Soul-mates

He kept glancing at his watch impatiently… He almost expected it to tick twice in a second. It was not yet 6.00, and though his practical sense told him that there was still time, his eyes were already anxiously searching for her amidst the crowd. He had never seen her, she had never met him, and yet they were sure, they would recognize each other the moment their presence overlapped. It was an unsaid test for them, to measure their response to each other’s vibes.

There were still ten minutes to go, while he stood, his eyes fixed at the entrance of the mall. And he saw a girl enter… She was wearing a white, cotton salwar kameez with a bright red dupatta thrown around her neck. His gaze settled on her for a few seconds and his heart it seemed would leap out of his chest. He knew… it was Her.

He started walking towards her as if pulled by a strange magnetic power, she was pulled in his direction by a similar force… and as they stood separated by a couple of feet’s distance, there was a moment of confusion, a shiver that passed through them. They did not know how to greet each other… with a formal shake of a hand, or a more warm gesture of a hug. They had hugged each other several times over the virtual medium of online chat… but that was nothing in comparison to this stark reality… this tangible, flesh and bone person, this face with expressions, with reaction. This was so much more substantial, so much more fearsome and so much more awesome.

With such million thoughts and a myriad of emotions running in their minds and hearts, the confusion prevailed, and they failed to even utter the simple courteous “hello”. With a light smile of quivering lips and uncertain eyes, they walked towards the coffee shop. He ordered her favourite Café Frappe, she chose his simple n plain Cappuccino. After knowing each other for a year now, they knew everything about the other, and yet today was the day to fix the jigsaw puzzle, the last piece of the puzzle, the head was to be placed today… that would determine whether the picture turns out to be an angel or a demon. It was the deciding day of how their relationship would move further, which way their lives would turn.

Slowly conversation began with some effort, intervened by many awkward pauses… And then they started talking about the thing they both were most comfortable with, their chat sessions. They began talking about the several little secrets they had disclosed about themselves, the several, tiny little incidents of life as a child, as an adolescent, as an adult… and they began to laugh their most natural laughs… the soulful laughs… It didn’t matter anymore how the head looked, it fixed perfectly in the puzzle and that was what was important. The very thought contented them and they wished to know what the other felt. Was the comfort both ways? Was the connect mutual? Did the other feel the same?

For a brief moment their eyes met.

His gaze held hers… and it seemed, their hearts melted the silence, that rippled through their eyes…

Their vision blurred, thoughts clouded, and the two hearts together skipped a beat… and before they knew it, the moment passed…
She lowered her gaze, he looked away…

And the next instant, when their eyes met, it was clearly visible, plain, simple, straightforward…His love reflected in her eyes… Her trust shined through his… and the spark of the moment ignited both their souls.

She sipped the last drop of the now cold Cappuccino and they quietly walked out together… her hand in his, their fingers slightly entwined… perhaps emulating their souls which, at that very moment, lay entwined in their own silent, virtual world…

Perhaps this is how soul-mates meet.

Dear Reader, Its been long since I wrote anything... and I would not call it anything, but pure lethargy. And hope that henceforth I shall be more attentive here and responsive. :-)
Cheers!
Meenakshi