That rainy evening in 1999.
She promised to see me at South Extension on Saturday afternoon. It was a long wait for me from Thursday to Saturday, but I was hopeful that this time my perserverance to woo the lady would pay off and turn “me & you” into “we”. Though there was definitely a fear of rejection (rejection for the third time to be precise) but there was no doubt in my mind that we would still be friends. She is that kinda girl. I got up, put in a lot of effort to make myself look like the prince charming every girl dreams of. The truth is I was not quite the man of her dreams, I was the chubby baby of the family and known in my friends as the “Glaxo Baby”.
Over here, it is necessary to talk about my physical appearance. Yes. Because I still feel like Fiona’s shrek. Inside, I was feeling nothing less than a prince. I reached our meeting place before time and ended up waiting for almost an hour. No sign of her. My instinct told me that she just wanted to test my resolve (which every girl likes to do I believe) and so I forced myself not to leave. I was standing outside McDonalds, watching people having fun with friends, sharing meals. All this while, my heart and mind in a constant battle. And then it happened.
This moment, it felt like a cold wind had swept all over me, as if the whole world had come to a standstill and all I could see was my princess walking down towards me, looking ethereal as if she had just descended from the skies. Dressed in a cotton sky blue shirt and blue jeans, looking like the blue sky, pure and luminous. She looked at me and smiled.
By this time, my heart had won over my mind (thankfully) and was beating at a pace I had never experienced before. Now I was only listening to my heart. She said “Hi”, and it started raining. Reliving that moment still gives me goose bumps, after all these years I still feel the same. That was an unbelievable moment. It is still unbelievable. As I tried to look for cover so that she won’t get all soaked up, she smiled at me. I was speechless, spellbound. What to say, how to say it, the words that I had been practicing for the last 48 hours had left me. We talked of worldly stuff for a few minutes and then I just closed my eyes and asked her, ” Would you like to walk with me in the Rain?” And she said “Yes”.
I was stunned. It was as if I was in a dream. But then reality struck. She held my hand and pulled me out into the rain. And there we were, two crazy people walking in the rain, on a busy, bustling day. Everyone must have been looking at us, I don’t remember and I didn’t care. All I could see and hear was my girl. And then my mind started racing, If a girl can walk with you in the rain with careless abandon, she is definitely in love with you. Typical boy’s thinking, you might say. But I am sure many of you reading this have been there, done that.
That beautiful, once in a lifetime moment gave me the confidence that I was going to be the Shrek of this beautiful Princess. That was the happiest moment of my life. It cannot be captured in words, it can only be felt and I cherish and relive those moments whenever I need to remind myself of the beauty in my life.
What happens next, will share soon!
Loving someone, everyone can do, but being loved is a gift that I was blessed enough to receive.…Love you for loving me the way I am!
Glaxo Baby
