One shots

Heal...(A Virman story)

And I'd sing a song, that'd be just ours.
But I sang 'em all to another heart.
And I wanna cry I wanna learn to love.
But all my tears have been used up.

She had met three different guys before him - all picked by her father.Her parents were getting restless as all three of them rejected her saying she was too forward thinking. That was exactly what she wanted them to think of her. It wasn't that hard to get them think that way - all she had to do was tell them that she would be studying for the next three years - that career was her top priority - that she wouldn't be able to move from her student apartment and start a life and family, just yet.

But, this guy did not seem bothered by it.

"Sometimes a Ph.D can take up to 8 years. 3 more years is just the best case scenario." she tells him as they were sitting in a cafe that she usually hung out in the night, working on her dissertation. It was the one good cafe in the little university town she lived at.

"Are you trying to dissuade me?" he asks squinting his eyes and looking at her with a amused evaluative expression.

"No, I just want you to get a clear picture of what you will be signing up for."

"Well, if I do make a decision to get married to you, I would be signing up for you - Manvi Chowdary. And if that happened, all these issues will be mere technical hindrances. Don't you think?" he smiles.

She looks down not knowing how to answer that. She would have agreed with him completely two years ago, but now, she didn't know anymore. Life has taught her exactly the opposite - not to believe in illusions like unconditional love - that guys are practical creatures - and more often than not, they choose what is convenient - that they make decisions out of their dicks not hearts. And even worse, she doubted if they had a heart, at all."

She told him that she would be studying for the next three years. She told him that she wasn't ready to have kids until she settled in a comfortable job and accumulated enough experience under her belt. She told him that she will pick a job of her liking after her studies, even if that meant continued long distance relationship. She told him that she wanted a simple wedding and that she did not want to waste money on elaborate rituals that made no sense to her.

He had listened to each and every word of her carefully.

"Thanks for coming down to meet me, Virat. You probably had to take off from work. Flight and hotel expenses on top of that. Thanks." she nods.

She was ready to leave. She did not have anything else to say to this guy. She had already given out all the warning signs and disclaimers.

"Are we done already?" he asks.

"I told you everything that I had to tell you."

"Good. Now since all that is out of the way, we can have an actual conversation."

"Okay?" she looks at him disinterested. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Yes. Are you a soup person or salad person?" he asks, genuinely interested in her answer.

"Huh?"

"They only have those two things on the menu." he shows her the menu card grinning. "And what's to see around here?"

"Soups here are good. I have been living on them for the last year or so. And there is nothing much to see around here. Just the university and corn fields. Since it is winter, even the corn fields are dead."

"Show me your university then. And howz the broccoli cheddar soup here?"

She smiles for the first time since they sat down to talk. That was her favorite soup.