Chapter 7: Of Love and other things.

Everybody around me was changing. So was I. Browsing through the pictures of my old friends from school and college, it seemed like a century since I had last known them. They had weird haircuts, dressed differently, a friend who barely had hair on his face in school, now sported a chin patch. It was interesting to see all of it.

Looking at all of them made me take a look at my pictures as well. Browsing through them, I wondered if my friends would think the same when they looked at my pictures.

I shrugged. They obviously would. But, then who said change was bad? Look at me, just two months ago. A stupid lonely girl, painfully shy and hardly confident enough to look a stranger in the eye. And now, I could boldly express my views, had opinions, could look anybody in the eye and talk and give them a piece of my mind. These changes were hardly evident to somebody who didn't know me well enough. but, I knew I was changing and I loved the new "ME".

A stranger who had walked into my life from nowhere had something to do with it. In the last couple of days, I had accomplished a lot in my personal life. I had realized that I was just as important as the next person and that if I could not love myself, I could barely think about loving somebody else.

Shashank had given me a chance to grow. He had made me talk and those conversations had somehow changed me.

It had been only a couple of nights ago that he had professed his love for me. I was scared as hell. The thought of being in love had crossed my mind a million times, but being loved in return was far from my expectations.

Nevertheless, fate always intervenes and here I was.

The day next to being proposed to, I went to my class as usual. I did not want to think about it but, my stupid room mate could not stop talking about it. To get rid of her,I left for my class a little early.

Gosh! What a relief! It was a beautiful dream coming true, and this girl could not let me relish, savour or just cherish it my way!

Waiting for him at the metro station, I decided to browse through some books at a tiny bookstore near our cafe at the station.

A lot of junk is making its way into the publishing world these days. A look at these books that flood the market, is highly irritating. I pushed the junk away to take a look at the real literature. I was particularly pleased to find a book by James Joyce. Seemed like I had hit gold.

Just then, somebody placed a copy of "P.S. I Love You" in front me. Peeved at it, I turned around to see who it was. And there he stood, with a bouquet of beautiful roses.

I blushed and smiled. I didn't know how to react to it. No idea whatsoever. I had contemplated what I would do when I meet Shashank earlier all day. Could not come up with a thing.

And there I stood in a situation, I had never imagined I would be in.

I gave my most charming smile and accepted the roses. And turned to around to pick up a book from the junk I had just put aside. It was titled, "Just Friends?". My witty friend was quick to find a book titled, "Let's fall in love". I didn't want to say anything. I knew he could read my mind anyway. So, I just smiled and walked away with my bouquet of red roses close to my heart.