Have you read the book ‘The Secret’ or heard the famous dialogue of Shahrukh Khanin OM SHANTI OM- ‘Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho … to puri kainaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai’. Maybe Love and kismat is such a feeling. Perhaps all of it is destined. However, what happened to me to further believe in it. Here is Chapter 10- of the story with an undisclosed destination.
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It was some coincidence, or maybe the kismat and Kainaat conspired for it. Rajesh had left for Bangalore on short notice. It had to do with his planning for post-graduation studies that he had to go to. What I am sure is that before leaving the town, he told me, “Take care of Roopali, alright? You know how things are around here. I don’t want her to have any trouble.”
He didn’t need to explain any further. The first year was always the hardest for the new batch, especially for women. The college was notorious for ragging, and there were unbelievable stories we had heard of the ragging in the girls’ hostel. We ourselves had experiences that were too tough to believe.
In college compounds, the ragging was not so severe. There were the usual pranks, but the worst came from a group of seniors—rowdy elements from Kanpur and Faizabad, the kind of guys who were on some dubious education quota but seemed more interested in power moves than studying. We knew that few carried country-made revolvers. The administration mostly looked the other way unless someone was to complain- and in such institutes, no one complains. I couldn’t risk Roopali crossing paths with them while Rajesh was away.
So, I did what I could do—I stayed close to her. For those ten days, it was as though the rest of the world had ceased to exist. I rarely attended my classes, opting instead to be wherever Roopali was. I’d walk her to lectures and be with her during breaks; if she needed to go to the city, I would insist I go with her. It became a routine—she never asked, and I never refused.
I am unsure if it was destiny – my kismet or just a coincidence that she needed to go to the city more often than I anticipated. The city trips were the highlight. Away from the dusty college campus, we wandered through the market’s narrow streets, stopping at tiny shops where she’d haggle for things she needed—stationery, a new pair of shoes, a shawl for the cooler evenings. The simple act of walking with her felt different. In those moments, there was a certain degree of intimacy, a sense that we existed in a bubble, just the two of us. Now, this was not going unnoticed by the seniors and the rowdy gangs in the college.
One afternoon, after a remarkably uneventful day, we found ourselves in the quieter part of town. The sun was low, casting a warm orange glow across the narrow lanes. We stopped at a small chai stall, more out of habit than necessity. The steam from our tea curled into the evening air, and everything felt peaceful for a moment.
We were at the Navrang Tea Stall. Roopali set her glass down and looked at me, her expression thoughtful. “You’ve been too sweet to me,” she began, her voice quieter than usual. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been around this time.”
I shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. “Well, Rajesh asked me to keep an eye on you. It’s not like I had a choice, right?”
She laughed, but there was something else behind it. “No, really. You’ve gone out of your way, and I have been thinking a lot… somehow thinking of you all the time… I’m afraid if we continue like this… I might fall in love.”
Her words hung between us. I took time to realise what she had said. My heart raced, but my face betrayed none of it. I leaned back, taking a slow sip of tea, my mind racing through what I should say next. The words came out before I could second-guess them.
“Please do.”
For a second, the world stopped. She looked at me. I could see she was not at all surprised. She had heard me entirely, and the smile on her face said it.
I meant every word I had said. At that moment, all the suppressed feelings surfaced. I didn’t care about the consequences, Rajesh, or any of it. I just wanted her to know how I felt.
She didn’t say anything. Instead, we sat silently, the unspoken truth between us settling like a quiet promise.
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Here is Chapter 1 – Rainy evening in a resort at Mukhteshwar of the story with an undisclosed destination. Chapter -II. The beaches and whispering Mukhteshwar. and Chapter III Mukhteshwar encounter Chapter IV- Shadows of a Dream. , Chapter -V Opening Gambit-e5,chapter-VI- An Evening of Unveiled Secret. chapter VII- The Ride to Lansdowne , Chapter Viii- In search of closure. And Chapter 09- Seed of Romance. This story with an undisclosed destination started as part of the @BlogChatter event #BlogChatterBlogHop, where I started weaving a story based on the weekly word prompts suggested by BlogChatter. However, after the 5th weekly prompt- Blogchatter took a break, but I continued to develop the story based on the prompts friends and readers suggested on social media. Do suggest some word prompts for the next chapter.
