Transcendental Love

Part 10

Tired from his jog, Arnav sat down on the park's bench to sip some water. His gaze fell on a nearby florist shop on a beautiful bouquet of roses.

Red roses – flowers that signify love.

It caused his mind to drift to the love of his life.

'Khushi', he breathed closing his eyes.

It had been a week since the party. He had never known that every time he would recall how he had realized his feelings, he would experience the same bliss as the first time.

*******

That night although she had left the party, his mind had refused to let go her. As he stood by his poolside, he kept repeating the poolside incident multiple times in his mind. He had to ensure that it had not been a figment of his imagination. His mother's voice broke his trance.

"Khushi is a gem.", Ratna said quietly coming to stand beside her son.

"Why do you say so?", Arnav asked curiously.

"What do you mean why?", she arched an eyebrow in the perfect ASR style.

"I mean you don't know her personally. I don't remember you talking to her much. So how?"

"How would someone talk to her Chotte? As soon as her Arnav came to the party, she simply stayed with him.", Ratna said smirking.

"Maa..", Arnav reddened.

"I saw how she tackled Anandita.", Ratna shrugged.

"Maa. What! Why? Dammit !", Arnav began pacifying his mother. Anandita's vile word had shaken him. How would his mother have felt!

"Arnav, I have accepted this way of life since a long time. Don't worry about me.I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Maa?", a worried Arnav asked.

"Now regarding Khushi, the way she tackled the situation was commendable. She had no obligation whatsoever to be there. Any normal girl would have left you to fight your battles on your own. The very fact that she didn't, shows she's extraordinary.", she shrugged again.

After a while, Arnav spoke in a whisper, "I like her."

"That's enough for now." Ratna smiled from ear to ear and left.

*******

No that was not enough. It had taken his mother one incident to realize Khushi was different. But now that Arnav thought about it, he realised she had never been ordinary.