A deranged man and a dreamless woman

Meeting The Stranger

(chandni   POV)

i tightened my hold on the umbrella, it has been raining cat and dogs for the last two days. i am afraid, if  it will rain tomorrow like this, how would we be able to celebrate "Maha shivratri" tomorrow. my heart sink even at the thought of this. it never rains during this month but this year it seems that weather has changed it course, its doing the unpredictable. i flinch in fear as the loud thunder parts the dark sky. 

i rush towards mohan uncle's shop for some snacks before i  made my way back to my home .Rohan uncle (my late father's brother) will be picking me up in one hour. i have been shopping for last three hours for festival . i keep my umbrella and my shopping bangs near my table.  i sit at my usual place ,in the far most corner on the  right ,near the humongous glass window.  'chotu' the waiter brings me a cup of  tea with my favorite  Namkeen (salty) biscuits . it is just five in the evening but it looks as if its  midnight.

i take a sip of my tea while scanning my surroundings, two kids fighting over which chips to buy near  the counter, two in love couples siting while chatting and smiling shyly. before i can stop my heart from sinking in sadness of  not being lucky enough to get the martial bliss in my life. i thought i had come to terms with the reality of my life ,of my past but i have not. it still hurts . it hurts to know that the most common dream of every girl wont come true for you. i take a big sigh and try to divert my mind. it is than i see him . i am sure i would have missed his solitude if i had not looked with more concentration.

A man probably in his early thirty ,siting in the farthest corner of the small restaurant , surrounded by the darkness lost in his mind. three cups of coffee , three samosas lay there in front of him while his eyes remain affixed on his watch. the black jacket and black jeans make him blend in the darkness , as if he is trying to be invisible . His chiseled jaw ,his sharp features make him look like a man out of some bollywood magazine but the tired look in his eyes, his overgrown beard make him look deranged man. i felt his lips moving ,is he talking to someone but who ,there is no one beside him.

i usually do not talk to stranger especially a man, my experience has taught me better but for some reason i cant stop my feets from moving towards him. it was as if an unknown magic is pulling me towards him. 

"excuse me!"  

no response , he do not even look at me but his lips don't stop moving in inaudible whisper. i turn back to move back to my table leaving the weird man alone but i can't . standing there for few minutes trying to get his attention, i thought enough is enough.

i pull the chair beside him with force to sit and talk . but before i can sit ,the man look at me with intense angry eyes, i move back sacred and my back hit the wall though my eyes still remain in contact with his. we look at each other for long minutes and slowly i see the fire burning in his eyes calm down. he gets up and bring one more chair opposite his and ask me to sit. i sit still a little shaken by our earlier encounter. i look at the two empty chair beside us still confused.

"would you like something?" 

i come out of my thoughts as he acknowledges me. i shake my head in negation at his question.he give me his most charming smile ,but his eyes still look as dead as ever.

"i am sorry for scaring you earlier , i did not meant do. i was just in deep thought"  

his voice is rough  and manly, his hands looks that of someone who has done good labor while his clothes scream rich but his appearance seems unkept.

"i am Advay , by the way" he brings his hand forward and i shake his hand feeling the roughens and warmth.

"Chandni "  i  felt his eyes darken a bit at my name but it went back to normal the next second. he remained quite fro long as if again lost in his thoughts.

"what are you doing here?"  i asked 

"um.. just celebrating" he answered after a small pause.

"alone!" who celebrates alone, maybe he lives alone here while his friends and family live somewhere else probably shifted due to employment reasons . before i could comprehend  more , his answers shocks me.

"i am not alone"  he says while pointing at two chairs beside him. i look at him confused . 

"we should always celebrate our success  with our family"  he says smiling while i just give a small smile in return. before i can question what he meant , i see him look at his watch and stand up abruptly and leaving the restaurant without a second glance or as much of goodbye to me, as if he has forgot that i was siting there with him. i look at the untouched coffee and snacks in front of me. which man in his right mind would buy food and don't eat and buy for three  when he is alone.

after two minutes i also move out of the restaurant with my white umbrella closed in my hand ,waiting for my cachu to come pick me up. i see a black audi coming from my right at a good distance away , its my chachu's  car. i wait for him to reach me soon ,suddenly the whole environment has turned scary and sad . as if something wrong is going to happen.

as if on cue , i see my uncle's car turn into a ball of fire in front of my eyes while i stand there shocked . i ran when i gain my sense of the horrendous situation in front of me .

i cry siting on the dirty and wet ground , mourning one more member of my family. why it is happening. why my loved ones are leaving me one by one. 

my wet eyes fell on a dark figure standing near  a tree about some feet away from the crowd . its him that man , advay . his eyes met mine for second and next he disappeared in the darkness.

 i look at my hands that are covered in blood at some places but how ?

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