Part 2

He was lost in his own thoughts,and happened to look up to a sound of pen repeatedly scratching on paper.The gods must have been smiling down upon Him or he was just plain lucky because there she was sitting on one of the stone benches,her hair cascading down her shoulders and a look of extreme indignation on her face as she balled up a piece of paper and tossed it down to join its fallen comrades.She looked up and saw him standing dead in his tracks.Sense told him to ignore her and move on,but the heart rarely if ever listens to the mind and before he knew it,he had raised his hands and waved to her.To his surprise she waved back and like a man enchanted he found himself walking towards her."Hi,did not recognize you the other day.Aren't you the guy who sits on the last bench?".He cringed within-what a way to know me..last bencher..."Yeah"he managed to say,"Do you want any help with that?Its looks like something that I can crack".He knew the solution the moment he had seen the problem.It was something he had been working on a few days back as a part of an assignment.He cracked it in no time and went on to help her with the rest of the assignment.Time flew for him when he was with her.Her mere presence was enough to transport him onto another plane.He liked it the way she smiled at his jokes,the light touch of her fingers when she wanted to tell him something,when she specifically sought him out in a crowd to tell Him of an incident or share a joke which only they could appreciate.And against all his better judgements he let himself be pulled along in his relationship with her.He sought her company whenever he could and went into a brooding silence when she was not free to spend time with him.She became the centre of his world and his expectations went up a notch when she invited him for her birthday party at her house.Thoughts started running through his head-does she like me?shall I tell her about my feelings?will she say yes?what if she refuses?.With these thoughts in his mind he dressed in his only pair of formals and started from his house.On the way he got her a elegent brooch that he had been saving up for to give her.He saw no other better occassion.With his head held high,a song on his lips and his heart fluttering like a butterfly he walked all the way to her house.The rows of gleaming cars outside her house and the tailored suits alighting from them made him freeze in his tracks and do a rethink on whether he wanted to go inside.Suddenly his departmental store formals made him feel underdressed.He had nearly turned around and walked back when he caught a glimpse of her through the window.How beautiful she looked on that evening dress,with her hair let loose and one hand poised elegantly in midair.Gathering up his courage he walked the gravel path and entered the house.The hall itself would have held two of his houses.He looked for her in the crowd and made his way towards her.Smiling like a kid who has the world's greatest gift in his hands he went up to her,"Many many happy returns of the day,you are looking very beautiful today".For an instant her smile faltered a bit as she took in his appearance,maybe he saw the change in her expression and regretted coming in.But the thought passed through him for a fleeting moment as his senses swam when she thanked him for the gift,as she shook his hand and held for one moment too long.She moved away and He did not notice it as she carelessly allowed it to slip through her hands and fall beneath the table.Maybe it was his fortune that he did not,if that had been the case his world would have shattered around him.Maybe it should have,it would have save him a lot of pain later on.But fate had decided to play its cruel hand and he slipped into a false sense of being loved by her.He tried to catch her eye troughout the evening but somehow she was always engaged in talking to somebody else.The evening was drawing to a close and he slowly made his way towards the door,not having had a single word with her.As he was crossing the portico,he overheard a couple of her friends talking in slightly raised voices that carried easily on the thin night air.What he heard made his legs turn to jelly.He stood rooted to the spot and strained his ears to hear more.The topic changed and he slowly made his way back to his house.He did not seem to remember the walk back,the near missed collissions with the vehicles or when he opened the door,flung himself on the bed and willed himself to sleep.Nightmares plagued his mind as the clock ticked by.The morning brought no respite and light to his dark mind that had suddenly gone blank with shards of pain thrusting into his consciousness.He was oblivious to physical pain,his mental anguish blinding him.He searched for an answer,but came up with memories that he tried to push down in vain.He knew he had taken the fall,had allowed himself to be led when he should have known better.It was summer outside but a cold blistery winter rushed through him now,wounds that bled of their own accord and a irrational wish that he was insensitive to human emotions occupied his thoughts.