The Sparks Of Love| ✓

Chapter - 1

• meet and eat •

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How did they first meet and how did it go?

How was the first impression?

There was just one answer to that 'there's no answer'.

When you meet someone for the first time it's very casual and doesn't matter most of the time. When you're not really interested in making a good impression if you don't have something you're looking forward to building up in the near future with that person, be it any kind of relationship or business.

So they met once upon a time, very long ago, randomly somewhere they don't remember. They've met and ignored each other hundreds of times. Being from the same city and from the same school does that to everyone. You see everyone everyday even if you don't know them, you still know them to an extent but these two have never been the strangers they've been playing for years.

Maithili Sankhla and Nikshit Dahiya have known each other for a long time as two strangers who have grown up in the same town for over more than two decades.

From going to the same nearest school to accidentally spotting each other randomly on random days at school grounds, in the vegetable market, the stationary shop or the yearly fairs in their town, they grew up into fine youngsters.

Although what they never expected to happen was being arranged for a marriage with each other by their respective parents. So, not being able to come up with an excuse individually they decided to meet and discuss this matter together and come up with a convincing enough reason to get this marriage canceled.

Their families have known each other for a long time. It usually happens when families in the same town have resided at one place for decades they eventually become friends with time.

But it's not like it's necessary to know everyone your family members know either though.

Nikshit and Maithili even though never properly exchanged greetings, they still ended up working at the same company, which was coincidentally owned by the Dahiyas- Nikshit's family.

For Maithili, applying there for a position had its own perks- it was closer to the place she lived at. She didn't have to wake up earlier than required and travel for hours just to reach the office. It was very convenient to commute.

Eventually as colleagues they finally came to 'know' or could be said, recognise each other's existence but nothing more than that. Nikshit was a senior to her and more so in a different department, there were more or less non-existent interactions between them on a daily basis.

Although today, they're meeting each other for the first time with an intentionally planned official meeting as two people with the same agenda of 'rejecting the marriage proposal' in their minds.

"It's a potential marriage proposal for me? With him?"

That was the first thing that came out of her mouth on the day she learnt with whom her parents were trying to fix her marriage.

Unimpressed? Hard to say.

It was completely unexpected.

She has known him for years and they've never interacted even by mistake if they did not necessarily have to. Even when she used to carry the copies of their English teacher to his class sometimes or when he used to come to their class to take names for Olympiads in school, they'd chosen to remain estranged.

Passing by him in the prayer ground while walking in files, on the roads randomly, in the local market or near the school gate, they just walked past each other like oblivious strangers. Later at the office, they'd avoided crossing paths as much as possible. Even being in the same lift at the same time didn't matter and Maithili always stopped at the floor below the floor he used to work on and got off before him.