A MOMENT FOR ETERNITY....💕
A MOMENT FOR ETERNITY....💕
“And
that’s how it would all begin, what Rudraveer thought was over would haunt him
forever in his life…!! Thank you everyone and lets head over to enjoy some
freshly baked pizzas”.
A loud applause followed Mr. CA Shankar’s recitation of his
first book ‘Narco God’ in his pizzeria. A 69 year young widower, a not so retired
chartered accountant with a passion for writing books and baking pizzas loved
to host young teens every week at his pizzeria. He loved to educate them with
financial knowledge and recited one of his many novels, serving pizzas with a
smile on his face. The pizzeria was a testament to his love of Sylvester
Stallone movies and mystery novels. The right wall was put up with shelves of
books and posters. The opposite wall was dedicated to Sylvester Stallone
characters ranging from Rocky Balboa to Barney Ross. He would showcase with
pride the SLY signed golden gloves carefully secured under a display counter
with barricades of at least 2 feet wrapped all around. All the children headed
towards the tables. As Shankar closed his book to keep it back into its place,
the golden bell on the upper side of the door chimed as it swung open slowly. A
woman of his age with a pink floral scarf tied around her head wearing cat eye
glasses with a mint colored over the shoulder sling bag entered. His hands trembled
over the sight of her, his heart sank heavy as the book slipped down from his
hands. As he bent over to pick it up, his hands were blocked by wrinkled soft
hands which picked up the book. Their eyes met for a brief amount of time
before the woman patted clean the book cover and handed it back to him. She then
went on forward towards the counter as
Shankar stocked back the book. Was she the woman who he thought was?? As
he headed over to the kitchen thoughts came flooding back to him….
It was the summer of 2017, Shankar was
pursuing his 2nd year of Undergraduate studies, he believed in the
Scarface Mantra of ‘The World is Yours’. It was the last day of 3rd
Semester and he went into a Crosswords bookstore. As he went on scouting for
books to read, between the aisles of romance and mystery, he found a girl
standing with Durjoy Datta’s ‘HOLD MY HAND’ book. It was the latest novel of
his and the store had only 2 copies left. Shankar picked up the last book and smiled
with a relief. “Lucky guy” he heard a sweet shy voice behind his back. He
turned around to see the most beautiful girl with big brown eyes and a ponytail
wearing a floral dress with a jean jacket. He smiled back “Indeed, I love his
style of writing and am hooked on to his books”. “Me too, started with his ‘Our
I’mpossible Love’ and loved his other books” said she with a soft fruity voice.
Both spoke to each other as they headed towards the billing counter. As there
was no queue in the store, so only one counter was open. Shankar offered her to
get billed first but she kindly declined as she had to search for the perfect
bookmark. So Shankar was first in line as she looked through the bookmarks
standing behind. The cashier said to Shankar that his club membership card had
expired and he wasn’t eligible to get the member’s discount. Hearing this she patted and told
Shankar to get it billed together using her card. Shankar was hesitant at first
but she told the cashier to bill it along with her items. She took out her card
and paid for it too. Shankar then opened his wallet to pay her which she refused and said “Get me a coffee as
I paid for the book” and smiled with a wink. He was surprised but got together
all his guts and said “Sure, there’s a Starbucks down below”. They went into
the café and sat down at a corner table overlooking the outside. They both laid
down their stuff and went to order at the counter. The Barista welcomed them
and asked their order, Shankar ordered a plain black coffee. “Cinnamon
Shortbread Latte and a cherry chocolate cake”. When asked about her name she
said “Meera” with the most gorgeous smile. As they both sat down, Shankar
complimented that she had a nice name. She said her actual name was Miraya but
its easy to spell Meera on the cup and laughed. Both sat and chatted for around
half an hour about books, movies and music. She was pursuing architecture and the
Crosswords bookstore was her most favourite place and she tries to visit it at
least every week. Shankar said it was always his dream to open a book pizzeria
café. Meera happily said she would help in the interior decorating of it !! As
they continued to share their interests and their love for a book pizzeria,
Shankar’s phone rang. It was a call from his friend informing about Shankar’s
brother who had been met with an accident. Suddenly the cozy ambience of the café
felt uncomfortable, he stuttered and left telling Meera that it was a emergency.
She offered to tag along with him to the hospital but he kindly refused and
left in a hurry……
All these
years he wondered what would have happened if he met her again, the mysterious
girl who seemed like the perfect match for him. He uttered to himself as he
remembered her name “Miraya”. He had been visiting the bookstore each week to
get a chance to meet her again but had no luck. After a couple of years the bookstore closed and Shankar had
lost his hopes of ever finding his mysterious flame. Only to be rekindled now decades
later, his heart sang for the first time in many years after his wife’s death. He
rushed into the kitchen and asked what the woman had ordered? He then went near
the coffee machine and made a mediocre version of cinnamon shortbread latte. He
then rushed near the bookshelves and grabbed a book and went near her table. As
he stood in front of her he called her name “Meera”. He laid down her drink and
slid the book towards her. It was Durjoy Datta’s ‘A Touch of Eternity’. A
barista served him his black coffee and as he sat down opposite to her, picked
it up and said, “Hello Meera” and so after all these years here was a second
chance at finding love…….
- SHAMBHU.N
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