“This is it,” said yug, looking at the mirror.
He turns to his roommate, who was half-asleep on the couch and asked,
“How do I look?”
“You look awesome man” Rakesh, his roommate answers it without even looking at him.
“Come on dude, you know how long I have been waiting for this day. Look at me” yug practically yelled at him.
“ok, ok, I am up. You look good” Rakesh was still half-asleep.
“I better be looking good, you know first impression and all” he stroke his hair back for the last time.
“you know that she likes you right? I mean how long you have been chatting. 2 or 3 months?”
“yes, but this is a special day. We are meeting for the first time. Face to face. No more hiding behind words”
“What if she looks like a sea cow?” Rakesh finally stands up and look closely at Yug.
“She is beautiful, you saw her pictures.”
“She could be a 50-year-old dude, waiting for you out there, just to tell you that it was a joke,” Rakesh said with a grin.
Yug did not answer him. He knew that it’s not going to happen. She was a girl and she was real and beautiful. They have been chatting for the last 3 months and finally decide to meet up in Ahmedabad. They have so much in common and they love to chat. They used to chat until midnight sometimes.
150 km away, kavya was also getting ready. She was a little nervous. She was meeting yug for the first time and she didn’t know what to expect. She sometimes regrets sharing her real picture with him because she thinks that’s the reason yug was so good to him.
She has some feelings for him, but she doesn’t know what to call them. She developed a good friendship with him but the meeting would change all of that. Also, she was visiting him not the other way around, which makes her look desperate.
They talked on the phone just a couple of time but chatting work best for them. She knows that he is good with words and makes her laugh. She also knows that she needs to know more about him first so she could date him.
Her experience with dating doesn’t go well. Her ex-boyfriend took her for granted. She went all in and gave her 100% and in return, he cheated her with another girl. She knows that long-distance relationship doesn’t work but she was planning to settle in Ahmedabad after her graduation.
“let's not get ahead of ourselves ok?” she pointed at her reflection in the mirror and stand up.
She needs to catch a train and it would take 3 hours or more to reach Ahmedabad. Yug was going to pick her up from the railway station and then they will roam around the city until evening and then come back to her room. She was living with three roommates near her college.
Yug was still at his place, he was also living with a roommate. He opens Google again to see the route of the places he will be taking her. Alpha mall, riverfront and then they will sit at the garden nearby Sabarmati River. It will be romantic because yug wants it to be romantic.
A new message arrived on yug’s phone.
“Inside the train will be there in 3 hours, (smiling emoji) “yug smiles and send a message back.
“Can’t wait (waiting emoji, flower emoji, smiling emoji)”
He sat down on the couch and lay back. He closes his eyes and thinks about how amazing this day is going to be.
Yug wakes up with his phone vibrating in his hand. He looked at it and it was a call from kavya.
“Hi, what's up?”
“Oh, finally, I thought you fell asleep. I am here”
“Wait, you are here?” yug look at his phone screen and cursed slowly.
“You are not at the railway station; I send you messages 4 times already”
“No, no, I am here, just wait for like 10 minutes and I will be there”
“You fell asleep didn’t you” yug felt little irritation in kavya’s voice. She was right to be a little angry because he fell asleep.
“No, I will be there ok” he hung up the phone and rushed to his bike.
It was around noon and once he was on the road, he realizes, it will be more than ten minutes to reach the railway station.
He drove like a maniac, he doesn’t care about all the red lights and traffic and all the people marching and protesting on the other side of the road. His mind was thinking excuses he was going to give and he was finally at the railway station.
Kavya was beyond angry, its been 20 minutes and she was standing outside kalupur railway station and all the rickshaw drivers were asking her where she wants to go. It was summer, her make up was melting, and she was sweating.
Suddenly a bike move passed her; she thought she saw someone familiar. Of course, she has seen pictures of yug but how could she tell it's him. Her phone rang,
“I am outside the railway station, where are you?”
“You just drove past me, look behind” and she waved her hand.
He turned and drove to her; he didn’t imagine that he will be meeting her for the first time like this. They were both sweating and he forgot to look in the mirror before he left.
“Hi,” yug said with a big smile.
“You fell asleep, didn’t you” kavya crossed her hand and look at him with sharp eyes.
“No, I was here” yug lied and he knows that she can tell when he lies.
“Look at your hair, its all messed up and your shirt has creases and its not tuck all in, I bet you fell asleep and when I called you, you just drove here”
“Yes, its all true” yug has thought of 12 excuses and in the end, he decided to tell her the truth.
Kavya looked at him for a moment and say,
“I knew it, I told you yesterday and now you lose the bet as well” she softly punches him on his shoulder and laughed.
Yug was a little embarrassed but glad that his honesty didn’t backfire on him. Yug thought that she was going to sit like her mom, legs on the one side, but she just jump onto the bike and tap on his shoulder to drive.
Yug was a little surprised by her, she was like an introvert on the chat, always let him speak and answer it with short replies. She understood him and acted as mature, just like he was hoping her to be, but right now all of that fades away. She is acting like a teenager.
Sitting behind yug, kavya was thinking almost the same. Yug was different on the chat, she didn’t have to explain herself to him. He was always joking and making wordplays. One of the best things about yug was, he was always on time. so far, all of that didn’t match with this guy.
Yug started his bike and kavya knew that she has to hold on to something so she put her one hand on his shoulder. Even yug felt that it was awkward. They drove a little bit ahead and they heard a loud whistle.
“License and insurance paper” the traffic police almost barked at him.
Yug took out his wallet and gave him all the IDs. Meanwhile, Kavya got a good look at his wallet. Few IDs, debit cards, a couple of thousand rupees but no picture and that strange she thought.
Traffic police gave him his ID back and starting writing a memo.
“But sir, all the papers are there and..”
“Where is the helmet? Traffic police smiled at him and again start writing again.
Yug knew that it will happen, it was kind of one his excuses he was thinking when he was rushing toward the railway station. He looked behind, kavya also looked a little disappointing.
Suddenly, his walkie-talkie started buzzing. Traffic police person swiftly removes the bike key and run nearby.
“Great, that is just awesome” yug muttered
“well, its kind of your fault, you should be prepared for this. A helmet is not just for showing off, its actually important for,” kavya slowly knock on yug’s head.
The police officer came back running and hand over the key to yug,
“ok, I will let you leave with a warning. Now go away before they come to this place.” and he went away.
Yug didn’t listen to any of his words except the part where he let him off the hook. He started his bike and race toward the inner city. Kavya heard everything, who are they and why he warned us about it? she said to herself.
Yug was driving his bike as fast as he could, when he felt little vibration in his pocket, someone was calling him. But right now it's not important. when he moves passed one of the crossed roads, his eye was fixed on the road but kavya shows something. She pats his shoulder repeatedly and when yug slow down his bike and looks behind him, kavya’s eyes were fixed at the other end of the road.
“Who are they?” kavya asked with surprised.
“I don’t know, but we should get out of here as fast as possible” and yug drove past thousands of protester overflowing the street.
