"Hello. I am calling from room 202. Water bottle is missing here. Can you please send someone with two bottles?", he called the reception of his hotel as soon as he checked into his room.
After the room keeper brought a couple of water bottles, he thanked him and gave him a tip. Then, locked the door, undressed himself and crashed onto the bed with only his underwear on. Long flights are tiring, aren't they? He just took a nap for a couple of hours and then a mail notification made his phone vibrate and somehow it woke him up. It was a mail from Etihad asking for flyer feedback. He got reminded of the soothing flight he had with a wonderful woman beside him and he couldn't resist smiling to himself. He rated the experience as the best, not to mention the cute airhostess and also sent a very positive feedback. He only then realized that he already has that girl's number and may be he could send a text.
Eyes widened, breath became a little hot, fingers shivered but he managed to send a text "Hey Queen, who never competes! Got all set at your hotel?" He didn't receive an immediate reply. His pulse raced as clock ticked. He checked his mobile's notification area as many times as the the waves touched the shore of the beautiful Mykonos. It was already an hour and hunger became the reality he had to attend to immediately. So, he was ordering some food from the in house restaurant, ate them tummy full and planned to have a long nap again because his itinerary was empty on that day. Just when his eye lids were ready to hug each other, his phone vibrated. It was her. It really was. He was thrilled. He could really feel the adrenaline pumping up inside him and at the same time, it felt home. Yes! He did not say that to her in the airport to flirt. He really meant it. It felt home when she was around.
"Hey Mr. Sugar packet! Sorry. Jet lag. Napped off. Gorgeous hotel. All set. Just woke up and already missing coffee. How about you?" her text read.
"I was about to doze off now. Your text saved my evening. Already had a little nap and good food. Now, am just a man, stranded in one of the most beautiful places on earth but without an ambition and just looking at the empty walls, expecting some miracle to happen to give me some things to do", he replied.
"I don't know if I have the power for making miracles happen. But I can sure give you some things to do for the evening. Like, having a cup of coffee with me?" she responded.
"Don't undermine yourself. You're really a box of miracles and this is the best miracle that can happen for a bored man on a beautiful evening", his exclamation was evident.
"Ah! Do I look like a box?"
"Yes! A box of chocolates. Who doesn't like that?", he flirted back.
"Stop flirting, sweet tooth. Too much of sugar isn't good for health"
"Agreed. But a life without sweet has no meaning in it"
"Oh is it? Come today. I'll personally ask the bartender to add salt instead of sugar in your coffee"
"That's evil, lady!"
"Ha. Absolutely. I am evil. Satan's second cousin. Beware!"
"Oh! Tell me about it"
"Oh yeah! I will. During our coffee. Heard there is a nice place right under the windmills and also right next to the sea, near the Sea Satin Market. The place is great fun, they said. Shall we catch up there?"
"The description itself is mind boggling. Also, when a smart lady calls out a man for a coffee, he'll be ready to spend those moments even sitting on one of the blades of those windmills. But you're only suggesting one under it. So, it won't be a question of 'shall'. It must more be of a 'we're catching up there' stuff"
"Aha! It's not a date, remember?"
"I know right! It's not a date. It's only 'almost a date' mademoiselle"
"That sounds better. Meet you there, monsieur"
"Fine. A six-ish will do?"
"Fiver? Why miss the sunset?"
"As you wish, miss"
The texting ended there and both of them headed to a refreshing shower. She liked a cold one while he preferred a warmer one. And he stayed longer in the shower. Men love their showers, don't they? They love their showergasms - the elated feeling they get standing under a soothing and relaxing shower and doing nothing. Both got dressed in a casual wear such that there was no intention to impress each other. It was more of a coexisting romance that they're yet to reveal but it was evident that they both were there only for a beautiful moment and no urge to take it anywhere forward. They were two smart individuals and that tiny ribbon called smartness, which they've pinned to their chests lured each other more than any fashionable outfits they would be wearing anytime. They were very much aware of that.
She reached the place first and picked a corner table, close to the sea view. As all other men, he was naturally late. Found a lot of people drinking, eating and dancing in that beautiful open cafe, his eyes scanned through the crowd to only find a size definitely-not-zero woman at a corner,wearing a sleeveless flower dress, revealing the back of her beautiful shoulders and looking at the calm blue waves of the Aegean Sea.
"Bonjour mademosielle!" he bowed with one hand at his back.
She smiled graciously. What a smile that was!
He sat in that old looking wooden knit chair.
"You're no different. Men are men. Always make the women wait" she frowned.
"Yes! But this man brought flowers for the lady. A bunch of red and yellow roses with a Borage at the top"
"Ah! I am not so girlish. But I love flowers. The fragrance they spread is more positive, isn't it?"
"Truly! And that Borage amidst the European roses is the starflower with a lot of medicinal qualities and goodness"
"So, when did you become a botanist?"
"I am no botanist but an avid listener. Listened to the florist marketing it"
"Smart! So, shall we order the Frappe?"
"Why the frappe? Why not the latte?"
"When in Rome, do as Romans do. Latte is for Italy! Now you're in Greece. So, do as the Greeks do. Enjoy the luscious greek frappe!"
"That's what you call a proverbial enlightenment. Also, am weak in selecting a dish or drink. So, I'll go with what you say"
The rich looking Frappes arrived. She had ordered some bread too. He really liked the frappe.
Their talks went on and on. Both of them didn't care to know about the other one's identity. They just talked about random things. They were more interested in letting their hearts blabber rather than letting their minds speak. Only the mind cares about the identities. Hearts know only to rejoice and create memories for the minds. They do not want to know the background of anyone to spend time with them. All that these hearts need are moments to etch in the memory book they possess in the limbic system of the brain.
"Hey! See there?" she interrupted their talks and pointed at the horizon.
"That's beautiful! Horizon during the sunsets is a vision to behold, isn't it?"
"No doubt! Especially, this evening looks even beautiful, sitting on a beautiful cliff, drinking a delicious frappe, looking at the marvelous Aegean waters and watching the sunset"
"Yes! I don't exist anywhere here, do I?" he smirked.
"Haha! Don't be cute. Yes! With a smart man, who has a smirking smile and abundance of universal talks to make my time with him more intriguing"
"Now, that's what you call a consolation"
"Is it? Why should I console you mister? I really like this moment, being with you, who's still a stranger but someone from back home, happened to be my flight seat neighbor, now the only awesome company I shall have and enjoy in this beautiful city of strangers. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be watching the sunset with you. I'd be sulking in my bed to cure the remains of my jet lag"
"I am flattered and honestly grateful too for your gracious presence here. Without you miss, I'd have missed this divine sight too. No flirting. Just the truth"
"I can see it in your eyes and I appreciate that genuine attitude"
Sunset slowly faded away. It was then the dark blanket of sky with glittering stars. A dimension, as physicists call that, 'Time' didn't move forward instead personified itself and sat at their adhacent table and gazed at these two talk things so fluently and without a pause as if they knew each other for centuries already. Time fell in love with both of them even before they'd fall for each other.
"Oh! It's dinner time already. Have we time-traveled a couple of hours forward? I never knew that time has run so fast" she exclaimed in surprise
"I wish we could really do time travel so that I shall set the timer back to this evening's start and could do that again and again and again for some ten to eleven times"
"That's a compliment. I feel the same. You're such a good company. You must have a lot of friends"
"I do. But friendship is a variable phenomenon. The affection stays the same but the people may move far away. Some may even become busy with their new friends in new colleges or workplaces. If we don't hold onto them and not accuse them of forgetting us, all of them will keep loving us till they die. And at evey next instance, life gives us new friends too. We shall spread more love and enjoy the moments with people. People are beautiful. They give you a lot of insights. Especially, the smart ones give you insights and wisdom more than ten books together do"
"How beautifully said!"
"What about you? Many friends?"
"Not many. I am an ambivert but the inclination is more towards the introvertive side. People think am more of attitude and used to fear having friendship with me. Only a handful of good friends in all places I've ever been. Even this trip is to attend my school time best friend's wedding at a beach in a nearby island. It's tomorrow. I don't know anyone else here except her"
"I don't know how many friends you have but trust me on this. You are one of the best friends anyone can get! Not every friend will take a long flight alone to attend one's wedding. She must be lucky to have got you"
"I am happy and humbled to hear those words but I really don't know if she feels that way too. We haven't been in touch for long. Only recently I got in touch with her to know that she's soon getting married to a Greek and going to settle in Greece once and forever. But that's okay. As far as that girl, who shared the first bench with me in classroom, shared my lunch and been the only reason for me to smile during school is happy in her life, I'll need nothing else other than that"
He was just gazing at her with his hands on his chin, his eyes shortened and an inevitable smile spilling at the corner of his lips, just like a mesmerized man looking at his master.
"Hey Sugar packet! Am I telling you a bedtime story here? Hands on the chin, sleepy eyes, huh?
"I am not trying to compliment you here. But I am just feeling amazed by your pure affection and gazing at you with abundant respect and astonishment. You're a beautiful soul. I wish I knew you a lot earlier"
"Why? To flirt with me?" she winked
"No. To have a plenty of these 'almost' dates" he winked back
"You are crazy"
"I am. But a crazy man in solitude in an unknown place is dangerous, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is! So, what can we do?"
"Take me wherever you go in this island. I'll just walk along, listen to you talk and ogle at other beautiful European girls"
"Forgot the survival of the cutest theory?"
"Oops! No. Haven't"
"Better. Haha.. Okay! I will call you anytime and call you anywhere. So just make sure you are there whenever and wherever I call you. Else, you're dismissed from being a company for me in this Greek wonderland"
"How will I miss that miss?"
"Okay! It's late now and I am not hungry for dinner. What about you?"
"I am not hungry either. May be the rich frappe"
"Yeah? Fine then. We'll take a leave. Tomorrow is the wedding. So I don't know if I will call you tomorrow. But I will call you soon"
"As you wish, madame! Always at your service"
"Stop flirting around with all women like this on the way back to the hotel. Be a good boy, get back to hotel and rest"
"Sure. You too. Your hotel is nearby?"
"Yeah. Walkable. How about yours?"
"Runnable"
"Aargh!"
"Okay sorry. I should take a taxi. I will take care, You reach the hotel and text me that you're safe"
"Sure. Thanks for this great evening. Have a good night"
Both walked on either directions of that beautiful beach view lane with a lot of smiles and a light heart. He couldn't resist turning back and looking at her walk all the way under those street lights until she took that long left at the end of that lane.
It was such a beautiful evening.
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