It was half past two on a hot Saturday afternoon and Damini was headed towards the Mumbai airport in the cool comforts of an air conditioned cab. Her usual calm demeanour was nowhere to be seen, for she kept on fidgeting with her phone. She was going to catch an afternoon flight to Goa with Kushal who was already waiting for her at the departure terminal, having just landed in Mumbai via an Ambala-Mumbai flight. Damini had been waiting for this very day, the day she would meet Kushal, the man who had turned her life topsy turvy. She still couldn’t understand why she agreed to go to Goa with him, a man she had never met in person but whom she knew so very well. It was maddening to go to Goa with Kushal was Damini’s first thought, for she was afraid of the repercussions. But here she was, a 28 year old independent woman with a mind of her own, most importantly a woman in love. For the past few days she had been struggling hard to make herself believe that Kushal didn’t love her. He had told her more than once that they were just friends. Damini couldn’t understand why somebody who is just a friend would call her up every day.
She had been in love with him for the past three months, despite being engaged to another person. It was on a social networking site where Damini met Kushal. Kushal had sent her a message requesting her to add him as a friend. Damini ignored it for a while because she never added people whom she did not know. After a couple of messages from Kushal’s end she added him. It all started since then. Damini has been speaking to Kushal almost every single day since then. It wasn’t long before she was in love with him. Kushal had told her that he was a senior editor with an English Daily based out of Chandigarh. So it wasn’t surprising that he had a way with words. Damini herself was an editor with a leading consulting group. She liked talking to him; the realisation had dawned on her long ago. The entire chain of events passed through her mind as the cab inched closer to the airport. Damini was doing what she had never done before, going off with some man on a holiday without informing her parents. The only times that she had gone out in a similar fashion was to meet her boyfriend of three years. The cab stopped at the departure terminal jolting Damini from her stupor. She paid her fare collected her luggage and got down from the car and entered the terminal looking around for Kushal. She called him on his cell and got to know that he was waiting for her at the coffee shop. It was already time for the flight so she asked him to meet her at the check in counter.
She stood in a corner waiting for the man of her dreams to come and hug her. There he was, walking towards her, a tall and sinewy man wearing a blue striped shirt over dark blue denims. Seeing him walking towards her, brought a lump to Damini’s throat. God, she was in love with him yet couldn’t believe that she would be in Goa with him in a few hours. Damini wanted to hug Kushal but he moved away when she tried to. This action hurt her but she understood that he too might be nervous, and let it pass. A strange feeling came over Damini while she collected her boarding pass. What was she doing here with this man who scrutinised her as if she was a model of some sort? Nonetheless, Damini tried to keep her calm for she was never shy or nervous in front of other men. She considered herself an extrovert and was quite upfront. But in front of Kushal all her effrontery vanished. They headed towards a coffee shop and waited for the boarding announcements to be made.
For the first time in her life Damini wanted to belong to a man, heart and soul.
She had been in love with him for the past three months, despite being engaged to another person. It was on a social networking site where Damini met Kushal. Kushal had sent her a message requesting her to add him as a friend. Damini ignored it for a while because she never added people whom she did not know. After a couple of messages from Kushal’s end she added him. It all started since then. Damini has been speaking to Kushal almost every single day since then. It wasn’t long before she was in love with him. Kushal had told her that he was a senior editor with an English Daily based out of Chandigarh. So it wasn’t surprising that he had a way with words. Damini herself was an editor with a leading consulting group. She liked talking to him; the realisation had dawned on her long ago. The entire chain of events passed through her mind as the cab inched closer to the airport. Damini was doing what she had never done before, going off with some man on a holiday without informing her parents. The only times that she had gone out in a similar fashion was to meet her boyfriend of three years. The cab stopped at the departure terminal jolting Damini from her stupor. She paid her fare collected her luggage and got down from the car and entered the terminal looking around for Kushal. She called him on his cell and got to know that he was waiting for her at the coffee shop. It was already time for the flight so she asked him to meet her at the check in counter.
She stood in a corner waiting for the man of her dreams to come and hug her. There he was, walking towards her, a tall and sinewy man wearing a blue striped shirt over dark blue denims. Seeing him walking towards her, brought a lump to Damini’s throat. God, she was in love with him yet couldn’t believe that she would be in Goa with him in a few hours. Damini wanted to hug Kushal but he moved away when she tried to. This action hurt her but she understood that he too might be nervous, and let it pass. A strange feeling came over Damini while she collected her boarding pass. What was she doing here with this man who scrutinised her as if she was a model of some sort? Nonetheless, Damini tried to keep her calm for she was never shy or nervous in front of other men. She considered herself an extrovert and was quite upfront. But in front of Kushal all her effrontery vanished. They headed towards a coffee shop and waited for the boarding announcements to be made.
For the first time in her life Damini wanted to belong to a man, heart and soul.
