It was raining cats and dogs. Radhika was at the bus stop waiting to catch a bus at 9:30 pm. Today she had deadlines at work and she had to meet them. She was a columnist for a leading newspaper in the city and she had been working on this article for the last three days her editor no matter what wasn’t satisfied and kept on pushing her for a better piece. Alas! she had that nod from him tonight although they were working late, at 9:30 pm she was relieved that she had finally achieved what he had wanted. She had made up her mind to call in sick and chill out the next day after all that the week had demanded. Radhika just wanted to celebrate and as she believed girls must enjoy life king-size. This is Radhika’s story and welcome aboard.

So here she was at the bus stop still waiting for the bus. Standing there alone it felt a little scary. After a while, she was joined by a handsome young man roughly her age she was hoping he wasn’t taken as all great-looking guys are the first to be fished out by the girls and she was secretly hoping he would speak first. However, she had seen him earlier at the bus stop drinking tea at the nearby tea stall with his friends. He had never taken a bus. He owned a decent-looking sedan.

“Do you have any idea when the next bus is?” He was the first to ask and break the ice between us. “After 8 pm the service is half hourly. If we are lucky, we will get the ten o’clock one.” she replied. “Do you mind having tea with me? I am alone today. I usually have tea with my friends. I just gave my car for servicing and my friend Prakash had to pick me up but he ditched me for his girlfriend, so I'm taking a bus home.” He sounded genuine and so she gave in and she was bowled over with his looks. They opened their umbrellas and slowly walked in the rain towards the tea stall, he matched her pace and they were there; the cold chilling breeze was a perfect reason to have tea even more so.

As they sipped tea one thing led to another and they were laughing and having a good time. It just didn’t feel like they didn’t know each other rather their wavelengths matched and they warmed up to each other, they exchanged their numbers and Radhika boarded her bus home while Prakash came to pick him up turns out Prakash’s girlfriend ditched Prakash.

The whole night she spent thinking about him, the next day she was eager to go to work so she could catch up with him. So, the next day Radhika was hoping for a message or a call. It was frustrating waiting for his response. The hands of the clock were moving slowly and she was waiting for it to turn 6 pm so that she could just pick up her bag and run out to catch him. she let two buses pass in the hope he would come to have tea but time just passed and she felt hopelessness get the better of he. Radhika could feel her fingers move to her mobile and she deleted his contact. She felt the anger rise inside of her, she felt stupid, at that moment she was fuming like an angry bulldog waiting to pounce and bite anyone.

“Hello! Who is this?” Radhika thought to herself it was past midnight and she was sleepy too. Her voice was husky and she just wanted to kill the caller on the other end for waking her from her deep sleep. “I am sorry it’s me, Ajay. We had tea near the bus stop. I am traveling to Mumbai as I have a meeting and I wanted to call you earlier but was busy with work. If you don’t mind can we speak every day at around this time the truth is I kind of started liking you and I want to get to know you better, but I want you to be comfortable as well.” Saying this all Ajay was hoping secretly for a yes. Radhika was attracted to him so she accepted the offer. For a week they spoke, and she learned about his qualifications, his family, his likes and desires, and what he wants or expects from life. After a week Ajay would be back, and they had decided to meet up in a cafe.

Radhika kept on looking at herself in the mirror. Ajay had asked her to wear a red salwar kameez. Here she was all dressed in it and wore her red lipstick with light makeup along with dangling earrings. Her thoughts occupied her on the entire ride to the cafe, would Ajay think she was pretty? Radhika was a beautiful and confident woman but today she was nervous excited and wanted to look her best as she wanted that affirmation from Ajay.

“I have a reservation for two but I guess my host didn’t turn up, could you check the table, please? The reservation was for Mr. Ajay Singh.” Asked Radhika. Saying this she kept on ringing his number, but the only reply she got was the phone was out of network area. “Oh! Here it is, it was booked a week ago and I did not get a reconfirmation call but I have a place for two.” Said the receptionist as she exclaimed after scanning through five pages of her diary. Radhika could not believe her ears how could he have booked it before a week they hardly knew each other back then, so Radhika seemed confused. Was there some confusion with another person’s booking? The receptionist ushered her to a corner table. The restaurant was spacious and the tables were spaced apart. The lights were dim and, in the center, there was a waterfall with colorful fishes and tortoises. The restaurant was a Chinese restaurant and the decor reflected the Chinese culture. There was a laughing Buddha on the billing counter. Chinese Lanterns and Hand fans were fixed on the walls and cherry trees were painted against the red-painted walls.

“Sorry! I am late.” apologetically Ajay excused himself as it is a known truth it is bad manners to keep your guest waiting. Radhika’s attention was drawn towards Ajay as she was lost checking out the decor of the restaurant. “Oh my God! What happened to you? Should we go to the hospital? How did you get hurt?” saying this Radhika’s hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened. “I met with an accident as I was on my bike and I skid. I got bruises here and there but I am fine, I did not picture our first meeting this way. But I must say you are looking ravishing.” Saying this he extended his hand to reach out to Radhika they were icy cold. While Radhika was blushing with her head down.

The evening turned out great as the food was good Ajay chose the menu for both, the company was good and they got engrossed, as the course was being served with the starters, followed by the soup and the main course. For dessert, he asked Radhika if he could order a chocolate brownie and if they could share it. To which she had no objection. The waitress served them the brownie and left. Ajay asked her to dig in. Radhika cut the cake in half and just then she could see a tiny white paper and the words that were written were “Will you marry me?” Before she could complete reading aloud her phone rang. “Hello! Hello!” Since the signal was weak she got up and walked outside the restaurant to speak freely. The call was from Chinchwad Police Station a constable was online. He called her as she had dialed Ajay’s mobile and was on his missed call list. “Madam we want you to report to the police station immediately. It’s about Ajay.” Saying this he cut the line. He did not give any more information. Perplexed she entered the restaurant and as walked towards her seat she found Ajay missing. She turned and asked for Ajay and the waiters looked surprised, they insisted that she dined alone. They didn’t quite have any answers to her questions she found them disoriented. She asked for the bill but was informed that the payment was made in advance for the meal a week ago. The receptionist showed her the booking, the payment details and the cake with the proposal tag.

Radhika took an auto to Chinchwad Police Station. The entire journey she was wondering where was Ajay and why did he leave her? How meticulously he had planned everything but then they hardly had met. Nervously she climbed the footsteps of the station. It was a busy day with a lot of commotion as usual the police station was overcrowded with people. She spotted Prakash seated with a young girl in the corner. Radhika hurried in their direction. Seeing her approach, Prakash, stood up. “Hi! Can you tell me what has happened and why Ajay is absconding? He left me at the restaurant with no message. What’s the matter? It was some minor accident. Is it Ajay’s fault? Is everything ok” anxiously Radhika asked him. To which Prakash responded, “Radhika, this is Jaya, Ajay’s baby sister. We are here because Ajay met with an accident on the Mumbai – Pune express road, as he lost control and was over speeding to get back to Pune and died. The police retrieved his phone and some other belongings. His last funeral rites were performed four days ago. They found that you were the last person he spoke to. So, they want to know details about your chat.” “That’s impossible, I have spoken all week, I even dined with him just now. He even proposed to me.” Shocked Radhika was muttering. “That’s not possible I am a witness to his funeral. Probably you are confused. I know Ajay liked you, he would call us to drink tea while you stood at the bus stop and never mustered the courage to propose to you. So finally, when you guys met I was the happiest but the next day he had this meeting and he had to go to Mumbai. He was busy and I asked him to call you even though it was late and soon after that we lost him.” Said Prakash. “I can show you my call logs.” Saying this Radhika unlocked her mobile and was scanning her history. But to her surprise, the incoming calls were not showing. Her outgoing calls did show Ajay’s number in the dialed list.

“How could that happen?” these words echoed in her mind. Her chain of thoughts was broken, as the constable who called her got free and she was called. Radhika replied to whatever was asked and she kept mum regarding her night calls and lunch date. When the inquiry was over she was asked to leave. On her way out, Jaya caught up with her. “Hi! I heard about you from Bhai, he even sent me your pictures.” saying so Jaya showed her the photographs that Ajay had sent her on WhatsApp, where she was either on a bus or at the bus stop, and the last photograph of them together having tea on that rainy night. Jaya had a lot to say but Radhika’s mind was clouded she wanted to head back to office. She politely excused herself and took an autorickshaw and left.

On her way Radhika was so confused as to how she had not noticed his attraction towards her. She was in shock and didn’t know how to react. What she had gone through this week was something she hadn’t heard or believed in. How could a dead man speak to her regularly, or even dine with her? No wonder the call logs went missing and the restaurant staff denied his presence. There was only one way to know and that was the CCTV footage of the restaurant. She went to the office took a friend along and checked the restaurant footage which showed her talking to herself and the waiter serving her.

Radhika took leave and went home. She cried her heart out, washed her makeup, changed, and slept. At midnight she woke up as she felt the room quite chilly and the night bulb was flickering and found Ajay seated across calm and composed. “Missed me?” slyly Ajay asked. Radhika was at a loss for words seeing Ajay. His wounds were bleeding profusely. She wanted to scream but she felt that she couldn’t even do so. Radhika was perspiring profusely. Ajay confessed how he had first spotted her at the bus stop and it was love at first sight for him. He always wanted to propose to her but never found the correct moment and after three months when finally, they were alone at that bus stop, he felt comfortable talking to her. But destiny stole his happiness away and his soul was willing to linger around just to be with her. All she had to do was accept his love. “Will you accept my love? Asked Ajay. Suddenly Radhika felt free, she got up and ran away from the bed towards the door, and with all the might she had, she yelled, “Get out of my life and my room. Stay away and go back to wherever you came from. I am not willing to accept you anymore or your love. Let me live my life in peace.”

Suddenly the temperature in the room started to warm up. Ajay stood up and looked at her lovingly and just disappeared into thin air. The night bulb stopped flickering. Something in her told her that she was free she could sense it though. The night had passed and Radhika stayed awake just in case Ajay would reappear. But he did not.

“What time is the next bus?” asked a girl at the bus stop. Radhika replied, “It should be here anytime now.” Six months had passed. Radhika was recovering from heartache, trauma, and loss. Time had passed too quickly. She had many therapy sessions and sleepless nights. Her mom was with her through this whole time. Ajay came like a sweet dream but he scarred her for a lifetime. Radhika was too afraid to love again. Today Radhika was headed home to meet yet another imperfect man whom her parents had chosen to make her life perfect. The past was behind her and she was looking forward to meeting Rahul. Let’s hope she gets her bus on time.

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