Love with a Stranger(Complete)

3

It has become a routine now for Sana to have tea with Rishab every morning. He comes down to the little restaurant, fresh from bath with wet hair and a cute smile. And she makes her special ginger tea for both of them. They both chat about random things over the cups of tea. It amazes her to find this serious looking, mysterious man is so easy to talk to. He has the knowledge about almost everything. But he shares nothing about himself. Sana has started looking forward to these meetings. It feels good to have someone to talk to. Someone who is a stranger yet she feels a connection with him. May be because he is from India. She tries to look for reasons behind this feeling but finds nothing in the end.

That morning Sana is at the reception. The last guests living in her lodge are leaving. She is with them as they get ready to check out. Rishab gets down from the stairs. Finding Sana at the reception below, he smiles at her. He signals her that he is waiting inside the restaurant for her and goes inside. Sana nods her head and gets back to what she was doing.

Rishab is reading the newspaper when Sana comes up with two cups of hot tea and a plate of bread toasts and eggs. Putting it on the table, she smiles and sits down. Rishab asks,"Your guests left?" "Yes. Nobody stays during this time. You are the only person I have seen who loves to spend time in this small village in this season. It's boring here.", she replies. "You know it's boring only when you have nothing interesting to do.", he says picking up the tea cup. Sana looks at him and says,"You mean, you have interesting things to do here in rain and snow? May I know what it is?" Sidharth smiles as he says,"Not all secrets should be revealed at a time baby.. patein ahiste kholte hain.." 'Baby', that felt good to hear from his mouth. She does not reply but just looks at him. Sidharth snaps his fingers in front of her eyes to get her out of her wonderland. He says,"Where were you lost? I said I was just kidding. I actually love rain and snow. We don't find that in Mumbai. So I want to enjoy the cold for a change. I love photography and I am planning to do that in this time. And I have such a beautiful company too, you with me. What else do I need?"

Sana nods her head and gets up to go. Rishab holds her wrist and says,"What happened?Where are you going? You haven't finished your tea also. Sit na." Sana replies," Today weather is good. I am planning to go to the Sunday market at Sarlat(Town near Domme). I need to get ready. See you later." Sana left the restaurant going upstairs to her room. Rishab sits there looking at her as she leaves. He had successfully prevented talking about his life. But it has been difficult from keeping himself away from her. He loves this morning time, when he can remove his guard and be himself. He loves the excitement he sees in the eyes of Sana when he talks about different places he had visited in the past. He knows her now quite well. She had told him everything about herself. Her dream is to travel the world. She is saving money for that. She loves Indian food, her favourite colour is white and yellow. She loves to sing and dance. Her likings, what she hates, when is her birthday, her family, everything is now known to him. But all he could tell her is that his mother is in Mumbai staying with his younger brother. Running his fingers through his hair, he gets up from the chair and goes upstairs to his room.

Sana is roaming around the market, looking for fresh fruits and vegetables. She feels happy when she is around people. She had never liked Domme in winters as she had to stay alone with only her two staffs, an old cleaning lady Camille and her cook Arielle who returns home in the evening. It was her father's dream place, so she had tried to keep it running. But her heart seeks to go out from this village, see places, meet people. Talking with Rishab takes her away from her loniness into the world she always wanted to see.

Lost in the beautiful colours of fresh produce in front of her and thoughts about Rishab, she had no idea when it had started to darken with heavy clouds covering the sky. Only when she hears the sounds of thunder that she realises the weather has changed completely. Holding her bags, she starts leaving towards the main street to catch a ride home. And in no time, it starts to drizzle. Sana hurries to take shelter in a cafe. And there she hears,"You must sit down. Here coffee is really good." Sana turns back to find Rishab sitting on a chair inside the cafe, smiling at her. No matter how much, she tries, she can never say no to that smiling face. A smile appears automatically on her face and she goes and sits in front of him.

Rishab is in the car outside the cafe and is waiting for Sana to get in for a ride home. She asks with a surprise,"From where did you get a car so soon?" He with a smile answers,"It is not that difficult to rent a car here. C'mon get in. You are getting wet." Settling inside the car, she mischievously asks,"What were you doing here? Were you staking me?" Rishab smiles at her and says,"Can't help baby! You are irresistible. And being the gentleman that I am, I couldn't let a beautiful lady stuck in the rain. Jokes apart, I really couldn't let you go alone to the town. But before I could ask you to accompany, you had already left. So yes I followed you here, like literally.." Her face turns down as she says in an inaudible voice,"I have been alone for most of my life.."

Rishab turned to see to find a lone tear escaping from her eyes. He didn't know why he felt very bad. He stops his car on the side of the road and pulls her into his arms. Rubbing her back as she sobs softly, he says,"Hey. Sorry tumhe ruladiya..(I made you cry) " Sana needed this hug. She felt protected and cared after a really long time. She keeps holding on to him as she whispers,"It is so lonely sometimes especially in these seasons when everyone leaves. Thank you for staying... Thank you." He says,"Shh.. don't cry, I am here now. I get it Sana. Honestly I do. I understand what you must be feeling. I miss my family too. All I want to say to you today is that I am your friend, and I will be with you. At least till the time I am here, I will never leave your side. And whenever, I mean whenever you need me, I promise I will be there for you."

Sana leaves him and looks at him with misty eyes. She says,"Do you really mean it?" Rishab using his thumb wipes her eyes and with a soft smile says,"Yes. I do. I just promised. And you have clearly stated friends have to keep their promises. Isn't it?" Sana shifts back to her seat and says,"You are making too many promises to me.. Be careful. If you don't keep your promises, I will hunt you down and take sweet revenge. Keep that in mind." Rishab laughs aloud and nods his head. He knows he has to be careful now. She is in fact right, he is making too many promises which he is not sure he can keep. He looks at her, she is staring outside through the windows. There is a smile now on her face. He shakes his head and makes a decision there. No matter where he will be in future, he has to be there for her when she needs him. He can't break his promise now.
Tujhe abb taklif mein dekh na payunga,
Tere chehre ki muskhurahat main lautaunga.
Rahun main jahan bhi kabhi,
Tere liye main phir wapas ayunga.

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Love is a mystery💕💕💕💕💕