On the Brink of falling in Love (On Hold)

"Trust me, you have got a real hot catch there"

~ Iss dil ki fitrat hai ... kabhi akele nahi rehta,

Judta hai toh kisi dusre dil ke saath

Aur tum bhi, adhure the ... mukammal hone ke liye

Ek dusre ki talash kar rahe the

Aahat teri paa ke jaage ... khwaab le angdaayian,

Dhundthe the kab se tujhko ... mein aur meri tanhaayian ~

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"Time over. Please stop writing and submit your answer scripts before you leave" Srishti announced once she heard the final bell ring. Once the last student had submitted the answer scripts, she arranged them properly and walked towards the office to submit the bundle before signing off for the day. Once she had greeted her colleagues, she walked over to the administrator's office and knocked on the door before entering.

"May I come in Mam?" she asked, her head peeped from outside, seeking permission.

"Yes Miss Aggarwal, please sit. I was myself thinking of calling you over. I received your resignation letter yesterday. What is the reason for this sudden decision? As far as I remember, you were not in the plans of leaving this job anytime soon."

"Ah, yes mam. My marriage has been fixed and the wedding is to take place in January. My fiancé is based in Bangalore and so, I'll be shifting with him after the marriage. I love this job, I really do. But I guess we got to make some hard decisions for beautiful journeys and this is one of them", Srishti completed.

"Congratulations darling, am so happy for you. May God bless you both with a beautiful life ahead. I won't say it'll be all rosy, there sure will be many hurdles, but being together to get through them is what matters at the end of the day. You have been such a wonderful student and teacher, you are truly an asset to the institution. You will surely be missed, dear", the old lady completed.

"Thank you mam, thank you so much. I'll be around for a month and a half so if you can send the official letter through, I'll serve my one month notice period before I leave."

"Ah yes, yes. I'll see that you get your letter by Monday. Congratulations once again."

Srishti smiled brightly and shook hands with the office staff before walking out to her cabin. Once she packed her things, she proceeded to walk towards the gate. She checked her phone for the hundredth time to check for Akash's missed call or message, but frowned on finding none. She had not heard from him since last evening and the absence of his usual morning text got her worried and anxious. She had tried to call him once before the exam started, only to hear the same old recorded voice message, indicating that his number was unreachable.

Sighing loudly, she dropped her phone into her bag and began walking out of the college building. She had to take a bus to Techozip to collect her official project submission letter from her senior. As she descended the stairs of the main college building to head out, she saw a very familiar figure leaning on a bike near the main gate.

And before she could even realise, she found herself running towards the figure. As she got closer, she found her breath hitch in her throat. Dressed in a pair of denims and a casual white shirt, the ends tucked out and the first two buttons undone, Akash stood against his bike and flashed his breath-taking smile at her. Srishti continued moving towards him until she was a mere few steps away from him. She slowly stared at him, still trying to take in his sudden appearance. His messy hair, the light day-old stubble on his face and his woody cologne that hit her face made her gawk at him like an animal and its prey.