the ugly swan

✿ Day 3 (2)

Yuv lived in the upper part of New York, where the crime rate was much lower than where Mira lived. It was a large, airy building with spacious balconies all around it. Mira liked the place. It had trees, beautiful flowers planted all around. A sight quite rare in New York.

She was giving herself a second chance, by turning up at his lunch party. Instead of willowing in self-pity, she was giving herself a chance to laugh, be happy and not be scared. The first step is always the hardest, ask anyone, someone. Just take the first step, the following steps will become so much easier.

She stood outside the door. The laughter and merry talks, clanging of the wine glasses could be heard till the outside. Taking a deep breath in, she knocked the door with her free hand, the one that didn't hold the basket of pears and peaches.

Yuv opened the door a second later. His face lit up when he saw her. He wore a cream colored shirt which really nicely blended with his slightly tan skin.

"And so you came." He stepped aside to let her in. The insides were splendid. Warm maroons and rich golden covered the living room. It had a very earthy feel to it. The Prussian rugs, leather sofas and plasma TV placed on one wall.

It was festival inside, groups of lovely people stood next to one another, some hand in hand, others on the sofa, even the ones who were arguing had smiles on their faces.

Mira held out the basket. "I brought these."

"Oh man, you didn't need to be so formal...." Mira eased the basket onto the table near the door.

Mira and Yuv weren't aware. But few curious eyes watched them. Mira consciously tucked a strand of curly hair from her face. Yuv awkwardly, fixed the golden watch on his wrist.

"Um. I want to start again. Properly this time." Yuv said. He held out his hand for her to take, Mira started at it for a moment.

"Yudishter Chandra."

"Mira Shayma."

She smiled, as her hand was in a strong grasp of his. His hand was feverishly warm, like he was nervous, why? Mira wished to know. Dr. Yuv sort of reminded Mira of her first crush, back in school, in India, the humid monsoon rains and a particular boy dressed in a loose blue uniform.

He was her senior. She was in 10th grade and he was in 12th. By the school gates, he would stand and wait for her to pass by. Every time she did, he take a deep breath in, as though trying to capture her smell along with the monsoon season.

Mira was enthralled by his light honey eyes. They were something different. Indians rarely had honey colored eyes. Mira should know. She came from a long family of brown-eyed people.

Mira scanned the crowded room, looking for any familiar faces. Yuv's eyes followed her in an understanding manner.

"Catherine couldn't make it. Bo has a fever." He explained, as though reading her mind.

"Oh." The expression on Mira's face fell by a notch. "Is Bo alright?"

"She will be."

Mira shuffled her feet, then entwined her hands. This was going to be a-lot lonelier than she thought. Everyone here knew each other, after all, they were colleagues. But she had thought wrong, because where people like Yuv were, no-one was left alone.

He took hold of her wrist, like a man took hold of his friend's. Inside Mira's mind, it felt like something else, like a sensual mid-summer gust. A berry colored blush colored Mira's cheeks.