsciously and nearly dropped it, but someone held her hand to steady it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you okay?" , said the voice. Her look went from lost to delighted in an instant when she saw his smile and realized he was standing right in front of her, holding her hand.

He repeated, "Are you okay?" after a prolonged period of silence. She was just staring at him the whole time. She snapped out of her daydream and exclaimed, "Oh yes! I'm doing fine. Thank you for saving the plate. By the way, good morning."

"Hahahaha, not to worry. It's nothing for Superman", he laughed, winking. He covered his mouth to contain his laughter as she gave him a confused expression. "What? You promised to tell me what happened yesterday.", she said.

"Oh, I will for sure, but it's too adorable that you can't recall anything." Attempting to calm down, he remarked, "You called me superman yesterday."

"I did?", she said, her lips parting as her eyes grew in surprise. He nodded yes with a shake of his head. She nervously smiled and replied, "I have to know everything now because I don't remember anything." She was unsure of what else she might have said to him.

He narrated to her what had happened the previous evening as they meandered through the buffet, picking up food items along the way. "And you wanted to watch a movie and have popcorn at two in the morning?"

Embarrassed, she held her head between her hands and said, "Why didn't you just tell me to shut up and go to bed? Why did you work so hard on the popcorn, the movie, and everything else?"

"Because I wanted to," he said as he came to a stop, turned to face her, and met her keen gaze. "I want to fulfill your every wish."

His words resonated with a resonance that echoed in her heart, and she found herself captivated by the passion in his eyes. "Why did he care so much about all of her needs? It was her father, who gave her the princess treatment and granted all of her wishes, but why was he doing it? Why does he always look like a reflection of her father?"

To attract her attention, he gave her a light nudge on the shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed pink. A tender smile played on her lips as she watched him speak, and she couldn't help but notice the way his laughter filled the air, creating a melody that seemed to harmonize with the beating of her heart.

He brought her to the counter carrying flaky pastries. Her expression brightened as she took in the deliciousness in front of her. She chuckled as she loaded her plate with the pastries, "I swear these croissants are calling my name. I can never resist them."

With a glint in his eyes, he grinned and said, "I knew you'd like them." She said, turning to face him again, "Don't tell me, I wanted croissants in the night too?". When she asked, he laughed and waved his hand, saying, "No, no! I remembered it from the rehearsals. We had a conversation about it once." She kept staring at him, her eyes full of awe. "How on earth does he remember every single detail about me?, as they all made their way to the table, she thought to herself.

Maahi retrieved a chair for her, but she was still deep in her own reverie when she sat down. Vivaan questioned her, "Miraya, are you okay?" when he noticed her sitting and not eating. She gave a nod of her head and dug into the meal.