MEANT TO BE

It was heavily rainy when Ayesha came running into her house, holding an umbrella in her hand. Ayesha was home alone that day; her parents went shopping. As she returned from her work, it was 5:30 in the evening. She saw a shady-looking man near the gate through her window from the first floor of her house. He was shivering in the rain. She thought to herself, maybe he needs some help. Looking at this man, Ayesha felt empathetic. So she took some dry clothes of her father, which were put aside for donation by her mother. She also took an umbrella and a glass of bread and milk for this guy. He was not very old; he looked like he was in his mid-20s. She thought to herself, well, who knows what led this man to be homeless. Ayesha, when she saw this man, placed the umbrella near him, by the opened gate, and placed the clothes wrapped in a plastic cover and the hot milk and bread near him. She walked away quietly into her home. He looked at how she couldn't see his face but only saw her from behind going inside her home. He saw what she had left for him. He took the bread and ate it as if he had been hungry for days. He also wore the clothes Ayesha had given him, including the raincoat. He changed his clothes in the shelter nearby, a shop which was closed that evening. He took his bicycle, looked at her house for one last time before leaving. Ayesha, after a few hours, came out to check whether he had left.

Days passed. Ayesha was a bookworm. She would go to the library every Thursday evening. But she had not visited the library for weeks, as she was completely engaged in her new project. Finally, the wait was over; Ayesha was able to go to her town's library. It grew dark outside, the clouds gathered together to rain upon the town, though it was still 5 in the evening. She picked up some of her research books on history. The library was built with wooden cabinets and shelves. It was dark inside the library, with some warm lights here and there, and the twirling sound of the fan. The room was filled with cool breezes that entered the room by flapping the windows. She sat down with her notes on the huge study table. She could hardly find anyone in the library. There was a constant sound of flapping posters on the window. At last, the poster was thrown by the wind from the wall. It landed on her face. She took it from her face. The poster had a familiar face; it was about the sensational singer Raghav's concert. "September 13th, 9 pm to 12 am," it said. Ayesha couldn't take her eyes off the poster. The face of the singer was not clear in the poster, but he looked familiar to her. The clock rang 6. Ayesha took the poster with her.

She was just 15 feet away from her home, but she heard footsteps following her for the past 5 minutes. As she came closer to her house, the footsteps also drew closer. Ayesha held her bag tightly, took a deep breath. "Okay, Ayesha, it's time to save yourself now. Just run as fast as you can into your house," she said to herself. She rushed into her house gate; those steps rushed behind her too. She hid herself behind the house gate, dropped her bag, and took a nearby log in her hand. She was ready to fight whatever it was behind her. Her grip grew stronger as those footsteps neared the gate. Ayesha came out and closed her eyes while she charged at this person. It was a tall guy, completely covered in black attire. He wore a black hoodie, pants, and boots; his hoodie hid his face till his eyes, and he covered his face with a black mask. Those dark clouds behind him in the sky with sparks of lightning made him look like the devil. Ayesha's hands were held in the air by this guy's arm. Her furious charge on him brought his instinct to save himself as he held her arms above her head. His force made her lean over the wall of the gate. It started to rain. Ayesha opened her eyes to find herself held by him. Her eyes rose to his. "Who are you? What do you want? Why are you following me?" He hushed her by placing his index finger on her tender lips to shut her from making more noise. "It's me." He lowered his mask to show his face. Familiarity sparked in her eyes. "Wait, I have seen you," she looked at the poster which had fallen out from her purse. Still confused, she asks him, "Wait? Are you the guy who was sitting here a month ago?" "Yeah, that's me," he replies. "I'm the one whom you helped that evening. Probably that would have been my last day on earth too." He released her arms and continued to speak. "See, I'm an orphan. I never had any dreams except I wanted to be a singer one day. That day, I had an audition for my first debut. I managed really hard to find a decent dress that day. When I was riding my cycle, it started to rain. I didn't want to get there in a wet dress, but I was splashed with mud by a car near your home. I was completely wet and dirty and devastated too. I had no clues what to do next.. As those rainwater went into the drain, my hopes went too. That was the moment you came and helped this stranger. And now I have become a singer that this world is talking about." "What?" exclaimed Ayesha. He took the poster laying on the ground, showed her. "This is me. Look, I'm Raghav." Ayesha couldn't believe that her small act of kindness had changed a man's life. He turns to her and says, "I came here for two things. First, I want to thank you. Second, I don't want to waste time in dating; all I want is to marry you. Ever since I became famous, I was looking for you everywhere. I fell in love the moment I found you. So, Ayesha, will you marry me?"

Will Ayesha say yes? What will happen next? Will they be a couple?

THANK YOU FOR READING MY STORY, IF YOU LOVE SAY IT AND SHARE IT READERS.