Destroyed

So I was supposed to be writing the next chapter of my FF, but this happened instead. Fair warning - nobody dies, but this is still not what you may want or expect, so read at your own risk ;) .

*****

This is a mistake. He shouldn't be here. Just turn around and leave.

"So Sonakshi ma'am, tell us what you're hoping to do with the funds collected today from this fundraiser?"

"A large portion of it will contribute towards the treatment of terminally sick kids in the care of our NGO Advika and with the rest we hope to..."

She has gained weight. No, not too much. Something one would notice only if you were seeing the person after a long time. Of course, she didn't have to stick to her strict diet routines anymore. He hopes she now has her fill of the spicy chaat she used to love.

The length of her hair is shorter than it was all those years ago. She's left them loose, and he can bet this style suits her the most, even now.

She still uses her hands animatedly when she's excited about what she's talking about. Her mouth pulls into a smile everytime she pauses.

Does the right side of her lips still reach a bit higher than the left when she smiles? He's too far away to notice.

A step forward. Two. Another. One more.

Yes, it does!

He wishes he could see her eyes too. But the glare on the glasses she's wearing is obstructing his view. Maybe if he moved a little bit towards his right...

He excuses himself past the couple standing next to him and steps to his right. Yep, that fixed it! No glare anymore.

Those eyes are still as he remembers, almond shaped, the same honey brown color. And they still widen to double their size when she's shocked or surprise-

Oh!

This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to notice him. He was supposed to see her from afar. He was never meant to get this close to her that she could spot him.

She's supposed to answer a few more questions and he uses the opportunity to turn back around and leave. He knows her eyes are following him but he hopes she loses him in the crowd of people waiting to talk to her, to congratulate her, to ask her questions. He has no right to even watch her from a distance, but he couldn't resist knowing she was here, just down the hall. He just hopes that his sudden appearance and then disappearance would cause her no discomfort.

*****

His hairline has receded back from his forehead. He is still sporting that bearded look, but just like the hair on his head, it is streaked with grey as well.

He has his spectacles in his hands, the same style he used to wear during his surgeries, but they seem to be his permanent companion now.

She becomes acutely aware of the glasses sitting on her own nose. What did he think about it? Her hand reaches up to remove them, but she catches herself. This is who she is now. She has changed, as she is sure he must have too.

She wants to get a look at the rest of him, but he's sitting down, his half-eaten dinner lying forgotten in front of him. And if the way he is rubbing his forehead anything to go by, that little encounter earlier was as unplanned for him as it was for her.

This is a mistake. She shouldn't be here. Just turn around and leave.

Instead, she takes a seat at his table opposite him.