Naveen sat at corner of room on a comfy beanbag, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He fancied himself an expert human behavior analyst, he prided himself on being able to determine the nature and character of a person by merely looking at them for a while. It was as simple as observing a person’s dressing, their walk and the way they spoke and interacted in a social situation.
He considered this ability as a god given talent and as with any other talent, nurtured it by visiting cafés frequently and ‘reading people’ as he called it.
Today the first person that caught his eyes was a young girl in a short skirt. she looked like she was waiting for company and kept glancing through the menu as if deciding what to order.
Rich family background he noted, by observing a Gucci bag and an expensive phone, Emotionally troubled he saw with the cuts on her hands, self conscious he decided by the thick inch of makeup on her face, well liked, he saw ,when a large group of friends joined her and she seemed to be the center of attraction
Spoilt brat he concluded, with a name like Tina or Dolly…who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Trust fund probably. Ran to daddy for every little thing and loving parents who gave in to all her whims and fancies. Probably felt out raged by little things that did not go her way, that led to the cutting.
He soon got bored and his attention was drawn to a couple who seemed to totally in love. ‘They can’t fool me’ he thought. To a normal untrained eye they might look like they were in love, but to an expert like him, it was obvious that they could be more apart. The love, the admiration and awe in the boy’s eyes were as obvious as the haughtiness and bored expression on the girls face.
She kept glancing around the room and finally her eyes landed on Naveen, at whom she winked. Ekkks! He thought, eyeing me when she had, what seemed like a perfect man next to her.
The boy seemed a hopeless romantic who wore his heart on his sleeves, Intelligence which was easily diminished by the presence of estrogen. It was obvious, he was rich, but there was an air of negligence about him. A neediness. A boy from a broken home who yearned to be accepted and loved unconditionally.
The girl on the other hand seemed to be an alteration of the rags to riches story..it seemed that she had reached the place she was currently at with a lot of hard work, sacrifice and struggles. She still seemed unsatisfied ,she wanted more, she was always looking for better things, greener meadows …she wanted to reach as high. High as the airplanes she had looked at from the playground.
They that the same chances of making it, as the turtle did on a dusty highway.
His eyes next caught sight of a middle aged man. A techie he thought in disgust.
The man seems nervous, twitchy and he kept kept playing with the wedding ring on his finger. He was with a young girl. Much younger than him. His daughter? Niece?
No, they seemed to be more chemistry. She did not have a ring on her finger, not his wife. A lover? With that most people would be disgusted, a dog they would would call him..Cheating on his wife as well as ruining a young girl’s life.
But to Naveen, it seems that the man was there almost against his will, as if he was forced to. Desperation? Loneness caused by a uncaring ,troubling wife? Perhaps.
Was he like millions of people looking for love? Decade’s late, yes. But still in search for a perfect soul mate?
His graze wandered over to an old couple sitting next to each other. They seems old, ancient, but their love for each was as deep as the lines on their face. They seemed perfectly synced into each other. They had fought life’s ups and downs with the other on their side. Their love for each other had grown so much over the years that it now somehow seemed that they looked like each other.
Had their children abandoned them? Like soo many youngsters did today? It did not matter as long as they had each other.
As Naveen got up to pay the bill, he was filled with a sense of warmth. It make him happy that even in today’s date and time true love did exist and once it was found it would last forever. He wanted someone in his life that would sit beside him when they both were as old as the oak trees. With a smile on his face and hope in his heart, he walked out.
Ashwath was sitting at corner of the cafe and noticed Naveen as he walked out of the door.
Lonely he noted, disillusioned he concluded
Swati, I want you to know that you're absolutely brilliant! This kept me glued all the way through. Awesome! :* :* Hugs!
ReplyDeletei am so out of words!! you are AMAZING!!:)
ReplyDeleteall your pieces of writing have got so much depth to them! so now i know what you do when you are apparently 'lost in thought'! you actually are!:D
the story is very fascinating!:)yes!:)
thanks Brinda and Gree..
ReplyDeleteit means soo much to me that you guys like the writing :)
<3 *hugs*