Ahh! You are here. After a wait
of just 2.30 hrs finally you decided to show up.
No! No! I am not complaining.
What rights do I have to even think about complaining?
My point was, won’t it be
terrific if we know about each other’s timings of coming to library. Or let’s
not complicate things; wouldn’t it be easy if I knew your preferred timings of
coming here.
I know it sounds too much of a
commitment but I think I deserve to know at least that much about you.
Oh! I am so sorry. Let me
rephrase. I already know enough about you from your online profiles. I know
your name; the city you belong to, the school u went to and yes the company you
worked for. What else a guy wants to
know about a girl before……..!!!
But for the sake of simplicity
and to make it less serendipitous don’t you think I should know the preferred
time you would love to come and read Ayn Rand.
Yes! I know she is your favourite
writer. I have seen you with her books so many times… last month it was Atlas
Shrugged and I know you loved it. The way you were engrossed into that thick
book made me realise how passionate you are about things you love. Don’t worry
I am not judging you. It is one of my favourites also. If anything it made me feel closer to you. I
know you feel like Atlas carrying the burden of millions on his shoulders,
blood running down his chest, his knees buckling his arms trembling but still
trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater
his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders. And I also know
that you want to shrug but the mere sense of responsibility and achievement is
making you walk that extra mile.
What! How can you not sit in the
same seat where you always used to? The same seat in the left corner which has
only one charging point. The seat in which, no one else likes to sit. Do not
give me that cold look. I totally understand your choice. Even I would have
chosen the same seat, had I not seen you there sitting and enjoying your lone
time.
But why did you leave that seat
today? I sat diametrically opposite to the seat so that I can look at you while
you enjoy your book without you noticing my predicament. And now I can’t even
see your face.
By the way you look tremendously
excited today. Your face is glowing like a spark of fire. Ahh!! A new book!
Tell me which one is it. Looking at the cover as far as I can guess it should
be: A Thousand Splendid Suns: a brilliant love story of Laila and Tariq framed
in a disturbing backdrop of Afghanistan. If you
ask me please do not read it. It is too depressing for you and I can’t stand
that helpless look on your face when you will read about the atrocities on
Mariam and Laila. But I can see that you are too adamant when it comes to
books.
As stupid it may seem but I
already feel like your Tariq who wants you but this veil of silence and
anonymity will always be our biggest problem. I might know about you a lot, but
you are still ignorant of my existence. There must not have been even a single
day when before entering the library your thought has not crossed my mind.
Every time I got ready, I secretly wished that you notice my presence near you.
Yes I accept that I stalked your
profile a million times but let me be honest my intentions were pious. I know
we are worlds apart, just liking similar books or choosing the same seat
doesn’t make us a perfect match but whenever I look at you I see my reflection
in you. I know you have different plans for your life and you will never be
interested in my existence in your world. But I have always wished just to talk
to you for once. To hear you talk passionately about books which have moved you
deeply. And just look into your eyes to see that glow which I often notice when
you find a new book to read.
I know this may sound too
far-fetched but as your favourite writer says:
“A man will always be attracted
to the woman who reflects his deepest vision of himself, the woman whose
surrender permits him to experience a sense of self-esteem. The man who is
proudly certain of his own value, will want the highest type of woman he can
find, the woman he admires, the strongest, the hardest to conquer--because only
the possession of a heroine will give him the sense of an achievement.”
Believe me; for me you are the
one.
