Unusual Love Story

The wall clock ticked 7 AM. The alarm started ringing too loudly. Sahil woke up from sleep with a loud thump. The alarm clock fell on the floor.

Sahil looked up. The curtains were open and he felt a fresh breeze over his face. "Good Morning bro"- He said to himself and got up. It was Thursday and he had an important meeting to attend at 8. So, he got up and rushed to the bathroom.

Half an hour have passed away. Sahil is standing in front of the main gate of an office. The sign board reads "Truewall Publications". He has come with a proposal to get his writing published. All the struggles and moments of frustrations he had to bear, flashed before his eyes, in a glimpse of seconds.

Dressed in proper formals, he entered the building and was redirected to the new acquaintance department. He enquired at the reception, wherein he was told to wait, as the concerned person is busy. He sat on the waiting lobby, and got submerged in thoughts.

After 15 minutes, the receptionist girl called in. "Mr. Sahil Roy. Please come in." Sahil got up and entered the discussion room. Entering, he saw a well dressed man, probably of the same age he is of, sitting on the opposite side of the deck.

"Hello Mr. Roy. Samarendra here, from the new acquaintance team. Please have a seat."- The person said. Sahil observed that the person had an impressive modulation in his voice, that may compel people to do work, as per his wishes.

Sahil sat down on his chair, took a sip of water and started " Good Morning Sir. I am Sahil Roy from Ballygaunge. Since child hood, I have always aspired to be a writer. I have had written many stories, amongst which the one, which I feel the best, is submitted to your company. I wish you would like it."

Samarendra smiled. Somehow, Sahil felt a little uncomfortable. He started " Mr. Roy. This doesn't work this way. We have our own editing and approving team, in the Konnagar branch. The story has been forwarded to them. They will approve your story, if they feel so. Then we will call you for discussing the commercials. Till then, you can check in at the Konnagar branch, for enquiries as well as fastening the process."

Samarendra paused for a moment and then asked,"You have anything to ask, Mr. Roy?"

Sahil's hope was not completely fulfilled, but it wasn't destroyed either. Of Course, these things take time to be accomplished. He smiled and asked,"Can I have the number of the Konnagar branch?"

"Yeah, surely. Please collect it from the reception. Anything else?"- Samarendra asked.

"Not at all sir. it was nice meeting you."- Sahil replied, shook his hands and came out of the room. He collected the number from the reception and exited from the building.

Following that day's event, seven days passed by. He didn't get any call from the publication house. He had tried calling both the editing branch, as well as the head office, but nothing fruitful occurred. Slowly, he was loosing hope. He decided to pay a visit to the Konnagar branch, for further queries.

Visiting Konnagar from main Kolkata, is a tedious task. Changing train twice, after a bus journey of almost 45 minutes, made Sahil sweat with tiredness. Once reaching the office and asking for the concerned person, he was told to visit Ms. Rupama Banerjee, on the left most cabin of the ground floor.

Sahil knocked the door. It read, Ms. Rupama Banerjee, AGM, New Acquisitions. A sweet voice from inside said,"Come in.".

Sahil went in. There was a lady dressed in black, sitting on the cabin. Seeing her was the most beautiful sight to look at. She looked like an angel down on Earth, to shower blessings on it's people. Sahil's hear started beating fast and imaginary sky crackers covered up the skies of Kolkata. At first sight only, the lady had taken his heart.

Sahil asked ,"May I come in?"

The lady replied,"Yes Mr. Roy. Please come in. Have a seat."

Sahil came inside and sat down on the sofa. It was cozy. Rupama started ," Mr. Roy please give me 10 minutes, before we begin. I am occupied with some important work. Meanwhile, would you like to have tea or coffee?"

Sahil nodded and Rupama ordered for tea. She then went back to her work. Meanwhile, Sahil started observing the cabin. Compared to the standard professional ones,the cabin was pretty much well furnished and decorated, seeming more like a living room of an individual. The lady had received plenty of awards and accolades, which clearly indicated that she was a valuable resource to the company.

15 minutes passed by. Rupama closed he dairy and looked up. She started," Hi. Mr. Sahil Roy. It is stated that the book you wrote has been submitted for review, about 10 days back. Well, it's a very less time to get some conclusive results as you see we have thousands of people asking for same, in the pipeline. But, it takes time.Be rest assured, that the due steps have been taken from our end and the results will be reached out to you in no time."

Meanwhile, Sahil was lost in thoughts. At that time, rather than the novel, he was more interested listening to the girl. He seemed to be lost in thoughts and very word of the girl was like an enchanting spell. He forgot everything but only the girl.

Her glossy lips, neatly tied hair and pretty face had cast a strong spell on Sahil. He was completely lost till 10 minutes, 

Rupama spoke again," Ahmm.. Ahmm.. Excuse me, Mr. Roy. Are you okay?"

Sahil came back to reality. "Hmm.. Ahmm... Yes, yes, tell me. I am okay. In fact, the best right now."

After a small pause, he started again,"So tell me Rupama, where do you live. Who all live with you. Are you a localite?".Okay, all right. I guess I am going too fast. So, tell me something about you, Rupama?"

Rupama was surprised indeed. Firstly, because no one had ever asked her something like wise. Secondly, similar asking can't even be predicted in business to business relationships.

She thought for a second and replied," Mr. Roy, I think this conversation is going somewhere else. Well, I live in Konnagar, living with my parents and yeah, I'm a localite. But, why do you want to know?"

Sahil replied,"Inquisitiveness, you can say. Anyway, you can give me your card, so that I can call you once, the book publishing stage has it's progress."

"Certainly"- Rupama replied and handed over her card.

"Okay, goodbye. See you soon.", replied Sahil and came out.

He had fallen in love. He was however trying to go too fast. He would be slow and firm in his approach. May be one day, Rupama will be ready to go out with him for coffee.

May be or may be not. But at least, he can try.

This was the beginning of an unusual love story. One sided or two, is still to be seen.......