"At First Sight"

Rumey’s Short Stories

At First Sight

Buddhika decided he'd never seen a more beautiful girl. This was the second day she and her friend, a pale girl by comparison, had come to the botanical gardens. He had followed them yesterday and watched them spend the afternoon reading books at a prominent bench in the park. He had hung around uncertain as to the best method of approach. He had not gone unnoticed. Carrying his drawing instruments and a tube, for the drawings, that looked like a rocket propelled grenade launcher jutting out of his ruck sack he attracted the attention of security personnel anywhere he went. One security guard after another had approached him and asked him for various things such as his identity card, his village and which faculty he belonged to.

He did not to talk to her yesterday. Engineering faculty undergraduates do not attend lectures in the best attire and he was straight after classes. A faded T-shirt, a dark trouser and rubber bathroom slippers about summed it up. A brush through the hair and a shave only on the rare occasions when they either woke up early enough or so late that they had to cut classes. His appearance was not the only factor that influenced his decision. The girl's pale companion had such a determined looking upturned chin and a tightly set mouth that he fancied he had no chance with her looking on. He would have to get the pretty girl alone.

Today he was prepared. The load of drawing instruments, half of which he didn't how to use, had been dumped at a friend's hostel room. He had shaved twice, dressed to kill and finished his batch mate's cologne. Armed with a fat storybook that could last him a lifetime he seated himself strategically at a bench which would give him a good view of the bench they had occupied yesterday. The couple who were already occupying the seat were surprised at this rude interruption on their privacy but were too much in love with each other to fight with him. They sauntered off peacefully to find a better place. The girl of his dreams arrived with her friend and headed for their seat. But the wrong one sat closer to him.

Nature endows some undergraduates with quick thinking and others with quick action. Although he could think when necessity demanded Buddhika preferred to use his head for higher purposes like heading a football into the goal. He was a man of action. He was determined to sit on the other side. But he had to pass their bench. As he passed he smiled. One girl smiled back. The wrong one. He sat himself sheepishly on a bench on the other side thereby displacing another preoccupied couple. He would wait. Eventually one of the girls would leave. They had to. The canteen was close by. An hour passed. He realized he'd been holding his book upside down. The girls talked to each other and one of them stood up once but they never left each other's company. Buddhika cursed under his breath when he saw both of them rise to leave.

It is usual in the affairs of mankind that providence steps in when mere mortals see no hope. Every cloud, as they say, has a silver lining. Buddhika's silver lining lay on the bench the girls had vacated in the form of a forgotten book. Always quick on the action, as has been stated earlier, he pounced on the book as a cat starving for nine days might have pounced on an errant mouse. He held the prized possession close to his chest and looked up in time to see the girls on the far side of the fence heading towards the bus stop. He followed.

He hoped that the girls would separate here but it was not to be. They both got into the same bus and he, after letting some others ahead, did the same. They went to the front of the bus while he seated himself in the rear. He flicked through the pages of the book. The first page had a few words written on it. To Niroshini it said. Niroshini. What a nice name. It must be her name. The other one was too plain to have such a posh name. Then he started. From your loving fiancé Lal. No it must be the other girl. His girl looked barely twenty. She could not be engaged. Then he started again. The girls had risen and made their way to the front of the bus.

All three of them got down. The girls proceeded as if they had no intention of separating. Buddhika had had enough. He walked up closer to the girls and must have been the first lover in history who hoped the wrong girl would turn around when he called her:

"Niroshini..."

One girl turned around. It was the beautiful one.

"Yes," she stopped, "Do I know you?"

He faltered. He didn't know what to do. He proffered the book.

"You left this behind," he stammered, "I... I... I found it on the bench."

Her eyes lit up.

"Thank you," she sounded positively happy, "that book is from my fiancé, you know..."

They talked for some time, but Buddhika having confirmed that she was indeed engaged found that he did not have that burning desire in his heart any more. He removed himself from the scene, crossed the road and boarded a bus. He sat himself on the last seat and gaped forlornly at the passing landscape, like a hungry cat that had let the errant mouse get away. It started to drizzle. The bus stopped at the next halt. A girl in a rich, maroon dress got into the bus. She was slightly out of breath. A few raindrops were clinging to her curly hair, sparkling like small gemstones. Buddhika decided he'd never seen a more beautiful girl.

At First Sight	Ray of Love	Hospital Room
A Mother's Heart	Life Without Commercials	The Junior
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