The path left untaken

She was an enigma, to say the least.

What else can you say when the wind of romance flows both hot and cold from her?

I mean, I don’t understand. She must like me, right?

Otherwise, she wouldn’t give me all these indications?

Or have I misread the entire situation?

As I thought this through, I looked up to see her with the ice cream cone looking at me with those oval eyes giving me a wink and a smile.

That wink from those eyes had always trapped me. Although mesmerizing to see when paired with the wink, her eyes can make peaceful men fight wars and warriors sue for peace.

But then I digress. Momentarily distracted by her, I come back to earth and ask myself, Have I misread the situation?

“I was sure I hadn’t. A wink and a smile don’t mean romance”, my head told me.

“But, look at the way she winked and smiled; Look at the way she tilted her head, moving her hair to one side as she turned to look at you,” my heart screamed.

There must be something there, right?

At the beach, we were next to an ice cream vendor at this point.

I look at her smiling and eating her ice cream cone and then at the whole wide beach, almost as if I was waiting for Poseidon to rise up and claim her as his own.

Do you know what the worst thing in life is?

Being unsure if the girl likes you or not.

A friend introduced us. Saying she was new in town.

She likes history, he said. You know this city. Show her around.

It was not love at first sight.

She was fun. Quick with a witty reply; Knowledgable about the ways of the world and could hold her own against my assault on Stoicism which she was a massive fan of.

It developed slowly over a week, and then the feeling hit me all at once.

She was absolutely amazing. I think I liked her.

And based on the way she smiled at me, and that subtle touch of the hand along with the tilt of the head and the way she looked at me, I was 99% sure she did too.

She liked jogging. Mom looked at me weirdly as I woke up at 5:00 AM every day and went to the beach to “jog.”

Me, a guy who had never done a day of exercise in his life. But then, liking a girl will make you do crazy things.

It was one evening by the beach after two weeks of knowing her that I was confused.

As I kept looking at the beach, I felt a slight tug at my sleeve, and I could see her sitting in her scooter, asking me to get on and finish what’s left of her ice cream.

As we drove down the busy roads, we decided to go to a mall.

What else will two people who have nothing else to do, do with their time?

“You like someone?” she asked, as she picked up speed on the road,

“Shit,” I groaned. A conversation with a girl about whom you like is always dangerous turf, regardless of your relationship with her. It always ends badly.

“Well, you could set me up with someone,” I said, the most cringy reply a person could give. But then what was I supposed to do?

She chuckled, and off we went, and I came to a decision. I am going to ask her out, I decided; come what may.

But, at this time, she chose to tell me about her life and how she was traveling back in another week, and the last two weeks were fantastic.

I started laughing. I had no clue what to do now. I knew she was leaving, but the timing of my thoughts and her words couldn’t be a coincidence. The Universe doesn’t isn’t so chaotic. At least, not yet.

As we went near the mall, I told her, let’s go to a club.

I didn’t want to think about tomorrow. I just wanted to drink and dance.

She was game, and off we went.

There wasn’t much dancing, to tell the truth. Instead, we drank a bit and spoke a lot.

The entirety of human history was our subject. The way it hums and affects our lives was a conversation that took a better part of the night.

We left the club, and yet somehow, we both didn’t want the day to end.

It was pitch dark as we wheeled the bike towards one of our friend’s homes to crash for the night, but we couldn’t stop talking.

It was as if words were the thing between us that kept us going, and silence was the death to what we were.

But then what were we?

I don’t remember what we spoke about that night. Just what I felt.

A sense of fun, I think. Butterflies etc. rolling in the stomach. Or it could have been the alcohol.

Pretty soon, it was time for the sunrise, and we rode to the beach.

As she drove the bike, I couldn’t help smiling.

We got down and trudged along the beach sand.

At that point, something mesmerizing happened.

She picked my hand and held it as we walked down the beach.

As she led the way, and I followed her, slightly elated and all-around confused, she turned back.

And it was at this moment that the sun decided to rise from the Bay of Bengal.

The girl, her complexion, her oval eyes, the hair on one side, and her smile radiated an ethereal beauty unmatched by the now sad glow of the sun rising behind her.

Her smile and her eyes. I looked at her smile, then locked into her eyes. That’s when I knew the answer was yes.
She liked me as well.

I held her hand tighter as only lovers did and matched steps with her as we walked towards the shore to watch the now risen sun, try to match the glow of my girl.

But then, I would like to say that this was an excellent start to a beautiful relationship.

The next one week was super amazing. Bunking office work hadn’t yet taken its toll, and the reality of life hadn’t yet snuck in.

But then, the time for her departure came in, and reality struck.

As we said our goodbyes and held protestations of love and long-distance relationships, I could feel reality stepping in.

The Universe has a cruel way of splitting apart what was meant to be together.

Life, career, and distance split us apart.

But then, for one shining moment, there was Love.

She was my path left untaken.