At first...

It was a slow realization at first. He had spent the last 10 minutes in a daze. Everything seemed to be happening in the proverbial slow motion. For no reason, he suddenly remembered an idiotic TV ad about a hair oil which was showing a 10% extra promo. Switching back to the present with an effort, he saw her move as if to get up and leave. He panicked. Suddenly he didn’t know what to do. He must prevent her from leaving. And he knew that all he had to do was ask. But he couldn’t. She was smiling. Her face was smiling as well. He couldn’t see her face right now, but he couldn’t be surer of her expression. She didn’t know he was in here as well.

It had all started an hour back when he had walked into this restaurant with a colleague for a late lunch. It was when he was on his way back from the washroom that he had noticed her. She was three tables away, with a friend of hers. Nothing surprising – after all it was her favourite joint.

She looked radiant and fresh - clearly enjoying herself. She laughed suddenly about something in their conversation – throwing her head back, convulsing uncontrollably, almost on the verge of falling off from her chair. Free flowing innocence garnished with unbridled passion. His heart skipped a beat. And then she curled her little finger around the lone strand curving strategically from the left end of her left brow, bouncing off her left cheek and stopping just above her upper lip. But what really did him was the eyes. Big eyes, innocent and childlike – sparkling like the drops of water they show in mineral water ads, yet carrying that unmistakable calm of sensitivity and sensibility.

His colleague had left in a hurry after a phone call, and he had been left staring at her. Her face seemed so clear – as if he was watching through a telescope. She had a way of talking to the waiters that you could immediately see them almost worshipping her. She clearly was aware of being treated as a goddess and was quite nonchalant about it. Obviously it was a regular happening. Then it struck him that after all it was her favourite place and it was very likely that the staff knew her.

She was listening to her friend relate something, and was paying careful attention. He could see the glint of intelligence as she clearly grasped all that was being said to her immediately. He felt himself being drawn irresistably to her – almost a force dragging him physically. It was déjà vu. 5 years down the line after having fallen in love once, it was happening to him again. Stupid as it was, 10 minutes after having seen her first, he was absolutely sure about this. This was stronger than the last time. Some rational voice tried talking to him inside his head, but there was no point. The last time, 5 years back, it had been a blurred sequence of events. This time was no different. Nothing had changed. Not even the girl.