Thoughts of the Past - II

Six months later

It was the month of February and the air was redolent of romanticism. Everyone on campus was cheerful and proposals dictated the season. At times, when there was a love triangle or a quadrangle involved, cheerfulness gave way to gloom and for guys - this occasion became the perfect excuse to take to drinking. For girls, the lachrymatory glands lend their help. But there was some understanding on the campus regarding this angle. There were a very few such incidents and most of them had their grades intact in this subject.

Aditi did not have to wait till February to fall in love. Anand was in his sophomore year and being the charming guy which he was, it was not difficult on his part to win over Aditi. Anand came from modest background and was the perfect guy of his batch.He was the University topper in his first year and never took any interest in any other girl till he met Aditi.His unassuming self was his forte and everyone knew that he would make it big someday. Aditi was another add-on to his list of the right things in life.

Rya approved of Aditi's decision on the fresher's night itself and was pretty close to the couple. She held Anand as the benchmark for judging any guy. She never had an interest in guys whatsoever. She fancied fictional characters instead.However, she never failed to notice Ryan whenever they crossed roads on campus. Ryan was always to be found in the basketball arena. He had a passion for it and he was the best player in the college team.Ryan had no love for acads though. He had managed to pass the first term with a 7+ GPA and to Rya's consternation, Ryan hardly spoke to any other girl on campus.

Ryan was Rya's lab partner for the second semester. Surprisingly enough, he never spoke to Rya unless necessary and the incident at the fresher's party was never raised by either of them. Rya did not know what to feel for him. She hated Ryan six months earlier and today, she was actually indifferent to him. She knew that she could not ignore him because somewhere in her subconscious, Ryan had taken a seat. It was difficult on her part to know what he thought about her and that kept her guessing. To be precise, she failed to understand him.

One fine evening when Rya and Aditi were taking a stroll outside their hostel, Rya brought up the topic of Ryan.

"Aditi, what do you think of Ryan?"

"Ryan?..ohh the Michael Jordan of our batch" - smiled Aditi.

"Whatever..what do you think of him?"

"Hmm..I have never thought of him Rya.Why..what happened? Is someone having purple thoughts?" - asked Aditi with a mischievous smile.

"Aditi..you know me. I would never fall in love..and at least not for someone like Ryan.Its just that he is so so inscrutable."

"If you are so sure of not falling in for him, why are you even trying to understand him Rya. There are so many people whom we come across daily but if we try to understand each and everyone, we will fail to understand the right persons in our life."

"But Aditi,.."

"Rya dear - forget it. Let's have some ice cream."

That night, when Rya went to sleep; she felt Aditi was right. She should forget Ryan and concentrate on her studies instead.

For the rest of the semester, Rya tried not to think much of Ryan but with every passing day, she grew restless about the way Ryan behaved. He was weirdly calm with her and tried all possible means of avoiding her.

Things did not change much for her until the last day of the semester. All theory papers were over and only the lab viva was pending. The atmosphere was filled with fun and laughter as everyone packed their bags for the summers. Rya was done with her viva and on returning to the hostel, she was handed over an envelope by the watchman. She hurried back to her room and on opening it; found a beautiful Chrysanthemum and a note inside it. It was addressed to Rya but unsigned.

"The first time I saw you, I knew it was either you or no one else. But your quiet demeanour never gave me the opportunity to express what I ever felt for you. I tried every possible way to let you know about my feelings but I could not. To me; your ignorance was better than your denial. I still don't want you to know who I am coz I fear you would run away from me. I do not know what it is that holds you back from the feeling of love but I know that I cannot hold back myself from you. I will miss you."

Rya was dumbfounded after reading this and she knew not what to do. The words had a mesmerizing effect on her and for the first time, her convictions started failing her. She never wanted to but she knew she had - finally fallen in for him.

She thought to herself "And all this time while he was thinking of me and trying to  talk to me, I was trying to forget him. How foolish of me! I should have known.I do not know if I like him or not but he does love me.I have finally understood him."

She was elated for reasons unknown to her and she just smiled to herself.

Her bags were packed and she was about to leave the hostel when she realized that she had left her purse in her college bag.She went back to fetch it and while taking it out, a notebook dropped from her bag. She picked it up. It was Ryan's lab notebook and had somehow been exchanged with that of hers. She opened it and was befuddled after going through it for quite some time.

The handwriting in the notebook was not the same with that of the one in the note which she had read a few minutes before. 

Suddenly, the words seemed hollow to her and she did not know what to think - either of the note or of anything else.

Ryan was playing in the basket ball arena when Rya left the campus for her home. But this time it was Ryan who saw her with an askance.

(To be continued...)