Uncontrollable feelings
Adi's face stayed buried in the blankets. He lingered in the warmth for a moment, trying to recall the details of the dream he just awoke from. He felt goosebumps rise in his bare chest as he began to recall the dream. He realized now that he had been dreaming about the time when he had cornered Maithili in their college parking lot. Adi hadn't thought about her in so long, and went about his life suppressing her memory. But ever since he had seen her last week, he felt a bit lighter, and noticed that he was smiling more often. It was as if just the sight of her had rekindled an older Adi – more fun-loving, definitely more naughty, and most of all, thinking more about Maithili. In college, she had hated him so much. And deep down somewhere, it hurt him that she hated him, but he tried not to show it. Every time she got angry with him, he got angrier with her, and things kept escalating like that. He didn't know why he liked to annoy her so much, and why he was so mean to her. But he found excuses to be around her.
5 years ago in college, that time when he held her against the wall in the parking lot, he had come so very close to kissing her. He might have kissed her if it wasn't the base fear that he might lose whatever little respect she had for him as a human being. He locked his eyes onto hers, knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist them. She stared into his eyes even though it looked as if she didn't want to. He noticed that her lips were trembling slightly, and her wrists became warmer in his hands. He felt her body shiver under his pressure even as she kept trying to push him away. But slowly, her struggles to push him away decreased in strength. At one point, she was barely keeping up the fight and looked at him with an expression that was trying its best to hide how helpless she felt. That's what was so attractive about her. She would never admit to not having power over a situation, and she would never play the "damsel in distress." But her stubbornness was also the single most irritating thing about her.
That day, he must have held her there for a couple of minutes, but the time passed in a flash. And yet, even in such little time, he had nearly memorized the shape of her sharp eyes that were throwing spears and daggers at him in that angry, sexy way that only Maithili Aggarwal could look at him. He breathed in her fragrance and let his fingers explore the softness of her wrists. Then, before he could lose his composure he slowly pulled himself away from her and walked away. He walked away feeling scared, unsure. That was the last day he saw her. He later heard that she had won some scholarship and left Mumbai. When he found out he might never see her again, he felt a pain and longing that was very unfamiliar to him, but he quickly brushed it off. Of course, he soon moved on, telling himself that he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about an arrogant girl who was too full of herself to respect him. He also soon forgot about all the childish stunts he pulled in college, and he more or less didn't think about Maithili after that. Until last week.
He had spotted Maithili, who looked like a tiny drop of rare elegance moving along a wide, chaotically busy Mumbai street. She had the same slightly fast walk, though it felt a little strange to see her in heels and a business suit. Her hair was still long, falling in soft and shiny waves mostly behind her, but the breeze played with some of the smaller strands in her face. When her face hit the breeze, she tilted her chin ever so slightly to receive it, and that sight of her with her pace, her chin, her smile, and her hair, pulled at his inner depths. The suppressed memory of that almost-kiss that happened 5 years ago now came rushing forth from deep inside. And then, just like that, he had lost her. He'd replayed that image in his mind several times. Would he run into her again? Would they have anything to say to each other? He honestly didn't know. Maybe she wouldn't remember him, after all.
He heard a loud knocking on
his door. It was Tanu. "Bhaiyya how come you're still not ready?" she yelled.
"Just a minute," Adi said before throwing on his robe and opening the door.
"What? You still haven't
showered?" Tanu asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I'm running a little
late," Adi answered, embarrassed that he lost track of time when thinking about
Maithili.
"Whatever, you've been a
little weird this week… Anyway, listen, I need to talk to you about some
problems I am having at college, so I thought you could drop me off on your way
to your office and I could tell you on the way."
"Okay, sure, I'll be ready
and downstairs in 10 minutes."
On the way, Tanu went on
about an arrogant woman who had insulted her at college, and how she had found out
that this woman works for Mamma's company. Adi listened, but divided some of
his attention to think about an important meeting he had this morning. Adi was
the Managing Director of Prism Industries, Mumbai's number one glass
manufacturer. He had spent the last few years taking it over from his mother
and growing the business.
"Okay, Tanu, why don't you
talk to Mamma about this woman, then?
"Bhaiyya, have you forgotten
the fight I had with Mamma last week?" Tanu asked, rolling her eyes.
"Achcha, so you want me to
ask her na?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, done."
At this easy victory, Tanu
grinned and kissed her brother on his cheek to thank him. As she got out of the car,
Adi yelled after her, "arre, tell me her name at least, Tanu!"
"Maithili Aggarwal," came the high pitched answer as Tanu shut the car door and ran off towards her friends.
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