Dream Amour.

Resurgence.

The hard earned joys are the sweetest. It all started at the beginning of last month. I had made a long bucket list.
Being socially passive on social networking sites it seemed like a tough job. I logged in my yahoo account and searched for familiar names in my chat box.

A message popped in 'Hie Bella' and I knew I would be going out on a blind date with him.
I barely knew him. We spoke for a couple of times in the past seven months. We were acquainted with everyday formal texts and it wouldn't exceed more than that.

'Hello', I quickly typed.
I made sure I spoke frequently with him for a week. He finally asked to meet me. I responded faintly. I didn't want to show my excitement. It wasn't about him. It was just the idea of a blind date which amused me.

It was an unusual saturday morning, 26th July we mutually decided to meet. The plan was fixed. We would visit two new places of worship followed by lunch and then quickly head back home.

Since we live in a fast communicating world it would have been a smart option to take his number but neither did he initiate nor did I ask. I waited for him in the allotted menu. Patiently.

With every passing steps approaching near me I thought it was my blind date. Ten minutes later, I noticed a boy walk past me and stop by. I could sense it was difficult for him to make an eye contacts. I choose to be quiet. He adressed me his name.

'Hello, Mr. Peters here', said a low pitched sweet voice.
Anticipating his tone I replied with a smile, 'Ms Forbes here.'

We walked down the location without exchanging a single word. It wasn't the kind of walks I normally prefer. So, I broke the awkward silence that was lingering between us. I asked him questions about general topics to which he replied casually. It seemed like I was forcing him to talk to me and I decided to remain quiet after trying hard. He wouldn't talk at all.

The desolated street explained the bond that I shared with my new friend, Jack. It gave me an eerie feeling. Few months back I was strictly teritorised to few places namely my school and visiting the church every Sunday. I was now set free to make new boundaries for myself.

I wanted to visit new places of worship. I wanted to look beyond the walls created by men and woman on the subject religion with diverse places of worship. Religion, an interesting form of culture, shapes how people think and see the world.

We both walked up to a nearby gurdwara. I would always fancy the place while returning back home. And now I could finally step inside.

Gurdwara is a place where Sikhs assemble, pray, sing spiritual hymns in the praise of Waheguru. We entered through the entrance door where they greeted us. They led us to the prayer hall which was completely silent and I felt peace. In Sikhism, the practice of the langar, or free kitchen, is believed to have been started by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. It was designed to uphold the principle of equality among all people. This idea of thought made me feel congenial.

As I walked outside I remained quiet.

'Shall we proceed to the next venue?', he asked me.
'I am feeling hungry, let's eat', trying my best to deviate from the topic.
'Aren't you hungry to find peace', he bounced back.
I looked at him with suprise and answered, 'Peace comes from within, don't seek it without.'
'Be as you wish to seem', he quickly responded.

We both chuckled.

We went to a nearby restaurant. The venue is famous for their hand baked pizza. I ordered cheese wedges along with pesto chicken pizza while he ate cottage cheese pizza. A vegan by choice. I would never, ever eat paneer pizza. I just had a strange desire to force him to eat my delicious non vegetarian food. Deep down, I was fully satisfied with the thought that I wouldn't had to share my food. While enjoying our meal, we had a lot of topics to discuss. I enjoyed his company and food, of course. Despite the fact that I wasn't shy and reserved and he was less talkative with more depth in what he spoke, we shared a lot less in common.

It was my first blind date. I was too quick to judge him because I was expecting to be projected with excitement, charm, romantic gestures that would make me feel butterflies in my stomach. To my astonishment, it turned up being a memorable meeting where we bonded.

In this modern era of click, flirt, engage and then landing up become mere strangers, I met a boy who decided to take me to places I love, travel with me to spooky places, roam the outside world with me. Yes, he eventually became my tour guide to take me to visit haunted houses, beautiful monuments and holy places.

Thank you, Jackson Peters for being different than others.