RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!
Rain Rain Go Away..
Come again another day..
Little Johnny wants to play...
Rain Rain Go away..!!
Asad's POV
The RJ recited the
Nursery Rhyme for the third time in last 15 minutes, since the time I had been
stuck in the never ending traffic of Mumbai. I cursed the RJ once again before
turning off the Radio, which seemed to have undertaken the task to play only
the rain songs on this rainy day. Not like I hate rains, but I believe,
everything has a time of its own.
I, Asad Ahmed Khan, the Managing
Director of my company, have cancelled all my meetings for today as this is one
of those days of the year when I prefer solitude over work. It is my father, Rashid Ahmed Khan's fifth
Death Anniversary and like every year, I am visiting the orphanage to
contribute on his name.
My father has always
been my Super Hero, and losing him was nothing less than a disaster for our
family. I had to take up all the responsibilities of the business before it was
even time, I had to become a father like figure to my sister Najma and had to be a responsible
son to my mother Dilshad Khan.
I diverted my
attention back on the roads which seemed to have been flooded with all the
vehicles, which are immobile at the moment. Not like I am in some hurry, I have
the whole day to me, but the uninvited rainfall at this odd hour is doing no
good to my routine, in which I do not prefer any changes. I let out a sigh of
relief when I finally saw the cars moving. I started my own car again and
finally headed towards my destination.
I believe in
perfection, hence, I had already ordered the gifts online beforehand. Now I am
thankful that I didn't wait to buy them myself on my way, otherwise, I would
have been another hour late owing to the traffic and the rain. I don't like being late and I don't like
late comers too!
I parked the car
outside and took all the gifts for the kids in my hands and headed towards
orphanage door. Thankfully the heavy rainfall had subsided for the moment and
it was only drizzles now, which was still enough to soak a person wet in less
than a minute. But I showed no hurry, I took all my leisured time.
I distributed the
gifts among the children and blessed them. I donated a sum of money to the
orphanage fund, just like what my father did.
I mentally thanked my
father for everything that I am today; I thanked him for showering so much love
on us, and asked him to always keep his hand of blessings on our family. It was
because of the good values which he had always inculcated in us, that we are
what we are today.
I rubbed the
corner of my eyes which were wet due to some unshed tears. I checked around
myself and found nobody looking at me. I always dread crying in front of
anyone. For the first time during the day, I thanked the rains as they could
successfully hide my tears in between their droplets.
I reached up to my car
after promising the kids that I would come back soon and realized that my car
keys were not there in my coat's pocket. I searched them again but got nothing,
so I decided to go back inside again, and check if I have dropped it somewhere.
I huffed in annoyance...I hate being so careless!
Got it! I smiled as I picked up the keys from the place where I was
playing with the kids. I took them and kept them safely this time. Being careless did not suit My character!
I don't know, but
something made me turn back just when I was leaving again. I thought I heard
some jingles which were similar to the sound of my mother's anklets. I looked
around the place and saw a girl, clad in a white Salwar Kameez who seemed to be
having her best time with the children of the orphanage.
I could not see her
face as I was facing her back, but I could see her hands which had a bracelet
in one, and I believe, the jingling sound came from that. I tried to remove my
eyes from her; after all, checking
out a girl was never something that I did! But the more I tried, the
more I was forced to have a look at her. I didn't bother to think on what force
it was! I was busy staring!
I moved aside... I did
not want her to see me. I am not a stalker for God's sake! I just wanted to
have one look of her face which was now covered by her hands as she was
laughing really hard now.. I wondered what the joke was!
I checked the day.. It
was Monday.. and co-incidentally, I come here on every Monday to give my little
time to the kids before I hit a busy week at work..But I had never seen her
before. She must be new here, my brain concluded.
It was starting to
rain heavily again... I had to leave, but I could not leave without seeing her
for once. My eyes did not leave her for even a second till now, yet I could not
steal a glance of her face.. I saw her running around with some kids chasing
her and I hid myself behind a pillar to make sure that she could not see me.
She turned around when she was trying to save herself from being caught, and
that is when I SAW HER..!
Her face was Angelic.
I have seen plenty of pretty girls and have also worked with them, but they
could never manage to get my attention even after their continuous efforts. But
this stranger girl's red puffy eyes, wet make-up less face had successfully
held all my concentration on her. I hid myself more, as I did not want her to
think like I was a stalker. I waited till she actually moved out of my sight
after hugging and bidding good bye to the children. I closed my eyes and
realized that her face was now deep inscribed in my mind.
It was now raining
heavily once again. I cleared my throat, set my already set cuff-links and tie,
and ran back to hop on to my car and head back home. I switched on the radio
once again, and this time, I didn't turn it off when some silly rain songs were
played.
Zoya's POV
I came back from London
a week back and I am staying at my sister and brother-in-law's place for the
time being, but I intend to find me my own in a few days. I completed my degree
in Computers and came back to my country to start my career. I was
missing my orphanage where my sister and I had grown up after the demise of our
parents. Neelam Aunty was my mother's friend and a mother like figure to us.
She is the owner of the orphanage and had taken care of us in the best possible
ways. It has been almost quite a few years since I had been here to see her.
I cried hard after
holding her tight for a while, shared with her about all the years that I had
spent in London without her. I played with the kids for a while and decided to
finally leave when it had started raining again.
Then I sensed someone
hiding behind a pillar. I didn't turn around, but took all my time to play more
and waited for him to leave. But to my disappointment, he didn't. It had
already started pouring heavily and I could no longer wait to get drenched in the
rain more... so I gathered all my courage and started to take steps towards the
gate outside.
I was relieved when I
did not see him approaching me. I guess he was not exactly a stalker, but why
was he checking me out anyway? I could not manage to see him, but I did not
want to leave without seeing him too. I got into my car and parked it on the
other side of the road, away from His and waited for him to come out. I was not
wrong when I had guessed that his intentions were not like the other boys who
always tried to hit on me. He was perfectly dressed in a business suit and his
face looked magnificent with all his sharp features. I was quite far away from
him, so could not manage to see his eyes, which I bet would be quite intense.
I slapped myself mentally
and pushed away the thoughts of the handsome man, whom I supposed I would never
see again.
Asad's POV
Mr. Rain was in no
mood to stop and I could not afford to sit back at home, even when the city was
getting flooded. I did all that was necessary to stop my mother from not
stopping me to work from office. My efforts finally didn't go wasted and I
headed for office after promising her that I would call her up, like I was a
baby!
I thought that I had
forgotten about that stranger girl whom I had seen two days back, but my
thoughts were proved wrong when my car passed the road that lead towards the
orphanage. I checked the time. I was out much earlier, in the fear of being
late for my afternoon meeting that was getting postponed since the last two days.
I took my car in a reverse, and came back to the lane that I had just crossed.
I decided to check on once, if she was there. Mind it.. I am not stalking
her, I tried to justify my actions. I straightened my
collar and tried to make my point clear to myself.
I did not see her car
that day; I had no idea if she had come in one. So guessing her presence from
the cars that were lined up outside the gate did not make any sense. I only saw
her, and her face was the one and only way out for me to recognize her. I
waited up there for a few minutes and was disappointed when I did not see her.
I could not wait
longer, as it was starting to rain again.. Aarrgghh! This rain and its
timings! I cursed the rain for the umpteenth time since the last few
days. Mumbai was already flooded, and more of rain could not be afforded by the
city anymore. Feeling the utmost disappointment, I made up my mind to not come
back looking for her again... I would only come on Mondays, like I always did.
But I shocked myself
the next day by breaking all my resolve. I again took the lane which was just
before the one that I was supposed to take to reach my office. And there I was,
waiting inside my car, my eyes looking for Her in all possible directions, only
to be disappointed yet again! I was determined again to not come back, but the
next day, it did not surprise me anymore when I had once again taken the wrong
route, which seemed to be the right one for me, at that moment.
Zoya's POV
After putting all my
internet surfing capabilities in some good use, I finally found out a good
place for me to stay in. My sister and brother-in-law had tried all ways
including 'Emotional Blackmailing' to keep me at their place, but I refused. I
wanted to be independent, and that was the reason why I came back from London,
where I had my sister looking after all my necessities.
My new house was a
small one storey building with a not so big garden around it. I preferred a
small house to a bigger one as I would be staying alone anyway. The house also
grabbed more of my attention as it was nearer to the orphanage and I wanted to
visit Neelam Aunty more often..
I started visiting her
every day. I did not take my sister's car with me now, as I was still searching
for a job and did not like the traffic much which got worse during the heavy
downpour in Mumbai. I bought flowers for the kids from a nearby florist and
walked towards my destination. I saw His car and it took me only a second to
realize whose it was. He was the same man that I had seen two days back. I
could never ever forget his handsome face which was carved deep in my mind, yet
I did not want him to see me... I hid behind one of the cars that were parked
opposite to his and observed every move of his, making sure that I was not
visible to him at all.
His eyes searched for
someone and an involuntary smile crept up to my face when I hoped it could be
me. I did not know what or why, but it did make me happy...
I saw his eyes this
time.. They were deep brown and his face had a little stubble now, unlike
the last time. Every time he rolled over his car's windows to peep inside the
orphanage premises, I hid myself more. And then, I saw him leaving. His face
clearly expressed dismay.
I felt bad... I don't
know why, but I did. That was so unlike Me..!! I never payed any heed to
stalkers ever, but this time, my heart was urging me to believe that he was not
any random stalker.
I thought of coming
back again the next day. I did.. But he was already leaving when I was still almost
100 meters away from him. My unpunctuality was enhanced these days by the
rainfall that came uninvited every now and then.
Asad's POV
I am happy and much
more at ease today. I did not need any reasoning to do for visiting the
orphanage. It was Monday after all, my usual day to visit the kids. I smiled
like a teenager before setting my tie right and got down the car.
I had my intuitions
telling me that I won't be returning empty handed this time. Even a glimpse of
her would make my day. Make My Day?? Really?? Am I for real?? From when
did strangers start making My days special?? My heart dodged the
question and my brain denied an answer, so I went inside the orphanage
along with a few gifts, brushing away my unusual unjustified thoughts.
My feet seemed to be
trembling and my eyes were fixated on Her, who was already there inside,
playing, laughing and enjoying with all the kids. She is wearing jeans and a
shirt today and is looking as beautiful as she was the other day. I saw her
looking at me once, but her eyes did not acknowledge my presence. This gave me
a satisfaction as I was now sure that she had never noticed me stalking her,
and was dissatisfied too, as this was the first time when I was not being
noticed by any girl. Not that I craved their attention, anyway. But for this
girl, I did crave and wished and demanded her attention, mentally.
But there was someone
new with her, another kid, whom I knew was not a part of the orphanage. I knew
almost all the kids here, and I had never seen him before. He was glued to her
like her own baby.. Wait.. Baby?? What if he was her own baby? What if
she was married? I had never tried to find that out... Leave alone that, I did
not even know the name of Ms. Stranger! I had to find it out, before the rain
hit again and I was left to sulk at my fate.
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