ARYA
Sri and Raghu were beside themselves with happiness. They couldn’t believe the level to which I had gone to procure them the seats.
“What came over you?” Sri demanded on our way back.
“Same thing that came over you, I have never seen you so quiet, ever,” I remarked. Sri blushed a bit.
“Do we need to remind you that you have a rather long-term boyfriend, Ajit, who is also kind of your fiancé?” Raghu pointed. The blush faded from Sri’s face.
“Alright! Alright! He was just so handsome that I was caught off-guard,” she confessed. “Don’t tell it to Ajit though, please,” she continued in a begging tone. Both Raghu and I laughed.
“But seriously, how did you do it?” Sri asked again.
“I don’t know, I just thought that we had wasted six hours today waiting for him. My ass literally hurts by sitting in that damn chair. So, I took pity on my painful ass and decided to try until he breaks or throws me out and see, it worked,” I chirped merrily. Both Sri and Raghu gave me a suspicious look.
“What did he say in your ears? You were so smitten that I could swear that even your hair was turning red,” Raghu asked.
“He asked me to call him by his name. Nate. It is such a beautiful name, isn’t it?” I spoke dreamily.
“Do we need to remind you as well?” Sri demanded.
“I haven’t forgotten my orthodox family. Thank you very much!” I snapped. “Anyways, I did you both a huge favor and see where it has landed me. What the hell am I supposed to do for the next two days? Just sit and doodle?”
“Or you can just ogle at him,” Raghu smirked.
“Too funny. I think I will find something better to do instead!” I hissed but deep down I knew that this was all I was going to do for the next two days. Stare, desire, fantasize and what not, with him right in front of me.
*
NATHAN
Could allowing a small wish of some girl be so satisfying? I didn’t know that. She was so different, yet so incredible. I have never done something so foolish in my entire life. Forcing an Arts student to sit through my Finance orientation program, a program for which students from all over the world apply; a program for which any finance student would kill another! And she had no respect for it!
“I see that the young lady caught your eye,” Daniel spoke. Daniel Gonese was the head of my security and nothing less than a fatherly figure. Very little went through my head that Daniel didn’t know about, and I knew that Daniel knew very well what was going through my head and my body presently.
Daniel had a look of curious surprise on his face, and he was not alone. Even I was surprised by myself. I had been with a few women in my life, and this girl was literally nothing compared to them. I have never seen anyone so invisible, yet noticeable. Her confidence and stubbornness bordered at the level of irritation, yet I found her charming. She was daring, who else would grab me in the middle of my security. I wonder why she was trying so hard to be invisible. I had not even noticed her until she skidded to a stop in front of me. And when I had caught her in my arms, I realized how slim and delicate her figure was, and yet she was hiding it from the world by wearing those baggy clothes. And when her weird glasses had fallen off, oh dear God, I was stunned by how mesmerizingly beautiful her eyes were, unique forget-me-not-blue with golden streaks in the middle. Why was she hiding those stunning eyes?
I was so lost in her eyes that I had even forgotten to stand straight. Her body, against mine, felt so perfect. And the way the color of her blue eyes had darkened, indicating the desire she was harboring inside her, even I was smitten by them – this was a first.
“What is her name?” I demanded, and it was now Daniel’s turn to laugh.
“What?” I asked, shocked.
“Oh, it is a mouthful, but her last name is the same as your first,” Daniel laughed harder as he handed me the paper with all the details of the new attendees. I looked at the paper and was at a loss for words. Who had names like these?
I was still staring at the paper when Daniel pointed at the second name, “This is your girl.”
Your girl! Could she be mine? I wondered.
“How do you pronounce it?” I asked aloud.
“Maybe Jay here can answer that,” at this, Daniel passed on the paper to my assistant.
“Vishwaswamini Arya Nathan, Sir,” Jay spoke loudly. It sounded gibberish and in an alien language to me.
“What?” both Daniel and I asked together.
“It is a South-Indian name. She must belong to one of the southern states of India. Her friend’s name is ‘Sridevi Malaikar’, she is from South India too. The boy is Raghav Banerjee, surely from West Bengal.” He finished and both Daniel and I exchanged looks. I only understood Raghav’s name as it was quite common in South Africa.
“Vish what?” I asked, trying to add her tongue-twister name to my vocabulary. “What does it even mean?”
“It means the queen of the world,” Jay laughed.
I raised my eyebrows at this. Queen of the world suited the man with my stature. And not to mention her last name!
“You can call her Arya, Sir. I heard her friends call her so,” Jay continued. “And her friends as Sri and Raghu,” he finished.
“Finally, some names that I can hope to remember,” I sighed wondering yet again, who had names like these!
“You invited an Arts student to the Finance program, should I expect some kind of budding friendship with this Arya girl?” Daniel asked suspiciously and I just shrugged. I didn’t know what was going to happen in the next two days. I could only hope that it goes the way I was feeling currently – mysterious yet charmed.
ARYAThe orientation program was hosted by Nathan’s company. It was one of a kind program where thirty students, this time thirty-three including Sri, Raghu and I, from all over the world were chosen and taught by Nathan himself. Day one comprised of multiple sessions, and day two was about assessment and getting to know each other. It was kind of an adventure and as per Sri and Raghu, only the brightest of all were selected for this program and people formed lifelong friendships in these two days.Our adventure began the next day at 6 AM when we three – Sri, Raghu and I, checked in the hotel Plaza, the venue of the orientation. The previous night, we had received emails detailing the schedule and agenda. Where Sri and Raghu were beyond excited, I was lost. Sri and Raghu had packed up all the fat books from their course to look up anything and everything that may come up during the session, whereas I packed my novels, sketch pads, drawing p
ARYAI had never been so riled up in my life. For starters, that moron almost threw me off the roof. And then he grabbed me. The way his muscular body felt against mine, I couldn’t help but drool. He had such strong arms, how easily he had lifted me in his arms. If only someone was there to click a photo of the moment, I would have loved to sketch it for my collection.“Ms. Nathan,” someone called out. The session was going on and some blonde woman was speaking finance gibberish, which I was tuning out as usual.“Ms. Nathan,” someone repeated. I looked up and saw the elderly man who often stayed glued to Nate. The man was gesturing me to follow him. I looked up ahead, the woman taking the session was impatiently waiting for me to leave. So, I obliged.As I walked outside, the man led the way and took me to a buffet room.“What?” I asked, but he just opened the door for me. I s
ARYA“What was that?” Sri demanded that evening. “What was in your notes that he took them? It could not be anything related to the lecture!”Her tone and jealous look bothered me, and for a moment I didn’t want to share, but if I didn’t share with Sri and Raghu, who else could I share this with? They were my only friends in the whole damn world! So, with a scoff, I showed them my notebook, “These…” I spoke as I opened the last pages, “are my notes.”They stared at the pages for a moment then laughed in unison as they saw my latest drawing of him in there. “Yeah, it is mighty impressive,” Raghu laughed. “No wonder he took your ‘notes’.”I rolled my eyes and took back the notebook. I looked at my own handiwork and this time, I had drawn him from a pose that I remembered from our lunch together. He was sitting straight with h
ARYAThe next day while everyone took the test, I doodled over the paper. It was a multiple-choice questionnaire, and where everyone else was busy doing calculations and forming equations, I was busy drawing.I filled each side of the test paper with intricate designs, designs that not just incorporated small circles provided after each question, but also used them to enhance the overall drawing. Once the alarm bell rang indicating the end of the test, I didn’t want to submit the test paper but I was forced to. The woman supervising the test snatched it from my hands before I could refuse.After the test, all the students were taken for sight-seeing and then we were free. One of the most popular ways of visiting various tourist attractions in Cape Town was the ‘Hop-on-Hop-Off Bus’ and this was what was arranged for the students.I, along with Raghu and Sri, occupied seats on the open-top ‘Red Bus’ and had fun with other students. Though I was feeling out of place, especially with ever
ARYAAs Nathan’s hand slid into mine, a shock emitted all over my body. His grasp was so familiar and comforting that a warmth, which had nothing to do with my clumsy, baggy clothes, spread in my heart.“Do you know how I can go on top, there?” I asked Nathan, pointing at a mountain top.“Why?” he demanded, shielding his eyes from the Sun’s glare and looking up.“Para gliding,” I beamed in excitement.“What?” he looked taken aback.“Why? You haven’t done it ever?” I asked, shocked. “With your kind of money and resources, you must have tried everything.”“Yes, but not here,” he pointed around.“Why?” I asked serenely. I had done paragliding back home once or twice, but never from this height.“Because it is frigging dangerous,” he looked strangely at me as if I had lost all my senses.“Umm… I am pretty sure it isn’t,” I laughed.“You can drown,” he pointed at the vastness of the ocean.I too looked at the horizon and smiled, “If I fall there,” I stretched my hand, “Smack in the middle
NATHAN“My Nate…” her parting words reverberated in my ears as I stood by the cliff for a long moment, longer than necessary. Arya was so different, but she was so familiar. When I had kissed her, the moment I touched those soft lips, I had felt a desire ripple through not just my body, but also hers. I had realized the moment she had gotten comfortable with my touch, and when she had tried to take charge. She had risen on her toes to meet me equally. How could someone be so timid and simple and yet so fierce and dominating?“I didn’t want you to stop the first time,” her voice echoed in my head on an endless loop.“Sir?” One of my security guards spoke.I looked up at him. At least six men were standing around me, “Sir, can I get you something?” He added, feeling uncomfortable.I shook my head and decided to take my thoughts back home. I needed to see what I could do about this Arya situation. What did that Sri mean when she asked Arya, ‘Have you forgotten everything?’ And why did Ar
ARYAI didn’t know why but tears kept pouring down my cheeks today. Sri, who had given me an earful for my incandescent behavior, had left for the evening. She was going to spend the night at Ajit’s, her long term boyfriend and fiancé. Raghu too was out with his friends and I was all alone.Two months were still left in my term, and after that I was supposed to go back to India forever. But today, I wanted to go back immediately. Not because I didn’t want to be with Nathan. Oh, I desperately wanted to be with him, but I knew that it was neither possible nor plausible. So, to silence that desperation, I wanted to put an end to any possibility. And the best way was to get a one-way ticket to India. I knew if – no when – when I will go back home next, it would be the last time. And I would never see Cape Town ever again.So, to make this sad thing possible, I had called my professor and begged him to let me go early. Hearing my tearful plea, he agreed to let me go after I had submitted t
ARYAHe looked so stunned that I almost laughed. He was confused. “Why are you crying then?” he demanded, outraged. “It was as if you are doing something awful, against all your damn wishes.”Only if I could tell him!“Where are we going?” I wiped my face and smiled now.“Why are you crying?” he demanded. “I need to know why you are crying so harshly.”I shook my head and smiled again. “These tears, they come with the territory. But you will soon give me the reason to smile all my life…” I grabbed his collar and shook him slightly. “You will give me memories that will make me happy forever…” he looked so confused. “So, tell me, Mr. Anderson,” he screwed his face at this, I leaned in and pressed my lips to him, he relaxed slightly, “Nate, my Nate,” I whispered at his lips, “Tell me, Nate, where are you taking me for my perfect vacation.”He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded.“I need to know why you are crying, but it can wait. I am sure that Daniel will be here in a short w