Part 8 (1/2)

'No. Do one thing. Go visit an astrologist first. See what timing he gives you and ask him which gemstone you should wear on your finger so the stars work in your favour. Then sing some Bhajans and only then go and propose to her,' I said irritatingly from under the blanket.

'Ok fine. I'll do it myself,' Rohan said annoyingly.

I had no option but to get up and comfort him otherwise he would have f.u.c.ked my brain till it exploded. I made him understand that he had nothing to lose and also told him to act confident in front of her. When it comes to confessing your love for someone, guys always pretend to act macho, but deep inside they are scared to death. I told Rohan to act like his usual self in front of her so that she doesn't suspect anything suspicious. Rohan took my advice seriously and left to meet Riddhima, allowing me to sleep once again. But just when I shut my eyes, he came barging into my room and woke me up, yet again.

'Adi, get up please. I am confused. Which colour s.h.i.+rt should I wear?'

'Wear a swimming costume and go, for all I care, you a.s.shole. But just let me sleep, I beg of you.'

Rohan made a sad face and turned around to leave.

'Stop making me feel guilty. Wear the blue s.h.i.+rt. That colour suits you,' I told him.

Rohan thanked me for my help and left.

'Please don't knock again. Just go and hit a home run. Good luck,' I yelled as he left the room.

Before leaving, Rohan checked himself in the mirror numerous times from all angles-much more than he had in his entire lifetime. He wanted to make Riddhima feel special and was willing to go to any lengths to do that. When your heart begins to work towards another person's happiness, you know you're doing it not for some trifling amus.e.m.e.nt but for true love. Whenever Rohan felt broken on the inside, all he had to do was turn his head and look at Riddhima who cheered him up without fail. She was the joy of his life and kept him going even in his most trying times. Sometimes when someone new enters your life, the person either becomes just a page of your life or its greatest story. Rohan had decided to meet Riddhim a near her apartment in NIBM and take her out for lunch.

By the time he reached her place, Riddhima was waiting for him near the gate. Just the mere sight of her made him nervous as was now going to meet her with a different intention in mind. He had started loving her and wanted to be a part of her life forever. He always found her beautiful but had never really gathered the courage to tell her that. Plus, he had now started looking at her differently-not so much in the capacity of a friend but someone he could spend the rest of his life with. Riddhima stood next to the lamppost, looking elegant in her red tube top and denims. Her s.e.xy smile added to her beauty. He stopped the bike near her. She sat behind him, keeping her hand on his shoulders for support. If petrol wasn't so expensive, he would have driven her around forever.

'You look good, Rohan. Blue suits you,' Riddhima complemented.

Rohan just smiled and looked into her eyes through the rearview mirror. She glanced back at him and smiled.

'Where are we going?' Riddhima asked.

'Pu La Deshpande Park.'

The park was situated at Sinhagad road. Also known as Friends.h.i.+p Garden, it was built with the idea of recreating an original j.a.panese garden, giving the city-goers a chance to enjoy its lush green gra.s.s cover, providing a visual treat in the early morning. It is well maintained, with an artificial lake, and is home to many rare varieties of birds. There are many trees around and the pathways are barricaded by bamboo sticks on both sides. There are water channels along the path where one can spot many a colourful fish.

Rohan and Riddhima rested on one of the benches and gazed the beauty of the garden without really saying anything to each other.

'Is there anything special today?' Riddhima asked finally breaking the silence between them.

'Yes. But I am not sure how to tell you this.'

'What are you talking about?' she asked turning towards him.

'I had planned to tell you so much today, but now I'm at a complete loss for words. When I'm with you, I can barely talk. You give me b.u.t.terflies in my tummy. And when I'm away from you, I can barely think about anything but you since you're always on my mind,' Rohan whispered moving closer to her.

'What happened, Rohan? Are you alright?' she blushed.

He felt the heat in his body even in the chilly winter morning. After gaining courage, he finally decided to come to the point and not beat about the bush.

'I want to ask you that...I mean, you know, I want to tell you...how should I...' he stammered.

How the h.e.l.l do guys ask girls for a one-night stand during their first meeting itself? I am not even able to say 'I have started liking you'. Dammit! he thought.

'Why are you behaving so weirdly?' Riddhima said taking his hand in hers.

Oh G.o.d. I am already f.u.c.king nervous and by holding my hand, she is making me more nervous. Now I understand why most beautiful girls in the city roam around with nerds who are a complete mismatch for them. It's not because there's something special about them but because they had the guts to speak their heart out, he thought.

'Riddhima, I wanted to tell you that...I...I love the way you care for me. Why do you love me so much?'

f.u.c.k...f.u.c.k...f.u.c.k. I wanted to tell her that I love her and not ask her why on the earth she loves me so much. She must be thinking what a fattu I am.

Riddhima gave him a wry smile and blushed. She knew what Rohan was trying to convey but the girl inside her didn't allow her to showcase her emotions.

'Just because I told you I love you doesn't mean that I want to be in a relations.h.i.+p with you. I simply told you how I feel. I know you love someone else and it's okay,' she said on purpose just to tease Rohan.

But Rohan took her seriously and avoided broaching the topic now that he knew what her stand was.

Little did he know she was merely joking with him. They talked about college, upcoming exams, and what not, but they did not speak a single word about how they felt for each other. Though Rohan had even saved a message in his folder that he wanted to send to her after his proposal, there was no way he could send it now. Riddhima kept forcing him to tell her the secret for which he had asked to meet her since she too wanted to hear him confess his love for her. But Rohan did not broach the topic again for the fear of rejection. She was walking on air knowing she actually meant something to someone.

'WHAAAAT, you came home without telling her? Are you serious?' I asked him when he returned home and told me everything.

He simply nodded and avoided looking at me. I became furious at him, not because he was unable to confess his love to her but because he had disturbed my sleep early morning yet again and had still not been able to tell her about his true feelings.

'How can you? Firstly tell me, who the h.e.l.l proposes to a girl so early in the morning? You are not going for a morning walk, dammit! You are proposing to a girl. It's not your b.l.o.o.d.y office where you have to mark your entry at sunrise,' I yelled.

'Just when I was about to confess my love for her, she said that just because she loved me didn't mean she wanted to be in a relations.h.i.+p with me,' he said choking up.

'Girls will be girls. Come on bro, I am a.s.suring you that she loves you. She might have just done that to tease you,' I said cheering him up.

I advised Rohan to try flirting with Riddhima through text messages to see her response. Free or low cost SMS service and social networking sites are a boon to those who are shy to ask girls out in person.

They are the ones who make the optimum use of technology. It's quite possible that the guy who doesn't even speak with girls in college is the one who sends maximum friend requests and messages through such sites and is b.l.o.o.d.y good at it as well. So why can't we?

I motivated Rohan to give it one last shot.

Rohan thought for a moment and sent her a text message: How many people around you call you by your name?

Riddhima replied within a few minutes: Many. Why?

Rohan winked and replied within seconds, There are a lot of people who call you by your name. But there's only one person who can make it sound so d.a.m.n special and that's me.

Are you sure? she replied.

100% sure, Rohan replied and crossed his fingers antic.i.p.ating her next reply.

He jumped on the bed in joy when she replied with a kiss smiley and Lucky me written next to it. He replied saying he would do anything to impress her like a princess. Romance adds flavour to our lives and makes us feel alive in a way that nothing else can. Rohan shared his plan with me and asked for my help in making it unforgettable for Riddhima.

Riddhima too felt loved and cared for. She knew that Rohan was a genuine person and meant all that he said. It was going to be the start of something beautiful-something that both were antic.i.p.ating nervously.

28th December, 2009, Midnight One should not love when one is left stranded or neglected, but when one is prepared to take on the responsibility. Rohan had left behind all the sc.r.a.ps of his previous relations.h.i.+p and was ready to take on the responsibility of being in a new one. He was nervous in the morning, but after a brief chat with Riddhima, he turned confident and was now ready to take on the world. He had decided to make it so memorable that even his grandchildren would be amused by it, knowing how he had proposed to his love. He told me to bring a few things from the market which I did. We had decided to go to Riddhima's apartment around midnight when no one would disturb us or come in our way.

Once the clock struck twelve, we left from Rohan's home. Rohan had decided to come by car while I drove his bike. I had taken a bag with me that had a paint bucket, a brush, and some colours in it, along with some rose petals. The other material was in Rohan's car. As we reached near her apartment, Rohan signalled me to go ahead showing me the exact location and also reminded me to check if her balcony lights were off. Her balcony was visible from the lane under her apartment. I gave him a thumbs up sign indication the lights were indeed off and also looked around to make sure no one was watching me.

Marking the location from where she could see clearly from her balcony, I removed the paint and the colours from my bag and started my work. Once done, I called Rohan to drive down and he halted the car at a perfect spot.