OVER A CUP OF COFFEE (episode 12)

Extremely sorry guys… I was not able to upload my ff. For the past two days.. I will try to upload a longer version today…I was sick and also was busy with decorating my college for a function… hence… anyways… your responses made me feel the extreme necessity to upload another epi sooner… So here u go… 🙂
Here is to one big revelation.. 🙂

EPISODE :12
While drinking coffee and talking,Sona suddenly asks,
“Friends??” putting her right hand forward towards him for a handshake.
Dev looks at her puzzled and says.. “Hmm, but just friends”
It was late at night… when both Sona and Dev had finished off their respective coffee and work.
As both get off the building,Sona starts to walk off.. While Dev gets his car out and drives next to her… Honking…
Sona turns towards his car.Dev pulls down the passenger seat window…
“Get in… you will not get any vehicle from here.”
“No its ok… I can walk all the way… It’s a romantic weather…–”
Dev hears her and gets lost in thoughts.
“Sir… Excuse me??!”
“Huh-yes… plz sit in… i will drop u .. It’s my responsibility… you are my employee… you worked late…for the betterment of–”.
“I love my job.. But if you still insist then.. Ok”
Sona gets into the car.
As Dev drives.. Sona steals glances from him.. Dev notices and asks… “what??”
“Nothing..”
The car drives off smoothly along the road and suddenly stops with a jerk..
Sona rolls her eyes…Dev tries to start the car.
But the car does not start. Dev gets down the car..to check what had happened..
He starts to work and realises that he needs to change the wire.
“Miss Nutrition … it’s not possible to go by car today.. It’s the wire which is the problem…”
“We will not get any car here either for a lift.”
“Let’s walk…”
They start to walk talking and laughing about all the tiny little stuffs they could think off… Dev sees Sona smiling so happily and he was lost…
Suddenly tears start to roll out of his eyes..
“Shut up!! Why Are you laughing so much??” an emotionally agitated Dev asks Sona.
She was surprised hearing his sudden changed tone. She notices tears and asks
“what happened??”
While Dev breaks down into tears sitting by a roadside bench.

It starts to rain all of a sudden. Sona pulls out an umbrella from her bag and holds above them both.
Both starts to walk side by side yet closer. The downpour was getting ferocious gradually and sharing an umbrella was not possible. Just then Sona notices a small hut.
She points that to Dev.
Both walks towards the hut.
Sona knocks on the door .. But the door opens with a slight push. They see nobody inside… both sits on the floor shivering.
Sona lits some hay with her lighter… To keep the room warm.
It was as though the rain wanted to keep them together…
Dev starts to weep again.. He stands against the fragile wooden door.. While Sona hearing the sound of his cry despite the heavily downpour… walks towards him..
“I have sharp ears… My brain is telling me someone is upset and is crying. Why sir??? Why do you start to weep all of a sudden??”
Dev looks into her eyes. Sona looks into his.
“We are friends… you can call me Dev”
“Dev… no, you should be called “Mr.Emotional” as you start to weep every now and then.. I know you have a lot of sorrow in your heart. And i also heard somewhere that sharing pain will reduce it.”
Dev looks away…

******Devs’ voice and flashback********
// Natasha and I… we know each other since our college times….
One day at college… //

Dev is seen batting…and hits the ball.. The ball reaches up to a girl hitting her cycle and distracting her… Her hairs fly across her face.. She looks up and picks the ball. She smiles pleasantly…
// it was Natasha…
I did not know her name then.
She throws the ball back and continues to study… i could not forget her face… Her smile… that scene was stuck up on my mind.
Next day..//
“Hi!”
“Uh .. Who are you??”
“I’m Dev…. College Cricket team captain.! Yesterday–”.
“Oh..” Natasha starts to walk away.
“Your name??”
“Natasha. Natasha Gujral.”
Dev smiles happily.
He finds out that she was just a year junior and did not have a boyfriend.
// no boyfriend….i was hell excited. It was love at first sight. I thought to win her heart over.. And started to draw her attention towards me… By going to their class more often than ever.. And explaining many stuffs as they were my junior. I used to try taking her attention even by participating and winning the cultural fiesta.
I don’t know if she knew they were all for her.. But whenever she saw me… she would paste that beautiful smile.. And i would fall in love with her again. Once in the library.. I never went to the library… but that day i did… Because i heard she was looking for “Managing Hard Times” i have had read the book earlier. It was all about how to manage during economic crisis…. A beautifully written story yet best for students to learn.. I knew our library had just one copy of it. Soi rushed to the library before she could. And taking out my emoji notepad.. I wrote a message and pushed it into the book.. I kept the book on the higher shelf.
My friends and I sat on the table next to that shelf..and waited.
“Here she comes” said a friend drawing my attention towards her.. I was pretending to read but seeing her in that beautiful red skirt.. I was mesmerized… she was murderously beautiful. I watched her talk to the librarian. Probably enquiring about the book.the librarian pointed her the shelf near our table.. She walked closer towards us.. With each step she took… my heartbeats went faster.. I could literally hear them… and i wondered if she could hear too.
She comes towards the shelf and tries to take the book.//
“May i help ??”
“It is not necessary”
//she pulls a ladder kept against another shelf and climbs up to get the book.. But losing balance she was about to fall.. But i was already there to hold her.. Her eyes lost into mine… I wanted to hug… her love would be my best gift from God. I thought. Staring into her.. She snaps her fingers breaking my thoughts.//
“put me down”
// i gently put her down. She was so delicate. She walks up towards a table and starts to read. I had put the card in the first few pages. I waited for her to open and read the message.. I wanted to see her reaction.she was reading… reading… when she finally sees that emoji.//

“Your smile brings colours to my life .. Thank you… My love… Natasha”

//She reads the message and was surprised.
She turns to us… But i was pretending to read sincerely. She takes her stuffs and leaves… this happened quite often. I would either leave message on her bench… Or in her bag… Or in between the pages of books she read..or in her tea coffee tray… i even wrote hundreds of love quotes and gave it to the cashier in the canteen and told him to specifically give her these along with change. I paid him to do so.
Natasha was happier day by day and the chronology of the messages were such.. But from her expressions it was clearly understood that she was looking for me.

One day, i find out it was her birthday.. So decide to reveal myself by proposing her.
I had planned an entire series of events that would bring her to me. But then it starts to rain…
“Uff no!” i thought.. Just then i noticed her coming towards the canteen… Running without an umbrella… getting drenched… i immediately dropped in a message to the canteen cashier.
As Natasha walked up to pay her bills.. The cashier hands over another emoji card…
She gets agitated and asks
“Who is it?? Please tell me”
The cashier points towards the card that read…
“An umbrella is waiting outside…open to know who….”//

She rushes out and opens the umbrella… it had emojis and love hanging alternatively and a message hung right in front of her face… “follow the trails of sowed roses..”
Natasha smiles and starts hunting for sowed roses. She reaches up to an ice cream stall… That’s where the rose trails lead her to..
“An ice cream parlour???”
The man in there calls her out… And gives her “Belgian chocolate ice cream” tray and asks her to taste one… As she picks up… She notices a bus ticket… and sees that there was a bus stand opposite.
The man smiles saying “it’s all for you..”
Getting on the bus… She was the only one… The conductor does not take fees rather drops her in front of a hilly area… And hands a card over.. It was off that of a coffee cafe.
She stars to follow the arrow marks and notices a chair… it had chocolates… water bottle…a teddy bear…containing a message… “take the cycle”
She smiles…as she notices the cycle stand against the tree… She wanted one of those… she rushes up towards it.. And in the front bucket she puts all her stuffs… the chocolate… teddy and water bottle..
She holds umbrella above her head and cycles off down the road… She suddenly notices a couple table… with beautiful decor all around… in the middle of the jungle. And a man…
She gets off her cycle and walks stealthily towards this mysterious man… She had thought to kiss him.. He had loved her soo much after her father…
She puts her hands upon his shoulder and he turns… She was surprised… “Dev??? You here????”
“How did you like–”
“So it was you.. ???”
She hugged him back surprised.. She notices a thread hanging over.. “What’s that??”
She pulls it… And rose petals falls all over her… opening another message… “i love you,Natasha!!”
She hugs Dev tightly and kisses him… “i love you too!!”

They have a passionate kiss…
// she was wild at romance.everything fast fast… i laughed… I was happy that she accepted… It was God’s best gift to me. I sat down proposed her again… and she said “yes” i wished her happy birthday and drove off with her in my bike to that coffee shop…

“I love the serenity here”
“Me too”
We both got off the bike and walked inside. The coffee shop calm as ever was filled with the aroma of different flavour.. It was warm and cozy…
“Let’s sit there” Natasha said pointing towards the corner. It was that very rustic couple table around the corner besides the glass ceiling… And glass window.. She sat watching the rain drizzle down against the window…. I watched her… After coffee… I took her to watch my favourite “titanic”… The old yet so popular romantic film…
With the ending… i dropped Natasha in front of her home..
“It was my best birthday….ever….” and we kissed again… She dropped the umbrella letting us get wet…..she did not allow me to go… rather she pulled me into her room… and we made love… I was intoxicated in her love … determined to marry her only…

Next morning….//

******end of flashback******

Sona pinches him… You told too much for me to digest.. I never thought Natasha and you were this close…
Dev looks down ashamed.
“I loved her” he says crying.
//“I was reluctant to make love…she forced me to… even when we finished college… and decided to get a job… I shifted to Mumbai… mom knew about Natasha…. And her dad knew about me…. When i had gone to Mumbai.. She requested both our patients to allow us to stay together… Live in relationship… My mom was reluctant… But she said… Once Dev starts to draw good income…we would marry and settle down.. She begged so much that my mom had to agree. Uncle meanwhile took mom as his business partner.. We used to stay as couple… there was no limits between us… 8 years of our relationship…. We made love more than a thousand times… i left cricket and started a proper job for her..

6 months ago…One fine day… in the morning… “Dev!”
“Hmm”
“I spoke to dad…–”
“About what??”
“See… I know you are honest and hardworking. but your works don’t you fetch you much money… –”
“What do you mean to say??”
“I asked Dad to give the CEO position to you…”
“I will not do job there..”
“Why not??”
“See… i must manage you… you love me… You should support–”
“I am supporting you …. –”
“No,you are not–”
“Dev!–”
“See learn to manage yourself within money. When you accepted me i had nothing but love to give you… -’”
“You can not do this Dev”
“See you are trying to insult me… By asking your dad–”
“I am not .. I feel ashamed in front of my–”
“Oh… so i m the reason behind your ashamed feeling??”
“Their hubbys are rich… But you are clerk… Their…–”
“I don’t care… you never had any issues–”
“I never said doesn’t mean..–”
“Ufff, it’s useless… If you don’t want me….Tell me…–”
“Yes.. I don’t want you… you are very poor to manage my–”
I just rush out of the home crying…

I did not do back home that day…and when i went… I found Natasha had taken all her stuffs and left from there…
Love was not meant for me or are girls like this?… I thought…

After a few days, I spotted Natasha outside a maternity center with another guy…. Probably the new CEO of her dad’s company.
“Maternity house ??” i thought. Then i rushed outside thinking what if she was….
My friend who accompanied me… tried to stop me… but i ran out and pulled Natasha towards me.. She looked at me in a damn care manner.//
They were distracted by Sonas’ as usual loud ringtone.
“Ops sorry…!”
It was Asha ji calling.

PRECAP:
As Dev finishes….Sona lets out a long sigh and thinks… I had fallen for a heartbroken person… don’t know if …. When they hear a thud on the ground outside and rushes outside.

********
I’m extremely sorry for not being able to upload..hope you guys liked it… your comments would help me to push forward into writing …so keep commenting and keep voting… 🙂 love you all…