Destined

Long Distance Calls

Shubman hadn't noticed at first. A week passed until he was staring at his mobile, realizing that she had followed him.

He had been caught up in tournament preparations and had neglected checking his socials. He quickly followed her, and opened the chat box.

Looks like someone found me 👀

He did his workout and was gulping down a protein shake when he received a reply.

You caught me 😛 I can't resist a good social media stalk.

Haha same here. How have u been?

Good! Back in Mumbai. Hbu?

I'm okay, very busy for the World Cup.

Ah how exciting. I'm in chill mode until uni starts.

You study in London?

Yess. Not looking forward to the winter weather :(

Kyu? Snow looks so cool to me

No yaar it's depressing. You come you'll find out

Lol maybe I willl 🤔

Shubman sat back, imagining traveling to London and meeting her.

Meanwhile far away, Sara was picturing the same thing. Showing him around the city, her university, her cutely decorated flat.

She paused.

It was so unlike her to be suddenly smitten. Was the mundanity of school and work pushing her to these fantasies? I mean she barely knew the guy.

And it's not like she didn't know how young cricketers behaved. They were far from perfect, most into the glitzy and fast lifestyle with parties and models. And with his looks, she knew he didn't have to even try.

"Sara jaa beta," she heard her mother call for her from downstairs.

Hey, going out for dinner rn with the fam- will talk another time :)

On the other hand, Shubman hadn't realized Sara was so interested in him. He still registered her as Sachin Tendulkar's daughter and was just happy they were getting along well. His mind was too occupied by the pending tournament to deeply consider anything but cricket.

Sure Sara, take care ✌️

After a yummy meal of Italian pasta and breads, Sara returned home and checked her notifications. She saw Shubman had sent her a meme of a dog crawling all over its owner, with the message "Ur situation? 😂"

He had remembered from their mall meet her mentioning her new puppy, Russo, who always cuddled up to her face while sleeping.

Definitely me 😂😭

A few minutes passed and she saw he had read the text and was typing.

Soo how was dinner

Delish, as Italian always is 🙌

Nicee. Wyd now

Just chillin in my room, watching tv. I saw a promo ad for the u-19 team earlier.

Hey cool. Did u spot me in it

I didd

Shubman was in bed, the lights all off. Abhishek was sound asleep, and the quiet, private atmosphere relaxed him.

It's my first big tournament, it's exciting but little nervous.

Sara smiled at his text, reminiscing.

Baba was excited for each and every tournament, all the way until his retirement. All those years and it never got old for him.

Wow that's exactly why Sachin sir is my biggest inspiration.

Shubman hesitated, then typed quickly.

Are u free? We could switch to a call

Sara didn't reply, just went ahead and clicked the call option on the chat. He greeted her in a soft, hushed voice that made her heart skip a beat.

"I haven't mentioned how much I idolize him, have I?"

"I had no idea. It makes me proud cricketers like you are following his path," she replied.

"Cricketers like me?"

"Yeah dude. I've seen how well you play."

"You haven't mentioned till now."

Sara detected a coy tone in his voice.

"I said it when we met na."

"No, you said the team played well."

"Haan including you too. Batting needs some practice though."

"Hey, it was an off day."

"Okay, okay I believe you," she said teasingly.

Shubman noticed her flowing english marked by distinct elegant pronunciation. She oozed class even through speaking. He wondered what she thought of his thick accent and flawed grammar.

Sara yawned.

"Time for bed, it's late here."

"Not that late. Why you're going suddenly, boyfriend calling?" Shubman questioned in jest.

Sara was surprised by his bold joke.

"Very funny."

"It's him only, no?"

"None of your business pal."

"Oh, jaldi line cut karo yaar, he may get mad."

Shubman's voice had risen, and Abhishek stirred in his sleep mumbling from the disturbance. Sara could hear him in the background.

"Pehle aapka boyfriend dekho, phir question karo," she replied biting back a laugh.

"Boyfriend nahi, pathi. We practically share a bed," Shubman said chuckling.

"Aapka ghar keliya aashirvad."

"Thanks ji."

"Good night ji."

"Okay ji."

Sara ended the call, and Shubman stared at the screen taking it all in. There was an ease and comfort with her that was surprising; they were becoming friends, he felt it. His attraction to her had only grown through these interactions.

He could tell Sachin sir was not only an ace cricketer, but a good father as well.

This is a 100% made up story and has no connection to real people or events.