I shyly smiled and realising the awesome scenes I was missing, I accentuated my eyes to the tele. Although we kept moving our eyes after every funny moment, to observe each other's reaction. In a few minutes, facing my palm, I rested my hand on the bed and said, "I don't know why it pains today." She instantly looked at my hand for about seconds, with her eye brow twitched, moved her eyes back to the show and said, "Have some pain killer."
I observed her and she smiled looking at me saying, "You'll be fine.."
I lifted my hand to get off the bed and suddenly, kept it on hers inadvertently. Startled I said with a smile, "Sorry." She replied, "It's okay. Wait, um..I'll get you the medicine. Tell me where it is. I've to stay for about three weeks here. Should know where things are right?" She smiled and indicated her hands asking about the medicine. I pointed the drawer and she opened it. She said, "Huh! Seems like there's only one pain reliever.", tossed it to me and I giggled saying, "Do I have to chew?" She made a face of disgust with a tiny smile and walked to the kitchen, I heard her talking to mom about something. As soon as she started coming back along with water, I hasted to the window. Holding the transom, I peeped outside and she came closer to whisper, "Water.. mister. What are you looking at?" I took water glass from her hand, ate the medicine and kept my hand on her shoulder, moved her a bit closer to make my view visible to her, and said, "Look at this sea, how appeased and beautiful. That's what I watch every evening." Suddenly, realising my hand on her, I moved back to make her comfortable and she said, "Wow. It's beautiful truly." She was staring outside and as soon as she moved her eyes to watch me behind her, she realised I was staring at her with a smile. She smiled back and said, "So this is what you love? The sea, that's why you look so calm and silent!"
I smiled knowing how little she knew about me but without telling, she had understood a character in me which most people often crave for, calmness and positivity. Suddenly, mom came up with some snacks. I walked away from her onto the bed and mom said, "Rohini, he's mad, he'll eat everything. Come here and have before he does."
She smiled and came to bed. Picking up my favourite biscuit, she looked amused and said, "I love it." Taking a bite, she kept her palm on the rest ones and I looked at her with disgust to say, "Common seriously?" She smiled and moved her hand back replying, "Hehe.. what? I got signals from your mom to protect them from you."
I smiled and picked up the biscuit in delight. Her parents called her and said, "Talk to the elders as well dear. Talk to uncle and aunt. They're so kind. Remember, you had lost your water bottle? It was your favourite and these two were the ones who gave it back. And of course, that birthday party, it was raining and very less people could come. So they called their own relatives and friends to make it feel alive. Such helping people."
She started to talk while I kept watching with a smile, watching with a number of notions on mind, standing near my door.
After a few minutes, she looked behind knowing I was lost somewhere else, smiled batting her eyebrows, motioned her eyes to the chair next to her, asking me to sit along with us. I whispered a big no and turned my face aside to get back to my room.
Sitting on bed, the only thing coming to mind was how easier it was getting for her to know me now.
Few minutes later, a message popped up on my cell, it was hers and it said, "Seems like the guy is shy.", with an emoji of wink.
I smiled and felt vulnerable now, easily understood by someone around me. I had realised that the only step needed was to start knowing her too, as a friend, an old classmate and maybe, a close person I'd never want to be away from.
Authors note :- That feeling, the first moment when you talk to someone as a friend, you hesitate in asking questions all over. You're ostentatious about yourself, trying to build a good image infront of a stranger. It's beautiful to remember the past when you know the future with same stranger, when you know that this will be just more than friendship. That is where I was standing in reality.
