My encounter with a young couple

The only time I get to spend with other people is during my daily trips via shared autos. People watching, as you all know is my favourite passtime. No, I wouldn’t mean to demean them by calling it my passtime, actually. It is unfortunate that people nowadays forget the hidden beauty of knowing others by simply observing their behaviour. These shared auto encounters are the most painfully bumpy and slow rides yet the most fun-filled moments of the whole day, for me. Frankly, I prefer this moment than the moments when I meet my real friends during weekends. I love the uncertain vibe that strangers carry with them.

The other day I met this young couple. They weren’t actually a couple, as I found out later on. It was the day rains hit Gurgaon for the first time this season. Naturally, the girl had to pinpoint the obvious a dozen times. The boy nodded on like an automated toy. It seemed that the nod was a reflex action whenever the girl pointed out the rains. The girl droned on about the beauty of rains. The romance in the air. The chill breeze sweeping her hair on her face. Now, if in normal circumstances, a girl threw pointed hints about rain and romance, any other boy would have spoken about bhutta, long drive, walk, or something!! It was all too easy for him. She was just a giggle away from giving him his first rainy wet kiss. I was getting intrigued by the boy’s silent battle. Surely, the guy wasn’t friend-zoning this lady! I noticed she was getting restless too. She then directly suggested that they should go for a long drive on his bike and then he should drop her home. He stared at her for a few seconds. There were prominent suspicious frown lines on his forehead. I was egging him on to refuse her but then came the nod. There was triumph in the girl’s eyes whilst the spectacles perched on the guy’s nose hide his brief emotions. Our eyes met as I got off at my stop and I was sure I saw distress in those eyes.

I might be wrong about all this. Maybe the guy got off too and told her simple and straight that he doesn’t want the long drive, the walk and her. Maybe the girl felt he wasn’t good enough for her and let him go. Maybe the rains planted seeds of new-found love between them. Maybe the parental units intervened and made them part ways.  It taught me the chick was a real marvel at getting herself asked out. It made me feel the guy wasn’t ready to let her face the truth. The girl wasn’t giving up. The guy might be in for a few more troubled dates. A lot of maybes. You got your bus. Or a metro compartment. Or a local train. Don’t switch off while you are travelling. Keep your mind ticking, maybe you will end up finding out what you are missing out on.