Strange meeting with a stranger

Thanks for stopping by..this is my first ever piece of writing on the web.After reading ,pls leave a comment on how you liked it .. obviously i hope these will be nice ones.. but the ones aimed at improving my writing/storytelling skills are also most welcome. Thank you and have a good time reading it!

Time runs faster than u imagine.. u blink and you’ll never get that second back which has just passed by.. OMG.. Am I too late? .. Will I ever make it.. Another 2 seconds lost.. blink..Oh.. This is the wind I sensed few years ago. The spring of 2009.. Beautiful like heaven. ..the time when things were all innocent and beautiful. My little black dress just looked perfect with hair shining in their pompous do. The extravagant earrings showing off with stilettos worth a life sacrificing for.. the black and silver bracelet swinging up and down with the nervous movement of my arm…nervous , yet excited..I could hear my heartbeats in the noisiest Page 3 party of the town.

I felt like a total stranger.. an educated girl with a middle class upbringing.. invited to this paparazzi dominated party by the most gorgeous guy in town.. who I met through a matrimonial website. But I was never such a girl.. how could few days of chatting on the net pull me to a stranger … I didn’t know him properly ,neither had I seen how he looked.. we hadn’t exchanged pictures! But he seemed intelligent and had a brilliant sense of timing his good humor.. Good enough to get me interested!. I was trying to search for him, my eyes scanning the crowd from a distance , trying to match off the description he had shared with me. With an anxious look in my eyes, I stood at the entrance, shifting from one foot to the other delicately balancing on my stilettos. With one shaky hand, I lifted a few hair strands backward.. told myself I have to be brave and straightened up. If I could come this far, then it`s worth giving ita try.

I entered the party to encounter a few drunk men ogling at me , winking at me as I passed by. I came across a few decked up old women , reveling in their past glories and trying to show each other down by displaying their wealth. Eeks.. do I fit in here? I looked around.. Where could he be . Broad shoulders with 6 ft height.. Athletic built and a charming smile.Then,I saw someone from a distance.. Standing with a few men and women making a polite conversation.. is it him? i wasn`t sure .. but fits in the description pretty well.Do I go to him directly or make him see I am there so he could come up to me. Hmm.. As I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard someone greet me in deep baritone from behind. I turned to look. He was 5`8 with medium built. Twinkling expressive eyes. Appeared extremely confidentand was completely at ease with himself, which was an immediate pull for me. Had a pleasant disposition but compared to `my’ guy, he was just somewhat mediocre.

Not wanting to sound rude, I returned the hello with a polite smile.

`New to this place, eh?’

`Yeah, first time’ I blabbered

‘Ah , I see. Something to Drink?’

`Well, no thanks. I was actually looking for someone. Thanks for offering’

`Hey , no problem. I am Jack. I know most of the people here. I can help you find the person you are looking for.. but I am kind of dying of dehydration , was just going to pick up a drink .. the one that most people will read about in tomorrow’s newspapers.. maybe you can try one too, its harmless and tastes divine!’

`Sure’, I said little unsure of myself and followed him as he wove into the crowd with practiced ease. I kept bumping into people as I tried to keep pace with him. Something in him made me like him. Jack appeared so much like a gentleman, polite, persuasive yet not so aggressive or desperate.

`Cheers’ ,we both said to each other and took the heavenly sip of what they call this.. divine drink. We started talking as we sat at the table nearest to the bar, under the open sky in the brilliantly lit garden, laughing merrily at his funny and even not- so- funny jokes. The wind was nice and slightly chilly. He kept pointing to a few people telling me about their background, and when they`d look at him, he`d wave at them like he `s known them since in his nappies. I was feeling more comfortable now ,getting to know the place wasn`t a big deal after all. They were all human, as much as I was. Oh and many people came to meet Jack.He was polite to make a small conversation with them, but he never lost sight of the fact thatI was with him. He introduced me to all of them as his new friend and they all made gracious comments on how I looked. I kept blushing and received all compliments with not so much of ease. I wasn’t used to so many compliments!

The music was getting louder and louder and it was getting difficult to hear each other. The blaring music brought in me a craving to throw my shoes off and get to the dance floor. Oh how I longed to dance as they played my favourite number. I was hoping he`d ask me to the dance floor ..i kept looking at him .. hoping he`d probably get the hint.. but he didn`t. Oh, what a waste to the lovely music. I sat humming the tune as the music played and he kept looking at me with either an amused expression or was it adoration, I couldn’t make out.. I was too engrossed in my music.. bu ti could sense something magical happening.. what was it , i couldn`t make out.I swayed from side to side as my hair went swung side to side with me and the mist on the glass rubbing on to my face as I brought it closer to feel the cold..

Then the DJ called out to everyone and yelled .. ~` Everybody on their feet, let`s dance the night out … its 12`o clock and the night is still young !let`s rock it people !!!!!’

I froze to my seat. 12`o clock! The reality hit me.. I have been here with this stranger Jack for the past 4 hours and run past the deadline my parents had set for me for returning home. I considered myself another Cindrella who was not allowed to stay out beyond mid-night but I was luckier than Cindrella `coz I had doting parents and siblings who would get me anything in this world I asked for. In fact, after I started earning , I could buy myself a swanky car which I drove myself.. but to drive at night all alone in this unsafe city full of eve teasers and dacoits.. I wasn’t too sure. Fear gripped me , whether it was out of not being able to find my guy , whose name I didn`t even know by the way or having spent time with a stranger which I really enjoyed ,surprising myself I was capable of doing that or was it thedelay in returning late at night.. I just couldn’t make out.

Without another second , I dashed out, mumbling a quick `I gotta go, its late’ and rushed to my car and within seconds I was driving at 80 kmph to 100 kmph .I could hear him call out after me..` hey Cindrella.. wait..tell me your name at least.. wait.. let me help..’. I didn’t bother to anwer. Half the route was still lighted and was populated with light traffic. As I wove into the streets toward my home, it was dark and the roads were nearly empty. With a thumping heart, I sped off and was relieved to see the entrance to my home. I sighed with relief. I had called up mom on my way back and told her I would reach in 30 minutes. I didn`t have to ring the bell. She received me with sleepy eyes. I said polite thanks and good night and dashed to my room.

I sat in front of the mirror, the events of the evening running past like a movie. Then,out of nowhere tears started to form in my eyes and before I knew what was happening, I wassobbing. How could he make a fool of me? After all , he was the one to invite me to the party and I was there for four hours , four long hours. He said he shall be able to find me and we were to meet after 3 months of chatting on the net. We weren’t fooling around as we were no longer teens. We had both subscribed to this dating website and hence, this had to be authentic. This can`t go wrong. No it just can`t. But.. it just did. He was nowhere to be found. I made a fool of myself by going to this party which he invited me for and never showed up himself.I wasn`t sure if the guy I had seen at the party was this guy only.I had thought it better to meet at a crowded place than to meet one to one in a secluded restaurant with a stranger. Hence, agreed for the party.But what did I just do, spent the evening with another stranger who I didnt know anything about. I enjoyed his company is another thing, but surely this was`nt me.Oh god, what`s happening to me?

Maybe he sent an apology on the website. Yes, he must have. I quickly got on to the net and waited for the site to open. Each second seemed like eternity. Finally, it did. Oh, there is a message. I quickly opened it.I hoped to see something like- hey I am so sorry I couldn’t make it as I had something urgent to attend to. It was an emergency and nothing less than that. But this wasn’t from him. Oh ,I couldn`t believe it . He could be so insensitive and rude. No message , no apology and it seemed now I was a victim of some cheap game or a prank someone was playing on me. I was hurt.Three months of chatting had brought a few emotions in my heart even as my mind had guided otherwise. I had started thinking about him most of the time. It was tough to gulp down the reality. I felt choked. Didn’t know when I fell off to sleep cursing him , or maybe myself for believinghim.

Few weeks passed and still no message from him. I wasn`t talking to anyone about the party or about relationships. I was only concentrating on my work. I worked hard somuch that I stared getting home late. I would still hope against hope that he might have had some problem with internet or he might have had to go traveling abroad for some urgent work. But still ,no sign of him. This was disgusting.

Few weeks had turned into a year. Now I was used to being on my own. Friends, colleagues and family kept asking me about my plans to get married. Kept giving unwanted advice on timely marriage and advantages of settling down in time. The disadvantages were obnoxiously exaggerated. I heard them all coz I loved thembut just couldn’t get to marry the Tom, Dick And Harries of the world which people kept suggesting. Heart in heart , I kept longing for thatsomeone I didn`t really know.. or maybe , I DID know. .who is it I was wanting to meet.. the guy I was supposed to meet at the party or was it Jack? Jack! Then it hit me, maybe I was missing Jack. I had had such a good time wth him but the moral side of me refused to believe it.

I was excited today. It was a Saturday and I was going to meet my friend from kindergarten who had just returned from abroad. As I sat in my car enroute to meet her, I rolled the windows down . Put on some lightmusic and started driving. I sensed the same wind which brought back memories of the party a year back .. the memories of Jack. I slowed down my car and saw a nice garden across. I pulled over and parked my car to the side of the road est to the garden and just shut my eyes. Breathed in the lovely breeze and flowery scent of the garden. This was feeling beautiful after very long..Few minutes passed by, and then suddenly I woke up to a familiar voice. .